No matter what happens, always be yourself. ( )

I read less than 100 pages of this book. Didn't even make it halfway. But I didn't need to. The first 2 tips have really been a game-changer for me, and I'm pretty satisfied with how they have helped me manage my worrying. If I feel like those strategies aren't working for me anymore, I will absolutely go back to the library for this book and get another few tips.

FYI this book is mostly composed of anecdotes. After reading of 2 or 3 cases where a particular strategy has helped a person, you can definitely skim to the next chapter if you so choose and not miss a thing. ( )

3.5

A little too preachy for my liking. Good advice but it keeps coming back around to “pray and you’ll feel better”. A little disappointed seeing as how How to Win Friends and Influence People was a 5 star book for me. ( )

Wow this was long! But good. It's actually one of the only anxiety books I've ever read that I'm thinking is worth a re-read at some point.

But first, a little light-hearted critique:
* Dale Carnegie is a Buzzfeed writer before there were such things. ("If you have a worry problem, apply the magic formula of Willis H. Carrier." "Seven Ways to Peace and Happiness", "If You Do This, You Will Never Worry About Ingratitude", "How to Cure Melancholy in Fourteen Days").
* Dale Carnegie is also your mother who knows exactly where you're off base and is talking to you kindly but firmly about how to Straighten Up.
Yeah, it's an interesting tone. It's a bit... folksy? Is that the right word? I think so. You definitely feel as if he knows who he's talking to. And it's you.

BUT. In spite of the fact that I chuckled/cringed at some things...
He makes a lot of solid practical points, and he says them in a way that makes me sit up and take notice. I think since he was writing decades before the market was flooded with formulaic self-help books written in a detached clinical voice, his text stands out as truly unique and memorable. And some of his points have actually popped into my head during anxious moments, days after reading about them. I honestly think I will remember and use some of this stuff.

One of my favorite points came early on. And, you guessed it, it's "the magic formula of Willis H. Carrier." ;) Yeah, I'm not crazy about that label. But the chapter is very thought-provoking. We worrywarts spend a lot of time distressed about terrible but vague outcomes. The advice here is to try and define to yourself what is the worst logical outcome in this situation... face up to it, mentally prepare to accept it if you have to, but then calmly proceed to improve upon the worst.

Related to that is another chapter on cooperating with the inevitable. It's exhausting to think you can control the uncontrollable, you know? I have that problem sometimes. Especially in a COVID world. So this chapter is about stopping that mindset. It doesn't mean giving up when there's a chance to make something better. But, if it's truly something that can't be changed... well, as he says, "No one living has enough emotion and vigour to fight the inevitable and, at the same time, enough left over to create a new life." I'm reviewing the chapter now, and I have to say, it's powerful stuff.

Dale Carnegie includes lots of real-life stories that illustrate what he's talking about. Some of them are very poignant, and some of them seem a little over-hyped. And some of them are just a product of their time. Like the short article, "I Was Acting Like an Hysterical Woman," by Cameron Shipp. Whew. Glad he got some help for that. I guess Hysterical Men hadn't been invented yet.

(Note: There are definitely some instances of gender and racial stereotyping that stand out glaringly to a modern reader.)

But all in all, this was a solid, straightforward read for anxious people, and in my opinion, way more engaging (if also occasionally snort-inducing) than most current books on the subject. So much so that I'm considering getting a hard copy so I can review and highlight some things. ( )

Some useful advice, but I couldn't get past the repetitiveness and casual sexism. ( )