The Self-Destruction Handbook: 8 Simple Steps to an Unhealthier You

by Adam Wasson and Jessica Stamen

REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS Let's face it, there are thousands of books out there to help you avoid self-destructive behavior--but what fun is that? Welcome to the first book designed to help you not help... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400050332
• ISBN13: 9781400050338
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 158 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Good Times For All

This book is a hilarious, satirical bucket o' fun for those of us who are proud to still be fighting the good fight against the moral police. I, for one, am proud to call myself a vodka-swilling, tobacco-smoking, un-politically correct, hedonistic, debaucherous twentysomething - and thanks to this book, I'll have all the extra tips and advice a girl could ever need when navigating the cold, gloomy winters of Boston. I loved it so much, i went right out and got a canadian wax. I love this book. Hallelujah. I'm giving one to all my friends as holiday presents.

finally, a self-help book you'll WANT to read

This book is hilarious. It is sardonic, offensive and cynical, but in the GREATEST ways. Every page made me crack up out loud. The sad part is, the ironies of this book will be lost on some people, especially those who will see this book as "un-PC". It may seem cruel and ill-advised, but small minded people need to remember that this book is a PARODY. After reading this book, I would strongly recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor who appreciates observational, sociological hilarity. Actually, so much of the issues touched on in this book are the subjects of hundreds of stupid, useless "self-help" books, but they look at it from the opposite (and often accurate) perspective. Read it, and if you feel that it's too mean, keep reading.

Stamen and Wasson's Excellent Adventure?

I laughed, I cried, I laughed so hard that I cried . . . We live in a Self-Help Age. In fact, I dare you to find someone who hasn't snuck a peek at one of these lifestyle-bibles, whether it's Dale Carnegie, Dr. Phil, 7 Habits, or another self-improvement book. The search is futile because we live in a culture which bombards us with a million different messages saying that we aren't good enough, productive enough, thin enough, having good enough (or enough good) sex . . . the list goes on and on, and there are hundreds of books out there which proclaim to have the answers. Who could resist? The Self-Destruction Handbook is the first time that anyone has had the nerve to stop and challenge this phenomenon. Wasson and Stamen take self-help to the edge, and then they keep right on going. . .It's not that the S-D HB ridicules those of us who had made honest attempts at improving our lives, but rather that it takes on the self-proclaimed Self-Help Guru's who have founded empires (and made millions) on the backs of such hapless souls. In fact, I would argue that in their own perverse way, the authors have offered their own improvement strategies to readers. Through their sometimes irreverent, sometimes more biting critiques of the Self-Help Empires, they remind us that oftentimes the most effective coping strategies are a healthy sense of humor and the insistance on not taking life so damn seriously.

Deep down we all suspect smoking may be cool . . .

Anyone who can't help smirking in the "Self-Help" section will find the recommendations in this book both slightly familiar and vaguely alluring. The fact that they're also shocking and disgusting is what makes it a good read. Stamen and Wasson succeed in making us laugh at things we suspect we ought to find deeply offensive, and their send-up of popular self-help plans and cliches is funny and informed. The book is gratifying not only for its hilarious "gross-out" value, but because it wittily reminds us of what we probably already knew: that the only thing more ridiculous than shopping for self-destruction in the pages of a book is shopping for self-realization there.Next time you're snorting with laughter in the self-help aisle, buy this book instead. If you're snorting anything else in the self-help aisle, you probably already have it.

A hilarious satire that's both funny and insightful

This is a hilarious satire of self-help books that skewers everything from internet dating to self-mutilation and eating disorders with wit and style. The book works not only as a parody of the form but as a surprisingly insightful dissection of self-destructive behavior. Every page has material that will make the reader laugh out loud, and anyone who's ever behaved in a manner detrimental to themselves will find the writers' observations to be both painfully funny and painfully accurate. A great book.