sham

SHAM Self-Help and Actualization Movement by Steve Salerno

"How the gurus of the self-help movement make us helpless".

2006. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Paperback.

This is a self-help book for self-help book addicts. It lays into the
gurus of the field, particularly Tony Robbins and Doctor Phil McGraw.
The heros of self-help are shown to have feet of clay; dispensing
relationship advice even as their own marriages break down and being
shown time and again not to have qualifications in the field they're
practising in.

Steve Salerno is a journalist devoted to tearing down the
self-help gurus and motivational industry. His main targets are
Dr. Phil, Oprah, Anthony Robbins and John Gray. Motivational leaders
who run seminars and produce an endless stream of related books
and media are prime targets for Salerno's exposure.

As well as motivational Sham there is also recovery Sham, the most
famous group of which is Alcoholics Anonymous. Salerno suggests the
recovery rate for members is the same as that for people with no
involvement with the program, and for people who drop out of the
program.

The two SHAM ways of thinking are victimisation and
empowerment. Victims shift blame to others, especially their parents
from their childhood years. Empowered people believe they can do
anything and positive energy can yield unrealistic outcomes.

Sham was a very entertaing read (in December 2021) and is preaching to
the converted to a scientifc sceptic like me. It will be worth a
re-read in coming years.

                                      28th March 2023.

My book reviews are at https://github.com/stucooper/booksiveread