Bad Advice: How to Survive and Thrive in an Age of Bullshit
You Are a Badass meets The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, Bad Advice is a fiercely smart wake-up call that dismantles the damaging neo-folk wisdom of pop psychology and offers empowering strategies for moving forward transformed, from larger-than-life Bravo personality and psychologist Dr. V.
Psychologist Dr. Venus Nicolino has the looks of a “Real Housewife,” the brains of a Ph. D., and the soul of a take-no-prisoners Italian Matriarch. Bubbling with charm, vivacity, and always at the ready with an honest-but-kind dose of straight-talk, Dr. V is known for taking a match to what she calls the useless “neo-folk wisdom of pop psychology,” which she believes is deeply damaging, even as it pretends to lend insight into the human condition. We live in a world of Instagram “Inspira-porn”--ubiquitous inspirational quotes and truisms we eat up, readily accepting them as useful guidelines to living a fulfilling life. But from “Follow Your Bliss” to “Just Be Yourself”, Dr. V contends that these nuggets of received wisdom aren’t just empty or trite--they’re actually deeply pernicious.
Delightfully counterintuitive and biting, Bad Advice unmasks how these “folkisms” actually play an insidious role in holding us back from living fulfilling lives. Dedicating a chapter to each of the worst offenders, Dr. V traces an arc from our first encounters with these ideas in childhood on through adulthood, exposing commonly-held “truths” like:
• “You Get What You Get and You Don’t Get Upset”
• “You Can’t Love Anyone Until You Love Yourself”
• “Live Each Day Like It Was Your Last”
• “Nobody Can Make You Feel Bad Without Your Permission”
Sassy, salty, but always on the reader’s side, Dr. V exposes and dismantles the seductive mechanics of each hackneyed mantra; digs deep to illuminate their origins; and replaces with them mindful and authentic advice, laying out startlingly empowering and actually inspiring counter-strategies for moving forward transformed.
A tough-love approach with incredible heart, Bad Advice is a warm and hilarious wake-up call to battle against the harmful ideas that have a vice grip on our psyches, and to help us move ahead--with courage--toward the lives we deserve.
