SELF-HELP

On Failure: How To Succeed at Defeat

The School of Life. Nov. 2022. 240p. ed. by Alain de Botton. ISBN 9781912891672. $19.99. SELF-HELP

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This comforting and calming read from the staff at School of Life organization, founded by philosopher Alain de Botton (The Architecture of Happiness), offers a levelheaded approach to facing failure. It offers advice on how to use failure to demonstrate compassion to oneself, one’s children, friends and colleagues, and how to understand the motivations behind the anxiety that can lead to feelings of failure. The aim of the book is to be a commiseration to the reader, to act as a friend who has also been through the wringer and can sympathize with others going through similar feelings. The volume reiterates that no one is exempt from failure and challenges readers to be daring with forgiveness of themselves and others. It also suggests readers contemplate how small some failures actually are in the scheme of things.

VERDICT Each chapter presents a refreshing and comforting pep talk, something to read on a difficult day or send to a friend in the midst of their own feelings of failure. It supplies helpful advice to de-escalate a spiral of negative feelings and find grounding. Recommended for general collections.

Reviewed by Amanda Ray , Oct 07, 2022

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