Compare and Contrast: Self Help Memoirs

This year I read many books, including many memoirs. I read three memoirs that were about self help - one general and two about specific kinds of self help. The books were Help Me by Marianne Power, 10% Happier by Dan Harris, and The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan. Each was written by a journalist, each about the same length (I will admit that 10% Happier was an audiobook, but equivalent length). 

a hand holds the book the Gratitude Diaries
I like reading self-help books. There's no end to what we can learn about ourselves, and looking at it through others' eyes is always worthwhile, even if we eventually disregard their advice. I read other self-help books this year, but these were the three that were styled as memoirs, with more personal connection.

Overall, The Gratitude Diaries was my favorite, easily. I've been practicing gratitude for a while, but it was really good for me to see the true impact of the practice. Help Me was arguably the one I looked forward to the most, and it was even one that I asked the library to purchase, but ultimately I found it painful to get through, mostly from second hand embarrassment. For someone to look at self help the way Power did seemed odd to me, and too much. I get immersing yourself in bettering yourself, but at least Kaplan and Harris did other things to balance it out. I find that too much introspection sets yourself up for disappointment and frustration.

Overall, I thought all of these books were worth the read, but I'd probably recommend The Gratitude Diaries and 10% Happier over Help Me, even though they've older (but really this is a fairly timeless concept). 



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