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Title details for Bright-sided by Barbara Ehrenreich - Available

Bright-sided

How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America

by Barbara Ehrenreich
Kate Reading
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright-sided is a sharp-witted knockdown of America's love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realism
Americans are a "positive" people—cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity.
In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to "prosper" you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of "positive psychology" and the "science of happiness." Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes—like mortgage defaults—contributed directly to the current economic crisis.
With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America's penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out "negative" thoughts. On a national level, it's brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best—poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 13, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781427208378
      • File size: 214957 KB
      • Duration: 07:27:49

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from August 10, 2009
      Ehrenreich (Nickel and Dimed
      ) delivers a trenchant look into the burgeoning business of positive thinking. A bout with breast cancer puts the author face to face with this new breed of frenetic positive thinking promoted by everyone from scientists to gurus and activists. Chided for her anger and distress by doctors and fellow cancer patients and survivors, Ehrenreich explores the insistence upon optimism as a cultural and national trait, discovering its “symbiotic relationship with American capitalism” and how poverty, obesity, unemployment and relationship problems are being marketed as obstacles that can be overcome with the right (read: positive) mindset. Building on Max Weber's insights into the relationship between Calvinism and capitalism, Ehrenreich sees the dark roots of positive thinking emerging from 19th-century religious movements. Mary Baker Eddy, William James and Norman Vincent Peale paved the path for today's secular $9.6 billion self-improvement industry and positive psychology institutes. The author concludes by suggesting that the bungled invasion of Iraq and current economic mess may be intricately tied to this “reckless” national penchant for self-delusion and a lack of anxious vigilance, necessary to societal survival.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Fans of Barbara Ehrenreich love her not just for her concise, well-researched writing but her sly, sardonic humor. Reading handles her latest refreshingly askance look at life in America with a nuanced, meticulous reading that ensures listeners will miss none of Ehrenreich's acerbic humor or commonsense look at our penchant for delusion. Whether she's taking on corporate downsizing or mega churches, she deftly pricks the balloon of our fantasy that you just have to think positive thoughts and that every setback is really an opportunity. There's a good reason she points out why we need to pay attention to people warning us to stop building gas-guzzling SUV's or having sub-prime mortgage exposure. Fortunately, Reading's skillful performance makes it all a positive pleasure to take in. D.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 30, 2009
      This audio is a perfect antidote for anyone fed up with the power of positive thinking and all its attendant pink ribbons, smiley faces, and injunctions to “have a nice day!” Ehrenreich explores how medical, academic, and business gurus persuade the public that wishing, done in the right way, can make things happen. The section on the history of positive thinking that probes Calvinism and Max Weber is less original. Kate Reading hits all the right notes in conveying the author's humor, sarcasm, scientifically backed conclusions, and curmudgeonly insights. Her pace is brisk, and she captures the witty wonder of this book. A Metropolitan hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 10).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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