000			01382nam a2200169 4500
020			_a9781847081735
024			_a464598473
050			_aBF698.35.O57
082			_a155.232
100	1		_aBARBARA EHRENREICH
245	1		_aSmile or Die
260			_bGranta
300			_a126 pages
520			_aThis brilliant new book from the author of Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch explores the tyranny of positive thinking, and offers a history of how it came to be the dominant mode in the USA. Ehrenreich conceived of the book when she became ill with breast cancer, and found herself surrounded by pink ribbons and platitudes. She balked at the way her anger about having the disease was seen as unhealthy and dangerous by health professionals and other sufferers. In her droll and incisive analysis of the cult of cheerfulness, Ehrenreich ranges across contemporary religion, business and the economy, arguing, for example, that undue optimism and a fear of giving bad news sowed the seeds for the current banking crisis. She argues passionately that the insistence on being cheerful actually leads to a lonely focus inwards, a blaming of oneself for any misfortunes, and thus to political apathy. Rigorous, insightful and bracing as always, and also incredibly funny, "Smile or Die" uncovers the dark side of the 'have a nice day' nation.
650			_aPsychology
999			_c12181 _d12181