Help Me!

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What to expect

'I love it! Hilarious and thought-provoking!' - Fearne Cotton
'A sweet sharp read' - Jessie Burton
'A laugh-out-loud funny book.' - Lucy Diamond

Marianne Power was stuck in a rut. Then one day she wondered: could self-help books help her find the elusive perfect life?

She decided to test one book a month for a year, following their advice to the letter. What would happen if she followed the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People? Really felt The Power of Now? Could she unearth The Secret to making her dreams come true?

What begins as a clever experiment becomes an achingly poignant story. Because self-help can change your life – but not necessarily for the better . . .

Help Me! is an irresistibly funny and incredibly moving book about a wild and ultimately redemptive journey that will resonate with anyone who’s ever dreamed of finding happiness.

Perfect for readers who enjoyed Everything I know About Love by Dolly Alderton, Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon and Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig.

Critics Review

I love it! Hilarious and thought-provoking! Love!

Fearne Cotton

A laugh-out-loud funny book that also manages to be thought-provoking, perceptive and devastatingly honest. I loved it.

Lucy Diamond

A sweet sharp read, and the last chapter made me cry . . . it’s perfect

Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist

Marianne’s writing makes me smile and has moved me to tears more than once. She combines a journalist’s no-nonsense investigative skills with a tenderness and honesty that sets her apart

Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said

Couldn’t put this book down – Marianne’s honesty and wit shone through . . . a hugely enjoyable, fantastic read.

Poorna Bell, author of Chase the Rainbow

Sublime and ridiculous . . . Britain’s answer to Sarah Knight, with Amy Schumer’s naked hilarity and Matt Haig’s soul-deep profundity chucked in.

Catherine Gray, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober

Wonderful. I’ve laughed and cried my way through it’s pages . . . I’d highly recommend this book . . . It’s a wonderfully refreshing approach. It’s worth picking up just for Marianne’s Mum’s sassy one liners alone. Give it a try!

Keegan Hirst (on Instagram)

Sparkling . . . a laugh-out-loud odyssey

Bookseller

Marianne Power is a delightful companion and one who (putting all natural misanthropy aside) acts a powerful reminder that the traditional ways of denigrating or demanding too much of ourselves ain’t going to get us anywhere . . . excellent

Emerald Street

Funny and fearless, I loved Help Me! almost as much as I loved Marianne’s mum who was always on hand with some no-nonsense advice and really needs to write her own self-help book.

Red Magazine

What starts out as a simple idea for a journalist looking to try something quirky (live your life by a different self-help book every month for a year) rapidly changes into something far more real and worthwhile as she explores just exactly what is wrong with her life and whether any of it can help her! Super stuff.

Rick O'Shea

It is a charming introduction to the world of self-help and a good gift for any sucker addicted to self-improvement.

Financial Times, Best Books of 2018: Wellness

London-based journalist Power chronicles the harrowing, often side-splitting adventures she embarked on while pursuing happiness and inner peace . . . Throughout this consistently entertaining book, she writes with unflinching honesty – and bald hilarity, especially as she encountered deadpan reality checks from her mother, sisters, and skeptical friends—about the throes of facing her fears, tackling money issues, living in the present, opening herself up to rejection, and getting over her hang-ups with men . . . A winner. Bridget Jones meets Buddha in this plucky, heartwarming, comical debut memoir.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Some of her plights are hilarious; others are almost unbearably poignant. Self-help seekers will be moved and entertained by Power’s over-the-top exploits.

Booklist

In this frank, funny, and occasionally heartbreaking debut, journalist Power ably lays bare her yearlong quest to live by the tenets of a different self-help book every month . . . Already a bestseller in Power’s native England, the book will surely find a welcoming American readership. Power’s total honesty and openness will make readers realize that, at heart, everyone has similar secret fears and insecurities.

Publishers Weekly

Marianne Power takes self-help seriously in this bold, earnest, and utterly hilarious memoir . . . You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You might even achieve the level of self-acceptance Power reaches by the end.

Refinery 29

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