How to Be Totally Unhappy in a Peaceful World : Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Being Unhappy - A Complete Manuel with Rules, Exercises, a Midterm, and a Final Exam
From the "Acknowledgements" up front to the blurbs on the back  jacket, there are unexpected fits of laughter awaiting you in this  clever little book.  It is an extended parody of self-help books,  human nature, and our frenetic, outer-orientated consumer society,  written by a local attorney, Gil Friedman. He is a Harvard Law School  graduate and a former teacher and author who has chosen to seek a  simpler life in our North Coast village.  Like many self-help books,  there are rules followed by exercises suggested for the reader.  Friedman drolly comments that these exercises, "in the tradition of  college text books, rarely have anything to do with the preceding  chapter. It is a time-honored way to feel frustrated and inadequate."     The reader is instructed to keep a "Personal Unhappiness Journal" in a  preferably ugly format like a business ledger to record all your  defeats and failures as an indication of your progress.  Some of the  "rules" recommended are those advising one to always compare yourself  to others; forgive no one, especially yourself; desire more that you  have; stay in debt; have few friends; believe only in logic and the  visible world; and keep the waters of your life muddy by constant  activity.  The book has two minor faults, the first being its moments  of unexpected hilarity that periodically disrupt the reader's focus on  total unhappiness.  This gives the reader a chance, however, to  practice exercise #1 on the rule against laughing: "Ask yourself when  was the last time you had a good belly laugh. Was it really necessary?  Can you justify it on any rational basis."  The second fault of the  book is that the first 48 pages have been omitted, probably on the  insistence of the editor, though the author states otherwise.     Nevertheless, this wise, clever, and exceedingly funny book is a gem.  --The Arcata Eye, Oct. 28, 1997From the Acknowledgements up front to the blubs on the back cover, there are unexpected fits of laughter awaiting you in this clever little book. It is an extented parody on self-help books, human nature and our frenetic, outer directed society. . . . Like many self-help books, there are rules followed by exercises suggested for the reader; Friemdan drolly comments that these exercises "in the tradition of college textbooks, rarely have anything to do with the preceeding chapter. It is a time honored way to feel frustrated and inadequate." . . . This wise, clever and exceedingly funny book is a gem.  --Arcata Eye, October 28, 1997I don't need Arcata Attorney Gil Friedman's book. . . . But I am an exception. I am self-taught. . . . My favorite rule is the one called, "Stay in a State of Pressure and Excitement." Friedman suggests that in order to stay unhappy, inject unneeded pressure into your life by making demands that you cannot possibly live up to. Make appointments back-to-back and give yourself absolutely no tiem for reflection. When you fail, blame others. "You must continually create pressure in your life and feel that this pressure is caused by an outside force. In no way are you responsible." As to the "peaceful world" part, Friedman explains that if you can master being turly unhappy, you won't care about the state of the world any more.  --Humboldt Beacon, December 28,1997Some strive for total enlightenment. For others the goal is  wealth. Still others reach for wellness, weight loss, financial  assistance and psychological grounding through countless self-help  books that offer the promise of one's dreams in only a matter of pages.   But Gil Friedman has a different mission.  He has written a  definitive and aptly titled guide for everyone who wishes to be  miserable. It's easy, if you try.  Touted as a practical guidebook to  making and keeping  yourself completely unhappy. Friedman' book lives  up to its claim.  Throughout the book he teaches valuable skills that  will enable readers to transform their occasional thoughts of  depression and self-doubt into integral parts of a constant misery.  It's comedy.  Friedman begins the book on page 49. This is intended  to help readers overcome the first obstacle of every self-help book -  reading past the first chapter.  The table of contents reads as a  checklist of everything your mother warned you to not do, avoid or  change. Friedman spends a chapter on each of these topics.  Thirty  rules comprise his guidebook to total unhappiness, offering timeless  advice about ho to attain true unhappiness ranging from "Always compare  yourself to other," Rule 5, "Take everything  in life seriously," Rule  15; and "Focus on what's wrong in your life," Rule 1.    Each chapter  expounds upon these rules, offers real life examples and, in true  self-help book fashion, has exercises to practice that augment the  book's advice. . . .    Especially effective are the chapters that  describe situations that many readers are facing, Rule 7, " Get and  stay in debt - the more the better." Rule 22, "Procrastinate." Rule 26,  "Stay as far away from nature and you can" and Rule 24, "Eat a high-fat  diet - let thinks eat you."    Friedman has advice for how single folKs  may achieve total unhappiness.    "You must focus on all that is wrong  with your single state...then obsess about all the things that will  become right once you have found a partner. For real wretchedness  believe you are not lovable and deserve only to meet losers."    This  chapter's "couple" exercises include the following: "On small, separate  pieces of paper, write down all the traits that are wrong with your  "significant other." Place these notes in a cookie jar. Every morning  put out a thought. Throughout the day refer to your selection for the  day and remind yourself how truly irritating and frustrating this flaw  is."    The chapters are comical, and Friedman is an entertaining  writer, but he reading needs to be broken into weeks rather than taking  it all in one sitting. Even thought  you know it is intended to be  lightheaded, his advice works - I would begin to dwell on things that  the book triggered me to think about and did get depressed, but the  next paragraph would have me rolling with laughter.   The book is  effective and true to its title. Read only when emotionally stable and  rad for a mental rollercoaster ride. It is intriguingly fun. --The Lumberjack, March 15, 1997saddening, enlightening, funny. . . . I'm sure everyone will find something that they can relate to from their lives.   --North Coast Co-op September/October 2000