For years Journalist Marianne Power lined her bookshelves with dog-eared copies of definitive guides on how to live ones best life, dipping in and out of self-help books when she needed them most. Then, one day, she woke up to find that the life she hoped for and the life she was living were worlds apart, and she set out to make some big changes. Marianne decided to finally find out if her elusive 'perfect existence,' the one without debt, anxiety, or hangover Netflix marathons, the one where she healthily bounced around town and met the cashmere-sweater-wearing man of her dreams really did lie in the pages of the best known and acclaimed self-help books. She vowed to test a book a month for one year, following its advice to the letter, taking what she hoped would be the surest path to a flawless new her. But as the months passed and Marianne's reality was turned upside down, she found herself confronted with a new question: Self-help can change her life, but is it for the better?

For years Power dipped in and out of self-help books when she needed them most. One day, she accepted that the life she hoped for and the life she was living were worlds apart-- and she set out to make some big changes. Did her elusive "perfect existence" really did lie in the pages of our best known and acclaimed self help books? She tested a book a month for one year, following its advice to the letter, taking what she hoped would be the surest path to a flawless new her. -- adapted from book jacket.

For years Journalist Marianne Power lined her bookshelves with dog-eared copies of definitive guides on how to live your best life, dipping in and out of self-help books when she needed them most. Then, one day, she woke up to find that the life she hoped for and the life she was living were worlds apart--and she set out to make some big changes. Marianne decided to finally find out if her elusive "perfect existence"--the one without debt, anxiety, or hangover Netflix marathons, the one where she healthily bounced around town and met the cashmere-sweater-wearing man of her dreams--really did lie in the pages of our best known and acclaimed self help books. She vowed to test a book a month for one year, following its advice to the letter, taking what she hoped would be the surest path to a flawless new her. But as the months passed and Marianne's reality was turned upside down, she found herself confronted with a different question: Self-help can change your life, but is it for the bett