• Everything Is F*cked

  • A Book About Hope
  • By: Mark Manson
  • Narrated by: Mark Manson
  • Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (8,369 ratings)

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Everything Is F*cked  By  cover art

Everything Is F*cked

By: Mark Manson
Narrated by: Mark Manson
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Publisher's summary

From the author of the international mega-best-seller The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck comes a counterintuitive guide to the problems of hope.

We live in an interesting time. Materially, everything is the best it’s ever been - we are freer, healthier, and wealthier than any people in human history. Yet, somehow everything seems to be irreparably and horribly f*cked - the planet is warming, governments are failing, economies are collapsing, and everyone is perpetually offended on Twitter. At this moment in history, when we have access to technology, education, and communication our ancestors couldn’t even dream of, so many of us come back to an overriding feeling of hopelessness.

What’s going on? If anyone can put a name to our current malaise and help fix it, it’s Mark Manson. In 2016, Manson published The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck, a book that brilliantly gave shape to the ever-present, low-level hum of anxiety that permeates modern living. He showed us that technology had made it too easy to care about the wrong things, that our culture had convinced us that the world owed us something when it didn’t - and worst of all, that our modern and maddening urge to always find happiness only served to make us unhappier. Instead, the “subtle art” of that title turned out to be a bold challenge: to choose your struggle; to narrow and focus and find the pain you want to sustain. The result was a book that became an international phenomenon, selling millions of copies worldwide while becoming the number-one best seller in 13 different countries.

Now, in Everthing Is F*cked, Manson turns his gaze from the inevitable flaws within each individual self to the endless calamities taking place in the world around us. Drawing from the pool of psychological research on these topics, as well as the timeless wisdom of philosophers such as Plato, Nietzsche, and Tom Waits, he dissects religion and politics and the uncomfortable ways they have come to resemble one another. He looks at our relationships with money, entertainment, and the internet, and how too much of a good thing can psychologically eat us alive. He openly defies our definitions of faith, happiness, freedom - and even of hope itself.

With his usual mix of erudition and where-the-f*ck-did-that-come-from humor, Manson takes us by the collar and challenges us to be more honest with ourselves and connected with the world in ways we probably haven’t considered before. It’s another counterintuitive romp through the pain in our hearts and the stress of our soul. One of the great modern writers has produced another book that will set the agenda for years to come.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Mark Manson (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Editorial Review

Stoicism and toughing it out are definitely thematic trends in self development these days, so it’s super refreshing to hear a pivotal writer in the genre advocate the importance of feelings—especially because Manson cleverly slips in the message beneath a veneer of cool, occasionally cuss-y apathy. His acerbic prose and in-your-face analogies belie the absolute necessity of emotional acknowledgement when it comes to motivation. Manson lays out a convincing case that emotions and logic serve specific roles in getting yourself to do what you want—and an over or underbalance of either is a surefire way to fall into the pits of hopelessness. Full of laughs and insightful parables, this is the perfect listen to gift to the feeling-averse (or highly illogical) friend in your life. —Sean T., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Everything Is F*cked

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Good content, bad delivery

The book is good. I simply cannot listen to Mark Manson’s narration. I was left longing for the narrator from his previous book. Just too monotone for my adhd brain to stick with it. I needed the engagement of an expressive voice. Couldn’t even make it halfway through.

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93 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I love Manson, but read his other books instead

I’ve been a huge Mark Manson fan for almost six years. When I first read “Models,” I was floored. A couple of years later, when he released “The Subtle Art…” I was also pretty blown away. I just love his writing style, personality, and humor; I find him to be extremely relatable and effective.

I actually first read this one, in print, the day it came out. My first pass through the book left me disappointed. All the same Manson trademarks (the humor, the swears, the seemingly strange references) were there, but the helpfulness and positivity were not. At the time, this book about hope seemed like anything but. As such, I was quite let down.

That was 18 or so months ago. As we all do, I’ve changed and learned some things in the last year and a half, so I was curious to go back and see if I now saw this book in a different light. I grabbed the audio version to move through it quicker. Unfortunately, after listening, I felt pretty much the same way I did the first time around. Here’s why.

Though the book is extremely well-written, well-paced, well-cited, and clever, it’s the definition of a bait and switch. Manson lures the reader in with a catchy title and suggests that, although the world seems fractured, hope will save us. If you get all the way to the end, however, you’ll find that that’s actually the complete opposite of his argument.

In fact, Manson’s true argument here is that hope is flawed and dangerous. It’s what led to all the war, struggle, and destruction over the course of human history. Moreover, he says that we should not hope, ever — we should instead just be better. This is where I think his argument collapses upon itself and loses me. Here’s what I mean by that.

We often say that money is the root of all evil. But money is just a tool. So is hope. Neither one has any inherent goodness or badness — it’s all in what we make of each one. When we use hope destructively, it can lead to cheating, corruption, and war. But when we use it in a positive fashion, it can lead to prosperity, togetherness, and inspiration.

This is where I think Manson gets it wrong. Rather than just saying, “Hey, hope can be bad, so watch out,” he casts it as all bad, which, in my mind, is incorrect. This leads to an overall, pervasive feeling of pessimism throughout the manuscript, in spite of some of his other solid arguments along the way.

That leads me to another thing I disliked about this book — that dark tone. Manson, in this book’s early pages, says that this is not a work based around nihilism. But after reading it twice, it’s clear that it is. Could a book that isn’t about nihilism really end by saying that we are nothing and never were anything? At least in my mind, I don’t think so.

Of course, as a huge Manson fan, the expectations were super high, and it can be tough to live up to those expectations. Regardless of that fact, however, I feel like Manson blew it with this one. It could’ve been SO good. He could’ve continued his “The Subtle Art…” success by offering people some form of peace and clarity here. Instead, however, he leaves the reader wondering what the heck to think and what in the world just happened.

So, in sum: if you like Manson’s style, you’ll still find parts of this one that you enjoy. After all, he’s clearly a very smart person and a great writer, and that shows here. But, on the whole, if you’re looking for a dash of positivity, even usefulness, as many of us found in his previous books, you won’t find it here. That said, I still highly recommend his other books instead.

Mark, if you’re somehow reading this, know that I still love your work, overall. Just, for the love of all things holy, please lighten things up a bit next time.

-Brian Sachetta
Author of “Get Out of Your Head”

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65 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

5 star Philosophical soft-porn for the masses.

Read and masterfully delivered by the author, Manson constructs an easily digestible accessible philosophical jaunt through clever interpretations of Nietzsche and Kant as well as the Stoics.

Manson's path begins with his scribbling - in tiny print - The Uncomfortable Truth (essentially, that no matter how much we distract ourselves, the human condition is meaningless) on coffee cups for unsuspecting chain store customers, leads through a step-by-step "As Seen On TV" tutorial to create your very own religion, inevitably brings the reader to a conclusion that it's not because everything is f#cked that we need hope rather it's hope that needs everything to be f#cked, then explains how Edward Bernays channeled this truth with his Uncle Sigmund's conclusions to manipulate and convince the masses of their #fakefreedom while creating what is now the modern advertising economy.

Manson finally suggests that, “Instead of looking for hope, try this. Don’t hope. Don’t despair, either. In fact, don’t deign to believe you know anything...Don’t hope for better, just be better. Be something better. Be more compassionate, more resilient, more humble, more disciplined...— be a better human.”

My Audible experience was as enjoyable as Manson's previous entry into the pantheon of anti self-help self-help books and i found myself LLOL'ing (legitimately LOL'ing) enough to consider this work, much like life, a dramedy.

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44 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

a string of ranty blog posts w/ a few good points

This isn't a "book" in my opinion. It's more of a collection of essays and ranty "blog posts" with maybe 1 or 2 academic-ish articles for HuffPo.

There are some parts of the 'book' that were well researched, provided excellent points and I thought to myself "oh wow" and "I'm going to have to read this again!!!" (30%) the rest was odd and didn't belong, despite Manson's best efforts to make it all fit. I feel like I read a string of ranty blog posts...

The writing also oscillates between deplorable to somewhat academic.

There are times where it reads like a polished, academic book (about 20%) but more often it is ranty blogging with slang like "Cray cray" and vulgar examples that Manson seems to slip in for shock value (except it doesn't work).

Manson is also a terrible narrator. His voice is bleh, but more alarming: he can't properly read his own writing--he can't deliver his own jokes and punchlines (!) It comes out awkward and unnatural-- making his "cray cray" and other slang even more distracting/weird.

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44 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Masterful writing, but stick to writing

The content and narrative of this book is fantastic! Just like it’s predecessor..... However, after listening to the Subtle Art, it just didn’t hold up from a performance standpoint. My only wish is that Mark Manson had chosen to let the same person narrate this version for him again, instead of doing it himself.

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39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator is lacking.

I enjoyed Subtle Art alot due to pacing, this narrator lacks the charm and character.

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

So disappointed!

I really liked his last book a lot. I was hoping this one would be as good. It is not even close! I couldn’t really decipher an actual point. It was just a lot of rambling, in my opinion. I really didn’t care for the narration either. The narrator for the last book was perfect.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A sequel with more meaning than it's big brother

Mark Manson hits the desperate desire in our current generation for hope and purpose. He grasps the current need for books that tell a story of hope in our society of what bleeds leads our news feeds.

This book preaches independence in a world where mob mentality and political correctness overshadow thought and reason.

Manson's dare to hope is an ode Martin Luter King Jr's I have a dream speech, but for the 21st century. "I hope that people are never treated as means but only as ends.....We imagined our own importance, we invented our purpose, we were and still are nothing, all along we were nothing, and maybe then, only then, will the eternal cycle of hope and destruction come to an end or:"

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Title misleading

I loved "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck", so I was excited for this one, thinking the title was hysterical ironic. Sadley, I felt that much of the book was nothing more than a giant rant on everything with no actual solution to propose. Just more cliche rants about every class of human and the expected domination by robots.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not as entertaining as the first

Not nearly as enjoyable as the first to listen to but was still worth the read. I guess being less entertaining is part of the point of the book in light of the topic of distraction.

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9 people found this helpful