Everything Is F*cked

A Book About Hope

By: Mark Manson

Narrated by: Mark Manson

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

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

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”

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.

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.

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.

Creative but Lacks in Thought

TLDR: This book is thought provoking and creative, with very good final chapters on happiness and suffering. Manson brings up well researched examples, philosophers, and studies. At the same time that also made the book read like a foul mouthed book report at times.
Overall though, the book presents such basic arguments about heavy topics, like religion, science, without the nuance needed.

As far as religion goes, the book doesn’t make the distinction between theological religious truths and cultural influences/corruption on religious practices. If a religious leader shames you for asking questions about religion, that’s not right. But that’s not evidence that the religion itself is faulty. True believers welcome questions.

There are also many qualities about religion that he mentioned, which are true: religion can be a source of hope, religion can provide relief from the “uncomfortable truth” (existential nothingness I’m assuming). But that doesn’t mean that religion is pacifying us or ignoring these issues.

As far as science goes, he makes it seem like science improved the world and created progress, whereas religion left people stuck. Science did improve many things in the world. But science, evidence, and empirical truths are not the whole picture. It’s not like science is at odds with religion. Plus the book totally ignores that yes while there was a lull in intellectual life in Europe during the Middle Ages, Islamic society was thriving intellectually in mathematics, science, and medicine. Islam even encourages the pursuit of knowledge…

Last example/rant, the book makes this basic insinuation that the world used to be terrible but now it’s not, but we’re still gonna be dissatisfied. I get the truth in this, but he points out modern examples of the “blue dot effect” such as political extremists (right and left). But he doesn’t differentiate the extreme from legitimate social justice movements. Yes as humans we will always be at a level “7” happiness, and yes as humans, pain is constant. But injustice is still never acceptable. Injustice is not simply pain, but it is a perversion of natural law.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

Narrator is lacking.

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

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.

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.

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.

NOT a Self Help Book

In retrospect, I feel like an idiot for thinking this was a self help book. How could a book called "Everything is Fucked" be a self help book? It's the opposite of a self help book, and if you're already depressed thinking this IS a self help book, you've made a terrible choice. Granted, some of the philosophy discussed went way over my head .I feel like maybe that's how I would characterize this book, a depressing look at human existence and philosophy. Only now, I am reminded that my life won't really matter. And I feel stupid for believing in what I believe. Get the summary guide first if you have questions about whether or not this book is for you.

60 mins of actionable ideas in a 7 hour wrapper

Manson is fun to listen to, but it just doesn't feel like there is enough depth of content to truly challenge your perspective.

Maybe it's just that he's preaching to the choir, and that if you want to read this book, you won't get as much out of it as someone who doesn't want to.

Didn't enjoy it at all

I loved the first book, it really touched me and I listened to it twice. This was nothing in comparison, for me. I was hoping for something along the same lines but was really disappointed.

Rushed undergraduate thesis constructed from blogs

This book is like the result of someone rushing to meet an undergraduate thesis deadline on a subject they know very little about. There’s no real structure or message, and the ideas presented lack depth of thought or analysis. It’s as though the author picked his favorite 20 unrelated publications and then condensed a few points from each one in to a single book. I think Manson was attempting to produce his own version of Sapiens by Yuval Harari but without the intellectual standing or knowledge to deliver.

Although I thought the Authors other work: “The Subtle Art of not giving a f*ck” was entertaining enough and worth a listen for the ‘millennial generation’, I’m sorry to say I don’t recommend this one at all. It’s not the worst book I’ve come across, but compared to his last work, I felt the author was trying too hard to be funny while the narration was mono-tone, badly paced and just plain boring.

Rather than hitting that pre-midlife crisis market, this one is more for the spoilt 14 year old who feels unloved because mummy and daddy got a divorce. I found most of the book was totally disengaging, especially the ‘how to start a religion’ section, as a non-religious person even I found this to be just unfunny rambling bluster (quite a few of Mansons 'jokes' have been circulating for some time...)

From what I can make out, the core of the book is that humans react because we have feelings, while also having a logical brain. No sh*t! This level of obviousness along with a general naivety was present throughout. For example, extremist thought is highlighted in the book to have many proposed factors and drivers, however the author quickly dismisses these and proceeds to reduce not being able to reason with extremists down to the absence of a powerful parent and therefore they are just being childish. Simple! All the world’s problems can be solved if only everyone read this book ….

He shouldn't have read it himself

Now I know how important narrator is. The previous book was not only better because of the story but also had an excellent narrator. Mark why did you read it yourself :( man?! Really dissapointed about the story too. It just doest clear what it is trying to say.

Cop out

Very disapointed endless historic stories then rambling about AI WHY? Not impressedeo feel conned and it was a cop out to the required subject matter!

This book is f*ucked

A bit of a misguided effort to make an unclear point. Totally unlike any of Mark Mansons other content or previous book. Bit disappointed.

not as expected,not at all engaging.

It's not engaging needs more substance. not as powerful as title says it's fucked book

Boring and full of negativity

Boring, monotone narration, with the content of the book just mind numbingly dull. Save yourself seven hours listening to this, and do something positive instead.

Not quite the subtle art....

‘The subtle art of not giving a f*ck’ was a great book. This..... not so much.

The book lacked a why?

Didn’t really get the point of the book, like how it’s going to help anyone, was an ok listen but I’ve left not really understanding the point of it. Mark as always thou very funny and witty.