How to Be Fine

What We Learned by Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books

By: Jolenta Greenberg, Kristen Meinzer

Narrated by: Jolenta Greenberg, Kristen Meinzer

A humorous and insightful look into what advice works, what doesn’t, and what it means to transform yourself, by the co-hosts of the popular By the Book podcast.

In each episode of their podcast By the Book, Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer take a deep dive into a different self-help book, following its specific instructions, rules, and advice to the letter. From diet and productivity to decorating to social interactions, they try it all, record themselves along the way, then share what they’ve learned with their devoted and growing audience of fans who tune in.

Before they began their podcast, Jolenta wanted to believe the promises of self-help books, while Kristen was very much the skeptic. They embraced their differences of opinion, hoping they’d be good for laughs and downloads. But in the years since launching the By the Book, they’ve come to realize their show is about much more than humor. In fact, reading and following each book’s advice has actually changed and improved their lives. Thanks to the show, Kristen penned the Amish romance novel she’d always joked about writing, traveled back to her past lives, and she broached some difficult conversations with her husband about their marriage. Jolenta finally memorized her husband’s phone number, began tracking her finances, and fell in love with cutting clutter.

In How to Be Fine, Jolenta and Kristen synthesize the lessons and insights they’ve learned and share their experiences with everyone. How to Be Fine is a thoughtful look at the books and practices that have worked, real talk on those that didn’t, and a list of philosophies they want to see explored in-depth. The topics they cover include:

Getting off your device
Engaging in positive self-talk
Downsizing
Admitting you're a liar
Meditation
Going outside
Getting in touch with your emotions
Seeing a therapist

Part memoir, part prescriptive handbook, this honest, funny, and heartfelt guide is like a warm soul-baring conversation with your closest and smartest friends.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Spot On

This sum up of an awesome podcast is SPOT ON. You are the author of you, and self-help books have good ideas for you...or not. Nobody knows you like...you.

This just saved me

This just saved me a lot on self help books. Kinda like a cliff notes version of the books. I really enjoyed the reading.

I confess, I am a self help book junkie …

What a great approach to “self help” tips from two, very thoughtful and entertaining strong women. It was refreshing to hear their experiences and stories implementing & calling BS on several instructions or tips provided by many of the books I have personally read & struggled to follow to improve myself. Bravo to Jolenta & Kristen for writing a book that really helped me put things into perspective - I highly recommend this book for anyone who struggles with the “self help addition” like me.

Keeping it Real!

Absolutely on point! Loved it so much! Thoroughly enjoyed it! So Me‼️ its great to confirm... Im simply... ME! Thank You!

some good insights, sort of preachy

I appreciated the hard work the authors put into this book, and the incredible amount of sharing personal information they were willing to do. That takes guts, for sure. Regarding the content, I didn't find I got as much out of this book as I do from actually reading self-help books themselves. This is kind of like a cliff notes of a cliff notes of 50 self-help books. The authors only lived each book for two weeks each, which I don't think was nearly enough time for them to absorb and really live the intention behind these books. Something like the 4-Hour Workweek takes months if not years to internalize and live. I could tell because I have read many of the books they discussed here, and I would often find them asking questions in this book that were directly answered in the books they were discussing. Trying to do each book in two weeks I feel leads one to have a shallow understanding and appreciation for what each of these books has to offer. But I think the thing that bothered me the most about this book was the sometimes overly preachy tone of the authors. I really appreciate their passion for the political topics they stand for. I definitely agree with them on everything they brought up. But the way in which they presented the material made the book sometimes harder to listen to. I am glad they are spreading awareness about these issues, I just wish they could find a less abrasive way to do it. Readers would both be more receptive to what they're saying about the political content and it would not distract from the self-help aspect of the book.