Bright-sided

How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America

By: Barbara Ehrenreich

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright-sided is a sharp-witted knockdown of America's love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realism

Americans are a "positive" people—cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity.

In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to "prosper" you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of "positive psychology" and the "science of happiness." Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes—like mortgage defaults—contributed directly to the current economic crisis.

With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America's penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out "negative" thoughts. On a national level, it's brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best—poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage.

©2009 Barbara Ehrenreich (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Kate Reading handles her latest refreshingly askance look at like in America with a nuanced, meticulous narration that ensures listeners will miss none of Ehrenreich's acerbic humor or commonsense look at our penchant for delusion...Reading's skillful performance makes it all a positive pleasure to take in.” —AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner

“Gleefully pops the positive-thinking bubble. . . Amazingly, she'll make you laugh, albeit ruefully, as she presents how society's relentless focus on being upbeat has eroded our ability to ask--and heed--the kind of uncomfortable questions that could have fended off economic disaster.” —FastCompany.com

“Ehrenreich's examination of the history of positive thinking is a tour de force of well-tempered snark, culminating in a persuasive indictment of the bright-siders as the culprits in our current financial mess.” —The Washington Post

Thank goodness!

Any additional comments?

I stumbled on this in the midst of some really trying circumstances in my life where everyone kept telling me I just had to "stay positive" and employ what I have now adopted as referring to as "magical thinking" (aka "The Secret") to make things work out. Although I am a firm believer that kvetching about something often doesn't help to achieve anything positive, I also think everyone trying convince themselves and others that crappy situations have someone been caused by their "bad" thinking is oppressive and wrong. Thank you, Ms. Ehrenreich, for informing us about the history of this movement in America and being brave enough to keep a critical mind when doing so gets you lambasted for being an "eeyore".

Worthwhile

Although unfortunately negative in that the book is critical, the thesis is right on the money. Honest, critical thinking, ... yes, even negative thinking, is the yang without which the positive ying cannot exist. The author intelligently identifies a trend toward suppressing critical, honest thinking which cannot ultimately benefit anyone.

Remarkable Foresight on the Happiness Industry

“Bright-Sided” was written shortly after the beginning of the Great Recession of 2008, yet it serves as an epitaph for the recently departed Trump administration as well.

Relentless, unsubstantiated optimism has brought down countless businesses and governments. Barbara Erenreich takes the reader through the history of the “happiness” movement, beginning with her own experiences as a cancer survivor. She then zeroes in on corporate training programs in which the goals appear to be to create chaos, pursue pointless change, downsize the workforce, reward top managers, and ultimately destroy the company. The sizable role of modern evangelical religion is explored, with its “prosperity gospel” and equation of material wealth with spiritual righteousness. Erenreich explores the role classic self-help literature like “The Power of Positive Thinking” has in convincing have-nots that only a sour outlook separates them from millionaires.

Certainly the relentless happy talk from the now-departed Trump advisors concerning the pandemic and its devastating effects on our economy and public health had its roots in the approaches described in this well-written and still timely book. It’s a great read that will set you thinking the next time some Pollyanna tells you losing your job doesn’t close a door—it opens a window.

rolled out in a methodical and realistic manner

it was thought provoking and put into words and contexts ideas and feelings that had been floating around in my head for years and gave them names, titles, context and explanations. Worth a read

Grounded and well-researched

Ehrenreich offers us a refreshingly critical look at the positive thinking movement in America. She traces the movement back to it’s religious origins and analyzes how the movement impacted the 2008 financial crisis and other major events.

An important read for anyone in the world of coaching, education and personal development!

Success by been positive

I wish I can ask Barbara Ehrenreich her opinion about the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill about one of the 13 keys of success "Positive mental attitude"

Not so great

I hesitate to give a bad opinion of this book.
Her book, "Nickel and Dimed" was great in my opinion, but she's gone down hill since.
With each new book, she sounds less like an objective observer and commentator (as in Nickel and Dimed) and sounds increasingly like a bitter conservative radio talk show host. I couldn't help but to visualize a constant condescending sneer on her face with each new paragraph. Not sure, it actually could have been the selection of narrator on this project that made it hard to listen too or take very seriously.
As much as I would love to recommend this one, I can't do it. I can get this kind of gratuitous negative commentary for free during drive time.

Honestly

Pretty boring and dry narrator.. tried to get into it but it was literally putting me to sleep

Not what the title says it is

In her eager to spread her dislike of positive thinking, the author doesn't follow her own advice to "look at the world the way it is". As "typical positive thinkers" she takes extremists in the religion and among motivational speakers who have found a way to make big money of the human weakness of hunger for money without effort.
The title of the book is misleading, because what she mostly writes about is "The Law of Attraction", the belief held by some that money and success comes from pure wishing. And to make the conclusion that the financial crisis and the fall of Lehmann Brothers was caused by positive thinking seems to me a mix-up of positive thinking with the human weakness called greed.
To talk about "see the world as it is" I find a bit presumptuos. Is there any "the world as it is"? Doesn't that depend on if you are an american or an african? Or if you ask a christian or a muslim?
I expected more of this book, and even if the author spent a lot of time trying to find historical evidence about the consequences of positive thinking, it was too evident that the purpose was only to support her own purpose of miscrediting positiveness in society.
If criticizing a phenomenon like positive thinking, an alternative way of thinking or acting is expected. Nothing of that came out as a result of this book.

Endless, pointless

Satirical.hypercritical assault on positive thinking, optimism and capitalism without offering an alternative, perhaps the Author would be happier in a quasi-communistic, “glass halve empty” society; thanks but no thanks. Don’t waste your time or money.