During my days in the recovery movement
I ran into a lot of people like Stuart Smalley, the ostensible author of Al Franken’s semi-parody of that same movement. Stuart Smalley is an indecisive spineless man with no sense of self-esteem. Supposedly a book of daily affirmations, it’s more a diary. And over the course of the year’s worth of entries, Stuart gets better and more in control of his life. Which is why I label it a semi-parody. My experience with these kinds of folks is that they never become decisive, confident people through repeating contradictory daily affirmations to themselves. In the end, it’s less a parody and more a caricature.
So while I don’t like the underlying message that the book gives about how to recover
it is funny! So read it for that. Everything from Stuart’s story of his dad trying to take a family picture but getting Stuart hit by a car at the moment of the picture to his friend Julia’s numerous breakups with the same man (and a couple with other men) to meeting his ex on a plane (the ex is a flight attendant) are all funny. Especially if you have spent much time with people like Stuart Smalley. You aren’t laughing with him. You are laughing at him.
Title: I’m good enough, i’m smart enough and doggone it, people like me!: daily affirmations with Stuart Smalley
Author: Al Franken
Imprint / publisher: Dell / Bantam Doubleday Dell
Format: Paperback
Length: 352 p.
Publication date: November 1992
ISBN-10: 0-440-50470-8
