Practically Perfect in Every Way: My Misadventures Through the World of Self-Help--and Back

by Jennifer Niesslein

From Dr. Phil to the Fly Lady??A level-headed, laugh-out-loud tour of the loopy world of self-help.?( Ann Crittenden, author of The Price of Motherhood and If You?ve Raised Kids, You Can Manage Anything) Jennifer Niesslein has an okay life. But, dogged by a sense of dissatisfaction and a yearning for something she can?t quite name, she embarks on a two-year experiment, taking all manner of self-help advice? from housecleaning to marital to spiritual?in an effort to become a better, happier person. What Niesslein learns is that the road to self-help Nirvana is fraught with peril. She also discovers that there is such a thing as the good life?it?s just a question of how perfect you have to be to get it.

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 17, 2007

About the author

I'm the founder and editor of Full Grown People, a web magazine of essays about adulthood—the other awkward age.

I'm also the author of Practically Perfect in Every Way and the co-founder of Brain, Child magazine.

Reviews

[Carole Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although some references were dated - the book was published in 2007 - the story rang in my New Year with laughter, honesty, and an appreciation for Niesslein's craft. In order to improve her life - house, finances, marriage, parenting, social relationships, health, and spirituality, the author follows advice from those supposedly in the know, with some surprising results. My take-away: self-help doesn't necessarily lead to change but can offer self-knowledge, which for me was worth the journey.