Unfuck Your Adulting

by Faith G. Harper

Making maturity fun again!

Dr. Faith explains the fundamentals of adulting in this expanded version of her mini pocket zine.

Spoiler: None of the requirements are about having certain jobs, kids, possessions, and debts or being totally bored and stressed out and hating your life. It's hard work to do adulty stuff well but the kind of work that's satisfying because it's about being good to yourself and other people and building a life that you're okay with waking up to every day. Keep these hot tips around for when you're making big decisions, dealing with difficult situations, or to give to a friend or kid who's making any kind of big life transition. The truth is, adulting is way more fun than kidding. You got this!

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Psychology, Personal Development, Mental Health, Personal Growth

128 pages, Paperback

Published November 13, 2018

About the author

Faith G. Harper, PhD, LPC-S, ACS, ACN is a bad-ass, funny lady with a PhD. She’s a licensed professional counselor, board supervisor, certified sexologist, and applied clinical nutritionist with a private practice and consulting business in San Antonio, TX. She has been an adjunct professor and a TEDx presenter, and proudly identifies as a woman of color and uppity intersectional feminist. She is the author of the book Unf*ck Your Brain and many other popular zines and books on subjects such as anxiety, depression, and grief. She is available as a public speaker and for corporate and clinical trainings.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really struggled with her writing style and voice. I found it really distracting, and it made her seem like she was trying too hard to sound relatable. She didn’t say anything that was ground-breaking, and a lot of it was rather cliche.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick pick me up! I’d recommend the audiobook if you need a boost in motivation while doing whatever it is you do.

[Chinook · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s short, sweet and it’s nice, for once, to hear things in ways similar to the way I’d say them myself.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

This book should-be required reading. Seriously. Please read this book. We would all be better humans. With very simple advice, Dr. Faith Harper is a bona fide badass. A mental health badass. She is a licensed professional counselor in Texas and is known for writing 5 Minute Therapy Zines. “Unf#ck Your Adulting” I first bought as a zine in the magical Powell’s Books in Portland, OR. I have loaned the zine to many, many people, as Dr. Faith spells it out simply and effectively. For instance, “Carry your own baggage.” Right?! No one is your bellhop! Now expanded (yet still pocket -size and a quick, easy read!) into a book, I can’t stop raving about the genius of Dr. Faith.
-Lisanne E.

[Angela Blount · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really quick read. Not quite as practical as I was hoping for.
Plenty of adult language--as the title does suggest. I was hoping for this to be relatable, but it just came off as trying too hard to appeal to a pretty narrow audience. Subjects are only superficially touched upon.

[Chantelle Melia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually really helpful, and also provides some good tips to help you out!

[K.B. Krissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. It’s revolutionary in allowing women to be apart of today’s social climate, comfortably. Harper’s language of both psychological terminology and urban colloquialisms were right on point. I believe this book to be honest, thoughtful and extremely useful. I would recommend Unfuck Your Adulting, self-help novella to 30-something-people. It’s great life advice.

[Nada | ندى · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful

[sanne]

stuck between an 'it was ok' and an 'i liked it'. this book is alright, it gives very practical, to-the-point life advice written in a way that is understandable to everyone. however, i've been reading a lot of books like this recently, so it feels very repetitive. i'm not a huge fan of the writing style; words like 'dawg' and 'your boo' just aren't for me and it takes me out of what i'm reading. other than that, it was okay. 2.5/5

[Rasa Kviese · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are all just pretending and moving forward with what we have. Take responsibility for your actions, know that you are in charge of your life and that taking care of yourself internally and externally helps everyone around you. And don't be a dick.

[Mioree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate or review. Nothing new here, but nice to hear again. I lose track even of things i know too well in the day to day shuffle of priorities.

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very small and pleasant read. I love the author’s sarcasm and sense of humor. Kind of learned a lot. She teaches you techniques to unfuck yourself and your mind and the way you think.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instructions for being a human! Really short book so it just touches on each topic but it gives a good overview of stuff that would come up from therapy or longer books.

[Hannah Heacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple truths

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. I mean, there's nothing earth-shattering here, no new advice. But I enjoyed the presentation. And I'm now curious enough to look for the author's other books.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I typically turn to Harper for concise, evidence-rooted advice delivered in bite-sized bits. Since I came to this book expecting that from her again, I suppose my disappointment with this book came as a result of type casting her in my head. This book was not really evidence based, and more a worldview delivered from her point of view.

I personally feel evidence based worldviews are more important than ever, because compelling thought leadership is, well, leading us in very wonky directions these days. That being said, if you turn to this book knowing in advance it is more a summary of her personal worldview, you can of course still get some interesting perspective out of it.

[Dakoda Rayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, the only self help type book I've ever read that time actually enjoyed. Dr Harper writes in such a way you feel like you are getting a pep talk from a close friend.

Warm but definitely on point in helping someone realize how to make navigating adult life easier, I recommend this book as a first step to anyone looking to straighten themselves out.

[Kelly Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I enjoy being able to get bite sized advice in one to two pages, and succinct chapters that I can easily skip to when I want to revisit certain chapters, something about some of this book felt like the advice was either being forced or was being regurgitated from other blog and meme posts. I know that the author is a therapist, so she's definitely the right person to write something like this, and I *did* find value in the book over all, but there was chapters that I either found myself cringing at the wording, or parts where I was just checking to see how much of the book was left so I could just finish it already. It was just a bit clunky and not as cohesive and enjoyable to read as some books like this, such as How to Keep House When Your Drowning, which is a very similar structure and concept.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

There wasn't really any new information in this book but it was a good (and entertaining) refresher on adulting just about everyone could stand to read. The very casual language made it seem like you were talking to a close friend (who likes the f word) instead of a mental health professional. And, sometimes, you just need someone to remind you of these things.

[Alexis Barrera oranday]

Venía incluido en audible y me ganchó el título.
Todo está correcto, son consejos de sentido común para ser un buen adulto funcional.
Al final parece que divaga mucho. Está escrito con buen humor, es agradable.
Bueno si no tienes más que oír.

[Genevieve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick and to the point but as another reviewer had said, the author seems to be trying too hard to “be down with the kids” and using weird language like “prolly” and FFS in places where it didn’t seem necessary. Also the messages were “been there, heard that already” so it’s not entirely an original book either. But it acts as a good reminder anyway

[Jodi Chaffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book a little apprehensive of the tone and language. Yes, there is gratuitous swearing, and it doesn’t really enhance the message that much, but it made her tone playful. That playfulness helped lend to the message that we take ourselves way too seriously, and we can learn to relax now that we’re adults. It was a quick list of sensible advice to take better care of ourselves and stop overreacting or over complicating things, with some cognitive behavioral therapy tools mixed it. It’s a book about being present and intentional about our own lives, and taking responsibility. If you prefer something with less profanity, read Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Positive Thinking instead, but you should give this book a chance, too.

[Moon Captain · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok I guess. I didn't really get much out of it. Maybe that's a good sign.

It did cause me to pause and consider what people think when I talk about my feelings. I didn't know talking about feelings was bad. Like I guess we all just go around bursting with emotion but lie and say "I'm fine how are you?"

If that's what adulting is then count me out I guess. Life is confusing enough without having no access to the internal landscapes that accompany every moment of our lives or whatever.

To be an adult I guess one must stop feeling, loving, making art

[Jessica Looman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so I wont lie. I'm reading these because they're small and nice on my book goal for the year. That being said, this was awesome.

For real. Someone should probably play this on a loud speaker for the world to hear right now. It's not rocket science but it's good reminders about boundaries and how the basics could really be the missing link to why your life is always under turmoil.

So, if you have a little over an hour and feel like knocking one off your list and hear someone speak some logic? Perhaps give you a small slap in the face you need? I recommend.

[Alanna-Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all of Dr. Faith’s work, this audiobook is easy to follow, written in relatable language (unless you strongly dislike swearing), is backed by much research and is absolutely inclusive. On top of her accolades and long career, she is also a Mom of kids who are just reaching adulthood. Each section is super short and to the point - and most are vast, varied derivatives if “don’t be a dick”. Many contain real-life examples to further clarify. I heartily recommend this book to adults of all ages.

The audiobook is read fabulously by the author.

[Cristela T · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is nothing truly groundbreaking about this book but I liked it. I feel like it has good tips that we can all apply to our lives. Sure, maybe we already knew the things she's saying but it's good to get a reminder every now and then. I liked her style as well, even if she was trying so hard to be relatable that was a bit annoying at times. But overall, this was a super quick, super easy book that I would recommend.

[meow meow · Rating 2 out of 5]

The language is worse than I can bear, at least in a book.. maybe this was clear from the title, but still I didn’t except it to be as that..

Oh the title, sorry what was it about again?.. yeah, Adulting! It turned out to be a bunch of life-advices things.. a lot of which whom I don’t totally agree with; nevertheless, there were good ones.

Anyway, appreciated gift Ahmed Ali ❤️

[Saleena Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice, short read. It was the perfect length for what the purpose of this book was for. The author said just what she needed to say, short and to the point. This is a nice pick-me-up when you’re feeling discouraged, or when you feel like your crashing and burning. Good read. It’s a nice book to read again when you want to feel good. I know I probably will.

[Kayley Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content -  The content focuses on to the point life advice, nothing new or exciting discussed however it was a fun short listen on common sense life rules.

Audio Quality - Good, listened via audible.

Overall -  Was a good listen, simple to follow along with.

Recommendation - . Recommend to anyone wanting a fun listen, that goes over how not to be a dick at life.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things we probably already know (or should), helpfully presented in a digestible list. Sometimes we need someone else reminding us how to be a functioning adult, especially when we have a few brain roaches around. [Audiobook]