When You Need a Lift Lib/E: But Don't Want to Eat Chocolate, Pay a Shrink, or Drink a Bottle of Gin

by Joy Behar

Life is full of ups and downs. And while keeping your chin up may hide a double chin, it won’t improve your mood. Looking on the bright side will make you squint, which will lead to crow’s feet, and there is nothing cheerful about crow’s feet. Listen, if you’re feeling down, it’s going to take a lot more to set things right than insipid platitudes about a cloud with a silver lining. (What is that anyway? Acid rain, or what?) In When You Need a Lift , comedienne Joy Behar and a host of her friends share the simple, silly, profound, and personal things they turn to for comfort when life gets hard. For Joy, it’s her sense of humor and handbags. Not surprisingly, music legend Burt Bacharach turns to songwriting and performing. Kaye Ballard indulges with a big bowl of pasta. Beau Bridges counts his blessings. Former First Lady Barbara Bush finds solace in the work of Jane Austen. Tony Danza plays the ukulele. Larry King recommends laughter—tell a joke, read a funny book; every time you laugh, a little sadness slips away. And that’s some advice you can actually use.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar (née Occhiuto) is an American comedian, writer, actress and co-host of the talk show The View.

Reviews

[Shellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Checked this out but did not read it. All it is is a lot of quotes from other people she has collected. It would be good to be able to pull this from your shelf if you need a lift, but even at that the few I pages I did read were dull.

[Myla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great idea if you're famous--get lots of other semi-famous people to write some things and put it into a book. Lots of names I didn't recognize, but really I was just bored of the same thing over and over again.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think Joy Behar is just cashing in on her 10 minutes...She is smart and funny but this book is neither, just a collection of "famous" people's ideas of how to beat depression. Very lame

[Mark Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horribly produced audiobook - Joy is not too busy to read her own book. Not that clever and not that funny. I do LOVE Joy, but I have to be honest about her book.

[NTE · Rating 2 out of 5]

Individual (mostly celebrity) pieces on what do do when you're "down in the dumps": A couple of them were kind of cute, a few others had something I hadn't heard before ("I left living in a syntax of "because" (because I'm too old, I have cancer, of what my father did, I'm shy, etc/) and switched to a syntax of "so that" (I do this... so that my intention is put forward)." Patch Adams), but mostly the same old stuff you've heard a million times before about doing good for others and getting out of your head and exercising. All of which sounds like a good idea, sure, but maybe I mope differently than other people, because helping others requires I put on real clothes, exercising would surely kill me, and my head is like a labyrinth - there is only deeper and deeper: no exits.

As a matter of fact the only other piece of advice that I marked, aside from the above bit from Patch Adams, was from actor Marty Ingels , who IMDB tells me was once the voice of Pac Man in the cartoon, who talks about how "For most of the truly creative spirits I know, "down in the dumps" is where they live, where they were born, where they spend most of their time, what they wake up to, fall asleep to, dream about, and have, more or less, adjusted to absolute agonizing perfection." That sounds more realistic to me. (His advice, by the way, is that they find "respites of peace" in their work "the very thing that drives most mainstreamers down there into the doldrums." And it seems true to me, that some people find their joy in their work, and their misery out of it.)

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering what I have seen of Joy Behar I thought this might be a funny, slightly snarky take on what to do when you need a lift. Turns out it is a collection of people(actors, writer, doctors, producers, comedians etc.) who contributed what they do when depressed or just need a lift. Sometimes the contributions are short and sweet, sometimes longer stories. The advice ranges from the predictable comfort foods, keeping busy with favorite activities to the general rule to remember that somewhere someone always has it worse than you. The only bad advice I found was from Jeb Bush....just don't let yourself get down. If it were that easy everyone would do it. It was a good thing to listen to as I worked but not something I would want to read from cover to cover. As a book it would be good to keep on your nightstand for times when you are down in the dumps.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Subtitled: "But Don't Want to Eat Chocolate, Pay a Shrink, or Drink a Bottle of Gin."

Comedienne and cohost of ABC's "The View," Joy Behar compiled personal advice solicited from more than 100 of her celebrity friends. Alphabetically ordered, by last name, the very first entry by Patch Adams spoke to my heart. He describes leaving the syntax of living in "because," as offering an excuse not to and moving into a life of "so that." In other words, transforming "I don't exercise because it's a pain" into "I exercise because it's good for my body."

While there are many obvious tips and some that are a bit trite, this is a quick read containing at least one new idea you haven't tried and producing many smile-inducing moments.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is actually a compilation of quotes by famous people -- not what I expected at all.

It's a positive idea to offer solutions to beating the winter-time blues, but honestly, it's hard to take their advice seriously. They're rich and famous, so the things they do to "get a lift" are hardly attainable for us little people:)

Jerry Stiller talked about how hearing an audience's laughter gives him a great lift. For me, if I heard a crowd of people laughing at me, I'd wonder what I had attached to my back or if my pantyhose were tucked into my skirt. Henry Winkler suggests going fly-fishing in Montana. Yes, that's a wonderful idea, I'll do that this weekend.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a collection of tips from some famous and semi-famous folks about strategies for getting out of the 'dumps'. There were about 5 or 6 key strategies shared by most of the people quoted. Those strategies were, exercise, talk to a friend, do something creative, review the things you're grateful for, and volunteer to help someone less fortunate than you.

There were some funny or insightful strategies that said more about the person than about beating depression. Who knew that Henry Winkler like to trout fish in Montana?

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, lots of good ideas. I do however, half suspect that the people whose advice is featured - being famous and probably very stressed - rely more on drugs and alcohol than anyone would admit. Still, they are probably positive thinking people to begin with and have access to lots of support so there are lots of gems in this little book.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Ms. Behar on "The View" and couldn't resist picking up this book when I noticed it's organized alphabetically. It includes quotes and/or short essays by or about a whole variety of celebrities.

[Lynsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Joy, but this is a vanity puff piece. It should be called Chicken soup for the soul. None of it is by her. Some of it is inspiring, but the title is very misleading saying it's by her. It's a compilation of somewhat famous people's pep talks.

[Kirrilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and funny.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the advice was simple, yet things I tend to forget about that really do help you feel better.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute concept for a book - just one that I am not in the market for right now . I've decided to lay it back down and maybe I'll pick it up at another time .

[Michael Rivera]

I can't decide whether to start this one or "Go Fug Yourself" - it'll probably be Fug. I like Joy and all, but I'm not really feeling the mood to read her at the moment.

[Mom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would have been funnier if she had written the whole thing herself.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of mostly short articles about how these famous people beat the blues. An easy read, but I didn’t really learn anything new.

[Anne Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s great to see how different people get out of blue moods. A really great book

[Gato Negro · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very quick read. She has a self deprecating style that I found funny. I gave it 2 stars, not because I didn't like it, but because it was just "okay".

[Nicki Kendall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting it to be. I loved Joy on The View and was hoping this book would be as sassy, snarky and funny as she is. Instead its a collection of tips on how celebrities make themselves smile again when feeling down. Not a bad read just not what I was expecting. #goodreads #bookqueen #litsy #tea_sipping_bookworm #amazon

[Susan B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audio book. I was disappointed it was not more writing by her. I was expecting her humor.