Book Review: “Life and How to Survive It” By Robin Skynner and John Cleese
Finally, I found a book that would be of help to people with depression. Well, I’m cheating a little when I write that — I read this book when I was homeless in England, and I’ve rediscovered Life and How to Survive It this January. Although published in 1993, the information still holds true today.
Yes — THAT John Cleese
The book is a sequel to the best-seller Families and How to Survive Them (1984), but it’s not necessary to read that book in order to understand this book. But it is a good idea to be familiar with who John Cleese is and what the stereotype of the British stiff upper-and-lower-lip is in order to grasp some of the ideas and the humor.
The other partner in crime is psychologist and psychotherapist Robin Skynner (who, sadly, passed away in 2000). Suffice it to say that he was a very intelligent man who listened to his patients and was open to ideas. He was also John Cleese’s therapist for many years.
The Set Up
The book is set up like a conversation written in script form that lasts for over 400 pages. (Well, the English do like to talk). This can be off putting, because there’s not a lot of white space to be easy on the eyes and makes organiazing ideas a little difficult to go back and find. There are many summaries per chapter, though.
There are also a lot of really good cartoons by Bud Handelsman, but you generally have to read the text around it in order to get the cartoon’s gist. They do help to break up the monotony of the page format.
Summary
Although the book is long, heavy and not very funny, there are a lot of ideas presented which can help people with depression see themselves, love and life in a better perspective.
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