The Self-Destruction Handbook – Review

bk-theselfdestruction200The Self-Destruction Handbook

8 Simple Steps To An Unhealthier You

By Adam Wasson and Jessica Stamen (Three Rivers Press)
By Sarah Katz

Who would’ve thought that a simple stick figure drawing could make you laugh out loud? Well, just look at the cover of The Self-Destruction Handbook and you’ll understand. If your sense of humor is sick, twisted, and extremely cynical, then go get this book right now and satisfy your demented desires. Complete with fun facts (“Smoky says: Eight percent of smokers die before the age of 75. Eighty percent of people over the age of 75 routinely say, “I wish I were dead.”), and inspiration corners (“Flesh melts, snow in spring, father’s furrowed brow, triumph”), this is a book full of laughs that’ll have people staring at you if you read this in a public place.

At first glance, I thought that this would be just another “humor” coffee table book, like the “worst case scenario” series that continues to sit on my bookshelf collecting dust. But oh how wrong I was! Just to give you a taste of how these two authors think, their bios contain the following quotes. Adam is “looking for: A small but vehement cult following.” And Jessica is “looking for: A man.” The three chapters that I laughed at the most were “12 steps to a drinking ‘problem,'” “Why smoking is cool,” and “How to lose too much weight in 90 days.” The most cynical piece of literature I’ve seen in a while.
(www.crownpublishing.com)