Relentless optimism is bad for you, concludes veteran social observer Barbara Ehrenreich. Not just bad for individuals, but for employees, companies, the economy and theology. After surviving the horrors of breast cancer treatment, and the far more draining trauma of the, "cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me!" cheerleaders, Ehrenreich is fed up. Get real, she says. Poverty, illness,and injustice exist; they can't be wished away by positive thinking, the "laws of attraction" or mind over matter. Ehrenreich delves into historical strains of organized wishful thinking: from 19th century huckster Phineas Quimby and his disciple Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science; 20th century gurus Norman Vincent Peale, and Reverend Ike, up to current practitioners like Joel Osteen and _The Secret_ "discoverer" Rhonda Byrnes. Ehrenreich examines the pernicious effect of unrealistic optimism on the foreclosure crisis, and the cruelty inherent in telling sick or unemployed people that their misfortunes are all the result of their own "bad thoughts". I was powerfully reminded of the movie _Up in the Air_, when George Clooney convinces a newly downsized employee that getting fired is "the opportunity of a lifetime!" Riiiiight.As the daughter of a chronically ill and deluded Christian Scientist, I have my own bad memories of being told to do my (mental) work when sick, and believing my grandmother had died because I hadn't prayed hard enough. Although Ehrenreich lets her personal anti-conservative biases (which I share)influence the discussion, this is overall an enlightened, well-argued look at a disturbing strain of American thought.

I loved this book, it made me think. I'm not a pessimist but I've sometimes thought that positive thinking has run amuck with all kinds of methods at a small {ahem} price. The eye-opener is Norman Vincent Peale's, author of "The Power of Positive Thinking," was a huge success because of the book publishers decision to promote a plea to companies with on-the-road sales people to buy this for your sales staff or employees. It was the answer to the "lonely salesman" syndrome and I'm positive he helped for awhile. Irony is, Dr. Peale ended up being one of the lonely salesman by staying on the road doing seminars and book signings so much he missed his children's childhood. In a big way, America has been duped into thinking there might be something wrong with us if we don't think positive like everybody else. This was an eye-opener for me.