A01=Bruno De Oliveira
Author_Bruno De Oliveira
Category=JBCC1
community-focused ideal
elf-help
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
feeling inadequate
liberation
moral guidance
path to well-being
pursuit of personal success
reinforcing unrealistic expectations
self-help industry
self-help industry analysis
self-help literature
self-help's promise of empowerment
social justice
toxic positivity
Product details
- ISBN 9781803419800
- Dimensions: 140 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 25 Nov 2025
- Publisher: Collective Ink
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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This work critically analyses the self-help industry, tracing its evolution from 19th-century moral guidance to today�s multi-billion-pound enterprise. It provides an incisive overview examining how self-help�s promise of empowerment has shifted from a community-focused ideal to a relentless, often isolating pursuit of personal success.
Through a detailed exploration, The Self-Help Industry�dissects the oversimplifications and individualistic biases that pervade self-help literature, uncovering the limitations of its 'one-size-fits-all'�philosophy. It highlights the darker side of the relentless tyranny of optimism, showing how the industry�s embrace of toxic positivity has a detrimental effect and influences everything from corporate culture to social media.
The Self-Help Industry addresses the paradox at the heart of self-help: while it claims to enable growth, it often leaves readers feeling inadequate. De Oliveira critiques the commodification of personal development, questioning the ethics of profiting from promises of transformation. A critical look at self-help�s success stories reveals how they obscure complex realities, ultimately reinforcing unrealistic expectations.
The Self-Help Industry�advocates for a shift toward collective, systemic approaches to empowerment, calling for a focus on community, social justice, and liberation. This thought-provoking work is essential for anyone rethinking their path to well-being.
Bruno De Oliveira is an academic and researcher in Community Psychology. His work promotes participation and challenges power frames that contribute to inequalities in the pursuit of collective well-being and liberation. Critical Pedagogy shapes his work. Bruno challenges marginalisation through creative research methods, visual arts, and activism. He has published widely on mental health and is a poet and public speaker. He is highly commended for the Literati Awards as an academic with a non-white Latinx background from the Berardo Community in Recife, Brazil. He lives in Brighton and Hove, UK, where he is the Health and Well-being Board chair.
