An international bestseller and TikTok sensation with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide, The Courage to Be Disliked is a transformative and practical guide to personal happiness and self-fulfillment.
Now you can unlock your full potential and free yourself from the shackles of past traumas and societal expectations to find true personal happiness. Based on the theories of renowned psychologist Alfred Adler, this book guides you through the principles of self-forgiveness, self-care, and mind decluttering in a straightforward, easy-to-digest style that’s accessible to all.
The Courage to Be Disliked unfolds as a dialogue between a philosopher and a young man, who, over the course of five enriching conversations, realizes that each of us is in control of our life’s direction, independent of past burdens and expectations of others.
Wise, empowering, and profoundly liberating, this book is a life-changing experience that shows you a path to lasting happiness and how to finally be the person you truly want to be. Millions are already benefiting from its teachings—and you can be next.
- The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
- Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio on May 8, 2018
- Genre: Self-help, philosophy, psychology
- Listening length: 6 hours 29 minutes
- Dates listened: 5.6.25 – 5.7.25 (1 day)
- Format: Audiobook
- Narrators: January LaVoy, Noah Galvin, Graeme Malcolm
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- Purchase on Amazon
- ⭐
Ok ladies and gents, I rarely EVER DNF (did not finish) a book. I just don’t like to do it. I can count on one hand how many books I have DNF’d in my entire life. So that tells you something. Maybe it’s that devious, annoyingly optimistic angel that rests on one of my shoulders and whispers, “It might get better! Don’t give up! Don’t you want to see how it ends?” Because yes…yes I do want to see how it ends. Even if it’s awful, I still have to know. Does it ever get better? Not usually! lol There have been a few books I later WISHED that I had DNF’d, but I stuck with it and regretted it. Not this time!!
This book…was awful!! I mean, let’s be honest. It’s a self-help, psychology, and philosophy book. So you already know it’s not going to be a thrill ride. I only made it 32% of the way through the audiobook, and finally had my fill and called it quits. The book is based on theories developed by a psychologist from the early 1900s named Alfred Adler. He was the first psychiatrist that coined the term “inferiority complex” and developed the theory that people must overcome their inner struggle between their superiority/inferiority complexes. I did a little bit of research on him for this blog post, and my head is hurting from trying to summarize all of his beliefs and theories. Feel free to look him up, though, if you’re so curious. 🙂
While I’d never call Adler’s theories bullshit, because there definitely are some ideas that make sense and have helped contribute a great deal to the development of psychology today. However, most of his ideas are outdated and, frankly, potentially harmful. Mind you, I only made it through 32%, but in that 32%, you’re told that trauma doesn’t exist, that humans use emotions (such as anger) purely as a way to get another person to submit to them and do what they want. The final kicker for me when I said “Ok that’s enough of you!” and promptly deleted the audiobook, was when the student and professor were discussing kids who attempt suicide. Or as the Professor puts it, “cuts their wrists”. The Professor says that a child only does this to get a parent’s attention and to punish the parent. Like a kid throwing a temper tantrum.
As a nurse who has cared for many kids who have attempted suicide, and have cared for their families in the event that they were successful and the child passed…this is something I will never agree with. That a child does this to punish the parent. Is that the case for some of them? Maybe. But to say that “trauma doesn’t exist” and that the only reason someone would use an emotion, such as anger, to get what they want, and that the only reason a child hurts themselves is because they’re basically throwing a temper tantrum and wanting to punish their parents…yeah, no! Perhaps I would have gotten better insight had I listened longer, but the book basically boils down to “if you want to be happier, then just be happier”. Live in the here and now. The past doesn’t influence you or your future. *cough* Bullshit! *cough* PTSD is real. Trauma IS real. And it affects people every single day. And happiness is not as simple as just telling yourself “be happy!”
The only redeeming part of this audiobook was how the audiobook was done. I can’t speak to how the book is written, but on the audiobook, it’s played as a conversation between two people, with one narrator. The student approaches the professor to lure him into a debate about these theories. It was easy to follow along with, and it made it feel as if I was just listening to one of my podcasts. But I just can’t recommend this book. There’s nothing but outdated beliefs and theories, and it is frankly a detriment to the advances that we’ve made in psychology over the last 100 years. I also feel like, depending on who reads/listens to this, it could do more damage than good. I went into the book thinking I might learn a few things, like I did when I read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Instead, I just left it not even half finished and kind of mad.
Deviant Angel Reads 
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