Phil Stutz (Coming Alive), a Hollywood psychiatrist featured in 2022's Netflix documentary Stutz, returns to the page in Lessons for Living: What Only Adversity Can Teach You. For years Stutz has provided advice for a better life. Here he describes obstacles to happiness and fulfillment and gives actionable steps to overcome them. Readers of The Tools, his bestselling book from 2012, which was co-written with Barry Michels, will recognize many of the mental techniques described in Lessons for Living. This time, however, the format is a series of easily digestible short essays that were originally written for a print newsletter from the late 1990s and early 2000s, which have been updated in light of the Covid pandemic.
He makes a strong case for the necessity of bolstering mental fortitude in times of unrest and high anxiety. In his characteristically direct manner, Stutz insists readers take responsibility for their lives if they want to find meaning. Many essays are bolstered by anecdotes taken from his private practice. For instance, in "Rising Above Envy," Stutz describes an up-and-coming actress who was jealous of her best friend's career. Eventually, the actress loses the friendship and finds fame, yet is still unhappy. Stutz breaks down why that is--and how she was able to find contentment.
Personal-development enthusiasts who've read Dale Carnegie or Wayne Dyer or have attended a Tony Robbins seminar will feel right at home. For the uninitiated, however, Stutz's frequent invocation of higher forces and the occasional bashing of traditional psychotherapy and medication may be a turn-off. --Nina Semczuk, writer, editor, and illustrator