Everything is Fucked: Book Review

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During the pandemic in 2020, or at least that is when things got serious for me. One author I came across during my Renaissance era of wanting to know more, or like they will put it, during my quest for more knowledge, is Mark Manson. It first of all started with his first book The Subtle Art of Not Giving which centers on prioritizing what you want to care about. I will also look at that book and the lesson I grabbed from it in another book review post.

For now, his second book was the killer for me, titled Everything is fucked. Although the success of this book cannot be compared to his first book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving, even though it was also a New-York best seller. It is something more like comparing a musician's second album to his first album that brought him to the limelight. The difference will always be there, and the comparison would not do much for the second album anyway, since most of the fans only know the first album so well.

With that aside, the second book Everything is fucked was more brutal when it comes to the business of being blunt. It is just the way with Mark Manson, his direct and does not sugarcoat things for his readers. Honestly, that is what I admire about the author. Right from the start, I have always known that I am a guy who loves it when you just go straight to the point. I know it is ironic, given that I just gave quite an intro in this book review, and we are yet to grab the message. It is a habit of nature to build up the story when trying to pass the message.

Manson centers on the idea that everything is fucked, no matter how you want to look at it. There are hunger problems, poverty, climate issues, insecurity, political struggles, ego outbursts leading to chaotic conflict, and no matter where you turn to there is something that sucks out all the possibility of life being a bed of roses. You cannot simply live a life where there are no issues or problems you have to encounter daily, or at least once in a blue moon.

But here is the icing on the cake. Having hope even amid the struggle. It reminds me of the movie clip I watched where Paul Rudd asked Michael Pena How are you doing in a van. Pena responded with I lost my mom, my girlfriend broke up with me, and my dad got deported, but at least I got to keep the van with a smile on his face. Now that is the hope amid the struggle I am talking about.

What decision or path in life we choose to take will come with its share of struggles that we have to deal with. All that matters is that we are going to have the strength to have hope even in those times of discomfort.

Lastly, Manson also spoke about a form of hope through common suffering as a coping mechanism in pulling through tough times. Like they say, there is nothing stronger than a sibling bond aside from a group of people with a common pain. It speaks to the fact that there is a unique bond one shares with a fellow individual who shares a common pain; it can feel like finding a partner in all the deep shit going on that knows exactly how you feel and does not judge you for your reaction to such pain.

However you choose to live your life, there will be struggles, ups and downs that were unaccounted for, but the real question is, will you still have the hope to move on when it seems like everything is fucked?

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