The Courage to Be Disliked

A delightful, practical introduction to Adlerian psychology. There are some truly memorable and actionable insights in this book: happiness in contribution; the separation of life tasks; focusing on what you can change, rather than what you can't; how to be a free, independent person while being in harmony with society; and, of course, the refutation of trauma. I recognize that these may or may not resonate with readers, depending on their own experiences.

Yet it's important to understand this book as a product of the times. Society's departure from faith has left many of us uncertain about our place in the world. Adlerian psychology presents something new to believe, something that is surprisingly compatible with current societal conditions, as repeatedly demonstrated by the examples in this book.

4 stars only because the communication style didn't quite work for me. The dialogue was questionably dramatic at times, especially when the youth would act outraged over the same point as the last time. But as this book was originally written for a Japanese audience, one must make allowance for cultural differences (doesn't anime have the same displays of outrage?). Even with these flaws, Kishimi conveyed his points adequately through the dialogues.