
by Erma Bombeck
EssaysAdded on January 13, 2026
The #1 New York Times bestseller about one woman's doomed quest for self-improvement by a writer "blessed with the comic equivalent of perfect pitch" (The Boston Globe).As far as Erma can tell, her life is going well. Her children speak to her, her husband smiles at her, and she's capable of looking in a mirror without screaming. But her friends know better. No matter how happy Erma thinks she is, she's in need of help, and the only way to fulfillment is a ten-foot stack of self-improvement books. From Sensual Needlepoint to Fear of Buying, Erma will try them all. One book recommends bringing roleplay into the bedroom, so she dresses up in her son's football pads. She tries to meditate but gets stuck in the lotus position. She spends more time in the kitchen but only succeeds in melting her son's retainer. No matter how hard she tries to improve her family life, her schemes keep backfiring. As she soon learns, you may not always be able to fix what's not broken—but with enough self-help books, you can break anything you want. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erma Bombeck including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author's estate.
I love Erma's books! While other kids were sneakily reading the latest issue of Batman or Archie & Veronica comic books between the pages of their schoolbooks during class I was trying not to get caught laughing too loudly at the pages of the latest book by humorist author Erma Bombeck. Its safe to say that I grew up with her books and her name, and stories, just like V.C. Andrews', another author I grew up reading, brings back a lot of good reading memories. Erma, and her writing, will be dearl
I generally love Erma's books. She's witty and dry and I want to have her over for dinner. But this one didn't resonate with me somehow. I chuckled a few times, but too many of the references were before my time. Sorry, Erma. We didn't connect on this one. But you're still welcome to dinner any time.
Very funny book about Erma’s tribulations of “self-discovery” in getting through 62 “self-help” books. Either the books were fake or her analysis was, the ultimate funny advice is to forget reading that crap and just work on being happy.