Stop Whining, Start Living

Licenced therapist Schlessinger has made a small media empire out of ""telling it like it is,"" exemplified nowhere better than in the titles of her numerous bestsellers (Ten Stupid Things Women do to Screw Up Their Lives; Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands). She does it again in her latest, giving readers the same get-over-yourself kick in the seat she delivers daily on the radio; in fact, the book is heavy on transcripts lifted directly from that show. Fan email is also used to illustrate Schlessinger's points, which mostly amount to learning when to stop complaining. Strategies for this include counting blessings and suffering in silence: how does she cope with a son serving in combat? ""The truth is I just live with it. ... I endure."" Most of Schlessinger's values, encompassing maturity, compassion and responsibility-especially to family-can hardly be argued with, but her ""Preaching, Teaching, Nagging"" delivery can be condescending.