Nobody's Perfect: Advice for Blame-Free Living

In the engagingly conversational tone that attracts radio listeners to her counseling, therapist Browne addresses problem-solving. Sample questions from callers animate the book's five sections, each symbolizing the author's belief that most people are insecure, bowed under pressures to do and be better. In the first part, she offers advice to adults troubled by relations with parents, siblings and other kin. Then she quotes requests for help: ""How can I have a sex life and avoid AIDS?''; ``I really like this guy, but he chews with his mouth open''; ``She wants babies, but I've had a vasectomy.'' Succeeding chapters focus on threatened marital relations and worrying situations caused by teenaged and older children. Redressing wrongs in the work place, choosing the right job, etc., are subjects of the final section, to which Browne adds a summation on how to use the book. Above all, she advises, don't be afraid to fail: ``It's fun and important to try for perfection,'' but the search shouldn't rob one of pleasure, sharing and serenity. (May)