''You can't love someone until you learn to love yourself''. ''Being healthy means being in touch with your feelings''. ''Never lose hope''. These are self-evident truths - right? Wrong argues best-selling psychologist Paul Pearsall in this provocative book. Though everyone from talk show hosts to politicians mouths these platitudes, and self-help bibles are a dime a dozen, their advice simply hasn't helped us live happier or more satisfying lives. Pearsall cites scientific evidence to challenge what he calls the McMorals of self potentialism: the unsubstantiated prescriptions, programmes, guarantees and gurus that define our pursuit of The Good Life. His message is timely: we're fed up with truisms masquerading as truth, and hungry for self-help that really helps. Filled with groundbreaking research and inspiring stories from Dr Pearsall's clinical practice, ''The Last Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need'' offers a powerful antidote to the mindless mental languishing that characterizes so much of modern life. The solution is not just to ''get in touch and suck it up''. Instead, Pearsall offers powerful in counter-intuitive strategies.By abandoning the mandate to ''stay hopeful'', for example, we can begin to savour today rather than focus desperately on tomorrow. By allowing ourselves the natural process of grieving instead of relentlessly treating grief as a disease, we can recover from tragedy. With Pearsall's lively and informative roadmap to psychological health, we can say ''goodbye'' to our inner child and ''hello'' to a better life.