101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think

This book was released in 2016, at a peak of Western popular interest in mindfulness, meditation, self-improvement, and inner peace. The book speaks to a popular sense that the collective mental health of Western society is in decline, leading to a growth in the popularity of self-help books. Wiest writes directly to a Western audience, dispelling what she sees as common assumptions in Western culture, such as that being “productive” is the purpose of life.

This book is unusual among Western-culture self-help books in that, while it does offer action items, it mostly urges its readers to reconsider their assumptions and practices. From the Introduction, Wiest makes clear her belief that in order to change one’s life, one must change one’s mind. The book focuses on an internal reflective process that itself moves away from the action, objective-based guidance of traditional Western self-help books.

However, aspects of Wiest’s approach do also reflect this goal-based tradition, particularly her recurrent use of the list structure, which presents the illusion of finite, achievable tasks to obtain measurable self-improvement. Wiest’s book content is deeply influenced by the mode and structure of 21st-century Western discourse, as the essays were originally created piece by piece on her blog. The popularity of these online essays—some of which went viral—led to the publication of the book collection. This fact helps contextualize the essays, many of which have hook “clickbait” titles, originally designed to attract readers and maximize algorithms for search engine optimization. The tacit promise of “solving” a reader’s “problem” is reinforced by the title of the book, 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think, as well as many essay titles, for example, “The Knowing-Doing Gap: Why We Avoid Doing What’s Best for Us, and How to Conquer Resistance for Good.” Wiest’s advice in general is the antithesis to these clickbait titles: There is no ultimate arrival, there is no end to discomfort, and there is only the daily practice of mindfulness and the effort it takes to feel at peace. But this advice, ironically, does not fit seamlessly into the cultural moment in which Wiest was trying to make a living as a writer. As a late-generational American “millennial,” newly graduated in 2013, Wiest’s career trajectory is typical of its time. In the United States in 2016, the zeitgeist was chasing happiness while also trying to make a living. This book is a symbol of both of those pursuits in its trajectory of success, its marketing, and its content. This is exemplified in the essay “How to Detox Your Mind (Without Having to Go Completely off the Grid),” which offers advice for the reader to stay grounded and mindful while still operating in society, in their job, and on their phone.