A review by readbybecky
The Courage To Be Disliked: How to free yourself, change your life and achieve real happiness by Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

0.5

 There were a lot of problematic stances taken in this book. The big one that stuck out to me was that “trauma isn’t real” which is an interesting stance to take when science shows that trauma can rewire people’s brains. The stance that a strained relationship only exists because you choose it when that person physically abused you is also dumbfounding to me. I found it rather convenient that the only example they used to relate to this was about the philosopher’s father hitting them on one occasion. 

 

This is clearly written by someone who was very pro-Adler’s research and does not take in the nuances of human existence. The conversation between the student and philosopher was an interesting way to get through the material. However there were many times it seemed the student was not written in a realistic manner as all of their questions were leading questions. 

 

I agree with some points of the book. I do agree that being able to live for yourself, and not for others and their opinions, is important. Though I would never recommend this book without heavily stating that there are many problematic takes.