Don't Get Scrooged: How to Thrive in a World Full of Obnoxious, Incompetent, Arrogant, and Downright Mean-Spirited People

This book is made up of short essays about dealing with difficult people. The first couple of dozen essays validated my feelings, made me feel good, reinforced my beliefs. As the author says, most of us are doing our best to try to be good and kind people. Toward the end of the book, I started to feel a little uncomfortable because I began to see my own behavior sometimes. Finally Dr. Carlton reassured me that none of us is perfect, that we act badly when we feel badly, and that we would all be better off if we cut each other some slack from time to time. That conclusion helped me most of all. I want other people to be understanding and forgiving toward me when I'm stressed out and snap at someone; therefore, I am going to try to give others the benefit of the doubt. There is some good in everyone, even scrooge, and all those who seek that goodness will have happier lives.

Richard Carlson has a knack for suggesting practical solutions to everyday problem people. There is a suggestion for almost every type of Scrooge you will encounter. Since the holiday season is usually stressful, his suggestions came in quite handy.

Each chapter gave wonderful strategies for positive life changes. How to go through life with peace and harmony, not only through the holiday season but year-round. So sad that Richard will not be with us to inspire us with another stunning book such as this.

A great book to keep the holidays in perspective. Great guidelines in not letting people get the best of you. A great book in freedom from becoming like them!

Every year holidays get more and more demanding and less and less fun. Richard Carlson has welcome advice for getting through it all a lot happier than we have in the past and a little closer to those warm and fuzzy feelings we expect from this time of year than we usually get. Although there is little in the book that is surprising or new, it is presented in convenient little segments in a wonderfully readable form. The author presents the material using his own experiences and those of others to illustrate his points in each chapter and does so succinctly and with great sense of humor. I found the book a delight and read it from cover to cover in about two hours. I expect to monitor my own behavior and that of others around me and to re-read the appropriate chapters until I manage to succeed in getting through my holidays with a happy disposition. A good resource for everyone any day of the year when we find ourselves rehearsing unpleasant events from our days activities without generating either solutions to problems or a new way of thinking about things.