while remaining alert to cultural sensitivities and norms. “Style lives at the intersec-
tion of race, religion, nationality, age, body image and pop culture,” she writes,
defining woke vis-a-vis fashion as intentionally choosing items that reflect certain
values—for instance, avoiding the waste generated by fast fashion, supporting a
designer from a specific community, or being conscious of the injury caused by cultural
appropriation.
Jennifer Brown, executive editor at Sounds True, saw parallels to the Buddha’s
awakening when she encountered the term woke in Justin Michael Williams’s forth-
coming meditation primer, Stay Woke (Feb. 2020). Like other self-care proponents who
are seeking to democratize their rituals, Williams offers a vision of a more inclusive
meditation practice, by first acknowledging the myriad struggles—sexism, depres-
sion, poverty, toxic masculinity—people may face. He calls the practice “freedom
meditation,” and it’s indicative of an attitude that Brown believes will spark more
self-help books targeting those who feel ignored by the establishment. “People have
been creating their own resources for years; that’s not new,” she says. “But now, more
publishers are intentionally serving the needs of marginalized populations.”
Radical Chic
Even amid the creeping sense of precariousness that plagues many who came of age
continued from p. 24
F-Bomb Squad
Sarah Knight’s The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck,
which Little, Brown released at the end of 2015, started as a
Marie Kondo parody and ended up a mini cottage industry of
expletive-laden self-help titles that together, according to the
publisher, have sold 2.5 million copies worldwide in all formats.
Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Harper)
has sold 1.6 million print copies, per NPD BookScan, since it pubbed in
2016; it continues to move thousands of copies each week. What’s
behind the continued popularity of these books?
“People are tired of bullshit,” says Joe Biel, founder of Microcosm
Publishing, which is releasing two books in its existing Unfuck series in
the coming months. Knight has a new book, too, as do other veterans
and new voices in the NSFW genre.All the F*cking Mistakes
Gigi Engle. St. Martin’s, Jan. 2020
Engle, a certified sex coach, believes that in this political moment, sexual empower-
ment is the key to women reclaiming power. “It’s how to fuck shit up,” as she writes in
her book, which serves as a feminist manifesto and sexual how-to. Engle’s real talk—
peppered with every profanity in the English language—covers such diverse topics as
sexually transmitted infections and sex toys while ending on a surprisingly traditional
message, with chapters dedicated to helping readers find the love they deserve.Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies
Tara Schuster. Dial, Feb. 2020
By her late 20s, Schuster, a Comedy Central executive, was outwardly successful
but felt lost in a haze of anxiety, depression, and self-medication as she tried to
tamp down lingering childhood trauma. She shares the road map she followed
from rock bottom to well-being, offering lessons in self-care gleaned along the way.Do the Work: The Official Unrepentant, Ass-Kicking, No-Kidding,
Change-Your-Life Sidekick to Unfu*k Yourself
Gary John Bishop. Harper One, Jan. 2020
In the workbook companion to 2017’s Unfu*k Yourself (377,000 print copies sold,
per NPD BookScan), Bishop poses a series of questions that are designed to take