Bad Advice

How to Survive and Thrive in an Age of Bullshit

By: Dr. Venus Nicolino

Narrated by: Dr. Venus Nicolino

Over motivational messages? Sick AF of inspirational quotes? Done with the shiny, happy bad advice that gets you nowhere? Well, heads up: You’re about to get a shitload of good advice.

In Bad Advice, relationship expert Dr. Venus Nicolino - aka Dr. V - takes a blowtorch to the shrink-wrapped “feel good” BS that passes for self-help these days.

When you’re heartbroken, what do you hear? You can’t love anyone until you love yourself. When someone’s hurt you? Nobody can make you feel bad without your permission. When you’re just a little too positive? Expectations lead to disappointment.

Pop culture noise gives bad advice the varnish of truthiness and inspiration. But it’s not truth; it’s not inspiration. It’s bullshit. And at its root, all bad advice operates off the same lie: Emotions are optional. In Bad Advice, Dr. V delivers a bracing truth serum, in the form of good advice - an antidote to the bullshit, from “Just Be Yourself” to “Live Each Day Like It’s Your Last”, that teaches you to live your life in a way that honors who you are, what you need, and how you feel.

Smart and irreverent, Dr. V fuses the brains and insight of a nerdy PhD with the heart of a doting Italian mother and the artful profanity of a Philly trucker. Dr. V’s signature combination of humor, hard science, and heart make Bad Advice an iconoclastic course correction like no other. A fiercely sharp wake-up call that tackles some of self-help’s most damaging truisms, Bad Advice is a never-shy guide to tapping into your full potential.

©2018 Venus Nicolino (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Good advice about Bad Advice

This book was a wonderful self help listen over the pandemic. Funny, insightful, and yes, helpful. I wanted to highlight so many things that Dr V said, that I ended up also buying a hard copy. I will be listening to & reading the chapter on grit several times to absorb it. It’s been a tough year and I really needed to hear about grabbing my grit. I liked hearing the audiobook in the authors voice. For nonfiction, I think hearing the author and their inflections adds so much to the listen. Very happy to have this in my collection.

Best read/listen in ages! A def recommend for all!

Every human on this planet needs to read/ listen to this book! I've enjoyed every moment, acquired a ton of takeaways, and a new perspective on
"Good Advice" !
Loved it!
- A. Kate

It's worth it

I finished it in a day. It sums up what you probably think about annoying platitudes people with no idea what they are talking about say. She replaces them with ones that make sense rather than give you the impulse to cuss someone out for giving useless cookie cutter ideas.

The BEST self help book ever written

This book should be mandatory reading in every junior high school class in the country. Insightful, funny, and actual science to back it up. It simply makes sense! Thank you!

Good book

would like other narrator, it seemed like forcing some of the lines, not natural. But good book.

A book that may just change your life

Whenever I go through something, I know I can rely on Dr. V. for some solid good advice.

So many quotables!

I love the authors candor and choice of language. One might initially think this is a tough love guide but the empathic way she encourages you to love yourself and "mutha" yourself is anything but.
I was giggling and agreeing before the first five minutes was up. Then I found myself wanting to rise to her challenge of self care and not in that cheesy affirmation way she touches on. But in a tangible "I can do this" way.
A book I think I also want to buy the hard copy of and highlight the mess out of.
Dr. V is refreshing!

Love this book!! Real life shit! Made my day

Loved every chapter. Real mood booster. The truth in today's society. Dr. V is the best. Made my life more fulfilling forsure 😙

Not my cup of tea.

The book is written for people who have a victim mentality. She labels and puts people
in groups. And she makes blanket statements and conclusions about each group

Not the best, not the worst

The title is interesting, and there are certainly some great concepts about advice that is meant to help but turns out to be counterproductive and maybe a little damaging. However, the content is very repetitive, which can work in the right context, but not in this case which can make the reader/listener lose interest very quickly. Also, the content seemed to emulate Mark Manson's work by dropping liberal amounts of F bombs, but ultimately fell flat.