Title: Can’t Help Myself: Lessons and Confessions from a Modern Advice Columnist        

Author: Meredith Goldstein

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A disarmingly honest memoir about giving advice when you’re not sure what you’re doing yourself, by the woman behind The Boston Globe’s Love Letters column.

Every day, Boston Globe advice columnist Meredith Goldstein takes on the relationship problems of thousands of dedicated readers. They look to her for wisdom on all matters of the heart- how to cope with dating fatigue and infidelity, work romances, tired marriages, true love, and true loss. In her column, she has it all figured out, but in her real life she is a lot less certain. Whether it’s her own reservations about the traditional path of marriage and family, her difficulty finding someone she truly connects with, or the evolution of her friendships as her friends start to have their own families, Meredith finds herself looking for insight, just like her readers. As she searches for responses to their concerns, she’s surprised to discover answers to her own. But it’s after her mother is diagnosed with cancer that she truly realizes how special her Love Letters community is, how this column has enriched her life as much, if not more than, it has for its readers.

CAN’T HELP MYSELF is the extraordinary (and often hilarious) story of a single woman navigating her mercurial love life, and a moving and poignant portrait of an amazing community of big-hearted, love-seeking allies.

Review:

Thank you @grandcentralpub for sending me a copy of this book! I really enjoyed it!

Can’t help myself is kinda like a memoir, but I found it a lot more interesting than your typical memoir.

Meredith Goldstein wrote the Love Letters column for the Boston Globe for years, which is where people would write in letters asking for advice around love and relationships and she would give advice. Yet she was single and still trying to figure out the dating game herself. I found this an interesting twist because you would expect someone who is giving relationship advice to be in a long term committed relationship, but Goldstein proves that that is unnecessary because no one is an expert at love. We are always learning and it’s ok to give advice and your perspective without being an expert.

I really liked how Goldstein learned a lot about herself in the process of reading the letters and giving advice, and she even admitted that sometimes she was a bit harsh and could be more sensitive. That’s what I took away from this. That everything has a learning process to it, and that is ok! I definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a nonfiction book to check out!

Happy reading!