Analysis of “101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think” by Brianna Wiest

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101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think became a big bang when it was published in 2016. This self-help book from a young author attracted the attention of many people from all across the country and outside it.

Today, this work of Brianna Wiest has pretty high ratings and reviews from readers. And it causes lots of discussions all the time. There are people who loved it, and those who remained rather skeptical about it. But no one was left indifferent.

If you are planning to read the book yourself, were assigned to write a review on it, or just inspired by talented essay writers, you may find something interesting in our analysis of 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think. So, let’s dive in!

Author Overview

Before we move on, let us stop for a moment and say a few words about the author herself. 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think was written by a young American writer and poet Brianna Wiest. Currently, Brianna is 28 years old. But, at the time when she published the book we are about to analyze, she was only 24.

For such a young author, Brianna is already quite known. She can boast of four published works. As an author, she is most famous for her philosophical style of writing.

Brianna studied at Elizabethtown College. She graduated in 2013 and gained a degree in writing. Before becoming a published author, Wiest used to run the online publication called Soul Anatomy and also worked as the editor-in-chief in her college’s newspaper Etownian. 

Throughout her career, Brianna has been featured in different famous resources, including the Huffington Post, Thought Catalog multiple times. She was also a contributor to Forbes. You can find lots of her publications on these and other platforms.

Apart from what we’ve already said, there is not much information about Brianna Wiest. Since she is a young author, she has not yet been widely recognized for her works. However, some of her books, including 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think, have high ratings across different marketplaces like Amazon.

“101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think” Analysis

Now that you know a bit more about the author, let’s get to the analysis of 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think.

First of all, it is worth noting that the work has earned 4.7 stars out of 5 on Amazon. The work received quite many positive reviews from readers. Though there are as well some controversial opinions about it.

Another thing worth noting is that the title is rather overpromising. When you see the title that “101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think,” you expect to see a collection of compelling and solid pieces that should provide some valuable insight. So, in the first place, it is worth highlighting that this book is rather a cluster of Wiest’s articles. These were previously published on Thought Catalog. The pieces presented in the book actually lack the argumentative and philosophical background to be called essays.

In essence, 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think is a sort of a self-help book. Inside it, readers can find 101 short pieces, each focused on a separate topic. All in all, through these short pieces the author discusses a range of important topics, such as:

  • Self-respect and self-life;
  • Distorted thinking;
  • Kindness;
  • Positive thinking;
  • Inner demons;
  • Happiness;
  • Relationships;
  • Suffering;
  • Emotional health;
  • Life;
  • Sense of comfort;
  • Social intelligence;
  • And much more.

Eventually, the core idea of the book gets down to “how to be happy.” If you collect all the pieces of the puzzle together, you will find that the main purpose of the book is to help readers look at their lives and themselves from a different angle. Wiest talks a lot about the importance of positive thinking and self-love for finding that comfort we are all striving for.

Among other things, Brianna also touches such deep and all-encompassing topics as Zen Buddhism principles and their effect on our lives. She highlights the importance of being enlightened and following those principles to finally conquer your subconscious resistance for good things in your life and start feeling happy.

One more big topic that can be traced throughout the whole piece is the importance of now. The author emphasizes that the current moment is basically everything we have. 

She shares her own insights and practical tips aimed to help the readers stop over-analyzing their past or future, and focus on what is real now. This idea often interlinks with another concept from the book – you are a creator of your own reality.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, it is worth noting that giving an objective evaluation of this book can be rather hard. Just like there are many controversial opinions on 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think on the web, you will most likely have the same controversial feelings after actually reading it.

Everything in this work by Brianna Wiest is aimed at making you feel better about yourself, your life, and everything in the world. 

However, as was already mentioned at the beginning of our analysis – the title is indeed overpromising. 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think does have some very good parts. But, all in all, there is a bit too much fluff a reader has to get through before getting to the point.

Some pieces presented in the book are inspiring, philosophical, and deep. Reading them you can gain valuable tips and insights. These pieces might actually change your attitude or thinking in some way. 

However, when a single book is about every possible topic, in reality, it turns out to be about not so much. Many parts of the books are simply irrelevant. 

Still, this is not the type of disadvantage that should ruin your opinion about this book. After all, fluff and lack of relevance are quite common features of many self-help books.