Is It Controversial?

I had an interesting conversation with one reader. On one hand, this young lady who read Secret Techniques for Controlling Sadness, Anger, Fear, Anxiety, and Other Emotions asked me why nowhere it says that the book is controversial? I didn't understand why it is controversial, so she explained that all the books that she had read on the topic of emotions tell you to think positively, or to change your attitude, or change environment, or try finding what caused you to feel that way. But Secret Techniques teaches that your body plays a crucial role in emotional formation and that we can use our bodies to change our emotions—that’s controversial.

But on the other hand, she was really upset that the examples used in my book never end. “For example, that girl who wanted to buy a penthouse, did she buy it or didn't she? Every example stops abruptly in the middle of the most interesting part, and you never tell what happens next! That’s terrible!” the reader said. 

I never thought about it this way. The most challenging aspect of Secret Techniques for Controlling Sadness, Anger, Fear, Anxiety, and Other Emotions was to have readers experience each emotion and then guide them through turning that emotion down and off. The best way to achieve it, I thought, would be to tell the readers a story that should trigger a specific emotional response and then guide them step by step through the techniques of controlling those emotions. I hope not too many readers were upset about the stories ending at the most interesting place. (In case somebody else wonders, no, she did not buy the penthouse.)