Daily Afflictions: The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the Universe

by Andrew Boyd

A dark, twisted, existential manifesto posing as a book of daily inspiration. Revolutionizing the best-selling genre, this thinking man's parody hijacks the format of daily affirmations but offers a different message: only in paradox, truth; only in darkness, light; only in affliction, affirmation. These "daily afflictions" offer readers inspiration, practical advice, and food for thought, as they navigate the jungle of existential terror that begins anew each day. We follow the fictional Brother Void on a spiritual journey, both profound and hilarious, into self, family, love, career, death―and, ultimately, Enlightenment. We learn to "listen to our inner critic," appreciate "the nurturing power of dysfunctional families," "love the wrong person," "succeed at failure," "embrace our inner corpse," and, finally, withstand the "agony of being connected to everything in the Universe." Part spiritual autobiography, part ironic meditation, this tragicomic guide to life's sublime predicaments will elevate and educate the spirit. The truth will set you free, Brother Void reminds us, but first it will hurt like hell.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Philosophy, Self Help, Spirituality, Emotion, Book Club

146 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Andrew Boyd is an author, humorist, and activist. His new book, I Want a Better Catastrophe: Navigating the Climate Crisis with Grief, Hope and Gallows Humor is forthcoming from New Society Publishers in February 2023. He is currently CEO (Chief Existential Officer) of the Climate Clock, a global campaign he co-founded that melds art, science, and grassroots organizing to get the world to #ActInTime. He also co-created the grief-storytelling ritual the Climate Ribbon, and led the 2000s-era satirical campaign “Billionaires for Bush.” His previous books include Beautiful Trouble, Daily Afflictions and Life’s Little Deconstruction Book. Unable to come up with his own lifelong ambition, he’s been cribbing from Milan Kundera: “to unite the utmost seriousness of question with the utmost lightness of form.”

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

possibly the single most helpful, powerful, thoughtful, funny, concise book I have ever read. it solves problems I didn't even know I had.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pick this book up about once a month, and I still laugh every time I read a passage. It's Andrew Boyd's answer to 'Daily Prayer' books, for which I have no time (since most of the people I see reading them are on the subway and so engrossed in the 'message du jour' that they neglect to see/give a seat to the pregnant woman or quadriplegic). PLEASE give it a shot - it will assist you in simultaneously wallowing in self-pity and laughing at yourself. Love that!

[Saiber · Rating 5 out of 5]

100th Review!

2015 Reading Challenge - Non Fiction

This is my FIRST non fiction book that I picked out of intrigue and WANTED to read.
No Regrets.

This book is AWESOME.

I havent finished it yet. But I am gonna take my sweet time reading this book. Going to it again and again. It's amazing. HE doesn't bullshit you with positivity. HE just tells you life is a bitch sometimes and so is your mind, best way of dealing is accepting the darkness and knowing your way through it to light.

It philosophizes various quotes by Jung and Nitezche and Kafka and tells it to you in simple understandable prose. Oh and they starting quotes before ANY of the prose are just bloody awesome.

SOme of the heading from this book -
Living a worthless life
Living as a work of art
Opening up to your inner psychopath
The healing power of sick parents
Loving the wrong person
Breaking up with yourself
Failing at what matters
Compassionate Hypocrisy
One step from oblivion
Diving into the abyss
Embracing your inner corpse
Living with death

Separated into various categories of Life, Self, Fmily, Career, Love, Politics, Philosophy, Religion, Death and Enlightenent these cover all sorts f issues and truggles and guide you through them.

My most favourite books are those when you open them randomly it still makes sense. This one does.
Recommend it to everyone.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book. Andrew Boyd turns the insipid genre of daily affirmation and inspiration books on its ear with his mildly sardonic anti-inspirational message that is actually sometimes quite powerfully inspirational.

It's a skeptics guide through the mundane heartbreaks of life. The book is filled with existential whimsy and giddy nihilism. Yet, Boyd doesn't trip you up leaving you feeling as if there is no hope, rather he suggests that we can use our hopelessness to transform the world, providing that we are always willing to admit to our own egoism.

Check this out.

[Sparrow .]

andrew boyd has done a remarkable work here -- i am envious, because i am always trying to write an anti--self-help book, or rather the ultimate one. and this may be it. andrew claims that virtually all of it derives from nietzsche (in the afterward -- how delightful to write a book with an afterward!), but his deadpan humor is not Nietzschean, i suspect. if david letterman were an ex-jesuit priest, he might produce a "talk show" equivalent to this coyly coyote-like work.

[Katey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first "self-help" book I've ever come across that's 1) intelligent, 2) honest, and 3) humourous.

And it was also relatable. Particularly helpful afflictions for me were:

Living a Worthless Life
Keeping to the Dark Path
Listening to Your Inner Critic
Selfless Selfishness
Finding Sorrow
Living the Unlived Life
Loving the Wrong Person
In Pursuit of Failure
Visualizing the Worst Possible World (A Guided Meditation)
Compassionate Hypocrisy
Hopelessness Can Save the World
Faith and Irony
The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the Universe

[Danna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Boyd's "Daily Afflictions" takes the positive affirmation craze by the arm and twists it behind its back. It's a darkly funny collection of daily afflictions that doesn't take itself too seriously.

[Mina Ajam · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the air, as on the ground, behind every this or that lies all or nothing. This nothingness is papered over with illusion, habit, and little rituals until something slices through the wrapper--until that moment when you hear the pilot's strained voice and feel your gut muscles clench. Will you grow huge enough to contain the hugeness of the moment? Or will you break apart in freakish panic?
In flight, as in life, you live one step from oblivion. You stand on nothing but your will. Your only security is to embrace insecurity. So the next time you fly, step on board as though entering a sacred battlefield, place your tray tables in their upright locked position, and stare straight past the pretzels and the chit-chat into the jaws of the absolute.
The airline that doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

[Luci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daily Afflictions is a brilliant response to all the Daily Affirmation books for us more cynical and realistic people. Divided into subjects like love, family, career, etc. each page gives you a different (daily) quote, explanation and conclusion to inspire, contemplate and possibly implement. I read the book cover to cover but expect that I will be rereading certain pages over and over again - when in need of answers and understanding and when I just want to have a chuckle and the absurdity of our lives and the agony of being connected to everything in the universe. Also, I bet I'll be giving this book as a gift to so many of my friends.

[Carol N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book just when I needed it. I was hysterical as I read little one-page chapters such as "The Nurturing Power of Dysfunctional Families" and "Opening Up To Your Inner Psychopath." While he wrote this book mostly to be funny, I found some great wisdom (and very, very bad language) in this book.

[Liannis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hilarious. It serves as a tongue-in-cheek response to all the overly schmaltzy and upbeat affirmation books out there. Even though the title itself is pessimistic, don't think that the content has to be. It manages to be fairly upbeat itself.

[Justin Fraxi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most brilliant and uncomfortably true things I've ever read. Don't worry too much about the humor label; there's humor laced in with the philosophy, but the philosophy is for real. Also, don't forget to read the index.

[M.B. Caschetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A charming, funny, smart look at life from the inside out. I love this book and keep it around for frequent rereading."

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes we introverts really just need to sit back and laugh at ourselves. This is a good book to do that with.

[Lissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining to read, but there were quotes by maybe three women in it? Sure, the book's focus lies on satirical self-help, but I would love to get a take on perspectives other than that of dead white men, which unfortunately applied to 95% of the quotes in this book.

[Hamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this little 100-pager of post-modern nihilistic ideas and Nietzsche (with a Kafka sprinkled here and there) quotes, Boyd does a convincing job of showing the negative inherent in everything and how to deal with it without rebelling against it. The premise is buy-able, but most of the ideas are unoriginal and many are even repeated within the different sub-headings of 'Life', 'Family', 'Love' etc. At the end of each section, there is a one-liner that sums up the page-long thought and which you are supposed to say out loud with other people in whatever dark, ritualistic recovery program you're in. My favorite one (in 'Fucked by Love'):

"I must find someone who can hurt me more deeply"

Don't expect enlightenment from this conglomeration of off-hand quotes and ironic conclusions.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instead of daily affirmations, try Daily Afflictions! A satirical perversion of the self-help genre that has chapter headings like “selfless selfishness,” “love the wrong person,”
“succeed at failure,” and “the nurturing power of dysfunctional families.” The brief chapters are twisted and funny, and best of all, insightful and wise. To completely embrace the afflictions mindset, listen to Albinoni’s Adagio in G minor while reading this book!

[Tya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not the kind of book I'll ever 'finish reading'. Something I go back to, whenever I want to and whenever I need to, through different life seasons. Like a bible for the undefined. Smack-in-the-face truthful, and unfailingly thought-provoking. There are times when some pages don't seem (at first) to process better than others; and then you come to certain bridges in your life and find yourself recalling words from them going, "Ohh..."
And that's how that works.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this because of the very positive reviews, but found it, apart from some good bits and pieces (such as loving the wrong person), generally superficial too (ch)easy. Not funny enough to be good parody and not wise enough to be (ironical) life advice.

[Karol Borrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this book 3.5 but have given it an extra 0.5 because of its easy to read layout.

daily afflictions is at times ridiculous, at times full of meaning and full of intimate thoughts that examine existentialism w out promising you some sort of happiness.

[Kathy]

Bet I'd like this one..."daily afflictions" Ha!

[Tyler]

My expectations were way too high. I was thinking, Agony:Ecstasy. the meeting of the extremes. I also thought this was going to be a proper book of existentialist theory. Not bad, but not for me.

[Pat Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny. Great skewed perspective on enlightenment.

[John Holder]

Absolute beauty.

[Julene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way less "my thing" than I realized when adding this to my 'To Read' list many years ago.

[Violet B · Rating 4 out of 5]

humorous and a little dark with Just a touch of cynicism to round it out. A Parody of a daily prayer book, this made me my day. Would pick up again and flip through just for the smile factor.

[Frank Klatil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Boyd’s "Daily Afflictions" book is concise, making it a quick read, and it serves as a refreshing antidote to the overly optimistic self-help genre. However, while some quotes resonate, I found myself wanting more memorable ideas. The standout line —"To seek enlightenment is to seek annihilation, rebirth, and the taking up of burdens. You must come prepared to touch and be touched by each and every thing in heaven and hell. I am one with the universe, and it hurts."—captures for me the essence of the book.
In summary, "Daily Afflictions" is both funny and thought-provoking, but it left me craving deeper insights. If you’re in the mood for a satirical take on your life’s challenges, this book is worth a quick read.

[Milan Spasojevic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this on a whim in the basement of a New York City bookstore and it’s one of the best I’ve got on my shelf right now. Although not a book per se as there’s no story, just lots of melancholy quotes about everyday life, its impact is just as fruitful. It’s dark tone yet motivational premise works brilliantly and I’m due to read again soon. Highly recommend this one.

[Rina Ayra Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I'm not fond of the uber positive messages of some books, this is how someone should motivate me... by tapping into my inner nihilism and converting it to absurdism. The book's intended audience is definitely me.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book several times and I always find it funny and insightful. It's one of those books you keep going back to, and I learn something new about myself every time I pick it up. Highly reccomend!