Deal With Toxic Family Members

It has come to the point where the policy of reputable online booksellers ought to be to specify whether or not a book is self-published or generated by AI (in part or in full). I by no means mean to cast a shadow over the author of this particular book. Zeni is ingenuous and means well. He has written a book in all sincerity that he hopes will help people overcome their difficulties with toxic family members, and I am sure it has helped many. However, as a published book it falls far short--in many ways--of meeting the expectations of a well-educated reader who is seeking help with toxic relationships. And this is where the necessity of an online seller disclaimer comes in. The book is obviously self-published. It is the first time (perhaps this is the era we are in) I have encountered a book that implores the reader to leave five-star reviews (pp. 16, 22, 227). There are glaring errors and writing faux pas on every page that would never fly in the face of an editorial process under an established publisher. We have, for example, the use of the same introductory quote twice as the preface to chapters two and six. As another example, I will now open the book to a random page and identify an issue that is found there. The random page is 96, where the author addresses "cognitive dissonance." An editor would notice that cognitive dissonance is again covered only four pages later, with a floating subtitle at the bottom of the previous page. This is indicative of a lack of organization that comes from an unprofessional, unedited, free-flow (blog) style of writing that does not belong in a published book. It especially does not belong in a book that is sold for this price. The writing itself is juvenile (relative to a what a publisher would tolerate). As a prime example, in chapter eight where the author addresses empathy, Zeni expresses how he felt when his dog passed away: "I felt like my most expensive toy was taken away from me." While I most certainly feel for his loss, I cannot keep from thinking that his simile is at the level of the middle school students that I teach. If online booksellers wish to maintain a level of professionalism and trustworthiness with their customers, books like this should be explicitly labeled as "self-published," so as not to mislead purchasers who are looking for rigorous, well-researched, and well-edited writing. The book-reading public wishes to find good, well-written books. They do not wish to be duped or disappointed. Should this continue, there will inevitably be a significant pushback.