Forget Self-Help: Re-examining the Golden Rule

There is no book out there today like Forget Self-Help, by Thomas Fellows. Through his use of literature, history, psychology, scripture and personal experiences, Fellows stresses the importance of living out the Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12 to live a fulfilling, joyful life. While there has been a myriad of self-help books that have come out in the last decade, Fellows contends that the best way to help yourself is to help others. From his life experiences in the computer software sales world to his ongoing struggle with clinical depression, Fellows deftly encourages the reader to think of their troubles in a different light, a light that puts the emphasis on others instead of oneself. Southern in nature, Forget Self-Help focuses on four main subjects: two literary and two historical. The book explores the profound writings and actions of Robert E. Lee, and includes quotations and thoughts from Martin Luther King Jr. that the lay person probably has not seen. From a literary perspective, the book focuses on the two books that has arguably changed the American landscape the most any two books have in history: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe. While the book references scripture quite often, it challenges modern Christian thought in the way that both To Kill a Mockingbird and Uncle Tom's Cabin did. It emphasizes Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7:12 that "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Forget Self-Help reminds the reader that since we will never see God on Earth, we are called to be God's agents while on earth, and we should attempt to find favor not just with God, but with man as well. While one of the sources in the book is the Bible, it is intended to be enjoyed by people of all faith backgrounds.