Gareth O'Callaghan: When life is difficult, reach for nature rather than self-help books

We can spend years of our lives hoping to find the holy grail of self-help books, only then to realise it’s been right there all along in the mountains and beaches and forests

Self-help books are recipes which make their results unpredictable, and in many cases, not what we had hoped for. So what draws us to that section in bookshops? File photo: Ray Ryan

Have you ever read a self-help book only to find its promise didn’t work for you? 

That could be because most self-help books are about the author, not the reader. It’s somewhat like sharing your favourite recipe with friends, only to be told later it was one of the worst meals they ever ate.