Self-help books

Self-help at the crossroads: Cury, Sharma and the question of the value of books that promise to change us

Two recent news stories bring self-help books back to the center of the conversation: Augusto Cury's political emergence in Brazil and Robin Sharma's warning against the culture of extreme work. Between them emerges a fundamental question about what these books can and cannot really do.

By Pedro J. Pérez · 23 September 2026

Introduction: two authors, one same question

In September 2026, two names common on personal development shelves once again made headlines for reasons that go beyond the literary. Augusto Cury, a Brazilian self-help author, emerged according to El Observador as a sort of third way in Brazil's elections. The phenomenon invites us to think about what happens when a writer of this genre stops being read as an intimate adviser and begins to be perceived as a public voice.

Almost at the same time, Robin Sharma told Yahoo that for twenty-five years, in his books, he has repeated an uncomfortable idea: don't kill yourself working. The coincidence is not accidental. Both episodes place the genre before a question that is rarely asked seriously: what kind of authority does a self-help book grant, and how far does its legitimate influence reach?

Context: the genre that never stops growing

Self-help is one of the most persistent publishing territories of recent decades. Its books promise concrete transformations: managing emotions, ordering one's life, improving habits, finding purpose. That promise explains its success and also the distrust it arouses in academic and literary circles, where it is often accused of simplifying complex problems and of shifting onto the reader an excessive responsibility for their own well-being.

In that framework, the figures of Cury and Sharma are especially eloquent. Both built extensive and massively read works, and both now see how their ideas circulate outside the strictly bookselling circuit. The Brazilian case and the Canadian author's interview show that these texts are not only read: they are also quoted, discussed and, at times, turned into political or cultural material.

Explanation: what these news stories really say

According to the available information, Cury emerged as a third way in the Brazilian elections, a fact that surprises because it shifts a self-help author into the terrain of public representation. This is not an anecdotal detail: it suggests that certain discourses of personal overcoming can connect with an electorate seeking alternatives outside traditional parties, although the sources do not allow us to state what his proposals are or the real extent of that support.

For his part, Sharma maintains that for twenty-five years he has repeated in his books a warning against overwork. The phrase, reported by Yahoo, works as a self-criticism of the genre itself: personal development should not be confused with unlimited productivity. It is a relevant distinction, because a good part of self-help literature has been associated precisely with the optimization of performance and not with its limit.

Relevance: why it matters to readers

For those who read self-help, these news stories have a practical consequence: they force a distinction between the book and its author, and between the advice and its public use. A text can help someone organize their routine and, at the same time, be invoked in a political or media context that has nothing to do with that intimate experience. Recognizing that difference protects the reader from excessive expectations and automatic allegiances.

It also matters because the genre is usually judged as a whole. The cases of Cury and Sharma show that very different proposals coexist within self-help: some reinforce the demand for performance and others, like Sharma's, question it. Treating the genre as a single thing prevents us from seeing those nuances and impoverishes the debate about which books deserve to be read and why.

Useful information: how to read self-help with judgment

A first recommendation is to verify what backs each statement. Many self-help books combine reasonable observations with generalizations without cited evidence. Distinguishing between a practical suggestion, a psychological hypothesis and a personal opinion of the author helps avoid confusing inspiration with proven knowledge. The available sources on Cury and Sharma do not allow us to evaluate their methods, only to note their public presence.

A second recommendation is to read with attention to the author's context. Knowing that Sharma has spent twenty-five years insisting on not killing yourself working changes the way his books are received: they are not a productivity manual, but a warning about its excesses. Likewise, knowing about Cury's political emergence in Brazil invites us to ask which ideas from his works resonate socially and which belong only to the private sphere.

Conclusion: the book as mirror and as symptom

What happened with Cury and Sharma in September 2026 does not prove that self-help is good or bad. It proves something more interesting: that these books function as mirrors of the anxieties of their time. When a personal development author becomes a third electoral way or when another warns against extreme work, the genre reveals what people seek and what they fear. Reading them with judgment is, perhaps, the only way for them to fulfill their promise without betraying it.

The conclusion is modest but firm: no self-help book replaces one's own judgment. It can offer language to name what we feel, habits to try and questions to ask ourselves. But the transformation it promises occurs, if it occurs, in the reader's life, not on the page. Maintaining that critical distance is what allows us to enjoy the genre without granting it more authority than it deserves.