Bradley Trevor Greive Addresses Pushovers in The Book for People Who Do Too Much

I recently learned that Bradley Trevor Greive has ended his popular line of gift books that started with the acclaimed The Blue Day Book. That bums me out. But rereading The Book for People Who Do Too Much, I can’t help wondering whether these books were getting to be a bit of a burden for him. Was he running out of themes, exhausting interesting topics? Did his eyes start to glaze over after poring over photographs of animals for hours on end? If that’s the case, then as much as I will miss having new gift books from him, I’m glad he decided to stop. I’d hate for him to get to the point at which what once was fun becomes a drudgery.

Greive addresses burn-out in this book, the cover of which is purple and features an utterly exhausted-looking owl. Sometimes it’s overdoing the things you like to do until you no longer enjoy them. Often, it’s being too mousy to speak up when you’re asked to do something. I’ve never been much good at turning people down myself, leading me to avoid conversations in which my participation might be solicited. It’s a very passive-aggressive way to go through life. The Book for People Who Do Too Much is written as much for people like me as for standard over-achievers. When you’re just a girl who can’t say no, it’s not uncommon to find yourself in a terrible fix. So I can relate to a lot of the frazzled-looking animals in this book.

Of course, as is typical for Greive, he infuses a fairly serious topic with plenty of humor, and the professional black and white photographs from a multitude of photographers are full of personality. This is one of his longer books at more than 100 pages, allowing for a wide range of animals, including sloths, hippos, frogs, fish, bears, zebras, camels, elephants, chicken, sheep and all manner of dogs and cats. As always, there are a few shots that tickle my funny bone more than most.

My three favorites are the photo of a ferocious-looking rabbit in hot pursuit of a chicken (“you suddenly turn on people who don’t deserve it”); a shaggy dog rolling its eyes as ducklings walk across its head (“you’re babysitting for the third weekend in a row”); and two chimpanzees cradling two tiny puppies (“Start by making room in your life for a puppy”). And there are dozens of others that bring a smile to my face.

Just taking the time out to sit and read this book is a good way to refocus your energy. It will force you to contemplate how you most want to spend your time. This particular nugget seems especially useful: “When someone special turns up with a request or an opportunity they think is perfect for you, and you get that sinking feeling as you prepare to agree to whatever they want - pause - and slowly fill your lungs with heartfelt honesty.” That’s not so easy to do. But I’d rather do a little well than do a lot half-heartedly, dragging my feet the whole time. “Just choose to do the things that make you the sort of person you really want to hang out with,” he proposes. Sounds like good advice to me.