Steve Salerno

Steve Salerno is an American nonfiction author, essayist and educator best known for his 2005 critique of the self-help movement, SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless. The book received a mostly enthusiastic critical reception,[2][3] though some reviewers accused Salerno of overreach[4] in his analysis of self-help's broader effects in society. In the book, Salerno argues that far from being merely an innocuous fad, self-help in recent decades has done significant damage to the American social fabric.[5][6] Salerno ties that damage principally to self-esteem based education[7] and the fallout from the two polar schools of self-help thoughts, Victimization and Empowerment. He is highly critical of Alcoholics Anonymous and derivative 12-step programs. He has also described the self-help movement's intrusion into politics.[8][9] He and ABC's Dan Harris developed an hour-long PrimeTime special[10] on the sweat lodge deaths caused by guru James Arthur Ray.[11][12]

Author Steve Salerno Photo from author blog, used with permission.[1]

In the book, Salerno discusses Tony Robbins, Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura and a number of the other visible leaders of the personal-growth movement. He also explains Oprah Winfrey's role as a seminal figure in the movement. In the intervening years, Salerno has written numerous essays and reported pieces that followed the careers of major gurus after the book's publication and tracked their wider influence in American life in terms of politics,[13] medicine[14][15][16] and other areas.[17] He is particularly notable for his work debunking the 2007 blockbuster book and DVD The Secret.[18][19][20]