I think very highly of fellow journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, so when I saw her being interviewed a few weeks ago on The Daily Show about her most recent book, I didn't expect my blood pressure to rise.

But escalate it did when she and Jon Stewart dished about Bright-Sided, How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. Uh oh. That, of course, sent this life coach to the bookstore in a how-dare-she-undermine-the-coaching-profession snit.

Then I started reading the book and, lo and behold, I found page after page was tapping into concerns I had already been feeling (suppressing?) about my profession. For example, Ehrenreich's reporting from the juiced-up speaking circuit, designed to sell motivational products and essentially proselytize for positive thinking, brought to mind how many times I've been encouraged to write a "back of the room" book or "get a gimmick."