Behar, cohost of ABC's The View, doesn't have any advice of her own to dispense. Instead, she offers brief personal essays from more than 100 of her best friends (children's author David A. Adler and comedian Anne Meara among them). These mood boosters include "I look at my friend Chip deMatteo's eighth grade picture" (Bruce Hornsby) and "My remedy is my ukulele. I sit and strum my blues away" (Tony Danza). Danielle Broussard is "a big believer in the idea that there is very little that a new pair of shoes and a Klondike bar can't fix." At best, those like Regis Philbin remind us that exercise reduces stress and releases endorphins. In the end, perhaps the best advice comes from actor Richard Anderson, "The world is imperfect. Be cognitive. Work hard. Stay out of politics." But you might have figured that one out on your own. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Surveying over 100 famous friends, Behar, a cohost of ABC's The View, offers their personal strategies for beating the blues. Comfort food is the most proffered solution; exercise and getting into nature are also highly recommended. There seems to be some agreement that when nothing else works, "doing something kind for someone else" is the best solution. Only one person mentions that depression can be a serious illness needing professional help. While this compilation is not bad advice, anyone surveying 100 friends would probably get the same kind of response. Too much of a hybrid to be either good comedy or good self-help, this program, read by Renee Raudman and David Drummond, is recommended as an optional purchase for public libraries serving voracious celebrity watchers; it is not recommended for self-help collections. [Behar is the New York Times best-selling author of Sheetzucacapoopoo and Joy Shtick.--Ed.]--Kathleen Sullivan, Phoenix P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.