Have you ever wondered why so many good self-help books render ineffective? The problem with those books is the narrative – telling you what’s wrong with you and your habits. You’ll occasionally find books that help you embrace who you are and guide you to become a better version of yourself. “A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness: The CrankaTsuris Method” by Steven Joseph is one such book.
Timely and effective, the easy-to-follow, fun narrative is what makes this book stand apart. It also led us to want to know more about the author.
Here’s the fascinating interview with Crankiness Expert and Author Steven Joseph:
Why did you choose to write your first two books about Crankiness?
It started out when I arrived jetlagged with my even more jetlagged sleep deprived partner on a vacation in Rome at an AIRBnB during a heat wave and a power outage in a stuffy hot dark apartment.
She was a bit cranky. Under the circumstances, I had no energy to consume someone else’s cranky when I had my own cranky.
I finally blurted out to my partner out of sheer desperation and exhaustion that she was a TyrantoCrankaTsuris, and that was how all the other bigger dinosaurs disappeared. It was when one tiny dinosaur would not stop cranking out her tsuris (Yiddish for “problems”), and all the bigger dinosaurs ran for the hills or the bottom of the ocean.
The CrankaTsuris was born, and we used it as a signal to each other when we got a bit cranky. It became our container. Because of its effectiveness, I knew that I had to start writing about it.
While writing “A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness: The CrankaTsuris Method” what was the one goal you had in mind?
Do you know how they announce at the end of the year that the Merriam-Webster Dictionary announces to the world that they have accepted a new word in their exclusive dictionary club? Imagine how people would look at crankiness if CrankaTsuris was adopted as a brand-new word.
What is the one thing you do when you get cranky?
I stick the Cranky inside my CrankaTsuris Deposit Box!
Can you give us three tips to manage crankiness when we’re stuck in traffic?
The most important tip is that if you anticipate traffic, make sure you do not drink lots of liquids beforehand. You do not want to be sitting in traffic and then you are stuck and have to pee really badly. Because do you know what the only cure for “Have to Pee Really Badly CrankaTsuris” is. It is called “peeing.” And relieving “Have to Pee Really Badly CrankaTsuris” is the one of two situations that every human on the planet, whether they believe in God or not, will say the same thing. “Oh. Thank God!!”
The second most important tip is that if you anticipate traffic is to make sure you do not load your car with little screaming children before you go out. You do not want to be stuck in traffic with screaming kids.
This is the second situation that you finally get home exhausted, and when the kids finally fall asleep, you again exhale, and say “Thank God.”
The first two tips leads to the third tip because if you followed Tip One and Tip Two, you can now say the following thing when you get stuck in traffic:
“At least I do not have to pee, and also, at least I do not have screaming kids in the car.” Just sit back and enjoy!
What is the coolest thing you heard from your friends and family about your new book?
It inspired them to write a book! Three people wrote a book because I wrote a book. My book is giving birth to babies!!
Since you like writing stories, do you write short stories in your spare time? Where can we find them?
I run, and the stories appear to me during a run, and I go home and copy them off my brain. They can be found on my blog at www.StevenJosephAuthor.Com.
Here are some rapid-fire questions we’d like you answer as fast as you can. Pick one.
Fiction or Non-fiction?
Fiction.
Tea or Coffee?
Coffee.
Panda or Koala?
Koala.
Sourdough or Wheat?
Wheat.
Road trip or Cruise ship?
Road Trip.
Movies or Books?
Books.
