HOW TO BE A REALLY NICE PERSON

by Pat Collins ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 24, 1983

How to duck unwelcome invitations, quash know-it-alls, or, more seriously, wind up a friendship: in sum, how to handle difficult situations and people with discretion. As a CBS-TV critic and interviewer, and the wife of composer Joe Raposo (Sesame Street, The Muppets), Collins is more imposed upon than most of us, and more obliged to be tactful. She's also more practiced at responding to the unexpected. So this slim book isn't just a celebrity outing or a bag of tricks. There are some ploys--vagueness is recommended as ""the nice person's first line of defense"" in diverse situations (from feeling out new people to dodging nosey questions). There are also some fairly set responses--for writing noncommital letters-of-recommendation or outfoxing the luncheon companion who never picks up the check. But avoidance--a white lie or a dodge--isn't the only way out: ""nice people do not have the obligation to become friends with every last person a spouse or live-in lover happens to like"" (with one couple of Joe's acquaintance, she just turns up for an occasional drink); if someone you like is being knocked, ""the nice person has an obligation to come to the rescue"" (hear her forthright case for old-friend Helen Gurley Brown). Neither are these all piddling situations: Collins writes feelingly about dealing with drunken guests and with helpful candor about getting through ritual situations in the wake of divorce. ""I'm Pat Raposo, Joe's second wife,"" she says at class reunions and such. Not everyone has the aplomb to carry that off; but the mindset could be contagious--and the text, at its least, is diverting.

Pub Date: May 24, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Evans

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION