I’ve always enjoyed pop-psychology books. Psychology in itself is a super interesting subject, but academic psychology can be dry and unapproachable. Pop psychology books are a great way to explore the world of psychology without having to dive in to the academic realm. It’s true that some pop psychology and self-help books are unreadable nonsense, and that some are full of vague, unhelpful platitudes. There have been plenty of pop psychology books that I’ve started and refused to finish. But there have been many more that I devoured and enjoyed. The first book of 2026, Meg Josephson’s “Are You Mad at Me?”, is one such book.

We all know that stressful environments can lead humans to the famed Fight-or-Fight response. Josephson spends this book focusing on a lesser-known response to such stresses, the Fawn response. Fawning is an attempt to please others, often at one’s own expense, to obtain emotional or physical security. When you can’t fight back, and you can’t run, many people fawn by spending vast amounts of physical or emotional effort to please the aggressor.

The question “Are you mad at me?” or some variant of it has left my own lips thousands of times. My childhood was dominated by the ever-shifting sands of my mother’s moods. Many of my teachers were tyrannical little Napoleons who delighted in mocking or punishing their students. Many of my peers were rather unpleasant to be around. Middle school and high school were dominated by bullies and emotionally immature adults. The workforce was no different: many of my jobs required obsequious attention to the fragile egos of megalomaniacal doctors and narcissistic administrators. I learned how to please these lunatics by placating their egos and giving them as little substantive information as possible, sort of a combination of fawning and gray-rocking. I mention this all to say that my own experiences helped me relate to this book.

Even if you haven’t experienced the fawning reaction, Josephson has shared many insights and much actionable advice about how to overcome fawning behaviors and how to manage your emotions before they manage you. “Are You Mad at Me?” is a good read for anyone who has found themselves trying to appease a difficult person, or for anyone who is just interested in psychology as a topic.