How to Use self-help in a Sentence

self-help

noun
  • That sounds very self-help-ish, but that’s the goal, right?
    — Meredith Goldstein, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Feb. 2023
  • This isn’t a self-help book — where’s the beauty in those?
    — Maggie Lange, Washington Post, 28 Apr. 2023
  • When the fight is this lopsided, all the self-help books in the world won’t show us how to win it.
    — Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Mar. 2023
  • There's a ton of business books out there and then there's a ton of, for lack of a better word, self-help books.
    — Jackie Fields, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023
  • Someone who reads self-help books that teach him how to be a better man.
    — Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
  • Lily-Rose Depp plays a pop star who falls under the control of a self-help guru, played by the Weeknd.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 24 May 2023
  • This also comes off as rather basic self-help for grown-ups.
    — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 June 2023
  • The first is frequently to be found in self-help books: Imagine the worst thing that can happen, and accept it.
    — Alexei Navalny, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
  • In 1985, Shields published On Your Own, a self-help book geared toward young women.
    — Lauren Dukoff, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2023
  • The self-help bona fides were clear from the title: Wurst was emerging from the ashes of past troubles, and nobody could stop her.
    — Miriam Quick, New York Times, 15 May 2025
  • But way before there were self-help books about it, my mom always followed her heart.
    — Emily Krauser, Peoplemag, 27 May 2024
  • Kennedy was at 15% and self-help author Marianne Williamson at 6%.
    — Susan Page, USA TODAY, 13 June 2023
  • The self-help sports book pops up throughout the season, becoming one of its best running jokes.
    — Shannon Carlin, Time, 22 June 2023
  • Lenz’s impulse to generalize is so strong that at times her work whiffs of self-help.
    — Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2024
  • The self-help high fades fast when no one around you believes bigger is possible.
    — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025
  • The two men’s paths had first crossed in Detroit, where Fard Muhammad was a street peddler of silk goods who also preached a self-help faith.
    — Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 1 Dec. 2024
  • Shaheen, a 25-year-old writer with a marketing background, is the new breakout star of the self-help genre.
    — Caroline Mimbs Nyce, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2024
  • The self-help expert’s guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones via tiny changes in behavior.
    — The California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2025
  • The self-help expert’s guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones via tiny changes in behavior.
    — The California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
  • The self-help expert’s guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones via tiny changes in behavior.
    — The California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024
  • Finding the Aya series in Yopougon is no easy task, as most book stalls in the street focus on self-help, school texts or old classics from France.
    — Elian Peltier, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2024
  • Changing oneself is harder than perky how-to guides and self-help books suggest.
    — Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 1 Jan. 2024
  • In some ways, the pursuit of self-help has been that unfortunate journey.
    — Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 19 Aug. 2024
  • In a 2012 self-help article for The Root, Lucas defined the term for their audiences.
    — Dominique Fluker, Essence, 26 July 2023
  • Bertha Masuda has a new self-help guru: a dark-eyed junco bird.
    — Elizabeth Bernstein, WSJ, 25 July 2023
  • But no: Odell’s tome is actually an art book disguised as a self-help book.
    — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 21 June 2025
  • Gets the biggest reaction from the rest of the cast due to his poor track record with women, but swears therapy and self-help books have changed him for the better.
    — Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 7 June 2024
  • The movie picks up on the 15th anniversary of the Woodsboro killings when Sidney just so happens to be in town promoting her new self-help book.
    — Keith Langston, People.com, 12 Oct. 2024
  • The ecosystem has spawned merch of all types, from coffee mugs to children’s book parodies to self-help journals.
    — Aja Romano, Vox, 10 Sep. 2024
  • The self-help guru first introduced the concept on her TikTok page in a series of videos, many of which have gone viral.
    — Jordana Comiter, People.com, 17 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-help.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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