The Book
The Art of Being YAY: The OMG NSFW Memoir and Guide to Authentic Joy
By Aidan Park
Foreword by Margaret Cho
In The Art of Being YAY! I tell juicy anecdotes from my life that out drama a Lifetime Channel movie. Through these stories I apply empowering thought tools and principles for emotional wellness.
I was born in South Korea to a single mother and a father with a secret, second family. My life started out resembling a sordid soap opera. It didn’t get any less dramatic. When I was nine my mother and I fled to the United States. I was thrust into a foreign culture with no real support. My mother was blackmailed into staying with an abusive boyfriend and paying his way through dental school.
Essentially on my own in a new country, I taught myself English. I also faced the prejudices of people who did not agree with my lifestyle as a gay man. Not being able to find a job due to my status as an illegal immigrant was also a barrier. So, I became a craigslist hooker. When that burgeoning career was cut short due to an HIV diagnosis, I threw myself into the world of self-help and cognitive behavior.
I used the coping skills gleaned from my studies to build up several successful careers, strong friendships, and even fell in love. But when my husband of five years died suddenly of cancer, I had to forge new coping techniques in order to deal with my grief. Not satisfied with just being okay, I decided to actively pursue joy. In my book I share alternately hilarious and heartbreaking stories. I also shares tools and principles that will help you pursue your own authentic joy, no matter what adversity you face.
Tales of love, death, and betrayal — oh my! Sit back and get ready to undoubtedly discover The Art of Being YAY!
TESTIMONIALS
“An essential and highly effective manual for mental health and happiness from a fantastic and fun friend! I love this book and I recommend it to anyone who needs a hug, an emotional boost or a roaring good time.”
~Margaret Cho
“Aidan’s book is truly a treat to read. It’s one of those books you’ll want to come back to and highlight parts to read again when you are faced with any struggles in life. His personality, humor, and especially his positivity pop off the page and make you feel inspired to keep playing the game of life, even when the cards you’re dealt aren’t always a winning hand. My favorite part is how authentic and real Aidan is when sharing his life lessons through his stories. It’s heartfelt. It’s real. It’s definitely the most uncensored self-help book you’ll ever read and you’ll be laughing the whole time. ”
“A wow read from a guy who has had more life experiences than any of us would want to have to face. Aidan generously opens his non-conventional life wide open to show that he was able to take control of fear, setbacks and terrible events to make himself stronger, more resilient and successful. The tools and tips he provides create a dynamic to overcome what life delivers to us in all its forms.”
“Aidan Park’s “The Art of Being Yay” may be the first self-help book to actually help people. His stories are intimate, devastating, and hilarious. Aidan shares the coping mechanisms he used to deal with a considerable amount of bad luck, including an HIV diagnosis, the loss of his partner, and the ensuing grief. Even with the seriousness of the subject matter, I often found myself laughing out loud. Aidan’s take on painful and humiliating life events is unexpectedly irreverent and surprisingly sweet. As he shared his stories, I remembered my own, and times when I have unconsciously used the techniques he describes in the book. This book offers conscious and mature coping mechanisms to combat the depression and anxiety that come with extreme misfortune. As Aidan’s pain and grief escalate, he finds bigger and better tools to deal with them. We all use the basic principles (be kind, work hard, think positive), and that’s not bad advice. And, if we’re lucky, we’ll never need anything stronger. Aidan wasn’t that lucky, but we’re fortunate to benefit from the wisdom that comes from knowing true strife and the generosity that comes from wanting to share that wisdom.”
“Aidan Park’s “The Art of Being Yay,” is as entertaining as it is informative. It’s beautiful in it’s incredible honesty, everything is on the table because that’s how you heal, through the truth. His message is universal and it’s definitely helped me in this difficult time we’re all facing right now (General life or Pandemic). When you hear that nasty voice in your head telling you you’re not worth it stepping back and addressing what you know and what is true is a gift you can give yourself to not only back out of the negativity but to flex on yourself that you’re pretty great and sometimes that’s a message that’s hard to hear, but it needs to be heard.”