A recent Turkish movie playing in theaters follows the adventures of a hapless guy trying desperately to better his luck to no avail. In Kamil Çetin’s Oğlum Bak Git (Dude, Move It), protagonist Orhan finds the ultimate solution to finding happiness and luck in consulting a self-help guru.
As a comedy hoping to appeal to a mainstream audience, it’s fair to say that the discourse of self-help, or personal development, has become an integral part of pop culture in Turkey. One look at the top 20 best-selling books on the bookseller D&R’s website shows as many as six books that offer advice, solutions and inspiration to readers who are presumably leading frustrating and unfulfilling lives.
Beki İkala Erikli’s Meleklerle Yaşamak (Living with Angels) asks its reader to open their heart to the miracles of their guardian angels. İskender Pala’s Aşka Dair (On Love) talks about the different stages of love and in Mesnevi Terapi (Masnavi Therapy), Nevzat Tarhan offers ways to apply Rumi’s teachings and wisdom to everyday life.
In fact, the self-help and personal development genre takes the biggest slice of the publishing pie in Turkey, with more than 20 percent of all sales. There are around 2,000 books published within the genre in Turkey to date, with publishers like Dharma, Optimist and Elma specializing only in the self-help and personal development books. The Turkish translation of Robin Sharma’s international bestseller The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari reached one million readers a decade ago.
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