The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help

Amanda Palmer

Nov 2014 · Sold by Grand Central Publishing

About this ebook

Rock star, crowdfunding pioneer, and TED speaker Amanda Palmer knows all about asking. Performing as a living statue in a wedding dress, she wordlessly asked thousands of passersby for their dollars. When she became a singer, songwriter, and musician, she was not afraid to ask her audience to support her as she surfed the crowd (and slept on their couches while touring). And when she left her record label to strike out on her own, she asked her fans to support her in making an album, leading to the world's most successful music Kickstarter.

Even while Amanda is both celebrated and attacked for her fearlessness in asking for help, she finds that there are important things she cannot ask for-as a musician, as a friend, and as a wife. She learns that she isn't alone in this, that so many people are afraid to ask for help, and it paralyzes their lives and relationships. In this groundbreaking book, she explores these barriers in her own life and in the lives of those around her, and discovers the emotional, philosophical, and practical aspects of The Art of Asking.

Part manifesto, part revelation, this is the story of an artist struggling with the new rules of exchange in the twenty-first century, both on and off the Internet. The Art of Asking will inspire readers to rethink their own ideas about asking, giving, art, and love.

Ratings and reviews

I've loved Amanda Palmer since I first heard her music in my undergrad. Her music got me through a lot. Reading her book inspired me. As an artist and a human being, it isn't easy to ask for help when you need it the most and sometimes asking the people you love makes asking even more difficult. Her stories, the struggles, the love, the hate...they all seem so familiar in my life. It's nice to be able to relate to someone you look up to. Thank you, Amanda.

Amanda has written a book that will help you understand why saying "You don't have to do that" is met with "But I WANT to." Raw, honest, real. Human connection at its finest. Highly recommend.

This book is a huge journal entry. It is non-linear and full of the discomfort, frustration, laughter and tears of real life. Amanda has straight figured out some super important stuff. She is not a master of life, or even a master of communication, but she has mastered a few small articles of authentic connection on this front. We should all be inspired by her efforts, and aspire to get as far out of our own way.

About the author

Amanda Palmer is a world-renowned singer, songwriter, activist, director, and blogger who first came to prominence as one half of the internationally acclaimed punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls.

She is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and has shown her underwear on Australian television. She currently avoids living in places including Boston, New York, and Melbourne with her husband, author Neil Gaiman, who is easily embarrassed.

Palmer's TED Talk, "The Art of Asking," which she presented at a 2013 TED conference, has been viewed at least 8 million times around the world. You can visit her website and blog at www.AmandaPalmer.net.