With friends like these

I'm cataloging The Underminer : The Best Friend Who Casually Destroys Your Life, by Mike Albo with Virginia Heffernan

“You can't escape him. He swerves in and out of your life as if effortlessly walking through a crowded restaurant. He's a passive-aggressive master. He's as undetectable as a whisper and as effective as a tiny toxic pill. You probably went to school with him, and he knows everything you've done-every foolish secret ambition you've nurtured, everyone you wish you'd never slept with, every lame, fleeting trend you've embraced. The Underminer throws you into a spiral of self-doubt each time you see him. But...the Underminer is your friend. With this book, Mike Albo and Virginia Heffernan channel this hilarious and mysterious evil that we all have encountered. Through 15 years of booming successes and miserable failures, they pursue this powerful "friend" as he slowly and relentlessly dismantles the life of a nameless victim. Here is the subtle slayer of your hopes, the tactful destroyer of your dreams: the Underminer.” [from the blurb]

So. Why would you read this? Sounds depressing. Unless it’s funny:

Oh my God. Hi! I didn’t recognize you. Jeez you look so different! Jesus Christ! This is insane. I can’t believe how different you look! Maybe it’s me, but fuckin’ A!
[ . . . ]
Well something’s different. I thought you wore glasses. Or your teeth. Or are you using Pantene? Is it a makeover or something? Did you go on one of those talk shows or something? No it’s just so drastic!
[ . . . ]
So you’re still here. I would have thought you left by now. I mean the party, not the city.

I don't know. You decide.