Your Erroneous Zones


Your Erroneous Zones is the first self-help book written by Wayne Dyer and issued on August 1, 1976. It is one of the top-selling books of all time, with an estimated 35 million copies sold. The book spent 64 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list through November 13, 1977, including a spot at number one on the week of May 8, 1977.

Criticism

Psychotherapist Albert Ellis writes that Dyer's book Your Erroneous Zones is probably "the worst example" of plagiarism of Ellis' Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy. In a 1985 letter to Dyer, Ellis claims that Dyer had participated in a workshop Ellis gave on REBT before Dyer published his book, in which Dyer appeared to understand REBT very well. Ellis adds that "300 or more people have voluntarily told me... that was clearly derived from REBT." Dyer never apologized or expressed any sense of wrongdoing. Ellis admonishes Dyer for unethically and unprofessionally not giving Ellis credit as the book's primary source, but expressed overall gratitude for Dyer's work, writing: "Your Erroneous Zones is a good book,... it has helped a great number of people, and... it outlines the main principles of REBT quite well,... with great simplicity and clarity."