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.


身兼搖滾歌手、群眾募資先驅以及TED演講者的阿曼達．帕爾默熟知如何向他人尋求協助。她身穿一席結婚禮服扮成活雕像，不發一語地向上千位路過的路人要求打賞。成為歌手、作曲家、音樂人後，在人群中表演時 (或是在巡迴演出中當沙發客時)，她也毫無畏懼地要求觀眾支持她。之後她與唱片公司解約，獨自開創事業，便向粉絲募資製作專輯，成為公眾集資公司 Kickstarter 全世界最成功的音樂案例。阿曼達因為勇敢向他人尋求協助，有時能得到支持，有時卻遭受批評，她也發現有些重要的事是請別人幫忙也無濟於事的，例如，當個音樂人、好朋友或是好妻子。她學習到她其實並不孤單，因為也有很多人害怕向他人求助，導致人生及感情停滯不前。在這本突破思維的書中，她探索了自己以及周遭朋友人生中的障礙，也發現「請求的力量」中關於情緒、哲學及實踐等不同面向。這本書既是宣言，也是剖白，描述了一個藝術家如何於網路與現實社會中，在 21 世紀的新交流規則裡求生存。本書將啟發讀者，帶領讀者重新思考何謂請求、給予、藝術以及愛。