It’s my pleasure to report to the greater reading public that Nicole Monente’s 100 Ways to Say No does not judge. It doesn’t judge you for not wanting to spend a Friday night socializing with friends, or for passing up an opportunity to score some points with the boss by designing the backdrop for his kid’s birthday party. 100 Ways to Say No is all about developing the mental fortitude required to say no, regardless of how noble or selfish your intentions may be.

For a people-pleaser, saying “yes” is the little death that one dies every day. “Yes” is the acceptance of hours of suffering in exchange for five seconds of relief. “Yes” is the candy bar that the dieter shame-eats when their desperation turns into self-pity. It tastes like cardboard in the mouth.

Happily, though, it is not the only way to live life. In 100 Ways to Say No, the author’s hand-drawn alter ego guides the reader through a number of situations where one might be pressured to say “yes” and teaches the reader ways to heroically say “no” instead. This is certainly telegraphed by the book’s endpapers, which are full of the word “NO” written in a number of delightful font styles and sizes.

100 Ways is a picture book for adults—a series of colorful single-panel comics where the plot is always about a cackling, burdensome obligation that threatens to pounce on cartoon Nicole and how she swats each one away with her mighty “no” muscle. It really is described in that way in the book: the “no” muscle. It’s a welcome take on a social skill. Like a muscle, it grows stronger with regular use. Also like a muscle, there’s wisdom in starting small before trying to lift a bus. There’s granularity in saying no, and the firmness of a refusal can depend on the situation. There’s also power in saying no. The book describes it as a way of taking back control of your life. It makes sense. It’s wisdom that you could have learned ten years from now, but you could learn right now just by reading the book.

The content is organized into five chapters, each of which focuses on refusing to give in to a person from a specific facet of life: family, friends, work, and love. The final chapter dramatically dips into final boss territory and guides you through saying no to your greatest enemy: yourself.

It’s a great read. Some parts might not be tailor-fit for everyone: the relationship stuff, for instance, is firmly positioned within the author’s own experience of being a young adult woman. However, it’s not hard to transpose any of the insights and—let’s face it—excuses, into any situation you might run into where it would be beneficial to say no.

100 Ways to Say No is a worthwhile read. Definitely give it a look if you’re the kind of person who suffers to put others first all the time—maybe you can learn to be guiltlessly selfish every once in a while.