INVESTIGATION: Can books REALLY fix everything?

My relationship ended this week, and instead of wallowing in my depressing feelings, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make something productive out of heartache. I don't want sympathy or commiseration, but I thought it was worth giving a bit of background to wear this project idea came from. 

I've always wondered about self-help books; books that people read to cure anger issues, to relieve stress, or to help themselves become organised. But, as I'm sure some of you agree, I always thought it was a big bunch of hokum. As the Wikipedia article states: 

"It is important to note that the popularity of self-help books may cause a placebo effect and thus appear to be an effective way to change an individual's way of thinking about their life and selves. This is because individuals will believe these books well change their lives like others have endorsed."

As a reader, and an eternal pessimist, I am a disbeliever of the healing power of a few words. So, I thought I would use this tough time in my life to test my theory: can books really fix everything? Over the next four weeks, I'm going to read as many self-help books as physically possible, to see whether they help me feel any better! I'm not going to do individual reviews of them all (apart from short reviews on my Goodreads account) but instead I'm going to do a weekly wrap-up, and at the end of the month I'll evaluate just how helpful I think they really are.
My main focus is going to be on relationships, as that was the catalyst which convinced me to start this project. However, I'm also going to read books on stress (because who doesn't feel stressed out after a relationship ends?), relaxation and positive-thinking. They're the kind of books that I think could offer me something, so I might as well give them a chance in this experiment!
I hope you'll join me on my exploration into human nature and the human psyche, and hopefully you'll learn as much as I do!