From Hadley Freeman, bestselling author of House of Glass , comes a “riveting” ( The New York Times ) memoir about her experience as an anorexic and her journey to recovery. In 1995, Hadley Freeman wrote in her diary: “I just spent three years of my life in mental hospitals. So why am I crazier than I was before????” From the ages of fourteen to seventeen, Freeman lived in psychiatric wards after developing anorexia nervosa. Her doctors informed her that her body was cannibalizing her muscles and heart for nutrition, but they could tell her little else: why she had it, what it felt like, what recovery looked like. For the next twenty years, Freeman lived as a “functioning anorexic,” grappling with new forms of self-destructive behavior as the anorexia mutated and persisted. Anorexia is one of the most widely discussed but least understood mental illnesses. Through “sharp storytelling, solid research and gentle humor” ( The Wall Street Journal ), Freeman delivers an incisive and bracing work that details her experiences with anorexia—the shame, fear, loneliness, and rage—and how she overcame it. She interviews doctors to learn how treatment for the illness has changed since she was hospitalized and what new discoveries have been made about the illness, including its connection to autism, OCD, and metabolic rate. She learns why the illness always begins during adolescence and how this reveals the difficulties for girls to come of age. Freeman tracks down the women with whom she was hospitalized and reports on how their recovery has progressed over decades. Good Girls is an honest and hopeful story of resilience that offers a message to the nearly 30 million Americans who suffer from eating disorders: Life can be enjoyed, rather than merely endured.

"This book will challenge you to rethink your vision of a good life. With sharp insights and lucid prose, Paul Bloom makes a captivating case that pain and suffering are essential to happiness. It's an exhilarating antidote to toxic positivity." --Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife One of Behavioral Scientist's "Notable Books of 2021" From the author of Against Empathy, a different kind of happiness book, one that shows us how suffering is an essential source of both pleasure and meaning in our lives Why do we so often seek out physical pain and emotional turmoil? We go to movies that make us cry, or scream, or gag. We poke at sores, eat spicy foods, immerse ourselves in hot baths, run marathons. Some of us even seek out pain and humiliation in sexual role-play. Where do these seemingly perverse appetites come from? Drawing on groundbreaking findings from psychology and brain science, The Sweet Spot shows how the right kind of suffering sets the stage for enhanced pleasure. Pain can distract us from our anxieties and help us transcend the self. Choosing to suffer can serve social goals; it can display how tough we are or, conversely, can function as a cry for help. Feelings of fear and sadness are part of the pleasure of immersing ourselves in play and fantasy and can provide certain moral satisfactions. And effort, struggle, and difficulty can, in the right contexts, lead to the joys of mastery and flow. But suffering plays a deeper role as well. We are not natural hedonists--a good life involves more than pleasure. People seek lives of meaning and significance; we aspire to rich relationships and satisfying pursuits, and this requires some amount of struggle, anxiety, and loss. Brilliantly argued, witty, and humane, Paul Bloom shows how a life without chosen suffering would be empty--and worse than that, boring.

In her remarkable national bestseller, Necessary Losses, Judith Viorst explored how we are shaped by the various losses we experience throughout our lives. Now, in her wise and perceptive new book, Imperfect Control, she shows us how our sense of self and all our important relationships are colored by our struggles over control: over wanting it and taking it, loving it and fearing it, and figuring out when the time has come to surrender it. Writing with compassion, acute psychological insight, and a touch of her trademark humor, Viorst invites us to contemplate the limits and possibilities of our control. She shows us how our lives can be shaped by our actions and our choices. She reminds us, too, that we sometimes should choose to let go. And she encourages us to find our own best balance between power and surrender.

"Over the past three years James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher have answered tens of thousands of questions in their writings, retreats, talks, and online seminars. The questions cover the entire spectrum of life, from how to deal with bad relationships, to how to access your innate special uniqueness, to how to pay the rent when you're crying on the floor, broken and depressed,. Invariably, they look to one little word as the solution: No. No is not only a solution; it is a path for people to heal and bring abundance and happiness into their lives. Every time you say yes to something you don't want to do you can experience a spate of negative outcomes: resenting people, doing poor quality work, having less energy for the things you actually love, making less money, and so on. But the worst part is that yet another small percentage of your life is used up by something you don't want. We need the power of no so we can set proper boundaries around the things that hurt us directly. We need it to curb the relationships that drain us of our energy, creativity, and expression, to protect us from those people who put us down, hurt us emotionally, and leave us barren and depressed. And in the larger picture, we need the power of no to understand what we truly believe in, rather than the stories we take at face value because we've been conditioned to think them as the truth. With the power of no we can refocus our energies toward living an abundant, healthy, and wealthy life. We can realize that there is nothing to prove, there is nobody to impress, there is no cage around us. Such is the power of saying no to our misconceptions. As a species, this is where we find ourselves now and many of us are trying very hard to use the power of no at this higher level. To clearly see what intelligent compassion is. To open our hearts and bring healing to the world. The power of no is a force that allows us to truly surrender to a higher power and be the unique people we were meant to be. And in The Power of No, James and Claudia will help guide you to this place by relating the stories they've heard and the things they've experienced. Their goal is to bring this little word out into the world to shine its power and its light on all of us. "--

A daughter is forever. No matter how old she is, in your heart she'll always be that little girl full of imagination, dreams, and fantastic potential -- the one who captured your heart the day she came into your life... Bestselling poet Susan Polis Schutz and Grammy Award-winning songwriter Donna Fargo, along with many other authors, have contributed to this book some of the most eloquent words any daughter could ever receive. This is a beautiful, lasting way to convey your love for your daughter, your confidence in her, and your promise to always be there for her no matter where life takes her... "My day always becomes wonderful when I see your pretty face smiling so sweetly. There is such warmth and intelligence radiating from you. It seems that every day you grow smarter and more beautiful." - Susan Polis Schutz

Leonard Wolf, a retired professor now in his early eighties, is the kind of person who likes to use a medieval astrolabe, dress in Basque shepherd's clothing, and convince otherwise sensible people to quit their jobs and follow their passions. Leonard believes that inside everyone is an artist, and that happiness in life depends on valuing and acting upon one's creative impulse. In The Treehouse, her most personal book yet, Naomi Wolf outlines her father's lessons in creating lasting success and happiness, and offers inspiration for the artist in all of us. Drawn from Leonard's lecture notes, the chapters of The Treehouse remind us to "Be Still and Listen," "Use Your Imagination," and "Do Nothing Without Passion," and that "Your Only Wage Will Be Joy" and "Mistakes Are Part of the Draft." This is a journey of self-discovery in which the creative endeavor is paramount. The Treehouse is a stirring personal history, a meditation on fathers and daughters, an argument for honoring the creative impulse, and a unique instruction in the art of personal happiness.

In this illuminating book, Ellis provides a lively and insightful explanation of the differences between self-esteem and self-acceptance. Emphasizing the importance of self-acceptance, he examines this theme in the thinking of great religious teachers, philosophers, and psychologists. He then provides exercises for training oneself to change self-defeating habits to the healthy, positive approach of self-acceptance. These include specific thinking techniques as well as emotive and behavioral exercises.He concludes by stressing that unconditional self-acceptance is the basis for establishing healthy relationships with others, along with unconditional other-acceptance and a total philosophy of life anchored in unconditional life-acceptance.

Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, whose many books have transformed and enriched the lives of tens of thousands of readers, now distills a lifetime of wisdom, experience, and ahavas Yisrael into this poignant, warm and personal collection of letters. In letters sent to grandchildren standing on the cusp of marriage, he shares his insights on building relationships and keeping them strong and fresh. To his great-grandson, on the occasion of his bar mitzvah, Rabbi Dr. Twerski gives a wealth of advice on the best way for a Torah Jew to live and reach his G-d-given potential. He imagines, rather wistfully, the letter he would have liked to send to his parents, and in it offers us his profound understanding of hakaras ha'tov, gratitude. He even writes a letter to his great-great-grandchild, who has not yet been born, showing him that no matter what changes the world will undergo, some things - the most vital things - are changeless and immortal. The letters are spiced with personal case histories from Rabbi Dr. Twerski's career as a psychiatrist, as well as wonderful stories from Chassidic lore. By sharing his personal correspondence, Rabbi Dr. Twerski makes us a part of his family. And what a "zeide" he is to us all!

Would the small gay boy you once were look up to the gay man you've become?This is the question Dr. Joe Kort explores in 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives (completely revised and updated edition) as he guides readers through the complex journey of becoming a fully self-actualized gay man. Learn the five biggest mistakes gay men make when seeking a relationship. Understand how to deal with loved ones who disapprove of your being gay. Overcome damaging patterns that are holding you back from enjoying a healthy sex life. Learn how to identify your own internalized homophobia, a chronic issue that prevents many gay men from leading satisfying lives and keeps them from having healthy relationships.This updated and revised edition is more sex positive than the first edition and includes a new chapter on exploring erotic turn ons and sexual interests. Out-of-Control Sexual Behavior (OCSB) is also addressed for those struggling with sexual issues.After coming out, a gay man will typically feel better at first, but often the good feelings don't last. This is because "coming out" is only part of the beginning of the journey. This book provides a map for navigating the whole long passage of becoming the gay man you want to be.