"The Book of Alchemy proves on every page that a creative response can be found in every moment of life--regardless of what is happening in the world."--Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love From the time she was young, Suleika Jaouad has kept a journal. She's used it to mark life's biggest occasions and to weather its most ferocious storms. Journaling has buoyed her through illness, heartbreak, and the deepest uncertainty. And she is not alone: for so many people, keeping a journal is an essential tool for navigating both the personal peaks and valleys and the collective challenges of modern life. More than ever, we need a space for puzzling through. In The Book of Alchemy, Suleika explores the art of journaling and shares everything she's learned about how this life-altering practice can help us tap into that mystical trait that exists in every human: creativity. She has gathered wisdom from one hundred writers, artists, and thinkers in the form of essays and writing prompts. Their insights invite us to inhabit a more inspired life. A companion through challenging times, The Book of Alchemy is broken into themes ranging from new beginnings to love, loss, and rebuilding. Whether you're a lifelong journaler or new to the practice, this book gives you the tools, direction, and encouragement to engage with discomfort, ask questions, peel back the layers, dream daringly, uncover your truest self--and in doing so, to learn to hold the unbearably brutal and astonishingly beautiful facts of life in the same palm. Also includes essays from: Martha Beck - Nadia Bolz-Weber - Alain de Botton - Susan Cheever - Lena Dunham - Melissa Febos - Liana Finck - John Green - Marie Howe - Pico Iyer - Oliver Jeffers - Quintin Jones - Michael Koryta - Hanif Kureishi - Kiese Laymon - Cleyvis Natera - Ann Patchett - Esther Perel - Adrienne Raphel - Jenny Rosenstrach - Sarah Ruhl - Sharon Salzberg - Dani Shapiro - Mavis Staples - Linda Sue Park - Nafissa Thompson-Spires - Jia Tolentino - Lindy West - Lidia Yuknavitch - And many others
NOW IN PAPERBACK--AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"One of those life-changing reads that makes you see--or, in this case, hear--the whole world differently." --Megan Angelo, author of Followers
"At times chilling, often funny, and always perceptive and cogent, Cultish is a bracing reminder that the scariest thing about cults is that you don't realize you're in one till it's too late."--Refinery29.com
The New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Magical Overthinking and Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how "cultish" groups, from Jonestown and Scientologists to SoulCycle and social media gurus, use language as the ultimate form of power.
What makes "cults" so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we're looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join--and more importantly, stay in--extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? In this captivating work of nonfiction cultural commentary, Amanda Montell's argument is that, on some level, it already has . . .
Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of "brainwashing." But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to the specific language of fanaticism. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear--and are influenced by--every single day.
Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities "cultish," revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven's Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, cult fitness classes, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of "cultish" everywhere.
This gripping exploration of sociolinguistics reveals:
Emotion-Savvy Parenting: A Shame-Free Guide to Navigating Emotional Storms and Deepening Connection
Intense emotions - whether your own or your child's - can make it incredibly difficult to be the parent you want to be. This book is designed to help you become a more emotionally agile parent so you can better navigate whatever emotional storms you inevitably encounter.
Emotion-Savvy Parenting is an empowering, science-informed guide for breaking free of the hold that unwanted emotions so often have over parents. With compassion and wit, licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Alissa Jerud draws on decades of research to present a refreshing, theory-driven approach that encourages parents to focus on changing the only behaviors they truly have control over: their own. Rooted in highly effective, cognitive-behavioral strategies and a respectful, relationship-centered stance, her ART (Accept, Regulate, and Tolerate) framework enables parents to relate more skillfully to challenging emotions, model invaluable lessons, connect more deeply with their kids, and enjoy parenting more.
Packed with real-life examples and step-by-step techniques, this book supports parents of infants to teens in creating a more harmonious home by becoming their ideal, most emotionally adept selves. It also serves as a valuable resource for educators and mental health professionals seeking to help lighten the heavy load of parenthood.
--Adam Grant, author of Hidden Potential and Think Again In his days as an exhausted fifth grade teacher, Chris Duffy taught the funniest person he's ever met: eleven-year-old Gary. Gary was the school newspaper's official food critic, blasting cafeteria pizza for looking like cardboard and opining that the baked beans weren't "beany" enough. These days, Duffy is a professional comedy writer and the host of a podcast with millions of listeners, but he's never forgotten the transformative joy of laughing with Gary during a bleak Boston winter. In Humor Me, he shares a road map for how to cultivate and strengthen a sense of humor in a challenging world. Duffy embarks on a journey that takes him from comedy clubs to emergency rooms to a helicopter full of Navy SEALs and back to his own keyboard to reveal how--and why--a good laugh can bring us closer to the good life. Drawing on personal stories, insights from the social sciences, and the wisdom of comedians, Duffy offers practical strategies, including:
Humor Me promises to deepen your friendships, enhance your creativity, and lighten life's burdens, and is a genuinely funny read along the way.
The Primal Wound is a seminal work which revolutionizes the way we think about adoption. It describes and clarifies the effects of separating babies from their birth mothers as a primal loss which affects the relationships of the adopted person throughout life.. It is a book about pre-and perinatal psychology, attachment, bonding, and loss. It gives adoptees, whose pain has long been unacknowledged or misunderstood, validation for their feelings, as well as explanations for their behavior. It lists the coping mechanisms which adoptees use to be able to attach and live in a family to whom they are not related and with whom they have no genetic cues. It will contribute to the healing of all members of the adoption triad and will bring understanding and encouragement to anyone who has ever felt abandoned..
-Heal generational trauma
-Become "un-stuck"
-Set personal boundaries
-Build compassion for yourself and those around you
-Process the world around you with clarity and insight
