And I Don't Want to Live This Life: A Mother's Story of Her Daughter's Murder


Deborah Spungen - 1983
    But for Deborah Spungen, the mother of Nancy, who was stabbed to death at the Chelsea Hotel, it was both a relief and a tragedy. Here is the incredible story of an infant who never stopped screaming, a toddler who attacked people, a teenager addicted to drugs, violence, and easy sex, a daughter completely out of control--who almost destroyed her parents' marriage and the happiness of the rest of her family.

How to Use Your Mind: A Psychology of Study


Harry Dexter Kitson - 1916
    The book brings value to both students and teachers/lecturers. It explores the basics of comprehension and memorization and shows effective applications of memory in learning. Some of the topics covered are: How to master the art of effective note taking; how to become avidly interested in any subject matter; how to get a mental second wind; and how to get physically conditioned for effective study. Written by Indiana University Professor of Psychology Harry D. Kitson in 1921 (Second Edition), "How to Use Your Mind" is today still as contemporary as it was then.

Transitions: Prayers and Declarations for a Changing Life


Julia Cameron - 1999
    They extend beyond affirmations to facilitate a powerful awakening of the potential of the human soul and to revitalize our abilities to transform our lives in the face of whatever the universe may put in our life's path.Transitions will help guide the soul and draw readers toward the source of their inner strength. Whether read in one sitting, or used over time, this is a book no thoughtful being will want to be without.

Get Me Out of Here: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder


Rachel Reiland - 2002
    A mother, wife, and working professional, Reiland was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder at the age of 29—a diagnosis that finally explained her explosive anger, manipulative behaviors, and self-destructive episodes including bouts of anorexia, substance abuse, and promiscuity. A truly riveting read with a hopeful message.

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction


Gabor Maté - 2007
    Diligently treating the drug addicts of Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside with sympathy in his heart and legislative reform in mind can't be easy. But Maté never judges. His book is a powerful call-to-arms, both for the decriminalization of drugs and for a more sympathetic and informed view of addiction. As Maté observes, "Those whom we dismiss as 'junkies' are not creatures from a different world, only men and women mired at the extreme end of a continuum on which, here or there, all of us might well locate ourselves." In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts begins by introducing us to many of Dr. Maté's most dire patients who steal, cheat, sell sex, and otherwise harm themselves for their next hit. Maté looks to the root causes of addiction, applying a clinical and psychological view to the physical manifestation and offering some enlightening answers for why people inflict such catastrophe on themselves.Finally, he takes aim at the hugely ineffectual, largely U.S.-led War on Drugs (and its worldwide followers), challenging the wisdom of fighting drugs instead of aiding the addicts, and showing how controversial measures such as safe injection sites are measurably more successful at reducing drug-related crime and the spread of disease than anything most major governments have going. It's not easy reading, but we ignore his arguments at our peril. When it comes to combating the drug trade and the ravages of addiction, society can use all the help it can get. --Kim Hughes

The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win


Jocko Willink - 2018
    With their first book, Extreme Ownership (published in October 2015), Jocko Willink and Leif Babin set a new standard for leadership, challenging readers to become better leaders, better followers, and better people, in both their professional and personal lives. Now, in THE DICHOTOMY OF LEADERSHIP, Jocko and Leif dive even deeper into the unchartered and complex waters of a concept first introduced in Extreme Ownership: finding balance between the opposing forces that pull every leader in different directions. Here, Willink and Babin get granular into the nuances that every successful leader must navigate. Mastering the Dichotomy of Leadership requires understanding when to lead and when to follow; when to aggressively maneuver and when to pause and let things develop; when to detach and let the team run and when to dive into the details and micromanage. In addition, every leader must:· Take Extreme Ownership of everything that impacts their mission, yet utilize Decentralize Command by giving ownership to their team. · Care deeply about their people and their individual success and livelihoods, yet look out for the good of the overall team and above all accomplish the strategic mission. · Exhibit the most important quality in a leader—humility, but also be willing to speak up and push back against questionable decisions that could hurt the team and the mission.With examples from the authors’ combat and training experiences in the SEAL teams, and then a demonstration of how each lesson applies to the business world, Willink and Babin clearly explain THE DICHOTOMY OF LEADERSHIP—skills that are mission-critical for any leader and any team to achieve their ultimate goal: VICTORY.

What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America


Tony Schwartz - 1995
    At the height of his career as a journalist, Tony Schwartz hit an unexpected wall.  Why did success suddenly feel so empty?  How could he add richer meaning to his everyday life?  What guides could he trust on the road to wisdom?During the next five years his search for answers took him from a meditation retreat in the mountains of Utah to a biofeedback laboratory in Kansas, from a peak-performance workshop at a tennis academy in Florida to a right-brain drawing course in Boston.  Blending the hunger of a seeker with a journalist's hard-headed inquiry, he discovered the best teachers and techniques for inner development--and identified the potential pitfalls and false gurus he met along the way.  What he found dramatically changed his life.  It may change yours as well.

Recovered, Not Cured: A Journey Through Schizophrenia


Richard McLean - 2003
    McLean bravely shares his paranoid delusions and offers both a verbal and a visual experience by including digital artwork he created to help objectify and control his impulses and fears. As McLean relates his experiences step by step, issues of sexuality, identity, and drug abuse are discussed, along with the overarching issues relating to mental health and the medical profession. Messages from online posters who either have suffered from mental illness or have cared for the mentally ill are included throughout, adding more perspectives to the author's personal experiences. This powerful combination of words and pictures provides a unique and poignant insight into a hidden, internal world.

Soul to Soul: Communications from the Heart


Gary Zukav - 2007
    with dustjacket, clean bright copy

Creativity


Matthew Fox - 2002
     Creativity is Fox at his most dynamic: It is immensely practical and leaves the reader with a message to take into action in life. Fox tantalizingly suggests that the most prayerful, most spiritually powerful act a person can undertake is to create, at his or her own level, with a consciousness of where that gift arises from.

Unleash the Power Within: Personal Coaching to Transform Your Life!


Tony Robbins - 2020
    When we do, we give away our power. It’s time to find your own answers...uncover your own internal motivations...and set your own rules! In Tony Robbins’ exciting live audio seminar Unleash the Power Within you’ll discover how to transform your limiting beliefs, adding new meaning and depth to your life. You’ll learn to tap into your deepest, most personal resources, to become all you truly desire and deserve. And when you begin to claim the abundant rewards your future has in store, you’ll not only make a remarkable improvement in your life—but consequently, in our world. Tony shows you how to live your life not by hope...not by chance...but by design. You’ll learn to: -Break old patterns and destroy limiting beliefs -Become a decisive person who takes massive, intelligent action -Condition yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically to create staggering results -Find and develop a strategy of success -Have more confidence and self-esteem -Develop new communication skills -Generate more passion and enthusiasm -Become aware of the higher purpose of your life -Discover what drives you and what holds you back -And much, much more!

Other Lives, Other Selves: A Jungian Psychotherapist Discovers Past Lives


Roger J. Woolger - 1987
    Roger J. Woolger, a graduate of Oxford University and a certified Jungian analyst, reveals an exciting psychotherapeutic technique that produces astoundingly beneficial emotional and physical results--whether you believe in reincarnation as a literal or symbolic phenomenon.Drawing on both Western science and Eastern spirituality, Dr. Woolger shows how patients have unlocked the secrets of their innermost memories--the often self-destructive cycles that are repeated life after life--to overcome the insecurity, depression, guilt, inhibition, family dysfunction, and physical illness that they have inherited from their past lives. A lucid, compelling account of a revolutionary therapeutic technique, Other Lives, Other Selves offers an alternative path to self-improvement and self-enlightenment that addresses the whole person: mind, body, and spirit."An important and powerful book . . . fascinating."--Journal of Regression Therapy

Energy Vampires: How to Deal With Negative People


Jennifer O'Neill - 2012
    Everybody!So what is an energy vampire? You've probably heard the term "energy vampires" before, especially if you're at all interested in psychic ability or psychic development. But what exactly are energy vampires? They're not real vampires. Well, I guess they're real vampires, but not like the ones you see in Twilight ... "Energy vampires" feed upon your energy. In other words, their primary target is your spiritual body, not your physical body."Energy vampires" are people who constantly draw upon other people's energy in order to help "recharge" their own system.So what do energy vampires and negative people have in common?They essentially do the same thing. They draw upon your energy, and they will have a very profound effect on your system, both spiritually and physically. Many times, they will wear you down to the point of exhaustion. However, unless you're aware of what is happening, you may not even notice the effects these people are having in your life, on a day-to-day basis.Empaths, this is the book for you!Empaths and sensitives are very susceptible to "energy vampires" more so than most other people. More and more people are discovering they are empaths in this new consciousness area. You may even be one and never knew it, until now. How do you find out if you are an empath? By reading this book!In The Book Find Out: *How to spot an "energy vampire" *How to protect yourself against negativity *What to do if you if you are surrounded by negative people *How to tell if you are an empath! *How to protect yourself if you are an empath *What effects "energy vampires" have on your spiritual and physical health *How to live in a world filled with "energy vampires" *And the very important...energy vampire first aid!

Capture: A Theory of the Mind


David A. Kessler - 2015
    David A Kessler has studied this question with regard to tobacco, food, and drugs. Over the course of these investigations, he identified one underlying mechanism common to a broad range of human suffering. This phenomenon—capture—is the process by which our attention is hijacked and our brains commandeered by forces outside our control.In Capture, Dr. Kessler considers some of the most profound questions we face as human beings: What are the origins of mental afflictions, from everyday unhappiness to addiction and depression—and how are they connected? Where does healing and transcendence fit into this realm of emotional experience?Analyzing an array of insights from psychology, medicine, neuroscience, literature, philosophy, and theology, Dr. Kessler deconstructs centuries of thinking, examining the central role of capture in mental illness and questioning traditional labels that have obscured our understanding of it. With a new basis for understanding the phenomenon of capture, he explores the concept through the emotionally resonant stories of both well-known and un-known people caught in its throes.The closer we can come to fully comprehending the nature of capture, Dr. Kessler argues, the better the chance to alleviate its deleterious effects and successfully change our thoughts and behavior Ultimately, Capture offers insight into how we form thoughts and emotions, manage trauma, and heal. For the first time, we can begin to understand the underpinnings of not only mental illness, but also our everyday worries and anxieties. Capture is an intimate and critical exploration of the most enduring human mystery of all: the mind.

My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind


Scott Stossel - 2014
    Today, it is the most common form of officially classified mental illness. Scott Stossel gracefully guides us across the terrain of an affliction that is pervasive yet too often misunderstood. Drawing on his own long-standing battle with anxiety, Stossel presents an astonishing history, at once intimate and authoritative, of the efforts to understand the condition from medical, cultural, philosophical, and experiential perspectives. He ranges from the earliest medical reports of Galen and Hippocrates, through later observations by Robert Burton and Søren Kierkegaard, to the investigations by great nineteenth-century scientists, such as Charles Darwin, William James, and Sigmund Freud, as they began to explore its sources and causes, to the latest research by neuroscientists and geneticists. Stossel reports on famous individuals who struggled with anxiety, as well as on the afflicted generations of his own family. His portrait of anxiety reveals not only the emotion’s myriad manifestations and the anguish anxiety produces but also the countless psychotherapies, medications, and other (often outlandish) treatments that have been developed to counteract it. Stossel vividly depicts anxiety’s human toll—its crippling impact, its devastating power to paralyze—while at the same time exploring how those who suffer from it find ways to manage and control it. My Age of Anxiety is learned and empathetic, humorous and inspirational, offering the reader great insight into the biological, cultural, and environmental factors that contribute to the affliction.