And shifting your focus. And dealing with struggles. And changing your habits. It shows how mindfulness is the key to changing everything in your life. And it helps you train to use mindfulness to deal with any difficulty you face. This short read (you can read it in a sitting) has exercises that will teach you what you need to know to start mastering the basic concepts of mindfulness.

    I was hooked from A to Z." - James HerbertWho were the Maccabees? A pop group? Or a mother and her seven sons who suffered racking, skinning, burning, amputation and having their tongues pulled out and fried? And what was foot roasting? A way of keeping warm in the winter? Or a technique from the Spanish Inquisition that involved coating the prisoner’s feet in fat and toasting them over hot coals? From Amputation to Zero Tolerance, ‘The A-Z of Punishment & Torture’ is a grisly yet mesmerising compendium of the horrors inflicted on the human body over the centuries.A fascinating social history, it provides as a wealth of weird folklore, such as the power of the hanged man's hand; astounding tales, like Mary Hamilton, the cross-dressing 14-times bigamist; to more recent outrages, such as the use of ‘squassation’ at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. “Fascinating from beginning to end.” – Robert Foster, best-selling author of ‘The Lunar Code’. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher.

    Are you a chronic overthinker? Do you obsess to the point of feeling anxious, hopeless, angry, or stressed out? Have you ever tried to “think your way out” of one of these negative thought spirals, only to fall in deeper? Let’s face it: trying to escape your thoughts—or control them—just doesn’t work, and can actually make you more miserable in the long run. So, how can you overcome your addiction to thinking?   In Can’t Stop Thinking, psychotherapist and spiritual counselor Nancy Colier offers the keys to breaking free from the obsessive rumination that drives stress, worry, and anxiety. Using powerful tools grounded in the ancient wisdom of mindfulness and evidence-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), you’ll learn how to observe and gain distance from troubling thoughts, put an end to harsh self-criticism, and manage difficult feelings like resentment and shame. If you’re ready to discover a life beyond your thoughts—one of self-compassion, presence, and peace—it’s time to stop thinking and start living.

    Jeanhee Kang was shunned by her unforgiving society after being expelled from high school at age sixteen for breaking a taboo. She knew she had to find a way out of there at any cost." Run Away: One Woman's Story of Resilience doesn't spare the reader any of the agonizing details of her childhood, nor does the book hold back all she overcame to realize her dreams. Though often faced with insurmountable odds, Jeanhee Kang has made a tremendous journey halfway around the world -- a journey filled with heartbreaking, emotional trials -- and she has survived it all. This tale of her inspirational underdog story is dedicated to the 50 million American women who face similar hardships every day.

    What is it about J. D. Salinger and his body of work that has left such a lasting mark on American fiction? And who better to answer that question than the current generation of writers?Here are fourteen of the most vital voices in the contemporary American fiction scene pulling no punches in response to a writer who continues to beguile, charm, fascinate, and frustrate generations of readers. Contributors Walter Kirn, Ren? Steinke, Charles D’Ambrosio, Emma Forrest, Aleksander Hemon, Lucinda Rosenfeld, Amy Sohn, John McNally, Karen E. Bender, Thomas Beller, Benjamin Anastas, Aimee Bender, Joel Stein, and Jane Mendelsohn turn themselves inside out as they discuss their personal reactions to reading Salinger classics–not only The Catcher in the Rye but also Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters, and the short stories–and explore, with begrudging gratitude, how Salinger helped to form the deepest reaches of their literary imaginations.

    Each conversation uncovers a different perspective on, and experience of death, while at the same time exploring its universalities. Offering extremely sensitive and wise insight into our final moments, Brown shows practical ways to facilitate the shift from feeling helpless about death to feeling hopeful; from fear to acceptance; from feeling disconnected and alone, to becoming part of the wider, collective story of our mortality.As Janie Brown writes, "Most people now under sixty have never seen a person die, and so have become deeply fearful about death, their own and the deaths of their beloved others. They have had no role models to show them how to care for a dying person, and therefore no confidence in being able to do so. My hope is that the baby boomer cohort who pushed for the return of the midwives to de-medicalize birth will also be instrumental in reclaiming the death process. This book is my contribution to the re-empowerment of all of us to take charge of our lives and our deaths, remembering that we know how to die, just as we knew how to come into this world. We also know how to heal, and to settle our lives as best we can, before we die. In my view, this is the greatest gift we could give our loved ones: to be prepared and open and accepting when the time comes for us to leave this world."

    Seven escaped. Despite frantic efforts to rescue her, 18 month old Krystal, the youngest of six children, died. This is not only the story of a death but also the story of a life - the life of Laura, Krystal's mother. How does a grief-stricken mother reconcile herself to such a tragic loss? As she calls upon the reserves of faith, what are some of the emotional and spiritual challenges to be faced? Though the story reads like fiction, it is actually a true-to-life account of one family's experience. It is a moving story of faith and of hope, but more than all else it is a story of love.

    The photo looks completely out of place on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list where it’s been since December, 8, 2007. For eight of those years, Jason appeared directly beside Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden is long gone, but Jason is still wanted for armed robbery and murder.For years, his sister, Jami D. Brown Martin has watched the true crime programs and read the amateur investigative blogs devoted to Jason, his crime, and the efforts to apprehend him knowing the story wasn’t as simple, nor was it just Jason’s. To be the sister, brother, or relative of one of the world’s most wanted men is to live every day with the horrible truth and many consequences of his brutal act.CENTER OF ATTENTION is the story of a former Mormon missionary turned murderer. It is also a riveting look behind the facade of the genetically blessed, seemingly prominent and pious Brown family of Laguna Beach, California. It is a tale of the family patriarch, John Brown, who disappeared without a trace ten years before his son. More important, it is the gripping and ultimately hopeful story of the sister of one of the world’s most wanted fugitives and her journey to accept that despite being a product of the same crazy environment as her brother, her life and path are her own.

    From the pen of one of our greatest living theologians, here is a fresh and compelling introduction to the foundation story of the Christian faith.Full of illuminating theological insights, and with questions for discussion or personal reflection at the end of each chapter, this is the perfect book for all those who want to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the heart of the gospel.

    Being a hospice nurse she spends her days caring for and visiting the terminally ill. But in the pre-dawn hours, as her patients near death, they occasionally pay her a visit instead.Whether it's perfume drifting through a room or a touch on the shoulder, the strength of spirit displayed at the end of life is as unique as the individual. Alchemy of the Afterlife is a memoir of life AFTER death based on Linda's childhood as an orphan combined with her adult experiences as a hospice nurse. These encounters reveal both a glimmer of heaven and a flash of hell.This is a child's story about surviving abuse and neglect, only to be comforted by a visit from her mother, a visit that took place four years after her mother's death. It's a nurse's story about patients of all beliefs, and their evolution from life to afterlife minus the harps and halos. Most of all, it's an uplifting and universal story of the golden transformation we will all experience at death, a transformation with the heart of pure love.

    In Lecretia’s Choice, Matt tells the story of their life together, and how it changed when his proud, fiercely independent wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour and forced to confront her own mortality. The death she faced—slow, painful, dependent—was completely at odds with how she had lived her life. Lecretia wanted to die with dignity, to be able to say goodbye well, and not to suffer unnecessarily—but the law denied her that choice. With her characteristic spirit, she decided to mount a challenge in New Zealand’s High Court, but as the battle raged, Lecretia’s strength faded. She died on 5 June 2015, at the age of forty-two, the day after her family learned that the court had ruled against her. Lecretia’s Choice is not only a moving love story but compulsory reading for everyone who cares about the dignity we afford terminally ill people who want to die on their own terms. In 2015 Matt Vickers supported his wife, Lecretia Seales, in her campaign to gain the right to choose how she died. Lecretia’s Choice is his first book.

    In The Courage To Be Happy, Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga again distil their wisdom into simple yet profound advice to show us how we, too, can use twentieth-century psychological theory to find true happiness.

    Given the high level of both opportunity and comfort, one would expect people to be happier than ever, and even more satisfied with their lives. The reality, though, is startlingly different. Instead of thriving and feeling empowered as a result of greater choices, we are deteriorating. According to the latest research, one in four Americans suffers from mental illness. The drug companies try to keep pace, with the sales of anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, and mood-stabilizing drugs at record levels, and tens of millions of new prescriptions being written each year.But that doesn't seem to be enough.Many people are finding life just too painful. Every day, 80 Americans take their own lives, and over 1,900 Americans visit Emergency Departments for self-inflicted injury. So why are we suffering from such emotional pain and anguish? Drawing on timeless wisdom and fundamental principles in psychology, If God Were Your Therapist offers insights into the human condition, and reveals how regardless of the opportunities available to us today, a lack of self-control results in poor choices, and ultimately leads to negative emotions and destructive habits.As a solution, this book offers neither exercises or affirmations, nor meditations or motivating mantras. There is no homework to do or journals to fill out. Rather, readers learn how to regain self-control and move their thoughts, choices, and lives in a purposeful, powerful, direction, free from the shackles of anxiety and stress.A Look Inside:What makes some people capable of handling life’s challenges with quiet calm and optimistic resolve, while others dissolve at the slightest insult or frustration? The answer has to do with our perspective: how we see, feel, behave, and, ultimately, respond to circumstances in our life. Imagine a small child playing with a toy that suddenly breaks. The child’s whole world is shattered, and she may respond by crying, or by becoming frustrated, sad, or even angry. The child fails to appreciate, let alone recognize, that she is still being clothed, fed, loved, and taken care of — not to mention that there is a whole world outside of her own smaller world. The child’s parents know that the broken toy has no significance, but the parents have perspective that the child lacks. Intellectually, we may know that what makes us anxious or upset is actually unimportant and insignificant. The qualities however, that most of us strive to exemplify — such as objectivity, calm, and patience — are lost to annoyance and impatience when, in a hurry, we encounter the checkout clerk with the trainee name-tag staring at the cash register as if it were the cockpit of a 757. We try to maintain our cool, but negative emotions surface, and once sparked, blaze. Now we face an uphill battle. Techniques such as taking deep breaths, reciting affirmations, or practicing visualization, might work when we face minor issues, but they’re insufficient for life’s really big challenges. Reminding ourselves not to get annoyed is not a solution. Yes, the objective is to remain calm, but this is better accomplished through not becoming agitated in the first place. When we fight the urge to blow up or melt down, we battle our own nature. Without perspective, we are forever like the child holding the broken toy. This book shows you how to experience a new kind of freedom and power when you learn how to permanently shift your perspective and move through life without anger, fear, or frustration . . .

    Who could forget all the glam rock bands of that era, like Slade, Wizard, Mud, and Sweet, or singers like Alvin Stardust, Marc Bolan, and David Bowie? What about those wonderful TV shows like Starsky and Hutch, Kojak, Kung Fu, and Happy Days? Fashion included platform shoes (we all had a pair), flared trousers, brightly patterned shirts with huge collars, and colorful kipper ties. And everyone remembers preparing for power cuts and that long, hot summer of 1976? So dust off your space hopper and join us on this fascinating journey through a childhood during the seventies, with hilarious illustrations and a nostalgic trip down memory lane for all those who grew up in this memorable decade.

    Based on the authors' long investigative experience, these two insiders offer revealing insights into the following high-profile cases:-Casey Anthony: An assessment of the Trial of this Century, during which a Florida mother stood accused of killing her young daughter, Caylee. At stake were issues that included accuracy of air sampling and cadaver dogs, post-mortem hair banding, chloroform, duct tape identification, computer clues, and deep family secrets.-Michael Jackson: The authors provide never-disclosed data on the autopsies of Jackson’s body and a microscopic view of the singer’s life and career, plus analysis of the cardiologist charged with his death: Was Dr. Conrad Murphy recklessly negligent or a fall guy for a hopelessly addicted celebrity?-Drew Peterson: Heroic Illinois SWAT team cop or wife killer? Did his third wife slip and fall in the bathtub, or was she beaten and drowned? The controversy over her death led to an exhumation and the filing of homicide charges against him, but can prosecutors prove their case? And what happened to his fourth wife, who remains missing?-Rolling Stone Brian Jones: Was the rock musician’s death an accident or something more sinister? And was he impaired by drugs or alcohol when he died? After more than forty years, there is finally an answer.In addition, the authors examine the tragic death of twelve-year-old Gabrielle Bechen, whose rape-murder changed her community; Col. Philip Shue, whose demise was a battle of suicide versus homicide until Dr. Wecht solved the case; and Carol Ann Gotbaum, a respected Manhattan mother who died in police custody in Phoenix.