Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family


Amy Ellis Nutt - 2015
    But it wasn’t long before they noticed a marked difference between Jonas and his brother, Wyatt. Jonas preferred sports and trucks and many of the things little boys were “supposed” to like; but Wyatt liked princess dolls and dress-up and playing Little Mermaid. By the time the twins were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt’s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept and embrace Wyatt’s transition to Nicole, and to undergo an emotionally wrenching transformation of their own that would change all their lives forever.Becoming Nicole chronicles a journey that could have destroyed a family but instead brought it closer together. It’s the story of a mother whose instincts told her that her child needed love and acceptance, not ostracism and disapproval; of a Republican, Air Force veteran father who overcame his deepest fears to become a vocal advocate for trans rights; of a loving brother who bravely stuck up for his twin sister; and of a town forced to confront its prejudices, a school compelled to rewrite its rules, and a courageous community of transgender activists determined to make their voices heard. Ultimately, Becoming Nicole is the story of an extraordinary girl who fought for the right to be herself.Granted wide-ranging access to personal diaries, home videos, clinical journals, legal documents, medical records, and the Maineses themselves, Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this immersive account of an American family confronting an issue that is at the center of today’s cultural debate. Becoming Nicole will resonate with anyone who’s ever raised a child, felt at odds with society’s conventions and norms, or had to embrace life when it plays out unexpectedly. It’s a story of standing up for your beliefs and yourself—and it will inspire all of us to do the same.

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men


Lundy Bancroft - 2002
    So...why does he do that? You've asked yourself this question again and again. Now you have the chance to see inside the minds of angry and controlling men--and change your life. In Why Does He Do That? you will learn about:The early warning signs of abuse- The nature of abusive thinking- Myths about abusers- Ten abusive personality types- The role of drugs and alcohol- What you can fix, and what you can't- And how to get out of an abusive relationship safelyPrevention Programs, Harvard School of Public Health

The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness


Ichiro Kishimi - 2013
    Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of 19th century psychology alongside Freud and Jung, the authors explain how we are all free to determine our own future free of the shackles of past experiences, doubts and the expectations of others. It’s a philosophy that’s profoundly liberating, allowing us to develop the courage to change, and to ignore the limitations that we and those around us can place on ourselves.The result is a book that is both highly accessible and profound in its importance. Millions have already read and benefited from its wisdom. Now that The Courage to be Disliked has been published for the first time in English, so can you.

The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload


Daniel J. Levitin - 2014
    Levitin shifts his keen insights from your brain on music to your brain in a sea of details.The information age is drowning us with an unprecedented deluge of data. At the same time, we’re expected to make more—and faster—decisions about our lives than ever before. No wonder, then, that the average American reports frequently losing car keys or reading glasses, missing appointments, and feeling worn out by the effort required just to keep up.But somehow some people become quite accomplished at managing information flow. In The Organized Mind, Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, uses the latest brain science to demonstrate how those people excel—and how readers can use their methods to regain a sense of mastery over the way they organize their homes, workplaces, and time.With lively, entertaining chapters on everything from the kitchen junk drawer to health care to executive office workflow, Levitin reveals how new research into the cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory can be applied to the challenges of our daily lives. This Is Your Brain on Music showed how to better play and appreciate music through an understanding of how the brain works. The Organized Mind shows how to navigate the churning flood of information in the twenty-first century with the same neuroscientific perspective.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter


Margareta Magnusson - 2017
    In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming.Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.

Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food: 65 Everyday Meal Ideas for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Over 150 Great-Tasting, Down-Home Recipes


Alicia C. Simpson - 2009
    Simpson couldn’t imagine giving up her favorite dishes to become vegan. Animal-free food might be healthier, but could it match the tastes of home—like fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, or a bowl of chili? Three years after Alicia took the vegan plunge, Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food answers that question with a resounding “yes!”Here is the essential cookbook for any of America’s more than 6 million vegans who miss the down-home tastes they remember (or want to try), or for vegetarians and even meat-eaters who want to add more plant-based foods to their diets, but don’t know where to start. Comfort-seeking cooks will find:Easy-to-prepare, animal-free versions of classics like Spicy Buffalo Bites, Ultimate Nachos, Baked Ziti and more65 delicious combinations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with flavors from around the world, like “Chinese Take-In” or “Tijuana Torpedo”Everything you need to know to start your vegan pantry, and why being vegan is easier, less expensive, and more delicious than you might think.With spirit and style, Alicia shows just how easy—yes, and comforting—vegan food can be.

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations for Clarity, Effectiveness, and Serenity


Ryan Holiday - 2016
    Today, people of all stripes are seeking out Stoicism’s unique blend of practicality and wisdom as they look for answers to the great questions of daily life.Where should they start? Epictetus? Marcus Aurelius? Seneca? Which edition? Which translator? Presented in a page-per-day format, this daily resource combines all new translations done by Stephen Hanselman of the greatest passages from the great Stoics (including several lesser known philosophers like Zeno, Cleanthes and Musonius Rufus) with helpful commentary.Building on the organizational structure in Ryan Holiday’s cult classic The Obstacle is the Way, this guide also features twelve monthly themes (and helpful glossary) for clarifying perception, improving action, and unlocking the power of will. Aimed at the high-octane, action-oriented doers of our wired world, this book brings new daily rituals and new perspectives to produce balanced action, insight, effectiveness, and serenity.

The Book of Veganish: A Beginner's Toolkit for Easing Into a Plant-Based, Cruelty-Free, Awesomely Delicious Way to Eat, with 70 Easy Recipes Anyone Can Make


Kathy Freston - 2016
    Filled with insights on the benefits of adopting a plant-based diet and how to best deal with parents and the rest of the non-vegan world, The Book of Vegan(ish) will allow existing and aspiring vegans to feel confident about their new lifestyle choices.

Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living


Linnea Dunne - 2017
     The Swedish concept of Lagom (pronounced "lah-gom") roughly translates to "not too little, not too much, just right." This charming book introduces readers to a new way of balanced living that promises happiness and sustainability in work and in life. Lagom provides simple solutions to juggle everyday priorities, reduce stress, eat well, and save money, with lessons on the importance of downtime, being outdoors, and Sweden's coffee break culture. Tips on removing clutter and creating a capsule wardrobe help readers achieve Sweden's famously clean and functional design aesthetic, while advice on going green and growing food gets their hands dirty. With seemingly endless financial, emotional, and environmental benefits, Lagom presents an accessible and all-encompassing lifestyle that is sure to inspire mindfulness, wellbeing, and contentment.

TIME Mindfulness: The New Science of Health and Happiness


TIME Magazine - 2016
    The practice of meditation—which includes living in the moment and being in touch with your emotions—can change your body and brain, keeping them fit, flexible and resilient as you age. TIME’s special edition offers: Mindfulness tips for everyone, from the novice to the lifetime meditator The latest research on mindfulness, heart health and sleep How to bring mindfulness into your day without having to sit still on a cushion

The Dude and the Zen Master


Jeff Bridges - 2012
    Zen master Bernie Glassman compares Jeff Bridges’s iconic role in The Big Lebowski to a Lamed-Vavnik: one of the men in Jewish mysticism who “are simple and unassuming, and so good that, on account of them, God lets the world go on.” His buddy Jeff puts it another way. The wonderful thing about the Dude, he says, is that he’d always rather hug it out than slug it out. For more than a decade, Academy Award–winning actor Jeff Bridges and his buddhist teacher, renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman, have been close friends. Inspiring and often hilarious, The Dude and the Zen Master captures their freewheeling dialogue about life, laughter, and the movies with a charm and bonhomie that never fail to enlighten and entertain. Throughout, their remarkable humanism reminds us of the importance of doing good in a difficult world.

Whitewash: The Disturbing Truth About Cow's Milk and Your Health


Joseph Keon - 2010
    Despite advanced medical care and one of the highest standards of living in the world, one in three Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and 50 percent of US children are overweight.This crisis in personal health is largely the result of chronically poor dietary and lifestyle choices. In Whitewash, nutritionist Joseph Keon unveils how North Americans unwittingly sabotage their health every day by drinking milk, and he shows that our obsession with calcium is unwarranted.Citing scientific literature, Whitewash builds an unassailable case that not only is milk unnecessary for human health, its inclusion in the diet may increase the risk of serious diseases including:Prostate, breast, and ovarian cancersOsteoporosisDiabetesVascular diseaseCrohn's diseaseMany of America's dairy herds contain sick and immunocompromised animals whose tainted milk regularly makes it to market. Cow's milk is also a sink for environmental contaminants and has been found to contain traces of pesticides, dioxins, PCBs, rocket fuel, and even radioactive isotopes.Whitewash offers a completely fresh, candid, and comprehensively documented look behind dairy's deceptively green pastures and gives readers a hopeful picture of life after milk.Joseph Keon has been a wellness consultant and nutrition and fitness expert for over twenty-five years. He is considered a leading authority on public health and has written three books, including Whole Health: The Guide to Wellness of Body and Mind and The Truth About Breast Cancer.

Gorilla Mindset: How to Control Your Thoughts and Emotions to Live Life on Your Terms


Mike Cernovich - 2015
     Applying Gorilla Mindset to your life (make no mistake, this is a book you must apply) will improve your health and fitness, lead to more money and career advancement, and help you have deeper, more meaningful relationships (or more casual ones; it’s your choice). Your thinking will become clear. You will have more focus. You will know exactly what steps to take to change your life. More importantly, you will be able to troubleshoot your own life – what psychologists call auto-regulate – when something goes wrong. For the first time ever, there is a complete system for you to live by, and more importantly, to improve and adapt to your needs. Some chapters will revolutionize how you live your life where as others might not apply to you at all. Gorilla Mindset is not a book of theory. These are all practical steps – mindset shifts you take or habits you form. There are chapters on routine, self-talk, frame, focus, state/mood, mindfulness, and body language. Each chapter contains techniques, mindset shifts, and habits that can be applied to your life. Yet each chapter forms part of an entire system to apply to your life. The chapters all feed off of and add to one another. For example, improving your self-talk will improve your state or mood. How you frame challenges in your life is also a matter of the language – or self-talk – you use. Getting in the moment improves your self-talk just as your self-talk helps you get into the moment. At the end of Gorilla Mindset you'll tie every concept together to live a life others don't even dare dream of.

You Can Buy Happiness (and It's Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can Too


Tammy Strobel - 2012
    Tammy Strobel and her husband are living the voluntary downsizing — or smart-sizing — dream and here she combines research on well-being with numerous real world examples to offer practical inspiration. Her fresh take on our things, our work, and our relationships spell out micro-actions that anyone can take to step off the getting-and-spending treadmill and into a life that’s more conscious and connected, sustainable and sustaining, heartfelt and happy.

Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life


Brendan Brazier - 2008
    As one of the few professional athletes on a plant-based diet, Brendan Brazier researched and developed this easy-to-follow program to enhance his performance as an elite endurance competitor.Brazier clearly describes the benefits of nutrient-rich foods in their natural state versus processed foods, and how to choose nutritionally efficient, stress-busting whole foods for maximum energy and health. Featuring a 12-week meal plan, over 100 allergen-free recipes with raw food options—including recipes for energy gels, sport drinks, and recovery foods—and a complementary exercise plan, The Thrive Diet is “an authoritative guide to outstanding performance” (Neal D. Barnard, M.D., Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine).