Collection: Self-Development

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - The Worldwide Puzzle Phenomenon - One of The Washington Post's 10 great gifts for book-lovers - "Clever, satisfying and utterly addictive." --Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal

G. T. Karber, the creator of the popular online daily mystery game Murdle, presents the first collection of 100 original murder mystery logic puzzles--a perfect gift for armchair detectives and puzzlers to hone their minds and solve a series of crimes.

Who committed the ghastly deed?
What weapon was used to dispatch the victim?
Where did the calculated demise occur?

Join Deductive Logico and investigate murders most foul in Murdle: Volume 1. The first of their kind, these humorous mini-mystery puzzles challenge you to find whodunit, how, where, and why. Examine the clues, interview the witnesses, and use the power of deduction to complete the grid and catch the culprit. Together, you'll uncover a buried secret beneath all of the murders and a message that can only be decrypted when you've solved them all.

Packed with illustrations, codes, and maps, and brimming with wit and intrigue, Murdle: Volume 1 is the must-have detective casebook for the secret sleuth in everyone.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A practical, heartfelt guide to the art of truly knowing another person in order to foster deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives--from the author of The Road to Character and The Second Mountain

As David Brooks observes, "There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen--to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood."

And yet we humans don't do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In How to Know a Person, Brooks sets out to help us do better, posing questions that are essential for all of us: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them? What kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person's story should you pay attention to?

Driven by his trademark sense of curiosity and his determination to grow as a person, Brooks draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history, and education to present a welcoming, hopeful, integrated approach to human connection. How to Know a Person helps readers become more understanding and considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen. Along the way it offers a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility, and misperception.

The act of seeing another person, Brooks argues, is profoundly creative: How can we look somebody in the eye and see something large in them, and in turn, see something larger in ourselves? How to Know a Person is for anyone searching for connection, and yearning to be understood.

From one of the most prominent voices in the trauma conversation comes a groundbreaking new way to heal on a personal and a collective level.

As we emerge from the past few years of collective upheaval, are we ready to face the complexities of our time with joy, authenticity, and connection? Now more than ever, we must learn to heal ourselves, connect with one another, and embody our values. In this revolutionary book, Prentis Hemphill shows us how.

What It Takes to Heal asserts that the principles of embodiment--the recognition of our body's sensations and habits, and the beliefs that inform them--are critical to lasting healing and change. Hemphill, an expert embodiment practitioner, therapist, and activist who has partnered with Brené Brown, Tarana Burke, and Esther Perel, among others, shows us that we don't have to carry our emotional burdens alone. Hemphill demonstrates a future in which healing is done in community, weaving together stories from their own experience as a trauma survivor with clinical accounts and lessons learned from their time as a social movement architect. They ask, "What would it do to movements, to our society and culture, to have the principles of healing at the very center? And what does it do to have healing at the center of every structure and everything we create?"

In this life-affirming framework for the way forward, Hemphill shows us how to heal our bodies, minds, and souls--to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to break down the doors of disconnection and take the necessary risks to reshape our world toward justice.

In this personal journey, ultra-light backpacker and sought-after speaker Glen Van Peski shares the life lessons he has learned through years of lightening his pack and helping others.

Adventures provide the richness and texture to a life well lived. So remain open. Keep saying yes to life's opportunities.

Glen Van Peski helped revolutionize backpacking by creating ultralight equipment, which allows people to take less so they can do more in the wilderness. During decades of championing ultralight backpacking, Glen became aware that "take less, do more" is more than just a hiking slogan. As he reduced his pack weight, he realized that the lessons learned applied to all areas of life. Now he wants to share the lessons he learned to help others live full and vibrant lives--lives characterized by purpose, meaning, and joy.

In this book, you will discover transformative life lessons, which may go against the grain of popular thought but have been proven to change lives for the better. You'll learn that:

• Often the best strategy for achieving goals comes from subtracting rather than adding.
• When your first instinct is generosity, the long-term dividends will be greater than if you strive to gain your own advantage.
• Revising the stories you tell yourself about situations will reframe your life and increase gratitude.
• By investing creatively in relationships, you will generate more joy in your life.
• Making friends with failure will cause you to grow and improve.

take less. do more. It's a revolutionary idea that will transform your life and free your soul to find your purpose--and maybe a little bit of adventure too.

"Dating other guys is just so fun and so easy!" ...said basically no one ever.

But why is dating so hard for men who like men? Why do so many of us struggle to find happy, stable relationships? And does it have to be that way?

Backed by psychological research, personal stories and more than a few d*ck jokes, Boys Who Like Boys is the in-depth guide to gay, bi and queer dating we've long been waiting for.

Inside, you'll learn how to overcome the common blocks that stop queer men connecting more deeply with each other. You'll learn to figure out what you want in your romantic relationships and how to get it. You'll learn why internalized homophobia is more like herpes than gonorrhea (and why it matters).

A profound but fun exploration of what it means to find love and fulfillment in the internet age, Boys Who Like Boys is our essential roadmap to better dating, a better community and more fulfilling connections.

"A rallying cry for all queer men to date, love and care for one another better."

Vaneet Mehta, Author of Bisexual Men Exist

"Much-needed, highly relevant and thought-provoking ... I would recommend this book to any queer man."

Thomas Smithson, LGBTQ+ Therapist

A powerful guide to manifesting the happiness and satisfaction we desire in the present by reconnecting with our experiences from the past, from a master intuitive and expert life coach

In our identity-obsessed culture, it is easy to think that who we are is determined by what we see in the mirror. But what if we open our minds to the notion that we are souls journeying through many lives over time? How would it change the way we think about ourselves now to remember how we lived before?
Michelle Brock has helped thousands of people discover the stories of their previous lives--their traumas and triumphs, losses and loves--and has witnessed incredible results. When we learn our stories from the past, we can reach unprecedented heights of self-awareness in the present.
Asking questions about our other lives is inherently human--and essential to our spiritual development. With Brock's enlightening guidance, and prompts throughout to encourage self-reflection and compassion, you will be inspired to reject any limiting notions of what defines you, heal from the ordeals of previous lives, and embrace a joyful, emotionally fulfilling existence in the here and now.

A fascinating, revelatory memoir revealing the author's struggle to come to terms with her own sociopathy and shed light on the often maligned and misunderstood mental disorder.

Patric Gagne realized she made others uncomfortable before she started kindergarten. Something about her caused people to react in a way she didn't understand. She suspected it was because she didn't feel things the way other kids did. Emotions like fear, guilt, and empathy eluded her. For the most part, she felt nothing. And she didn't like the way that "nothing" felt.

She did her best to pretend she was like everyone else, but the constant pressure to conform to a society she knew rejected anyone like her was unbearable. So Patric stole. She lied. She was occasionally violent. She became an expert lock-picker and home-invader. All with the goal of replacing the nothingness with...something.

In college, Patric finally confirmed what she'd long suspected. She was a sociopath. But even though it was the very first personality disorder identified--well over 200 years ago--sociopathy had been neglected by mental health professionals for decades. She was told there was no treatment, no hope for a normal life. She found herself haunted by sociopaths in pop culture, madmen and evil villains who are considered monsters. Her future looked grim.

But when Patric reconnects with an old flame, she gets a glimpse of a future beyond her diagnosis. If she's capable of love, it must mean that she isn't a monster. With the help of her sweetheart (and some curious characters she meets along the way) she embarks on a mission to prove that the millions of Americans who share her diagnosis aren't all monsters either.

This is the inspiring story of her journey to change her fate and how she managed to build a life full of love and hope.

Is your body an asshole? Does it keep you up at night, crave nonstop French fries and ice cream, and try to convince you that exercise is evil? Does it develop weird illnesses and pains for no apparent reason and run out of energy just when you need it the most? Does having a body at all fill you with uncomfortable emotions? Enter Dr. Faith G. Harper, therapist, nutritionist, and bestselling author of Unfuck Your Brain. She explains the emerging science of the gut-brain connection and the vagus nerve so that everyone can understand what's going on in your body and how to make friends with it again, especially if you've experienced trauma or chronic stress. Filled with straight talk and practical exercises so you can reconnect with your physical needs and reactions, work through body shame, manage illness and disability, and implement small changes that make a huge difference in how you feel every day. You are a whole person and it's time to reconnect with yourself!

What does it mean to be trans? Non-Binary? Gender Expansive?
What parts of gender come from society? What parts come from within?
How much is biology, and how much is socialization?

Part of the Really Strange series, this science-based graphic medicine comic addresses these questions and more, revealing the inherent messiness of gender identity and sex. A mysterious amalgam of biology and society, inherently sensed, yet societally-defined, the complexity of gender is revealed through examining neuroscience, biology, hormones, mental health, behaviour and how much of gender comes from society.
Exploring theories, thinkers, terminology, history and gender cultures around the world and across different religions, this easy-to-understand and engaging book will help you to question perceived norms and engage critically with your own gender identity. Get ready to break down the binary B.S. and celebrate gender in all its messy glory!

Stephen Mitchell is widely known for his ability to make ancient masterpieces thrillingly new, to step in where many have tried before and create versions that are definitive for our time. His celebrated version of the Tao Te Ching is the most popular edition in print, and his translations of Jesus, Rilke, Genesis, and Job have won the hearts of readers and critics alike. Stephen Mitchell now brings to the Bhagavad Gita his gift for breathing new life into sacred texts.

The Bhagavad Gita is universally acknowledged as one of the world's literary and spiritual masterpieces. It is the core text of the Hindu tradition and has been treasured by American writers from Emerson and Thoreau to T. S. Eliot, who called it the greatest philosophical poem after the Divine Comedy. There have been more than two hundred English translations of the Gita, including many competent literal versions, but not one of them is a superlative literary text in its own right.

Now all that has changed. Stephen Mitchell's Bhagavad Gita sings with the clarity, the vigor, and the intensity of the original Sanskrit. It will, as William Arrowsmith said of Mitchell's translation of The Sonnets to Orpheus, "instantly make every other rendering obsolete."

'Invaluable' RACHEL KRAMER BUSSEL
'Refreshingly honest, comprehensive and realistic' MEG-JOHN BARKER

Embarking on a non-monogamous relationship can be a daunting experience, opening old wounds that cause anxiety, fear and confusion, something Lola Phoenix knows about all too well.

In this all-you-need-to-know guide to exploring non-monogamy, polyamory and open relationships, Lola draws upon their years of experience in giving advice and being non-monogamous to provide guidance for every stage of your journey, helping you to prioritise your mental health and well being along the way.

Beginning with advice on starting out - such as finding your anchor, figuring out your personal reasons for pursuing non-monogamy, challenging your fears and practicing self-compassion - the book proceeds to cover the emotional aspects of non-monogamous relationships, including dealing with jealousy and judgement, managing anxiety and maintaining independence, as well as practical elements such as scheduling your time, negotiating boundaries and managing your expectations, all accompanied with activities for further exploration.
Whether you are new to non-monogamy, or have been non-monogamous for years, this insightful and empowering book will provide you with the emotional tools you will need to live a happy non-monogamous life.

Jessica Fern extends attachment theory into the realm of consensual nonmonogamy. In Polysecure, she expands our understanding of how emotional experiences can influence our relationships and sets out six specific strategies to help you move toward secure attachments in your multiple relationships. The Polysecure Workbook builds on this basis with practical exercises to encourage contemplation of your attachment style and create more secure relationships. This is a bundle of two books: Polysecure and The Polysecure Workbook.

From social psychologist Dr. Devon Price, a conversational, stirring call to "a better, more human way to live" (Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author) that examines the "laziness lie"--which falsely tells us we are not working or learning hard enough.

Extra-curricular activities. Honors classes. 60-hour work weeks. Side hustles.

Like many Americans, Dr. Devon Price believed that productivity was the best way to measure self-worth. Price was an overachiever from the start, graduating from both college and graduate school early, but that success came at a cost. After Price was diagnosed with a severe case of anemia and heart complications from overexertion, they were forced to examine the darker side of all this productivity.

Laziness Does Not Exist explores the psychological underpinnings of the "laziness lie," including its origins from the Puritans and how it has continued to proliferate as digital work tools have blurred the boundaries between work and life. Using in-depth research, Price explains that people today do far more work than nearly any other humans in history yet most of us often still feel we are not doing enough.

Filled with practical and accessible advice for overcoming society's pressure to do more, and featuring interviews with researchers, consultants, and experiences from real people drowning in too much work, Laziness Does Not Exist "is the book we all need right now" (Caroline Dooner, author of The F*ck It Diet).

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Are you a highly sensitive person? Discover how to better understand yourself and create a fuller, richer life with the help of a clinical psychologist--now with a new author's note with updated research.

"To say this book changed my life would be an understatement. I am forever grateful to Elaine Aron."--Alanis Morissette, singer, songwriter, activist

Do you have a keen imagination and vivid dreams? Is time alone each day as essential to you as food and water? Are you "too shy" or "too sensitive" according to others? Do noise and confusion quickly overwhelm you? If your answers are yes, you may be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP).

Most of us feel overstimulated every once in a while, but for the highly sensitive person, it's a way of life. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Elaine Aron, a highly sensitive person herself, shows you how to identify this trait in yourself and make the most of it in everyday situations.

In The Highly Sensitive Person, you will discover:
- Self-assessment tests to help you identify your particular sensitivities
- Ways to reframe your past experiences in a positive light and gain greater self-esteem in the process
- Insight into how high sensitivity affects both work and personal relationships
- Tips on how to deal with over-arousal
- Information on medications and when to seek help
- Techniques to enrich the soul and spirit

Drawing on many years of research and hundreds on interviews, The Highly Sensitive Person will change the way you see yourself--and the world around you

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - When we deny our stories, they define us. When we own our stories, we get to write the ending.

Don't miss the five-part HBO Max docuseries Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart!

Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability--the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome--is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.

It is the rise from falling that Brown takes as her subject in Rising Strong. As a grounded theory researcher, Brown has listened as a range of people--from leaders in Fortune 500 companies and the military to artists, couples in long-term relationships, teachers, and parents--shared their stories of being brave, falling, and getting back up. She asked herself, What do these people with strong and loving relationships, leaders nurturing creativity, artists pushing innovation, and clergy walking with people through faith and mystery have in common? The answer was clear: They recognize the power of emotion and they're not afraid to lean in to discomfort.

Walking into our stories of hurt can feel dangerous. But the process of regaining our footing in the midst of struggle is where our courage is tested and our values are forged. Our stories of struggle can be big ones, like the loss of a job or the end of a relationship, or smaller ones, like a conflict with a friend or colleague. Regardless of magnitude or circumstance, the rising strong process is the same: We reckon with our emotions and get curious about what we're feeling; we rumble with our stories until we get to a place of truth; and we live this process, every day, until it becomes a practice and creates nothing short of a revolution in our lives. Rising strong after a fall is how we cultivate wholeheartedness. It's the process, Brown writes, that teaches us the most about who we are.

ONE OF GREATER GOOD'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

"[Brené Brown's] research and work have given us a new vocabulary, a way to talk with each other about the ideas and feelings and fears we've all had but haven't quite known how to articulate. . . . Brené empowers us each to be a little more courageous."--The Huffington Post

Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems is a collection of poetry that provides a refuge of quiet clarity very much needed in today's restless, chaotic world. Every reader will find favorites to share and to return to, again and again. The diverse group of contributing poets includes contemporary favorites such as Wendell Berry, Joy Harjo, Jane Hirshfield, Li-Young Lee, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Derek Walcott, as well as poets of the past such as Hafiz, Pablo Neruda, Li Po, and Rumi. Readers of the poems in this book will begin to find themselves becoming less stressed, more balanced, and more fully present in the world.