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Find out moreLooking to change your life? Whether it’s physical, emotional or spiritual change you seek, these books may have some answers. If you’re seeking to enlighten, enlarge or explore your mind, check out our Mind & Body section for a more comprehensive range of books.
I think all of us at some time in our lives when we reach a certain age worry a little about cancer. I think the thought, “how will I react” crosses our minds occasionally. That this brave lady chooses to make her ordeal so public, she produced video diaries and tweets and now her written diary, has helped thousands. At the end of the book she encloses some messages of thanks, a few from those who didn’t make it. It is tear-jerking but it is also laced with humour. Throughout, whenever possible, she kept working, collecting the kids from school and running her hectic household with the enormous support of her wonderful partner. During the end stages of thirty sessions of chemo, she had to drive forty-odd miles round trip between work and school collection for a ten minute appointment her local hospital couldn’t do. Well she was certainly a fighter, although that is not what she calls herself. She believed talking about it really helped alleviate the fear and despair. She was diagnosed shortly after she started hosting a daily news and current affairs show for BBC2 and takes us through her fascinating work as well as the 301 days of treatment. A brave lady.
Discover what you can do to save the planet from plastic. Start now. All it takes is 2 minutes of your time. 'I read this book yesterday and I've done three things today and that is testament to Martin's brilliant vision and ideas. Now it's your turn!' Chris Packham 'Once, plastic was the miracle material. Now it's the monster. We all need to cut down our plastic consumption and join Martin's #2minutesolution anti-plastic movement. I'm in.' Julia Bradbury Open this book with your children, give it to your friends. Share your #2minutesolution on twitter and instagram and inspire others. Martin Dorey, anti-plastics expert, has been working to save our beaches from plastic for the past 10 years. His Beach Clean Foundation and global call to arms #2minutebeachclean has been taken up by people all over the world, and has proven that collective small actions can add up to a big difference. Together we can fix this.
The Wainwrights Pocket Log and Tick List is a handsome little book, small enough to pop in your pocket and take up into the Lakeland fells. Conveniently grouped in accordance with the famous Wainwright Pictorial Guides, the pocket log has a dedicated page for each of the 214 Wainwright Fells to record details of your walks and keep a tally of your achievements. With a velvet-like cover and gilded pages it has a quality feel and would be a welcome addition to any walker's Christmas stocking.
Have you ever felt like you're talking, but nobody is listening? Renowned five-time TED Talk speaker and author Julian Treasure reveals how to speak so that people listen - and how to listen so that people feel heard. As this leading sound expert demonstrates via interviews with world-class speakers, professional performers, and CEOs at the tops of their fields, the secret lies in developing simple habits that can transform our communication skills, the quality of our relationships, and our impact in the world. Julian Treasure offers an inspiring vision for a sonorous world of effective speaking, listening, and understanding. Communication skills, secrets, and tips discussed in this book include - how to make sound work for you to improve well-being and happiness; why listening matters and how listening and speaking affect one another; the power of your vocal toolbox and how to build your speaking power; how to plan and structure content so you always hit the bull's-eye; exercises and methods to achieve clarity and impact; and how to deliver like a professional speaker to win over any audience. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
Each of these impressive women, including actress Romola Garai and comedian Francesca Martinez, has a tale to tell and an experience to share. Empowering, engaging and unapologetically impassioned, their incisive observations will make you think, reflect - and kick serious ass. These are life lessons for women, by women.
Award-winning science writer David Adam, reveals how frontier neuroscience can enhance your intelligence. What if the route to better brain power is not hard work or thousands of hours of practice but to simply swallow a pill? In The Genius Within, bestselling author David Adam explores the ground-breaking neuroscience of cognitive enhancement. Sharing his own experiments with revolutionary smart drugs and electrical brain stimulation, he delves into the sinister history of intelligence tests and reveals how he boosted his own IQ to cheat his way into Mensa.
I wrote this book with a little help from a monk, who explains how the mind works, and also gives some mindfulness exercises, and a neuroscientist who explains what makes us 'us' in the brain. We answer every question you've ever had about: evolution, thoughts, emotions, the body, addictions, relationships, kids, the future and compassion. How to be Human is extremely funny, true and the only manual you'll need to help you upgrade your mind as much as you've upgraded your iPhone.
In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy-only keeping her from meeting her goals-she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year. The Year of Less documents Cait's life for twelve months during which she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car. Along the way, she challenged herself to consume less of many other things besides shopping. She decluttered her apartment and got rid of 70 percent of her belongings; learned how to fix things rather than throw them away; researched the zero waste movement; and completed a television ban. At every stage, she learned that the less she consumed, the more fulfilled she felt. Blending Cait's compelling story with inspiring insight and practical guidance, The Year of Less will leave you questioning what you're holding on to in your own life-and, quite possibly, lead you to find your own path of less.
This book is in a word: brilliant. In many more words, Lost Connections is an insightful look into the causes of anxiety and depression. However, the book is not written by a preacher or self-help guru, but someone with the first-hand experience of anxiety and depression who is trying to work out his own place in and amongst all of the research. Lost Connections is partly a tale of Johann’s own journey of understanding about his mental health. It is also partly a summary of research that connects to depression and anxiety from experts in a wide range of fields. And finally, it is partly an attempt to offer effective solutions to those in despair. I was left astounded at a number of points in this book - mainly at the dates of the studies mentioned, and why I (and no doubt so many others) hadn’t heard that one of the most talked about “causes” of depression may not really be a cause at all. As someone who feels like they constantly have to manage anxious thoughts I found this book a breakthrough and I was enthralled from the first chapter, never wanting to put it down once I started reading. Johann Hari’s easy, almost colloquial writing would appeal to anyone with a professional or personal interest in psychology. It is a spectacular and groundbreaking look at two of today’s most significant mental health issues.
A self-help book for our modern age, using boundaries to create a mentally and physically healthier you. In this 24/7 world, psychotherapist Jennie Miller and journalist Victoria Lambert have initiated a four step programme using boundaries to firstly focus on yourself, followed by the workplace, love, and family. Exercises, practical tips, and explanations sit side by side, supporting, and stimulating new thoughts and feelings. I found myself turning to the chapters that resonated most clearly with me, even those that didn’t connect to my personal situation, I still found fascinating. It is interesting to note in the conclusion, that Victoria found the writing of this book with Jennie, incredibly valuable and fulfilling. Boundaries just makes so much sense, it really is an encouraging read, teeming with practical, useful and helpful tips. ~ Liz Robinson
Suffering from depression but desperate for 'normality', Rachel Cullen found herself in failing relationships, the wrong career and a reliance on alcohol and chocolate to get her through each day. Stuck in an endless cycle of mental misery, she put on a pair of old trainers. She'd never been able to think of herself as a 'runner' before, and the first time she forced herself out the door, she knew it would hurt. Everywhere. She just didn't realise how much it would heal her, too. Interspersed with Rachel's real diary entries, from teenage non-runner to London Marathon finisher (just months after giving birth), she questions if she really can outrun her demons.
With mindful, conscious movement, you can gain phenomenal core and full-body strength, increased flexibility and even lose weight, all without leaving the house. In just 10 minutes a day and with no specialist equipment, you can build a fun and achievable home exercise routine tailored to your fitness and flexibility level. Inspired by yoga practitioners and Olympic gymnasts, and in consultation with leading figures from both fields, Roger has developed a simple but highly effective set of exercises known as the Frampton Method, designed to de-restrict your body and help you reach optimum strength and flexibility with no need for any kind of equipment, weights or gym membership. There is also a thorough explanation of the philosophy and science behind the Frampton Method, plus hacks for incorporating it into your day-to-day life, this book will inspire you to put down the weights, reclaim your body and achieve a level of fitness you've only ever dreamed of.
We all need a little direction sometimes and this section is crammed full of great ideas for ways of improving your outlook, in all aspects of your wellbeing. Help from the shelf. From tips for good nutrition and taking care of your body (Optimism: Reflections on a Life of Action by Bob Brown) to coping with all the emotional situations in life, relationships, bereavements, stress, depression (Mind Whispering: A New Map to Freedom from Self-defeating Emotional Habits by Tara Bennett-Goleman). Discover the potential you have for being the ‘you’ you’ve always wanted to be or the ‘you’ you had no idea was in there.
Take a look at our monthly recommendations to find exactly what you’re looking for. Bear in mind though (and even ‘body and spirit’ too …), that just ‘reading’ them may not be enough. There’ll be homework!