A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, 2nd edition, is written by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein. MBSR was originally developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn; I’ve previously reviewed his book Wherever You Go There You Are. The authors offer this description of mindfulness: Mindfulness is about being fully aware of whatever is happening in the present moment, without […]
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Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me by journalist Anna Mehler Paperny is both a story of her own experiences of suicidality and an in-depth journalistic exploration of depression and suicide. The author has done her research well. The book contains information gleaned from interviews with quite a number of experts in fields relating
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I don’t read a lot of romance novels, but Fiona’s Fling by Anna Fondant (aka Paula of Light Motifs II) is written by a blogging friend, so off to the races! I found this book to be a refreshing change compared to many of the other books I’ve read in the same genre. The characters were
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Mindfulness for Insomnia by Catherine Polan Orzech and William H. Moorcroft lays out a day-by-day four-week meditation program to facilitate sleep. I’ll start off by saying that I read the book because I was curious about the method, but I didn’t actually practice it myself. Aside from the sleep education in the first part of
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Stand Tall Little Girl is a memoir by Hope Virgo that focuses on her experience with anorexia nervosa. If you’re active on social media, you may recognize Hope from her Dump the Scales campaign to stop weight from being used as a barrier to mental health services for people experiencing eating disorders. Throughout the book, Hope
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Shattered by the Darkness by Gregory Williams is a heart-wrenching account of childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by the author’s father over many years. The book contains detailed descriptions of sexual abuse, sometimes with multiple abusers. There’s nothing gratuitously graphic in the descriptions; still, readers who’ve had similar abuse experiences should carefully consider whether they’re at
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Dealing with Depression: Simple Ways to Get Your Life Back is written by clinical psychologist Jan Marsh. It offers strategies that readers can use either alone in milder forms of depression or in conjunction with medication or psychotherapy. The book incorporates concepts from several therapeutic approaches, including cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and compassion-focused
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Good Reasons for Bad Feelings by Dr. Randolph M. Nesse digs into the science of evolutionary psychiatry to understand why mental illness persists, He explains that while the illnesses themselves aren’t evolutionary adaptations, our vulnerabilities to them may have had evolutionary purposes. He takes the rather refreshing approach of acknowledging both the good and the bad
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Ghosts Within: Journeying Through PTSD is written by former war zone journalist Garry Leech. It covers his journey with post-traumatic stress disorder in response to the horrors his work exposed him to. The book describes some of the traumatic events the author experienced. This took a few forms: as descriptions of flashbacks, as part of
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The Gifts of Imperfection is the third book that I’ve read by Brené Brown. I was not disappointed. This book offers a set of guideposts toward Wholehearted living, which involves “engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness.” The guideposts include cultivating self-compassion, cultivating a resilient spirit, cultivating calm and stillness, and finding meaningful
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