by Arthur C. Brooks

With insight, compassion, and hope, Brooks and Winfrey reveal how the tools of emotional self-management can change your life ― immediately. They recommend practical, research-based practices to build the four pillars of happiness: family, friendship, work, and faith.

by Frank Bruni

One morning Bruni woke up with strangely blurred vision.  He wondered at first if some goo or gunk had worked its way into his right eye.  But this was no fleeting annoyance, no fixable inconvenience. Overnight, a rare stroke had cut off blood to one of his optic nerves, rendering him functionally blind in that eye -- forever.  And he soon learned from doctors that the same disorder could ravage his left eye, too. He could lose his sight altogether.

by David Coggins

A tribute and practical guide to the art, philosophy, and rituals of fly fishing, by an expert, lifelong angler.  A meditation on how fishing teaches focus, inner stillness, and a connection to the natural world.

by Ross Gay

In these gorgeously written and timely pieces, prizewinning poet and author Gay considers the joy we incite when we care for each other, especially during life's inevitable hardships. Throughout (this book) he explores how we can practice recognizing that connection, and also, crucially, how we can expand it.

by Whitney Goodman
 

 Every day, we're bombarded with pressure to be positive. We're constantly told that the key to happiness is silencing negativity wherever it crops up, in ourselves and in others. Even when faced with illness, loss, breakups, and other challenges, there's little space for talking about our real feelings -- and processing them so that we can feel better and move forward.

by Emmanuel Jal

As a child growing up in South Sudan, Jal witnessed atrocities perpetrated against his family and community. These actions drove him to become a child soldier in a vicious civil war. Hunger, isolation, and the ever-present specter of death in battle attended his every moment. Yet his greatest challenge did not come from outside; it arose from within, from the corrosive nature of hopelessness, trauma, and narratives of victimization.

by Katherine May

Many of us feel trapped in a grind of constant change: rolling news cycles, the chatter of social media, our families split along partisan lines. We feel fearful and tired, on edge in our bodies, not quite knowing what has us perpetually depleted. For Katherine May, this low hum of fatigue and anxiety made her wonder what she was missing. Could there be a different way to relate to the world?

by Catherine McCarthy

Every parent wants a kid who can -- who can thrive, who can cope, who can stay motivated, adapt, show compassion, be focused. A kid who won't get stuck in a perfectionist loop or become anxious and avoidant every time something negative happens.

 

Admiral William H. McRaven shares the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life, and he explains how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves -- and the world -- for the better. 

by Nnedi Okorafor

A powerful journey from star athlete to sudden paralysis to creative awakening, award-winning science fiction writer Nnedi Okorafor shows that what we think are our limitations have the potential to become our greatest strengths.

by Kim John Payne

Kids ages 9 and up can be coached by a parent to respond effectively, manage their emotions in social situations, and recognize their own self-worth, they can reclaim a sense of their own power and develop skills like resilience, social and emotional intelligence and compassion for life.

by Mary Bray Pipher

Drawing from her own experiences and expertise as a psychologist specializing in women, trauma, and the effect of our culture on our mental health, Pipher looks inward to what shaped her as a woman, one who has experienced darkness throughout her life but was always drawn to the light.

by Michael Rucker

Through research and science, we know fun is enormously beneficial to our physical and psychological well-being, yet fun's absence from our modern lives is striking. Whether you're a frustrated high-achiever trying to find a better work-life balance or someone who is seeking relief from life's overwhelming challenges, it is time you gain access to the best medicine available.

by Arnold Schwarzenegger

The seven rules to follow to realize your true purpose in life -- distilled by Arnold Schwarzenegger from his own journey of ceaseless reinvention and extraordinary achievement, and available for absolutely anyone.

 

by Maggie Smith

Like kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with gold, she celebrates the beauty and strength on the other side of loss. This is a book for anyone who has gone through a difficult time and is wondering: What comes next?

by Bina Venkataraman

We live in a time of instant gratification, where we have forgotten to consider the long-term consequences of our actions. Whether it's decision about out health, our finances or our jobs, we lack the tools we need to choose what's best for the future. Venkataraman draws on her own experience to highlight the surprising and successful practices that each of us can adopt to make smarter, more thoughtful choices that benefit us over time.

by Robert J. Waldinger

What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life.

by Robert Wilson

Phineas Taylor Barnum repeatedly reinvented himself. He learned as a young man how to wow crowds, and built a fortune that placed him among the first millionaires in the United States. He also suffered tragedy, bankruptcy, and fires that destroyed his life's work, yet willed himself to rebuild and succeed again.