In 1879 Mark Twain meets the young painter John Singer Sargent aboard a steamer from the Sandwich Islands to San Francisco. But it is not our San Francisco, our California, or our 1879. In this universe, everything south of the Russian River is an independent Spanish-speaking country called Alta California. Everything north of the river is Rossland, ruled by Imperial Russia. These powerful states are flush with Sierra gold, while the United States is just a weak neighbor on the other side of the Mississippi. Mark Twain is supplementing the meager royalties from Tom Sawyer by lecturing on "Our Fellow Savages of the Sandwich Islands." John Singer Sargent tours with him, sketching and painting the sights and trying to get a portrait commission from Twain. Told in the first person voices of Twain and Sargent, illustrated with their sketches, paintings and photos, this is a tale about friendship, ideology, culture clash, and what it means to be an artist.

No matter how #blessed you are, sometimes life can feel downright overwhelming. Whether it's a breakup or divorce, the loss of a job, or even a global pandemic, you may need a little extra help managing the difficult emotions that can arise when things are not going so great. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a proven-effective and evidence-based treatment that can help you find balance and improve your ability to handle adversity without losing control and acting destructively. This potent and portable guide focuses on one of the core skills of DBT: distress tolerance. With this book, you'll learn that you are strong enough to weather life's storms. You can handle whatever stress or setback life throws your way. And you can face your own difficult thoughts and feelings head on-without avoidance, anger, or despair. Life happens. But you don't have to get pulled under. With Distress Tolerance Made Easy, you'll learn tons of tips and tricks to help you keep your cool-even when those emotional triggers strike. Why not keep a copy on your nightstand, in your glove box, or on your work desk? You never know when you'll need it!

From balancing work and relationships to navigating financial challenges and health issues-in our hectic and busy lives, stress is simply unavoidable. Fortunately, there are proven-effective techniques you can use every day to combat the negative effects of stress and integrate healthy relaxation habits into your life. The powerful yet simple writing practices in this guided journal can help you get started today. In The Stress Relief Guided Journal, you'll explore your own stress response and triggers, and create a personalized action plan for stress reduction. Grounded in evidence-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), the prompts in this journal integrate a variety of stress-relieving methods you can implement in your life when stress becomes overwhelming-including progressive relaxation, self-hypnosis, visualization, and mindfulness. If you're looking to find a place of calm and respite in the midst of our busy world, this journal can be that place. Just write, explore, and make it yours. Written by renowned mental health and wellness experts, New Harbinger's Journals for Change combine evidence-based psychology with proven-effective guided journaling techniques to help you make lasting personal change-one page at a time.

Powerful and customizable tools grounded in process-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you heal emotional pain and live a vital, values-based life Do you struggle with overwhelming emotions, such as anger, anxiety, sadness, shame, or self-blame? Emotions--even intensely distressing ones--are a natural part of life. But if your emotions are so intense that they're hurting your relationships or getting in the way of your happiness, it's time for a change. Written by a team of mental health experts, Healing Emotional Pain Workbook is a step-by-step guide to understanding your emotions and enhancing your overall well-being. Rather than a one-size-fits-all treatment, this workbook takes a tailored approach to help you treat the root cause of your emotional pain--whether it's avoidance, internalization, or rumination. As a result, you'll create a personalized plan to help you overcome intense emotions and live the life you want. With this workbook, you'll learn to: Stop avoiding and start showing up to your life Replace self-blame with self-compassion Make decisions based on your values, not your emotions Break free from repetitive negative thinking Increase psychological flexibility Accept your thoughts and emotions--rather than trying to outrun them! When our emotions spiral out of control, they can result in chronic mental suffering. This workbook can help you change the way you react to emotions, before they negatively impact your life.

The much-anticipated fourth edition of the best-selling classic by Matthew McKay, Self-Esteem is the go-to guide for those seeking to increase their sense of self-worth. This fully revised new edition features an innovative application of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to self-esteem and utilizes updated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help readers create positive change and thrive. If you struggle with low self-esteem, or you're seeking positive and effective ways of building a healthy sense of self-worth, this much-anticipated fourth edition of the best-selling classic by Matthew McKay is your go-to guide. This fully revised edition features an innovative application of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to self-esteem, and utilizes updated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you create positive change and thrive. Circumstances and status can affect self-esteem-many factors can contribute to the way we see ourselves-but the one contributing factor that all people who struggle with low self-esteem have in common is our thoughts. Of course we all have a better chance of feeling good about ourselves when things are going well, but it's really our interpretation of our circumstances that can cause trouble, regardless of what they are. This revised and updated fourth edition of the best-selling Self-Esteem uses proven-effective methods of CBT and relevant components of ACT to help you raise low self-esteem by working on the way you interpret your life. You'll learn how to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy self-esteem, how to uncover and analyze negative self-statements, and how to create new, more objective and positive self-statements to support your self-esteem rather than undermine it. And with cutting-edge material on defusion and values, you'll learn to let go of judgmental, self-attacking thoughts and act in accordance with what matters to you most, enhancing your sense of self-worth. If you struggle with low or unhealthy self-esteem, this new edition of Self-Esteem, packed with evidence-based tips and techniques, has everything you need to improve the way you see yourself for better overall well-being.

The comprehensive workbook for radically transforming your life—now in a fully revised and updated 40th anniversary edition!If you are depressed, anxious, angry, worried, confused, frustrated, upset, or ashamed, please remember that you are not alone in your struggle with painful feelings and experiences. Everybody experiences emotional distress sometimes. It’s normal. But when the pain becomes too strong and too enduring, it’s time to take that important first step toward feeling better.This fully revised and updated fifth edition of Thoughts and Feelings outlines twenty evidence-based techniques you can mix and match to create your own personal treatment plan for overcoming a range of mental health concerns—including worry, panic attacks, depression, low self-esteem, anger, and emotional and behavioral challenges of any kind. Customize your plan to address multiple concerns at once, or troubleshoot the thoughts and feelings that bother you most.Used and recommended by the most renowned and respected therapists, this comprehensive mental health workbook offers all of the best psychological tools for quickly regaining mastery over your moods and emotions. It has already helped thousands of readers: ·Challenge self-sabotaging patterns of thinking ·Practice relaxation techniques to maintain self-control in stressful situations ·Change the core beliefs that drive painful emotions ·Identify and prioritize values for a more focused, fulfilling life Using proven-effective methods based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness, habit reversal, self-compassion, and more, this book will help you balance your emotions and start feeling better—about yourself, and about the world around you. It’s time, finally, to feel fully alive.

Many people assume that good communicators possess an intrinsic talent for speaking and listening to others, a gift that can't be learned or improved. The reality is that communication skills are developed with deliberate effort and practice, and learning to understand others and communicate your ideas more clearly will improve every facet of your life. Messages has already helped thousands of people build communication skills and cultivate better relationships with friends, family members, coworkers, and partners. With this fully revised and updated fourth edition, you'll discover new skills to help you communicate your ideas more effectively and become a better listener. Learn how to: - Read body language - Develop skills for couples communication - Negotiate and resolve conflicts - Communicate with family members - Handle group interactions - Talk to children - Master public speaking - Prepare for job interviews This new edition features a much-needed chapter on digital communication. Effective communication can easily be compromised when you're not able to read your conversation partner's body language, facial expression, or vocal tone. This chapter teaches you how to express yourself well via phone, email, texting, and video-all the skills you need to thrive in the digital age.

Do you often lash out at people? Do you let your emotions rule your interactions with others? Do you find it difficult to see things from others' point of view? You are not alone. Despite the fact that we all have to deal with other people our daily lives, many of us have difficulties with interpersonal relationships. Written by psychologist and bestselling author Matthew McKay, The Interpersonal Problems Workbook combines research and evidence-based techniques for strengthening relationships in all areas in life-whether it's at home, at work, with a significant other, a parent, or a child. The skills in this workbook are based in both schema therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and are designed to help you connect and communicate effectively with those around them. ACT has been proven effective in helping people improve their relationships with others. The ACT skills detailed in this book include present moment awareness, diffusion, and flexibility-all of which will help you to improve your relationships with others. In this book you will learn what your schema is, and how to act on your values to communicate and get along with others. If you are ready to stop building walls and start connecting with those around you, this book presents powerful, effective tools for change.

Like most people his age, fifty-year-old Dr. Ben Rasmussen would like to be younger. Unlike most people, he might actually pull it off. He is the creator of Rejuven, the new drug from Kalimer Pharmaceuticals that promises to stop the aging clock and start it running backwards, rekindle the flame of sex, smooth skin, sooth joints, pump up muscles, regrow lustrous hair, and restore youthful vigor. Ben is on top of the world. But with great power comes great danger. His bosses want to parlay Rejuven into serious political power. His colleagues want to steal credit. His wife wants to be rich. All Ben wants is to be young again and to offer others the opportunity to reclaim their youth. Is that too much to ask?

In 1879 Mark Twain meets the young painter John Singer Sargent aboard a steamer from the Sandwich Islands to San Francisco. But it is not our San Francisco, our California, or our 1879. In this universe, everything south of the Russian River is an independent Spanish-speaking country called Alta California. Everything north of the river is Rossland, ruled by Imperial Russia. These powerful states are flush with Sierra gold, while the United States is just a weak neighbor on the other side of the Mississippi. Mark Twain is supplementing the meager royalties from Tom Sawyer by lecturing on "Our Fellow Savages of the Sandwich Islands." John Singer Sargent tours with him, sketching and painting the sights and trying to get a portrait commission from Twain. Told in the first person voices of Twain and Sargent, illustrated with their sketches, paintings and photos, this is a tale about friendship, ideology, culture clash, and what it means to be an artist.

Self-esteem is essential for psychological survival. It is an emotional sine qua non - without some measure of self-worth, life can be enormously painful, with many basic needs going unmet. One of the main factors differentiating humans from other animals is the awareness of self: the ability to form an identity and then attach a value to it. In other words, you have the capacity to define who you are and then decide if you like that identity or not. The problem of self-esteem is this human capacity for judgment. It's one thing to dislike certain colors, noises, shapes, or sensations. But when you reject parts of yourself, you greatly damage the psychological structures that literally keep you alive. Judging and rejecting yourself causes enormous pain. And in the same way that you would favor and protect a physical wound, you find yourself avoiding anything that might aggravate the pain of self-rejection in any way. You take fewer social, academic, or career risks. You make it more difficult for yourself to meet people, interview for a job, or push hard for something where you might not succeed. You limit your ability to open yourself with others, express your sexuality, be the center of attention, hear criticism, ask for help, or solve problems. This book is about stopping the judgments. It's about healing the old wounds of hurt and self-rejection. How you perceive and feel about yourself can change. And when those perceptions and feelings change, the ripple effect will touch every part of your life with a gradually expanding sense of freedom.

According to best-selling self-help authors McKay and Fanning, four major core beliefs keep us from solving our problems: we tell ourselves that we just don't deserve to get what we want, we tell ourselves that the world is too dangerous for us to risk a change, we tell ourselves that we're too incompetent to fix our problem, or we tell ourselves that others are more important and that their needs should always come first. In How to Get There from Here, readers start by assessing which core beliefs are holding them back from solving their problem-and are offered specific self-help strategies to help them overcome these inhibiting beliefs. Readers are then introduced to problem-solving strategies that will help them deal with any problem they face, including step-by-step instructions to help them assess the problem, brainstorm possible solutions, evaluate the consequences of each solution, and develop an action plan to put the best of the new solutions into practice. The cycle closes with an evaluation of how the problem-solving process is going and an assessment of what one might change to improve their outcomes.

Parental anger is a real problem for children and parents. Children may react by being less caring and concerned for others, less accepting of themselves. They are more likely to develop problems at school, in relationships, with drugs, and the law. This book helps parents who know they are angry too often to identify the trigger points that lead to anger, and to see these points as mistaken beliefs about their children's behaviour, temperament, needs and development. It gives parents a realistic understanding of why their children act the way they do, and dissipate their anger as a result. By changing trigger-happy thoughts into problem-solving discussions, this is a book that can really change parenting for better for both the parents and the children.