Self-Development Audiobooks

“It’s like the meanest, wildest monkey running around my head, constantly looking for ways to bite me.” That was how Kirsten Pagacz described her OCD to her therapist on their first session when she was well into her 30s she’d been following orders from this mean taskmaster for 20 years, without understanding why. Initially the tapping and counting and cleaning and ordering brought her comfort and structure, two things lacking in her family life. But it never lasted; the loathsome self-talk only intensified, and the rituals she had to perform got more bizarre. By high school she was anorexic and a substance abuser, common "shadow syndromes" of OCD. By adulthood, she could barely hide her problems and held on to jobs and friends through sheer grit. Help finally came in the form of a miraculously well-timed public service announcement on NPR about OCD -- at last her illness had an identity. Leaving the OCD Circus reveals the story of Pagacz’s traumatic childhood and the escalation of her disorder demonstrating how OCD works to misshape a life from a very young age and explains the various tools she used for healing including meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, yoga, exposure therapy, and medication.

In a fusion of fact and fiction, nineteenth-century women institutionalized as hysterics reveal what history ignored “ City of Incurable Women is a brilliant exploration of the type of female bodily and psychic pain once commonly diagnosed as hysteria—and the curiously hysterical response to it commonly exhibited by medical men. It is a novel of powerful originality, riveting historical interest, and haunting lyrical beauty.” — Sigrid Nunez , author of The Friend and What Are You Going Through “Where are the hysterics, those magnificent women of former times?” wrote Jacques Lacan. Long history’s ghosts, marginalized and dispossessed due to their gender and class, they are reimagined by Maud Casey as complex, flesh-and-blood people with stories to tell. These linked, evocative prose portraits, accompanied by period photographs and medical documents both authentic and invented, poignantly restore the humanity to the nineteenth-century female psychiatric patients confined in Paris’s Salpêtrière hospital and reduced to specimens for study by the celebrated neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and his male colleagues. Maud Casey is the author of five books of fiction, including The Man Who Walked Away , and a work of nonfiction, The Art of Mystery: The Search for Questions . A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the St. Francis College Literary Prize, she teaches at the University of Maryland.

A marvel of evolution is that humans are not solely motivated by their desire to experience positive emotions. They are also motivated, and even driven to achieve, by their attempt to avoid or seek relief from negative ones. What Motivates Getting Things Done: Procrastination, Emotions, and Success explains how anxiety is like a highly motivating friend, why you should fear failure, and the underpinnings of shame, distress, and fear in the pursuit of excellence. Many successful people put things off until a deadline beckons them, while countless others can't resist the urge to do things right away. Dr. Lamia explores the emotional lives of people who are successful in their endeavors--both procrastinators and non-procrastinators alike--to illustrate how the human motivational system works, why people respond to it differently, and how everyone can use their natural style of getting things done to their advantage. The book illustrates how the different timing of procrastinators and non-procrastinators to complete tasks has to do with when their emotions are activated and what activates them. Overall, What Motivates Getting Things Done illustrates how emotions play a significant role in our style of doing, along with our way of being in the world. Readers will acquire a better understanding of the innate biological system that motivates them and how they can make the most of it in all areas of their lives.

Dead foods—devoid of any microscopic life—are causing us to feel sick, tired, and depressed. In A Gut Instinct: Conquer Your Sweet Tooth by Tuning Into Your Microbiome, Heather Wise takes you through her personal journey uncovering a hidden inner world of microflora that shapes our mood, physical health, sweet cravings, and even genes. Sweet Palate gives practical steps in rebalancing and healing our gut microbial balance to relieve stress, digestive upsets, inflammation, bloat, excess belly fat, and improve our mood. Wise offers a much sought after alternative to the complex world of fad diets and calorie counting in this easy, evidence-based guide for wellbeing. Rooted in scientific research and providing a number of healthy sweet fixes high in prebiotics and probiotic foods that support the growth of healthy gut flora, this book is a practical guide to help heal our relationship with food and tune into what our gut has been trying to tell us.

This novella is also published as part of the collection SWEET HOME COWBOY. The Hathaway sisters might have grown up apart, but when they agree to move to Jasper Creek, Oregon, to revitalize their grandfather’s farm, it seems a straightforward decision. Until they meet their neighborhood cowboys… Sweet-natured Teddy has never met a man worth taking a risk on, until now. The sisters’ feelings are anything but simple, but with the love and support of each other, they discover that a cowboy might be the sweetest thing of all about coming home.

Be the Best Version of Yourself Being a unicorn means being the magnetic person that everyone in the room is drawn to. It means being honest and true to yourself every day, no matter what. When you are really, really good at being yourself, you’ll make other people feel really, really good about themselves, too. In Be That Unicorn, Jenny Block, author of several best sellers for women, shows you how to stop putting yourself down and start finding your magic. 100% That Unicorn. The horn may be mythical, but the unicorn is real. This book offers you the confidence to be authentic and original in every aspect of your life―at home, at work, and in relationships. Sometimes it’s about how to make your bed in the morning, and sometimes it’s baking treats to make yourself and others feel good. You are a badass! It’s time to share that shine. Just Keep Prancing. The art of not giving a f… is knowing that sometimes you do feel like s... That’s ok! Being a unicorn is about feeling your feelings. Be angry or sad when you need to be. Then get out of your own way and move on with your day. In Be That Unicorn , Jenny Block shows you how to be a badass unicorn in so many ways, including: Parenting and taking care of the people you love Volunteering your time and inspiring your community Learning and growing into your best self Playing and loving with a full heart Be That Unicorn is a get your s… together book that’s more about celebrating than punishing yourself. If you liked the Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life workbook, Be More Unicorn: How to Find Your Inner Sparkle, Un.… Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life, and How to Stop Feeling Like S…, you’ll love this fun new approach to taking control of the life you want.

A clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral medicine presents a dozen practical approaches to transforming loss, pain, and suffering into positive growth and hope. Just as some flowers only bloom in the dark, so too, some people only grow by experiencing tough times. Each chapter explains an empirically based principle for handling adversity, followed by writing prompts designed to help readers experience the axiom personally. Tools such as self-reflection, meaning-making, narrative creation, benefit-finding, and inspired value-based action help readers move through their trauma toward a new exuberance for life.

#1 Amazon New Release ─ Transform your relationship with your mother The best news on the planet is that your mother doesn't have to change in order for you to be happy. In fact, author Karen C.L. Anderson will take it a step further and say, your mother doesn't have to change in order for you to be free, peaceful, contented, and joyful. You can emotionally separate without guilt: Inspired by her own journey, Anderson's Difficult Mothers, Adult Daughters: A Guide For Separation, Liberation & Inspiration shows women how to emotionally separate from their mothers without guilt and anxiety so they can finally create a life based on their own values, desires, needs, and preferences. Not to mention being able to like and respect themselves during the process. Learn through the experiences of others: Through personal stories and experiences, practical tools that can used right away to feel better, and journal prompts, Anderson compassionately leads women who struggle in their relationships with their mothers through a process of self-awareness and understanding. Anderson's work with hundreds of women and her own personal work have resulted in profound growth and transformation. Anderson knows the results are nothing short of miraculous. Funny and compassionate: This book is about Anderson discovering and accepting the whole of who she is (separate from her mother), and making her discoveries accessible to women struggling to redefine their challenging relationships with their mothers. Her writing is relatable, real, funny, and compassionate. What you'll learn inside this book: Why mothers and daughters tend to have difficult relationships How to heal and transform your mother "wounds" from sources of pain into sources of creativity and wisdom How to tell your stories in a way that empowers you, rather than making you powerless How to handle the uncomfortable emotions that seem inevitable when it comes to your relationship with your mother The art of creating, articulating, and maintaining impeccable boundaries How to stop "shoulding" when it comes to yourself and your mother How to "re-mother" yourself and acknowledge, honor, and meet your own preferences and needs And much, much more

Become a Writing Hero A creative writing mentor in inspirational book form. Imagine having your own personal mentor―someone encouraging yet honest, supportive yet empowering, who could help you set and achieve your goals, turn your moments of doubt and fear into sources of strength, and discover what you’re truly capable of when you’re at your best. Kendra Levin is that mentor. And with The Hero is You , she’s here to help you do the best writing of your life―and live your best life while doing it. A motivational self-care book for writing aficionados. Using a fresh new approach to Joseph Campbell’s archetypal Hero’s Journey, Levin reveals how to be a hero in the narrative of your own process. She weaves together wisdom drawn from her years as a life coach for writers and an editor at the world’s biggest publishing house with behind-the-scenes stories from a panoply of best-selling authors and career entertainers. With over thirty exercises designed to help you reinvent your creative process from the inside out, this book will show you how to: Identify your biggest challenges and render them powerless Start a project that you love―and stick with it Design a structure for writing regularly Great motivational book for anyone dealing with writer's block or other writing obstacles. Whether you’re a first-time writer with a brand-new project or a seasoned pro, you’ll reach the end of this book feeling fulfilled, inspired, and ready to mentor the next writer on their creative journey. Readers of self-help books and personal development books for writers and creatives like The Artist's Way , Bird by Bird , The Artist's Way Workbook , and Big Magic will be inspired and encouraged by The Hero is You .

Achieving and sustaining success is difficult. Why do some people struggle to get started or stay the course? Why do others seem to sabotage their hard-earned victories? What makes some people stumble and fall, when they seem to possess the requisite skills to soar? Most importantly, what can be done to change these patterns and their outcomes? Based on years of research, Mastering Fear answers these questions and many more with its surprising perspective on stress, fear, and the single most important skill necessary to achieve maximum results. Studies worldwide have tracked the lives of hundreds of individuals over decades in search of the foundations of excellence. Dr. Maurer has culled and refined this data, dispelling current myths and revealing practical strategies to maximize passion and performance in any individual, team, or organization.