Let’s face it — most of us are looking for answers in all the wrong places. It’s hard not to be drawn in by headlines, advertisements, and the constant barrage of “expert” advice on everything from sex and relationships to fitness, fashion, and spiritual awakening. In our world today, though, sin is presented a lot more effectively than virtue. We are led to believe that the only way to improve ourselves and satisfy our deepest longings is through the prevailing perspective of our culture. But that perspective is a schizophrenic one, divorced from the source of truth. Kaiser Johnson — actor, athlete, and author — had the same burning questions we all have about life, love, sex, being a man, and doing the right thing. The more he searched, the more he realized the world’s answers just weren’t working. From his years spent listening to the lies of our culture, he has clearly identified 12 simple tricks to end up miserable and alone. He’s tried all of them, and they work! It turns out hookup culture, self-fulfillment, self-love, using and abusing friends and family, maintaining a frantically busy schedule, and always taking the easy way out are the perfect recipe for a wretched life. But Kaiser also discovered something else that he shares in the pages of this funny, honest book: Only God can fill the emptiness of our hearts and help us to discover a life that truly matters. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kaiser Johnson is a Catholic husband and father. He works as an actor (Unplanned, Stranger Things), voiceover artist (Transformers: War for Cybertron, Call of Duty Cold War, Resident Evil Resistance) and author (Grit and Glory: Cross Training Your Body and Soul, and an upcoming pulp adventure series). To learn more and keep up to date on his work, visit and subscribe for free at Kaiser-Johnson.com or find him @kaiserjohnson on social media.

In How to Be Miserable, psychologist Randy Paterson outlines 40 specific behaviors and habits, which—if followed—are sure to lead to a lifetime of unhappiness. On the other hand, if you do the opposite, you may yet join the ranks of happy people everywhere! There are stacks upon stacks of self-help books that will promise you love, happiness, and a fabulous life. But how can you pinpoint the exact behaviors that cause you to be miserable in the first place? Sometimes when we’re depressed, or just sad or unhappy, our instincts tell us to do the opposite of what we should—such as focusing on the negative, dwelling on what we can’t change, isolating ourselves from friends and loved ones, eating junk food, or overindulging in alcohol. Sound familiar? This tongue-in-cheek guide will help you identify the behaviors that make you unhappy and discover how you—and only you—are holding yourself back from a life of contentment. You’ll learn to spot the tried-and-true traps that increase feelings of dissatisfaction, foster a lack of motivation, and detract from our quality of life—as well as ways to avoid them. So, get ready to live the life you want (or not?) This fun, irreverent guide will light the way.

Tackling relationships, career, and family issues, John Kim, LMFT, thinks of himself as a life-styledesigner, not a therapist. His radical new approach, that he sometimes calls “self-help in a shot glass” is easy, real, and to the point. He helps people make changes to their lives so that personal growth happens organically, just by living. Let’s face it, therapy is a luxury. Few of us have the time or money to devote to going to an office every week. With anecdotes illustrating principles in action (in relatable and sometimes irreverent fashion) and stand-alone practices and exercises, Kim gives readers the tools and directions to focus on what's right with them instead of what's wrong. When John Kim was going through the end of a relationship, he began blogging as The Angry Therapist, documenting his personal journey post-divorce. Traditional therapists avoid transparency, but Kim preferred the language of "me too" as opposed to "you should." He blogged about his own shortcomings, revelations, views on relationships, and the world. He spoke a different therapeutic language —open, raw, and at times subversive — and people responded. The Angry Therapist blog, that inspired this book, has been featured in The Atlantic Monthly and on NPR.

In today's world, it is more acceptable to be depressed than to be lonely-yet loneliness appears to be the inevitable byproduct of our frenetic contemporary lifestyle. According to the 2004 General Social Survey, one out of four Americans talked to no one about something of importance to them during the last six months. Another remarkable fact emerged from the 2000 U.S. Census: more people are living alone today than at any point in the country's history—fully 25 percent of households consist of one person only. In this crucial look at one of America's few remaining taboo subjects—loneliness—Drs. Jacqueline Olds and Richard S. Schwartz set out to understand the cultural imperatives, psychological dynamics, and physical mechanisms underlying social isolation. In The Lonely American, cutting-edge research on the physiological and cognitive effects of social exclusion and emerging work in the neurobiology of attachment uncover startling, sobering ripple effects of loneliness in areas as varied as physical health, children's emotional problems, substance abuse, and even global warming. Surprising new studies tell a grim truth about social isolation: being disconnected diminishes happiness, health, and longevity; increases aggression; and correlates with increasing rates of violent crime. Loneliness doesn't apply simply to single people, either—today's busy parents "cocoon" themselves by devoting most of their non-work hours to children, leaving little time for friends, and other forms of social contact, and unhealthily relying on the marriage to fulfill all social needs. As a core population of socially isolated individuals and families continues to balloon in size, it is more important than ever to understand the effects of a culture that idealizes busyness and self-reliance. It's time to bring loneliness—a very real and little-discussed social epidemic with frightening consequences-out into the open, and find a way to navigate the tension between freedom and connection in our lives.

Recovery therapist Cathryn Taylor offers a step-by-step guide to reparenting the children within and healing their shame, anger, and feelings of abandonment. Using written and verbal exercises, guided imagery, journaling, drawing, mirror work, and rituals, you can change your experience of the past. For each of the seven stages of childhood, you will follow six steps: • Identify your pain. • Research its childhood roots. • Re-experience the pain. • Separate from it. • Grieve the losses of each stage. • Ritually release the pain and reclaim the joy of each inner child. In the end, you will reap the rewards of the wisdom of your true self. "This easy-to-follow six-step formula helps you contact true spirituality through ritual and imagery, while healing your inner children. The book is brilliant, and serves as a bridge between the psychological and the spiritual."--Laurel King, Author of Women of Power and coauthor of Living in the Light "Cathryn Taylor takes the next step: for her, the inner child is a palpable and real force in life. Methodically she applies a healing formula for each stage of growth and development, offering each of us valuable help in completing the child’s unfinished business."--Jeremiah Abrams, Editor of Reclaiming the Inner Child

IN THIS AGE OF CONSTANT CONNECTIVITY, LEARN HOW TO ENJOY SOLITUDE AND FIND HAPPINESS WITHOUT OTHERS. Our fast-paced society does not approve of solitude; being alone is antisocial and some even find it sinister. Why is this so when autonomy, personal freedom, and individualism are more highly prized than ever before? In How to Be Alone, Sara Maitland answers this question by exploring changing attitudes throughout history. Offering experiments and strategies for overturning our fear of solitude, she helps us practice it without anxiety and encourages us to see the benefits of spending time by ourselves. By indulging in the experience of being alone, we can be inspired to find our own rewards and ultimately lead more enriched, fuller lives.

A whimsical and deeply personal account of the author's experience with being a pregnant single lesbian describes her solitary experiences of the joys and travails of pregnancy, her relationships with her liberal parents, and her surprise encounters with kind strangers. Original.