OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A roadmap on the journey to truth and authenticity… [The Way of Integrity] is filled with aha moments and practical exercises that can guide us as we seek enlightenment.” –Oprah Winfrey Bestselling author, life coach, and sociologist Martha Beck explains why “integrity”—needed now more than ever in these tumultuous times—is the key to a meaningful and joyful life As Martha Beck says in her book, “Integrity is the cure for psychological suffering. Period.” In The Way of Integrity, Beck presents a four-stage process that anyone can use to find integrity, and with it, a sense of purpose, emotional healing, and a life free of mental suffering. Much of what plagues us—people pleasing, staying in stale relationships, negative habits—all point to what happens when we are out of touch with what truly makes us feel whole. Inspired by The Divine Comedy, Beck uses Dante’s classic hero’s journey as a framework to break down the process of attaining personal integrity into small, manageable steps. She shows how to read our internal signals that lead us towards our true path, and to recognize what we actually yearn for versus what our culture sells us. With techniques tested on hundreds of her clients, Beck brings her expertise as a social scientist, life coach and human being to help readers to uncover what integrity looks like in their own lives. She takes us on a spiritual adventure that not only will change the direction of our lives, but also bring us to a place of genuine happiness.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

How to reap the enormous benefits of this dynamic newpractice SUCCESSFUL PARTNERING Fundamentals for Project Owners and Contractors In the tightly budgeted and competitive business environment of the1990s, firms involved in construction projects can no longer (ifthey ever could) afford the suspicions, squabbles, and evenlitigation that have afflicted far too many projects. Thisenlightening book shows project owners, construction professionals,and others how to implement the recently developed practice ofpartnering as a more efficient, cost-effective, and far lessstressful way of planning, organizing, and completing constructionprojects. Adopted by such organizations as the Army Corps ofEngineers, its growing number of converts have reported fewerdelays and lawsuits and other benefits, including a morecooperative and focused work atmosphere. With this new book--theonly one of its kind currently available--practicing professionalswill gain a solid understanding of the fundamentals of partneringand how to apply them to their construction projects. Successful Partnering It is a sad fact that as many as 70% of all construction projectswill result in some kind of litigious action and this, in turn,will result in enormous losses of money, time, and energy for allparties involved. In the hope of avoiding this debilitating drainon resources, many construction-related firms have adopted therecently developed practice of partnering. In partnering, allparticipants work together and accept joint responsibility for thecompletion of a project. Successful Partnering shows you how toinitiate and build partnering relationships in your projects, andhow, with a united management agenda, a construction team can focuson problem solving instead of fault finding. Written by two recognized authorities on partnering, this uniqueguide takes you through the process of partnering, giving youinvaluable insights from the perspectives of principalparticipants. By examining the case studies and numerous examplesthat illuminate the text, you will learn from the inside what worksand what doesn't, and how to maximize your chances of establishinga successful partnering relationship. Specifically, this bookprovides insights on such important issues as: * Why partnering is becoming a rapidly growing practice in theconstruction industry and what the benefits are for owners,construction contractors, architects, engineers, and others * How to lay the foundation for partnering: testing for goodcontracts, good teaming, and good partnering * The fundamental principles and mechanics of partnering, includingthe roles of the facilitator and the trainer * Legal aspects of partnering * The personal and group dynamics of partnering and how they affectcreative problem solving and efficiency Successful Partnering is an indispensable guide to a practice thatis revolutionizing the way construction projects are beingorganized and completed. Written for all those involved in thecomplex work of construction--engineering, design, and constructionmanagers; as well as lawyers, accountants, and suppliers,Successful Partnering is a lucid introduction to an important newdevelopment in construction management.

A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

Backpacker brings the outdoors straight to the reader's doorstep, inspiring and enabling them to go more places and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured.