In the Care of Troublesome people Wayne Oates combines family systems theory with insightful analysis of five types of behavior that frequently create conflict in congregations. Dr. Oates provides biblically based approaches to assist clergy, congregational lay leaders, and denominational leaders in the care of persons demonstrating these behaviors. You will learn how to approach the troubled and troublesmoe people in your congregation in specific ways that are not dismissive but are caring, affirming, and firmly grounded in God's grace. Rather than point fingers, fix blame, or characterize such people as bad or evil (which can only serve to create further turmoil), Oates purposes a bold new way to care for troublesome people that focuses on not just the battles, but the issues of wholeness and care for the individual, ourselves, and the congregation. -- cover

RECOMMENDED BY DOLLY PARTON IN PEOPLE MAGAZINE! A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A USA TODAY BESTSELLER A LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER The bestselling historical fiction novel from Kim Michele Richardson, this is a novel following Cussy Mary, a packhorse librarian and her quest to bring books to the Appalachian community she loves, perfect for readers of William Kent Kreuger and Lisa Wingate. The perfect addition to your next book club! The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything—everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome's got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Cussy's not only a book woman, however, she's also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy's family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she's going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler. Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman's belief that books can carry us anywhere—even back home. Look for The Book Woman's Daughter, the new novel from Kim Michele Richardson, out now! Other Bestselling Historical Fiction from Sourcebooks Landmark: The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict The Engineer's Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

How to Manage Work Relationships in a Constructive Way that Leads to Success. Learning how to maintain strong, harmonious work relationships is essential. Unfortunately, at some point in your career, you'll have to work with people whose personalities or habits make every interaction with them a trial. Communications expert Renee Evenson has written the definitive phrasebook on how to confront the situations that can arise when dealing with difficult personalities and bring about a positive outcome. Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Difficult People is packed with practical and easy-to-use tactics such as: 325 powerful phrases to communicate effectively, as well as powerful actions to take in support of those phrases. 30 common personality traits, behaviors, and workplace scenarios along with the phrases that work best with each. Nonverbal communication actions to back up your words. Sample dialogues that demonstrate how phrasing improves interactions. A five-step process for moving from conflict to resolution. "Why This Works" sections that provide detailed explanations. Often, an employee who can interact well with others and feels comfortable handling conflict will be promoted over an employee who possesses greater job or technical knowledge. From egotistical bosses to meeting monopolizers, you'll learn how to develop the skills to handle any type of conflict with anyone.

We all have people in our lives who frustrate, annoy or hurt us. Consider those who claim 'I'm always right!', workplace bullies, or obsessive personality types. And most of us hurt others occasionally, too. In Difficult Personalities Dr Helen McGrath and Hazel Edwards take common situations and offer strategies to help, including: anger and conflict management achieving empathy optimism and assertion making decisions about difficult relationships This is a reassuring guide to dealing with the challenging behaviour we encounter daily, as well as with our own. It's an essential resource for understanding, living with or working with people whose behaviour is frustrating, confusing or damaging.

The international bestseller--­­more than 500,000 copies sold! With their 1994 international bestseller, Dealing with People You Can't Stand, Drs. Rick Brinkman and Rick Kirschner armed a civility-starved world with no-nonsense strategies for dealing with difficult people with tact and skill. Since then, cell phones, the Internet, voice mail, and other technological wonders designed to bring people closer together have only made it that much harder to avoid "people you can't stand;" even worse, they've also created exciting new ways for annoying people to realize their talent for being pains in the butt. Updated and revised for the digital age, this new edition of Brinkman and Kirschner's bestselling guide shows readers how to successfully combat the whiners, grenades, tanks, snipers, close-talkers, pedants, and other rude, crude, and inconsiderate people who can ruin your day at work, in stores, on the street, in restaurants, at the movies, in waiting rooms, by fax, phone, and E-mail, and in cyberspace.

With wisdom and humor, Thank You for Being Such a Pain offers gentle and compassionate guidance for understanding and healing relationships with difficult people. By embracing four fundamental premises and putting into practice the author's many helpful and practical suggestions, you'll acquire the skills and insights necessary for turning around even the most troublesome relationship. What you need to keep in mind is that: (1) nothing in your life happens randomly and your difficulties have a deeper purpose; (2) frustration and even emotional pain are as necessary for your personal and spiritual growth as love and joy; (3) transforming enmity and completing unfinished business may be the most important skills you can learn in life; and (4) when you make an effort to work on your inner self, your outer relationships will be transformed. This groundbreaking book draws upon state-of-the-art psychological principles and timeless spiritual practices from all traditions. Filled with enlightening exercises and entertaining stories, Thank You for Being Such a Pain will forever change the way you see the difficult people in your life . . . as well as the way you see yourself.

This is a unique guide to coping with challenging people using practical Zen and mindfulness tools. It helps readers explore their reactions, break free from knee-jerk response patterns and see if these people may in fact prove to be useful teachers in life – troublesome Buddhas. This is a guide to applying the teachings of mindfulness and Zen to the troublesome or challenging people in our lives. Perhaps you can see there’s often a pattern to your behaviour in relation to them and that it often causes pain – perhaps a great deal of pain. The only way we can grow is by facing this pain, acknowledging how we feel and how we’ve reacted, and making an intention or commitment to end this repeating pattern of suffering. In this book, Mark Westmoquette speaks from a place of profound personal experience. A Zen monk, he has endured two life-changing traumas caused by other people: his sexual abuse by his own father; and his stepfather’s death and mother’s very serious injury in a car crash due to the careless driving of an off-duty policeman. He stresses that by bringing awareness and kindness to these relationships, our initial stance of “I can’t stand this person, they need to change” will naturally shift into something much broader and more inclusive. The book makes playful use of Zen koans – apparently nonsensical phrases or stories – to help jar us out of habitual ways of perceiving the world and nudge us toward a new perspective of wisdom and compassion.