In recent years, mixed martial arts, also known as "ultimate fighting", has become the fastest-growing sport in American society, but it is also considered the most controversial. Based on interviews conducted with forty mixed martial arts athletes, Fighting for Acceptance answers these questions: Who are the ultimate fighters? How did they become involved in the sport? What goes on in their heads while competing? Do the fighters feel a social responsibility to preach nonviolence out of the sport? How do they see themselves fitting into today's society? Authors David Mayeda, a mixed martial arts fan and occasional fighter, and David Ching explore these political and sociological issues through in-depth interviews with fighters such as Randy "The Natural" Couture, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, "Dangerous" Dan Henderson, Jason "MayheM" Miller, Antonio McKee, Frank Trigg, Travis Lutter, Chris "The Crippler" Leben, and Guy Mezger. Fighting for Acceptance is for the sport's fans and its critics alike as it delves into the ramifications of the athletic event. This growing phenomenon is so controversial that many still question if it should even be considered a sport.

Imagine the relief of not being stuck in anger, resentment or regret. Imagine the emotional freedom of stopping the battle with yourself, other people, your circumstances and even your past. Imagine the peace of mind you would have if you stopped fighting the current of life and instead flowed with it, effortlessly. Exploring the journey from resistance to alignment to possibility, Ashley Davis Bush (a psychotherapist with over 30 years' experience and author of eight self-help books) debunks the idea that acceptance is merely passive apathy or resignation. In The Art and Power of Acceptance she introduces you to the simple but radical practice of self-compassion as the key to disarming resistance, expanding positive emotions and allowing you to move easily with "what is". She invites you to see how acceptance paradoxically leads to powerful, lasting change. Using personal and clinical stories, practical suggestions, and evidence-based research, Ashley illuminates a new way of being with life. Choose acceptance today and discover first hand how it leads to your emotional freedom.

“Nietfeld’s gifts for capturing the fury of living at the mercy of bad circumstances, for critiquing the hero’s journey even while she tells it, make Acceptance a remarkable memoir.” —The New York Times Book Review A hard-hitting and hilarious memoir of ambition, desperation, and the dark side of grit Growing up in a house filled with dirty feather boas and fearless mice, Emi Nietfeld dreams of escaping to the Ivy League. Emi’s single mom believes in her, but can’t stop hoarding—catapulting Emi into the underworld of troubled teen treatment, foster care, and homelessness. When her shot arrives to trade sleeping in her car for the hallowed halls of an elite college, Emi must decide: How far will she go to market herself as a perfect “overcomer” when her problems are far from over? And what will it cost to maintain that illusion at Harvard and into adulthood? From journalist, mental health advocate, and software engineer Emi Nietfeld, this searing coming-of-age story is both a chronicle of the American Dream and an indictment of it. Exposing the price of trading a troubled past for the promise of a bright future, Nietfeld explores whether any amount of success can make trauma worth it. With a ribbon of dark humor, Acceptance challenges our ideas of what it means to overcome—and live on your own terms.

The "Wheelchair Supermodel" is back with an Inspirational Book on the Power of Acceptance What if, starting today, you stopped thinking in terms of lack and imperfection? What if you stopped trying to change reality with the power of our thoughts and intention? What if you no longer thought that everything needs to be fixed, healed or improved? In her new book, The Power of Acceptance, Postma (author of The Deeper Secret and The Secret Within) explores the mental and emotional blocks that keep us from true joy. She writes, "Rarely has anything in my life gone the way I had hoped, expected or thought. There have been some heavy blows. However, in hindsight, I can see that everything turned out just as it should have." Calling upon many wisdom traditions and her own hard-won insights, Postma traces a gentle path that will lead to the renewal of your mind and spirit. She writes, "To embrace reality is an act of total renewal. When we dare to see things as they truly are it immediately brings us a feeling of liberation, strength and healing. Therefore it is no coincidence that Buddhists describe 'experiencing God' as being 'completely present' in reality. To surrender means to let go of the control you think you have in your life. It means releasing your preconceived thoughts and notions about how you think your life should be. It is all about no longer forcing your personal will on reality. In fact, to surrender is a celebration of real freedom." Postma knows whereof she speaks. As a precocious 11 year old with her whole life in front of her, she was struck with a sudden illness that left her wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life. Doctors now believe that she was bit by a virulent tick. Instead of wallowing in misery, however, Postma took it as a wake-up call. "From the beginning," she says, "nothing needed to be ‘made bearable’ for me. I knew and felt from the start: This is OK." Since then, she has dedicated her life to overcoming obstacles and helping others do the same. She studied law and became the first professional model in Europe with a disability. She has been a goodwill ambassador of the Netherlands Foundation for Handicapped Children and speaks frequently across northern Europe on issues of self-esteem and self-respect. Postma is also known for her gentle critique of the hit book, The Secret. In her two previous titles she urged readers to trust the workings of the Universe rather than try to change them or to manifest a different reality. In her latest book she continues the theme and engages in conversations with some of the best-known spirituality writers about it. With Gregg Braden she has a dialog on life; with Lynn McTaggart she discusses the idea that life is not a fight that needs to be won; and with Dr. Eric Pearl she converses about reconnecting with the cosmic frequencies. Writes Postma, “Spirituality is nothing more than giving up your resistance to what is. Living spiritually is daring to see what is in front of you and daring to experience your life as it is right now. And experience means conquering our greatest human fear: living as a complete human being."

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for Nonfiction "...an essential and engaging look at recent disability history."— Buzzfeed One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human. A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples’ rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.