Occasional comedian and full-time worrier Neil Hughes isn't the kind of person whom you would expect to write a helpful book. He's an idiot. (At least, according to his Inner Critic.) But, during his anxious bumbling through existence, he has somehow accumulated plenty of knowledge on how to live a rich, meaningful life, how to be happy(ish) even when things don't go your way, and - especially - how to find freedom from unpleasant thoughts, feelings and panic. In this humorous exploration of an anxious life, Neil mixes embarrassing real-life stories with inventive fantasy as he explains how he learned to understand and control his anxiety. Despite the constant interruptions of his Inner Critic, he explores the workings of the brain, love, relationships, purpose, contentment... and even death and the Meaning of Life itself. In between battling aliens in outer space, talking flowers, arguments with himself, and other flights of fancy, he warmly shares practical techniques to live less nervously and more happily. And, somehow, it turns out everything can be explained using custard...

As the public grows disillusioned with therapeutic quick fixes, people are looking for a deeper psychotherapeutic experience to make life more meaningful and satisfying. What really happens in therapy? What promises and perils does it hold for them? No one writes about therapy - or indeed the dilemmas of the human condition - with more acuity, style, and heart than Irvin Yalom. Here he combines the storytelling skills so widely praised in Love's Executioner with the wisdom of the compassionate and fully engaged psychotherapist. In these six compelling tales of therapy, Yalom introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters: Paula, who faces death and stares it down; Magnolia, into whose ample lap Yalom longs to pour his own sorrows; Irene, who learns to seek out anger and plunge into it. And there's Momma, old-fashioned, ill-tempered, who drifts into Yalom's dreams and tramples through his thoughts. At once wildly entertaining and deeply thoughtful, Momma and the Meaning of Life is a work of rare insight and imagination.

Who would have ever thought that a stroll back through ones childhood neighborhood would have opened the door to the very real existence of another realm of life hidden behind the scenes of our lives? Thats exactly what happened as I walked back to visit the simplicity of yesterday, only to face again what I thought was the great dichotomy of today. On that ordinary park bench, on that not-so-long-ago morning, my life was forever transformed. For it was there that the unveiling of a connection to a phenomenal power and supernatural ability took me on a journey into incredible insights, powers, and the miraculous healing that exists in the center of all mankind. And it was also there that I first encountered the Voice. I was shown the purpose of time and the great secret it holds. Visions and songs and strangers revealed insights that kept taking me further into the great ascending truth thats been hidden in the midst of us the whole time. Dreams became avenues of incredible wisdom. Laughter and tears carried me through realms of experiences. This is the very thing weve been looking for throughout all of our existence. As the journey comes full circle, any mysteries of life fade into the simplicity thats been revealed and that has been with us the whole entire time. This is meant to be our home, and now we know it.

Noveller. These tales of women on the edge show the darkness beneath the surface of the Jazz Age

Finalist, 2015 Midwest Book Award Chicago Book Review Best Book of 2015 Set in the frozen wasteland of Midwestern academia, The Lost Journals of Sylvia Plath introduces Wilson A. Lavender, father of three, instructor of women's studies, and self-proclaimed genius who is beginning to think he knows nothing about women. He spends much of his time in his office not working on his dissertation, a creative piece titled "The Lost Journals of Sylvia Plath." A sober alcoholic, he also spends much of his time not drinking, until he hooks up with his office mate, Alice Cherry, an undercover stripper who introduces him to "the buffer"—the chemical solution to his woes. Wilson's wife, Katie, is an anxious hippie, genuine earth mother, and recent PhD with no plans other than to read People magazine, eat chocolate, and seduce her young neighbor—a community college student who has built a bar in his garage. Intelligent and funny, Katie is haunted by a violent childhood. Her husband's "tortured genius" both exhausts and amuses her. The Lavenders' stagnant world is roiled when Katie's pregnant sister, January, moves in. Obsessed with her lost love, '80s rocker Stevie Flame, January is on a quest to reconnect with her glittery, big-haired past. A free spirit to the point of using other people's toothbrushes without asking, she drives Wilson crazy. Exploring the landscape of family life, troubled relationships, dreams of the future, and nightmares of the past, Knutsen has conjured a literary gem filled with humor and sorrow, Aqua Net and Scooby-Doo, diapers and benzodiazepines—all the detritus and horror and beauty of modern life.

In the summer of 1980, a maverick young doctor gave it all up, to hitchhike around the world. The first part of his odyssey took him down through South America and up through Africa, accompanied by his mythical hunter companion, Orion. Between the Cartwheels is the sequel to that cartwheel, his vision quest continuing now, on the European Grand Tour adventure of a lifetime.

One night a puppy,who is always late coming home finds there is no dessert for him. On board pages.