Recommendations based on "Bittersweet"

Being a woman is a beautiful gift – however, at times it can be easy to lose sight of this. We can often feel betrayed by our bodies, and feel as though we have no control over our thoughts, leaving us feeling like we’re grasping for air while trying to meet everyone else’s expectations. It doesn’t have to be this way.This book will help you to understand the “why” behind some of your common frustrations – from the weight you can’t shift, to why you feel trapped on the “stress express”, or why you find it so difficult to say “no” to some people.Libby embraces a holistic approach by treating the root cause of an ailment. Her extensive knowledge of how the body works makes her a “one-stop shop” in achieving and maintaining ultimate health and well being." – Deborra-lee and Hugh Jackman

From one of the sharpest Christian voices of her generation and host of the podcast Relatable comes a framework for escaping our culture of trendy narcissism—and embracing God instead.We're told that the key to happiness is self-love. Instagram influencers, mommy bloggers, self-help gurus, and even Christian teachers promise that if we learn to love ourselves, we'll be successful, secure, and complete. But the promise doesn't deliver. Instead of feeling fulfilled, our pursuit of self-love traps us in an exhausting cycle: as we strive for self-acceptance, we become addicted to self-improvement.The truth is we can't find satisfaction inside ourselves because we are the problem. We struggle with feelings of inadequacy because we are inadequate. Alone, we are not good enough, smart enough, or beautiful enough. We're not enough--period. And that's okay, because God is.The answer to our insufficiency and insecurity isn't self-love, but God's love. In Jesus, we're offered a way out of our toxic culture of self-love and into a joyful life of relying on him for wisdom, satisfaction, and purpose. We don't have to wonder what it's all about anymore. This is it.This book isn't about battling your not-enoughness; it's about embracing it. Allie Beth Stuckey, a Christian, conservative new mom, found herself at the dead end of self-love, and she wants to help you combat the false teachings and self-destructive mindsets that got her there. In this book, she uncovers the myths popularized by our self-obsessed culture, reveals where they manifest in politics and the church, and dismantles them with biblical truth and practical wisdom.

NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES •NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • An anniversary edition of the bestselling collection of "Dear Sugar" advice columns written by the author of #1 bestseller Wild—featuring a new preface and six additional columns.For more than a decade, thousands of people have sought advice from Dear Sugar—the pseudonym of bestselling author Cheryl Strayed—first through her online column at The Rumpus, later through her hit podcast, Dear Sugars, and now through her popular Substack newsletter. Tiny Beautiful Things collects the best of Dear Sugar in one volume, bringing her wisdom to many more readers. This tenth-anniversary edition features six new columns and a new preface by Strayed. Rich with humor, insight, compassion—and absolute honesty—this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe definitive book on the rise of “toxic achievement culture” overtaking our kids' and parents' lives, and a new framework for fighting backIn the ever more competitive race to secure the best possible future, today’s students face unprecedented pressure to succeed. They jam-pack their schedules with AP classes, fill every waking hour with resume-padding activities, and even sabotage relationships with friends to “get ahead.” Family incomes and schedules are stretched to the breaking point by tutoring fees and athletic schedules. Yet this drive to optimize performance has only resulted in skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression, and even self-harm in America’s highest achieving schools. Parents, educators, and community leaders are facing the same quandary: how can we teach our kids to strive towards excellence without crushing them?In Never Enough, award-winning reporter Jennifer Breheny Wallace investigates the deep roots of toxic achievement culture, and finds out what we must do to fight back. Drawing on interviews with families, educators, and an original survey of nearly 6,000 parents, she exposes how the pressure to perform is not a matter of parental choice but baked in to our larger society and spurred by increasing income inequality and dwindling opportunities. As a result, children are increasingly absorbing the message that they have no value outside of their accomplishments, a message that is reinforced by the media and greater culture at large.Through deep research and interviews with today’s leading child psychologists, Wallace shows what kids need from the adults in the room is not more pressure, but to feel like they matter, and have intrinsic self-worth not contingent upon external achievements. Parents and educators who adopt the language and values of mattering help children see themselves as a valuable contributor to a larger community. And in an ironic twist, kids who receive consistent feedback that they matter no matter what are more likely to have the resilience, self-confidence, and psychological security to thrive.Packed with memorable stories and offering a powerful toolkit for positive change, Never Enough offers an urgent, humane view of the crisis plaguing today’s teens and a practical framework for how to help.

The wise, life-changing, ground-breaking book from writer and activist Munroe Bergdorf.Transitioning is an alignment of the invisible and the physical. It is truth rising to the surface. It is one of the most fundamental aspects of the human condition—a part of our experience as a conscious being, no matter who we are.As time goes on, we all develop as people. None of us ever becomes someone else entirely—regardless of how we identify—but nor do we stay the same forever. We all transition. It's what binds us, not what separates us.In Transitional, activist and writer Munroe Bergdorf draws on her own experience and theory from key experts, change-makers and activists to reveal just how deeply ingrained transitioning is in human experience.This is a book to help bring us closer to a shared consciousness: a powerful guide to how our differences can be harnessed as a tool to heal, build community, and construct a better society.

A 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable Book"The new manifesto for how we as queer people could and should navigate the world. It's the holding hand I never had--but wish I did."--Troye Sivan, Golden Globe nominated-singer, songwriter, and actor"With the persistence of queerphobia all around the world, this book is absolutely necessary, even vital."--Édouard Louis, internationally bestselling author of History of Violence"To Eli's credit, all of the rules are rooted in considerations of conscience and kindness and, if observed, will make abetter world--as will this book."--Booklist, starred review"A must-read that highlights the importance of radical empathy, community building, and solidarity."--School Library Journal, starred reviewIn The New Queer Conscience, LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli argues the urgent need for queer responsibility -- that queers anywhere are responsible for queers everywhere.Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, The New Queer Conscience, Voices4 Founder and LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli offers a candid and compassionate introduction to queer responsibility. Eli calls on his Jewish faith to underline how kindness and support within the queer community can lead to a stronger global consciousness. More importantly, he reassures us that we're not alone. In fact, we never were. Because if you mess with one queer, you mess with us all.

From Dr. Becky Kennedy, the psychologist known as the "Millennial Parenting Whisperer," comes a practical guide that offers a radical new approach to parenting.Over the past several years, Dr. Rebecca Kennedy--known to her many followers as simply "Dr. Becky"--has been sparking a parenting revolution. Tired of advice that doesn't work or simply doesn't feel good to put into practice, hundreds of thousands of parents have been turning to Dr. Becky for her empowering, forgiving, and effective approach to parenting that meets parents exactly where they are--and gives them the tools to do better.In Good Inside, Dr. Becky shares her popular philosophy and tools in a comprehensive resource designed to help parents move from frustration and self-blame to empowerment, confidence, and sturdy leadership. For decades, Dr. Becky suggests, parents have been sold a model of childrearing that simply doesn't work. From reward charts to time outs, the "evidence-based" incentives and punishments many experts recommend are based on shaping behavior, not raising humans. These techniques don't build the skills kids need for life and don't account for kids' complex emotional needs. Add to that the conditioning we've inherited from our own parents--which often discounts the validity of emotions altogether--and you end up with a generation of parents who feel lost, burned out, and worried they're failing their kids.In this ground-breaking book, Dr. Becky builds from the baseline of a radically simple but profound truth: You are good inside. Your kids are good inside. There are no "bad kids" or "bad parents"--there are only good kids having a hard time, and good parents struggling to do their jobs well. After diffusing blame and shame, she asks readers to shift their focus from discipline to connection. Because the only way we can help our kids through tough times, suggests Dr. Becky, is to reinforce secureattachment.Part manifesto, part how-to guide, Good Inside is as focused on self-development as it is child development, since it's impossible for parents to meet their child's needs without first meeting their own. Filled with both perspective-shifting strategies as well as troubleshooting for specific scenarios--including sibling rivalry, separation anxiety, tantrums, rudeness and defiance, not listening, and more--Good Inside is a stand-alone resource for a generation of parents looking for a new way to raise their kids while still setting them up for a lifetime of resilience, confidence, and self-regulation.

A New York Times bestseller • A New York Times Notable Book “The tale of how Konnikova followed a story about poker players and wound up becoming a story herself will have you riveted, first as you learn about her big winnings, and then as she conveys the lessons she learned both about human nature and herself.” —The Washington Post It's true that Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn't even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee and winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings, and convinced him to be her mentor. But she knew her man: a famously thoughtful and broad-minded player, he was intrigued by her pitch that she wasn't interested in making money so much as learning about life. She had faced a stretch of personal bad luck, and her reflections on the role of chance had led her to a giant of game theory, who pointed her to poker as the ultimate master class in learning to distinguish between what can be controlled and what can't. And she certainly brought something to the table, including a Ph.D. in psychology and an acclaimed and growing body of work on human behavior and how to hack it. So Seidel was in, and soon she was down the rabbit hole with him, into the wild, fiercely competitive, overwhelmingly masculine world of high-stakes Texas Hold'em, their initial end point the following year's World Series of Poker. But then something extraordinary happened. Under Seidel's guidance, Konnikova did have many epiphanies about life that derived from her new pursuit, including how to better read, not just her opponents but far more importantly herself; how to identify what tilted her into an emotional state that got in the way of good decisions; and how to get to a place where she could accept luck for what it was, and what it wasn't. But she also began to win. And win. In a little over a year, she began making earnest money from tournaments, ultimately totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.  She won a major title, got a sponsor, and got used to being on television, and to headlines like "How one writer's book deal turned her into a professional poker player." She even learned to like Las Vegas. But in the end, Maria Konnikova is a writer and student of human behavior, and ultimately the point was to render her incredible journey into a container for its invaluable lessons. The biggest bluff of all, she learned, is that skill is enough. Bad cards will come our way, but keeping our focus on how we play them and not on the outcome will keep us moving through many a dark patch, until the luck once again breaks our way.

From the bestselling author of The Guilty Feminist, a book about how to change minds - including your own 'An essential guide for fostering nuanced and intricate conversations in today's polarized society' GILLIAN ANDERSON 'Tackles thorny, volatile issues with wit and insight' INDEPENDENT, BOOKS OF THE MONTH 'The book we need right now' DAVID TENNANT 'Thought-provoking and witty' MARIE CLAIRE 'If you have ever felt shut down, this book is a godsend' EMMA THOMPSON 'Shows us that progress lies in the imperfect spaces, where our shared humanity gives empathy the freedom to stretch out' THE TIMES 'Finally! A book to succinctly express the complexity of our age' TOM ALLEN *** We are understandably scared to have difficult conversations right now. But comedian and bestselling writer Deborah Frances-White is even more scared of not having them. Having grown up in a cult which shut down any dissent, Deborah sees the same tactics being used in our rapidly changing society. She knows the value of freedom of speech, critical thinking and the ability to argue well. And as the host of hit podcast The Guilty Feminist, she has been having difficult conversations in public for almost a decade. In her new, urgent page-turner Deborah examines how the world has come to this and what we can actually do about it. Most importantly, she explores how to change minds, including our own. Deborah invites us to boldly meet this moment in history with hope, clarity and courage. She has written, as Desiree Burch says, 'a book to leave you transformed.' Are you ready to talk?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . A big-hearted, no-bullshit memoir from the TikTok superstar about her journey from living paycheck to paycheck to creating a multi-million-dollar business that offers a compassionate alternative to capitalism . Includes no-nonsense life and money advice, from negotiating pay and building credit to putting home ownership within reach "Madeline's life is unique yet wildly relatable...Readers will be thoroughly engaged, as every hardship comes with a lesson that Madeline skillfully shares with us. A thought-provoking, mind-tingling reading experience."-Mercury Stardust, the Trans Handy Ma'am and author of Safe and Sound Imagine a job where you work four days a week and earn as much as the CEO. You also get full benefits, a gym membership, free lunch, and unlimited time off, no questions asked. Hard-won profits don't just end up in the CEO's pocket-they're distributed equally among all employees. The company even buys you your very own car. It sounds too good to be true, but this is the reality at Tunnel Vision, the clothing company that Madeline Pendleton built from the ground up. Like so many Americans, Madeline used to struggle to make ends meet. Raised by a punk dad and a goth mom in Fresno, California, she spent her teens intermittently homeless, relying on the kindness and spare couches of the local punk community to get by. By her twenties, she was drowning in student loans and credit card debt, working long hours and sick of her bosses treating her as disposable. Then her boyfriend, struggling with financial stress, died by suicide. Capitalism was literally killing her loved ones-she knew there must be a better way. Madeline decided to study the rules of capitalism, the game everyone is forced to play. She used what she learned to build a new kind of business, one rooted in an ethos of community care. Millennials and Gen Zers like Madeline are facing an unprecedented financial reality- Stagnant wages, skyrocketing housing costs, a student debt crisis. I Survived Capitalism is essential reading for anyone searching for hope and stability in an unjust world.