Personal Development Recent Picks

September 2009

The title-underlined links will take you directly to our catalogue.
Some featured items are linked via a book cover to enable you to read more reviews.

The winner's bible : rewire your brain for permanent change, Kerry Spackman (2009)"World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows you how to use and customize the groundbreaking tools he pioneered for elite athletes, Olympic champions, and upper-echelon businesspeople to permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. The Winner’s Bible gives you mental and emotional tools that can change your natural desires and rid you of habits that limit your happiness or potential. Dr. Spackman provides practical, proven techniques for acquiring the strengths necessary to grow into a better, happier, and more powerful person. He's used these techniques to genuinely revolutionize the lives of normal people, sports stars, business people and even drug addicts--sometimes in a single session." (Amazon.com)

Listening below the noise : a meditation on the practice of silence,Anne D. LeClaire (2009)
"When Anne D. Le Claire decided to turn an ordinary Monday into a day of silence, she viewed her experiment as a one-time occurrence. Little did she realize she had begun an inner voyage that would transform her life. In the seventeen years since, Le Claire has practiced total silence on the first and third Monday of each month. By detaching herself from the bustle of her hectic lifestyle and learning to listen to her deepest self, she has found a centre from which to live - one that tests, strengthens, and heals her. In practicing silence, she has discovered her own secret garden - a cloistered, sacred, private place where true personal growth is possible. In this eloquent book-part memoir, part philosophical inquiry – Le Claire reflects on how silence can help us attend to the world around us, expand our awareness, and achieve inner peace. Silence, Le Claire contends, reminds us to pay attention to the ordinary moments of our existence. In silence we can learn how to listen, become more compassionate, ignite and nurture creativity, uncover our inner yearnings, and ultimately find peace and improve our well-being. By confronting ourselves and learning from the anxiety that arises when we are freed from distraction, we can become whole. With clarity and humour, Le Claire reveals how silence has brought joy to her life and helped her foster new connections with nature, with others, and with herself." (Global Books in Print)

Forgetting : when to worry, what to do, by Joan Carson Breitung. (c2008)
"Memory problems and the accompanying confusion can have any number of causes. As the elderly population swells with the ageing of 77 million baby-boomers, Americans will increasingly face the challenge of trying to understand and cope with problems associated with cognitive decline. This informative, user-friendly guide defines the kinds of memory problems that have straightforward explanations and remedies, as well as those that are more complex and ominous. Joan Carson Breitung, an expert on the mental health of the elderly, clarifies the difference between normal brain ageing and the onset of dementia. Among the important topics included are: Mild Cognitive Impairment; Alzheimer's Disease; Late-Life Depression; Caregivers; Dementia; Falls. A goldmine of useful information, this popular reference work will help anyone facing the cognitive problems associated with ageing." (Amazon)

A field guide to melancholy,Jacky Bowring (2008)
"A depressive illness or a passing feeling? Mental detachment or a precursor to genius? Melancholy is a critical part of what it is to be human, yet everything from Prozac to self-help psychology books seems intent on removing all signs of sadness from contemporary existence. A Field Guide to Melancholy surveys this ambivalent concept and takes a journey through the articulation of melancholy in a variety of languages and societies." (Global Books in Print)

As time goes by : boomerang marriages, serial spouses, throwback couples, and other romantic adventures in an age of longevity , by Abigail Trafford. (2009)
"People today are living longer and healthier lives than at any other time in history with profound implications for the nature of their romantic relationships. In this inspiring new book, best-selling author Abigail Trafford describes how people over fifty are rewriting the script of love and in the process redefining the institution of marriage for future generations. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of men and women, married and single, gay and straight, she shows how the unprecedented period of vitality after midlife but before traditional old age is much more complicated romantically and sexually than those glossy images of gray-haired people on the beach would suggest. And she reveals how today’s fifty-plus men and women are raising the bar on marital satisfaction. They are more likely to break up an unhappy liaison than previous generations; and they are more freewheeling in finding new formulas for romantic satisfaction. Trafford deftly narrates what it means to love and be loved in the decades after midlife and she offers solutions to the most common problems that define this time of life. Whether she’s shedding light on retired-spouse syndrome, sharing stories of sexual turmoil, explaining how to plan a marital time-out or navigate the troubled waters of divorce, Trafford’s wise and compassionate counsel is imbued with her signature warmth and reassurance. As Time Goes By is an urgently needed guide to the pursuit of love and happiness in this dynamic stage of life." (Global Books in Print)

He's just not that into you : the no-excuses truth to understanding guys, by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. (2004)

Previous personal development recent picks page