My Precious Life

Pain and poverty paved the way to peace and spiritual prosperity in the life of the author, Patricia Ann Boyes, ordinary person. In this memoir, she takes us from a three-year-old child witnessing her mother’s brutal beatings, to a seventeen-year-old suffering the throes of childbirth; through a bitter marriage breakdown, and on to new love, entrepreneurship, and a battle with cancer. This memoir will not compare with that of the rich and famous or with the extraordinary drama of the Malalas of the world, but it may compare in some ways with the lives of other ordinary people who also have a story to tell, lessons to learn, and obstacles to overcome. It’s a story of believing God’s promises and learning life‘s lessons. Someone once said, “Don’t die with your words or your music still in you.” The author has taken this advice.

As seen in USA Today's hottest releases and The Washington Post's 10 New Books Spotlight “Sarah Wilson is a force of nature – quite literally. She has taken her pain and grief about our sick and troubled world and alchemized it into action, advocacy, adventure, poetry, and true love.” — ELIZABETH GILBERT Wake up and reclaim your one wild and precious life. New York Times bestselling author Sarah Wilson shows you how in this radical spiritual guidebook, the book we need NOW. Many of us are living with the sense that things are not right with the world and are in a state of spiritual PTSD. We have retreated, morally and psychologically; we are experiencing a crisis of disconnection—from one another, from our true values, from joy, and from life as we feel we are meant to be living it. Sarah Wilson argues that this sense of despair and disconnection is ironically what unites us—that deep down, we are all feeling that same itch for a new way of living. Drawing on science, literature, philosophy and the wisdom of some of the world’s leading experts, and her personal journey, Wilson offers a hopeful path forward to the life we love. En route, she shows us how to wake up and reconnect with life using “wild practices” that include: · Hike. Embrace the “walking cure” as great minds throughout history have. · Go to your edge. Do what scares you and embrace discomfort daily. · #Buylesslivemore. Break the cycle of mindless consumption and get light with your life. · Become a soul nerd. Light up your intellect with the arts. · Get “full-fat spiritual”. Have an active practice and use it to change the world. · Practice wild activism. Through sustained, non-violent protest we can create our better world. The time has come to boldly, wildly imagine better. We are being called upon, individually and as a society, to forge a new path and to find a new way of living. Will you join the journey?

We all want a life worth living. The search for ‘the good life’ has been a driving force for humanity throughout history. But what exactly is a ‘good life’? For too long psychologists have concerned themselves solely with helping the mentally unwell – those who suffer from depression, anxiety and a range of other mental health problems. However, psychologists have recently begun to focus on mental health, not just mental ill health, on happiness as well as unhappiness. Drawing on the latest research in the area of positive psychology, and using a practical, down-to-earth style with real-life stories, Shane Martin teaches us how to bolster our mental health in order to be as happy and resilient as we can be. In Your Precious Life, he guides us along the path to optimal mental health and inner happiness, focusing on: Rational thinkingCompassionGratitudeSavouringResilienceCommunity and belongingMindfulnessThe importance of a healthy body – diet, exercise and sleep Martin believes that everyone can use the tools of psychology to improve their happiness. We should not wait for a crisis before learning to address this crucial part of our well-being, but take proactive steps towards mental wellness. Your Precious Life will appeal to anyone who wants to ensure that the one life we have is a good one.

WINNER OF THE AUDIENCE CHOICE IRISH BOOK AWARD 2021 Once you've got a few decades on the clock, life can seem sort of cross-roadsy. Once you're no longer thinking of yourself as 'young', you may be looking back, thinking 'How did I get here?' And also looking ahead, wondering: 'What do I do now?' This realization that neither time nor choices are limitless is both daunting and exciting. This is the moment to take stock and figure out how to make the best of every precious moment of the rest of your life. And to develop the tools to be able to do so again and again. Your One Wild and Precious Life is an eye-opening account of this surprisingly liberating process. Using the latest ground-breaking research, leading psychologist Maureen Gaffney has written an inspiring and practical guide for getting to grips with time. Taking the key stages of our life - from infancy to old age - she explores what we learn at each stage. And, crucially, she explains how, no matter what has happened in the past, and what age you are, you can find a better route forward. Your One Wild and Precious Life is both profound and reassuring. It will transform your thinking, connect you with who you truly are and help you to reclaim control over your life. Crucially, it will empower you to face the future with optimism. It is a book to fundamentally alter your relationship with time and show you that every age can be your best age. 'A profound, important work; simultaneously wise, instructive and a love letter to humanity' IRISH TIMES 'Fascinating and engaging' SUNDAY TIMES 'A must-read' IRISH DAILY MAIL '[It] will transform your thinking' IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL

The mother of Brittany Maynard, whose 2014 decision to die with dignity advanced debates over patient rights in end-of-life issues, describes Brittany's determination to end her life on her own terms and her legacy of hope and empowerment for others facing their own mortality.

Using the traditional Tibetan Buddhist framework of the Four Reminders—the preciousness of human birth, the truth of impermanence, the reality of suffering, and the inescapability of karma—Khandro Rinpoche explains why and how we could all better use this short life to pursue a spiritual path and make the world a better place. The book includes contemplative exercises that encourage us to appreciate the tremendous potential of the human body and mind.

Featuring a foreword by Will Self We’ll all experience recovery at some point in our lives, whether from addiction, physical illness, mental health issues or loss. Many of us heal, and we may discover ways to live with our changed selves, to reclaim a life. We may find a new voice, or unearth a voice that has been submerged. Vitally, recovery can mean community. This anthology – which grew out of a small creative writing class run by Lily Dunn at Hackney Recovery Service, and was later broadened into a nationwide call for submissions by Dunn and her teaching partner, Zoe Gilbert – represents a community of writers: new, unheard voices alongside emerging and established authors. Theirs are stories from the dark back alleys, the deep crevices of the mind, and from the wild, ecstatic heights of life before, during and after recovery. These are voices that urgently need to be heard, in all their variety.

2022 Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction Shortlist A humorous coming-of-age novel-in-stories and a sharp-edged look at how silence can shape a life, from the winner of the Journey Prize. A Chatelaine Summer Reads pick. “But wait, what happened to the girl?” “I don’t know,” I say. I don’t tell him that what will happen to her is what happens to every girl. Bright, hilarious, and sensitive fourteen-year-old Nina doesn’t say anything when her best friend begins to pull away, or when her crush on her English teacher intensifies. She doesn’t say anything when her mother tries to match her up with local Halifax Indian boys unfamiliar with her Saved by the Bell references, or when her worried father starts reciting Hindu prayers outside her bedroom door. (“How can your dad be happy when his only daughter is unsettled?”) And she won’t speak of the incident in high school that changes the course of her life. The Most Precious Substance on Earth tells stories of Nina’s life from the nineties to present day, when she returns to the classroom as a high school teacher with a haunting secret. And whether she’s pushing herself to deliver speeches at Toastmasters meetings, struggling through her MFA program, enduring the indignities of online dating, or wrestling with how to best guide her students, she will discover that the past is never far behind her. Darkly funny, deeply moving, unsettling, and at times even shocking, Shashi Bhat’s irresistible novel-in-stories examines the fraught relationships between those who take and those who have something taken. The Most Precious Substance on Earth is a sharp-edged and devastating look at how women are conditioned to hide their trauma and suppress their fear, loneliness, and anger, and an unforgettable portrait of how silence can shape a life.