Worries Of The Heart

Growing up in the Maragoli community in Kenya, Kenda Mutongi encountered a perplexing contradiction. While the young teachers at her village school railed against colonialism, many of her elders, including her widowed mother, praised their former British masters. In this moving book, Mutongi explores how both the challenges and contradictions of colonial rule and the frustrations and failures of independence shaped the lives of Maragoli widows and their complex relations with each other, their families, and the larger community. Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, rates of widowhood have been remarkably high in Kenya. Yet despite their numbers, widows and their families exist at the margins of society, and their lives act as a barometer for the harsh realities of rural Kenya. Mutongi here argues that widows survive by publicly airing their social, economic, and political problems, their “worries of the heart.” Initially aimed at the men in their community, and then their colonial rulers, this strategy changed after independence as widows increasingly invoked the language of citizenship to demand their rights from the new leaders of Kenya—leaders whose failure to meet the needs of ordinary citizens has led to deep disenchantment and altered Kenyans’ view of their colonial past. An innovative blend of ethnography and historical research, Worries of the Heart is a poignant narrative rich with insights into postcolonial Africa.

Publisher description

This workbook draws on CBT and creative therapy methods to help children aged 8+ understand their worry and anxiety. Featuring 50 fun and engaging doodling activities, this book allows young people to tune into their worries and their sources, using creativity to process anxiety, and building confidence to find their own solutions. This exploration can be independently led by the child themselves or with guidance from a parent or professional. Drawn from over 15 years of experience of supporting young people with anxiety, this workbook takes an integrative approach and is a valuable resource for anyone looking to support a child experiencing worry.

Presents ways for young children with anxiety to recognize when they are losing control and constructive ways to deal with it.

This is a comprehensive yet accessible and even enjoyable book on dealing with stress and anxiety. It examines the nature of stress and anxiety before going on to cover a range of strategies and approaches for dealing with them -- the authors recognize that every individual is different and will choose different options. Case studies are included, the issue of medication is addressed and the importance of a healthy lifestyle is highlighted. The authors have drawn on their clinical, research and teaching work in the field, with the result that Release Your Worries makes use of the most up-to-date psychological approaches, including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Narrative and Acceptance Commitment Therapy.

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