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Waking the Tiger - Healing Trauma: The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences
by Peter A. Levine Ann FrederickA breakthrough book on the healing of trauma by the developer of Somatic Experiencing
Walden
by Henry D. ThoreauOne of the most influential and compelling books in American literature, Walden is a vivid account of the years that Henry D. Thoreau spent alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. This edition--introduced by noted American writer John Updike--celebrates the perennial importance of a classic work, originally published in 1854. Much of Walden's material is derived from Thoreau's journals and contains such engaging pieces from the lively "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For" and "Brute Neighbors" to the serene "Reading" and "The Pond in the Winter." Other famous sections involve Thoreau's visits with a Canadian woodcutter and with an Irish family, a trip to Concord, and a description of his bean field. This is the complete and authoritative text of Walden--as close to Thoreau's original intention as all available evidence allows. This is the authoritative text of Walden and the ideal presentation of Thoreau's great document of social criticism and dissent.
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau Stephen FenderIn 1845 Henry David Thoreau began a new life, spending most of each week for over two years in a rough hut he built himself on the northwest shore of Walden Pond, just a mile and a half from his home town of Concord, Massachusetts. Walden is Thoreau's autobiographical account of this experiment in solitary living, his refusal to play by the rules of hard work and the accumulation of wealth and, above all, the freedom it gave him to adapt his living to the natural world around him. This new edition traces the sources of Thoreau's reading and thinking and considers the author in the context of his birthplace and his sense of its history - social, economic, and natural. In addition, an ecological appendix provides modern identifications of the myriad plants and animals to which Thoreau gave increasingly close attention as he became acclimatized to his life at Walden. Long-revered by political reformers and environmentalists, Walden is here reassessed by Stephen Fender, whose edition is based on research into the material conditions of Thoreau's life in Concord, and the town's place in the history of mid-nineteenth-century New England. [This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 11-12 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Walden Two (Hackett Classics)
by B. F. SkinnerA reprint of the 1976 Macmillan edition.This fictional outline of a modern utopia has been a center of controversy ever since its publication in 1948. Set in the United States, it pictures a society in which human problems are solved by a scientific technology of human conduct.
Waldtherapie - das Potential des Waldes für Ihre Gesundheit
by Angela Schuh Gisela ImmichIm schnelllebigen Alltag wird es immer wichtiger, einen Gegenpol zu finden. Der Wald scheint dafür wie geschaffen – er bietet ausgleichende Reize, gesundheitsfördernde Effekte und sein Klima ist nachgewiesen wirksam. Das Sachbuch erklärt auf wissenschaftlich fundierter Basis die Hintergründe und Fakten zur Wirkung von Waldaufenthalten und sensibilisiert Leserinnen und Leser für den großen Gesundheitsnutzen von Waldbaden (Shinrin-yoku) und Waldtherapie. Der Wald lädt als Ruheoase ein zu entschleunigen, zu regenerieren und neue Energie zu schöpfen. Geschrieben für interessierte Laien – Psychotherapeuten, Ärzte und andere Gesundheitsberufe können mitlesen. Aus dem Inhalt: Wie der Wald und sein Klima auf uns wirkt – Wie Sie den Wald und seine Atmosphäre für Ihre Gesundheit entdecken und nutzen können. Die Autorinnen: Prof. Dr. Dr. Angela Schuh und Gisela Immich, M.Sc., beforschen an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München die Wirkungen von Wald und Klima auf die Gesundheit und entwickeln Konzepte für die präventive Waldnutzung und Waldtherapie.
A Walk from the Wild Edge: ‘This Book Has Changed Lives’ Chris Evans
by Jake TylerThe remarkable true story of one man's inspiring journey through his 3,000 mile walk across the country'A great and inspirational read' MATT HAIG, bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive'Inspiring' INDEPENDENT'An uplifting and inspirational journey through raw emotion' RAYNOR WINN, bestselling author of The Salt PathAS SEEN ON BBC BREAKFAST______Jake Tyler had forgotten how to feel alive.With only a pair of boots and a backpack, he set off on a 3000-mile walk around Britain - along coastal paths, over mountains, through every national park.His journey became his road to recovery. On it he rediscovered the British landscape, the extraordinary kindness of strangers and most importantly, his place in the world.This is his inspiring story, away from the wild edge.______'Jake you have changed people's lives . . . we are all fans!' Chris Evans, Virgin Radio'An incredible journey, an inspirational memoir . . . beautiful' Zoe Ball, BBC Radio 2'Inspiring . . . It's something that will help many through these dark times' Bryony Gordon'This book is a tonic. Until we can all get out and explore Britain's beauty for ourselves again, this is the ideal substitute' Mirror'So compelling in his honesty . . . very poignant' Express'A tale told with courageous honesty. There's much to learn here about how reconnecting with nature and trusting others can rekindle the joy of being alive' BBC Countryfile 'A testament to the power of human connection, this is a physical and mental journey to inspire hope even in the darkest of times' National Geographic
Walk With Your Wolf: Unlock your intuition, confidence & power with walking therapy
by Jonathan Hoban'Drawing on perceptive insight and profound wisdom, Jonathan Hoban reveals how the simple act of walking can displace our minds from a place of chaos to tranquil calm, and makes a beautiful and inspiring case for walking with your wolf.' - Dr Mithu Storoni, author of Stress-ProofNature is our greatest healer. It's time to start walking and reclaim the wildness in all of us.When did you last take a walk? Not a stroll to the shops, or to the pub, but a walk that got you energised, stimulated your senses, allowing you to de-stress? If the answer is that you'd love to walk, but don't have the time, there really are more reasons to get outside than you might think.When we walk we find the space to process our feelings and we begin to have the courage to be vulnerable and honest with ourselves. Walking awakens the intuition that helps us face up to our difficulties and walk alongside them, enabling us to find positive solutions to our problems. Our ancestors knew all about movement - they walked across the planet, understanding nature and learning to respect and work in harmony with it. Written by a London-based therapist, Walk with your Wolf is part memoir, part self-help and part reflection on the connection we must re-establish with our natural, intuitive selves if we are to live healthy, fulfilling lives. Offering practical advice and exercises on how to walk and think as a method of confronting difficult emotions, this book will allow you to reconnect with your intuition, confidence and power.'An important message about the power of reconnecting with the primal self to achieve balance in the modern world. A fascinating read' - Megan Hine'Deftly blending science, his own narrative and his experience as a therapist, he is at our side as we find a way of engaging with and being healed by nature. Like the wolf in the book's title, we can reconnect with our own elemental lupine instincts which are so often repressed in our stressful and artificial world - both a wolf's wildness as well as its sociability and need to be part of a pack. Follow in Hoban's easy to apply footsteps and you will never walk alone again. - Rachel Kelly, bestselling author of Walking on Sunshine and The Happy Kitchen'Jonathan Hoban challenges us to use nature as a setting for reconsidering our lives and our stresses. He asks us to 'walk alongside our difficulties' giving ourselves the physical and mental space to look at ourselves anew and to decide what we really need. For that commute to work, or indeed for that break on the park bench, I commend this book.' - Sir Ciarán Devane, CEO of the British Council
Walk With Your Wolf: Unlock your intuition, confidence & power with walking therapy
by Jonathan HobanNature is our greatest healer. It's time to start walking and reclaim the wildness in all of us.Walking is a way to get you to listen to yourself openly and honestly, without all the noise that our endless inner critic inflicts upon us.When did you last take a walk? Not a stroll to the shops, or to the pub, but a walk that got you energised, stimulated your senses, allowing you to de-stress? If the answer is that you'd love to walk, but don't have the time, there really are more reasons to get outside than you might think.When we walk we find the space to process our feelings and we begin to have the courage to be vulnerable and honest with ourselves. Walking awakens the intuition that helps us face up to our difficulties and walk alongside them, enabling us to find positive solutions to our problems. Our ancestors knew all about movement - they walked across the planet, understanding nature and learning to respect and work in harmony with it. Written by a London-based therapist, Walk with your Wolf is part memoir, part self-help and part reflection on the connection we must re-establish with our natural, intuitive selves if we are to live healthy, fulfilling lives. Offering practical advice and exercises on how to walk and think as a method of confronting difficult emotions, this book will allow you to reconnect with your intuition, confidence and power.(P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Walkaway
by Alden R. CarterFifteen-year-old Andy, fed up with his alcoholic father and annoying older brother, leaves their northern Wisconsin cabin on his version of a walkabout, leaving his medications to combat depression, anxiety, and delusions behind.
Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth
by Gillie JenkinsonThis is an interactive self-help workbook and psychological road map to enable survivors of coercive, cultic and spiritual abuse to find healing, recovery and growth. This book provides a comprehensive guide to recovery, based on a tested model of post-cult counselling, and years of research and clinical experience. It is designed to help survivors of diverse abusive settings, including religious and spiritual, political, gangs, business, therapy and wellness and one-on-one relationships. The reader follows a beautifully illustrated journey through four Phases of recovery and growth, one Milestone at a time, to make sense of what has happened to them, learn how to walk free from psychological control and find resources for healing. The author includes stories from her own experience, detailing her path towards recovery and how she learned to come to terms with and overcome what happened to her. Written in accessible language, this workbook serves as both a self-help book for survivors and former members, and a guide for therapists working with them.
Walking Him Home: Helping My Husband Die with Dignity
by Joanne Tubbs KellyAlan and Joanne marry in midlife and live a happily-ever-after existence until, at sixty-nine, Alan is diagnosed with a rare, fatal, neurodegenerative illness. As he becomes increasingly disabled and dependent on others, and decreasingly able to find joy in life, he decides he wants to end his suffering using Colorado’s Medical Aid in Dying law. Joanne desperately wants Alan to live, but when he asks for her help completing the Medical Aid in Dying application, she can’t say no. She helps him complete the requirements, hoping deep down that his application will be denied . . . only to be stunned when his medical team approves his request and writes him a prescription for the life-ending drugs. Told with affection and spiced with humor, Walking Him Home is Joanne’s tale of coming to terms with her kind, funny husband’s illness; of learning to navigate the intricate passageways of caregiving and the pitfalls of our medical system; and of choosing to help Alan in his quest to die with dignity, even though she wants nothing more than to grow old with him. Tender and heartfelt, this is one woman’s story about loving extravagantly—and being loved in kind.
Walking in Roman Culture
by Timothy M. O'SullivanWalking served as an occasion for the display of power and status in ancient Rome, where great men paraded with their entourages through city streets and elite villa owners strolled with friends in private colonnades and gardens. In this first book-length treatment of the culture of walking in ancient Rome, Timothy O'Sullivan explores the careful attention which Romans paid to the way they moved through their society. He employs a wide range of literary, artistic and architectural evidence to reveal the crucial role that walking played in the performance of social status, the discourse of the body and the representation of space. By examining how Roman authors depict walking, this book sheds new light on the Romans themselves - not only how they perceived themselves and their experience of the world, but also how they drew distinctions between work and play, mind and body, and Republic and Empire.
Walking in the Rain: Discover mindfulness on the go
by Department Store for the MindGetting lost and feeling found...'I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.' - John Muir, John of the MountainsWalking is medicine for the mind. It helps us slow down and think things through. It also helps us perk up and generate new ideas. There are few activities as readily available and revitalizing as a brisk walk, or as soothing and stimulating as a long walk. Wonderful things can happen when we set out on two feet.Within these pages, you will find stories from artists, designers, writers, psychologists and speakers who are inspired by the effect of pacing outdoors. You will hear of walks in the city, hikes through woods at dawn and epic adventures involving long journeys on foot. No matter the scale of the tale, the writer offers lessons they learned of a simple, human nature that we can all understand.In each chapter you will discover suggestions and ideas about how to create simple daily habits from the writer's thinking. In a world where so much of the noise around us suggests we are not good enough as we are, and that we must seek to change, these accounts try to do something different. They aim instead to invite a stroll into the complex pathways of the mind to discover the beauty of our own quirky individuality.
Walking in the Rain
by Dept LtdGetting lost and feeling found...'I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.' - John Muir, John of the MountainsWalking is medicine for the mind. It helps us slow down and think things through. It also helps us perk up and generate new ideas. There are few activities as readily available and revitalizing as a brisk walk, or as soothing and stimulating as a long walk. Wonderful things can happen when we set out on two feet.Within these pages, you will find stories from artists, designers, writers, psychologists and speakers who are inspired by the effect of pacing outdoors. You will hear of walks in the city, hikes through woods at dawn and epic adventures involving long journeys on foot. No matter the scale of the tale, the writer offers lessons they learned of a simple, human nature that we can all understand.In each chapter you will discover suggestions and ideas about how to create simple daily habits from the writer's thinking. In a world where so much of the noise around us suggests we are not good enough as we are, and that we must seek to change, these accounts try to do something different. They aim instead to invite a stroll into the complex pathways of the mind to discover the beauty of our own quirky individuality.
Walking in the Rain: Discover mindfulness on the go
by Dept LtdGetting lost and feeling found...'I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.' - John Muir, John of the MountainsWalking is medicine for the mind. It helps us slow down and think things through. It also helps us perk up and generate new ideas. There are few activities as readily available and revitalizing as a brisk walk, or as soothing and stimulating as a long walk. Wonderful things can happen when we set out on two feet.Within these pages, you will find stories from artists, designers, writers, psychologists and speakers who are inspired by the effect of pacing outdoors. You will hear of walks in the city, hikes through woods at dawn and epic adventures involving long journeys on foot. No matter the scale of the tale, the writer offers lessons they learned of a simple, human nature that we can all understand.In each chapter you will discover suggestions and ideas about how to create simple daily habits from the writer's thinking. In a world where so much of the noise around us suggests we are not good enough as we are, and that we must seek to change, these accounts try to do something different. They aim instead to invite a stroll into the complex pathways of the mind to discover the beauty of our own quirky individuality.(p) Octopus Publishing Group 2017
Walking in the Rain: Discover mindfulness on the go
by Dept LtdGetting lost and feeling found...'I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.' - John Muir, John of the MountainsWalking is medicine for the mind. It helps us slow down and think things through. It also helps us perk up and generate new ideas. There are few activities as readily available and revitalizing as a brisk walk, or as soothing and stimulating as a long walk. Wonderful things can happen when we set out on two feet.Within these pages, you will find stories from artists, designers, writers, psychologists and speakers who are inspired by the effect of pacing outdoors. You will hear of walks in the city, hikes through woods at dawn and epic adventures involving long journeys on foot. No matter the scale of the tale, the writer offers lessons they learned of a simple, human nature that we can all understand.In each chapter you will discover suggestions and ideas about how to create simple daily habits from the writer's thinking. In a world where so much of the noise around us suggests we are not good enough as we are, and that we must seek to change, these accounts try to do something different. They aim instead to invite a stroll into the complex pathways of the mind to discover the beauty of our own quirky individuality.(p) Octopus Publishing Group 2017
Walking the Night Road
by Alexandra ButlerWalking the Night Road speaks to the experience of caring for a loved one with a terminal illness and the difficulties of encountering death. Alexandra Butler, daughter of the Pulitzer Prize--winning gerontologist Robert N. Butler and respected social worker and psychotherapist Myrna Lewis, composes a lyrical yet unsparing portrait of caring for her mother during her sudden, quick decline from brain cancer. Her rich account shares the strains of caregiving on both the provider and the person receiving care and recognizes the personal and professional sacrifices caregivers must make to fulfill the role.More than a memoir of dying and grief, Butler's account also tests many of the theories her parents pioneered in their work on healthy aging. Authors of such seminal works as Love and Sex Over Sixty, Butler's parents were forced to rethink many of the tenets they lived by while Myrna was incapacitated, and Butler's father found himself relying heavily on his daughter to provide his wife's care. Butler's poignant and unflinching story is therefore a rare examination of the intimate aspects of aging and death experienced by practitioners who suddenly find themselves in the difficult position of the clients they once treated.
Wall Disease: The Psychological Toll Of Living Up Against A Border
by Jessica WapnerWe build border walls to keep danger out. But do we understand the danger posed by walls themselves? East Germans were the first to give the crisis a name: Mauerkrankheit, or “wall disease.” The afflicted—everyday citizens living on both sides of the Berlin wall—displayed some combination of depression, anxiety, excitability, suicidal ideation, and paranoia. The Berlin Wall is no more, but today there are at least seventy policed borders like it. What are they doing to our minds? Jessica Wapner investigates, following a trail of psychological harm around the world. In Brownsville, Texas, the hotly contested US-Mexico border wall instills more feelings of fear than of safety. And in eastern Europe, a Georgian grandfather pines for his homeland—cut off from his daughters, his baker, and his bank by the arbitrary path of a razor-wire fence built in 2013. Even in borderlands riven by conflict, the same walls that once offered relief become enduring reminders of trauma and helplessness. Our brains, Wapner writes, devote “border cells” to where we can and cannot go safely—so, a wall that goes up in our town also goes up in our minds. Weaving together interviews with those living up against walls and expert testimonies from geographers, scientists, psychologists, and other specialists, she explores the growing epidemic of wall disease—and illuminates how neither those “outside” nor “inside” are immune.
WAM: Tales of a Wandering Loon (Inspirational Series)
by Chris YoungAs a kind, chatty, and good-humoured man with a zest for life and a passion for helping people, Chris Young adored his job as a social worker. But things fell apart when, in 2008, he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. His illness brought about the end of his calling and he found himself in need of a new project and purpose.And so it came to be that in 2011, Chris began a campaign called Walk a Mile In my Shoes. He walks around the edge of the UK – the edge of society being where many people with mental health problems feel they are – without spending any money and relying on the kindness of strangers.In 2015, he joined forces with See Me Scotland to distil the success of the coastal walk into a series of events, inviting other people to join him and discuss mental health. He encouraged them to literally walk a mile in each other's shoes. Walk a Mile: Tales of a Wandering Loon is the story of how a normal, nurturing childhood turned into one of neglect and abuse and how this, combined with a little faulty brain wiring, led to a severe and enduring mental illness.
The Wandering Mind: What the Brain Does When You're Not Looking
by Michael CorballisRooted in neuroscience, psychology and evolutionary biology, this study explores what happens when we stop paying attention and the effect on our behavior.If we’ve done our job well—and, let’s be honest, if we’re lucky—you’ll read to the end of this description. Most likely, however, you won’t. Somewhere in the middle of the next paragraph, your mind will wander off. Minds wander. That’s just how it is.That may be bad news for me, but is it bad news for people in general? Does the fact that as much as fifty percent of our waking hours find us failing to focus on the task at hand represent a problem? Michael Corballis doesn’t think so. With The Wandering Mind, he shows us why, rehabilitating woolgathering and revealing its incredibly useful effects. Drawing on the latest research from cognitive science and evolutionary biology, Corballis shows us how mind-wandering not only frees us from moment-to-moment drudgery, but also from the limitations of our immediate selves. Mind-wandering strengthens our imagination, fueling the flights of invention, storytelling, and empathy that underlie our shared humanity; furthermore, he explains, our tendency to wander back and forth through the timeline of our lives is fundamental to our very sense of ourselves as coherent, continuing personalities.Full of unusual examples and surprising discoveries, The Wandering Mind mounts a vigorous defense of inattention—even as it never fails to hold the reader’s.Praise for The Wandering Mind“[A] conversational, sincere and amusing book about the tendency of our minds to stray from whatever it is we are actually supposed to be focusing on. . . . [An] engaging exploration of the subject.” —Times Higher Education, Book of the Week“Michael Corballis, the scientist, takes you by the hand and weaves through an avalanche of information from psychology, literature, history, and more to elucidate my favorite mental state—mind wandering. His high capacity for erudition, lucidity, and warmth have never shined more brightly.” —Michael S. Gazzaniga“The Wandering Mind is a pleasure to read—a lively book that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers.” —Thomas Suddendorf, author of The Gap
The Wandering Mind: What Medieval Monks Tell Us About Distraction
by Jamie KreinerA revelatory account of how Christian monks identified distraction as a fundamental challenge—and how their efforts to defeat it can inform ours, more than a millennium later. The digital era is beset by distraction, and it feels like things are only getting worse. At times like these, the distant past beckons as a golden age of attention. We fantasize about escaping our screens. We dream of recapturing the quiet of a world with less noise. We imagine retreating into solitude and singlemindedness, almost like latter-day monks. But although we think of early monks as master concentrators, a life of mindfulness did not, in fact, come to them easily. As historian Jamie Kreiner demonstrates in The Wandering Mind, their attempts to stretch the mind out to God—to continuously contemplate the divine order and its ethical requirements—were all-consuming, and their battles against distraction were never-ending. Delving into the experiences of early Christian monks living in the Middle East, around the Mediterranean, and throughout Europe from 300 to 900 CE, Kreiner shows that these men and women were obsessed with distraction in ways that seem remarkably modern. At the same time, she suggests that our own obsession is remarkably medieval. Ancient Greek and Roman intellectuals had sometimes complained about distraction, but it was early Christian monks who waged an all-out war against it. The stakes could not have been higher: they saw distraction as a matter of life and death. Even though the world today is vastly different from the world of the early Middle Ages, we can still learn something about our own distractedness by looking closely at monks’ strenuous efforts to concentrate. Drawing on a trove of sources that the monks left behind, Kreiner reconstructs the techniques they devised in their lifelong quest to master their minds—from regimented work schedules and elaborative metacognitive exercises to physical regimens for hygiene, sleep, sex, and diet. She captures the fleeting moments of pure attentiveness that some monks managed to grasp, and the many times when monks struggled and failed and went back to the drawing board. Blending history and psychology, The Wandering Mind is a witty, illuminating account of human fallibility and ingenuity that bridges a distant era and our own.
Wannabe a Writer?
by Jane Wenham-JonesWannabe a Writer? This hilarious, informative guide to getting into print, is a must-have for anyone who's ever thought they've got a book in them.Foreword by KATIE FFORDEContributors include:Writers: Frederick Forsyth, Ian Rankin, Jilly Cooper & Jill Mansell Publishers: Harper Collins, Hodder Headline, Simon & Schuster Journalists: Miles Kington, Michael Bywater, Robert Crampton Agents: Teresa Chris, Simon Trewin, Jonathan Lloyd & Jane JuddWannabe a Writer? This hilarious, informative guide to getting into print, is a must-have for anyone who's ever thought they've got a book in them.* Where do you start? * How do you finish? * And will anyone ever publish it when you have?Drawing on her own experiences as a novelist and journalist, Writing Magazine's Agony Aunt Jane Wenham-Jones takes you through the minefield of the writing process, giving advice on everything from how to avoid Writer's Bottom to what to wear to your launch party.Including hot tips from authors, agents and publishers at the sharp end of the industry, Wannabe a Writer? tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the book world - and a few things you didn't...Follow Kate's writing tips on My Weekly: https://www.myweekly.co.uk/2020/08/17/do-you-want-to-write-a-novel/
Wannabes, Goths, and Christians: The Boundaries of Sex, Style, and Status
by Amy C. WilkinsSubcultures help young people, especially women, navigate connecting territories by offering them different sexual strategies: wannabes cross racial lines, goths break taboos by becoming involved with multiple partners, and Christians forego romance to develop their bond with God.
Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous
by Gillian AndersonA collection of women's sexual fantasies from women around the world, Want is a revelatory, sensational and game-changing exploration of women's sexuality that asks, and answers: How do women feel about sex when they have the freedom to be totally anonymous?What do you want when no one is watching? Who do you fantasize about when the lights are off?When you think about sex, what do you really want?When we talk about sex, we talk about womanhood and motherhood, infidelity and exploitation, consent and respect, fairness and egalitarianism, love and hate, pleasure and pain. And yet so many of us don't talk about it at all.In this groundbreaking book, Gillian Anderson collects and introduces the anonymous sexual fantasies of hundreds of women from around the world (along with her own anonymous fantasy). The fantasies are extraordinary: they are full of desire, fear, intimacy, shame, satisfaction and, ultimately, liberation. From fantasising about someone off-limits to conjuring a scene with multiple partners, from sex that is gentle and tender to passionate and playful, from women who have never had sex to women who have had more sex than they can remember, these letters provide a window into the most secret part of our minds.Want reveals how women feel about sex when they have the freedom to be totally themselves.
Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
by Luke BurgisA groundbreaking exploration of why we want what we want, and a toolkit for freeing ourselves from chasing unfulfilling desires.Gravity affects every aspect of our physical being, but there’s a psychological force just as powerful—yet almost nobody has heard of it. It’s responsible for bringing groups of people together and pulling them apart, making certain goals attractive to some and not to others, and fueling cycles of anxiety and conflict. In Wanting, Luke Burgis draws on the work of French polymath René Girard to bring this hidden force to light and reveals how it shapes our lives and societies. According to Girard, humans don’t desire anything independently. Human desire is mimetic—we imitate what other people want. This affects the way we choose partners, friends, careers, clothes, and vacation destinations. Mimetic desire is responsible for the formation of our very identities. It explains the enduring relevancy of Shakespeare’s plays, why Peter Thiel decided to be the first investor in Facebook, and why our world is growing more divided as it becomes more connected.Wanting also shows that conflict does not arise because of our differences—it comes from our sameness. Because we learn to want what other people want, we often end up competing for the same things. Ignoring our large similarities, we cling to our perceived differences.Drawing on his experience as an entrepreneur, teacher, and student of classical philosophy and theology, Burgis shares tactics that help turn blind wanting into intentional wanting--not by trying to rid ourselves of desire, but by desiring differently. It’s possible to be more in control of the things we want, to achieve more independence from trends and bubbles, and to find more meaning in our work and lives.The future will be shaped by our desires. Wanting shows us how to desire a better one.