I Quit! The Life-Affirming Joy of Giving Up


Book Description

I Quit! The Life-Affirming Joy of Giving Up will challenge you to rethink quitting and encourage you to re-examine how you make-or don't make-bold choices in your own life. Author Coonoor Behal has written a collection of stories about everyday, real people who summoned the courage to quit things in their lives. Here you'll find intriguing stories of the jobs, people, aspirations, habits, and identities people decided to leave behind; typically in defiance of family, social, and cultural expectations. I Quit! encourages the reader to Be inspired and motivated to make decisive, big life choices Analyze and reframe their own quitting stories Appreciate challenging the status quo with irreverent humor Let I Quit!The Life-Affirming Joy of Giving Up be the motivation you need to upend the status quo and make a positive change for yourself.







I Give Up


Book Description

Most of us long to be in control—of our schedule, our relationships, and our future. Newlywed Laura Story thought she had control over the great life ahead of her. After all, she followed Jesus and had a promising new job as a worship leader. Why would God not want to fulfill her dreams? But when Laura and her husband, Martin, faced a brain tumor, infertility, and a son’s birth defect, she realized she’d been looking for a happiness that comes from circumstances, rather than a deeper joy that comes from God. Again and again, Laura had to surrender her vision for her life so she could embrace God’s vision. And again and again she learned that even in the midst of shattered dreams, God’s plan brought greater joy than she could have imagined. Now the Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter known for such hits as “Blessings,” “Indescribable,” and “Mighty to Save” shares her powerful story of finding blessing in her deepest pain. In, I Give Up, Laura explores: How to delight in God’s gifts no matter your circumstances. Why waiting on God is a daily decision, not a step-by-step process. The strength we find from meditating on God’s Word. Why surrendering to God leads to reconciliation with others. How the things we consider to be losses are ways for God to display his glory. As Laura writes, she no longer wants to be in control of her life. She wants to be rooted in the God who is in control. I Give Up will help you Discover a deeper life of worship, a fuller life of joy, and a freer life of true surrender as you open your hands to God. And give up.




My New Roots


Book Description

At long last, Sarah Britton, called the “queen bee of the health blogs” by Bon Appétit, reveals 100 gorgeous, all-new plant-based recipes in her debut cookbook, inspired by her wildly popular blog. Every month, half a million readers—vegetarians, vegans, paleo followers, and gluten-free gourmets alike—flock to Sarah’s adaptable and accessible recipes that make powerfully healthy ingredients simply irresistible. My New Roots is the ultimate guide to revitalizing one’s health and palate, one delicious recipe at a time: no fad diets or gimmicks here. Whether readers are newcomers to natural foods or are already devotees, they will discover how easy it is to eat healthfully and happily when whole foods and plants are at the center of every plate.




Life's Too Short


Book Description

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A hilarious, tender, and altogether life-affirming gem of a book." --Emily Henry, bestselling author of Beach Read A brilliant and touching romantic comedy about two polar opposites, one adorable dog, and living every day to its fullest. When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn't expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn't just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn't want to take anything for granted. But after her half sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her baby daughter, life goes from "daily adventure" to "next-level bad" (now with bonus baby vomit in hair). The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she'd be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua. Now she's feeling things she's vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see. BookRiot, Top Books of 2021 Goodreads, Best of 2021 Romance Finalist She Reads, Best of 2021 Romance Winner




The Sense of an Ending


Book Description

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.




Quitting (previously published as Mastering the Art of Quitting)


Book Description

Find out why the happiest, most successful people have the ability both to persist and to quit Do you believe that "winners never quit and quitters never win"? Do you tend to hang in longer than you should, even when you're unhappy? Our culture usually defines quitting as admitting defeat, but persistence isn't always the answer: When a goal is no longer useful, we need to be able to quit to get the most out of life. In Quitting, bestselling author Peg Streep and psychotherapist Alan Bernstein reveal simple truths that apply to goal setting and achievement in all areas of life, including work, love, and relationships: Without the ability to give up, most people will end up in a discouraging loop. Quitting is a healthy, adaptive response when a goal can't be reached. Quitting permits growth and learning, as well as the ability to frame new goals. Featuring compelling stories of people who successfully quit, along with helpful questionnaires and goal maps to guide you on the right path, Quitting will help you evaluate whether your goals are working for or against you, and whether you need to let go in order to start anew.




Give Up to Get On


Book Description

We have a natural tendency to see the best in things, to put a positive spin on situations and to err on the side of optimistic - we are a nation of wishful thinkers. We are hard-wired to believe that if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. But hanging in there at all costs, and persisting no matter how many setbacks you face, is actually unhealthy and unbalanced. Give Up to Get On explains why quitting done right can be an act of self-assertion, a source of potential empowerment and a doorway to new possibilities.The most satisfied people know both how to persist and how to quit . They are flexible and adaptive to change. They know when to let go of unattainable goals and move on. And when they do quit, they do so decisively - and set new goals without looking back. Give Up to Get On will teach you how to make quitting a thoughtful and intelligent decision, which will take you out of dead-end jobs, doomed relationships, and flailing careers.




The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary


Book Description

**From the Sunday Times Bestselling Author** Life-affirming - THE TELEGRAPH Wonderful - INDEPENDENT She made it her mission to learn how to be default happy rather than default disgruntled - RADIO 4 - WOMAN'S HOUR Take a leaf out of Gray's book and be kinder to yourself by appreciating life just as it is - IRISH TIMES This book came to me in an hour of need - during lockdown when I had to focus on the positive, appreciate simple things, not lose my shit, and value each day. It was a pure joy for me and held my hand - SADIE FROST Interesting and joyful. Lights a path that could help us to build resilience against society's urging to compare life milestones with peers - LANCET PSYCHIATRY Underwhelmed by your ordinary existence? Disillusioned with your middlin' wage, average body, 'bijou' living situation and imperfect loved ones? Welcome to the club. There are billions of us. The 'default disenchanted'. But, it's not us being brats. Two deeply inconvenient psychological phenomenons conspire against our satisfaction. We have negatively-biased brains, which zoom like doom-drones in on what's wrong with our day, rather than what's right. (Back in the mists of time, this negative bias saved our skins, but now it just makes us anxious). Also, something called the 'hedonic treadmill' means we eternally quest for better, faster, more, like someone stuck on a dystopian, never-ending treadmill. Thankfully, there are scientifically-proven ways in which we can train our brains to be more positive-seeking. And to take a rest from this tireless pursuit. Whew. Catherine Gray knits together illuminating science and hilarious storytelling, unveiling captivating research showing that big bucks don't mean big happiness, extraordinary experiences have a 'comedown' and budget weddings predict a lower chance of divorce. She reminds us what an average body actually is, reveals that exercising for weight loss means we do less exercise, and explores the modern tendency to not just try to keep up with the Murphys, but keep up with the Mega-Murphies (see: the social media elite). Come on in to this soulful and life-affirming read, to discover why an ordinary life may well be the most satisfying one of all.




Complaint!


Book Description

In Complaint! Sara Ahmed examines what we can learn about power from those who complain about abuses of power. Drawing on oral and written testimonies from academics and students who have made complaints about harassment, bullying, and unequal working conditions at universities, Ahmed explores the gap between what is supposed to happen when complaints are made and what actually happens. To make complaints within institutions is to learn how they work and for whom they work: complaint as feminist pedagogy. Ahmed explores how complaints are made behind closed doors and how doors are often closed on those who complain. To open these doors---to get complaints through, keep them going, or keep them alive---Ahmed emphasizes, requires forming new kinds of collectives. This book offers a systematic analysis of the methods used to stop complaints and a powerful and poetic meditation on what complaints can be used to do. Following a long lineage of Black feminist and feminist of color critiques of the university, Ahmed delivers a timely consideration of how institutional change becomes possible and why it is necessary.