Love has, quite unfairly, come to be associated with being happy. However, it is also one of the most reliable routes to misery. We tend to treat our sadness individually, as if it were unique and shameful. But, as this book explains, there are some solid reasons why love should be highly sorrowful at times. The good news is that, by understanding our romantic troubles and griefs, seeing them in their proper context and appreciating their prevalence,...

"... A book reminding us of all the small moments we overlook when they happen."- Emma Gannon, Ctr Alt Delete podcast 52 overlooked small pleasures, from flirtation and figs to cyprus trees and the pleasant exhaustion that follows an especially productive day. We exhaust ourselves and the planet in the search for very large pleasures, while all around us lies a wealth of small pleasures, which-if we only pay more attention-can bring us solace and...

A practical guide to finding fulfilling work-by understanding yourself. The idea that work might be fulfilling rather than just necessary is a recent invention. These days, in prosperous areas of the world, we don't only expect to get paid, we also expect to find meaning and satisfaction. It's a big ask and explains why so many people have an identity crisis in their work lives. A Job to Love is designed to help us better understand ourselves in...

A guide to emotional healing and living a more self-accepting life. Behind many of our problems lies an often-ignored factor: we don't like ourselves very much. We are sufferers of self-hatred. We tell ourselves the meanest things. It's because of self-hatred that we tend to neglect our potential at work and get entangled in unfulfilling relationships, that we lack confidence in our social lives and suffer from anxiety, despair, and imposter syndrome. This...

An examination of the importance of self-knowledge, providing practical exercises to aid self-discovery. In Ancient Greece, when the philosopher Socrates was asked to sum up what all philosophical commandments could be reduced to, he replied: 'Know yourself'. Self-knowledge matters so much because it is only on the basis of an accurate sense of who we are that we can make reliable decisions-particularly around love and work. This book takes us on...

A guide to the art of failing well-with actionable tips and a gentle approach. This is a hopeful, consoling, gentle book about failure. Our societies talk a lot about success, but the reality is that no one gets through life without failing – in small and usually also in large ways. Sometimes our failures are very obvious, at other times, we feel we have to conceal them out of shame. This book encourages us to accept the role that failure plays...

How to live wisely and well in the twenty-first century-an introduction to the modern art of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence affects every aspect of the way we live, from romantic to professional relationships, from our inner resilience to our social success. It is arguably the single most important skill for surviving the twenty-first century. But what does it really mean? One decade ago, Alain de Botton founded The School of Life,...

This book explores ideas around minimalism, simplicity and how to live comfortably with less. The modern world can be a complicated, frenzied, and noisy place, filled with too many options, products, ideas and opinions. That explains why what many of us long for is simplicity: a life that can be more pared down, peaceful, and focused on the essentials. But finding simplicity is not always easy; it isn't just a case of emptying out our closets...