The School of Life
Список книг автора The School of LifeHappy, Healthy Minds
A guide to some of the common problems that children may face; chapters introduce subjects including Bullying, Anxiety and Feeling Misunderstood. Presents complicated topics in a way that is accessible to a younger audience. Opens up conversations between adults and children about emotional wellbeing. Charming illustrations throughout by Lizzy Stewart, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Award and the AOI World Illustration Award, for her amazing book[i] There's a Tiger in The Garden Ideal for ages 9+
The School of Life Guide to Modern Manners
Modern life is full of minor but acute dilemmas: we get stuck at a gathering with someone unusually boring and wonder how to move on without causing offence; in the course of introducing one friend to another, we realize that we have forgotten one of the party’s names; we run into an ex while on an early date with a new partner; we spill red wine across a host’s sofa … Such dilemmas might—at one level—seem desperately insignificant. But they actually belong to some of the largest and most serious themes in social existence: how can you pursue your own agenda for happiness while at the same time honoring the sensitivities and wishes of others; how can you convey goodwill with sincerity; how can you be kind without being supine or sentimental? The modern age often doesn’t seem to value manners, equating them with an old-fashioned stuffiness, instead we are advised to communicate our feelings and tell it the way it really is. But the result, in practice, is that we are often confused as to how to act around others and discharge our obligations to them. This book puts good manners back at the center of our lives. It features twenty case-studies on common social dilemmas and our possible responses to them, contributing to a new and original philosophy of graceful conduct. Manners are far from negligible fancies; they stand at the day-to-day end of a hugely grand and dignified mission which The School of Life is committed to: the creation of a kinder and more considerate world.
A Replacement for Religion
An in-depth exploration of how secular aspects of religious belief can interact with philosophy, psychotherapy, art, and architecture to enrich our modern lifestyle. Acknowledges the growth of atheism juxtaposed with people’s need for a spiritual dimension to their lives. Offers suggestions and guidance on incorporating simple religious rituals into our everyday lives to offer comfort and solace. Part of a series of giftable essays from The School of Life. Titles include: What is Psychotherapy?; How to Find Love; Self-Knowledge. Beautifully produced, premium gift format.
Affairs
A book that provides us with a greater understanding of why affairs happen and offers advice on dealing with the aftermath of an affair. A practical guide with useful takeaways for everyday life. Part of a thoughtful and inclusive new Love series from The School of Life, focusing on the sorrows and joys of relationships. Beautifully produced, premium gift format.
Arguments
An average couple will have between thirty and fifty significant arguments a year—and yet we’re seldom taught very much about why they happen and how they could grow a little less intense. This is a guide to arguments in love: it teaches us why they might occur, what their symptoms are, how we could learn some wiser ways of communicating, and how we would ideally patch up after a fight. The book looks at twenty of the most common arguments—including ones about sex, money, in-laws, who is «cold» and who is «over-emotional», and the state of the bathroom and the finances. We recognize our own antics but also pick up consoling and wise ideas on how to skirt certain conflicts going forward. The tragedy of every sorry argument is that it is constructed around a horrific mismatch between the message we so badly want to send («I need you to love me, know me, agree with me») and the manner in which we are able to deliver it (with impatient accusations, sulks, put-downs, sarcasm, exaggerated gesticulations, and forceful «f*** yous»). A bad argument is a failed endeavor to communicate; this is a definitive guide to how we might argue better. "The priority is not so much to avoid points of contention as to learn to handle them in less counterproductively vindictive and more gently strategic ways. We need a lot help in order to acquire the complex art of converting our poisonous arguments into effective and compassionate dialogues."
Dating
Dating might seem a trivial and relatively inconsequential part of love, but it is in fact key to getting into the kind of relationship that can last and help us flourish. The process we call dating sits on top of some of the largest themes of love: how to know whether or not someone is right for us; how soon to settle and how long to search; how to be at once honest and seductive; how to politely extricate oneself without causing offence. This little book is an indispensable guide to the dating process. It teaches us about the history of dating (and why the way we are dating now is so novel and so perplexing), the reason why our dating days can be so anxious, how we should discuss our past on a date, what questions we might ask a new partner, how to optimize our attempts at dating—and how to digest and overcome so-called «bad» dates. The book is at once heartfelt and perceptive and never minimizes the agony, joys, and confusions of our dating days and nights. It provides us with the ideal wise road map to the varied, sometimes delightful, sometimes daunting realities of dating. "It is so natural to want our dating days to come to an end: but we should never lose sight of the genuine merits and delights that lie closely entwined with their pains. We should continue to seek our life partner, while not ignoring the real pleasures that emerge from not yet having found them."
How to Travel
Going traveling is one of the few things we undertake in a direct attempt to make ourselves happy—and frequently, in fascinating ways, we fail. We get bored, cross, anxious, or lonely. It isn’t surprising: our societies act as if going traveling were simple, just a case of handing over the right sum of money. But a satisfying journey isn’t something we can simply buy, and sadly something that should fill us with excitement can often end up being a source of angst and stress. This is the guide: not to any one destination but to travel in general. It talks to us, among other things, about how we should choose a place to go, what we might do when we get there, how we should make good moments stick in our minds and why hotel rooms can be such liberating places… In a succession of genial essays, we become students of an unexpected but vital topic: how to understand and more fully relax and enjoy (what should be) some of the finest experiences of our lives.
How to Reform Capitalism
It is quite normal to feel frustrated and sorrowful about aspects of modern capitalism, but realistic hope of change can seem either utopian or demented. In fact, the way that capitalism works is inherently open to alteration and improvement. This is because the problems of capitalism are, in their essence, not about money, law or politics, but about human psychology – the field of expertise of The School of Life.
As this hugely original essay argues, the path to a better sort of capitalism starts with a clear-eyed understanding of our emotional functioning and the workings of our psyches.
Why We Hate Cheap Things
We don’t think we hate cheap things – but we frequently behave as if we rather do. Consider the clean cotton t-shirt.
We wouldn't regard this as a particularly stylish fashion choice, and certainly not as a glamorous one. We are unlikely to stare wistfully at a cotton t-shirt in a shop window, or buy one in anticipation of a special event. We don't luxuriate in the feel of the fabric when we pull the freshly laundered garment over our head – yet Louis XVI would have been deeply impressed by this rare and decadent phenomenon.
The t-shirt itself has not changed; only our attitude to it. When we have to pay a lot for something nice, we appreciate it to the full. Yet as its market price falls, passion has a habit of fading away. It’s a pattern that we see recurring in a range of areas – and it’s a cultural misfortune. We need to rethink our patterns of consumption.
This entertainingly informative book considers how to do so, and shows how more of the things we could love are already to hand. We might be surprised to find that we are already a good deal richer than we are encouraged to think.
How to Get Married
• An outline for a new kind of wedding ceremony based on psychological theory rather than religious traditions.
• Includes practical instruction for marriage preparation, as well as advice for married life.
• Inner pocket containing Order of Service booklet (including suggested vows and readings) and emotional prenuptial contract.
• Gender neutral and non-heteronormative.
• Beautifully produced, high end gift format. Royal-blue cover and page trim, gold foil embossed title, blue endpapers and gold ribbon.
• Illustrated with full colour images.