DailyLit: Psychology Books

The Yellow Wallpaper

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Sample Installment

Finding Iris Chang

by Paula Kamen

Description

Iris Chang's mysterious suicide in 2004, at age thirty-six, didn't seem to make any sense. She had more to live for than anyone, including fame, fortune, beauty, a husband, and child. Some even wondered if the controversial author of the Rape of Nanking had been murdered. Long-time friend Paula Kamen was among those left wondering what had gone so wrong. Seeking to reconcile the suicide with the image of Chang's "perfect" life, Kamen searched her own memory and scoured Chang's letters, diaries, and archival material to fill in the gaps of Chang's personal transformation—from awkward teen to homecoming princess in college, from "ex-shy person" to world-class speaker and international human rights pioneer—and later decline into mental illness and paranoia. A literary investigation of an important writer's journey, Finding Iris Chang is a tribute to a lost heroine, a portrait of the real and vulnerable woman who inspired so many around the world.

Praise for Finding Iris Chang

"A rewardingly complex portrait of a driven and troubled woman."
&mdashKirkus Reviews

"Part biography, part detective story, part memoir of a thorny but enduring friendship, this book takes us to the heart of Iris Chang's tragic life. Paula Kamen writes with astute psychological insight, the intuition of a close friend—and with the determination of an investigative reported resolved to get to the bottom of a death as baffling as it is heartbreaking."
—Molly Worthen, author of The Man on Whom Nothing Was Lost

"Iris Chang inspired many, including me. Now Iris's life has inspired her friend Paula Kamen to write a tender remembrance of a great woman."
—James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys

"Journalist Paula Kamen leaves no clue unturned in this riveting narrative that is part detective story, part psychological drama, part homage to a friend, as she peels back the complexities of Iris Chang's life and death—revealing the obsessions, frailties, significance, and, ultimately, the humanity of this legendary Chinese American woman warrior."
—Helen Zia, author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People

Extended Copyright Information

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Previously published by Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

Cover design by Georgia Liebman.
Cover photograph by Tamara Staples; college graduation photograph courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives; Iris Chang Papers.

Sample Installment

Motherless Daughters

by Hope Edelman

Description

An instant bestseller in both hardcover and paperback, Hope Edelman's Motherless Daughters explores the myriad ways that losing a mother can affect almost every aspect and passage of a woman's life. First published a decade ago, it is still the book that motherless daughters of all ages look to for understanding and comfort and that they press into each other's hands. Building on interviews with hundreds of mother- loss survivors, this life-affirming book is now newly expanded to reflect the author's personal experience with the continued legacy of mother loss; now married and a mother of young children herself, Edelman better understands how the effects of mother loss change over time and in light of new relationships. A work of stunning courage and honesty, Motherless Daughters is a must read for the millions of women whose mothers have gone, but whose need for healing, mourning, and mothering remains. It is a timeless classic.

New York Times bestseller with over 500,000 copies sold

Quotes

"Absorbing ... insightful ... a moving and valuable treatment of a neglected subject."
— New York Times Book Review

"A moving, comprehensive and insightful look at the lifelong ramifications of the loss of a mother."
— San Francisco Chronicle

"Beautifully written."
— USA Today

"Groundbreaking ... brutally honest, extensively researched ... exploring the myriad issues that motherless daughters face in their daily lives."
— Atlanta Journal & Constitution

"A beautiful book, wonderfully written and gently crafted...enlightening."
— San Diego Union-Tribune

"Edelman illustrates the particular grief of mother loss with poignant vignettes."
— Mirabella

"Insight into why motherless daughters feel the loss throughout life."
— Library Journal

"Resonates with women who lose their mother at any age."
— Wall Street Journal

Extended Copyright Information

"A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London" from The Poems of Dylan Thomas Copyright 1945 by the Trustees of the Copyrights of Dylan Thomas is reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Company.

Originally published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group

Sample Installment

Iron John: A Book About Men

by Robert Bly

Description

In this deeply learned book, poet and translator Robert Bly offers nothing less than a new vision of what it is to be a man. Bly's vision is based on his ongoing work with men and reflections on his own life. He addresses the devastating effects of remote fathers and mourns the disappearance of male initiation rites in our culture. Finding rich meaning in ancient stories and legends, Bly uses the Grimm fairy tale "Iron John," in which the narrator, or "Wild Man," guides a young man through eight stages of male growth, to remind us of archetypes long forgotten-images of vigorous masculinity, both protective and emotionally centered. Simultaneously poetic and down-to-earth, combining the grandeur of myth with the practical and often painful lessons of our own histories, Iron John is a rare work that will continue to guide and inspire men-and women-for years to come.

Iron John was a #1 New York Times bestseller

Quotes

"A brilliantly eclectic written meditation ... an invaluable contribution."
— Deborah Tannen, Washington Post

"Important ... timely ... powerful"
— New York Times

"Combining erudition with enthusiasm ... Bly conducts a fascinating examination of myth, literature, psychology, and anthropology. ... As thought-provoking an exploration of men and masculinity as any in recent years."
— Newsday

Extended Copyright Information

Originally published in hardcover by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., in 1990.

Reprinted by arrangement with the author by Da Capo Press in 2004,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group

Sample Installment

Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes

by William Bridges

Description

Whether it is chosen or thrust upon you, change brings both opportunities and turmoil. Since first published 25 years ago, Transitions has helped hundreds of thousands of readers cope with these issues by providing an elegantly simple yet profoundly insightful roadmap of the transition process. With the understanding born of both personal and professional experience, William Bridges takes readers step by step through the three stages of any transition: The Ending, The Neutral Zone, and, in time, The New Beginning. Bridges explains how each stage can be understood and embraced, leading to meaningful and productive movement into a hopeful future. With a new introduction highlighting how the advice in the book continues to apply and is perhaps even more relevant today, and a new chapter devoted to change in the workplace, Transitions will remain the essential guide for coping with the one constant in life: change.

Extended Copyright Information

Originally published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group

Sample Installment

Smotherhood

by Amanda Lamb

Wickedly Funny Confessions from the Early Years

A television crime reporter and full-time mother tells it like it is in this raw, irreverent collection of essays.

This brutally funny account is just what mothers are asking for when they curl up with a book at night after a seventeen-hour day in the trenches. Amanda Lamb is a regular contributor to Dot-moms.com. She's been lauded by The New York Times and Time magazine. She portrays the reality of raising children, working, and keeping a family together as hard, challenging, and sometimes downright awful. But in the middle of the muck there are also wickedly funny moments that beg to be recorded and shared. These are those stories.

Quotes

"Nowhere is the daze that swings between exultation and extinction in early motherhood better described. Amanda Lamb's raw, tender, bone-honest truths drive homethat some things would be too difficult--if we didn't do them out of love."
— Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of Still Summer and The Deep End of the Ocean

"For manic, multi-tasking mothers everywhere! Amanda's tales will make you laugh--and remind you to enjoy this crazy journey."
— Jane Skinner, anchor, Fox News Channel

"Amanda Lamb stands out as the new voice for momhood--not scared to say that parenting is not only sometimes scary but often laugh-out-loud hilarious, even raucous, but always tender ..."
— Hollis Gillespie, author of Bleachy-Haired Honky Bitch

"A must-read for working moms. Amanda Lamb beautifully captures the chaos that is her life as a mother and a TV journalist."
— Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC anchor/NBC News contributor

"Amanda Lamb is a hard-charging, pull-no-punches veteran television reporter. Smotherhood doesn't pull any punches either. It is her story of the wrestling match with the demands of motherhood, marriage, and a very busy career, told in a way that is unabashed, honest, and frank."
— Mary P. Easley, JD, First Lady of North Carolina

"For manic, multi-tasking mothers everywhere! Amanda's tales will make you laugh--and remind you to enjoy this crazy journey."
— Jane Skinner, anchor, Fox News Channel

Extended Copyright Information

Smotherhood is a trademark of the author, used by permission.

Originally published by skirt!, an imprint of The Globe Pequot Press.
skirt!, a registered imprint of Morris Communications, LLC, is used with express permission.

skirt! books are all about women--spirited, unpredictable, independent, sometimes controversial, always passionate.

Sample Installment

Letters to a Young Therapist

by Mary Pipher

Description

Mary Pipher's groundbreaking investigation of America's "girl-poisoning culture," Reviving Ophelia, has sold nearly two million copies and established its author as one of the nation's foremost authorities on family issues. In Letters to a Young Therapist, Dr. Pipher shares what she has learned in thirty years as a therapist, helping warring families, alienated adolescents, and harried professionals restore peace and beauty to their lives. Letters to a Young Therapist gives voice to her practice with an exhilarating mix of storytelling and sharp-eyed observation. And while her letters are addressed to an imagined young therapist, every one of us can take something away from them. Long before "positive psychology" became a buzzword, Dr. Pipher practiced a refreshingly inventive therapy—fiercely optimistic, free of dogma or psychobabble, and laced with generous warmth and practical common sense. But not until now has this gifted healer described her unique perspective on how therapy can help us revitalize our emotional landscape in an increasingly stressful world. Whether she's recommending daily swims for a sluggish teenager, encouraging a timid husband to become bolder, or simply bearing witness to a bereaved parent's sorrow, Dr. Pipher's compassion and insight shine from every page of this thoughtful and engaging book.

Praise for Letters to a Young Therapist:

"A wise and compassionate book."
—Washington Post Book World

Extended Copyright Information

Previously published by Basic Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Sample Installment

The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind

by Gustave Le Bon

Sample Installment

Dream Psychology

by Sigmund Freud

Sample Installment

Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex

by Sigmund Freud

Sample Installment