Self Help Archive

“Daily Rituals: How Artists Work” and “Daily Rituals: Women at Work” - These books are more relevant today than when they were published, and for the simplest of reasons --- artists don't go to offices. Since 2020, that's been true of many

“Three Women” presents women with problems they can’t fix; they’re victims. Esther Perel offers actual wisdom. It’s just possible she can help. - The more I think about Three Women, the more puzzled I am by the uncritical enthusiasm for it. The women are clearly victims. One is married to a man who

Acting in Film: An Actor’s Take on Movie Making - Michael Caine was a Cockney with burning ambition, unproven talent and few connections. If he wanted to be a movie star, he decided, he'd have to invent himself as one. He went

Anne Lamott: Bird by Bird - I was talking to an artist about why artists have it easy. "Nobody knows how to paint,” I said. “But everybody knows how to write." Sounds facile. But it’s true. When it comes

Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life) - Many people who are unhappy with their jobs or just eager to move up have used company time to work on their résumés. And they've probably gone on to photocopy

Better Writing - It's a terrible fate for a kid to have a writer for a father. It's also no great joy for a father who is a writer to make the same points about writing over and

Bit Literacy by Mark Hurst -

Buck Brannaman, the Horse Whisperer - Buck Brannaman specializes in the improbable. Got a skittish, poorly trained horse? A bucking bronco? A steed who seems not to care about anything? When an owner brings that uncooperative

Cosmo Doogood’s Urban Almanac, 2006 -       Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac, 2006 Eric Utne Year after year, if you're like me, you

Eats, Shoots and Leaves - Good grammar is only half the story. There's also punctuation. And isn't that a snore? Or was, when you and I sat under dusty chalkboards and suffered through

Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life - Judith Orloff announces she's a doctor right on the cover of her books. That's because she knows she'd lose a lot of potential readers if she didn't billboard

Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences - Our ancestors came to this country to escape intolerance. Two and a half centuries later, we --- well, some of us --- have become the kind of people our ancestors

Esther Perel: “Intimacy is about where you can take me, not what you can do to me.” - In a crevice between bricks, a small bird is making a nest. On the sidewalk, couples walk hand in hand. I installed window screens, opened my windows. Yes, it's definitely

Esther Perel: Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence - Esther Perel gave a TED Talk on Valentine's Day: "The secret to desire in a long-term relationship." Two weeks later, 830,000 people had viewed it. Now she's up to 21 million ---

Esther Perel: The State of Affairs: Rethinking Adultery - It sometimes happens that I praise a writer and then we meet and discover we like one another. That’s how a couples therapist and I became friends. And then, later,

Grandma’s Dead: Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals - Grandma's Dead: Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals Amanda McCall & Ben Schwartz “Afraid to tell your girlfriend her ass looks fat?” “Need to let your neighbors know you're a registered sex

Happier -   Happier: Learn the Secrets

Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being - Andrew Weil is America's best-known revolutionary. You know him as a doctor --- a pioneer in what he calls Integrative Medicine --- who gets around in the very best media

How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better - One of my favorite scenes in “The Big Sleep” ---  the classic film adapted from one of Raymond Chandler's best thrillers --- has Humphrey Bogart coming into a bookstore

I Am Awake - Norman Mailer said you don’t really know a woman “until you meet her in court.” I might add, “Or until she sends you her book. With Fern Nesson, the question requires another: