A Therapeutic Journey: Lessons from the School of Life

The Sunday Times bestselling author of The School of Life, Alain de Botton, offers a practical guide to caring for our mental health in this book. He emphasizes that a healthy mind knows how to hope, resist unfair comparisons, and avoid catastrophic imaginings, and that recognizing ourselves when we are well can help us identify what can go awry. He also reminds us that mental illness is as common and unshameful as its bodily counterpart and that we should be no more reluctant to seek help than we are if we develop a chest infection or sore knee.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 05 October 2023
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The School of Life, comes a powerful and practical guide to caring for our mental health. In this insightful book, Alain de Botton explores the importance of a healthy mind and how it can help us navigate life's challenges.

A healthy mind knows how to hope, clinging tenaciously to the reasons to keep going. It resists unfair comparisons, refusing to let others' successes throw it off course. It also avoids catastrophic imaginings, distinguishing between worries of what could happen and what likely will.

Just as there is no human being who will never become physically ill, there is no human who will go their whole life without becoming mentally unwell. However, recognizing ourselves when we are well can do a lot to help us identify what can go awry. Written with his signature kindness and empathy, this book is Alain de Botton's practical guide to caring for our mental health—from the acts of self-care that bring us respite to the help that psychotherapy can bring.

Mental illness is as common and as unshameful as its bodily counterpart. We should be no more reluctant to seek help than we are if we develop a chest infection or sore knee—and we are no less worthy of love and sympathy in those moments. This book serves as a reminder of that.

Alain de Botton is a brave and highly intelligent writer. Observer has praised him as one of our most consistently illuminating writers on contemporary culture, while John Gray, New Statesman, has described him as one of our most consistently illuminating writers on contemporary culture.

In conclusion, this book is a must-read for anyone seeking to improve their mental health and well-being. It offers valuable insights and practical advice on how to care for our minds, and how to navigate life's challenges with resilience and strength. By embracing the principles outlined in this book, we can cultivate a healthy mind that will serve us well throughout our lives.

Weight: 580g
Dimension: 220 x 138 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241642559