Our politics are broken; our world is melting; the next catastrophe looms. Enter James Parker, who for years now has been writing odes of appreciation on subjects from the seemingly minor to the unexpected to the seemingly minor, unexpected, and hyper specific. Finally collecting Parker’s beloved and much-lauded odes in one place, this volume demonstrates the profound power of the form.

Each ode is an exercise in gratitude. Each celebrates the permanent susceptibility of everyday humdrum life to dazzling saturations of divine light: the squirrel in the street, the crying baby, the misplaced cup of tea. Parker’s odes are songs of praise, but with a decent amount of complaining in there, too: a human ratio of moans. Varied in length but unified in tone, mostly in prose, sometimes toppling into verse, the odes range across music, movies, literature, psychology, and beyond, all through the lens of Parker’s personal history. Gathered together, they form an accidental how-to guide to honoring your own experience–and to finding your own odes.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER – An award-winning psychologist reveals the hidden power of our inner voice and shows how to harness it to combat anxiety, improve physical and mental health, and deepen our relationships with others.

LONGLISTED FOR THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD – “A masterpiece.”–Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit – Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel H. Pink’s Next Big Idea Club Winter 2021 Winning Selection

One of the best new books of the year–The Washington Post, BBC, USA Today, CNN Underscored, Shape, Behavioral Scientist, PopSugar – Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Shelf Awareness starred reviews

Is talking to yourself normal? The truth is that we all have a voice in our head. When we talk to ourselves, we often hope to tap into our inner coach but find our inner critic instead. When we’re facing a tough task, our inner coach can buoy us up: Focus–you can do this. But, just as often, our inner critic sinks us entirely: I’m going to fail. They’ll all laugh at me. What’s the use?

In Chatter, acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross explores the silent conversations we have with ourselves. Interweaving groundbreaking behavioral and brain research from his own lab with real-world case studies–from a pitcher who forgets how to pitch, to a Harvard undergrad negotiating her double life as a spy–Kross explains how these conversations shape our lives, work, and relationships. He warns that giving in to negative and disorienting self-talk–what he calls “chatter”–can tank our health, sink our moods, strain our social connections, and cause us to fold under pressure.

Unhappy Achiever is a ​story of healing, of revolutionary awakening–of what happens when we summon our courage to step out from behind the mask of the “good girl” to wholeheartedly embrace our true selves and the joy of being perfectly imperfect.

​It’s no secret that women have been sold a bill of goods: we’re taught we can–and should–have it all and that happiness is ours for the taking…if. If we go to college and become a degreed professional. Will we marry someone respectable and buy a house in a picturesque neighborhood. Or if we become the proud parents of two children. If we land our dream job, get promoted, or make partner. Women spend decades, even lifetimes, believing: If I can just do–or have–or become–that one thing, I’ll be satisfied, content, complete.

Many of us nearly “do” ourselves to death, sacrificing health and relationships to arrive at some elusive, “ultimate” point of existence. Still, no matter how much we do, genuine satisfaction evades us. And the parts of us we sought to fill with the trappings of wealth, power, goodness, and praise somehow feel emptier than before. All the while, missing the most fundamental key to our happiness–the joy of inner fulfillment.

Brutally honest, often hilarious, hard-won lessons in learning to love and care for yourself from a former vice president at Comedy Central, Jordan Peele

By the time she was in her late twenties, Tara Schuster was a rising TV executive who had worked for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and helped launch Key & Peele to viral superstardom. By all appearances, she had mastered being a grown-up. But beneath that veneer of success, she was a chronically anxious, self-medicating mess. No one knew that her road to adulthood had been paved with depression, anxiety, and shame, owing in large part to her minimally parented upbringing. She realized she’d hit rock bottom when she drunk-dialed her therapist pleading for help.

Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies is the story of Tara’s path to re-parenting herself and becoming a “ninja of self-love.”

A Black woman’s guide to authentic happiness, healing, and radical transformation

“If you asked my grandmother what self-care was,” says Chianti Lomax, “I’m pretty sure her response would be: ‘Self-care? That’s for rich white women!'” Our mothers and grandmothers were too busy fighting for the future of their families to often consider their own wellness and happiness–and now, as the inheritors of their mighty labors, we have the opportunity to do more than simply survive. So how do we thrive? How do Black women grow, transform, and make good use of the power they have?

In Evolving While Black, Lomax–renowned life coach and “Chief Happiness Curator”–shares a guide to help Black women achieve authentic happiness and liberation on their own terms. By shifting the culturally constrained language and perspective from which mindfulness and self-care practices are normally presented, she breaks down barriers and invites us to bring the power of these evidence-based teachings into our lives, families, and communities. This joyous book paves the way for personal growth, presenting bite-size actions that lead to healing, confidence, self-efficacy, and, most importantly, true self-love. Lomax offers practices, challenges, and reflections in each chapter, exploring topics such as: