I have always been fascinated by psychology and the science behind why people are the way they are. This is probably why as a journalist, I’ve always been drawn to writing personal profiles of fascinating people, digging deeper into how they overcame various obstacles and setbacks. I have read so many leadership books that focus on success, but really found a gap when it came to those in-depth stories, which is why I wrote The Setback Cycle, a career advice book that focuses specifically on that messy middle part of leadership. My goal was to share the stories of people who overcame setbacks while offering an actionable framework that guides us through our own.
I wrote
The Setback Cycle: How Defining Moments Can Move Us Forward
I loved Morra’s fresh take on reframing something previously perceived as a weakness and turning it into a superpower. She writes intelligently about how anxious people are equipped to lead and backs up her argument with rigorous research and quotes from credible experts.
I especially liked how she pointed out that anxious people are great at leading through crises because they spend so much energy preparing for the worst.
A timely and compelling guide to managing the anxiety that comes with succeeding and leading-from entrepreneur, mental health advocate, and top-rated podcaster Morra Aarons-Mele.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the world. But in our workplaces, anxiety has been a hidden problem-there in plain sight but ignored. Until now.
The Anxious Achiever is a book with a mission: to normalize anxiety and leadership. As leadership expert and self-proclaimed anxious achiever Morra Aarons-Mele argues, anxiety is built into the very nature of leadership. It can-and should-be harnessed into a force for good.
I was fascinated while reading this book because it taught me so much about how the brain works, why we are the way we are, and how our brains differ. I enjoyed how the author debunked that if we’re more “right-brained,” we’re more creative, and if we’re more “left-brained,” we’re more creative.
The concept is a whole lot more nuanced than that. I also appreciated her take on nature vs. nurture and how that impacts the way our brains work. It took me a long time to read this because there was so much information to digest, but I felt like the education I received from this book was invaluable.
From University of Washington professor Chantel Prat comes The Neuroscience of You, a rollicking adventure into the human brain that reveals the surprising truth about neuroscience, shifting our focus from what’s average to an understanding of how every brain is different, exactly why our quirks are important, and what this means for each of us.
With style and wit, Chantel Prat takes us on a tour of the meaningful ways that our brains are dissimilar from one another. Using real-world examples, along with take-them-yourself tests and quizzes, she shows you how to identify the strengths and weakness of your own…
Like so many people, I feel icky when I see the term “personal brand.” But this book reads as a step-by-step guide for folks who want to succeed in some area—as a founder, a thought leader, or to look ahead to their next promotion or career role.
It teaches you how to strategically position yourself as you chart your path forward (and is actually a great book to read right after you finish my book) I really liked how she broke down each concept into actionable steps and left space for readers to not only enjoy the stories and concepts but to turn parts of it into a workbook to fill out.
As seen on GOOD MORNING AMERICA and in HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
BEST BOOK of 2023: Awarded by American Book Fest in Business: Marketing and Advertising
Your job title isn’t your brand, nor is the name of your company. You are your brand—because what you do today may not be what you do tomorrow.
When you give meaning to your own name, it secures your professional longevity. If you don’t do the work to communicate your value, other people will happily make up their own version of your story—or worse, forget about you. When your personal brand is strong, your name…
I felt like this book helped me reframe my relationship with discomfort. In teaching us how to be “emotionally agile,” Susan explains why we should listen to what our emotions, especially the negative ones, might be telling us. It’s important to resist the urge to push those emotions away like many of us are prone to, but instead to welcome them and listen to them without getting caught in a spiral of shame.
This can certainly be a tricky balance, but I found Susan’s tools and research helped me understand why we should practice this to continue to grow and thrive in all areas of our lives.
Perfect for lovers of Quiet and The Power of Now, Emotional Agility shares a new way of relating to yourself and the world around you
Every day we speak around 16,000 words - but inside minds we create tens of thousands more.
Thoughts such as 'I'm not spending enough time with my children' or 'I'm not good enough to present my work' can seem to be unshakeable facts. In reality, they're the judgemental opinions of our inner voice.
Drawing on more than twenty years of academic research and her own experiences, Susan David PhD, a psychologist and faculty member at…
I loved this book so much, not only because Susan Cain is such a beautiful writer but also because it explained why we love sad music and why listening to it can be so transformative. I truly appreciate books that teach me something new about why humans are the way they are and those that offer a new perspective on my life experiences, which this book certainly did.
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER -- FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T STOP TALKING
In her inspiring new masterpiece, the author of the bestselling phenomenon Quiet describes her powerful quest to understand how love, loss and sorrow make us whole - revealing the power of a bittersweet outlook on life.
Bittersweetness is a tendency towards states of longing, poignancy and sorrow; an acute awareness of passing time; and a curiously piercing joy at the beauty of the world. It recognizes that light and…
Some of the world’s most prominent leaders attribute their setbacks to the reason they found success. Through the four phases of The Setback Cycle—Establish, Embrace, Explore, and Emerge—Amy Shoenthal guides readers on how to make sense of their experiences, gain clarity on what comes next, and move confidently into future endeavors.
That framework, developed through research and conversations with scholars, psychologists, neuroscientists, and executive coaches, is supported through the deeply personal stories of founders and leaders like fashion icons Stacy London and Norma Kamali, fitness instructors Robin Arzón and Kendall Toole, and inspirational founders like Cate Luzio, Amanda Goetz, and more. My book offers guidance on taking yourself through your toughest moments and forge a stronger path forward.
After Dr. Shawn Jennings, a busy family physician, suffered a brainstem stroke on May 13, 1999, he woke from a coma locked inside his body, aware and alert but unable to communicate or move. Once he regained limited movement in his left arm, he began typing his story, using one hand and a lot of patience.
With unexpected humour and tender honesty, Shawn shares his experiences in his struggle for recovery and acceptance of his life after the stroke. He affirms that even without achieving a full recovery life is still worth…
Locked In Locked Out: Surviving a Brainstem Stroke
After Dr. Shawn Jennings, a busy family physician, suffered a brainstem stroke on May 13, 1999, he woke from a coma locked inside his body, aware and alert but unable to communicate or move. Once he regained limited movement in his left arm, he began typing his story, using one hand and a lot of patience.
With unexpected humour and tender honesty, Shawn shares his experiences in his struggle for recovery and acceptance of his life after the stroke. He affirms that even without achieving a full recovery life is still worth…
