I’m a clinical psychologist, which gifts me the experience of being part of people's journey of looking at their lives differently and transforming. Early in my career, throughout my academic studies, I was particularly curious about and drawn to existential perspectives. Sadly, with multiple losses of close loved ones, I was pushed into grappling with existential questions at a more personal level. Yet the pain of loss created shifts in perspective that have helped shape who I am, and the work that I do. I have found that connecting with people, travel, and books are avenues that help me continue to ask questions about life and inspire new directions.
I wrote
Break the Binds of Weight Stigma: Free Yourself from Body Image Struggles Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
I first came across this book when I was studying at university, and it captures a theme of existentialism – “to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in suffering”.
One of my favorite quotes from this book is “Those who can find a ‘why’ to live, can bear any ‘how’”. I loved the realistic message that life can be hard, but it also gives hope that we can get through tough times and connect with what matters to us. It opened the door to thinking about what is meaningful to me, and what will make the struggles worthwhile.
One of the outstanding classics to emerge from the Holocaust, Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's story of his struggle for survival in Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. Today, this remarkable tribute to hope offers us an avenue to finding greater meaning and purpose in our own lives.
The premise of The Midnight Library immediately swept me up, and the book was so thought-provoking.
It explores regret and how we can get lost thinking about and mourning “the lives we aren’t living” at the expense of the life that is in front of us right now. I loved how it drew attention to the consequences and pain of the choices we make, yet also how the beauty of life is in living it and connecting with all the shades of it (good, bad, funny, and sad).
One of my favorite quotes “She imagined accepting it all. The way she accepted nature. The way she accepted a glacier or a puffin or the breach of a whale. She imagined seeing herself as just another brilliant freak of nature. Just another sentient animal, trying their best. And in doing so, she imagined what it is like to be free.”
The #1 New York Times bestselling WORLDWIDE phenomenon
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | Independent (London) Ten Best Books of the Year
"A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits."-The Washington Post
The dazzling reader-favorite about the choices that go into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The Comfort Book.
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of…
My Ishmael is a book that got my mind thinking. It raises many questions about how we live and whether that is the best way to live.
I enjoyed how these questions are explored through a relationship between a child and a gorilla as it holds the reader in a place of curiosity, as opposed to judgment. This approach sits well with my values and makes it an easy read. One of my favorite quotes is “The only way you can be insulated from harm is by not existing, and that's no way to live.”
Daniel Quinn's Ishmael was the winner of the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, a prize honoring fiction that offers creative and positive solutions to global problems. This extraordinary novel has become an underground bestseller and a testament for a burgeoning spiritual movement. Mr. Quinn's new novel is a companion piece--not a story that follows the first but rather a story contemporaneous with the first. In it, the Ishmael saga takes a startling direction that is in no way prefigured in the original.
The gorilla licked his lips--nervously, it seemed to me. "I think we can safely say that I'm not prepared to…
Braving the Wilderness sparked a shift in my perspective on self and relationships.
What struck me most was the separation of belonging and fitting in. I realized how much energy I had put into fitting in, all the while betraying what was true to me. Not only did Braving the Wilderness get me thinking, but it also provided practical steps on how to do things differently.
Since reading the book I have changed how I interact with others, steering away from connection through shared enemies, and instead moving towards connection through authenticity and vulnerability.
My favorite quote: “We can spend our entire life betraying ourself and choosing fitting in over standing alone. But once we've stood up for ourself and our beliefs, the bar is higher. A wild heart fights fitting in and grieves betrayal.”
A timely and important new book that challenges everything we think we know about cultivating true belonging in our communities, organizations, and culture, from the #1 bestselling author of Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection.
'True belonging doesn't require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are.' Social scientist Brene Brown, PhD, LMSW has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives - experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an…
As someone who has spent much of my life hidden in the shadows, fearing judgment and criticism, the idea of stepping out and embracing a “Playing Big” mindset was a big shift in perspective for me.
It prompted not only reflection of how my hiding behavior came to be, but also the costs of it, and the potential that may lie beyond my comfort zone. Messages from within this book helped me find the courage to step out of the shadows and shine.
My favorite quote is; “Playing big doesn’t come from working more, pushing harder, or finding confidence. It comes from listening to the most powerful and secure part of you, not the voice of self-doubt.”
A groundbreaking women’s leadership expert and popular conference speaker gives women the practical skills to voice and implement the changes they want to see—in themselves and in the world
In her coaching and programs for women, Tara Mohr saw how women were "playing small" in their lives and careers, were frustrated by it, and wanted to "play bigger." She has devised a proven way for them to achieve their dreams by playing big from the inside out. Mohr’s work helping women play bigger has earned acclaim from the likes of Maria Shriver and Jillian Michaels, and has been featured on…
We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with messages about body and weight, leaving us thinking that we have to change our bodies. We throw our energy into trying to lose weight to “fix” our problem body, or we put our lives on hold waiting for when our body or feelings about our body will change enough for us to partake in life. But what if our bodies are not the problem? What if we could step into living right now regardless of our weight?
Break the Binds compassionately looks at how societal messages, particularly those around weight, have contributed to our body image struggles and explores how we can break free of those messages and start living, regardless of body shape and size.
A retired English teacher has come home to Appalachia, a land of industrial disaster and natural beauty. He has been enticed with stories of Wildcat’s transformation: of the collective action embodied in Hotel Wildcat as well as the artisanal pursuits springing to life in the old iron mill. But in returning, he must confront his dark memories: the lost love of his hippie chic girlfriend not to mention the lost trust between his middle-class family and working-class Wildcat.
Written in the lyrical grit so characteristic of America’s Rust Belt, Wildcat: An Appalachian Romance is a testament to the redemptive potential…
Journey into Appalachia's Heart: Love, Loss, and the Resilience of a Forgotten Land
Discover the captivating allure of the Appalachian region as Jeffrey Dunn skillfully weaves a tale of love, loss, and redemption in his exquisitely crafted literary fiction masterpiece, Wildcat: An Appalachian Romance. Immerse yourself in the depths of the rust belt's rugged landscapes, where the echoes of industrial disaster intertwine with the sublime beauty of nature, all while the characters navigate the delicate dance between past and future.
In this poignant narrative, our protagonist, a retired English teacher, returns to his roots, lured back to the once-shuttered Hotel…
