As a police psychologist and mystery writer—I call myself a shrink with ink—I love to read how other authors portray therapists in their novels.It’s challenging to bring tension, action, and conflict to a 50-minute session that primarily involves quiet conversation, perhaps salted with tears. I started out writing non-fiction. Then I got tired of reality and began writing mysteries inspired by real police officers and their families. Writing fiction was harder, but more fun. Sometimes it’s been therapeutic. I especially enjoy the opportunity to take potshots at cops who treated me poorly, incompetent psychologists, and two of my ex-husbands.
What happens when a client turns on a therapist? I hope I never find out.
I picked up Helene Flood's novel out of curiosity. As a writer, I wanted to know how Flood turns two people sitting in a room quietly talking into a plot that will hold readers' attention. I don’t want to give anything away, except to say her book deftly and accurately shows a clinician using her training to solve a terrible crime and save herself.
It was easy for me to identify with both the protagonist and the author. Flood and I are both practicing psychologists specializing in trauma. I’m grateful for a good read and a reminder to screen potential clients carefully.
From the mind of a psychologist comes a chilling domestic thriller that gets under your skin.
"Creepy, compelling and very well written" Harriet Tyce
At first it's the lie that hurts.
A voicemail from her husband tells Sara he's arrived at the holiday cabin. Then a call from his friend confirms he never did.
She tries to carry on as normal, teasing out her clients' deepest fears, but as the hours stretch out, her own begin to surface. And when the police finally take an interest, they want to know why Sara deleted that voicemail.
I went through some very tough times growing up. I was an undiagnosed autistic teen, terribly shy, with no real guidance, and I was often bullied and bewildered. But my heart was filled with only goodwill and good intentions, and a yearning to connect meaningfully with others. So, stories of adversity, of characters making it through very tough times, through trauma—these stories were like shining beacons that said, “survival is possible.” Now that I’m a grownup writer, it’s at the root of what I want to offer—hope—to today’s kids who may be going through similar tough stuff. Survival is possible.
I love every book by this author. Mason is a different kid, learning-disabled, but with a heart full of goodness. He is bullied and discounted and put down and misunderstood, but his persistent goodness wins out.
I rooted for Mason, for his good heart, every step of the way.
From the critically acclaimed author of Waiting for Normal and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Leslie Connor, comes a deeply poignant and beautifully crafted story about self-reliance, redemption, and hope.
Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason's learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family's orchard.
An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can't understand why Lieutenant Baird won't believe the story Mason has told about…
As a long-time expat in France, a creative and a Black woman, I get othered and rejected a lot. I’ve had to learn how to own my story – of starting over, of building something from nothing, of remembering where I’ve been, and reminding myself of where I’m going. I had to learn to reject the labels that others want to put on me and draft my own personal hype mantra – then embellish it with a little bombshell sparkle. The books I’ve chosen are meant to entertain while giving you the chance to remind yourself of who you are and who you can choose to be.
Sometimes things happen in life that bring us to our knees – illness, relationships fail, job losses.
And we may feel small, overwhelmed, incapable. In this awesome book about living audaciously, Jones advises the reader to write their own oriki, or personal hype mantra.
When we are at our lowest, we need to look back and see how far we’ve come, remind ourselves of who we were, who we are,and who we will be.
Just as we have the power to write our own orikis, we have the power to write our own next steps. That’s pretty bad-ass.
From the New York Times bestselling author of I'm Judging You, a hilarious and transformational book about how to tackle fear--that everlasting hater--and audaciously step into lives, careers, and legacies that go beyond even our wildest dreams
Luvvie Ajayi Jones is known for her trademark wit, warmth, and perpetual truth-telling. But even she's been challenged by the enemy of progress known as fear. She was once afraid to call herself a writer, and nearly skipped out on doing a TED talk that changed her life because of imposter syndrome. As she shares in Professional Troublemaker,…
I’m a cultural anthropologist with a passion for exploring how we humans make meaning of the wonderful, terrible, startling, often-absurd existence in which we find ourselves. My research has taken me from NYC’s underground occult scene to the conflict-resolution strategies of Central Peru; from circus performers in Portland, Maine, grappling with their physical potential, to a comedy club in Berlin where I set out to discover the secret sauce for evoking “collective joy” amongst strangers.I am drawn to artistic works that mix genres and defy categorization… and thus have a penchant for alienating editors, librarians, and bookstore owners who struggle to identify on which shelf my books belong.
Love it or hate it, this is a truly unique book. Slater presents herself as the ultimate unreliable narrator, describing her life-long struggles with epilepsy, only to reveal that her diagnosis is a lie. (Or is it? Apparently, even she is not sure.) Which makes the experience of reading Lyinga slippery head trip. One becomes easily absorbed in Slater’s evocative prose and haunting descriptions, only to be reminded a sentence later that it may all be complete BS.
Some readers might be turned off by what is, admittedly, a bit of a mind fuck. Me, I’m fascinated by it. Lying offers the opportunity to vicariously inhabit a mind not quite tethered to truth… thus forcing readers to contemplate our own relationship to Truth.
In this powerful and provocative new memoir, award-winning author Lauren Slater forces readers to redraw the boundary between what we know as fact and what we believe through the creation of our own personal fictions. Mixing memoir with mendacity, Slater examines memories of her youth, when after being diagnosed with a strange illness she developed seizures and neurological disturbances-and the compulsion to lie. Openly questioning the reliability of memoir itself, Slater presents the mesmerizing story of a young woman who discovers not only what plagues her but also what cures her-the birth of her sensuality, her creativity as an artist,…
I wrestled with big questions as a child, particularly concerning gender inequality. I was aware of the issue as young as 7 years old. I didn’t even feel comfortable challenging the way things were until I was a young adult. Thus began my journey of researching, studying, and embracing women’s rights and gender equality. I feel very passionate about presenting those big questions earlier in the lives of girls, so they start feeling comfortable challenging the places where things don’t make sense, or the areas where inequality still exists. There is a need for more books like these in the market, but I hope you enjoy this list!
This book is for a slightly older reader (probably 16+), but the first scene opens with a period. Blood. It’s one of the things I love most about it.
The story revolves around Bisou Martel, who becomes a wolf hunter. She is at her strongest when she has her period, and she saves girls who are in danger of being violated by boys and men. Talk about female empowerment!
A dark, engrossing, blood-drenched tale of the familiar threats to female power-and one girl's journey to regain it. Five starred reviews greeted this powerful story from Elana K. Arnold, author of the Printz Honor winner Damsel.
You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked. And the wolf is angry.
Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She's kept mostly to herself. She's been good.
Meyer
is an exceptional writer who knows exactly how to twist a beloved fairy tale,
making it its own story but keeping threads of the original tale that readers
love.
Rumpelstiltskin isn’t a commonly retold fairy tale, which is one of the
main reasons I loved the first book and needed Cursed as soon as it came out.
Once I started reading, it was impossible to put the book down. Meyer had me on
the edge of my seat until the last page – I needed to know how Serilda and
Gild’s story ended!
New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer concludes her young adult retelling of Rumpelstiltskin in this breathtaking sequel!
'The reigning queen of the genre.' - New York Times 'Intricate worldbuilding and star-crossed romance.' - Publishers Weekly
It isn't true, she wanted to whisper. To lean forward and nuzzle her cheek against his temple. To press him against the wall and mold her body to his. I am not his. I will never be his.
Serilda and Gild cannot break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid's haunted castle. There they remain trapped for eternity. On the night of the Endless…
My passion for female-led fantasy began from the time I was a young girl and spans across a lifetime of reading the genre—but not necessarily always seeing my own heart reflected in the tough-as-nails, devil-may-care girls and women who began to dominate the fantasy landscape once I hit my teens. By sharing about an array of fantasy female leads who range across a wide spectrum of origins, personalities, and perspectives, I hope to help other readers just like me find characters they resonate with and stories that stick with them for a lifetime—just like these ones have for me.
Serilda was such a breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre landscape! I can’t think of a single female lead who quite feels like her. From the rich lore that surrounds her origins, to her vivid imagination, storytelling prowess, and the way she sees the world, Serilda became an instant favorite for me. Her nurturing love of the children in her care and her father are so perfectly at odds with the call to intrigue and adventure that makes up the other, more mischievous half of who she is. Watching the tug of war between these two halves of Serilda’s heart made this thick book absolutely fly by.
All magic comes at a price, but love was never part of the bargain . . .
The look he was giving her. Serilda had never been looked at like that before . . . The intensity. The heat. The raw astonishment. He was going to kiss her.
Cursed by the god of lies, a miller's daughter has developed a talent for storytelling - but are all of her tales as false as they appear?
When one of Serilda's stories draws the attention of the devastating Erlking, she finds herself swept away into a world of enchantment, where ghouls prowl…
Like the character of Wala Kitu in Dr No, I consider myself an expert on nothing. Heroes have to be flawed, right? And you don’t always have to like and admire them. They don’t have to be perfect. With perfect hair and teeth. Because I’m not. And I need someone to identify with. Someone to walk the roads I might or might not walk. A list of Nick Hornby, Michael K, Miles Jupp, Billy Liar, and Wala Kitu shouldn’t belong together. But they do. Right here. It’s absurd, right? The connection of different roads? Different stories? Different hurdles to jump? Different act of heroism I say.
Keith Waterhouse is a forgotten writer nowadays, which is a shame. His dreamy character, Billy Liar, is a brilliant creation and one for all ages–the original young man stifled by family, boredom, and expectations who wants to break free from it all and live out the life he’s already living for himself in his head.
I read this book when I was a teenager, probably because my Dad often called me and my brother ‘Billy Liar,’ such as when I told him I wanted to be a jockey. I was too heavy for that profession, even then (plus, I’d never sat on a horse and still haven’t). Still, that’s the joy and absurdity of this book; it takes the notion of following your dreams to a new and dangerous level.
Personally, I’m always fascinated with dreamers like Billy. But there are times when his life choices make you groan.
Billy Fisher feels trapped by his working-class parents, his unfulfilling job as an undertaker’s clerk, and his life in a dull, provincial town. His only refuge is in his daydreams, where he is the leader of the country of Ambrosia. Unfortunately, Billy’s wild imagination leads him to tell lies constantly: to his parents, his employer, and his three girlfriends. On one tragi-comic Saturday, as Billy plots his escape to a life of adventure and excitement in London, all his lies finally catch up with him, with hilarious and disastrous results. A smash bestseller and one of the great comic novels…
I met Marlon James at the Cliveden Literary
Festival. He was so compelling as a speaker and charming as a person that I
thought I’d read his latest book. I had never read him before. Well, I was in
for a treat.
I have never read anything quite like it in my life. He is unique, powerful, with an imagination that is so dark, so extraordinary, that I
found myself being sucked into the narrative and unable to pull myself away.
The book is a mixture of African mythology, history, and fantasy.
It’s the
second in a soon-to-be trilogy, but he said it was fine to read this one first.
I will definitely read the first and eagerly await the third. I think he’s a
genius.
THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE REVOLUTIONARY DARK STAR TRILOGY
'Even more gripping and inventive than its predecessor . . . like Tolkien on ayahuasca' Observer
*Perfect for fans of Pratchett, George R. R. Martin and Octavia Butler*
In this mighty follow-up to his number one bestseller Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Booker-winner Marlon James once again draws on a rich tradition of African mythology, fantasy and history to tell the story of Sogolon the Moon Witch.
Part adventure story, part tale of an indomitable woman, Moon Witch, Spider King chronicles the antagonist-turned-antihero's journey from an ostracised no-name girl, hated by her…
Victoria Talwar, PhD, is a professor and the chair of the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She is a recognized leading expert on children’s deception and has published numerous articles on children’s honesty and lie-telling behaviors. Dr. Talwar has given workshops to parents, teachers, social workers, and legal professionals. Among other distinctions, she was awarded the Society for Research on Child Development Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Child Development Research award. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 7), a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and a member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada.
The Wigglebottom books were a favourite in my house. This book was no exception.
Howard knows that lying is wrong, but he chooses to do it anyways. It is an excellent illustration of the negative emotions of guilt and worry that come from telling lies – it is like having a monkey on your back which just gets bigger and heavier with every lie.
However, this is also an illustration of redemption when Howard makes the right choice to tell the truth and feels better. We read this book many times and it prompted many conversations about what it feels like to lie, to tell the truth, and why it is better to tell the truth.
LISTEN BETTER to the little voice in your head, your intuition. Lying is wrong. Award-winning…educator endorsed. FREE download discussion ideas, poster, video, song and interactive questions. www.wedolisten.org
The We Do Listen Foundation is helping millions of children listen better to others, their hearts, feelings, bodies, and to intuition, the little voice in the head. 15 Howard B. Wigglebottom books, animations, songs and lessons help ages 4-7 become better listeners, learn important life lessons and feel good about themselves.
No one ever gets in trouble for too much listening.
Have a good listening day or the day of your choice.
