Situation Is Hopeless But Not Serious

This is a tongue-in-cheek look at the ways in which we turn ourselves into our own worst enemies. Using metaphors, vignettes, jokes, innuendoes and other "right-hemispheric" language games, Dr. Watzlawick shows how we can make everyday life miserable and inflate trivialities beyond recognition. Those who believe that the search for happiness eventually leads to happiness should consult the chapter "Beware of Arriving."--Publisher description.

Calling upon metaphors, vignettes, jokes, innuendos, and certain other "right-hemispheric" language games, Paul Watzlawick shows how we can (and do) make everyday life miserable.

* Our summary is short, simple and pragmatic. It allows you to have the essential ideas of a big book in less than 30 minutes. By reading this summary, you will learn how to become the instigator of your own misfortune. You will also learn: to tame your misfortune; to reconcile yourself with your most banal neuroses; to reasonably face your problems, from the simplest to the most complex; to relativize the notion of happiness. By nature, man is not destined to be satisfied with mere bliss. It is therefore time to re-establish the truth: the pursuit of happiness does not necessarily lead to happiness. Moreover, it is impossible to attach a definition to this notion. However, one thing is certain: everyone aspires to be happy, although you would not be much without your unhappiness. World literature is enough to confirm this postulate: disaster, tragedy, catastrophe... All memorable works are composed of these secret ingredients. Constructed as a personal development guide, "Make your own misfortune" ironically explores everything that can make you unhappy in your daily life. Are you ready to understand the workings and mechanisms responsible for your unhappiness? *Buy now the summary of this book for the modest price of a cup of coffee!

The connection between communication and reality is a relatively new idea. It is only in recent decades that the confusions, disorientations and very different world views that arise as a result of communication have become an independent field of research. One of the experts who has been working in this field is Dr. Paul Watzlawick, and he here presents, in a series of arresting and sometimes very funny examples, some of the findings.

Essays discuss the structure of human relationships, depression following stroke, hypnotherapy, schizophrenia, imaginary communication, self-reference, and ideological reality

Fan favorite Wong takes readers to a whole new level with this blistering sequel to the cult sensation "John Dies at the End," soon to be a movie starring Paul Giamatti.

Drawing on thirty years of practicing psychotherapy, Dorothy Martyn here gives readers a unique look into a play-therapy room where three children individually present their own journeys over some months. These children, in that setting, provide us with a special lens through which we can better understand what transpires in their minds -- and in ours. Through the children's creative, poetic utterances -- enhanced by the poetry of Emily Dickinson and other literary giants -- Beyond Deserving persuasively argues against the justice idea of reward according to what is deserved and for the superior potency of a beyond-deserving model in cultivating love and creative work in children. Written primarily for parents and other mentors -- teachers, youth leaders, counselors, and so on -- Beyond Deserving draws the subject of child rearing back to its roots in the biblical declaration of unconditional love, love that moves first, without a prior "deserving."

#1 New York Times Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations. FROM THE PUBLISHER: Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices. This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written. Brosh’s debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to. FROM THE AUTHOR: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative—like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it—but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book: Pictures Words Stories about things that happened to me Stories about things that happened to other people because of me Eight billion dollars* Stories about dogs The secret to eternal happiness* *These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!