Motivational new books for self-improvement

This Really Isn't About You by Jean Hannah Edelstein

Jean Hannah Edelstein captures the grieving process with warmth, tenderness and frankness in her memoir. This Really Isn’t About You describes how she struggled through her father’s death then discovered that she has the gene for the cancer that killed him.

Rather than misery and melodrama, Edelstein communicates the nuances of her mourning and sense of mortality with a directness that will make you feel a part of the loss. Past and present entwine to build a story that’s gutsy and gut-wrenching in equal parts, which will resonate with those navigating their own loss.

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The Skills by Mishal Husain

Whether you’re just starting, learning to speak up or seeking ways to stay sharp, it’s always smart to step back and brush up on your skills. Broadcaster Mishal Husain shares her professional wisdom in a clear-sighted and practical new career manual to encourage women to rise up and reach their potential.

The Skills is written with journalistic concision, backed up with data and broken down into sections to give a holistic approach to success – from crafting five year plans and learning from those around us to keeping your nerve through knockbacks. We particularly enjoyed Husain’s reflection of how growing up female affects ambitions and self-worth and how to first recognise and then challenge such ingrained inequality.

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She Must Be Mad by Charly Cox

If mind-clearing meditation isn’t your thing, embrace intense emotions with the distilling power of poetry. Charley Cox has become a social media darling and a mouthpiece for millennial mental health struggles with her best-selling anthology She Must Be Mad.

Charting the shift from adolescence to early adulthood, it’s an account of tumultuous first love, mental illness and the quotidian insecurities that come with surviving and thriving as a young woman. In just a few piercing words, Cox she can elicit droll laughter then winces of recognition. Read to feel seen and find your own inner turmoil wrestled into snippets of verse.

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21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

If you lose sleep stressing out about all the Big Issues that threaten humanity then now’s the time to confront those questions and try to understand the disorientating world we live in. Having unpacked the past in Sapiens and looked to the future in Homo Deus, insightful historian Yuval Noah Harari hones in on the most confounding era: the present.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century asks how we can survive the myriad dangers of ecological disasters, technological revolutions and nuclear war. What if terrorism and fake news strike first? It’s a bracing read, but knowledge is indeed power. With Harari’s incise vision and measured prose this is a book to convert those dormant anxieties and Evening-News-induced insomnia into a deeper, more empowered comprehension.

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Wilding by Isabella Tree

If the urban crush leaves you gasping for a blast of country air and a glimpse of rolling green pastures, immerse yourself in Isabella Tree’s Wilding. Part love letter to rural life, part impassioned investigation into the future of farming it’s an account of what happens when nature takes over.

The memoir recounts a leap of faith in forgoing unsustainable intensive farming in favour of the ancient eco systems ruled by free-roaming animals. It’s a story of recovery and a loving account of rural ecology as the land recovers and attracts a burgeoning population of birds, butterflies and bees. Beyond the particulars of giving up tools and tractors, Wilding is an inspiring reminder that sometimes we need to relinquish control and trust in nature.

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The Multi-Hypen Method by Emma Gannon

Once upon a time the Jack of all trades was master of none. But in a social media age the scatter gun approach is starting to pay off. Star blogger, social media maestro and podcaster Emma Gannon embodies the new generation approach to work. Instead of slavishly sticking to one track and becoming defined by one thing, she has monetised her ‘side hustles’ to craft her own career, on her own terms.

The Multi-Hypen Method promises that by embracing different avenues at once you will be able to work less and earn more. While the advice falls rather flat for those with corporate ambitions, it’s a pragmatic and practical insight for entrepreneurial spirits with creative aspirations. Plus, Gannon writes with all the warmth and wit of a savvy older sister.

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The Art of Falling Apart by Christina Patterson

When journalist Christina Patterson suddenly lost her job at the age of 50, none of the self help books or advice did anything to assuage her devastating sense of failure and hopelessness. So she sought out others in similar states of dismay and drew on her journalistic experience to interview them. The resultant series of stories is a poignant patchwork quilt, woven through with warmth and wit. It’s just the easy, cosy kind of reassurance you need to get through periods of rejection and stress.

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