I’m pausing my very serious book posts to reveal an amazing fact about myself: I am Madonna. Many of you who know me through my day job or through writing will probably think that I am the furthest from Madonna that you could imagine – serious, studious and sober. But ask the people who have […]
Luckily for me books are very popular! You can see people everywhere reading books – at the bus stop, in a cafe, on their lunch break, all avidly reading someone else’s thoughts. As every writer knows, the characters they create are made up – fictional, if you will – and the extent that a part […]
Advice about achieving your dreams and having a happy life are centered on moving forward – onwards and upwards. We often feel like we have nothing, or not enough, and that we have empty lives that we must fill with ‘something more’. Sometimes, though, it’s good to look around and really appreciate what you have. […]
Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ is featured in the Guardian this week as the UK release of the film looms. The article summarises the book and the resulting merchandise and marvels at the number of people who have ‘followed’ the book. In many ways self-help books are part personal experiences and part instruction manuals for […]
After finishing a major project on Friday, I felt a sense of loss and a huge hole in my life. Ten-plus years in the making, I had always found a way to extend the identity project in some way, always found another idea to expand. Enough is enough, and any more would be a descent […]
After finishing the latest cycle of Project: ME! with a client, I’ve turned my attention temporarily to my psychological book, Identity, Health and Women, which is now ready to go to print. I’ve approved the jacket and the text is back with the printer so now it’s on to the publicity for it. November, when […]
I was never a big fan of self-help until I read some of it. As a psychologist, and author of a self-help book, I am fascinated by how people perceive the concept of self-help and the results they get from it. Until I read ‘The Road Less Travelled’ by Scott Peck, I was dubious about […]
Do you ever stop suddenly and remember that you have veered far from your intended path? Sometimes this can be a positive veer, filled with opportunity and new ideas. In my case this week was a real eye opener. For many years now, in fact since I completed and formulated ‘Project: Me!’ I have had […]
I’ve been running a programme called ‘The ‘Me’ Project!’ for a while now and it’s been hugely successful. Rather than changing X drastically in Y number of weeks, it develops a change in thinking over time. As a narrative psychologist and a researcher I have kept track of the ways people have changed through the […]