The Happy Depressive: In Pursuit of Personal and Political Happiness

Author: Alastair Campbell
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448134986
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 98

Book Description
Are you happy? Does it matter? Increasingly, governments seem to think so. As the UK government conducts its first happiness survey, Alastair Campbell looks at happiness as a political as well as a personal issue; what it should mean to us, what it means to him. Taking in economic and political theories, he questions how happiness can survive in a grossly negative media culture, and how it could inform social policy. But happiness is also deeply personal. Campbell, who suffers from depression, looks in the mirror and finds a bittersweet reflection, a life divided between the bad and not-so-bad days, where the highest achievements in his professional life could leave him numb, and he can somehow look back on a catastrophic breakdown twenty-five years ago as the best thing that happened to him. He writes too of what he has learned from the recent death of his best friend, further informing his view that the pursuit of happiness is a long game. Originally published as part of the Brain Shots series, the pre-eminent source for high-quality, short-form digital non-fiction.

The Happy Depressive

Author: Steve Richards
Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing
ISBN: 1803818611
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 130

Book Description
Would you like to be a Happy Depressive? Do you live with chronic depression and face the prospect of living with this condition for the rest of your life? Or do you care for someone who does? Does this sometimes make you feel helpless and alone? Wouldn't it be great to have a good friend who understood how you feel? Who has been through the same struggles and found a way to cope and be happy? You could pull up a chair, put the kettle on or open a bottle, and talk without shame about your shared experiences. It is rare for us to find that person, so let this book be that friend. Steve Richards has lived with depression for almost 40 years and plans to live with it for much longer. In The Happy Depressive he shares his own life experiences with frankness and honesty and explains how depression has affected him along the way. He also describes in detail the coping strategies that have helped him live a happy and fulfilling life. Happy Depressives do exist, and he invites you to join their ranks.

Michael Young, Social Science, and the British Left, 1945-1970

Author: Lise Butler
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019886289X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 275

Book Description
This book examines the relationship between social science and public policy in left-wing politics. It focuses on the time period between the end of the Second World War and the end of the first Wilson government through the figure of the policy maker, sociologist and social innovator Michael Young.

The Blair Years

Author: Alastair Campbell
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 0307574407
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 749

Book Description
A revelatory account of Tony Blair’s tumultuous leadership, The Blair Years gathers extracts from the diaries of the man who knew him best: Alastair Campbell—Blair’s spokesman from 1994 to 2003, his press secretary, strategist, and closest confidant. It is a compelling chronicle of contemporary British politics and the rise of New Labour, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in Britain’s history. Here are the defining events of the time, from the Labour Party’s new dawn to the war on terror; from the death of Princess Diana to negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland; from Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq to the Hutton Inquiry of 2003, the year Campbell resigned his position. Here also are Blair’s relationships with world leaders and heads of state, including presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. But above all, here is Tony Blair up close and personal, making the decisions that affected the lives of millions, under relentless and frequently hostile pressure. Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain, Alastair Campbell is no stranger to controversy. Feared and admired in equal measure, hated by some, he was pivotal to the founding of New Labour and the sensational election victory of 1997. Campbell spent more waking hours alongside the prime minister than anyone, and his diaries—at times brutally frank, often funny, always engrossing—take the reader right to the heart of government. The Blair Years is a story of politics in the raw, of progress and setback, of reputations made and destroyed, under the relentless scrutiny of a 24-hour media. Unflinchingly told, it covers the crises and scandals, the rows and resignations, the ups and downs at No. 10 Downing Street. But amid the landmark events are insights and observations that make this a remarkably human portrayal of some of the most influential people in the world. A completely riveting book about life at the very top, told by a man who saw it all.

Winners

Author: Alastair Campbell
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1605988812
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 561

Book Description
How do sportsmen excel, entrepreneurs thrive, or individuals achieve the ambitions? Is their ability to win innate? Or is the winning mindset something we can all develop?In the tradition of The Talent Code and The Power of Habit, Campbell draws on the wisdom of an astonishing array of talented people—from elite athletes to media mavens, from rulers of countries to rulers of global business empires.Alastair Campbell has conducted in-depth interviews and uses his own experience in politics and sport to get to the heart of success. He examines how winners tick. He considers how they build great teams. He analyzes how these people deal with unexpected setbacks and new challenges. He judges what the very different worlds of politics, business, and sport can learn from one another. And he sets out a blueprint for winning that we can all follow to achieve our goals.

Better to Live

Author: Alastair Campbell
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 9781529331868
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
Last Christmas I almost killed myself. Almost. I've had a lot of almosts. Never gone from almost to deed. Don't think I ever will. But it was a bad almost. Bad. BETTER TO LIVE is Alastair Campbell's autobiographical, psychological and psychiatric study of his lifelong struggle with depression. He explores the childhood events and family relationships that have gone on to echo through his political career and private life. Every bit as direct and driven, clever and candid as he is, his quest to get to the bottom of his depression and its treatment animates an inspiring and uplifting book that really could save lives. We all know someone with depression. There is barely a family untouched by it. We may be talking about it more than we did, back in the era of 'boys don't cry' - they did you know - and when a brave face or a stiff upper lip or a best foot forward was seen as the only way to go. But we still don't talk about it enough. There is still stigma, and shame, and taboo. There is still the feeling that admitting to being sad or anxious makes us weak. It took me years, decades even to get to this point, but I passionately believe that the reverse is true and that speaking honestly about our feelings and experiences (whether as a depressive or as the friend or relative of a depressive) is the first and best step on the road to recovery. So that is what I have tried to do here.

Happy, Happy, Happy

Author: Phil Robertson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476726116
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Book Description
This no-holds-barred autobiography chronicles the remarkable life of Phil Robertson, the original Duck Commander and Duck Dynasty® star, from early childhood through the founding of a family business. LIVING THE DREAM Duck calls—though the source of his livelihood—are not what makes Phil Robertson the man he is today. When asked what matters in his life, he’s quick to say, “Faith, family, ducks—in that order.” It isn’t often that a person can live a dream, but Phil Robertson, aka The Duck Commander, has proven that it is possible with vision, hard work, helping hands, and an unshakable faith in the Almighty. Phil’s is the remarkable story of one man who followed the call he received from God and soon after invented a duck call that would begin an incredible journey to the life he had always dreamed of for himself and his family. In the love of his country, his family, and his maker, Phil has finally found the ingredients to the “good life” he always wanted. If you ever wind up sitting face-to-face with Phil, you’ll see that his enthusiasm and passion for duck hunting and the Lord is no act—it is truly who he is. If you’ve watched the exceedingly popular A&E® program Duck Dynasty®, you already know the famed Phil Robertson. As patriarch of the Robertson clan and creator of Duck Commander duck calls, he fearlessly leads his family in a responsible work ethic and an active faith. But what you don’t know is his life before the show. In the pages of this book, you’ll learn of Phil’s colorful past and his wild road to the “happy, happy, happy” life he leads today. Before the “happy,” Phil’s passion for the outdoors and wild living led him down some shady paths. As a young husband and father, he became the proprietor of a rough bar and lived a life, as he says, of “romping, stomping, and ripping” for a number of years. He even left his wife and young boys for a short period of time. Through it all, Phil Robertson has lived his life as a “called” man. Called to live off the land, called to leave a starring role in Louisiana Tech football (playing ahead of Terry Bradshaw) for duck hunting, called to wild living, called to create a new kind of duck call—and finally, called to follow God and lead a life of faith. In this eye-opening and rousing book, you’ll find stories that will shock you, as well as those that will inspire you. You’ll get to know the man behind the legend, and you’ll come away better for it.

You Can Choose to be Happy

Author: Tom G. Stevens PhD
Publisher: You Can Choose To Be Happy
ISBN: 0965337723
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 325

Book Description
Dr. Stevens' research identifies specific learnable beliefs and skills--not general, inherited traits--that cause people to be happy and successful.

The Happy Mind

Author: Kevin Horsley
Publisher: TCK Publishing
ISBN: 1631610899
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
Don’t waste another day feeling unfulfilled—a guide to mastering the habits of happiness by the Wall Street Journal-bestselling author of Unlimited Memory. Happiness is more than just a feeling—it’s a learned skill. When you master the habits of happiness, your life will be filled with more peace, purpose, and passion. The answers lie within the depths of your mind. The Happy Mind offers valuable insights for building lasting happiness instead of being driven by short-term pleasure seeking. When you look at all the scientific research, religious teachings, and philosophical insights surrounding the topic of happiness, one thing becomes clear: We all experience happiness differently. What makes one person happy may make another miserable. This book is about customizing your happiness—and finding your own unique roadmap. You’ll learn: How people search for happiness in all the wrong places, and how you can avoid these “happiness traps” that keep you stuck and unfulfilled Why most people mistake pleasure for happiness, and how this simple mistake causes you to lose sight of what really matters to you The nine common qualities that super happy people share (and how you can apply them to brighten up your life) The key traits of unhappiness (and the most important behaviors you should avoid) Easy changes you can make that will create more long-term happiness for you and your loved ones

The Architecture of Happiness

Author: Alain De Botton
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 1551993872
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
Bestselling author Alain de Botton considers how our private homes and public edifices influence how we feel, and how we could build dwellings in which we would stand a better chance of happiness. In this witty, erudite look at how we shape, and are shaped by, our surroundings, Alain de Botton applies Stendhal’s motto that “Beauty is the promise of happiness” to the spaces we inhabit daily. Why should we pay attention to what architecture has to say to us? de Botton asks provocatively. With his trademark lucidity and humour, de Botton traces how human needs and desires have been served by styles of architecture, from stately Classical to minimalist Modern, arguing that the stylistic choices of a society can represent both its cherished ideals and the qualities it desperately lacks. On an individual level, de Botton has deep sympathy for our need to see our selves reflected in our surroundings; he demonstrates with great wisdom how buildings — just like friends — can serve as guardians of our identity. Worrying about the shape of our sofa or the colour of our walls might seem self-indulgent, but de Botton considers the hopes and fears we have for our homes at a new level of depth and insight. When shopping for furniture or remodelling the kitchen, we don’t just consider functionality but also the major questions of aesthetics and the philosophy of art: What is beauty? Can beautiful surroundings make us good? Can beauty bring happiness? The buildings we find beautiful, de Botton concludes, are those that represent our ideas of a meaningful life. The Architecture of Happiness marks a return to what Alain does best — taking on a subject whose allure is at once tantalizing and a little forbidding and offering to readers a completely beguiling and original exploration of the subject. As he did with Proust, philosophy, and travel, now he does with architecture.