The School of Life Press 2019
the school of life
The School of Life is devoted to developing emotional intelligence. It addresses issues such as how to find fulfilling work, how to master the art of relationships, how to achieve calm and how better to understand and – where necessary – change the world. These ideas are delivered through a range of channels: from videos, books and products – to classes, events and one-to-one therapy sessions. Headquartered in London, it operates around the globe with ten international branches (Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Istanbul, Melbourne, Paris, São Paulo, Seoul, Sydney and Taipei). The School of Life is a rapidly growing global brand, with over four million YouTube subscribers, 300k Facebook followers and 145k Twitter followers. The School of Life Press brings together the thinking and ideas of the School of Life creative team under the direction of series editor, Alain de Botton. Their books share a coherent, curated message that speaks with one voice: calm, reassuring and sane.
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The Meaning of Life
To wonder too openly or intensely about the meaning of life can seem a peculiar, ill-fated and faintly ridiculous pastime. It can seem like a topic on which ordinary mortals cannot make much progress. In truth, it is for all of us to wonder about, define and work towards a more meaningful existence. This book presents a range of areas in which we might seek the meaning of life, including love, family, friendship, work, selfknowledge and nature. We learn why certain things feel meaningful while others don’t, and consider how we might introduce more meaning into our activities.
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March 2019 163 × 123 mm 136 pp Hardback isbn: 978-0-9957535-4-9 rrp: £10 • Addresses with insight
and compassion a question which, throughout history, has been a cause for much debate • A philosophical approach the sources of meaning in life, from love and family, to work, culture and nature
the school of life
Insomnia
Not being able to sleep is deeply frightening. We panic about our ability to cope with the demands of the next day; we panic that we are panicking; the possibility of sleep recedes ever further as the clock counts down to another exhausted, irritable dawn. Our societies have learnt to treat insomnia with the best applied discipline we know: medicine. But there are other things to do besides, or alongside, medicalising insomnia. We can reflect on our sleeplessness, try to understand where it springs from in human nature and speculate on what it might – in its own confused way – be trying to tell us. This book is an eloquent guide to, and companion through, the long sleepless hours of the night. We come away from its soothing pages informed, consoled and armed with insights that will make us feel a lot less alone – as we wait for sleep, eventually, to come.
April 2019 190 × 160 mm 56 pp Hardback isbn: 978-1-9999179-7-5 rrp: £10 • A companion for sleepless nights, offering information and advice to soothe the mind • Innovative design – no two pages are the same • Includes a practical exercise to unburden the mind and make way for sleep
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How to Overcome Your Childhood
One of the most powerful explanations for why we may, as adults, be struggling, is that we were denied the opportunity to fully be ourselves in our earliest years. Perhaps we were over-disciplined, not allowed to be wilful or difficult – and so learnt to tell white lies and people-please. Or perhaps our caregivers were preoccupied and so we had to assume the role of parent, burying our true needs and desires deep underground. When we examine our upbringings, the larger implications for our adult selves are clear to see. Once we understand the roots from which our flaws stem, we can set about correcting the harmful behaviours we mistakenly believe to be innate. This book is a guide to better understanding our younger selves in order to shape who we wish to be in the future.
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April 2019 181 × 110 mm 120 pp Hardback isbn: 978-1-9999179-9-9 rrp: £12 • Outlines how our
upbringings – good or bad – have had a significant impact on our current emotional condition • Draws upon the psychological teachings of Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicott
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Procrastination
Many of us are quiet geniuses at the art of procrastination. We tend to feel so guilty about everything we haven’t done yet (and the hours frittered away as though we were immortal), we never get around to reflecting on why we delay and how we might do so less often. It seems as if we have procrastinated too much to deserve a new start. Far from it. As this book shows, procrastination isn’t a weird affliction we alone have been cursed with: it’s a fascinating and solvable design-flaw of the human animal. The goal is not to remove procrastination altogether (it sometimes has things to teach us), but to understand its roots and plot a nimble path around it. This is a book about managing our procrastination, getting the most out of our afternoons on the sofa and then sometimes daring to get on with the most important tasks in our lives.
May 2019 139 × 111 mm 78 pp Wiro Bound isbn: 978-1-912891-00-9 rrp: £10 • An insightful pocket guide that teaches us how to better understand and manage procrastination • Mini essays offer advice and guidance on topics including Perfectionism and The Limits of Hard Work • Wiro bound gift format, fully illustrated throughout
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Heartbreak
Almost no one gets through life without, at some point, having their heart broken. Advice at such a dark moment tends to focus on letting time do the healing. But there is also a vital role for understanding and perspective. We sometimes make our situation far worse than it needs to be; telling ourselves that we are not good enough, that this one rejection means we will always be maltreated… Our thoughts make our sorrow a great deal more intense than it could be. This book helps us over heartbreak by offering some context, some history, some psychology and a little philosophy. We learn about our responses to abandonment, the best way to think about an ex and how to envisage future relationships when we are in despair. We come away gently cheered that we are not alone, consoled that our suffering will have an end – and intrigued by the endless and subtle sorrows and joys of relationships.
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July 2019 155 × 110 mm 80 pp Hardback isbn: 978-1-912891-01-6 rrp: £8 • Presents a range of philosophical and psychological perspectives to help us better understand and overcome heartbreak • The first book in a new LOVE series, focusing on the sorrows and joys of relationships
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Dating
Dating might seem a trivial and relatively inconsequential part of love, but it is in fact key to getting into a relationship that can last and help us flourish. The process we call dating sits on top of some of the largest themes of love: how to know whether or not someone is right for us; how soon to settle and how long to search; how to be at once honest and seductive. This book is an indispensable guide to the dating process. It teaches us about the history of dating (and why the way we are dating now is so novel and so perplexing), the reason why our dating days can be so anxious, how we should discuss our past on a date and what questions we might ask a new partner. The book is at once heartfelt and perceptive and never minimises the agony, joys and confusions of our dating days and nights.
July 2019 155 × 110 mm 80 pp Hardback isbn: 978-1-912891-04-7 rrp: £8 • Offering advice and guidance to help us optimise our attempts at dating • Part of a new LOVE series, focusing on the sorrows and joys of relationships
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Affairs
Our societies are remarkably confident on the matter: affairs are terrible things and only fools, monsters and knaves would ever be involved in them. Those who are their victims deserve unending sympathy and access to a good lawyer. This stance may be clear, but it is not especially helpful or productive – given that, in reality, 1 in 4 of us are going to end up involved in an affair during our lifetime. This book helps us understand what is really at stake in affairs. It delves into the question of what unfaithful sex means and why, despite the risks, it happens so often. Most importantly, the book seeks to help us through affairs, offering couples a better understanding of each other’s motivations and moods – and, where desirable, a way to save a relationship. We have for too long either openly condemned or secretly lusted after affairs: this, finally, is a chance to understand them.
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August 2019 155 × 110 mm 80 pp Hardback isbn: 978-1-912891-05-4 rrp: £8 • Provides us with a greater understanding of why affairs happen and offers advice on dealing with the aftermath • Part of a new LOVE series, focusing on the sorrows and joys of relationships
the school of life
Arguments
An average couple will have between thirty and fifty significant arguments a year – and yet we’re seldom taught much about why they happen and how they could become less intense. This is a guide to arguments in love: it teaches us why they might occur, how we could learn some wiser ways of communicating and how we would ideally patch up after a fight. The book looks at twenty of the most common arguments – including ones about sex, money, in-laws, who is ‘cold’ and who is ‘over-emotional’. We recognise our own antics but also pick up wise ideas on how to skirt certain conflicts going forward. The tragedy of every sorry argument is that it is constructed around a mismatch between the message we so badly want to send and the manner in which we are able to deliver it; this is a definitive guide to how we might argue better.
August 2019 155 × 110 mm Hardback 80 pp isbn: 978-1-912891-11-5 rrp: £8 • An overview of twenty of the most common arguments that occur in relationships and advice on how to argue better • Part of a new LOVE series, focusing on the sorrows and joys of relationships
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recently published
Big Ideas for Curious Minds
Children are, in many ways, born philosophers. Without prompting, they ask some of the largest questions: about time, mortality, happiness and the meaning of it all. Yet sadly, too often, this inborn curiosity is not developed and with age, the questions fall away. This is a book designed to harness childrens’ spontaneous philosophical instinct and to develop it through introductions to some of the most vibrant and essential philosophical ideas of history. The book takes us to meet leading figures of philosophy from around the world and from all eras – and shows us how their ideas continue to matter. The book functions as an ideal introduction to philosophy as well as a charming way to open up conversations between adult and children about the biggest questions we all face.
September 2018 246 × 180 mm 160 pp Hardback isbn: 978-1-9997471-4-5 rrp: £18 • One of The Observer's best children's books of 2018 • 25 great thinkers including Simone de Beauvoir, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Plato • Thoughtful question and answer activities encourage curiosity and open up conversations between adults and children • Appealing hand drawn illustrations throughout • For ages 8+
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the school of life
How to Travel
Going travelling is one of the few things we undertake in a direct attempt to make ourselves happy—and frequently, in fascinating ways, we fail. We get bored, cross, anxious, or lonely. It isn’t surprising: our societies act as if going travelling were simple, just a case of handing over the right sum of money. But a satisfying journey isn’t something we can simply buy, and sadly, it can often end up being a source of angst and stress. This is the guide: not to any one destination but to travel in general. It talks about how we should choose a place to go, what we might do when we get there, and how we should make good moments stick in our minds… In a succession of genial essays, we become students of an unexpected but vital topic: how to understand and more fully enjoy (what should be) some of the finest experiences of our lives.
October 2018 192 × 125mm 132pp Paperback isbn: 978-1-9999179-6-8 rrp £10 • 20 essays for inspiration and advice in a broad range of scenarios • A guide to making a success of every time we travel • Includes exercises and blank pages for insights and notes
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recently published
The Emotionally Intelligent Office
Stress and mental ill health currently costs the UK economy upwards of £30 billion a year. Modern businesses continue to place huge emphasis on technical training, yet the success or failure of an organisation rests heavily on the degree of emotional intelligence circulating in the workplace. This book introduces us to twenty core emotional skills that can help businesses to flourish. They range from giving honest feedback, to accepting that it’s OK to fail, to addressing jealousies and insecurities within teams. We learn about how our childhoods continue to have an often unhelpful impact on how we deal with colleagues, and the best ways we might speak so that others will listen. The book is informed by the practical work that the Learning and Development division of The School of Life carries out, endeavouring to change the culture within organisations around the world through teaching teams the art of emotional intelligence.
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November 2018 176 × 127 mm 192 pp Paperback isbn: 978-0-9957535-8-7 rrp: £10 • A guide to navigating the various challenges presented by the modern office • Twenty sections dedicated to analysing the different emotional barriers to professional success • Informed by research from The School of Life’s in-house Learning and Development department
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Who Am I?
One of the trickiest tasks we ever face is that of working out who we really are. If we’re asked directly to describe ourselves, our minds tend to go blank. We can’t just sum ourselves up. We need prompts and suggestions and more detailed enquiries that help tease out and organise our picture of ourselves. This book is designed to help us create a psychological portrait of ourselves with the use of some far more unusual, oblique, entertaining and playful prompts. The questions are designed to help us cumulatively appreciate how rich our identities are and how complicated, beautiful and sometimes painful our experiences have been. If self-knowledge is central to a wise and fulfilled life, it is because it teaches us which of our many—often contradictory—feelings and plans we might trust, in order that we can be a little more sceptical around our first impulses and less puzzled by the ebb and flow of our moods.
November 2018 222 × 155 mm 160 pp Hardback isbn: 978-1-912891-08-5 rrp: £15 • A tool for detailed introspection, allowing the owner to explore their deeper self • Questions to prompt honest self-reflection, with space for written answers • Mini essays on a variety of topics to inspire fresh and original thought • 10 tabbed sections covering topics such as Relationships, Work, Utopia and Psychology
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back list
The School of Life Dictionary 196 × 142 mm | 280 pp Hardback | Ribbon marker isbn 978-0-9957535-9-4 | rrp £20
Great Thinkers 197 × 146 mm | 480 pp Hardback | ½ jacket, ribbon marker isbn 978-0-9935387-0-4 | rrp £20
Calm 184 × 154 mm | 136 pp Hardback | ½ jacket, ribbon marker isbn 978-0-9935387-2-8 | rrp £15
Small Pleasures 204 × 136 mm | 248 pp Hardback | ½ jacket, ribbon marker isbn 978-0-9935387-3-5 | rrp £15
Relationships 186 × 136 mm | 120 pp Hardback | ½ jacket, ribbon marker isbn 978-0-9935387-4-2 | rrp £15
A Job to Love 190 × 125 mm | 192 pp Hardback | ½ jacket, ribbon marker isbn 978-0-9935387-5-9 | rrp £15
Sex 175 × 115 mm | 128 pp Hardback | ½ jacket, ribbon marker isbn 978-0-9935387-6-6 | rrp £15
On Being Nice 178 × 120 mm | 128 pp Hardback | ½ jacket, ribbon marker isbn 978-0-9955736-4-2 | rrp £15
Essay: Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person 181 × 110 mm | 72 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9955736-2-8 | rrp £10
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Essay: On Confidence 181 × 110 mm | 96 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9955736-7-3 | rrp £10
Essay: How to Find Love 181 × 110 mm | 96 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9955736-9-7 | rrp £10
Essay: Self-Knowledge 181 × 110 mm | 96 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9957535-0-1 | rrp £10
Essay: How to Reform Capitalism 181 × 110 mm | 112 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9957535-7-0 | rrp £10
Essay: Why We Hate Cheap Things 181 × 110 mm | 80 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9955736-3-5 | rrp £10
Esaay: What Is Culture For? 181 x 110 mm | 112 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9957535-3-2 | rrp £12
Essay: The Sorrows of Love 181 × 110 mm | 80 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9957535-2-5 | rrp £10
Essay: The Sorrows of Work 181 × 110 mm | 104 pp | Hardback isbn 978-0-9957535-1-8 | rrp £10
Essay: The Sorrows of Love and Work slipcase edition Hardback | isbn 978-1-9997471-2-1 rrp £22
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Essay: What Is Psychotherapy? 181 × 110 mm | 120pp | Hardback isbn 978-1-9997471-7-6 | rrp £10
How to Get Married 222 × 155 mm | 132 pp Hardback | Ribbon marker, booklet isbn 978-1-9997471-1-4 | rrp £18
The Joys and Sorrows of Parenting 170 × 170 mm | 56 pp Hardback isbn 978-1-9999179-3-7 | rrp £12
Things Never to Tell Children 180 x 180 mm | 32 pp Hardback isbn 978-0-9955736-8-0 | rrp £8
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Phone Detox 140 × 70 mm | 64 pp Wiro, Elastic closure isbn 978-1-9999179-2-0 | rrp £8
Good thinking requires good tools. To complement our classes, events, books and therapies, The School of Life also offers a range of stationery, games and gifts that are elegant, surprising, often witty and above all useful. These are all tools to help us make relationships work, build fulfilling careers, understand ourselves, nurture friendships, get the most out of culture and find calm. If you're interested in stocking any of our products please contact: orders@theschooloflife.com We hold classes, workshops and intensive courses at our London classroom in Bloomsbury. Our range of 12 carefully curated classes address the great challenges of life, following four broad themes: Work, Love, Self-Knowledge, and Culture. During the course of any our classes, you will be challenged to think deeply about the issues that matter most, and provided with a space to share your thoughts with other open-minded individuals. Our classes are designed and taught by experts, and include a mix of lecture, conversation and group activity. To find out more about our classes and courses visit theschooloflif e . c o m / l o n d o n
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