Books about Self destructive from Amazon.com

If you feel unfairly criticized, controlled by others, or are afraid of being lonely, you could be suffering from emotional abuse. Now there is help in this compassionate sourcebook. Bevery Engel, a marriage, family, and child therapist, guides you through a step-by-step recovery process to help you heal the damage done in the past..
Price: $7.45 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Listen to an audio excerpt online in MP3 format—click here.

Life has a way of provoking us with traffic jams and computer malfunctions, with emotionally distant partners and crying children—and before we know it, we're upset. We feel terrible, and then we end up saying and doing things that only make matters worse. But it doesn't have to be that way, says Pema Chödrön. It is possible to relate constructively to the inevitable shocks, losses, and frustrations of life so that we can find true happiness. The key, Pema explains, is not biting the "hook" of our habitual responses. In this recorded weekend retreat, Pema draws on Buddhist teachings from The Way of the Bodhisattva to reveal how we can:stay centered in the midst of difficultyimprove stressful relationshipsstep out of the downward spiral of self-hatred awaken compassion for ourselves and others 3 CDs, 3 hours.
Price: $14.52 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A twentieth-century classic, Appointment in Samarrais the first and most widely read book by the writer Fran Leibowitz called “the real F. Scott Fitzgerald ”

In December 1930, just before Christmas, the Gibbsville social circuit is electrified with parties and dances, where the music plays late into the night and the liquor flows freely. At the center of the social elite stand Julian and Caroline English—the envy of friends and strangers alike. But in one rash moment born inside a highball glass, Julian breaks with polite society and begins a rapid descent toward self-destruction. Appointment in Samarrabrilliantly captures the personal politics and easy bitterness of small-town life. It is John O’Hara’s crowning achievement, and a lasting testament to the keen social intelligence of a major American novelist..
Price: $6.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

If you've ever wished you could just stop . . .
– drinking – eating – smoking – gambling – shopping (pick one)

For anyone struggling to break the cycle of addiction comes the groundbreaking approach from The Chopra Center, the world-renowned facility that has successfully helped thousands of people change their lives for the better.

Chopra Center cofounder and medical director David Simon, M.D., and bestselling author and personal-growth expert Deepak Chopra outline their revolutionary approach--one that defies outmoded beliefs about recovery, particularly that people 'are' their addictions or that they are powerless to control them. By integrating the best of Western research with Eastern traditions, Simon and Chopra give anyone the tools to uncover the true cause of their addiction and provide comprehensive steps to end it for good. Readers will discover how to:

- Recognize the purpose their habit serves and how to fill the void
- Identify triggers and avoid relapse
- Deal with disappointments, insecurities, or anger in ways that provide lasting relief, not a temporary high
- Use meditation to counter stress
- Choose foods and supplements that will detoxify the body and curb cravings

By following the path thousands have used to turn their lives around, now anyone can have access to the renowned Chopra Center's program to achieve lasting freedom from addiction.

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Price: $8.84 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Curtis Sittenfeld's poignant and occassionally angst-ridden debut novel Prep is the story of Lee Fiora, a South Bend, Indiana, teenager who wins a scholarship to the prestigious Ault school, an East Coast institution where "money was everywhere on campus, but it was usually invisible." As we follow Lee through boarding school, we witness firsthand the triumphs and tragedies that shape our heroine's coming-of-age. Yet while Sittenfeld may be a skilled storyteller, her real gift lies in her ability to expertly give voice to what is often described as the most alienating period in a young person's life: high school.

True to its genre, Prep is filled with boarding school stereotypes--from the alienated gay student to the picture perfect blond girl; the achingly earnest first-year English teacher and the dreamy star basketball player who never mentions the fact that he's Jewish. Lee's status as an outsider is further affirmed after her parents drive 18 hours in their beat-up Datsun to attend Parent's Weekend, where most of the kids "got trashed and ended up skinny-dipping in the indoor pool" at their parents' fancy hotel. Yet even as the weekend deteriorates into disaster and ends with a heartbreaking slap across the face, Sittenfeld never blames or excuses anyone; rather, she simply incorporates the experience into Lee's sense of self. ("How was I supposed to understand, when I applied at the age of thirteen, that you have your whole life to leave your family?")

By the time Lee graduates from Ault, some readers may tire of her constant worrying and self-doubting obsessions. However, every time we feel close to giving up on her, Sittenfeld reels us back in and makes us root for Lee. In doing so, perhaps we are rooting for every high school student who's ever wanted nothing more than to belong. --Gisele Toueg.
Price: $7.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In a collection of original stories, essays, artwork, and photography, Nan Goldin, Eileen Myles, bell hooks, and other cutting-edge artists explore their use of art to survive madness, abuse, incest, depression, and the impulse toward self-destruction manifest in eating disorders, cutting, addiction, and contemplation of suicide. The book confronts the brutality many women and girls encounter in the world around them, and bravely takes as its subject the often misunderstood violence they at times inflict upon themselves.

The diverse array of contributors here-novelists, poets, cartoonists, dancers, photographers, playwrights, burlesque performers-traverse the pains and passions that can both motivate and destroy women artists, and they mark a path for survival. Together they show that creative women are not destined to the fate of lost visionaries such as Woolf, Sexton, Arbus, and Plath. Live Through This is a fearless exploration of women's silent rage, the power that can come from internal struggle, and the possibility of transforming this burning force into fierce and enlightened work.

With contributions by Nan Goldin, bell hooks, Patricia Smith, Cristy Road, Carol Queen, Annie Sprinkle, Elizabeth Stephens, Carolyn Gage, Eileen Myles, Fly, Diane DiMassa, Bonfire Madigan, Inga Muscio, Kate Bornstein, Toni Blackman, Nicole Blackman, Silas Howard, Daphne Gottleib, and Stephanie Howell.

Sabrina Chapadjiev is a playwright, spoken word artist, and singer-songwriter originally from the suburbs of Chicago. She is founder of the all-woman songwriter series Chicks that Kick, editor of the zine Cliterature: 18 Interviews with Women Writers, and her plays, including Perhaps Merely Quiet, have been produced in the United States and Europe.

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A former cult member, now a counselor helping those affected by destructive cults, Hassan exposes the troubling facts about cults' recruitment, their use of psychological manipulation, and their often subtle influence on government, the legal system, and society as a whole. 

This updated paperback edition includes a new preface by the author and an expanded bibliography and resource list. 

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Price: $4.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]