Books From University Presses

"Midlife" isn't your typical self-help book; it's a sage guide through the often turbulent waters of middle age, using the lens of philosophy. Kieran Setiya offers not just comfort but practical wisdom, helping you embrace imperfection and find peace with the paths not taken. If you're paddling through the midlife waters, or even just trying to understand the philosophical underpinnings of contentment, this book is a friend with intellect and wit.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the intricate world of campus politics. Jonathan Zimmerman delves deep into the recent wave of protests and controversies, examining the clash between free speech and social justice ideals. With insightful analysis and a historical perspective, Zimmerman provides valuable insights into the issues of political correctness, curriculum debates, academic freedom, and more. Through this book, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges universities face in balancing social justice and free speech, and how these tensions shape the campus environment.

If you've ever been in a position where life suddenly turned upside down, "This Strange New Life" offers a familiar embrace. Rachel Anderson captures the complexities of chronic illness and familial bonds with both tenderness and honesty. It speaks to the heart of what it means to grow up and find one's place amid life's unpredictable challenges. This book will resonate especially if you appreciate stories that couple the hardship of health struggles with the enduring spirit of youth.

If you've found yourself caught in conversations where the reality of mental illness is questioned or you're curious about psychiatry's stance on the controversial subject, this book could be illuminating. Roth and Kroll provide a well-evidenced counterargument to the viewpoint that mental illness is simply a social deviation. For anyone looking to deepen their understanding of psychiatric practice, or gain historical and cultural context on mental health, this comprehensive exploration could be both enlightening and thought-provoking.

If your family is grappling with the confusion and heartache of adolescent depression, this guide might be the beacon you're looking for. It offers a thorough understanding of this complex issue, balancing the latest research with practical advice. For parents seeking to support their teenager, it's a lifeline blending scientific clarity with empathetic insight.

Recommendation: If you've ever been intrigued by the enigmatic nature of human madness, Andrew Scull's "Madness: A Very Short Introduction" is a must-read. With its insightful exploration of the social, cultural, medical, and artistic responses to mental disturbance throughout history, this book offers a provocative and entertaining examination of a subject that simultaneously frightens and fascinates us all. Delving into the complexities of madness, Scull challenges our common sense assumptions and invites us to question our interpretations of mental illness. Whether you're interested in the historical perspective or the contemporary accounts, this captivating and thought-provoking book will leave you with a deeper understanding of the human experience.

Worldwide, more people die by suicide than by murder, and many more are left behind to grieve. Despite distressing statistics that show suicide rates rising, the subject, long a taboo, is infrequently talked about. In this sweeping intellectual and cultural history, poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht channels her grief for two friends lost to suicide into a search for history’s most persuasive arguments against the irretrievable act, arguments she hopes to bring back into public consciousness. From the Stoics and the Bible to Dante, Shakespeare, Wittgenstein, and such twentieth-century writers as John Berryman, Hecht recasts the narrative of our “secular age” in new terms. She shows how religious prohibitions against self-killing were replaced by the Enlightenment’s insistence on the rights of the individual, even when those rights had troubling applications. This transition, she movingly argues, resulted in a profound cultural and moral loss: the loss of shared, secular, logical arguments against suicide. By examining how people in other times have found powerful reasons to stay alive when suicide seems a tempting choice, she makes a persuasive intellectual and moral case against suicide.

The 36-Hour Day is an exceptional guide for family members caring for someone with dementia or experiencing memory loss. The authors provide practical advice, including coping strategies and ways to slow dementia progression. It is an empathetic guide, giving readers the comfort of knowing they are not alone in their journey. Highly recommended for anyone caring for a loved one with memory loss.

Worldwide, more people die by suicide than by murder, and many more are left behind to grieve. Despite distressing statistics that show suicide rates rising, the subject, long a taboo, is infrequently talked about. In this sweeping intellectual and cultural history, poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht channels her grief for two friends lost to suicide into a search for history’s most persuasive arguments against the irretrievable act, arguments she hopes to bring back into public consciousness. From the Stoics and the Bible to Dante, Shakespeare, Wittgenstein, and such twentieth-century writers as John Berryman, Hecht recasts the narrative of our “secular age” in new terms. She shows how religious prohibitions against self-killing were replaced by the Enlightenment’s insistence on the rights of the individual, even when those rights had troubling applications. This transition, she movingly argues, resulted in a profound cultural and moral loss: the loss of shared, secular, logical arguments against suicide. By examining how people in other times have found powerful reasons to stay alive when suicide seems a tempting choice, she makes a persuasive intellectual and moral case against suicide.

If you've ever been curious about the 'why' behind human actions, "Psychology: A Very Short Introduction" is an excellent starting point. It's not just theories and abstract ideas; the book contextualizes psychology in practical scenarios, meaning you'll find ways to relate the concepts to your own life experiences. It's concise, yet comprehensive enough to give you a solid grounding in what psychology is all about.

Our Minds, Our Selves provides an engaging and comprehensive history of modern psychology, exploring the consciousness, brain physiology, emotion, mental development, and mental illness. Through biographical sketches of eminent figures in psychology including Darwin, Piaget and Skinner, Oatley highlights the major breakthroughs and application of the field. For anyone interested in understanding psychology’s evolution and key thinkers/cases, this book is highly recommended.

The confusion, losses, and devastation of Alzheimer's disease are familiar to the millions of Americans suffering from the disease and to their family members. Understandably, declining abilities and changing personal characteristics shape our picture of the disease, leading some to refer to the "double death" of Alzheimer's in which the sufferer drifts away long before his or her eventual physical end.This small, tender volume of 85 photographs and accompanying discussion powerfully shows the limitations of this view. Cathy Stein Greenblat, an internationally respected sociologist and photographer, demonstrates in Alive with Alzheimer's that, while the ravages of the disease are real, Alzheimer's sufferers can do more than survive, they can thrive. Her images, interviews, and observations attest to the possibility of their being "alive" with Alzheimer's far beyond the expectations of the general public and even of many physicians with long experience with the disease.Greenblat offers a new vision, taking us into a world of life-enhancing institutional care. Nursing homes and similar facilities don't have to be a last resort; as Greenblat shows, with a dedicated and experienced staff and an enriched environment (that includes respect, choices, pets, and music), extraordinary changes can be effected in Alzheimer's patients. Alive with Alzheimer's, the first photographic book on the disease, offers hope and inspiration. Moreover, its vivid, impressive evidence that ongoing stimulation in a good institutional setting can sustain Alzheimer's patients at a far higher level than is generally believed has significant implications for personal and policy decisions.The new standard of care chronicled in Alive with Alzheimer's will provide hope and inspiration to those touched by the disease. As Dr. Enid Rockwell writes in her Afterword to Greenblat's moving book, "These photographs are extraordinary for practitioners, for family members, for everyone to see what's going on with these people. The stimulation pictured in this book is more powerful than any medication that we will have in our lifetime. . . . They so vividly show us that there are people inside these bodies, people with personalities, who experience emotion, and they show that there is life after Alzheimer's."

Recommended for parents, psychologists, and anyone interested in understanding the impact of early relationships on adult life. This book provides an in-depth exploration of attachment theory, tracing its history, key personalities, and recent developments. The author offers insights into how attachment patterns become ingrained and how they reveal themselves at different stages of life. Readers will gain a new understanding of how negative patterns and insecure attachment can be changed and resolved throughout one's life.

This book is a must-read for anyone fascinated by the intricacies of the human mind. With its comprehensive approach, it delves into the various psychological processes and biological basis of behavior, making the complex concepts easily understandable. The inclusion of new research entries keeps the content up-to-date and provides insights into cognitive defects, connectionist models, and more. Whether you're a psychology enthusiast or simply curious about what happens behind our everyday experiences, this book will expand your understanding of the mind in a captivating and authoritative manner.

Despite the immense obstacles they face, many alcoholics do manage to recover. In this groundbreaking book, Arnold M. Ludwig--a doctor with over twenty-five years of experience working with alcoholics--goes inside the minds of alcoholics in order to explain the behaviors and thought processes they use to get and stay sober. Whether alcoholics achieve recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous, a church, counseling, hospitalization, or entirely of their own initiative, the basic methods remain essentially the same. This book offers the first detailed examination of these successful methods. Ludwig has discovered that in most cases a lasting recovery can only begin after certain crucial attitude changes occur. Regardless of the motivation of alcoholics, powerful forces lure them back to drink. To remain sober, alcoholics not only must recognize these forces and the dangerous frame of mind that fuels them, but also must use a variety of techniques for resisting temptation. Recoveryinvolves far more than simply not drinking; it means a sober life style. Over the years, Ludwig has worked with over one thousand alcoholics from all walks of life and within many different settings, including hospital clinics, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, detoxification centers, and private homes. Using clinical vignettes, research findings, and personal anecdotes, he documents the basic principles necessary for conquering craving and achieving recovery. Ludwig offers an optimistic no matter how bad things get, there is always hope. This book will provide insights not only for recovering alcoholics, but also for their families, counselors, and doctors.

"Trouble in Mind" offers a fresh take on psychiatry that piques curiosity beyond the textbook definitions. If you're someone enamored by the intricate dance of human psychology and the engaging stories our minds tell through illness and health, Dean F. MacKinnon provides a lens that magnifies both the fragility and resilience of our mental functions. His experience breathes life into psychiatry, making it accessible, relevant, and deeply human. This book promises insights not just for students or professionals, but for anyone seeking to understand the mind's workings and malfunctions.