Some people waste years, decades, even their entire lives waiting for that extraordinary lightning bolt that will change everything for them. But those whose lives really do change in dramatic ways can almost always trace the change back to something much simpler. One subtle, unsuspecting moment. One episode, one realization, one action. One seemingly insignificant step that put them on a completely different path... and ultimately led them to their dreams.
Clinical psychologist Margo Maine has been successfully helping adult women overcome eating disorders and body image problems for over twenty years. In The Body Myth, she explains the toll these problems can take on women's lives and provides healing insights and proven techniques for reclaiming readers lives from the debilitating belief that a woman's self-worth and her worth to others are derived from how she looks, how much she weighs, and what she eats the Body Myth. Using poignant real-life stories, Dr. Maine explores the complex emotional, social, and cultural forces that perpetuate the Body Myth. A unique and invaluable source of information and inspiration, this breakthrough guide equips readers with the knowledge and tools to escape the clutches of the Body Myth and live a more balanced, fulfilling life.
Looking at the life stories of drug misusers as told by themselves, this book examines how early childhood experiences can be understood as a precursor to drug misuse and the forces that enable people to transform their habits and lives. Kim Etherington highlights the value of exploring people's own understanding of their drug misuse in the context of their life stories, their social environments and the wider social and cultural resources they rely on to make sense of their lives. She encourages those working with drug misusers to challenge established deterministic and pathologising notions of 'spoiled identity', which assumes that one's identity is fixed.