Books by The School of Life

In this rigorous and supremely honest book Alain de Botton helps us navigate the intimate and exciting - yet often confusing and difficult - experience that is sex. Few of us tend to feel we're entirely normal when it comes to sex, and what we're supposed to be feeling rarely matches up with the reality. This book argues that 21st-century sex is ultimately fated to be a balancing act between love and desire, and adventure and commitment. Covering topics that include lust, fetishism, adultery and pornography, Alain de Botton frankly articulates the dilemmas of modern sexuality, offering insights and consolation to help us think more deeply and wisely about the sex we are, or aren't, having. One in the new series of books from The School of Life, launched May 2012: How to Stay Sane by Philippa Perry How to Find Fulfilling Work by Roman Krznaric How to Worry Less About Money by John Armstrong How to Change the World by John-Paul Flintoff How to Thrive in the Digital Age by Tom Chatfield How to Think More About Sex by Alain de Botton

A collection of the essential emotional lessons we need in order to thrive.

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.

A parenting guide providing compassionate instruction and insight into raising a resilient well-balanced child.

Big Ideas for Curious Minds is a fascinating book authored by The School Of Life. This intriguing work, first published in 2018, invites readers on a journey of intellectual exploration and discovery. The genre of this book is hard to pin down as it defies conventional categories, much like the author itself. It's a book that encourages curiosity, a characteristic trait of the human mind. The School Of Life, renowned for their innovative and thought-provoking content, has outdone themselves with this publication. Released under their own imprint, The School of Life Press, this book stands as a testament to their commitment to spreading knowledge and fostering a love for learning. If you're a curious mind with an appetite for big ideas, this book is a must-read for you.

This book takes us on a journey into our deepest, most elusive selves and arms us with a set of tools to understand our characters properly. We come away equipped with a newly clarified sense of who we are, what we need to watch out for when making decisions and what our priorities and potential might be.

Exploring ideas around minimalism, simplicity and how to live comfortably with less.

A reassuring guide on how to overcome failure, teaching us that we can learn to fail well.

This book is a guide to better understanding our younger selves in order to shape who we wish to be in the future. It explores to what extent we can pin our actions in the present to our experiences in the past, and how we might then break free from the learnt patterns of our childhoods.

A fresh approach to modern working life, giving advice for how we may face the many challenges of work.

We often stay stuck with the level of confidence we have because we implicitly regard being confident as a matter of slightly freakish and unrepeatable good luck. In fact, as this essay charmingly shows, the opposite is true. Confidence is a skill based on a set of ideas about our place in the world - and its secrets can quietly be learnt.

A guide to our anxious minds; offering a route to calm, self-compassion and mental well-being Far more than we tend to realise, we're all - in private - deeply anxious.

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.

An in-depth exploration of what really lies behind our problematic behavioural patterns in the workplace, and a blueprint for the emotional skills we need to overcome them.

A book to inspire closeness and connection, helping people not only to find love but to make it last.

This is a book that celebrates the most neglected but valuable emotion we can feel: melancholy. This book carefully collects and interprets a selection of the most universally recognisable melancholy states of mind, and thereby renders us less confused by our precious yet elusive feelings.

This is a book, both theoretical and practical, that will improve our relationship between our physical and mental selves and allow us a route to a life of greater self-assurance, wisdom and freedom to be ourselves.

A therapeutic and consoling workbook with exercises to soothe anxiety and create a state of calm.

A practical guide outlining the benefits of drawing as a therapeutic practice followed by 80 guided drawing exercises as an aid to self-understanding and fulfilment.

The Couple's Workbook, written by The School Of Life, is a remarkable book that was published in 2020 by The School of Life Press. This book falls under the self-help genre and is designed to assist couples in understanding each other better and strengthening their relationship. The workbook is filled with exercises and questionnaires that encourage open and honest communication between partners. The author's insightful guidance, combined with the interactive nature of the workbook, makes it a valuable resource for couples seeking to enhance their relationship. The School of Life Press, known for its quality publications, has once again delivered a book that is not only informative but also practical and engaging.

This is a guide to the more exciting life we know could be ours; a book of psychology and about how we can nurture a sense of inner liberation, accept our desires and aspirations and then have the courage to set ourselves free.

Being a parent can be one of the sources of our greatest joys. It is also - intermittently - the cause of some of our deepest sorrows. The Joys and Sorrows of Parenting promises us a gentle way of staying calm around one of the most arduous yet deeply fulfilling jobs in the world.

An original and comprehensive look at what it is we seek when we set off on an adventure abroad - and at how we can travel better, so that our experiences overseas become truly transformative and memorable.