When you feel you have been wronged, the urge to retaliate can feel overwhelming and justified. In this groundbreaking work, acclaimed author and psychotherapist David Richo explores the complex dynamics of retaliation, offering profound insights into why we seek revenge and practices to help us break free from this destructive cycle.Sweeter than Revenge delves deeply into one of humanity’s most instinctive yet destructive impulses: the urge to strike back...

“A lucid, thought-provoking, and illuminating” guide to finding fulfillment and “fluid acceptance of life as it is” (Martha Beck, life coach and New York Times–bestselling author)Why is it that, despite our best efforts, many of us remain fundamentally unhappy and unfulfilled in our lives? In this provocative and inspiring book, David Richo distills thirty years of experience as a therapist to explain the underlying roots of unhappiness—and the surprising ...

A fascinating exploration of the “assisting force” archetype, with powerful psychological tools and spiritual insights on how to find and work with these forces in your life—from the bestselling author of How To Be An Adult in Relationships.Psychotherapist David Richo draws from history, Jungian psychology, Buddhism, nature, and other spiritual traditions to illuminate our connection to the “helpers” we call upon to navigate life. Some of the assisting for...

The guide to finding your perfect timing for life's biggest decisions—whether to stay or go in relationships, jobs, locations, and everything that matters most.Do we stay in what we know? Or is it the right time to leave and make a change? In more than 50 years as a psychotherapist David Richo has been asked versions of this question more than any other. He has coached countless people of all ages through agonizing decisions related to their partnerships, their car...

"Most people think of love as a feeling," says David Richo, "but love is not so much a feeling as a way of being present." In this book, Richo offers a fresh perspective on love and relationships—one that focuses not on finding an ideal mate, but on becoming a more loving and realistic person. Drawing on the Buddhist concept of mindfulness, How to Be an Adult in Relationships explores five hallmarks of mindful loving and how they play a key role in our relationships throughout li...

The author of The Happiness Trap offers a self-help guide full of creative tools for managing triggers and trauma responses—so you can find peace in painful moments and lasting emotional well-being.Psychotherapist David Richo examines the science of triggers and our reactions of fear, anger, and sadness. He helps us understand why our bodies respond before our minds have a chance to make sense of a situation. By looking deeply at the roots of what provokes...

Discover how to embrace the dark side of your personality—or the shadow self, as introduced by Carl Jung—to live a fuller, more authentic lifeOur “shadow” is the collection of negative or undesirable traits we keep hidden—the things we don't like about ourselves or are afraid to admit: egotist, non-“PC” proclivities, forbidden sexual desires. But it also includes our positive, untapped potential—qualities we may admire in others but disavow in ourselves. Befriendin...

In this unique book, psychotherapist David Richo offers fifty-two promises we can make to ourselves that will help us navigate the ups and downs of daily living in a wise, compassionate, and psychologically healthy way. Taken together these commitments, along with the author's brief reflections on them, offer guidance on how to:develop genuine kindness toward yourself and othersfind freedom from fearmaintain healthy boundaries in relationshipsdevelop greater honesty and awareness De...

The best-selling author of How to Be an Adult in Relationships explains how to build trust—the essential ingredient in successful relationships—in spite of fear or past betrayalsMost relationship problems are essentially trust issues, explains psychotherapist David Richo. Whether it’s fear of commitment, insecurity, jealousy, or a tendency to be controlling, the real obstacle is a fundamental lack of trust—both in ourselves and in our partner.D...

Bestselling author David Richo gets straight to the heart of how to find courage and contentment when life doesn’t go according to plan. Rather than fighting against them, we all must accept these five true things: (1) everything changes and ends, (2) things do not always go according to plan, (3) life is not always fair, (4) pain is part of life, and (5) people are not loving and loyal all the time. Drawing on both psychology and spirituality, Richo offers time-tested insights on finding ...

How identifying what you want can reveal deep truths about yourself—and how working with those longings can lead to a happier, more satisfying lifeIf you’ve ever had a vague sense that something’s missing from your life, congratulations: that longing for something better is a sign of being fully human, fully alive. But what’s even more wonderful, according to Dave Richo, is that when you identify and carefully examine the things you long for—like love, meaning, fre...

Perhaps you’ve had one of those moments when everything, quite unexpectedly, simply falls into place; or, when you’ve been puzzling over an impossible question and—pow!—the answer suddenly arises, seemingly out of nowhere. These and other such experiences are not caused by our efforts. They are moments of grace, the gift dimension of life. Grace is generally associated with religion, but, as Dave Richo shows, you don’t need to be religious to notice—and benefit from—this ...