Hospice chaplains have traditionally played a unique part in palliative care, providing human compassion and support to help ease life's final chapter. This book thoughtfully tackles the question at the heart of modern hospice chaplaincy: do chaplains have a distinctive role in an increasingly secular society?A comprehensive look at why and how this work needs to be done, each chapter will be a rich resource for hospice chaplains and anyone working within a hospice multi-disciplina...

By indulging in the experience of being alone, we can be inspired to find our own rewards and ultimately lead richer, fuller lives.Our fast-paced society does not approve of solitude; being alone is so often considered anti-social and some even find it sinister. Why is this so when autonomy, personal freedom and individualism are more highly prized than ever before? Sara Maitland answers this question in How to Be Alone by exploring changing attitudes thro...

'Hugh Mackay is one of this country’s most perceptive social commentators' - Sydney Morning HeraldInsightful and engaging, What Makes Us Tick? helps to explain what drives us, concerns us and is important to each of us – from Australia's leading social researcher, Hugh Mackay.Dr Mackay has spent a lifetime listening to people talk about their dreams, fears, hopes, disappointments and passions. As well, his bestselling book...

What do people actually mean when they say 'God'?Around two-thirds of us say we believe in God or some 'higher power', but fewer than one in ten Australians attend church weekly. In Beyond Belief, Hugh Mackay presents this discrepancy as one of the great unexamined topics of our time. He argues that while our attachment to a traditional idea of God may be waning, our desire for a life of meaning remains as strong as ever.Mackay int...

Research shows that happy people live up to ten years longer than unhappy people. But what is happiness? Who gets to be happy? And how do they achieve it?Gyles Brandreth found the answers when he set out on a journey looking for happiness and ended up in the psychiatrist's chair - with Dr Anthony Clare. And in The 7 Secrets of Happiness he reveals that the secrets are simple, easy to remember, but challenging to achieve.This is a book that won't s...

Dorothy Rowe shows us how to have the courage to acknowledge and face our fears – only through courage can we find a sustaining happiness.‘Beyond Fear’, first published in 1987, has changed the lives of thousands of people. In this edition, the renowned psychologist Dorothy Rowe examines the changes in the psychiatric system since 1987 in the context of showing how most of our suffering comes from our greatest fear, that of being annihilated as a person, when we shall disappear lik...

As Britain's best-known headmaster, Sir Anthony famously introduced happiness, or well-being, lessons at his school, Wellington College. In 2011, he co-founded Action for Happiness, a body to raise awareness of the discovery of happiness and reduction of depression, whose influence is growing rapidly in Britain and across the world.In this book Anthony Seldon distinguishes between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach on how to make our lives far more ...

Drawing on the author’s unusual background as a seminarian turned scientist and business executive, Boys of the Cloth presents a unique analysis of the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. The book combines a first-hand account of seminary life during the 1960s—a period that turns out to be crucial for understanding the crisis—with explorations of the history of the seminary system, current scientific knowledge about abusive behavior, and the Church’s own investigations into the “ep...

Ivor Browne is Professor Emeritus, University College, Dublin and retired as Chief Psychiatrist of the then Eastern Health Board in 1994. This book charts the growth of one man's journey in relation to psychiatry and human development. Ivor Browne has been a central and controversial figure in Irish life up until the mid-nineties when he retired

A visionary but practical sharing of how spiritual insights, and deepening our inner lives, can impact leadership for social change.Over the past half-century, the issues facing activists have changed, as has our understanding and awareness of spirituality. For activists, spiritual philosophy is rising up the agenda because it offers distinct, tried and tested approaches to deep questions: Where did it all go wrong? What does it mean to be human? What is the place ...

Supervision provides a positive space for compassion, inquiry, reflection, and above all development. The chapters in this book are written from a wide range of perspectives, all of which take a practical approach to supervision and show how transformative it can be when approached in the right way.Contributions range from explorations of supervision as a journey of life-long learning and its place at the heart of practice to chapters on faith, transformation, dealing with feelings...

Dying is a complex experience for the dying person and their family, friends, and carers, that involves all aspects of what it means to be human: physical, mental, and spiritual. The author describes different types of Nearing Death Awareness (NDA), including visions, dreams, and symbolic language, and offers practical guidance for family and carers of the dying about how to respond appropriately and supportively to NDA behavior. This sensitive and informative book will make fascinating re...