Essays Life

Award-eligible author and columnist Scott Johnson presents a wholesomely hilarious collection of essays out of left field. Listen to reflections on life through the lens of a middle-aged, Midwestern Dad who talks about sports too much.

As former tutor and adviser to Emperor Nero, philosopher and statesman Seneca was acutely aware of how short life can be - his own life was cut short when the emperor ordered him to commit suicide (for alleged involvement in a conspiracy). And Seneca proved true to his words - his lifelong avowal to Stoicism enabled him to conduct himself with dignity to the end. During his rich and busy life, Seneca wrote a series of essays that have advised and enriched the lives of generations down to the present day.

THE SELF-PUBLISHED PHENOMENON —NOW FULLY REVISED AND EXPANDED I almost didn’t publish Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It. Here I was, a CEO who’d fallen apart after his company failed, writing a book about how loving himself saved him. I thought I’d be a laughingstock and my...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and...

In her own words, here is the captivating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found her “true calling.” From the moment the ship docked in Le Havre, en route to Paris, in the fall of 1948, Julia had an awakening that changed her life. Soon...

“Refreshingly candid...Niazi is telling her story in medias res, inviting readers to figure the whole mess out with her—and in this era of gentle-parenting TikToks and general advice oversaturation, that feels like a gift.” —Emma Specter, Vogue Channeling the subversive and sharp-eyed...

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and his ideology was disseminated through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures. Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of transcendentalism in his 1836 essay Nature.

In this new collection, recorded live, on-location from Massachusetts to California, David Sedaris reflects on what it means to be a foreigner, a brother, a lifelong friend, in essays that are “among the best of his career" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). “A welcome return to form for...

In his latest book, Essays, best-selling author Thibaut Meurisse shares his insights on a variety of topics such as success, happiness, money, personal development and the meaning of life. He raises questions, shares frameworks, and offers tools to help readers figure out how to make the most of their life.

From Reggie “Fieldy” Arvizu, legendary bassist of nu-metal pioneers KORN, comes Got the Life: a no-holds-barred look at his extreme highs, drug- and-booze-fueled lows, and, finally, redemption through a conversion to Christianity. Got the Life is simultaneously an insider’s look at rock...

A unique survivor memoir. Essays that range from heartwarming to brutal. Individual trigger warnings (TW) allow listeners to practice self-care. Washington State native Mary Knight, MSW, experienced various forms of child sex trafficking, sometimes in her own home. Her parents were her pimps. Knight's current life is filled with safety, love, joy, and children. Happily married, she is a child advocate, a foster parent, and a grandmother.

Born with no air in his lungs, it was only when Reuben Land's father, Jeremiah, picked him up and commanded him to breathe that Reuben's lungs filled. Reuben struggles with debilitating asthma from then on, making him a boy who knows firsthand that life is a gift, and also one who suspects that...

*Read by the authors and celebrated podcasters, Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan!* From the beloved hosts of the hit podcast I've Had It, an honest, irreverent and inspiring guide to overcoming life's unexpected challenges and finding joy, stability and humor in today's chaotic world, for fans...

Irena is a Russian Jewish immigrant, a PhD in comparative literature, a former Stanford admissions officer, and a private college counselor in Palo Alto, California—a city where everyone has to be good at something and where success often means the name of a prestigious college on the back of a late-model luxury car. But as Irena works with some of the most ambitious, tightly wound students in the world, she struggles to keep her own family from unraveling, and that sharp-edged divide lies at the heart of her memoir.

Adapted into an Academy Award-winning film and one of John Irving's most beloved novels, The Cider House Rules is the story of a kind but complex doctor and the conflicted young orphan he takes under his wing. “A novel as good as one could hope to find from any author, anywhere, anytime...

📘 Too Old for This Nonsense A funny, painfully relatable book for women who have officially run out of patience. You know that moment when someone asks for “just a tiny favor,” and suddenly it’s your whole afternoon? Or when a family gathering turns into an Olympic event in smiling-through-your-teeth? Or when you say “it’s fine” out loud but “absolutely not” in your head? Yeah. This book lives exactly there. Too Old for This Nonsense is a warm, sharp, honest collection of mini-essays for women who have carried the emotional backpack of everyone around them for far too ...

By his longtime friend and a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, the definitive biography of Larry McMurtry, the legendary author and screenwriter of Lonesome Dove, The Last Picture Show, and Brokeback Mountain, who transformed our vision of the West. Before Larry McMurtry became one of the...

A neuroscientist transforms the way we think about our brain, our health, and our personal happiness in this clear, informative, and inspiring guide—a blend of personal memoir, science narrative, and immediately useful takeaways that bring the human brain into focus as never before, revealing...

The Daily Lesson is not your average self-help book. It's a collection of thoughts and reflections that challenge you to look at life differently. With a touch of philosophy, each essay explores topics we often think about but rarely talk about. From dealing with the loss of our parents to understanding love's complex nature, this book gets to the heart of what it means to be human. These essays are straightforward and speak to modern-day experiences, bringing a fresh perspective to familiar feelings. Whether you've seen some of these ideas before or they're completely new to you, each will...

When Jackie Schuld’s therapist suggested she might be autistic, she scoffed. She knew there was no way she could be autistic. She was in her mid-30s and ran her own therapy private practice. Everything she learned about autism in her Master’s program in mental health counseling didn’t apply to her. She could make excellent eye contact. She could engage in deep conversations. She could attend social gatherings. She could make it through abrupt changes and remain flexible. How could she be autistic? The more she learned about autism — how it internally impacts autistics and how it can...