Building a Life Worth Living

A Memoir

De: Marsha M. Linehan

Narrado por: Hillary Huber, Stephen Mendel

Marsha Linehan tells the story of her journey from suicidal teenager to world-renowned developer of the life-saving behavioral therapy DBT, using her own struggle to develop life skills for others.

"This book is a victory on both sides of the page." (Gloria Steinem)

"Are you one of us?" a patient once asked Marsha Linehan, the world-renowned psychologist who developed dialectical behavior therapy. "Because if you were, it would give all of us so much hope."

Over the years, DBT had saved the lives of countless people fighting depression and suicidal thoughts, but Linehan had never revealed that her pioneering work was inspired by her own desperate struggles as a young woman. Only when she received this question did she finally decide to tell her story.

In this remarkable and inspiring memoir, Linehan describes how, when she was 18 years old, she began an abrupt downward spiral from popular teenager to suicidal young woman. After several miserable years in a psychiatric institute, Linehan made a vow that if she could get out of emotional hell, she would try to find a way to help others get out of hell, too, and to build a life worth living.

She went on to put herself through night school and college, living at a YWCA and often scraping together spare change to buy food. She went on to get her PhD in psychology, specializing in behavior therapy. In the 1980s, she achieved a breakthrough when she developed dialectical behavioral therapy, a therapeutic approach that combines acceptance of the self and ways to change. Linehan included mindfulness as a key component in therapy treatment, along with original and specific life-skill techniques. She says, "You can't think yourself into new ways of acting; you can only act yourself into new ways of thinking."

Throughout her extraordinary scientific career, Marsha Linehan remained a woman of deep spirituality. Her powerful and moving story is one of faith and perseverance. Linehan shows, in Building a Life Worth Living, how the principles of DBT really work - and how, using her life skills and techniques, people can build lives worth living.

©2020 Marsha M. Linehan (P)2020 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"In Building a Life Worth Living, Marsha Linehan shares her experience of suicidal depression to help others who may be experiencing this themselves or someone they love. Since using what happens to us to help others is the final stage of healing, this book is a victory on both sides of the page." (Gloria Steinem, New York Times best-selling author of My Life on the Road)

"A brilliant memoir by one of the greatest pioneers in psychotherapy history. Marsha Linehan holds absolutely nothing back, making good on the vow she made as a young woman to escape hell and help others do the same. This book - with its fierce honesty and, for the careful reader, practical advice - will help anyone who has struggled to build a life worth living." (Angela Duckworth, New York Times best-selling author of Grit)

"To read this book is to understand how a life is built. In dark, there is light. Everything in Marsha Linehan’s life and remarkable memoir uncovers the dark - the hell of the unhappy self and the hell of inadequate help - and brings us into the light, with humor and detail in her grappling and growth, and in her courage and vision of how to create a treatment for even the most unhappy of us." (Amy Bloom, New York Times best-selling author of White Houses)

exceptional book

This book is about the story of Marsha Linehan's descent into hell, extreme negative emotions that make suicide seem like a logical choice in order to get relief. Fortunately, this smart woman had a fighting and ornery nature and promised herself and her God that if she could find a way out of this hell she would dedicate her life to helping others get out too. This was the beginning of the very long road to developing the dialectical behavior therapy that has helped so many. Beautifully written, wonderfully read, extremely personal, very interesting and ultimately one of the most positive things I've ever read or listened to. This book would appeal to those with an interest in psychology or those who have suffered the plague of extreme negative emotions and moods that make one question whether life is worth it. Marsha Linehan makes the compelling argument that the answer is a resounding YES, and that with the right skills and practice that you can find the light and get out of hell. She proved this with her life and struggles and it is a story well worth hearing.

Amazing!

I love this book! Thank you Marsha for sharing yourself so authentically and opening up about how DBT got its roots. I do not care much for the narrator as she can come across as being a little robotic, however the memoir made up for that. As a new social worker, I also purchased the book in both hard copy and kindle to help with group therapy. I have also faced my own mental health challenges and I recall in my early recovery asking professionals what personal experience they had that would be beneficial for me. I was not interested in people helping me that just had a degree and book knowledge but I wanted help from others who had been where I was and knew first hand what would help me feel better. It completely makes sense that Marsha knew this would be evidenced based practice. She lived this! Thank you!!!

I never knew, hope for the hopeless.

Marsha's book gives hope to the hopeless. I never knew what to call it. Thankyou!

Big fan

Life changing. I’ve read it twice now and will most definitely read it again and again.

Best book ever

changed my life and I wanted to give myself a chance
Love xo xo xo

Now I know dbt

Wonderful history and understanding
About this type of therapy. Personal and delightful experience listening to this story.

Resonated with my entire being of self.

The fact Marsha LineHan not only founded DBT, but also widely understood what it meant to be suicidal. She was the person we’ve been needing all along. I have pride in even getting the opportunity to read/listen to her most troubling past. As it was not an easy story to tell. But also feel so much hope toward building a life worth living because of Marsha and her innate resilience, and her innately good nature.
Thank you Marsha for sharing your story,
And thank you for allowing someone like me to listen.
Namaste.

A legend

No one wanted to tackle the issue of suicide, but Marsha did. Thank you Marsha for helping us get out of hell.
The book is A+.

Empowering

This was wonderful, well written, well read and deeply moving. Held my attention the entire time and really insightful. Recommend

Very good

Such a beautiful story how traumatized person can become a professor, who helps other. Love it