Author: Gordon J. G. Asmundson
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 9781572309937
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
For anyone whose personal life or career has been disrupted by health anxiety this compassionate, nonjudgmental, and practical book--written by two psychologists--may be just what the doctor ordered.
It's Not All in Your Head
Author: Gordon J. G. Asmundson
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 9781572309937
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
For anyone whose personal life or career has been disrupted by health anxiety this compassionate, nonjudgmental, and practical book--written by two psychologists--may be just what the doctor ordered.
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 9781572309937
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
For anyone whose personal life or career has been disrupted by health anxiety this compassionate, nonjudgmental, and practical book--written by two psychologists--may be just what the doctor ordered.
It's Not All in Your Head
Author: Patricia Farrell, PhD
Publisher: Demos Medical Publishing
ISBN: 1935281518
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
One of the greatest challenges people face when dealing with an unpredictable disease such as Multiple Sclerosis is learning to overcome the psychological burden of not knowing what each day will bring. MS is a true roller coaster of emotions and dealing with these feelings is a critical issue for people living with the disease. According to WebMD, symptoms of depression severe enough to warrant medical intervention affect up to half of all people living with MS. It's Not All in Your Head is a cognitive-behavioral approach to overcoming the depression, anxiety,and stress that goes hand-in-hand with MS. Dr. Farrell helps individuals and their families develop a better understanding of the effects that MS has on mood levels and anxiety and offers a plan of simple remediation in a self-help format. It's Not All in Your Head shows that: MS patients' depression and anxiety can be related to their medical condition Exercise can promote growth in brain connections and help alleviate depression Pain severity in MS can be lessenedthrough stemming anxiety Social involvement is key to maintaining mental and physical health
Publisher: Demos Medical Publishing
ISBN: 1935281518
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
One of the greatest challenges people face when dealing with an unpredictable disease such as Multiple Sclerosis is learning to overcome the psychological burden of not knowing what each day will bring. MS is a true roller coaster of emotions and dealing with these feelings is a critical issue for people living with the disease. According to WebMD, symptoms of depression severe enough to warrant medical intervention affect up to half of all people living with MS. It's Not All in Your Head is a cognitive-behavioral approach to overcoming the depression, anxiety,and stress that goes hand-in-hand with MS. Dr. Farrell helps individuals and their families develop a better understanding of the effects that MS has on mood levels and anxiety and offers a plan of simple remediation in a self-help format. It's Not All in Your Head shows that: MS patients' depression and anxiety can be related to their medical condition Exercise can promote growth in brain connections and help alleviate depression Pain severity in MS can be lessenedthrough stemming anxiety Social involvement is key to maintaining mental and physical health
It's All in Your Head
Author: Suzanne O'Sullivan
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0099597853
Category : Emotions
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
A neurologist explores the very real world of psychosomatic illness. Most of us accept the way our heart flutters when we set eyes on the one we secretly admire, or the sweat on our brow as we start the presentation we do not want to give. But few of us are fully aware of how dramatic our body's reactions to emotions can sometimes be. Take Pauline, who first became ill when she was fifteen. What seemed at first to be a urinary infection became joint pain, then food intolerances, then life-threatening appendicitis. And then one day, after a routine operation, Pauline lost all the strength in her legs. Shortly after that her convulsions started. But Pauline's tests are normal; her symptoms seem to have no physical cause whatsoever. Pauline may be an extreme case, but she is by no means alone. As many as a third of men and women visiting their GP have symptoms that are medically unexplained. In most, an emotional root is suspected and yet, when it comes to a diagnosis, this is the very last thing we want to hear, and the last thing doctors want to say. In It's All in Your Head consultant neurologist Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan takes us on a journey through the very real world of psychosomatic illness. She takes us from the extreme -- from paralysis, seizures and blindness -- to more everyday problems such as tiredness and pain. Meeting her patients, she encourages us to look deep inside the human condition. There we find the secrets we are all capable of keeping from ourselves, and our age-old failure to credit the intimate and extraordinary connection between mind and body.
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0099597853
Category : Emotions
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
A neurologist explores the very real world of psychosomatic illness. Most of us accept the way our heart flutters when we set eyes on the one we secretly admire, or the sweat on our brow as we start the presentation we do not want to give. But few of us are fully aware of how dramatic our body's reactions to emotions can sometimes be. Take Pauline, who first became ill when she was fifteen. What seemed at first to be a urinary infection became joint pain, then food intolerances, then life-threatening appendicitis. And then one day, after a routine operation, Pauline lost all the strength in her legs. Shortly after that her convulsions started. But Pauline's tests are normal; her symptoms seem to have no physical cause whatsoever. Pauline may be an extreme case, but she is by no means alone. As many as a third of men and women visiting their GP have symptoms that are medically unexplained. In most, an emotional root is suspected and yet, when it comes to a diagnosis, this is the very last thing we want to hear, and the last thing doctors want to say. In It's All in Your Head consultant neurologist Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan takes us on a journey through the very real world of psychosomatic illness. She takes us from the extreme -- from paralysis, seizures and blindness -- to more everyday problems such as tiredness and pain. Meeting her patients, she encourages us to look deep inside the human condition. There we find the secrets we are all capable of keeping from ourselves, and our age-old failure to credit the intimate and extraordinary connection between mind and body.
Pain - It's Not All in Your Head
Author: Jay Tracy
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1553694155
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 146
Book Description
You've been injured in a car accident or on the job. You are continuing to experience neck pain and associated headaches. You are worried about symptoms of numbness, tingling, weakness and pain in your arms and fingers. You are experiencing low back pain with radiation into your buttocks, legs and feet. You've seen a doctor or several doctors. You've had some tests that have come back "normal". You've tried several treatment approaches but have only experienced temporary relief. You are having difficulties keeping up at work. You have cut down on certain activities at home, with friends, or for enjoyment. You don't know what to do or where to go from here. You are irritable, frustrated, afraid and worried about the future. You wonder if you're going crazy and if others think "the problem is all in your head". DO NOT DESPAIR! THERE IS HOPE!YOU ARE NOT ALONE!THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE. THERE ARE MANY ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. First of all, you're not crazy. You are a normal person. The sources of the pain are not "all in your head." They are usually in the body. Medical tests and technology still do not show everything. If the doctor says, "Your test is normal," just remember that the tests don't show everything . However, you are responsible for what is in your head. What is in your head affects how you recover. Information helps. No information confuses. Options help. No options make you feel trapped, imprisoned, tense and tight in your own muscles, thoughts, feelings, and lifestyle.
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1553694155
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 146
Book Description
You've been injured in a car accident or on the job. You are continuing to experience neck pain and associated headaches. You are worried about symptoms of numbness, tingling, weakness and pain in your arms and fingers. You are experiencing low back pain with radiation into your buttocks, legs and feet. You've seen a doctor or several doctors. You've had some tests that have come back "normal". You've tried several treatment approaches but have only experienced temporary relief. You are having difficulties keeping up at work. You have cut down on certain activities at home, with friends, or for enjoyment. You don't know what to do or where to go from here. You are irritable, frustrated, afraid and worried about the future. You wonder if you're going crazy and if others think "the problem is all in your head". DO NOT DESPAIR! THERE IS HOPE!YOU ARE NOT ALONE!THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE. THERE ARE MANY ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. First of all, you're not crazy. You are a normal person. The sources of the pain are not "all in your head." They are usually in the body. Medical tests and technology still do not show everything. If the doctor says, "Your test is normal," just remember that the tests don't show everything . However, you are responsible for what is in your head. What is in your head affects how you recover. Information helps. No information confuses. Options help. No options make you feel trapped, imprisoned, tense and tight in your own muscles, thoughts, feelings, and lifestyle.
IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD
Author: Russ
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062962442
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 112
Book Description
Instant National Bestseller! Wall Street Journal bestseller; USA Today bestseller; Publishers Weekly bestseller; international bestseller. An inspirational book by self-made musical superstar, Russ, reminding you that it starts with YOU, to believe in yourself, and to get out of your own way. Twenty-seven-year-old rapper, songwriter, and producer Russ walks his own path, at his own pace. By doing so, he proved that he didn’t need a major label to surpass over a billion streams on Spotify/Apple Music, get on Forbes’ 2019 “30 Under 30,” make the Forbes‘ “30 Under 30 Cash Kings” at number 20 for most earned, sell out arenas across the U.S. and around the globe, and become one of the most popular and engaged rappers right now. His method was simple: love and believe in yourself absolutely and work hard no matter what. In this memoir, Russ inspires readers to walk to their individual rhythms and beat their biggest obstacles: themselves. With chapters named after his most powerful and popular songs, IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD will reflect on the lessons he’s learned from his career, family, and relationships. He’ll push readers to bet on themselves, take those leaps of faith, and recognize struggles as opportunities. With illustrations throughout consistent with the brand Russ has built and his fan base loves, IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD will give readers an inside-look at the man and the motivation behind the music. A lover of books like The Alchemist and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Russ delivers a short, potent, inspirational, raw, and honest book that gives readers a way to find self-belief and unlock their potential. Fans already rely on Russ as an inspiration of confidence; now, he is taking it to the next level with this book, which will contain lyrics from his music and visuals that reflect his inimitable style.
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062962442
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 112
Book Description
Instant National Bestseller! Wall Street Journal bestseller; USA Today bestseller; Publishers Weekly bestseller; international bestseller. An inspirational book by self-made musical superstar, Russ, reminding you that it starts with YOU, to believe in yourself, and to get out of your own way. Twenty-seven-year-old rapper, songwriter, and producer Russ walks his own path, at his own pace. By doing so, he proved that he didn’t need a major label to surpass over a billion streams on Spotify/Apple Music, get on Forbes’ 2019 “30 Under 30,” make the Forbes‘ “30 Under 30 Cash Kings” at number 20 for most earned, sell out arenas across the U.S. and around the globe, and become one of the most popular and engaged rappers right now. His method was simple: love and believe in yourself absolutely and work hard no matter what. In this memoir, Russ inspires readers to walk to their individual rhythms and beat their biggest obstacles: themselves. With chapters named after his most powerful and popular songs, IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD will reflect on the lessons he’s learned from his career, family, and relationships. He’ll push readers to bet on themselves, take those leaps of faith, and recognize struggles as opportunities. With illustrations throughout consistent with the brand Russ has built and his fan base loves, IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD will give readers an inside-look at the man and the motivation behind the music. A lover of books like The Alchemist and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Russ delivers a short, potent, inspirational, raw, and honest book that gives readers a way to find self-belief and unlock their potential. Fans already rely on Russ as an inspiration of confidence; now, he is taking it to the next level with this book, which will contain lyrics from his music and visuals that reflect his inimitable style.
It's All in Your Head
Author: Hal A. Huggins
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780895295507
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 218
Book Description
Mercury is one of the world’s most poisonous substances, and yet dentists routinely use it in amalgams to fill our teeth. Forty years ago, Dr. Hal Huggins questioned this practice, and now legions of dentists, researchers, and citizens are adding their voices of concern. It’s All in Your Head looks at past research on mercury toxicity and dental amalgams as well as current scientific findings that can no longer be ignored. It describes the possible effects of mercury toxicity, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Hodgkin’s disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and virtually all autoimmune disorders. Written in easy-to-understand language, It’s All in Your Head explodes the claim that mercury amalgams are safe. If you think your worries are all in your head, you may be right.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780895295507
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 218
Book Description
Mercury is one of the world’s most poisonous substances, and yet dentists routinely use it in amalgams to fill our teeth. Forty years ago, Dr. Hal Huggins questioned this practice, and now legions of dentists, researchers, and citizens are adding their voices of concern. It’s All in Your Head looks at past research on mercury toxicity and dental amalgams as well as current scientific findings that can no longer be ignored. It describes the possible effects of mercury toxicity, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Hodgkin’s disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and virtually all autoimmune disorders. Written in easy-to-understand language, It’s All in Your Head explodes the claim that mercury amalgams are safe. If you think your worries are all in your head, you may be right.
Smart Moves
Author: Carla Hannaford
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780915556373
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Now newly enlarged and updated, this groundbreaking book presents the body's role in thinking and learning in a popular readable style, thoroughly supported by scientific research. Biologist and educator Carla Hannaford tells us why we must move, and shows us how to move to fully activate our potential as learners. With over 100,000 copies sold, and translations in nine languages, Smart Moves is having a great and growing impact on learners of all ages, from the gifted to the so-called learning-disabled. Book jacket.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780915556373
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Now newly enlarged and updated, this groundbreaking book presents the body's role in thinking and learning in a popular readable style, thoroughly supported by scientific research. Biologist and educator Carla Hannaford tells us why we must move, and shows us how to move to fully activate our potential as learners. With over 100,000 copies sold, and translations in nine languages, Smart Moves is having a great and growing impact on learners of all ages, from the gifted to the so-called learning-disabled. Book jacket.
The Self Illusion
Author: Bruce Hood
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199969892
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
Most of us believe that we are unique and coherent individuals, but are we? The idea of a "self" has existed ever since humans began to live in groups and become sociable. Those who embrace the self as an individual in the West, or a member of the group in the East, feel fulfilled and purposeful. This experience seems incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that this notion of the independent, coherent self is an illusion - it is not what it seems. Reality as we perceive it is not something that objectively exists, but something that our brains construct from moment to moment, interpreting, summarizing, and substituting information along the way. Like a science fiction movie, we are living in a matrix that is our mind. In The Self Illusion, Dr. Bruce Hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. He explains that self is the product of our relationships and interactions with others, and it exists only in our brains. The author argues, however, that though the self is an illusion, it is one that humans cannot live without. But things are changing as our technology develops and shapes society. The social bonds and relationships that used to take time and effort to form are now undergoing a revolution as we start to put our self online. Social networking activities such as blogging, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter threaten to change the way we behave. Social networking is fast becoming socialization on steroids. The speed and ease at which we can form alliances and relationships is outstripping the same selection processes that shaped our self prior to the internet era. This book ventures into unchartered territory to explain how the idea of the self will never be the same again in the online social world.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199969892
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
Most of us believe that we are unique and coherent individuals, but are we? The idea of a "self" has existed ever since humans began to live in groups and become sociable. Those who embrace the self as an individual in the West, or a member of the group in the East, feel fulfilled and purposeful. This experience seems incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that this notion of the independent, coherent self is an illusion - it is not what it seems. Reality as we perceive it is not something that objectively exists, but something that our brains construct from moment to moment, interpreting, summarizing, and substituting information along the way. Like a science fiction movie, we are living in a matrix that is our mind. In The Self Illusion, Dr. Bruce Hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. He explains that self is the product of our relationships and interactions with others, and it exists only in our brains. The author argues, however, that though the self is an illusion, it is one that humans cannot live without. But things are changing as our technology develops and shapes society. The social bonds and relationships that used to take time and effort to form are now undergoing a revolution as we start to put our self online. Social networking activities such as blogging, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter threaten to change the way we behave. Social networking is fast becoming socialization on steroids. The speed and ease at which we can form alliances and relationships is outstripping the same selection processes that shaped our self prior to the internet era. This book ventures into unchartered territory to explain how the idea of the self will never be the same again in the online social world.
No, It Is Not In My Head
Author: Nicole Hemmenway
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
ISBN: 1614480052
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Book Description
“A story of triumph and courage . . . Nicole Hemmenway demonstrates hope, guts and faith for any chronic pain sufferer or caregiver” (Betsy Turner Nunley, author of Preemie to Woman in Sixty Short Years). At seventeen, Nicole Hemmenway believed her life was just beginning. She was a senior in high school looking forward to college and living on her own. However, all her dreams vanished the moment she became injured. Diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), she soon learned that mainstream medicine viewed her pain and symptoms as being untreatable and incurable. She was living a nightmare. With no use of her right hand and minimal use of her arm, she depended on massive amounts of narcotics to survive each day. Yet even that could not control her agony. The crippling pain was so paralyzing that she faced periods where she was bedridden or wheelchair bound. All she had to hold on to was hope. Hope that her miracle would someday arrive . . . No, It Is Not in My Head is a courageous memoir that presents answers and allows others to believe in the unimaginable. “A must-read for anyone suffering from chronic pain or anyone who knows someone battling it . . . No, It Is Not in My Head is not a cure for pain, but more a cure for hopelessness. . . . Beautifully written, incredibly inspirational and highly recommended!” —Robin Cain, author of The Secret Miss Rabbit Kept “A riveting and uplifting tale, not to be missed.” —Midwest Book Review
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
ISBN: 1614480052
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Book Description
“A story of triumph and courage . . . Nicole Hemmenway demonstrates hope, guts and faith for any chronic pain sufferer or caregiver” (Betsy Turner Nunley, author of Preemie to Woman in Sixty Short Years). At seventeen, Nicole Hemmenway believed her life was just beginning. She was a senior in high school looking forward to college and living on her own. However, all her dreams vanished the moment she became injured. Diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), she soon learned that mainstream medicine viewed her pain and symptoms as being untreatable and incurable. She was living a nightmare. With no use of her right hand and minimal use of her arm, she depended on massive amounts of narcotics to survive each day. Yet even that could not control her agony. The crippling pain was so paralyzing that she faced periods where she was bedridden or wheelchair bound. All she had to hold on to was hope. Hope that her miracle would someday arrive . . . No, It Is Not in My Head is a courageous memoir that presents answers and allows others to believe in the unimaginable. “A must-read for anyone suffering from chronic pain or anyone who knows someone battling it . . . No, It Is Not in My Head is not a cure for pain, but more a cure for hopelessness. . . . Beautifully written, incredibly inspirational and highly recommended!” —Robin Cain, author of The Secret Miss Rabbit Kept “A riveting and uplifting tale, not to be missed.” —Midwest Book Review
I Know This Much Is True
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.