The cure for the chronic life : overcoming the hopelessness that holds you back

 by Deanna Favre. There's one important message here: emotional pain and suffering can be greatly reduced by forgetting oneself and showing compassion toward others. After receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer, Favre, wife of NFL star quarterback Brett Favre, established a foundation to help women fight the disease and wrote Don't Bet Against Me! (2008), a hopeful book for breast cancer survivors. Stanford is an HIV-positive Methodist minister and author of When God Disappears (2008). In this title, their combined stories about themselves, their families, and people they've encountered provide inspiration for opting to live according to Christ's example instead of living in crisis. Beyond listing common mistakes that lead to crisis living and chronic unhappiness, the book serves as a 40-day, Bible-study guide and encourages discernment and application of God-centered truths for facing daily challenges. Full of helpful advice, but loaded with Biblespeak, so keep the King James handy. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Paradise lust : searching for the Garden of Eden

 by Brook Wilensky-Lanford. William Fairfield Warren, esteemed theology professor and first president of Boston University, was convinced that Adam and Eve were giant people, 7- to 12-feet tall, who lived in Eden among prehistoric sequoia trees at what is now called the North Pole. Hong Kong businessman Tse Tsan Tai's 1914 research placed the garden somewhere in Mongolia. Maybe the fabled confluence of Eden's four rivers lies in southern Ohio. Examining the perennial quest to locate the Garden of Eden on earth, Wilensky-Lanford introduces a diverse cast of believers who sought to create a new world by finding the biblical garden somewhere amidst the imperfect geography we know. Given the unalloyed weirdness of some of their theories, expect a certain degree of authorial snark. But while Wilensky-Lanford's tone is indeed light and entertaining, she portrays her obsessed subjects with respect and even a little sympathy. In the end, the book is less about Eden-finding or myth-busting than it is a study of the undying human need for meaning, symbolism, and unity in a fractured and profane world. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Twelve steps to a compassionate life

 by Karen Armstrong. *Starred Review* It takes courage for a religious historian and writer of Armstrong's stature to step out from behind the scrim of scholarship and analysis to offer guidelines for a spiritual practice designed to make humanity a kinder and saner species. With the boon of the prestigious TED Prize, Armstrong (The Case for God, 2009) worked with leading thinkers from a variety of major faiths to compose a Charter for Compassion, which calls for the restoration of compassion to the heart of religious and moral life in a dangerously polarized world. Not content with merely stating lofty goals, however, Armstrong, a revered genius of elucidation and synthesis, now tells the full and profound story of altruism throughout human history. She turns to neuroscience and tracks the evolution of our brains and our natural capacity for empathy, and performs her signature mode of beautifully clarifying interpretation in a mind-expanding discussion of the history of the Golden Rule ( Always treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself ), the essence of compassion and the kernel of every religious tradition. Exquisite and affecting explications of Buddhist, Confucian, Judaic, Christian, and Islamic commentary prepare the ground for meditation exercises meant to engender open-mindedness and the cultivation of compassion, making for the most sagacious and far-reaching 12-step program ever. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A hefty print run is planned for renowned religious thinker Armstrong's bold approach to teaching the compassionate ethos. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

The solution : conquer your fear, control your future

 by Lucinda Bassett. Bassett (From Panic to Power; Life Without Limits) offers a 21-day emotional makeover for taking control of one's life. Her prescription for inner self-confidence and strength is first to understand one's core story (upbringing and life experience) and use it as motivation for success, rather than an excuse for self-sabotage and lack of good fortune. Bassett spends much time dissecting worry and depression and gives exercises for overcoming harmful thoughts. The exercises seem well thought out and helpful and can be undertaken at one's own pace. She offers a variety of quizzes, sidebars, and celebrity stories, which will leave readers feeling empowered and positive about life. Well done. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

Seeking the sacred : transforming our view of ourselves and one another

 by Stephanie Dowrick. At age eight, New Zealand-born Dowrick lost her mother to cancer. Her father, wh. regarded religion as irrational. promptly became a Roman Catholic, which sent the little girl reeling into the mysteries and miseries of devout faith. The rituals and rapture of nuns and priests fascinated and comforted her. Yet adults who insisted Jesus Christ was forced to suffer for her sins caused her to experience levels of guilt she had never before known. Decades later, the author of Choosing Happiness (2005) and other best-sellers still experiences nostalgia and dismay about her father's chosen faith, but it is her questioning of what all religions attempt to bring followers that has produced a wonderfully inspirational book. This is not just about connecting with God or even fully understanding what God may be. It's about witnessing the sublime in the ordinary, seeking what is sacred in everyday experiences, and accepting life's challenges as important lessons. First steps in the journey involve achieving self-acceptance, self-love, and forgiveness. This is a genuine road-to-happiness read. --Booklist (Check catalog)