In a series of brief chapters, Al Gini lays out ideas for 'stepping out of the shadow of the self' - an argument for stopping thinking of yourself as the centre of the universe. It's hard to be good, he explains, until we realize that being good only has meaning in relation to other people. Ideas of justice, fairness, and ethical behavior are just that - abstract ideas - until they are put into action with regard to people outside ourselves. We may worry too much about good versus evil - big concepts that give us plenty of room to sit on the right side of the equation, he argues. Instead, we need to be thinking about how being good involves an active relationship toward others. Being good all by yourself may not be good enough. This warm and generous book is for anyone who wants to know how to use ethical thinking as way to live, work, and be with others.

Why Itâ¬"s Hard to Be Good by Donald Palmer is a text for Ethical Theory and Ethical Problems courses and is ideal for instructors using primary source readings. Through the use of cartoons and humor Palmer makes the study of ethics easier!

Years ago, somewhere on the Internet, I posted a few dumb drawings making fun of my own anxiety and depression. The response to them was warmer than anticipated, and people kept asking for more. Blending humor with pure depression seemed to strike a chord with a decent amount of people. So I kept going, and after about three years of drawing, I had enough dumb drawings for a book. Mental health is a serious thing, and it gets heavier when humans don't talk about it outwardly. I bottled up feelings for many years. Feelings I considered "dark", "weak", "downhearted", "embarrassing", "shameful" or any number of self-deprecating words. But after saying (or drawing) them out loud to people, all that weight went away and I realized it was normal to feel these feelings.Humor has always been a primary mode of therapy for me. I still make fun of my own anxiety and "depresh" as catharsis. I sing about it on tour, talk about it on my podcast, and draw pictures of it here in this book. Putting my formerly-private-feelings out into the world has been tremendous therapy for me, and I wish I would've done it sooner.Over the span of many years, I've been illustrating the "hacks", "strategies", or "exercises" that have worked best for me in combating the struggles in my head. More than anything I want this book to be useful for people. I'm not a doctor, just a person who spends too much time in my head. The objective of It's Hard to Be a Person is not to give unsolicited advice, but to hopefully save you some headaches on the long n' winding road of life in your brain.

In a series of brief chapters, Al Gini lays out ideas for 'stepping out of the shadow of the self' - an argument for stopping thinking of yourself as the centre of the universe. It's hard to be good, he explains, until we realize that being good only has meaning in relation to other people. Ideas of justice, fairness, and ethical behavior are just that - abstract ideas - until they are put into action with regard to people outside ourselves. We may worry too much about good versus evil - big concepts that give us plenty of room to sit on the right side of the equation, he argues. Instead, we need to be thinking about how being good involves an active relationship toward others. Being good all by yourself may not be good enough. This warm and generous book is for anyone who wants to know how to use ethical thinking as way to live, work, and be with others.

From the best-selling author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and After Dark, a rich and revelatory memoir about writing and running, and the integral impact both have made on his life. In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Haruki Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he’d completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a slew of critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and—even more important—on his writing. Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and includes settings ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvellous lens of sport emerges a cornucopia of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs and the experience, after the age of fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running.

Discusses how to live with difficult persons.

Ellie tries, really tries, to be good as she faces temptation over and over again. But how can a wiener dog resist? There are sandwiches and trash baskets and freshly baked ham sending heavenly smells straight to her wriggly nose. Ellie so wants to please because she loves to hear “What a good dog!” but she is also taunted by naughtiness because she thinks with her nose. She smells and sniffs and it’s hard for her to be good when she gets a whiff! Children, and adults alike, will find Ellie’s tale hilariously relatable. What will she do when put to the ultimate test? Ellie’s irresistible charm radiates from every colorful, energetic page as she struggles in her desire to do the right thing. Her expressions tell the story, making Ellie the Wienerdog a pup readers will come to know and love. With playful text and equally boisterous art, this book invites readers to join in the fun over and over again.