Good Work

Alexandra Stoddard

Choosing Happiness: Keys to a Joyful Life

Based on her more than thirty years as a noted thinker and speaker on personal contentment, Alexandra Stoddard shares what she has learned about the small but significant changes you can make to be happier day by day. A fun first step: quickly write down ten words that define who you are--perhaps beaches, family, food, home--and what else? This and dozens of other inventive ideas will help you pursue happiness wisely and well. In challenging times, it is easy to question whether happiness is a choice. Alexandra Stoddard affirms that not only is it possible to choose happiness but that happiness is the best choice we can make. It is the "first principle" of life that unites humankind because it is what we all desire. Happiness lies in the passions we pursue and in the pressures we decline. It is in knowing how to work and when to play. It is in the treasured objects we keep nearby and in the ordinary moments we elevate into small celebrations. It is in the note we write to a friend and the kindness we show a stranger. Happiness is what you make it, where you make it. Happiness is our best choice.

Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression

Unholy Ghost is a unique collection of essays about depression that, in the spirit of William Styron's Darkness Visible, finds vivid expression for an elusive illness suffered by more than one in five Americans today. Unlike any other memoir of depression, however, Unholy Ghost includes many voices and depicts the most complete portrait of the illness. Lauren Slater eloquently describes her own perilous experience as a pregnant woman on antidepressant medication. Susanna Kaysen, writing for the first time about depression since Girl, Interrupted, criticizes herself and others for making too much of the illness. Larry McMurtry recounts the despair that descended after his quadruple bypass surgery. Meri Danquah describes the challenges of racism and depression. Ann Beattie sees melancholy as a consequence of her writing life. And Donald Hall lovingly remembers the "moody seesaw" of his relationship with his wife, Jane Kenyon.The collection also includes an illuminating series of companion pieces. Russell Banks's and Chase Twichell's essays represent husbandand-wife perspectives on depression; Rose Styron's contribution about her husband's struggle with melancholy is paired with an ...

William R. Jenson, Elaine Clark, Julie M. Bowen

School-Based Interventions for Students with Behavior Problems

School-Based Interventions for Students with Behavior Problems is a book about helping children and adolescents who engage in severe behaviors to positively succeed in the school setting. The emphasis of this book is on the prevention of behavior problems through structuring the instructional environment and teaching appropriate skills-and intervention to reduce problems with practical, proven, and positive procedures. This book is designed for educators faced with the daily challenge of instructing students with behavior problems, social skill deficits, and academic delays. It is designed for teachers as well as those who work with teachers and students; school administrators, counselors, special educators, and school psychologists. In searching for effective behavioral, social skill, and academic strategies, the authors have reviewed hundreds of research-validated studies to select techniques applicable to varied instructional settings within the school. The orientation and contents of this book represent the authors' experience and professional training in teaching, clinical work, and research involving students with behavior problems over the last 25 years. ...