Learn to Love Yourself

From Stress to Happiness. Many of us know intellectually that we need to be good to ourselves if we want to be happy. But it feels so hard. We are simultaneously the harsh judge and the lost, scared child who wants to stop feeling judged. It becomes a vicious cycle. It only stops when we step outside ourselves and observe how we got ourselves stuck. Only then can we learn to practice gratitude and positive thinking.

Joy and Peace. Lori Deschene, creator of TinyBuddha.com and the self-help journals Tiny Buddha's Worry Journal and Tiny Buddha's Gratitude Journal, shares 40 unique perspectives and insights to help you stop judging yourself so harshly. Featuring stories selected from hundreds of TinyBuddha.com contributors, Tiny Buddha's Guide to Loving Yourself provides an honest look at what it means to overcome critical, self-judging thoughts to create a peaceful, empowered life.

More than a Self-Help Book. Tiny Buddha's Guide to Loving Yourself is a collection of vulnerable reflections and epiphanies from people who are learning to love themselves, just like you. In this book, you will find:

• Four authentic, vulnerable stories in each chapter
• Insightful observations about our shared struggles and how to overcome them
• Action-oriented suggestions based on the wisdom in the stories

Tiny Buddha's Guide to Loving Yourself: 40 Ways to Transform Your Inner Critic and Your Life, Lori Deschene, Conari Press, Paperback, 316 pages, $15.95

Lori Deschene grew up in Massachusetts, where she developed into a Type-A overachiever with a strong drive to do more and be more--largely because she believed this would prove she was valuable and lovable. She began working two jobs at twelve years old, all while maintaining her status as an honor roll student and spending nights rehearsing for community theater performances. So packed was her schedule that a friend predicted, in her high school year book class prophecy, that she'd eventually write and star in a one-woman show about her life called "Stress."

Though she's yet to pen that script, she's learned a lot about managing stress since she left her hometown in 2002. Since then, she's traveled all over the US for work, lived in multiple states, recovered from a decade-plus battle with bulimia, healed from major depression, learned to embrace her emotional sensitivity, and built a career that suits her introverted nature and allows her to leverage her painful past for good.

Lori is the author of Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom for Life's Hard Questions, Tiny Buddha's Guide to Loving Yourself, Tiny Buddha's 365 Tiny Love Challenges, Tiny Buddha's Gratitude Journal, and Tiny Buddha's Worry Journal. Formerly a contributor for nationally distributed girls' magazines, Lori dreams of one day writing and illustrating her own picture books. But first, she's devoting her energy to the newly launched Tiny Buddha Productions and working on her first feature film. Who knows--that one-woman show may eventually see the light of day.