Calm
Author: The School of Life
Published by: The School of Life Press
Pages: 165
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★★★
Published by: The School of Life Press
Pages: 165
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★★★
A guide to developing the art of finding serenity by understanding the sources of our anxiety and frustrations.
Part of a new essential paperback series from The School of Life, covering a range of emotional lessons needed in order to lead fulfilled and happy lives.
Part of a new essential paperback series from The School of Life, covering a range of emotional lessons needed in order to lead fulfilled and happy lives.
My thoughts:
This was quite different from my usual reading choices, but after spotting it reduced in the January sales this year, and following a stressful family Christmas, I decided to give it a go.
The School of Life is a resource for exploring self-knowledge, relationships, work, socialising, finding calm, and enjoying culture through content, community, and conversation.
I enjoyed reading Calm. The book explores all aspects of being calm, and I liked the layout: with individual chapters covering a variety of different areas. The writing is engaging and insightful, with a well-thought-out exploration of ideas around the theme of 'calm,' and tangible activities readers can immediately implement.
‘Calmness isn't just a state of mind. It's an essential life skill that, when practiced, can dramatically improve our everyday lives.’
This short and logical book argues that we can educate ourselves in the art of keeping calm not through slow breathing or special teas but through thinking. It patiently unpacks the root causes of our collective anxieties and greatest stresses and gives us a succession of highly persuasive arguments with which to defend ourselves against panic and fury. There are moments of dryly comic commentary, and I actually found this very readable and surprisingly comforting. I enjoyed this one more than I’d expected, and it made an interesting, thought-provoking read. The writing itself provides a sense of calm, and overall, I feel the book is successful in seeming to instil some hope that readers really can lead a more calm and peaceful life.
Overall reaction:
This was quite different from my usual reading choices, but after spotting it reduced in the January sales this year, and following a stressful family Christmas, I decided to give it a go.
The School of Life is a resource for exploring self-knowledge, relationships, work, socialising, finding calm, and enjoying culture through content, community, and conversation.
I enjoyed reading Calm. The book explores all aspects of being calm, and I liked the layout: with individual chapters covering a variety of different areas. The writing is engaging and insightful, with a well-thought-out exploration of ideas around the theme of 'calm,' and tangible activities readers can immediately implement.
‘Calmness isn't just a state of mind. It's an essential life skill that, when practiced, can dramatically improve our everyday lives.’
This short and logical book argues that we can educate ourselves in the art of keeping calm not through slow breathing or special teas but through thinking. It patiently unpacks the root causes of our collective anxieties and greatest stresses and gives us a succession of highly persuasive arguments with which to defend ourselves against panic and fury. There are moments of dryly comic commentary, and I actually found this very readable and surprisingly comforting. I enjoyed this one more than I’d expected, and it made an interesting, thought-provoking read. The writing itself provides a sense of calm, and overall, I feel the book is successful in seeming to instil some hope that readers really can lead a more calm and peaceful life.
Overall reaction:
