Adult Development

What does it mean to be an adult? In the 20th century, psychologists came up with five markers of adulthood: finish your education, get a job, leave home, marry, and have children. Since then, every generation has been held to those same markers. Yet so much has changed about the world and living in it since that sequence was formulated. All of those markers are choices, and they’re all valid, but any one person’s choices along those lines do not make them more or less an adult.

The complex, deeply binding relationship between mothers and daughters is brought vividly to life in Katie Hafner's remarkable memoir, an exploration of the year she and her mother, Helen, spent working through, and triumphing over, a lifetime of unresolved emotions. Dreaming of a "year in Provence" with her mother, Katie urges Helen to move to San Francisco to live with her and Zoe, Katie's teenage daughter. Katie and Zoe had become a mother-daughter team, strong enough, Katie thought, to absorb the arrival of a 77-year-old woman set in her ways....

Many of us were never shown what it truly means to be an adult. Instead, we learned unhealthy patterns from parents who, themselves, had never been taught. It is no surprise that we are often find ourselves filled with self-doubt, stuck in feelings of overwhelm, and trapped in unfulfilling or dead-end relationships. But there is a way out. After decades of working with clients, therapist, coach, and podcast host Michelle Chalfant passionately believes in the potential for every person to awaken to their true selves and create a life filled with purpose and joy.

Does your heart pound at night, and make it impossible to sleep? Do you lie awake and overthink every little thing? Is stress and anxiety a constant in your life? As soon as your head hits the pillow, the war begins. You need to wake up early the next day, but you just can’t get to sleep. One negative thought leads to another and before you know it they’re spiraling out of control, and you instantly feel dark and foreboding. Worst of all, it follows you into another groggy day.

Those who have had a narcissistic parent can testify to how damaging it can be to one's psyche. Narcissistic parents lack empathy, show a severe sense of entitlement to micromanage the lives of their children, and often subject their children to neglect, as well as emotional, psychological, and physical abuse. From the unique challenges daughters of narcissistic fathers face to the ways in which adverse childhood experiences affect our brains, Shahida Arabi's insightful essays resonate deeply with those who have been raised by narcissistic parents.

Drawing on her research, knowledge, and clinical experience, internationally respected neurologist--and mother of two boys--Frances E. Jensen, MD, offers a revolutionary look at the adolescent brain, providing remarkable insights that translate into practical advice both for parents and teenagers.

Who are we? Or perhaps more accurately, why are we who we are? That depends on whom you ask, but most people will agree that our identity is largely determined by our experiences. This includes personal highlights, such as first love, but also personal crises and dealing with our deepest fears. Basically, what matters most to our personal journey through life is the strategies we use to master such very special challenges in the first place.

Tired of ADHD advice that barely scratches the surface, leaving you still overwhelmed and behind on deadlines? You’re not alone—and this audiobook is different. It brings together three essentials in one cohesive program: an approachable guide to thriving with ADHD, a hands-on CBT workbook, and a 30-day Executive Functioning Mastery plan. You’ll discover how ADHD brains really work, along with realistic, step-by-step methods to overcome piles of unfinished tasks, relentless procrastination, and the emotional roller coaster of daily life. No more shallow pep talks or impossible systems.

Was your mother preoccupied, distant, or even demeaning? Have you struggled with relationships - or with your own self-worth? Often, the grown children of emotionally absent mothers can't quite put a finger on what's missing from their lives. The children of abusive mothers, by contrast, may recognize the abuse - but overlook its lasting, harmful effects. Psychotherapist Jasmin Lee Cori has helped thousands of men and women heal the hidden wounds left by every kind of undermothering.

What if you stopped feeling ashamed of constantly being late or of getting so hyperfocused on a task that you drop everything else you had to do? How can you as a partner, parent, or friend better understand your neurodivergent loved one’s way of moving through the world? In Dirty Laundry, life partners Rich Pink and Rox Emery unapologetically guide you through the ups and downs of life with ADHD. Every chapter starts with a common symptom of ADHD, like impulsivity or struggles with finances, and an earnest moment from their own lives to show you how they navigate the symptom together.

The best news on the planet is that your mother doesn't have to change in order for you to be happy. In fact, author Karen C.L. Anderson will take it a step further and say your mother doesn't have to change in order for you to be free, peaceful, contented, and joyful. You can emotionally separate without guilt: Inspired by her own journey, Anderson's Difficult Mothers, Adult Daughters shows women how to emotionally separate from their mothers without guilt and anxiety so they can finally create a life based on their own values, desires, needs, and preferences.

If you’ve been looking for a book that will help you reclaim power over your life and finally adjust yourself to being an unshakeable adult, then this is the book for you!

If you grew up with an emotionally immature, unavailable, or selfish parent, you may recall your childhood as a time when your emotional needs were not met or dismissed—and you may have lingering feelings of anger, loneliness, betrayal, and abandonment. As an adult, you have fought hard to establish your own sense of self, and heal the wounds caused by your upbringing. But what about other emotionally immature people (EIP) in your life? As an adult child of an emotionally immature parent (ACEIP), you may be particularly vulnerable to EIPs.

Your child is now an adult, but your job as a parent is far from over. Instead, your role must evolve to meet their ongoing, changing needs. But what exactly are these new needs? And why are they so different now than they were when you were a young adult? This is the first comprehensive guide written for parents whose children are in two of the most crucial decades of life.

Adults with ADHD face unique challenges that impact every aspect of life, including work and relationships. This expansion and update of psychologist Abigail Levrini’s bestselling book offers realistic, proven strategies to help adults with ADHD lead more fulfilling and productive lives. With her extensive experience researching and treating adults with ADHD, Levrini provides user-friendly strategies for setting meaningful and realistic goals, developing a plan to achieve the goals, and staying on track while following the plan.

Do you miss a good night sleep? If you have trouble relaxing, turning your mind off, and lulling the body to sleep, you are not alone. This is a really common problem, and the collection of calming tales inside this audiobook is your answer.

You love your mother, but she drives you crazy. She controls, criticizes, and butts into your life constantly. Then when you try and set boundaries, the pushback and resulting guilt are so bad you tell yourself...it's just not worth it. Is your mother narcissistic, borderline, or just plain difficult? Are you empathetic, sensitive, and kind? If so, chances are you have fallen into one or all of the hidden psychological traps that constitute the Good Daughter Syndrome.

It is estimated that as many as 34 million people grew up in alcoholic homes. But what about the rest of us? What about families that had no alcoholism, but did have perfectionism, workaholism, compulsive overeating, intimacy problems, depression, problems in expressing feelings, plus all the other personality traits that can produce a family system much like an alcoholic one? Countless millions of us struggle with these kinds of dysfunctions every day, and until very recently we struggled alone.

American baby boomers are aging, and 15 million of them never had children. Who will take care of them? Unprecedented in US history, this demographic will create challenges for these individuals, as well as for society. This book is a passionate exploration of the path ahead for "Solo Agers". Author Sara Zeff Geber takes listeners on a journey, starting with the choice for childlessness and then suggests ways in which Solo Agers can mitigate the absence of adult children by relationship-building and rigorous planning for their future.

From these disparate phenomena: Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse who as president of a Midwestern college observed the trials of this generation up close, sees an existential threat to the American way of life. In The Vanishing American Adult, Sasse diagnoses the causes of a generation that can't grow up and offers a path for raising children to become active and engaged citizens. He identifies core formative experiences that all young people should pursue.