This is a book for our times.
In these unprecedentedly strange and painful times, people are anxious, stressed, miserable and even afraid. Across the globe our political, economic and social systems are breaking down, causing the middle classes to fall into poverty at record rates - while the biosphere on which we all depend for life deteriorates.
Those living in Western culture have seen that the old rules for happiness and success no longer deliver the life they've shown up for, tried for, hoped for in our volatile, changing world.
Many feel hopeless. The quality of their felt experience of life has gone down. Suicides are at record levels, particularly in men and the younger generations.
In the midst of this upheaval, this book -The Actual Normal - offers "an antidote to feelings of powerlessness and despair".
It speaks to those struggling with painful personal challenges, who are grieving their losses and uncertain of how to 'get back on track' after adversity. Offering empowering insights and effective strategies for coping effectively in today's broader challenging environment, it shows both how to navigate personal difficulties and how to respond powerfully, so that the reader can reclaim their quality-of-life experience, despite ongoing adversity.
Because in these volatile times of change and great uncertainty, the world needs people to be coming out of their best Selves, not their most broken ones.
There is a way to purposefully direct our Selves and our lives back to something that not only works but holds possibilities - and joy itself! But before we can effectively tackle our difficulties, we must understand the facts.
Combining self-reflection, cultural commentary and the deep philosophies of the wisest minds the planet has known, The Actual Normal explores the disorientating, disempowering reality of personal loss, suffering and grief (as the absolute phenomenon it has become across the world). It confronts head-on how our Western Culturescape has generated suffering (particularly in the aspirational middle-classes) - and reflects on why this is significant. Filled with takeaways for everyone in the trenches of change and loss The Actual Normal is ultimately an accessible and illuminating guide that forges a new and practical philosophy for modern times - encouraging readers to find the personal opportunity in uncertainty, embracing change and the growth that comes with it.
