Relationship Theory

Have economists neglected trust? The economy is fundamentally a network of relationships built on mutual expectations. More than that, trust is the glue that holds civilization together. Every time we interact with another person - to make a purchase, work on a project, or share a living space - we rely on trust. Institutions and relationships function because people place confidence in them. Benjamin Ho reveals the surprising importance of trust to how we understand our day-to-day economic lives.

Rooted in established scientific findings, as well as her own research and clinical experience, Harvard-trained psychologist and connection researcher Dr. Kristine Klussman's approach to well-being is simple and transformative. Klussman shows us that the way to achieve true happiness and fulfillment is not by striving toward them at all, but rather by cultivating connection in our everyday lives.

Why are certain people so incredibly great at what they do? Most of us think we know the answer - but we’re almost always wrong. That’s important, because if we’re wrong on this crucial question, then we have zero chance of getting significantly better at anything we care about. Happily, the real source of great performance is no longer a mystery. Bringing together extensive scientific research, best-selling author Geoff Colvin shows where we go wrong and what actually makes world-class performers so remarkable.

Matt Dahlia was a recent college grad with no direction in his life: his business was dead on arrival and all his friends had left town. He was broke and searching for belonging in a world that didn’t understand him. That is, until he serendipitously met Thomas, who not only felt the same way he did, but had a project in mind: Together, along with two more like-minded strangers, they were going to move into a one-bedroom apartment and film themselves doing 30 things they had never done before in 30 days.

Why do political leaders become entangled in so many sex scandals? How did the US military inadvertently help make San Francisco a mecca of gay culture? And what was the original purpose of vibrators? Find out the answers to all these questions and more as journalist Ross Benes delves into the complicated relationship between everyday human life - including religion, politics, and technology - and our sexuality.

Never before has world-renowned psychoanalyst Alice Miller examined so persuasively the long-range consequences of childhood abuse on the body. Using the experiences of her patients along with the biographical stories of literary giants such as Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, and Marcel Proust, Miller shows how a child's humiliation, impotence, and bottled rage will manifest itself as adult illness - be it cancer, stroke, or other debilitating diseases.

What does it mean for someone to be an asshole? The answer is not obvious, despite the fact that we are often personally stuck dealing with people for whom there is no better name. Try as we might to avoid them, assholes are found everywhere - at work, at home, on the road, and in the public sphere. Encountering one causes great difficulty and personal strain, especially because we often cannot understand why exactly someone should be acting like that.

Building on the foundational insights of "Anxious Attachment and Avoidant Detachment," this sequel opens a new chapter in your quest for deeper, more resilient relationships. It's more than a book—it's your guide to a world of secure attachment, offering pathways to enrich your connections and embrace the strength of emotional resilience and enduring love.

If there’s one thing Leah McSweeney knows for sure, it’s that life never quite gives you what you expect. Her road to success as an entrepreneur and Real Housewives breakout star has been paved with unexpected chances, soul-crushing challenges, and, for too long, chaos.

Whether you find yourself constantly seeking reassurance in love or pushing away from too much closeness, "Anxious Attachment and Avoidant Detachment" provides the tools to navigate the complexities of intimacy with grace and confidence. You'll learn to speak the language of love fluently, to listen with empathy, and to build the kind of relationships you've always deserved—one where love is not a source of angst but a foundation for growth.

Author Lisa Bilyeu grew up in London, where she was always told her dreams of Hollywood were a little too big for a girl. Despite her first love of movie-making, Lisa moved to Los Angeles and became a housewife—for eight frickin’ years! How the heck did that happen? Radical Confidence is the “empowering, transformative, and practical” (Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Like A Monk) story of how Lisa unpaused her life to cofound a company that went from zero to a billion dollars in just five years and became the leader in the world of personal development.

In The Power of Strangers, Joe Keohane sets out on a journey to discover what happens when we bridge the distance between us and people we don’t know. He learns that while we’re wired to sometimes fear, distrust, and even hate strangers, people and societies that have learned to connect with strangers benefit immensely.

We all want that special someone who's going to love us unconditionally, honor us, and accept us for just being who we are. Authentic love and connection are enormously powerful bonds between two people. Unfortunately though, if we've had more than our fair share of bad relationships through our lifetime. Then it can become easy to suspect there’s no right person, just many different alternatives of wrong.

Timothy R. Levine’s Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception recounts a decades-long program of empirical research that culminates in a new theory of deception-truth-default theory. This theory holds that the content of incoming communication is typically and uncritically accepted as true, and most of the time, this is good. Truth-default allows humans to function socially.

Humans are master pretenders—we often seem stronger, calmer and more mature than we really are, while the truth is we’re full of doubts and self-criticism that pushes us to borrow reassurance from friends, beliefs from strangers on the internet, or attention that, in the moment, makes us feel successful, but leaves us totally hollow and burnt out. True to You is a relatable self-help guide for listeners who are affected by burnout and want to learn to live less focused on others’ reactions and more confidently by their own principles

In 1994, Reviving Ophelia was published, and it shone a much-needed spotlight on the problems faced by adolescent girls. The approach Pipher and Gilliam take in this new edition is just what it was in the original: a timely, listenable combination of insightful research and real-world examples that illuminate the challenges young women face and the ways to address them. This updated Reviving Ophelia looks at 21st century adolescent girls through fresh eyes, with insights and ideas that will help new generations of listeners.

Through historical newspaper accounts and the personal letters of soldiers, the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself are stunningly recreated. You will enter the mind of Robert E. Lee as he makes the fateful decision to cross the Potomac River and take the offensive. You will feel the frustration of Abraham Lincoln as he struggles to convince George McClellan to fight. And you will stand side-by-side with foot soldiers as the peaceful Maryland countryside explodes.

What does human suffering have to do with God's power and love? Everyone has a "Gethsemane," a place and time in our lives when we face sorrow on the deepest level. To help us understand the relationship and interaction between human suffering and God's power and love, author Leslie Montgomery looks at the details of Jesus' example to show how valuable lessons can be learned through suffering.

De Brevitate Vitae (frequently referred to as On the Shortness of Life in English) is a moral essay written by Seneca the Younger, a Roman Stoic philosopher, to his father-in-law Paulinus. The philosopher brings up many Stoic principles on the nature of time, namely that men waste much of it in meaningless pursuits. According to the essay, nature gives man enough time to do what is really important and the individual must allot it properly.

Do you find it difficult to maintain a successful romantic relationship? Do you see the same behaviour patterns in yourself emerging in your relationships, time and time again? Are you constantly worried that everything will end in heartbreak? The patterns and beliefs we develop as children, although often deeply rooted in our psyche, can be unlearned and replaced with positive beliefs and approaches that allow you to take a more constructive path through life.