Breaking the Pattern

"Why does this keep happening to me?" is the question most commonly asked by those entering psychotherapy for the first time. Whether we can't stop dating the wrong guy or taking the wrong job, gaining and losing weight, or getting into debt, it is the repeating patterns in our lives that cause us the most pain and frustration. Now author and psychologist Alan Downs shows us all how we can break these cycles...for good!

After fifteen years of working with people from all walks of life -- including executives, homemakers, young adults, and the elderly -- Dr. Downs has identified seven crises that every one of us will face at some point during our lifetime. In Why Does This Keep Happening to Me?, Downs uses his revolutionary Crisis Quiz to show us which of these crises is at the root of our repeating behavior. Downs includes quizzes, exercises, and real-life examples to help us resolve universal issues, including

• Who will I share my life with?
• Why can't I believe in myself?
• How can I become my own person?
• What does it all mean?

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln successfully led the United States through its greatest constitutional, military, and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union while ending slavery and promoting economic and financial modernization. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, Lincoln was mostly self-educated, and became a country lawyer, a Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator during the 1830s, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives during the 1840s.

Lincoln won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was elected president later that year. His tenure in office was occupied primarily with the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoting the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. As the civil war was drawing to a close, Lincoln became the first American president to be assassinated; he had the largest funeral in the nation's history and his legacy became iconic for American nationalism and freedom.

Francis Fisher Browne (December 1, 1843 – 1913) was an American editor, poet, and critic. Browne was born in South Halifax, Vermont. After his high school education, Browne enlisted in the Forty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteers (1862–63). He went on to study law in Rochester and Ann Arbor; edited the Lakeside Monthly (Chicago) (1869–74), The Alliance (1878–79), and The Dial (1880–1913), a semi-monthly literary review.

Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford, and Marianne —New York Times bestselling authors and internationally acclaimed teachers—have joined together to share their knowledge on one of the most crucial obstacles to happiness we face—the shadow. These three luminaries, each with a signature approach, bring to light the parts of ourselves we deny but that still direct our life. For it is only when we embrace our shadow that we discover the gifts of our authentic nature.

The shadow exists within all of us. It is a part of us and yet we spend most of our life running from it. But far from being scary, our dark side holds the promise of a better, more fulfilling life. Our shadow makes itself known every day. It is the reason we get furious over a friend showing up ten minutes late, yell at our parents or kids when they have done nothing wrong, and sabotage our own success at the worst possible time. Until we are able to embrace our dualistic nature, we will continue to hurt ourselves and those closest to us and fall short of our potential.

Combining the wisdom of three experts, The Shadow Effect is a practical and profound guide to discovering the gifts of our shadow. These three authors powerfully pierce the veil of our unclaimed self, releasing us from the past and propelling us on a journey to wholeness. No longer living a half life, we are capable of achieving our dreams and reclaiming the happiness that is our birthright.