The new book by the New York Times bestselling author of LOVINGKINDNESS and REAL HAPPINESS.
REAL LIFE:
The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom
by Sharon Salzberg
Flatiron/St. Martin’s Press, April 2023
When confronted with pain and obstacles, we often shrink back out of fear and disappointment. But in REAL LIFE, Sharon Salzberg lets us know it doesn’t have to be that way. When we feel alone, cut off, or trapped, we can let those difficulties steer us onto a path toward an authentic, flourishing life—living in a way that allows us to find the wholeness that lies within. Even when we’re alone, a sense of community can accompany us through the stormy times. Our words, hearts, and actions can line up with a larger vision, rather than the smaller views our anxious, fearful thoughts arouse in us. To live in a less constricted way, Salzberg says, we need to get real about what’s most important, to ask ourselves, “What do I most deeply yearn for?” “What would I benefit from letting go of?” “What do I believe is possible for me?” By developing tools like mindful awareness, friendship and a greater sense of purpose, we can accomplish the journey to expansive freedom and live the life that speaks to our innermost longing to live free.
Sharon Salzberg is a central figure in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She has played a crucial role in bringing meditation and mindfulness practices to the West and into mainstream culture since 1974, when she first began teaching. She is the cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA and the author of several books including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, her seminal work, Lovingkindness, and Real Happiness At Work. Renowned for her down-to-earth teaching style, Sharon offers a secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings, making them instantly accessible. She is a regular columnist for On Being, a contributor to Huffington Post, and the host of her own podcast: The Metta Hour.
Australia’s most prolific serial sexual killers met in prison. They were a complete contrast: Christopher Worrell, the charismatic youngster; and James Miller, the older and socially awkward loner. For Miller, it was love at first sight. They developed an ominous bond – proving that opposites can attract – and then kill. The tag team were inseparable, working, socialising and killing together – slaying as many people as the notorious serial killer Ivan Milat. James Miller said it was all his mate’s doing. He and Worrell often picked up girls off the street. Miller drove them to a discreet location, where Worrell and the women had consensual sex. Miller pleased his lover and the women had sex with an attractive and charismatic man. It was fun all round. But then it all went wrong. On 23 December 1976, they picked up Veronica Knight. Worrell went satanic, killing her without warning. And then it happened again and again, six more times. There was nothing Miller could do. He claimed he was victim number eight. Miller lied. Using the latest research into serial sexual homicide, the truth of the murder spree and the offenders’ motives are finally revealed.
In her trailblazing book 
Every year, we are dangerously warping the climate by putting gigantic amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. But CO2 isn’t merely the byproduct of burning fossil fuels—it is also fundamental to how our planet works. All life is ultimately made from CO2, and it has kept Earth bizarrely habitable for hundreds of millions of years. In short, it is the most important substance on Earth. But how is it that CO2 is as essential to life on Earth as it is capable of destroying it?