Self help

Naked and Alone

Tormod Huseby

Alene naken is an exceptionally warm, tolerant and insightful book about what really controls our behaviour. Tormod Huseby is a psychiatrist deeply engaged with his patients and colleagues. In the book he shows what becomes of our lives when we are not ourselves. Why do we not turn out as we were meant to be, and why as adults do we continue to conceal who we are? The author also explains how we can be affected when other people haven't been able to be their true selves – children, spouses, colleagues or friends. That can lead to weakened self-esteem in those of us who have been rejected by them. We can suffer loss of energy, conflict in relationships at work and worry about our friendships. We may also fear violence and terrorism. Through many stories from his meetings with people – and from his own life – he invites us to reflect on why we are who we are, why we make the choices we do, and how we can make different choices to enable us to find a life where we dare to be fully ourselves. ’Honest, open-hearted and well written reports of some of the problems and people a psychiatrist can meet in his everyday work.’AFTENPOSTEN

Calisthenics with Lasse Tufte

Lasse Tufte

Build up your strength and have fun training – indoors and out! There has been enormous growth in interest in weight-training and calisthenics. Now we have the book, written by the expert himself, Lasse Tufte, who demonstrates and explains the best exercises in the ‘calisthenics bible.' The exercises are all illustrated, and they are divided into categories such as warming up, legs, the backs of the thighs, stomach and pulling exercises. He also includes his own practical and enjoyable programmes, which can be seen as games as well as training. Outdoor calisthenics is a social activity – and free! This book is perfect both for new beginners who need to have the exercises demonstrated and for more advanced participants who want to develop further and learn more. Lasse Tufte lectures on calisthenics and street workout and is recognised both nationally and internationally for his role in sports development as an organiser, exponent, judge, developer of facilities, lecturer and consultant.

A Good Decision

Nils Tore Meland

Why did I buy a flat with a balcony when I really needed a garage? Which candidate shall I employ? Do we need a turnaround at work? Should I set up this project? These are important questions with major consequences. Decisions are to do with making choices and putting an end to uncertainty and doubt. Unfortunately, an overwhelming mass of good research indicates that more than half of all our decisions turn out badly. Most of us think that it is difficult to make complex choices which involve risk and serious consequences. We put off and wait, or we just leave things as they are. We base our decisions on too much, too little or incorrect information. So we identify too few possibilities and propose inadequate solutions. Or we simply solve the wrong problem. Those who use a little more time, especially at the start of the decision process, identify more opportunities and formulate better solutions. In the whole process they make quicker and better choices, up to six times better in fact. Good decision-making can be both learned and practised to a high standard, and the process can be both exciting and fun. This book will give you seven practical steps towards better decision-making. ’A superbly good book about decision-making. An example for future authors of non-fiction’Elin Ørjaseter ’ … one of the year’s most exciting Norwegian books on management’HR Norge ’… a fantastic book for all who want to develop their skills at making better decisions … which many will get great benefit from reading.’ Hans-Petter Nygård-Hansen ’some of the best I have read on the subject. The book is so elegantly written that the main message never becomes boring.’Edvard Noer Bjørge

A Whole Person in Half a Body

Anne Grethe Solberg

Anne Grethe Solberg was shot by her ex-husband eight years ago. One shoulder and arm had to be amputated, and her hip was shot to pieces. It was uncertain whether she would survive, and whether she would be able to walk. She was certainly not expected to be able to run a marathon. In this book she tells the dramatic story of the shooting episode. She relates how she saved her life by playing dead. Not least, she describes what happened after the shooting; how she escaped from the scene of the shooting and how she was saved. She has a strong survival instinct. She wants to look after her children, work and pay the bills herself. She develops strategies for self-mastery, and as she herself is a coach, she coaches herself in the recovery period after the shooting. After an impressive amount of practice, Anne Grethe teaches herself to walk. However, it becomes apparent that it is easier to run. She decides to run a marathon and she writes grippingly about her progress to the New York Marathon. Finally, she shares her ten strategies for self-mastery which we can all make use of. A story of self-mastery, strong will, hard work and a strong wish to survive in order to be able to make a difference.

Harvest Outdoor Handbook

This book is about enjoying the outdoors with children and all the enjoyable, exciting and educational activities you can find there. It comes to us from the editors who publish the magazine Harvest on the internet: Torbjørn Ekelund, Simen Tveitereid, Kjetil Østli and Anders Aakre. Like many others, they have learned by experience that it is often better to be outdoors than in. All age-groups find that crossing the threshold is the longest mile, but once the bags are packed and the troops assembled and the whole family is trotting into the woods, along the shore or up into the mountains, a type of calm settles. Everybody suddenly feels content to be there, and it seems that the children have long forgotten that just a short time ago they were insisting on staying indoors. The aim of this book is to inspire families with small children to go out more – or at least give it a try.

Help

Øyvind Kvalnes

Helping others is one of the best things we can do on this Earth. That's when we are at our very best as human beings. It's also good for the heart, and reduces stress and depression. More help is needed, both locally and globally. How can we help in the best way possible? A tiny extra input can be all that is needed to transform a situation for somebody else. Help can be anything from feeding the cat for friends while they are on holiday, to running into a burning house to rescue somebody. It can be taking a neighbour's washing in from the clothes-line when rain approaches. It can also be going into war zones to provide medical and humanitarian help at the risk of one's own life. Tweeter and philosopher Øyvind Kvalnes is engaged with aid not only professionally but also more personally as a father, grandfather and local citizen. Helpfulness is one of the most important things we can teach our children, provided we find the golden middle way and don't push them too hard. In this book he takes examples from his own life, from philosophy and from psychology.

I should have said I love you.

Audun Myskja

Are we looking out for the important moments in our lives? Are we following our dreams?When our time comes, can we manage to close life's book with the reassurance of knowing that we have lived the life we wanted to? Dr. Audun Myskja has sat by many deathbeds and had many difficult but fulfilling conversations with the dying. Here he writes about people who will soon have completed their life on Earth. People's inmost longings and wishes come out, with remorse about what didn't happen, joy about the bright moments, and the love and sincerity which life also offered. Myskja weaves the stories together with his own reflections based on his long experience as a doctor. This is a warm and thoughtful book which moves the reader to reflect on his own life and what it is being used for.

Soothing food for the stomach

Julia Døhlen Edin / Torunn Knudsen / Tonje Mellin-Olsen / Jørgen Valeur

The low FODMAP diet consists of good food which calms the intestines – whether you have a bloated stomach, loose stools, constipation or stomach pain. Over 50 recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, cakes and desserts without gluten, lactose and carbohydrates that are difficult to digest. Simple, tasty and stomach-friendly! Includes a diet diary for your own notes.(FODMAP is an acronym for Fermentable Oligo- Di- and Mono-saccharides And Polyols.)

Log Off!

Lars Bratsberg / Thomas Moen

Right now you just have to post a few tweets while your Facebook profile is being updated with the afternoon running trip and the picture of today's dinner which you made yourself, and at the same time you see that a text message has come in which you must reply to at once. The rest of the family are sitting around the dinner table, while you are deeply immersed in your digital world and don't even hear the little one talking about his nursery outing by train. You are a competent multitasker, and you feel that you are there where the action is happening. The authors of Logg av! had themselves fallen into the multitasking pit, but they made some important changes in their busy digital world. In this book they explain why it is important to log off when you have free time, what happens when we only communicate digitally and the stress the brain is exposed to all day and night when you are logged in all the time. An important book which will help you to rediscover the balance in your life, to engage with others both socially and at work, and to sleep well at night.

Man

Dag Furuholmen / Ted Usatynski

Today's man stands at a crossroads. In the past, man has been an unchallenged patriarch in our civilisation, secure of his role and confident of his masculinity. Many people think that today's man is more unsure of himself than ever. In the media he is often portrayed as immature and self-centred. The demands and expectations from all around him have changed. It is time for man to rediscover his strength, his identity and who he wants to be. What characterises the modern man? How has the culture we live in affected man's role? The authors present new research from psychology, sociology and neurobiology, together with explanations from evolutionary biology. The various chapters follow man from childhood, though adult life and right on to old age, researching the different phases of life and the roles man passes through. They describe different routes to manhood through themes such as friendship, responsibility, sexuality, fatherhood and maturity. This book is helpful to today's man in finding his masculinity and being able to assess what is specific about being a man. The text also includes questions which will help the reader to explore the various themes as they relate to his own life. This book is written for men, by men, but it will also be useful to women who want to gain a better understanding of their father, partner or son. Join us on a journey of discovery through your masculinity!

Courageous

Svein Harald Røine

Imagine that every day of your life is represented by a Post-it sticker. From the cradle to the grave you have perhaps 30,000 Post-it stickers at your disposal. You pull a sticker off every day. It never comes back. Are you satisfied with what was written on the sticker? Or do you long for something different? Can you do anything about it? This was the question Svein Harald Røine grappled with when he suddenly became unemployed. He realised that the new situation offered a golden opportunity to find out what he wanted to change in his life, both at work and privately. Assisted by a skilled coach, he set out on a journey with many surprising challenges where he had to move out of his comfort zone. This is the process which he describes in the book, with humour, warmth, mixed terror and delight, embarrassment – and pride. He learned how to deal with fear. Svein Harald Røine wants to help people to be more courageous in their everyday lives, at work, at home, in leisure time, in both big and small matters. With courage we can defy fear, shape changes and attain new goals. ’A delightful, refreshing and insightful book … Recommended!’Mia Törnblom ’The first self-development book I haven’t managed to put down – like a charming little novel!’Cecilie Gunnæs Hermansen ’The best book I have read in a long time! Not only is it thought-provoking and full of good advice; it is also agreeably entertaining at the same time.’Lisbeth Ulsaker’This book is warmly recommended! I couldn’t lay it down … it will become a favourite!’Siri Folkvord Abrahamsen