How to Handle Trouble: A Guide to Peace of Mind

by John Carmody

Overview

For everyone panicked by disaster, How to Handle Trouble -- written while its author struggled with bone cancer -- can be the best of allies. With rock-bottom honesty, John Carmody points the way out of trouble not through any secret expertise, but through simple techniques that come "like a warranty with your basic human equipment." Introducing us to all our inner and outer resources, he shows that fear and anxiety need not rule our days.

Carmody writes about the real power of thinking, feeling, sharing, deciding, and praying, and even of the joy that comes when we are fighting a good fight. In short, this book is both balm and tonic -- everyday wisdom to help us make sense of crisis and work through it. It just may be the most important book you'll ever read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780449912218
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/29/1996
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

John Carmody is the author of more than forty books, many written with his wife, Denise. Carmody received his BA and MA from Boston College, a licentiate in philosophy from Weston College, a bachelor of divinity from Woodstock College, and his PhD from Stanford University.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE
(Continues…)

---

Excerpted from "How to Handle Trouble"
by .
Copyright © 1996 John Carmody.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

	Introduction	1
	Techniques	3
	Mystery	5
	Peace	7
	Doing, Thinking, and Being	9
	Physical Pain	12
	Realism	14
	Despair	16
	Joy	19
	This Book	21
Chapter 1	Thinking	25
	Overview	25
	Data	30
	Getting Information	33
	Imagining	37
	Understanding	39
	Judging	43
	Criticizing Prejudgments	46
	Enjoying Thinking	49
	Intellectual Patience	54
	Intellectual Peace	57
Chapter 2	Feeling	63
	Overview	63
	Pain	69
	Fear	71
	Anxiety	75
	Helplessness	78
	Confidence	82
	Courage	85
	Connection	88
	Support	91
	Trust	95
Chapter 3	Sharing	101
	Overview	101
	Family	104
	Friends	108
	Counselors	112
	Clergy	115
	Teachers	119
	Doctors	122
	Authors	126
	Children	130
	God	135
Chapter 4	Deciding	143
	Overview	143
	Imagining Concretely	147
	Factoring in Advice	151
	Pros and Cons	155
	Facing Fear	160
	Trusting the Future	163
	Euphoria	166
	Desolation	169
	Peace of Soul	172
	Following Results	175
Chapter 5	Praying	181
	Overview	181
	Secular Prayer	186
	Religious Prayer	189
	Meditation	193
	Contemplation	196
	Petition	200
	Answers	205
	Faith	209
	Hope	211
	Love	215
	Conclusion: The Method Summarized	219
	Suggestions for Further Reading	225

Editorial Reviews

"A Sensible Guide...[that] offers inspiring advice to people faced with all manner of trouble....In compassionate and warm prose, [Carmody] shows how personal tragedy can be a catalyst for self-revelation and spiritual growth."

— Publishers Weekly



"Reliable counsel for sufferers everywhere."

— Kirkus Reviews

John Carmody is senior research fellow in religion at the University of Tulsa. He is the author of more than forty books, many written with his wife, Denise. Carmody received his B.A. and M.A. from Boston College, a licentiate in philosophy from Weston College, a Bachelor of Divinity from Woodstock College, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University.

From the Publisher

A senior research fellow in religion at the University of Tulsa and author of some 40 books, Carmody was diagnosed with incurable bone cancer--multiple myeloma--in 1992. Here he offers inspiring advice to people faced with all manner of trouble, from the minor and fleeting to the catastrophic. Instead of the behavior modification and step-by-step methods urged by many self-help books, Carmody's simple program uses techniques of thinking, feeling, sharing, determination and prayer. In compassionate and warm prose, he also shows how personal tragedy can be a catalyst for self-revelation and spiritual growth. Although largely drawn from religious traditions both Eastern and Western, Carmody's techniques include a dose of psychology as well. This is a sensible guide. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly