Jay Ruderman - How to Find Your Fight & Drive Social Change

A Promised Land is Barack Obama’s memoir of his early political career and the first two years of his presidency. Obama takes us on his journey from relative obscurity as a biracial kid from Hawaii to becoming a transformative figure as the nation’s first African-American president. At every step of his career, Obama was guided by a deep faith in the fundamental unity of Americans; the potential and promise of America; the necessity of compromise and seeking common ground; and above all, the power of the democratic system to heal our divisions and effect real change for ordinary people.

What happens when children turn out radically different from their parents’ expectations? In Far From the Tree, award-winning writer and psychologist Andrew Solomon explores how families navigate raising children with disabilities, mental illness, prodigious talents, and other identities that set them apart. His findings shed light on identity formation, belonging, and what it truly means to accept children as they are.

Drawing on over a decade of research and hundreds of family interviews, Solomon explains how parents can move beyond their initial struggles with unexpected differences to find meaning and joy in raising exceptional children. Our guide examines Solomon’s key findings while connecting them to other important thinkers on disability rights, gender identity, and the psychology of belonging. Whether you’re a parent, educator, or someone interested in human diversity, this guide shows how embracing differences enriches both families and society as a whole.

Do you ever feel that there is a more authentic, primal self within you waiting to be free? Glennon Doyle has felt this way, too—like a wild animal in captivity who was conditioned not to feel, think, or trust herself. She tells her story in Untamed, part memoir—covering her personal story of addiction and rehab, falling in love with a woman, leaving her marriage, and rebuilding her life—and part call to action for any woman who feels held captive by society’s rules and expectations.

Through exploration of her story, she instructs readers to rebuild their lives using emotion, intuition, and imagination as guiding forces. In this guide, we’ll explore Doyle’s journey out of captivity and her lessons for other captive women. Along the way, we’ll explore complementary ideas from other feminist thinkers, psychological reasoning for aspects of captivity, and practical actionables to help you live Doyle’s principles.

In How to Be an Antiracist, author Ibram X. Kendi takes readers through his journey to become an antiracist—a person who believes that all racial groups are equal and supports policies that reduce inequity. Antiracists acknowledge that there are differences between races, but these differences aren’t responsible for inequities—policies are.

Kendi, like many of us, grew up in a racist society and internalized many of its ideas. As a result, despite being Black, he was racist himself throughout much of his life. In How to Be an Antiracist, he describes how he changed his thoughts and actions to become antiracist, and how you can do the same. Our commentary explores how racism became so deeply ingrained in our culture and why it’s so hard for us to let go of our racist ideas on an individual level. We’ll also suggest some specific ways you can implement Kendi’s ideas and start taking antiracist action.

In The 50th Law, rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) and author Robert Greene argue that the biggest factor holding us back in life is fear—of what others think of us, what we’ll lose, the future, and so on. This natural fearfulness developed to help us survive in ancient times, but in modern times, we rarely face life-threatening situations where it’s warranted. As a result, our fearfulness only holds us back from gaining power and success. Jackson and Greene argue that you must become fearless to truly thrive.

In this guide, we’ll start by explaining how Jackson’s fearlessness helped him overcome his hardships and achieve power and success. Next, we’ll discuss the rules Jackson and Greene say are necessary to follow to become fearless and principles that’ll help you follow each one. In our commentary, we’ll supplement Jackson and Greene’s advice with recommendations from other experts on success, like Daniel Walter (The Power of Discipline). We’ll also compare the ideas in this book to those in some of Greene’s previous works, including The 48 Laws of Power.

Do you ever feel that there is a more authentic, primal self within you waiting to be free? Glennon Doyle has felt this way, too—like a wild animal in captivity who was conditioned not to feel, think, or trust herself. She tells her story in Untamed, part memoir—covering her personal story of addiction and rehab, falling in love with a woman, leaving her marriage, and rebuilding her life—and part call to action for any woman who feels held captive by society’s rules and expectations.

Through exploration of her story, she instructs readers to rebuild their lives using emotion, intuition, and imagination as guiding forces. In this guide, we’ll explore Doyle’s journey out of captivity and her lessons for other captive women. Along the way, we’ll explore complementary ideas from other feminist thinkers, psychological reasoning for aspects of captivity, and practical actionables to help you live Doyle’s principles.

In a world where activism often leads to burnout and justice work is frequently associated with sacrifice, adrienne maree brown argues that social justice work can—and should—be rooted in joy and satisfaction. Pleasure Activism is a collection of essays, interviews, and conversations that explores the transformative power of pleasure—both as a path to personal healing and a catalyst for social change. brown examines what genuine pleasure means and how embracing it can transform your approach to activism from one of struggle and sacrifice to one that centers joy and fulfillment.

This guide defines pleasure activism and its historical roots, then discusses its potential impact on personal and political transformation—from sex to interpersonal relationships to broader systemic change. Throughout the guide, we’ll provide additional background on the activists and authors brown cites, and we’ll offer practical advice on how to implement the principles of pleasure activism in your life and work.

In How to Be an Antiracist, author Ibram X. Kendi takes readers through his journey to become an antiracist—a person who believes that all racial groups are equal and supports policies that reduce inequity. Antiracists acknowledge that there are differences between races, but these differences aren’t responsible for inequities—policies are.

Kendi, like many of us, grew up in a racist society and internalized many of its ideas. As a result, despite being Black, he was racist himself throughout much of his life. In How to Be an Antiracist, he describes how he changed his thoughts and actions to become antiracist, and how you can do the same. Our commentary explores how racism became so deeply ingrained in our culture and why it’s so hard for us to let go of our racist ideas on an individual level. We’ll also suggest some specific ways you can implement Kendi’s ideas and start taking antiracist action.

If you haven’t thought about your inevitable death today, Jodi Wellman suggests it’s time to start. In her book You Only Die Once, Wellman champions the principle of memento mori—the intentional recognition of our mortality—as the key to leading a better life. According to Wellman, regularly meditating on your mortality motivates you to live more deliberately and meaningfully, balancing vitality and meaning.

In this guide, we’ll explain why Wellman argues that contemplating death will help you live a better life. We’ll then discuss what it means to live a good life and how to reflect critically on the life you’re living, before outlining Wellman’s steps to improve the quality of your life right away. We’ll also provide additional commentary on the history of memento mori, different cultural perspectives on death, and insights from other experts in positive psychology, including Martin Seligman (Flourish) and Viktor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning).

In today’s world, it can feel like if you want to be successful, you must constantly “hustle” and relentlessly pursue self-improvement. But in The Practice of Groundedness, Brad Stulberg writes that this approach leads to burnout, illness, and unhappiness. He proposes a more sustainable and meaningful way of living and working built on the concept of groundedness—the ability to stay balanced and stable when facing challenges and uncertainty. By following his six principles of groundedness, you can pursue your most ambitious goals without angst, exhaustion, or suffering.

In this guide, we’ll discuss Stulberg’s thoughts on our modern obsession with productivity and the dangers of what he calls “heroic individualism.” We’ll then share the six elements of groundedness you can practice to achieve more sustainable success. Along the way, we’ll compare Stulberg’s ideas with those of other well-being and performance experts, and we’ll offer additional tips to help you become more grounded.