Yrsa Daley-Ward’s words have resonated with hundreds of thousands of readers - through her books of poetry and memoir, and through her always illuminating Instagram posts.
Now, in The How, Yrsa encourages readers to begin, as she puts it, the great work of meeting ourselves. This isn’t the self we’ve built up in response to our surroundings, or the self we manufacture to please the people around us, but instead, our most intimate self, the one we visit in dreams, the one that calls to us from a glimmering future.
With a mix of short lyrical musings and her signature stunning poetry, Yrsa gently takes readers by the hand, encouraging them to join her as she explores how we can remove our filters, and see and feel more of who we really are behind the preconceived notions of propriety and manners we’ve accumulated with age.
With a beautiful design and intriguing meditations, The How can be used to start conversations, to prompt writing, to delve deeper–whether you’re solo, or with friends, on your feet or writing from the solace of home.
The Content
Introduction
Where You Are, What You Want
But Listen, Your Life Is Telling You What It Needs
Why Is Everything Work?
The Swing of Things
All Our Best Lessons Are Circles
Milestones and Other Cons
If We Were Different, We’d Be Perfect
Outside In
Let’s Talk About the Water
The God of the Rainbow
Save Yourself
The War, the Bloody War
Site Beauty
Tomorrow (as We Know It) Is Never Promised
How to Maintain Equilibrium
Body as Tremendous Temporary Home
Only Dreaming
When Awakening
Find Me in the Morning
Mind Violence
Even the Greatest Love Is Work
The Desire Behind the Decide
Beginning
Ending
Truthwork
Why We Write It Down
The Three Percent
You Are Not the Only One
Blessed Expertise
And Are You Lonely?
Not the End of the Day
Bad News That Is (Sometimes) Good News
When Nothing Works
One Last Thing
Acknowledgments
“In this gratifying exploration of the self, Daley-Ward excels at describing the indescribable…this work defies genre and features a beautiful blend of lyrical prose and bold poetry…. This is a tender, hopeful meditation.” - Publishers Weekly
“A heartfelt, artful manifesto focused on living fully and authentically… By turns simplistic, elegaic, and illuminative.” -Kirkus
“The How is a brilliant reminder that the answers we seek are in ourselves… Yrsa Daley-Wards words [in The How]—as they’ve always been—are a guidepost, a reminder, and a welcome home.” - Refinery29
“We’re used to seeing these messages on our social media feeds, but how do they translate into a book? In The How, Yrsa Daley-Ward brings these soothing words to life, in a book that feels like a meditation and a guide, a therapy session and a cup of chamomile tea.” - NPR
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