"Down the road from a working-class British pub, along the brick wall of a narrow alley, if the conditions are exactly right, you'll find the entrance to Slade House: a surreal place where visitors see what they want to see, including some things that should be impossible. Every nine years, the house's residents--an odd brother and sister--extend a unique invitation to someone who's different or lonely: a precocious teenager, a divorced policeman,...

Drawing from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history and education, one of the nation's leading writers and commentators helps us become more understanding considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen.

"Every so often, you meet people who radiate joy—who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light. Life, for these people, has often followed what we might think of as a two-mountain shape. They get out of school, they start a career, and they begin climbing the mountain they thought they were meant to climb. Their goals on this first mountain are the ones our culture endorses: to be a success, to make your mark,...

At a dinner party in the posh London suburb of Greenwich, Miles Garth suddenly leaves the table midway through the meal, locks himself in an upstairs room, and refuses to leave. An eclectic group of neighbors and friends slowly gathers around the house, and Miles’s story is told from the points of view of four of them: Anna, a woman in her forties; Mark, a man in his sixties; May, a woman in her eighties; and a ten-year-old named Brooke. The thing...

Every encounter begins with a greeting. Air-kissing, handshakes, high-fives, nose-rubs, cheek-sniffing and foot-kissing, sticking out tongues, floor-spitting, applause, and face-slapping--different cultures have developed innumerable ways of showing pleasure at someone's arrival. Humans have been greeting each other for thousands of years. It should be the most straightforward thing in the world, but this seemingly simple act is fraught with complications,...

"Renowned media scholar Sherry Turkle investigates how a flight from conversation undermines our relationships, creativity, and productivity--and why reclaiming face-to-face conversation can help us regain lost ground,"--Amazon.com.

Meet Lazybones! He isn't really lazy. In fact, he teaches his owner tricks all the time! He just doesn't like to go out. When he hears Dad call...he hides! But one day Lazybones runs out of hiding places, and then he HAS to go on a walk. It's hard to try something new! But could it mean making a new friend too?

"A quirky and uplifting guide to making new friends for kids 4 to 7 from a beloved, internationally renowned author. What's the best way to make friends? Toad has the most magnificent ideas! Sometimes they don't go according to plan... but that's okay. Eventually Toad tires of making new friends, but comes to a marvelous conclusion: sometimes being with yourself is a good way to pass the time too. A hilarious and heartfelt read for kids who are starting...

Much of Brian Grazer's success--as a #1 New York Times bestselling author, Academy Award-winning producer, father, and husband--comes from his ability to establish genuine connections with almost anyone. In Face to Face, he takes you around the world and behind the scenes of some of his most iconic movies and television shows, like A Beautiful Mind, Empire, Arrested Development, American Gangster, and 8 Mile, to show just how much in-person encounters...

What would it be like to see everyone as a friend? Twelve-year-old Eli D'Angelo has a genetic disorder that obliterates social inhibitions, making him irrepressibly friendly, indiscriminately trusting, and unconditionally loving toward everyone he meets. It also makes him enormously vulnerable. Eli lacks the innate skepticism that will help his peers navigate adolescence more safely-and vastly more successfully. Journalist Jennifer Latson follows...