Exisle Publishing

To be human is to be in relationships. We can't survive without them but it's in relationships that we can so easily get unravelled. Some relationships just seem to do us in. Either we feel like we lose ourselves or feel burnt out from futile efforts to make things right for another. In our relationships we can experience the very best of ourselves and the very worst.

The message of Growing Yourself Up is that you can't separate understanding the individual from understanding relationships. All of life's relationships are integral to increasing self-awareness and maturity. And it's not necessarily the comfortable relationships that promote personal growth. In this 2nd edition of the bestselling book, Jenny examines how to help others without fostering dependency, and how to determine what kind of help you or others want from therapists. This is in response to the many lay and professional people who have found this book valuable personally and want to know how to help others grow.

Drawing from Bowen family systems theory, the book takes you on a journey through each stage of life to see predictable patterns of relationships and to show how to use this knowledge to make purposeful adjustments in yourself; as well as lending a mature helping hand to others. The result is a sturdier self, sturdier relationships and a refreshing new way to view life's challenges and opportunities.

Cows are my passion. What I have ever sighed for has been to retreat to a Swiss farm, and live entirely surrounded by cows – and china. – Charles Dickens

Cows are one of the most common farm animals on earth, but what many people don't realise is that they are also gentle creatures with a uniquely inquisitive nature. Moo is a collection of quotes from the famous and not-so famous, paired with charming photographs that celebrate the humble cow.

From Thomas de Quincey to Mary Quant, cows have fascinated writers, philosophers, fashion designers, film stars and musicians for centuries. They are hugely sociable creatures, with several strange habits, such as being able to sleep while standing, and spending up to eight hours a day chewing. Moo will open your eyes to their immense variety, their joyfulness, and their surprising tenderness.

With photos of over 70 of the world's most popular cattle breeds, this is the perfect gift for anyone from bovine experts to folks who happen to find cows cute (you'll be surprised by how many famous names agree!).  

Pick up Moo today and gain an endearing, amusing insight into the magic of these animals that are absolutely integral to our lives.

In this fascinating book, Dr Howell explores how intuition has been a part of philosophy, psychology, religion and spirituality, from ancient times right up to the present. She also looks at the science behind intuition, and how our experience of it can be described in terms of our brain function. Finally, she sets out a practical seven-step program for developing intuition and using it to enhance everyday life so that we experience an increased sense of peace, purpose and joy. 

Practical exercises and meditations are included throughout the book, inviting us to unlock the door to our own intuition garden and encourage it to flourish. "Provides some clear and simple guidelines to help readers to tap into this often neglected part of our minds." - Sunday Magazine

When Tania McCartney discovered she'd be moving her husband, self and two kids under the age of five to China for four years, she was 95 percent horrified. What she never expected was to fall in love. Beijing seeped under her skin and grabbed hold of her heart ... a love affair that inspired 'Beijing Tai Tai', a collection of shrewdly observed, heartfelt and humorous insights into Beijing expatriate life.

Intensely personal, at times a little controversial, 'Beijing Tai Tai' is a rollercoaster ride of honesty and openness as a wife (tai tai) and mother juggles suburban family life in urban Beijing. Presented in a series of love/hate column-like snippets -- on topics ranging from the consumption of bull testicles to the life-altering experience of walking the Great Wall -- it exposes expatriate life in a country on the brink of great change.

From tragic hair moments and bustling silk markets to China's quest to stay true to its ancient origins, 'Beijing Tai Tai' is a book for anyone interested in this diverse and culturally rich country. It's for anyone, from anywhere, who knows what it's like to fall in love, explore new worlds and live with challenges. It's about life in a city full of soaring highs and disconsolate lows -- but never anything less than remarkable.

Eczema is a painful, itchy and incredibly uncomfortable condition for sufferers. The bad news is it’s on the rise. Babies are developing skin inflammation soon after birth. Toddlers with severe itchy skin and uncontrollable scratching are drawing blood. And teenagers and adults ashamed of their skin are wearing long-sleeved shirts in summer.

Eczema is a unique skin disorder with many of the standard health foods that are good for the skin actually increasing the itch in eczema sufferers. Current medications can also have undesirable side effects. Nutritionist, skin expert and a mother-of-two, Karen Fischer is known as the ‘last hope’ for eczema patients who have tried every therapy and cream to no avail.

Inspired initially by her success in treating her own daughter’s eczema, for the last ten years Karen has treated eczema patients of all ages, including newborn babies.

Now, in this second edition of her bestselling book, Karen brings you the results of her years of research and shares her tried-and-tested solutions for this heart-breaking condition.

This comprehensive guide for eczema sufferers of any age includes:

• emergency itch-busters
• skin care and non-diet information
• how to prevent chemical sensitivities
• dandruff and cradle cap treatments
• a fast-track detox for adult
• menus for all ages, including lunchboxes and party food
• delicious recipes, and
• handy shopping lists.

The Eczema Detox provides a vibrant new approach to tackling eczema which focuses on providing recipes that are low in chemicals, as well as detailed information on how to cater for a variety of dietary and skin sensitivities. Author Karen Fischer knows what it’s like to suffer from severe skin conditions, and brings a personal approach to her methods which make them clear and easy to implement in your own daily life. 

More than 90 percent of eczema sufferers are sensitive to a range of artificial chemicals, but did you know natural food chemicals also trigger eczema? This is why regular detoxes and healthy eating programs, which are rich in phytochemicals, can cause itchy, red, flaky skin. The Eczema Detox shows you how to cut your total chemical load and create healthy skin from the inside out. The three effective programs are designed to suit a range of individuals, from babies to adults, with mild to severe skin rashes including eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, dandruff, hives, rosacea, and more. 

Based on a decade of intense research and first-hand experience working with hundreds of skin disorder patients,The Eczema Detox features 50 delicious low-chemical recipes, the worst and best foods for eczema, the do’s and don’ts of skin disorder supplements, and more. If you have tried everything and you still have skin rashes, The Eczema Detox is the answer you’ve been wishing for

Have you ever had a dream, but let it go because you were too afraid of failure to try? Dancing with Your Muse is a heartfelt, motivational guide to understanding this fear, realising that you are not alone in it, and working past it to achieve your goals without inhibition.

Fear of failure is a universal issue that can hold even the most talented of people back from reaching their full potential. Dancing with Your Muse is a series of thirty essays which speak about the common and debilitating anxieties encountered on the path to creative expression. Sections include:

1. “Fear In All Its Glory” – explains patterns of fear, and shows you how to transform inhibitors into positive outcomes.
2. “Judgement and Criticism” – provides guidance on how to keep yourself in balance without succumbing to outside perceptions of your worth.
3. “Success in Different Guises” – expands your notion of success by giving you a more personal, expansive understanding of what accomplishment really means to you.

Written in a gentle, contemplative tone, this book will encourage you to determine and strive for success on your own terms. Performers, business people, students, and everyday dreamers alike will learn to courageously choose the most direct pathways to creative success and, more importantly, personal fulfillment, holding only a desire to contribute fully to their own life.

An empowering and informative mental health guide that addresses the stigmas surrounding mens mental health, and gives men the tools to break through them.

Too many men are suffering with their emotional health issues in silence, and male suicide is still one of the biggest causes of death in men under 50. Men are affected by everyday stress, high workloads, anxiety and depression, loss of confidence or identity, relationship breakdowns, family disruption, addictions and trauma — just the same as anyone else. But society has placed a stigma on mens mental health, making it difficult for them to reach out for help.

Thankfully, times are changing. Masculinity no longer means suffering in silence, and more and more men are opening up about their emotions. The Changing Man aims to help men along the path to addressing their mental wellbeing, providing tools for:

• Tackling stress, anxiety and depression
• Managing substance-related issues
• Dealing with grief
• Working on relationships
• Preventing suicide and self-harm

In a changing and developing world, we need advice that keeps up. The Changing Man is just that: a realistic and hopeful manual for the men of today to address their mental health without shame.

With the right information, parents can help children to overcome their anxiety, guiding any child to lessen their worrying and reduce their avoidance of challenging tasks.

Childhood anxiety is much more prevalent these days, and parents and carers need to be able to help their kids to prevent dangerous escalation. With 18 years of expert, qualified experience, the author shows how to help children and tweens build up the necessary brain architecture and perspective, and create the emotional reserves and balance needed throughout life.

Parent-led strategies for managing child anxiety based in cognitive behavioral approaches are vital for the successful treatment of mild to moderate levels of child anxiety. Parents, carers and grandparents are on the spot when a child is behaving anxiously and simple interventions by them can be used across time as an effective treatment for child anxiety.

User-friendly features in this book include:

• Case studies of a family who have successfully tackled their children’s anxious behavior.
• Worksheets outlining the methodical steps parents should take.
• Advice on how to manage a child’s digital world.
• Tips to help worried parents deal with their own anxious thoughts and feelings.

You’re the one who’s in your child’s life for the long run — it’s important that you know what to do when anxious moments arise.

This is the incredible story of Silva Mcleod, the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot, told with frankness and wit by Silva herself.

Silva was a Tongan girl from a small island with little hope of anything beyond getting married and having babies. Her dreams of becoming an airline pilot seemed just that — dreams — until

Ken McLeod came into Silva’s life. He was an Australian hired to build a hospital on her island of Vava‘u. She started dating him despite frowns from her family. After a whirlwind romance, they got married in a traditional Tongan ceremony before moving to Australia

Silva faced challenges in Australia as a woman of color. Then came the biggest challenge of all — Ken was diagnosed with cancer. He said to Silva, ‘Do you still want to fly? Life is too short, if you have a dream, go for it.’

There were many barriers to succeeding in such a male-dominated field, but Silva refused to give in. She became the first Tongan female airline pilot and worked for the Royal Flying Doctor Service amongst other small airlines then Virgin International, flying B777s around the world.

With every new height Silva reached in her career, Ken’s struggle with cancer continued. Despite the hardships, Silva is sure she would dare to do it all over again. Dare to love a white man and dare to pursue her dream to go from island girl to airline pilot. 

Bleat is the book for people who think that of all the animals, goats are the GOAT – the greatest of all time!

There is something about animals that inspires the child within us all. Something that gets grown adults to lean against their car window and bleat like a goat, moo like a cow, or coo with delight at a field of adorable animals.

Goats have been valued for over 10,000 years and are the first suspected domesticated animal. Not to mention goat milk is the number-one consumed milk in the world. Speaking of things milk goes with, did you know there’s a legend that says goats discovered coffee? Legend has it that the goats of an Ethiopian goat herder munched on the berries of a certain unfamiliar tree. That night they were energetic and refused to sleep. Yet one more reason to bow down to goats!

Whether it’s the way their tiny tails wag, the stark frankness of their piercing gaze, or their manic attempts to get past any fence put in their way, goats have inspired obsession and adoration through the ages.

This book is a celebration of our love of the charismatic goat. With quotes from Sandra Bullock, Aristotle, Cicero, and Jason Momoa, Bleat is designed to remind us why we can’t seem to get enough of those cute faces. Goat lovers everywhere, this book is for you. Just be sure not to leave this book anywhere near your goat unattended … they might eat it.

Buzz captures bees in all of their moods, from serious (every bee has a job to do) to quirky (they communicate using the waggle dance).

Bees are fun to watch and a delight to listen to. They’re endlessly fascinating and very photogenic. The lives of bees and humans are intricately intertwined. The bee symbol was part of the Egyptian hieroglyphic language; Hindu gods are often associated with bees; the Quran records specific instructions to bees; there are references to bees in the Bible; and Buddhists point out that the bee does no harm, instead taking only what is needed. Ancient civilizations admired the industry, organization and hierarchical structure of bee life. Napoleon adopted the bee as his symbol. And today the bee is a style inspiration for fabrics, jewellery and even architecture. 

Throughout our history, most people have generally taken bees for granted. But now they are under pressure. Writers and conservationists have worked hard to raise our awareness of their plight, and nowadays no respectable community is far from a few hives. So progress is being made, but there is much more to do.

This book is a celebration of the life and work of the bee. With quotes from poets and philosophers, Bindi Irwin and Winnie the Pooh, proverbial wisdom and Shakespeare, Buzz reminds us to respect and protect this extraordinary insect.

The Certainty Myth is a self-help manual for people who are struggling with the uncertainty that arrives in their life.

When things are uncertain, it’s easy to feel anxious, stressed, overwhelmed or angry. And today, it often feels like things are more uncertain than ever before. In fact, chaos and uncertainty seem to surround us. But we don’t have to be the victims of our circumstances.

For anyone who is struggling with making sense of a world that keeps changing around them, The Certainty Myth will help you rise above the chaos and find emotional stability and happiness. With tools such as ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and real-world examples, you’ll learn how letting go of certainty can be the key to happiness in today’s world.

You’ll learn how to avoid burnout, how an awareness of mortality can help you put things in perspective, how to defuse the emotional power that external circumstances hold over your life, and so much more. Free from jargon yet thoroughly researched and back by science and experience, discover the keys to rising above certainty in your life. Uncertainty may be inevitable, but suffering from it does not have to be.

Goddesses In You illuminates how archetypal patterns are the doorway into a hidden universe, the key to who you truly are.

From Greta Thunberg to Jacqueline Kennedy, influential women of today can be understood by looking at the 12 ancient goddess archetypes. Together, they span the panorama of features, the fullness of femininity, that exists in human imagination and the collective unconscious. Using an intuitive blend of mythology, psychology, feminism and spirituality and as a psychic lens, Goddesses In You reveals how you can better connect with these powerful inner forces that shape our lives.

With profiles of sixty well-known women from celebrities to activists, creatives to pioneers, Goddesses In You highlights how these underlying archetypes are the powerful invisible threads, the DNA, that shape the roles and govern the beliefs, drives, motivations, actions and emotions of most women at some stage in their lives.

Discovering how these mythological goddesses from a patriarchal past and their feminine archetypes shape behaviour and personality, influence emotions and relationships, and are responsible for the major differences in women, can awaken us to a new way of seeing ourselves and the world around us. The truth is every woman is a goddess, and therefore innately divine. Goddesses In You will help you discover the myths and archetypes that are your reality.

An immersive and fascinating journey into deep time, charting the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana through a billion years of Earths history.

Gondwana is a mystery of geological history a lost supercontinent and a place woven into the consciousness of all who inhabit its scattered fragments. Today, the people who live in Africa, South America, India, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Arabia spend their lives walking around on whats left of Gondwana. But what was life like when it was whole?

The Road to Gondwana traces the steps science took to find Gondwana, and the evolutionary journey of Gondwana itself. Our tour guide on this journey is Glossopteris – an extinct tree that dominated the supercontinent for 50 million years, before vanishing in the most devastating event ever to strike life on this planet, the Permian mass extinction.

This is a story about deep time and the challenges that face those who venture there. Its about the importance of imagination in science, and the reasons that the journey towards understanding is sometimes more important than the destination.

Acclaimed historian Stephen Robinson brings to life a legendary last stand in a revelatory new account of the Defense of Sihang Warehouse.

Shanghai 1937. With invading Japanese troops poised to capture one of the worlds greatest cities after almost three months of brutal urban warfare, the Chinese Army begins to retreat – except for a single battalion that stays to fight. These Eight Hundred Heroes defended Sihang Warehouse, a six-storey concrete building and natural fortress, from wave after wave of Japanese assaults.

The incredible battle waged for five long days. Thousands of spectators looked on from the relative safety of the British Concession inside Shanghais International Settlement. Western journalists with front row seats to the spectacle spread the story across the globe as the plight of the heroes captured the sympathy of the world. Their valour raised Chinese morale, as did the actions of the heroine Yang Huimin, a Girl Guide who delivered a Chinese flag to the defenders that flew over Sihang Warehouse as a beacon of hope.

Eight Hundred Heroes is a thorough depiction of this legendary battle, for the first time bringing together first-hand accounts of the Chinese participants and the observations of Western witnesses. It explores how this incredible feat of heroism became an enduring myth that helped define modern China.

The struggle to maintain joy & a fulfilling relationship while coping with chronic illness and pain is a serious problem for millions of people today. Australian entrepreneur and health professional Karra Eloff draws on academic research and her own pursuit of joy in spite of suffering to bring this trailblazing, compassionate, low-energy and practical path to a remarkable new normal, for you and your chosen human/partner.

On average, one in five adults suffer from chronic pain. In older people, the number rises to three in five. Most of these people don’t realise they don’t have to settle for a survival-based coexistence with their partner or bury their hopes for success and joy under a mountain of heat packs or duvets.

Chronic illness or pain, according to Karra, need not hold you back from experiencing personal joy and success. It is possible to forge a path to remarkable—to move the dial of a relationship challenged with chronic pain from embattled and exhausted to joyful and passion-filled.

This is possible through small, practical changes that require little energy but make a big impact in the areas of:

• Communication
• Mental health
• Intimacy
• Personal Success

If you experience chronic pain or love someone with a chronic illness this book is for you. If you are a health professional seeking practical advice for people with chronic pain, this book is for you.