Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
Draw inspiration from history’s great orators and discover speeches to guide, inspire, and rouse – whatever the occasion. These are speeches to live your life by.
- Be inspired by the words of Steve Jobs if you’re facing career dissatisfaction
- Find wisdom from Brené Brown if you feel disconnected from others
- Take comfort in the words of Albert Einstein if you need to own up to a mistake
- Feel emboldened by Michelle Obama if you need to remove toxic attitudes in your life
This curated collection of 100 thought-provoking speeches includes wise words from the world’s most inspirational philosophers, politicians, and activists, and offers timeless advice for all of life’s challenges.
Meredith MacArdle brings together the speeches that have resonated throughout the course of history, from people whose gift was to know what to say, when to say it, and how to phrase it. Take wisdom from these powerful words from the most influential change-makers in history, from Galileo to Marie Curie, Marcus Aurelius, and Martin Luther King Jr to Plato, Malala Yousafzai, Michelle Obama, Greta Thunberg, and more.
Whether you’re in search of happiness or meaning, starting a new chapter, facing loss or heartbreak, or simply pondering life’s bigger questions, their words offer hope and encouragement in the face of what might seem insurmountable, and will bring comfort when navigating life’s unsteady waters.
Also Available:
- 9781789298857 100 Books to Live By
- 9781789298864 100 Poems to Live By
Praise for the series:
"[S]uccessfully illustrates how stories can connect people to universal human experiences, showing how literature can be a balm for the soul." - Library Journal (starred review)
“The self-help companion 100 Books to Life By answers the bibliophile’s questions of ‘What should I read next?’ from a mental health perspective.” - Foreword
INTRODUCTION
1. REMEDIES FOR THE HEART
- Betrayal by a Friend: Marcus Aurelius
- Your Commitment to a Cause is Wavering: Abraham Lincoln
- Selfish Friends: George Graham Vest
- Trying to Win the Hearts of the Masses: Eva Perón
- Being Judged for Your Sexual Choices: Pierre Trudeau
- Needing to Make an Apology: Kevin Rudd
- Dreaming of Inappropriate Love: Sigmund Freud
- Troubled Families: David Cameron
- Trying to Fit In: C. S. Lewis
- Being a Role Model: Michelle Obama
- Coping With Grief: Bell Ribeiro-Addy
- Worrying About Feeling Different: RM/ BTS
- A Lack of Diversity: Edward Berger and Tessa Ross
- Dealing with You Enemies: Cicero
- Wishing for a Better Future: Martin Luther King Jr
2. REMEDIES FOR THE SOUL AND SPIRIT
- Will Possessions Make You Happy?: Chris Gardner
- Repenting the Past: Abe Shinzō
- Doubting the Courage of Your Convictions: William Wilberforce
- A Seemingly Hopeless Situation: Winston Churchill
- Feeling Alone in the Face of Horror: George W. Bush
- Forgetting About the Beauty of Nature: Al Gore
- Commodification of the Imagination: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Losing Hope: General Charles de Gaulle
- Unhappiness: Siddhartha Gautama
- Needing to Encourage a Group: Queen Elizabeth I
- Owning up to Mistakes: Albert Einstein
- Facing Death: Lou Gehrig
- Intolerance of Other Views and Religions: Swami Vivekananda
- Having a Bad Day: Mark Twain
- Disability: Muhammad Ali
3. REMEDIES FOR THE MIND
- Fear of Failure: Roger Federer
- How to Honour the Dead: Pericles
- Fundraising: Helen Keller
- An Overwhelming Task: Laozi
- Needing Help: Laurie Santos
- Being Pressured to Betray Your True Self: Socrates
- Worrying About What Makes Life Worthwhile: Bobby Kennedy
- Scientific Findings are Not Believed: Galileo
- Should You Try Something If You Think You Might Fall?: Theodore Roosevelt
- Pressurized to Find Profit Rather than Knowledge: Marie Curie
- Wanting to Give In: Appius Claudius Caecus
- Underachievement: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
- Fear of Speaking Out: Audre Lorde
- Speaking out Against Injustice: Hortensia
- Wanting to Give Up and Turn Around: Alexander the Great
- Rejecting Ancient Wisdom: Tu Youyou
- Facing Up to National Hypocrisy: Frederick Douglas
- Inertia: Walt Disney
- Should You Trust a Dictator?: Mao Zedong
- Planning for a Better Future: Jawaharlal Nehru
- Dealing with Intolerance: William Lyon Phelps
4. REMEDIES FOR THE SELF AND OTHERS
- Feeling Alone in the Face of Climate Change: Jane Goodall
- Condescension: Nellie McClung
- When Elections Don’t End Discrimination: Malcolm X
- Pressured to Sacrifice Your Position: Volodymyr Zelensky
- Self-Effacement: Hatshepsut
- The Futility of War: General Douglas MacArthur
- Inequality: Sojourner Truth
- Feeling Bitter About the Past: Nelson Mandela
- Tackling Climate Change: Ahmed Khaleel
- Selfishness: Andrew Carnegie
- Failing to Meet Impossible Standards: Richard Gephardt
- Divisions in Society: Barack Obama
- Uncomfortable Truths: Greta Thunberg
- An Unexpected Duty: Queen Elizabeth II
- The Cult of the Individual: Nikita Khrushchev
- Does Teamwork Matter?: Josh Allen
- Indifference to the Suffering of Other People: Elie Wiesel
- Selfishness: John F. Kennedy
- Difference of Opinions: Harold Macmillan
- Struggling Against a Dictatorship: Corazon Aquino
- Should You Stick to a Non-Violent Reaction: Mahatma Gandhi
5. REMEDIES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING
- Pressure to Conform: Martin Luther
- An Unwanted Competitive Situation: Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich and Alice Walker
- Political Apathy: Plato
- Discouragement: Susan B. Anthony
- Dealing With Misogyny: Julia Gillard
- Losing Faith in Society: Aristotle
- Worries About the Future: Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Injustice: Demosthenes
- How to Treat Others: Confucius
- A Mismanaged Society and Environment: Wangari Maathai
- When Civil Disobedience Seems the Right Choice: Emmeline Pankhurst
- Anger at a War-Mongering, Hypocritical Government: Aneurin (Nye) Bevan
- Coping with Rumours and Blame: Geronimo
- Struggling with Access to Medical Procedures: Simone Veil
- The Challenge of a Changing World: Mark Carney
- Victims Without a Voice: Nancy Astor
- Feeling Let Down by the Government: Eleanor Roosevelt
- Complacency in the Face of a Medical Emergency: Mary Fisher
- Stereotyping holding You Back: Wilma Mankiller
- Can Business Be Run with Ethical Practices?: Anita Roddick
- Obstacles to Education: Malala Yousafzai
- Worries About Body Image: Heather Wheeler
- Unkindness: George Saunders
- Artistic Censorship: Katherine Hepburn
- Hitting the Glass Ceiling: Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Needing to Counter Toxic Influencers: Sam Rushworth
- Lack of Independence: Virginia Woolf
- Worries About Ageing: Sylvia Beales
LIST OF ORATORS
CREDITS