Life: How to make sense of the world and yourself

‘Life: How to make sense of this world and yourself’ by Talal Alali

‘Life’ is a book designed to help people understand themselves, based on science. It explains psychological stress, mental disorders, and provides specific ways to deal with life challenges. The book describes many cases of patients the author saw over the years. ‘Life’ examines the foundations of many influential self-improvement books, showing why they are appealing and why they don’t work for the most part.

The author spent 25 years studying psychology, working in universities and mental health institutions in the US, UK, and the Middle East. During that time, he moved from one school of thought to another out of dissatisfaction with their shortcomings and grandiose claims. In this book, he outlines, in a plain language, the basic premises of psychology, psychotherapy, and psychiatry that tend to be overlooked and demonstrates how any person can benefit from these scientific ideas. He explains when and why medications and psychotherapy are good, and when and why they can be harmful. The book discloses the ways in which psychologists and psychiatrists have been normalising mental disorders, and harming healthy people. It also shows the detrimental effects of myths about psychological wellbeing pushed by media, pharma companies, and psychiatrists. It opens a way for people to understand themselves and to grow with the help of real science.