Personal Growth

By Leah Jo Carnine and Fizz Percale, 2020, Zine

Zine / pamphlet. Published by Microcosm! Queer Attachment: An Anti-Oppression Toolkit for Relational Healing Weaves together mainstream attachment theory with study of trauma and the nervous system, with a focus on bringing in the knowledge of the queer and PoC practitioners in this field. This zine offers a guide to healing that is rooted in social justice, considerate of diverse identities, and deeply aware of how mental health is tied to systems of oppression.

Become the architect of your own story with this science-informed approach to using the tarot for intimate revelations and personal change. Starting with Carl Jung's enthusiasm for tarot's archetypal power up through contemporary usage as a way to explore symbols and imagery in therapeutic settings, bestselling author Dr. Faith G. Harper lays out helpful basics about the tarot and its connections to therapy work, alongside activities, prompts, and questions to consider in your own journey toward personal development and healing. In this guide, you'll learn to use the cards proactively--rather than waiting for their meaning to be revealed--allowing you to see yourself, your circumstances, and your cards with new eyes. Never one to leave you hanging, Dr. Faith also offers support to continue your therapeutic tarot explorations beyond this zine, including detailed suggestions for further reading. So shuffle your deck and crack open these pages to begin a fresh, symbolic approach to your inner work. Who says knowing yourself is supposed to be rational, anyway?

Every autistic person is capable and worthy of having happy, healthy, fulfilling relationships. This workbook takes you step-by-step through getting to know your own wants and needs and engaging with others whose wants and needs are compatible. Exercises include evaluating your relationship history, figuring out what you want in your relationships and what steps you need to take to achieve your goal, expressing your needs and boundaries, and so much more.

"Vulvas rejoice! Here is the expert guide you need to the art and science of giving and getting oral pleasure. Learn techniques for causing great pleasure and for communicating desires, needs, and boundaries. Find out the science of why oral sex feels sodamn good, work through societal and cultural messages that might get in the way of full enjoyment, and get a good grip on the health, safety, and hygiene stuff you need to know. Dr. Faith G. Harper, sexologist and bestselling author of Unfuck Your Brainand Unfuck Your Intimacy, brings her humor, knowledge, and compassion to help you gain a wonderfully fulfilling sex life"--

A deep dive into the spectrum of Autistic experience and the phenomenon of masked Autism, giving individuals the tools to safely uncover their true selves while broadening society’s narrow understanding of neurodiversity

“A remarkable work that will stand at the forefront of the neurodiversity movement.”—Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP, author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism

For every visibly Autistic person you meet, there are countless “masked” Autistic people who pass as neurotypical. Masking is a common coping mechanism in which Autistic people hide their identifiably Autistic traits in order to fit in with societal norms, adopting a superficial personality at the expense of their mental health. This can include suppressing harmless stims, papering over communication challenges by presenting as unassuming and mild-mannered, and forcing themselves into situations that cause severe anxiety, all so they aren’t seen as needy or “odd.”
 
In Unmasking Autism, Dr. Devon Price shares his personal experience with masking and blends history, social science research, prescriptions, and personal profiles to tell a story of neurodivergence that has thus far been dominated by those on the outside looking in. For Dr. Price and many others, Autism is a deep source of uniqueness and beauty. Unfortunately, living in a neurotypical world means it can also be a source of incredible alienation and pain. Most masked Autistic individuals struggle for decades before discovering who they truly are. They are also more likely to be marginalized in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, class, and other factors, which contributes to their suffering and invisibility. Dr. Price lays the groundwork for unmasking and offers exercises that encourage self-expression, including:

• Celebrating special interests
• Cultivating Autistic relationships
• Reframing Autistic stereotypes
• And rediscovering your values

It’s time to honor the needs, diversity, and unique strengths of Autistic people so that they no longer have to mask—and it’s time for greater public acceptance and accommodation of difference. In embracing neurodiversity, we can all reap the rewards of nonconformity and learn to live authentically, Autistic and neurotypical people alike.

By: Dom&Ink, 2019, Paperback

Every rainbow-coloured page is packed with LGBTQ+ activities, advice and attitude.

With spreads to colour, scribble, design and glitter, you'll meet dancing drag queens, rainbow donuts and the world's sassiest LGBTQ+ dinosaur: Brett the Sassysaurus!

Read quotes from real-life rainbow icons, find out how to throw your own Pride Party, and learn about the history of gay rights. Most importantly: celebrate being yourself and what makes YOU amazing!

Warm, hilarious, caring and insightful, Free To Be Me will fill every reader with self-esteem, confidence, colour and pride.

Winner of the AASECT's Sexuality Professionals Book Award for General Audience

A first-of-its-kind practical guide to achieving gender freedom with joy, curiosity, and pleasure for transgender and non-binary individuals, gender explorers, and those who love them—perfect for readers of The Body is Not an Apology and Schuyler Bailar's He/She/They.   

Taking everything they know from more than a decade of work with the queer and trans community, their personal journey of gender exploration, and clinical best practices, licensed therapist, coach, and speaker Rae McDaniel created the Gender Freedom Model. A uniquely supportive narrative for gender exploration and transition grounded in queer joy, their nine-pillar model has helped thousands of transgender and nonbinary individuals explore gender through play, pleasure, and freedom. And now, it can help you too. 
 
Whether you're transgender, non-binary, cisgender, or still exploring, this compassionate and practical guide will help you experience your gender in new, expansive ways by teaching:
* How to move from anxiety, self-doubt, and fear to a confident, proactive state of mind.
* How to navigate discomfort and celebrate your inherent worth as you develop genuine self-love.
* How to design relationships, community, and a sex life that lights you up.
* Practical tools to align your gender identity and expression with your most authentic self through play, pleasure, and possibility. 

Brimming with warmth, celebration, and practical advice Gender Magic is essential reading for anyone who yearns to step into their fullest self and imagine a life beyond gender binaries. Because you—yes YOU—are magic. 

"Rae McDaniel is a leader in their generation, matching compassion with clear-sighted vision for a sex-positive future.” –  Emily Nagoski, Ph.D, author of Come As You Are and Burnout

By: Sonya Renee Taylor (Author), Ijeoma Olio (Foreword), 2021, Paperback

"To build a world that works for everyone, we must first make the radical decision to love every facet of ourselves...'The body is not an apology' is the mantra we should all embrace."
--Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and founder and Executive Director, African American Policy Forum

"Taylor invites us to break up with shame, to deepen our literacy, and to liberate our practice of celebrating every body and never apologizing for this body that is mine and takes care of me so well."
--Alicia Garza, cocreator of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and Strategy + Partnerships Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance

"Her manifesto on radical self-love is life altering--required reading for anyone who struggles with body image."
--Claire Foster, Foreword Review

Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies.

The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world--for us all.

By:  Adam Eli (Author), Ashley Lukashevsky (Illustrator), 2020, Paperback, Pocket Change Collective

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, The New Queer Conscience, Voices4 Founder and LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli offers a candid and compassionate introduction to queer responsibility. Eli calls on his Jewish faith to underline how kindness and support within the queer community can lead to a stronger global consciousness. More importantly, he reassures us that we're not alone. In fact, we never were. Because if you mess with one queer, you mess with us all.

"Anxiety is a survival skill gone haywire. It happens when our brain is working so hard to protect us that it forgets to notice that the danger has passed. It feels like choking, stifling, smothering, tingling, panicking-our brains cut out and we start to make bad decisions-all normal anxiety reactions. Dr. Faith G. Harper, author of the bestselling Unfuck Your Brain and This is Your Brain on Depression, packs a ton of knowledge and help into this practical manual. She helps us understand the history andscience of anxiety, realize when it's become a serious problem, know the difference between anxiety and other conditions, and cope with it in the moment as well as addressing it long term. This updated-and-expanded book is a lifesaver for panic attacks, breaking out of flight-fight-freeze responses, similar and co-occurring conditions, and for chronic anxiety. Straightforward, funny, kind, and judgment free, it includes a wide range of tips, exercises, and medical interventions. It's also good for peoplewho aren't burdened by daily anxiety but want to cope better with the tough life situations we all face. Read this book and breathe!"--