Changing Anger

"Anger is a signal and one worth listening to," writes Dr. Harriet Lerner in her renowned classic that has transformed the lives of millions. While anger deserves our attention and respect, women still learn to silence our anger, to deny it entirely, or to vent it in a way that leaves us feeling helpless and powerless. In this engaging and eminently wise book, Dr. Lerner teaches both women and men to identify the true sources of anger and to use it as a powerful vehicle for creating lasting change.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity' Martin Luther King, Jr, in Nobel Peace Prize nomination It was under the bodhi tree in India 2500 years ago that Buddha achieved the insight that three states of mind were the source of all our unhappiness: ignorance, obsessive desire and anger.

The Earl of Rennington’s daughter, Lady Isabel, has done well for herself. Married for five years to an indulgent viscount, with two small daughters, she lives her life in the centre of a social whirl, respected and admired for her beauty, her elegance and her liveliness. But her liveliness sometimes spills over into stormy rows with her staid husband, and she grieves that she’s failed in her primary duty — to provide him with an heir.

While anger deserves our attention and respect, women still learn to silence our anger, to deny it entirely, or to vent it in a way that leaves us feeling helpless and powerless.

Anger is one of the most powerful emotions known to man. Even the most level-headed human alive is not immune to this fiery beast. When you’re mad, your heart rate goes up, your body temperature rises, and your mind becomes clouded. You’re not able to think straight, and you lose all self-control. In worst-case scenarios, when we allow our anger to take the wheel, we lash out, break things, and spew venomous words that we don’t really mean.