How We Break
- Author Vincent Deary
- Narrator Vincent Deary
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date 1 January 1970
- Run Time 11 hours and 9 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Cognitive studies, Coping with personal, social and health topics, Family and health, Popular psychology, Psychology, Self-help, personal development and practical advice, Society and Social Sciences.
Flexible Pricing & Rewards For Listening
At xigxag, the more you read, the less you pay* on select audiobook and x-book® titles, as in the table below. Pricing updates automatically in the app and resets one year after your first purchase. And you can always find a selection of brilliant titles available for only £3.99.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price per title
- £8.99
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
*Only the full price titles you buy count toward your personal pricing tier. Full price titles don’t include Listen for Less or other books bought with a voucher or discount code.
Listen to a sample
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
An expert, empathetic guide to the science, psychology and physiology of breaking, from the acclaimed author of How We Are
What happens when our minds and bodies are pushed beyond their limits? Vincent Deary is a health psychologist who has spent years helping his patients cope with whatever life has thrown at them. In How We Break, he has written a book for all of us who sometimes feel we have reached our breaking point.
Drawing on clinical case studies, cutting-edge scientific research, intimate personal stories and references from philosophy, literature and film, How We Break offers a consoling new vision of everyday human struggle. The big traumas in life, Deary points out, are relatively rare. More common is when too many things go wrong at once, or we are exposed to prolonged periods of difficulty or precarity. When the world shrinks to nothing but our daily coping, we become unhappy, worried, hopeless, exhausted. In other words, we break. Breaking, he shows us, happens when the same systems that enable us to navigate through life become dysregulated. But if we understand how the wear and tear of life affects us, then we have a better chance of navigating through times of burnout, stress, fatigue and despair.
By equipping us with a better understanding of what happens to us when we're struggling to cope, and making a bold case for the power of rest and recuperation, How We Break helps chart a path through difficult times.
©2024 Vincent Deary (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
A lyrical and ultimately uplifting examination of what happens when our minds and bodies are put under extreme stress or suffering
Drawing on a wide range of sources about the human experience, Vincent Deary has written a warm and compassionate book about how we hurt and how we heal. A rich and humane work
From a deep mine of science, philosophy, art and personal experience, Vincent Deary has produced a treasure of a book. Every page of How We Break gleams with wisdom and insight. Nobody could fail to be enriched by it
A particular strength of the book is the way Deary weaves between different schools of thought within psychology, philosophy and religion. The result is not merely a discussion of abstract ideas, but a collection of valuable observations about what it means to be human in the modern world
Deary’s exhilarating new book mixes science, philosophy and memoir to argue that self-acceptance is our best defence against the stress of living… Deary’s writing is wise and compassionate, sometimes florid and always interesting – few writers could jump so nimbly between Proust and RuPaul, neuroscience and the occult. … Deary’s is the rare book that helps you see the world a little differently
The psychologist and researcher’s persuasive inquiry into how life’s struggles take their toll is full of hard-won wisdom… There is a rawness to Deary’s analysis that gives a compelling human edge to his theorising
Deary offers a thought experiment that just might be a game-changer
In How We Break, the health psychologist Vincent Deary suggests some answers for ‘navigating the wear and tear of living’… This essential self-exploration underlines the deeply humane plea which is the heartbeat of the book: for more self-compassion… There is much wisdom in Deary’s regret that this society has neglected the idea of convalescence’
Exhilarating… a lyrical, consoling exploration… It takes guts to recognise that change is called for, and more to follow it through. This book – so long as you don’t read it on autopilot – should help
Fascinating, profound, wonderfully well-observed… [How We Are] could change lives
| Author | Vincent Deary |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Vincent Deary |
| Duration | 11 hours and 9 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781802065930 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Genre | Cognitive studies, Coping with personal, social and health topics, Family and health, Popular psychology, Psychology, Self-help, personal development and practical advice, Society and Social Sciences |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE |
More from the same
Author
Narrator
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK’s only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at £8.99. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from £3.99. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.