The Little Book of Big Lies: A Journey into Inner Fitness

Actor and playwright Lifford provides a valuable road map to achieving “inner fitness”—self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-care—in her frank and practical debut. The author aims to help readers recognize the “big lies” that hold them back from living a fulfilling life through a series of questions intended to unpack the things that make one feel sad or small, among them the belief that some pain lasts forever, the tendency to stay stuck in thoughts about the past, and the habit of avoiding difficult moments by rushing through days with the belief that “one day” life will be better. “Every time we avoid our feeling today,” she writes, “we set ourselves up for inevitable sadness ‘one day.’ ” Chapters begin with a question, such as “Are You Living Life Thinking Something’s Wrong or Against You?” and “Do Your Circumstances Boss You Around?” and Lifford wraps up each with “inner fitness” practices—which include a restatement of the “untruth,” followed by a self-empowering truth—and “try this” advice. Lifford’s sage lessons will be an antidote to poisonous thoughts for those with battered self-esteem. Agent: Johanna Castillo, Writer’s House. (Nov.)