Better Days

"“No other system has ever so efficiently broken through my lifelong sense of isolation as the work you are about to encounter, and at the same time, been so welcoming and even fun. Better Days will help you get to know your inner critic, and quiet its yammering, and in so doing, get to know the person you were born to be.” - Anne Lamott, author of Dusk Night Dawn, Bird by Bird and others ""In Neal Allen’s book, you’ll find a tool to help meet one of the most daunting challenges to a better life: that voice that has taken up residence inside you and berates, cajoles, warns you every step of the way. The tool can help you sleep better, work better, help you find a sense of ease in your life.""- Jeff Greenfield, author and veteran TV network political analyst “What if love is just the way things are when I’m not separated from things?” Neal Allen asks us at the end of this luminous jewel of a book. With penetrating clarity and lightheartedness, the author walks us through a remarkably accessible and effective method for dismantling the critical voice that has convinced almost all of us that we are separate and doomed. The spaciousness and ease that flow into the space that bossy little “gremlin” used to take up transform daily life from an anxious trudge into a tender adventure. Highly recommended.” - Mirabai Starr, author of Caravan of No Despair and Wild Mercy “I happened to read Better Days on a day that was not one of my best and found such help in Allen's simple, direct, and above all, useful insights. Reading this book feels like having a wise and keenly observant uncle tell you everything they've learned about how to not be miserable. If you're ready to stop being an asshole to yourself and need more than fluffy affirmations, this book is for you.” - Nadia Bolz-Weber, podcast host of The Confessional, author of Shameless “There are great tools here to step out of the clutches of the critical inner voices that undermine your true spirit. Tame the critic and open the gate to inner well-being. Neal takes you by the hand and leads you out of the thicket and brambles of self-criticism to the meadow of well-being. Let him guide you.” - Jack Kornfield, Author of A Path With Heart ""A playful and compassionate book about confronting the mental chatter that keeps us from mental peace and quiet. Neal Allen writes as a friend and guide ready to put an arm around you and say, “Let’s see if we can get the neighbors to pipe down a bit.” – Kate Bowler, author of No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear)and Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved) ""This book is an invitation to separate the helpful parts of what we call our ego from the defensive, self-righteous, and sullen parts of it that no longer serve us. Allen shows readers that there is a more joyful, honest, and peaceful way to exist once the harsh critic within is understood and transformed."" - Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Life ""In Better Days, the mean, soul-crushing voice we all endure is addressed by Neal Allen with grace and wisdom born of direct experience. His kind voice models all that he is teaching so that as we read, we are steeped in kindness itself. Beautiful.- Geneen Roth, bestselling author of Women Food and God"