I like to publish this story around the first of October, since it is the feast day of St. Therese, my patron saint. I owe my life to St. Therese of Lisieux. A few times over. This Carmelite nun–dubbed the “greatest saint of modern times” by Pope Pius X–declared on her deathbed that she would...

One of my favorite passages on pain is what Kahlil Gibran writes in his classic, “The Prophet”: Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep...

Two years ago I asked prominent psychiatrist and bestselling author Peter Kramer to endorse my manuscript, Beyond Blue. I have been thinking about his response ever since. He told me that he no longer blurbs books, because to blurb a book would require him to real the entire thing, from cover to cover. He would...

I recently joined “The Psychology Network” on LinkedIn and have been enjoying the discussion among mental health professionals (since I’m not really one, but pretend to be all the time). Especially intriguing was the discussion thread called “What are some of your favorite quotes that have motivated and inspired you?” They are quotes that they...

Does everyone have a guardian angel? Mike Leach, author of “Why Stay Catholic? Unexpected Answers to a Life-Changing Question” thinks so. This is one of my favorite sections of his book. “Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings!” —Zuzu Bailey, “It’s a Wonderful Life” “I believe in angels.”...