Frank Carlson Library

Why are lovers quicker to forgive their partners for infidelity than for leaving dirty dishes in the sink? Why do patients remember long medical procedures as less painful than short ones? Why do home sellers demand prices they wouldn't dream of paying if they were home buyers? Why does the line at the grocery store always slow down when we join it? In this book, Harvard psychologist Gilbert describes the foibles of imagination and illusions of foresight...

"Pearl is a happiness technician whose teenaged son Rhett seems to find greater satisfaction in being unhappy. Told from an alternating cast of characters from within Pearl and Rhett's world, this story about relationships and the ways they can surprise and define us illuminates our national obsession with positive psychology, our reliance on quick fixes and technology"--

"Bestselling author Aimie Runyan makes her contemporary women's fiction debut with this charming escape into the lavender fields of Southern France and a young woman who discovers her family's secrets and the hope for her own future"-- Food critic Tempèsta Luddington has always felt like the odd person out in her family, ever since she lost her beloved mother at the tender age of thirteen. When her workaholic father passes fifteen years later, Tempèsta...

Jumping at the chance to visit her beloved great-aunt in California to escape her life, Robyn begins to see herself and the people she loves most with a bit more clarity, pushing her to take chances she hadn't dreamed of before. As a single mom, Robyn Caldwell always put her kids first. Now they're grown, but her daughter has become the most demanding bride ever, and her son won't even consider college. Meanwhile her best friend is on the brink...

Mabel Beaumont's husband Arthur loved lists. He'd leave them for her everywhere. 'Remember: eggs, butter, sugar'. 'I love you: today, tomorrow, always'. But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he's still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: 'Find D'. Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn't seen since the fateful day she left more than sixty...

"Elizabeth, Veronica, Rachel and Emily met at Camp Birchwood as girls in 1985, where over four summers they were the Clover Girls--inseparable for those magical few weeks of freedom--until the last summer that pulled them apart. Now approaching middle age, the women are facing challenges they never imagined as teens, struggles with their marriages, their children, their careers, and wondering who it is they see when they look in the mirror. Then Liz,...

"Since losing her husband, Tobias, in a tragic accident, Carol Denman has been on a journey of self-growth. She's taken steps to finally grieve her daughter's death, forgive her first husband, and mend her broken relationship with her mother. The one heartbreak she can't seem to come to terms with is losing her husband ... She knows her husband would want her to be happy again. She just has to figure out how to move forward. Coming to terms with being...

"A guide to reconciling career success with emotional well-being by employing strategies such as mindfulness, meditation, and reframing"--

"Jeanie Masterson has a gift: she can hear the recently dead and give voice to their final wishes and revelations. Inherited from her father, this gift has enabled the family undertakers to flourish in their small Irish town. Yet she has always been uneasy about censoring some of the dead's last messages to the living. Unsure, too, about the choice she made when she left school seventeen years ago: to stay, or leave for a new life in London with her...

"A story about being your truest self--and trusting your truest friends. Cliques. Crushes. Comics. Middle school. Ever since Tyler started getting into art and hanging out with Emmie, his friends and teammates have been giving him a hard time. He wonders why can't he nerd out on drawing and play ball? Emmie is psyched that she gets to work on a comics project with her crush, Tyler. But she gets the feeling that his friends don't think she's cool enough....