The Courage to Feel

“Emotions are complex things. They can make life hell or make it sweet. So, here’s a question: do you have emotions or do emotions have you? Andrew Seubert’s The Courage to Feel can help you to have emotions and make your life rich and workable. It’s short, easy to understand and very powerful.”

“So much emotional disturbance is a result of people not understanding the critical role of emotions in providing information we need to survive. Andrew Seubert’s book is extremely helpful in this regard, by showing how to have, welcome, understand and transform emotions for greater happiness and better adjustment. I recommend this book to anyone who avoid telling themselves the truth or runs away from emotional honesty. The Courage to Feel is a much-needed resource for those who need to find another path and is written for anyone to readily understand. Therapists will want to recommend it to help their clients become emotionally competent and more—expert.”

“Massage therapists and physical therapists have often observed how deep tissue work can release episodes of sobbing—as if the emotional pain had been caged in that part of the body. But this book goes further with the idea and state that the emotions are meant to be released—and we are meant to be with the feeling until we know what we need to do to grow toward the life we are meant to life. The Courage to Feel could be a bridge between parent and child, a chance to respect feelings in a safe venue. For older children, like my fifth graders, it would legitimize their feelings.”

“. . . it is really an amazing book. It is every day a support in my work. The clear explanation, the steps, the metaphors, give a frame. And within that frame I see clients start exploring and understanding their feelings and emotions. I read and re-read the book to internalize it and make it a natural tool in my daily work.”

“The Courage to Feel is a book with soul! I read it and his words came alive with personal meaning for me. I was deeply touched by the heart-felt messages of his clients cited on these pages. Yes, it is a book with heart! I love the format! It is a clear and precise guide for understanding the role of emotions in my life; the language is inspirational. The delightful Fable of Simon the Turtle adds a note of levity and encouragement. Pen and ink by artist, Marc Rubin, are enchanting, capturing the warmth and spirit of the book’s message. Thank you, Andrew, for creating a vision of life filled with emotional well-being and joy!”

“The Courage to Feel is a clear and concise text that can be used in any treatment program. The creative illustrations and anecdotes allow individuals to not only feel, but to begin to understand their emotions without shutting down.”

“One of the most significant skills addressed in our program is to be able to identify and express emotions. Andrew Seubert’s The Courage to Feel has proven to be a very helpful resources to our patients in exploring and accepting, as well as transforming their emotions.”

“I love this book! The Courage to Feel is my GPS of choice. It has given me permission to recalculate my emotions. I’m willing to travel a bit more dangerously now. And yet the risks seem safer and the view is an awareness that is breathtaking. Simply put, my newly discovered courage to feel hurts beautifully.”

“ . . . the book is a tour de force. I don’t know of anything in the literature that is such a comprehensive and clear guide to an understanding of the central role of emotions. It leads one to the courage to feel and the rapture of being alive.”

“As a psychotherapist for 25 years, I’ve been moved by the pain of so many clients who have been shamed into denying both the reality and validity of their emotions. Thank the spirits for Andrew’s book that teaches the value and vitality of their feelings. This is one of the seminal self-help books of the last few decades!”

“I picked up this book as a psychologist who had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Seubert. Yet, from the beginning, I knew I was reading as a person who has spent the better part of 55 years making all of the all-too-human mistakes that are kindly, but deftly and forthrightly, chronicled in this poignant book. Feeling emotions, being emotional, expressing emotions, expressing one’s self—all of these are assumed by most people to be natural and straightforward, or they are given a gloss of dead-end pseudo-expertise such as women are in touch with their emotions—men are not. In The Courage to Feel, Andrew Seubert brings to bear the power and humility of true expertise in providing a guide to the process of emotional honesty. Thanks in large part to this book, I’m learning to see—and feel—the ways in which emotional development requires patience, perseverance, hope, a willingness to learn through failure, and an abiding sense of humor. Above all, emotional development requires the courage of commitment in the face of doubt, awkwardness, and anxiety. This book is filled with all of this, as well as hard-earned forms of wisdom that are definitely more than the sum of those key parts.”

“. . . it is really an amazing book. It is every day a support in my work. The clear explanation, the steps, the metaphors, give a frame. And within that frame I see clients start exploring and understanding their feelings and emotions. I read and re-read the book to internalize it and make it a natural tool in my daily work.”

“I bought this book for my son but found it so extremely well-written that I’ve been reading it each evening. I purchased three more to begin lending to my clients, especially the avoidantly attached ones. You’ve done a wonderful job presenting a thorough description and explanation of all the ins and outs of an emotional life. I am highly impressed with how you’ve communicated this material and I know your book will meet the needs of many people. I’m confident many of my current and future clients will derive immense benefits. Thank you for putting emotional intelligence into such an enjoyable, compelling and accessible form.”