“Most people will never look for a great psychiatrist or a great Buddhist teacher, but Mark Epstein is both, and the wisdom he imparts in Assistance Not Given is an work of generosity and compassion. The book is definitely a tonic for the health problems of our period.”-Ann Patchett, NY Times bestselling writer of Commonwealth

Our ego, and its own accompanying sense of nagging self-doubt once we work to be larger, better, smarter, and more in charge, is one affliction we all talk about. And about Assistance Not Provided: HELPFUL INFORMATION to Getting Over Yourself while our ego statements to possess our needs at heart, in its never-ending quest for attention and power, it sabotages the goals it units to attain. In Advice Not Provided, renowned psychiatrist and writer Dr. Mark Epstein reveals how Buddhism and Traditional western psychotherapy, two customs that created in entirely differing times and places and, until recently, had nothing to do with each other, both recognize the ego as the restricting element in our well-being, and both arrive to the same bottom line: When we give the ego free of charge rein, we suffer; however when it learns to let go, we are free.

With great insight, and in a deeply personal design, Epstein offers visitors a how-to guide that refuses an instant repair, grounded in two traditions devoted to maximizing the human potential for living an improved life. Using the Eightfold Path, eight regions of self-reflection that Buddhists believe essential for enlightenment, as his scaffolding, Epstein appears back productively by himself experience and that of his individuals. While the suggestions from the Eightfold Route are as previous as Buddhism itself, when educated by the sensibility of Traditional western psychotherapy, they become something more: a street map for religious and psychological growth, a means of coping with the intractable issue of the ego. Breaking down the wall structure between East and West, Epstein brings a Buddhist sensibility to therapy and a therapist’s practicality to Buddhism. Speaking obviously and straight, he presents a rethinking of mindfulness that stimulates people to become more watchful of their ego, a concept with a solid foothold in Buddhism but now for the first time used in the framework of psychotherapy.

Our ego reaches once our biggest obstacle and our greatest hope. We are able to end up being at its mercy or we are able to learn to mildew it. Completely unique and practical, Epstein’s advice could be utilized by all–each in his or her own way–and will provide wise counsel in a confusing world. In the end, as he says, ‘Our egos can use all the help they are able to get.’