Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial

Hardcover
$7.36

Paperback
$16.81

Buy used:

$7.36

FREE delivery May 20 - 21. Details

Or fastest delivery May 14 - 16. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other sellers on Amazon

Used (12) from $7.36 & FREE Shipping

Follow the author

Name: The Thing You Think You Cannot Do: Thirty Truths about Fear and Courage: Livingston, Gordon: 9780738215525: Amazon.com: Books
Rating: 4.4 (127 reviews)

Gordon Livingston

+ Follow

More books from this author

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

The Thing You Think You Cannot Do: Thirty Truths about Fear and Courage Hardcover – April 10, 2012

by Gordon Livingston (Author)

4.4 127 ratings

See all formats and editions

What are we afraid of and what can we do about it?Fear--of change, of intimacy, of loss, of the unknown--has become a corrosive influence in modern life, eroding our ability to think clearly. Exploited for power by politicians and for money by the media, it has become embedded in the way we think about our lives. Overcoming our fear, says Gordon Livingston, constitutes the most difficult struggle we face.

Dr. Livingston, a psychiatrist, has increasingly found himself prescribing virtues like courage to his patients instead of tranquilizers or antidepressants. Now he tells us all what we need to do to develop personal virtues in the face of societal fear-and our own individual fears. And he does this with the crystalline prose and leavening wit that have made him an internationally bestselling author.

As the celebrated novelist Mark Helprin has said of Dr. Livingston: "To read him is to trust him and to learn, for his life has been touched by fire, and his motives are absolutely pure."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thoughtful and thought-provoking...The book will stir your emotions and cause you to think about the things you can do but do not do."
―Bowling Green Daily News

About the Author

Gordon Livingston, MD, a graduate of West Point who was awarded the Bronze Star for valor in Vietnam, is a psychiatrist and writer who contributes frequently to the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and Baltimore Sun. He lives and works in Columbia, Maryland.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo Lifelong Books (April 10, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 073821552X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0738215525
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 7.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,105,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,680 in Anxieties & Phobias
- #2,532 in Emotional Mental Health
- #17,625 in Motivational Self-Help (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 127 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Gordon Livingston

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

127 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Rebecca T

A Superlative Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2012

Verified Purchase

If you tend to view the world in absolutes and bring a hard-right wing agenda to your thinking, you need to read this book but probably won't like what it has to say. It is not a political book per se but certainly challenges the ethics of our leaders and the use of fear to subvert our individual and collective thinking. Dr. Livingston is an excellent writer, thinker and I am most grateful for all his writing. It has brought me comfort and clarity at the worst moments of my life.
This book touches on our national and individual anxieties and fears. How we are affected by it, the antidote and he rightly points out that there is only the thinnest of lines between how we behave as a collective society and personally. Perhaps that is why much of the book focuses of what fear has wrought in America (for example the highest percentage of people incarcerated in prisons in the world). Read this book or any book by Gordon Livingston and you will be better for it.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

jkmomma

A compelling read

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2012

Verified Purchase

I have not finished this book yet. While it is not heavy reading, one needs to stop and ruminate once in a while. Some of his life views are different from mine in this book, and I need to hold my life up for scrutiny. I am enjoying the friendly challenges, and may update this review when I am done

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Lewis G.

Still a good short read

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2014

Verified Purchase

Many of the same things as in his other books. Still a good short read.

Helpful

Robert A. Ladner

Gordon Livingston wrestles with his demons

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2012

Verified Purchase

Dr. Livingston is that most rare human being: one who understands his own shortcomings, his own faults, his own demons, and in wrestling with these demons he gives great instruction to the reader. He is transparent about his disappointments, frank and candid about his anger, and resolute about what it takes to overcome the crippling effects of the past and face the future with greater confidence. As is the case in his other books, the chapter headings bear little relationship to the contents: they are a jumping-off place for his meditations, and I suggest that you not use them in any but the most superficial way to index his thoughts. Read every section, and mark up what you read: this book cries out to be dog-eared, high-lighted and margin-noted.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Tobby

More axe grinding than his usual dose of wisdom

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2013

Verified Purchase

I'm a great fan of Dr. Livingston's books. I read them repeatedly and give them as gifts to my children and friends. This latest one is different. I have trouble sorting through his message and he seems to be grinding a political axe with arguments that are as easily applied to liberals as to the conservative that he targets. Having said that, get a copy and see for yourself. Maybe you'll think it's great.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

David

Insightful

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2012

Verified Purchase

An outstanding read for those who are seeking insight into the very basic and sometimes complex nature of our human condition. With years of practice and experince to support his text the author does an outstanding job of providing an argument, with humour, for why we are who we are and how we might influence a change.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Lizette

Highly Recommend This Book

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2012

Verified Purchase

I have read all of Dr. Livingston's books and this one is just as excellent as the others. There are some thought provoking insights about our culture and how we've come to accept and even glorify narcissism. My favorite chapter was, "You Have Never Suffered Enough." Dr. Livingston makes the point that there is no limit to human suffering.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sharicia Roberts

Excellent reading!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

Dr. Gordon's books are EXCELLENT!!! I bought a copy for my dad and one for myself. Knowing how great it was, I gave my copy to my cousin as I knew she would benefit greatly from it. Now I need to get another copy for myself!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Joseph

Recommdbded

Reviewed in Australia on October 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

Very good book and thoroughly enjoyed it very good and easy to read and intuitive would recommend to others thanks

Roch Pouliot

Reflections

Reviewed in Canada on September 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

Fine, That brings reflections

Christian of Sweden

Life goes on. No matter what.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

Mr Livingston is a rare voice in todays choir of self-help experts. Rare because he is humble and, to my view, truthful. No quick fixes. No promises of great futures, but crisp clear analysis of the conditions of our lives. I have read many of his previous books and this is as good as his breakthrough book "Too soon old..." Is it worth five stars? Well I would have put 4,5 it was possible and the half is deducted because of to many repetitions about Americas saddening wars. Yes. We got that part from the beginning. Otherwise throw yourself in and discover brave men and women that carry on living in spite of "everything".

3 people found this helpful