In this engaging discussion, Matthew Quick, the bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook, explores his journey through healing and recovery. He shares insights from Jungian analysis, emphasizing the balance between one's inner wolves—both good and bad. Quick delves into the complexities of addiction and creativity, as well as the vital role of community support. He also addresses the concept of 'father hunger' and its impact on personal growth, revealing how he transformed pain into healing through deeper connections and storytelling.
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insights INSIGHT
Taming the Bad Wolf
Don't simply reject your "bad wolf" or shadow self.
Instead, understand it to achieve wholeness and avoid its wild return.
insights INSIGHT
Alcohol as a Connector
Alcohol can serve as a flawed connection to deeper experiences.
Sobriety requires finding healthier ways to connect to that aliveness.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Alcohol and Creativity
Matthew Quick used alcohol to quiet his ego and access creativity.
Sobriety led to a 5-year writer's block, highlighting alcohol's unforeseen role.
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We Are the Light is a powerful and emotional novel that explores themes of grief, loss, and redemption. The story follows Lucas Goodgame, a widower struggling to cope with the loss of his wife in a tragic event. Through his journey, Lucas forms an unlikely alliance with a young man named Eli, leading to a path of healing and community revival. The novel celebrates the healing power of art and human connection, offering a hopeful perspective on overcoming trauma.
The Reason You're Alive
Matthew Quick
The Reason You're Alive follows David Granger, a Vietnam veteran, as he navigates his past and present. After a car accident reveals a brain tumor, David embarks on a journey to return a stolen item to a fellow soldier, Clayton Fire Bear, seeking closure and redemption. The novel explores themes of identity, family, and the complexities of America's polarized psyche.
The Silver Linings Playbook
A Novel
Matthew Quick
The Silver Linings Playbook is a heartwarming and humorous novel that follows Pat Peoples, a man who has just been released from a mental health facility. He believes his life is a movie produced by God, and his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive to win back his estranged wife, Nikki. As Pat navigates his new reality, he meets Tiffany, a widowed woman who helps him confront his past and find a new path forward. The novel explores themes of love, mental health, and personal growth with a blend of humor and poignancy.
Falling Upward
A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
Richard Rohr
In 'Falling Upward,' Richard Rohr divides human life into two halves. The first half is about building a life, achieving success, and establishing an identity. The second half, often misunderstood as a period of decline, is actually a journey of spiritual growth, contentment, and deeper understanding. Rohr argues that spiritual maturity is achieved not by avoiding failures and sufferings but by embracing them as necessary steps towards true self-discovery and union with God. The book offers practical guidance on transitioning from the outer tasks of the first half of life to the inner tasks of the second half, emphasizing the importance of integrity, love, and non-dualistic thinking[2][3][5].
Iron John
A Book About Men
Robert Bly
In this book, Robert Bly uses the Grimm fairy tale 'Iron John' to analyze and redefine traditional notions of masculinity. Bly draws on Jungian psychology and mythology to outline a journey of male maturation, emphasizing the importance of male initiation rites, the role of the 'Wild Man' archetype, and the need for men to balance their emotional and instinctual selves. The book is a seminal work in the mythopoetic men's movement and has been influential in discussions about modern masculinity[2][3][5].
Matthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—which was made into an Oscar-winning film—and eight other novels. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, a Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis 2016 (German Youth Literature Prize) nominee, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. The Hollywood Reporter has named him one of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors.
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Matthew Quick and I Discuss What We Can Learn From Our Bad Wolf and …
The One You Feed 
