For a limited time, if you buy a signed copy of my book, Sh*t Happens: Lessons for Dealing with Life’s Ups & Downs, directly from me, I’ll include a free copy of Mike King’s The Nutters Club. Click here to order your copy.
You can also request a personalised message if you’re buying Sh*t Happens as a gift — just let me know what you’d like written inside.
Buy Sh*t Happens direct
You can now order Sh*t Happens directly through psychotherapy.nz. Copies are $39.95, signed by me, with the option of adding a short personalised message.
I wrote the book because there is no shortage of advice about how we should be happier, calmer, more resilient or better at managing our lives. Some of that advice is useful. Some of it can make things worse by suggesting that if we’re struggling, we must be doing something wrong.
The title is deliberately blunt because, well, it’s true. Sh*t happens.
Difficult things don’t happen because we have failed to think positively enough, haven’t found the right technique, or aren’t sufficiently resilient. Life is unpredictable, relationships are complicated, and much of what affects us is beyond our control.
A book about life’s ups and downs
One of the traps in conversations about mental health is the idea that distress is always a problem to be fixed as quickly as possible.
Sometimes people absolutely do need treatment, therapy, medication, practical support or urgent help. But distress can also tell us something important about what is happening in our lives — loss, pressure, loneliness, grief, fear, shame, exhaustion, or the gap between how we are living and what we need.
A book isn’t therapy and it can’t solve those things. But a good one can give us some language for what we’re experiencing, offer another way of thinking about it, and sometimes help us feel a little less alone in it.
That was what I wanted Sh*t Happens to do.
Free copy of The Nutters Club
While stocks last, every copy of Sh*t Happens bought directly from me will also come with a free copy of Mike King’s book, The Nutters Club.
Mike has played an important part in changing the way we talk about mental health in New Zealand, particularly around depression, suicide, addiction and the shame that can prevent people from asking for help.
The Nutters Club approaches those subjects through people’s stories. That makes it a good companion to Sh*t Happens: two quite different books, but both interested in talking plainly about the difficult parts of being human.
Signed and personalised
Buying directly also means I can sign your copy and, if you’d like, personalise it for you or for someone you’re giving it to.
So, for a limited time:
Signed copy of Sh*t Happens — $39.95
+ FREE copy of Mike King’s The Nutters Club
+ optional personalised inscription
You can order directly through psychotherapy.nz while the offer lasts.
The point about distress acting as a signpost rather than just a glitch to fix right away really resonated with me. Society often pushes quick fixes, but giving language to complex emotions like fear, grief, or isolation helps far more in the long run than pretending everything is fine. Books that validate our real-world experiences without selling toxic optimism are rare and necessary. Also, pairing this with Mike King’s work is a fantastic gesture given his incredible impact on destigmatizing mental health conversations. Truly appreciate this thoughtful and honest approach to real resilience!