7 keys to a healthier life, according to self-help authors - Los Angeles Times
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7 keys to a healthier life, according to self-help authors

The Dana Point Hike for OC Hikes.
(Matt Pawlik)
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Good morning. Here’s what we’re covering today:

Actually good self-help authors have some tips for better living

A cynical person in front of a giant eye trying to practice hopeful skepticism
(Maggie Chiang / For The Times)

For a good chunk of my life, I thought self-help books were a scam. They hawked simple five-step solutions for how to “get the guy,” “10x your productivity” or “discover a new you.” I’d finish reading, test out the author’s newfangled method for a week and then find myself back at square one: unsatisfied with some of my life habits, but at a loss for how to tackle them.

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I repeated the same cycle for an endless conveyor belt of trendy workouts, diets and beauty regimens that are especially inescapable here in California.

Eventually I realized I needed to find better books — ones that guided my own curiosity, rather than laid out my problems and vowed to solve them.

So I and Times staffers and contributors joined forces to find an exciting, eclectic mix of actually helpful self-help authors. Their conversations with The Times about their latest books seek to answer timely questions of our modern existence.

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Here are 7 ways you can kick-start your own path to self-discovery.

California is a place where you can choose your own spiritual adventure. I hope these conversations will pique a curiosity to look within.

The urge for temporary self-improvement may be tempting, but it’s self-discovery that will pay dividends to the very end.

Today’s top stories

A photo of a vape product called Backpack Boyz, which was found to contain pesticides.
This Backpack Boyz vape was found to contain more than two dozen pesticides, despite being declared clean by a state-certified lab.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
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California’s legal weed industry is in tumult after a Times investigation found pesticides in cannabis products

  • Records and interviews show California regulators have largely failed to address evidence of widespread contamination as the legal weed industry faces crumbling consumer confidence.
  • A Times investigation in June found alarming levels of pesticides in cannabis products available on dispensary shelves across the state.
  • Consuming weed that is contaminated with dangerous chemicals can have severe impacts on health including neurological damage and heart failure.

Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail after pleading not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges

  • An indictment unsealed Tuesday accused the music mogul of running a “criminal enterprise” that threatened and abused women.
  • Federal prosecutors alleged Combs used his global business in the media, entertainment and lifestyle industries for the purpose of carrying out these crimes.
  • A sex trafficking expert analyzed the allegations against Combs — and what his indictment means about our changing views on how sex trafficking works.

Gov. Newsom slammed a Southern California city that banned homeless shelters

More big stories


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Commentary and opinions

  • Donald Trump’s politics of hate have come for Taylor Swift, columnist Robin Abcarian writes.
  • The Trump assassination attempts are just the beginning; imagine what is coming after the election, Jacob Ware and Colin P. Clarke argue in a guest opinion.
  • Can legitimate campus protest be distinguished from antisemitism? This guide aims to help, write David N. Myers and Nomi M. Stolzenberg in a guest opinion piece.

Today’s great reads

A photo of a mother holding her 16-month-old daughter near a bus that has been converted into a home.
Tie-dye artist Laura La Rue has taken a nontraditional path in raising her 16-month-old daughter, Lasca. “It’s very chill, and it’s not that crazy at all,” she says of living in a school bus in Ojai. “It’s baby heaven.”

How a single mom turned a converted school bus into a dreamy live-work haven in Ojai. Tie-dye artist and former model Laura La Rue is raising her 16-month-old daughter in a former school bus. “I’m trying to be present for my daughter,” she said.

Other great reads

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How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].


For your downtime

A view of Olafur Eliasson’s room-size light installation "Pluriverse assembly."
A view of Olafur Eliasson’s room-size light installation “Pluriverse assembly,” where ever-shifting arcs of light move across a black scrim, at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.
(©Olafur Eliasson)

Going out

Staying in

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

Today’s great photo is from Barbara DeLaRonde-Leach of Palm Desert: the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego, where she sought a “reprieve from the desert heat” by attending a smooth jazz concert.

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Barbara writes: “It was an afternoon/evening event at stunning venue located on the water at the marina. Acoustics and atmosphere were amazing, as were the spacious seating areas and grassy knoll where refreshments could be had.”

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

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