Lev Raphael: Author Appearances

The prize-winning author of twenty-two books in genres from memoir to mystery to mashup, Lev Raphael has had a unique, colorful career as author, reviewer, and talk show host. He's taught writing in colleges, universities and workshops around the country, and in Writer's Block is Bunk, he shares his vast experience in publishing, and in touring with his books on three continents. Written with encouraging humor and honesty, Writer's Block is Bunk offers advice for both newbies and experienced authors on writing and the writing life. Ranging across topics like how to do a book reading, building your audience, responding to fans, and finding inspiration, Raphael doesn't pull any punches, but he also has fun, and so will you reading this smart and timely little book.

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Lev Raphael brings together his best essays, reviews, and reflections on the writing life from the literary magazine Bibliobuffet. Provocative and revealing, Book Lust! offers Raphael's unique take on books, literary translation, authorship, touring, and much more.

"Frequently insightful, often hilarious, and always delicious, Book Lust!, a new compilation of essays for book lovers by the gifted writer Lev Raphael, was like eating from a small jewel box of expensive chocolates. I kept thinking, 'Just one more.' As a result, I was up half the night, but marvelously entertained!"
—Ellen Hart, three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award

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Using simple words and real-life examples, this book shows kids how to be assertive with other kids—and with adults. Kids will learn to feel better about themselves, stronger and more secure inside, and more in charge of their lives. They’ll read about effective ways to deal with intense feelings and to build self-esteem and self-confidence. In addition, they’ll learn strategies for building inner security to cope with powerlessness and uncertainty and discover ways of protecting themselves when using social media.

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Positive self-esteem is based on facts and truths, achievements and competencies. It is the single most important psychological skill we can develop in order to thrive in society. Without self-esteem, kids doubt themselves, cave in to peer pressure, feel worthless and inferior, and may turn to drugs or alcohol as a crutch. With self-esteem, kids feel secure inside themselves, are more willing to take positive risks, are more likely to take responsibility for their actions, can cope with life's changes and challenges, and are resilient in the face of rejection, disappointment, failure and defeat.

The Teacher's Guide is a step-by-step curriculum for use in upper elementary through middle school. Created for the classroom, this course can also be used in other group settings, including counseling groups, after-school programs, youth groups, clubs, and community programs—anywhere children and youth need help becoming their best selves.

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Most gay men and lesbians grow up learning that to be gay is to be sick, to be unnatural, to be a sinner. By adolescence, such negative attitudes have produced and reinforced a single, powerful emotion: shame, the feeling that you're inferior and judged as "bad," not for what you do but for who you are—gay. In Coming Out of Shame, Gershen Kaufman and Lev Raphael expose the role shame has come to play in gay and lesbian lives. Rarely discussed but vastly important, shame powerfully shapes each individual's development of self-esteem, identity and intimacy—three areas in which gay men and lesbians have been extremely vulnerable to the crippling effects of shame. Tracing the historical and cultural sources of gay shame, Kaufman and Raphael reveal how gay men and lesbians have internalized shame, resulting in self-loathing and destructive behaviors.

The hallmark of shame is silence, and by breaking the silence around the dynamics of gay shame, Kaufman and Raphael offer a way to "come out" of shame and begin the journey toward wholeness and self-acceptance. Filled with the experiences of those struggling to overcome shame, Coming Out of Shame includes strategies for storing self-esteem, creating a positive gay identity, healing scenes of shame, and developing partnerships in intimacy. Self-affirming and inspirational, Coming Out of Shame guides the transformation of gay shame into gay pride and empowers gay men and lesbians as no other book has done.

"Thoughtful, courageous and life-changing, Coming Out of Shame is one of those books you wish you had read earlier in life. Kaufman and Raphael vividly reveal how shame affects the lives of every gay man and lesbian and, more important, how those lives can overcome the legacy of gay shame. With its emphasis on building self-esteem and developing intimacy, this book will nurture the soul of our community."
—Greg Louganis

"A singularly intelligent example of the psychological self-help genre."
—Booklist

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How are we to feel a sense of competence and power in the world? Can we learn to cope with life's stresses as well as its uncertainties? Are satisfying interpersonal relations, with peers or partners, possible?

Dynamics of Power answers these questions, and shows how psychological health and self-esteem depend on overcoming shame and developing personal power.

Based on a unique course developed at Michigan State University, this book teaches essential skills for building self-esteem. It provides a comprehensive curriculum for psychological health which can be implemented directly within our educational system. The principles and tools contained in this program directly combat addiction, violence and stress-related disorders by reversing the very conditions responsible for them: shame and powerlessness.

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