Building a Life Worth Living

A Memoir

By: Marsha M. Linehan

Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Stephen Mendel

Marsha Linehan tells the story of her journey from suicidal teenager to world-renowned developer of the life-saving behavioral therapy DBT, using her own struggle to develop life skills for others.

"This book is a victory on both sides of the page." (Gloria Steinem)

"Are you one of us?" a patient once asked Marsha Linehan, the world-renowned psychologist who developed dialectical behavior therapy. "Because if you were, it would give all of us so much hope."

Over the years, DBT had saved the lives of countless people fighting depression and suicidal thoughts, but Linehan had never revealed that her pioneering work was inspired by her own desperate struggles as a young woman. Only when she received this question did she finally decide to tell her story.

In this remarkable and inspiring memoir, Linehan describes how, when she was 18 years old, she began an abrupt downward spiral from popular teenager to suicidal young woman. After several miserable years in a psychiatric institute, Linehan made a vow that if she could get out of emotional hell, she would try to find a way to help others get out of hell, too, and to build a life worth living.

She went on to put herself through night school and college, living at a YWCA and often scraping together spare change to buy food. She went on to get her PhD in psychology, specializing in behavior therapy. In the 1980s, she achieved a breakthrough when she developed dialectical behavioral therapy, a therapeutic approach that combines acceptance of the self and ways to change. Linehan included mindfulness as a key component in therapy treatment, along with original and specific life-skill techniques. She says, "You can't think yourself into new ways of acting; you can only act yourself into new ways of thinking."

Throughout her extraordinary scientific career, Marsha Linehan remained a woman of deep spirituality. Her powerful and moving story is one of faith and perseverance. Linehan shows, in Building a Life Worth Living, how the principles of DBT really work - and how, using her life skills and techniques, people can build lives worth living.

©2020 Marsha M. Linehan (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"In Building a Life Worth Living, Marsha Linehan shares her experience of suicidal depression to help others who may be experiencing this themselves or someone they love. Since using what happens to us to help others is the final stage of healing, this book is a victory on both sides of the page." (Gloria Steinem, New York Times best-selling author of My Life on the Road)

"A brilliant memoir by one of the greatest pioneers in psychotherapy history. Marsha Linehan holds absolutely nothing back, making good on the vow she made as a young woman to escape hell and help others do the same. This book - with its fierce honesty and, for the careful reader, practical advice - will help anyone who has struggled to build a life worth living." (Angela Duckworth, New York Times best-selling author of Grit)

"To read this book is to understand how a life is built. In dark, there is light. Everything in Marsha Linehan’s life and remarkable memoir uncovers the dark - the hell of the unhappy self and the hell of inadequate help - and brings us into the light, with humor and detail in her grappling and growth, and in her courage and vision of how to create a treatment for even the most unhappy of us." (Amy Bloom, New York Times best-selling author of White Houses)

Exit from hell to life worth living

Dr. Linehan has searched far and wide to find skills and a framework to guide the most suicidal and suffering souls on a better path. The volume of work and ability to drill down to micro skills is both amazing and empowering. Thank you for your life and making your life's work so helpful for those who had no help before you. The application takes lots of work but she nailed it.

The Book

Both a heart wrenching and warm book about the author's journey to a life worth living.

My heart goes out to you Marsha

I was self diagnosed as borderline after 47 years of unknown misery and of course I turned to your work to help navigate the long road to recovery and making sense of my life and the messes I had created over half my life . I wanted to learn more about you and this book was very touching and helped me realize I am not alone and you are brave and highly intelligent . I’m sorry for your family’s loss of time with you and your role they placed you in ..their loss. Keep changing the world !❤️❤️❤️

Life Changing

I have been in DBT therapy since February. Learning about Marsha’s own journey and the steps she used to develop DBT solidified my belief that it works!!! I thank her for her hard work and commitment.

i really appreciate this book

I didn't like the narrator, but I really appreciate this book. so much so that, even though I didn't like the natrator, i will listen to this book again, and likely also buy at least one or two hardcopies to share. thank you Marcia for your story and the things you have done to help so many, including sharing your story. I am very grateful you shared your story. thank you.

exceptional book

This book is about the story of Marsha Linehan's descent into hell, extreme negative emotions that make suicide seem like a logical choice in order to get relief. Fortunately, this smart woman had a fighting and ornery nature and promised herself and her God that if she could find a way out of this hell she would dedicate her life to helping others get out too. This was the beginning of the very long road to developing the dialectical behavior therapy that has helped so many. Beautifully written, wonderfully read, extremely personal, very interesting and ultimately one of the most positive things I've ever read or listened to. This book would appeal to those with an interest in psychology or those who have suffered the plague of extreme negative emotions and moods that make one question whether life is worth it. Marsha Linehan makes the compelling argument that the answer is a resounding YES, and that with the right skills and practice that you can find the light and get out of hell. She proved this with her life and struggles and it is a story well worth hearing.

Amazing!

I love this book! Thank you Marsha for sharing yourself so authentically and opening up about how DBT got its roots. I do not care much for the narrator as she can come across as being a little robotic, however the memoir made up for that. As a new social worker, I also purchased the book in both hard copy and kindle to help with group therapy. I have also faced my own mental health challenges and I recall in my early recovery asking professionals what personal experience they had that would be beneficial for me. I was not interested in people helping me that just had a degree and book knowledge but I wanted help from others who had been where I was and knew first hand what would help me feel better. It completely makes sense that Marsha knew this would be evidenced based practice. She lived this! Thank you!!!

I never knew, hope for the hopeless.

Marsha's book gives hope to the hopeless. I never knew what to call it. Thankyou!

Big fan

Life changing. I’ve read it twice now and will most definitely read it again and again.

Best book ever

changed my life and I wanted to give myself a chance
Love xo xo xo