Why will most self help books leave you worse off? How do youth rehabilitation programmes backfire? And how can one volunteer help the whole of society? This book shows you how you can be happier and successful, using only the power of your own stories.

Redirect by Timothy D. Wilson, author of Strangers to Ourselves, whose work has been acclaimed by writers such as Malcolm Gladwell, is a groundbreaking book of psychology that shows how changing the stories we tell about ourselves can help solve our problems.

Why will most self help books leave you worse off? How do youth rehabilitation programmes backfire? And how can one volunteer help the whole of society? Redirecting the stories you tell about yourself - and changing the stories others are telling about themselves - can help everyone, whether improving education and parenting skills or reducing crime, teen pregnancies, and drug and alcohol abuse.

This timely book offers practical advice that has been proven to give real results. Redirect will show you exactly how you can be happier and more successful, using only the power of your own stories.

Timothy D. Wilson is the Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. He is the author of Strangers to Ourselves, which was named by New York Times Magazine as one of the Best 100 Ideas of 2002, and is co-author of the bestselling Social Psychology textbook, now in its seventh edition. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife and two children.

'A masterpiece' Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink

'This may well be the single most important psychology book ever written' Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness

'A stimulating, valuable read' New Scientist

'With a deft narrative touch . . . and a ferocious commitment to scientific evidence, Timothy Wilson has made a remarkable contribution to knowledge' Robert Cialdini, author of Influence