Book excerpt: The breakthrough million-copy international bestseller about how to befriend your inner child to find happiness "Compassionate, clear-eyed, and insightful . . . The Child in You is like your own personal therapist that you can carry around with you." --Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Nominated for Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel H. Pink’s Next Big Idea Club We all want to be loved and to feel safe to express who we really are. But over time we grow estranged from what brings us our purest happiness--because everyday traumas, unyielding societal expectations, and the judgment of our parents and peers submerge our true self beneath layers of behaviors rooted in fear and shame and mistrust. In The Child in You, psychologist Stefanie Stahl guides you, step-by-step, through her therapeutic method that has helped millions to peel away these layers and reconnect with their inner child--both the shadow child, representing our deepest insecurities and the part of our self-esteem that is injured and unstable, and the sun child, representing our greatest joys and the part of our self-esteem that remains positive and intact. The many examples and exercises in this book will help you discover your shadow child and sun child, identify which of the shadow child's dozen self-protection strategies are at work in you, and put into practice the array of proven self-reflection strategies to overcome negative influences and beliefs. Because it's never too late to have a happy childhood, or to bring your authentic self out from the shadows so you can embody your radiant individuality. A PENGUIN LIFE TITLE