It turns me into a glutton for words. Francine Prose A collection of stories and essays that introduces most of what a short story writer needs to know. Andre Dubus, Joyce Carol Oates, the editors and other insightful craftspeople give the knowledge that informs their work, along with stories so that readers are aware of from whom they are learning. Here's a way people can lift themselves out of depression. It's a lay textbook on cognitive therapy, with effective exercises.
Cognitive therapy maintains that our thoughts precede and cause our feelings.
Consequently, to change our feelings, we simply need to locate the flaws in our thinking and teach ourselves to think differently. After recommending the book to at least a dozen people and hearing from all of them that they found valuable knowledge and life-skills, I'm sure that anybody who leans toward negativity ought to read it. I discovered this book while teaching a creative non-fiction class at the University of Arizona. John Anderson recommended it to me. Since then I've read it a half dozen times and used it in fiction classes.