When you get older and officially achieve that title of “adult,” it can feel like you’re just surviving. When you factor in your responsibilities, such as work, school, maintaining relationships of all kinds, keeping up with your hobbies, and practicing self-care, it’s overwhelming! Basically, it’s hard to be a human being.

And feeling like you’re merely surviving life can come down to not treating the root of the problem: your core wounds from childhood. Gloria Zhang hosts the Inner Child Podcast, where she helps high achievers discover their true purpose after childhood trauma and master the art of safe & passionate relationships. And now she has a new book out called  A Woman’s Guide to Inner Healing, which you can read a sneak peek of in this post. So grab your copy now to rediscover your most authentic self through this book filled with inner child healing exercises, including journal prompts, worksheets, and tips!

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Inner Child Healing Exercises

How to Communicate with Your Inner Child

So, how do you communicate with your inner-child?

You talk to them, duh!

The easiest way to make a connection with your inner-child is to strike up a conversation! Coming up with questions can be tricky, so here is a list of suggestions. See if you can hear or feel an answer arise when asking them.

1. Hey, it’s me! Do you remember me?

2. How are you feeling?

3. What did you do today?

4. How can I help you today?

5. Do you want anything from me?

Some folks are met with an overjoyed child who is running over, ecstatic to see them! For others, the inner-child is avoidant, silent, and anxiously hiding in the corner. As the parent to your own inner kid, you have the opportunity to respond to them the right way this time. Be as patient, loving, and kind as you would be with a real child!

Here are some ideas of things to say to help build trust:

• I’ve found you now, and I’m never leaving you alone again.

• I have missed you.

• I commit to earning your trust that I will always stay.

• I’m going to put you first from now on.

• I can handle all your feelings, big or small.

• I am learning how to keep you safe from harm.

• I am so proud of you.

• I am committing to paying attention to your needs, big or small.

• I am not perfect, but I’ll always say sorry when I’m in the wrong.

Did you feel something inside you from reading this?

Sometimes connecting with your inner-child makes you want to burst into tears or scream.

This is normal.

Let yourself cry. Hold yourself, gently rocking back and forth, until you feel safe and sound again. There’s nothing to worry about now. You are home.

Spend about once a day checking in with this part of yourself, and you will surely witness the start of a beautiful relationship.

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If you’re interested in learning more, including how to connect with your younger self and identify your 4 Core Wounds, make sure you snag a copy of A Woman’s Guide to Inner Healing.

For the grand finale of our Thanksgiving recipe series, we’re giving you a look at the upper easr-side.  This Hot Toddy recipe is the perfect send-off for Thanksgiving and a holiday staple. Be the glamorous Serena van der Woodsen or the fabulous Blair Waldorf with perfect this Thanksgiving cocktail.

Whether you’re an Upper East Sider, a prep school heiress, a Brooklyn wannabe, or the ultimate fan of an anonymous gossip blogger, we know what you want—a luxe cocktail and some good drama to enjoy it with. Find this recipe and more in XOXO, A Cocktail Book. 

Recreate the drink and tag us @ulyssespress.

A Chilly Goodbye (aka Hot Toddy)—from XOXO, A Cocktail Book

When the weather turns cold, you know that’s when things on the Upper East Side are just heating up. There’s nothinglike Thanksgiving to  bring out the drama, as we’ve learned time and again. Thanksgiving weather in NYC might not be that frigid, but that doesn’t mean the relationships aren’t. When a cold shoulder freezes you out or you’ve been served an ice-cold dose of humiliation, this Hot Toddy is the perfect antidote to thaw you out.

Ingredients

½ cup bourbon
juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup hot water
lemon wedge, for garnish
cinnamon stick, for garnish

Instructions

1. Add the bourbon, lemon juice, and honey to a clear glass mug.

2. Top with hot water and stir. Garnish with the lemon wedge and cinnamon stick.

Special Tip: For a spicy twist on this classic drink, use hot honey to add a kick!

Ready to keep cooking? Continuing our Thanksgiving cooking series is this delicious, mouth-watering Mac and Cheese eecipe, or rather Magicae “Mac”-xima. This mac and cheese recipe comes from one of our latest releases, The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids. This ooey-gooey recipe is filled with cheesy goodness ready to be served as the best side dish this Thanksgiving.

Recreate this recipe and tag us @ulyssespress! Happy cooking.

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Magicae “Mac”-xima — from The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids

Ahh, yes, the Power Spell. The witch or parent who uses this recipe shall be all powerful, as no little one can resist the lure of mac ‘n’ cheese. But be ye warned—doomed as well is the witch who uses this spell, as it may come to pass that littles will request this and only this for every meal to come.

Adding broccoli is an easy way to make this spell just as powerful but a little more nutritious (in case it does end up on the short list of favorite spells).

Serves: 8 | Prep Time:  25 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound large-shell pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 ounces extra-sharp
cheddar cheese
8 ounces gruyère cheese
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons
unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups half-and-half
⅓ cup Italian seasoned
bread crumbs
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Add the pasta and cook al dente according to the package directions.

3. Drain the pasta in a colander and pour it into a 12-inch cast-iron skillet.

4. Add the olive oil, toss, and set aside.

5. While the water is boiling, grate the cheddar and gruyère cheeses. Combine and set aside.

6. In a medium saucepan, melt ½ cup butter over medium heat.

7. Add the flour to the butter and whisk well until fully combined.

8. Add the half-and-half, salt, and pepper, and whisk well until the mixture simmers.

9. Lower the heat to low and add the grated cheese in batches, mixing well after each addition so the cheese fully melts. Continue until only about a third of the cheese is left.

10. Pour the cheese mixture over the pasta in the cast-iron skillet and mix well.

11. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the pasta.

12. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into thin slices and distribute over the top of the pasta. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.

13. Bake in the skillet for 20 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and slightly browned.

So, who did it? It’s not always as easy of an answer as “Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick!” But it is the single most important question in any whodunnit book, movie, or TV show. And that’s where all the fun lies — trying to figure out the answer before it’s revealed. Because let’s be real, we all want to feel that satisfaction of knowing the correct answer before it’s blurted out by the detective!

Did you know that Agatha Christie is considered the “Queen of Crime” and is the best-selling novelist of all time? She pioneered the detective fiction genre that we all know and love. She’s the mastermind behind Hercule Poirot, who’s played by Kenneth Branagh in Murder on the Orient Express.

Sometimes, real life is even crazier than anything an author can write up. And that’s exactly what happened for a week and a half in 1926 when Agatha Christie’s disappearance puzzled all of England. That’s just one of the cases that Cheyna Roth explores in this new true crime collection called Between Two Wars. Check out a brief excerpt below, and don’t forget to grab a copy of Cheyna’s book for more scandalous and fascinating crimes!

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Agatha Christie’s Disappearance

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of Agatha Christie’s most famous novels and, to some, her greatest among many greats. It’s the twist at the end that makes the novel. Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan wishes he could have done it so well. The fateful twist—the realization that the person we’ve been trusting all along is not who we believed them to be—has become almost cliché at this point.

The unreliable narrator has been used countless times, to varying degrees of effect, over the decades since Christie’s masterpiece was published in 1926, including in American Psycho, Fight Club, and a vast number of thrillers written in the past decade or so, from Gone Girl onward. But what happens when an author becomes the unreliable narrator of her own life? The disappearance of Agatha Christie for a week and a half in 1926 has become a story of much speculation and little actual fact. That’s because when Christie was found, she claimed she didn’t remember what had happened. Honest? Who’s to say?

There’s something that almost induces eye-rolling about the idea that a writer such as Agatha Christie would lead a mysterious life, but she was far from an open book. The titles of her modern biographies seem to agree: Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman; Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life; The Mystery of Agatha Christie. But before she was a prolific and best-selling author—with sales topped only by the Bible and Shakespeare—Christie was a woman living in a tumultuous time and enduring a tumultuous life.

The lead-up to her disappearance

It’s important to understand Agatha’s mental state going into December 1926, because there is little else to go on when trying to figure out why she disappeared. In her autobiography, Agatha recounts for pages how lonely she was and how she eventually became physically ill as well as depressed. Did this cause a mental breakdown and result in her entering into a sort of fugue state? Or, as another common theory suggests, was she making all of this up in an attempt to get revenge on her husband? As Lucy Worsley explains, the central question that has plagued biographers and Agatha Christie fans for years is this one: “Can we believe her?”

By December 1926, the Christie marriage was in utter turmoil. The death of her mother weighed on Agatha as she tried to write her next novel for her new publisher, William Collins. She’d been away from her husband so much—physically and emotionally—that the two were becoming strangers to each other. Little by little, Agatha’s mother’s prophesy started to come true. Agatha Christie was in a marriage with a man who did not love her. Not only that, he seemed to be in love with someone else. And while Agatha was a very popular writer and in a lot of ways ahead of her time, she wasn’t happy.

The frenzy to find the popular author

She took one last look at her daughter and left, not to be seen again for almost two weeks. The search for Christie began immediately. Hundreds of people searched for the missing author; multiple reports said three hundred police and civilians were involved. Police hunted with hurricane lamps into the night. Volunteers from all over searched the countryside and beyond for any sign of Agatha.

Three theories were being floated as if they were certainties. One was that she had been murdered or kidnapped. Another was that she committed suicide. And finally, some speculated that Agatha had deliberately disappeared.

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Eventually, Christie was found. But why did she disappear? And why did she say she couldn’t remember anything? To find out what happened next during Agatha Christie’s disappearance, make sure you purchase a copy of Between Two Wars!

Spooky season is officially over, sigh. But, before we rush to get the Christmas decorations out of the garage, we have to remember Thanksgiving! (Though, I can’t wait for Christmas either). To prepare for the giving season, we’re offering readers weekly recipes this November to give you inspiration for the dinner table.

This week, let’s start with the first course a recipe for Roasted Brussel Sprouts. We get this recipe from one of our upcoming releases, The I Love Trader Joe’s Snack Boards Cookbook. Here, you won’t find your average cheese boards—instead, you’ll learn to make 50 scrumptious recipes for a variety of meals and snacks to share on platters or boards.

Learn how to make these delicious Roasted Brussels Sprouts and more scrumptious recipes from the The I Love Trader Joe’s Snack Boards Cookbook. Recreate the dish and tag us @ulyssespress. Happy cooking!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts from—The I Love Trader Joe’s Snack Boards Cookbook

Just about every appetizer menu for the past decade has offered some version of roasted Brussels sprouts. This is my go-to recipe. For a vegetarian version, I skip the bacon and opt for dried cherries, gorgonzola cheese, and finely chopped toasted pecans.

Serves: 4 |  Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 slices Trader Joe’s Uncured Applewood Smoked Bacon, cut in ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon good-quality balsamic vinegar
¼ cup Trader Joe’s Grated Parmesan Cheese

* * This recipe is Gluten-Free

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. In a large, oven-safe skillet (such as cast-iron), cook the bacon pieces on the stovetop over medium-low heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pieces to a paper towel.

3. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, Brussels sprouts, and minced garlic. Toss until the Brussels sprouts are well coated.

4. Spread the Brussels sprouts out in a single layer in the skillet and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until tender and golden brown.

5. Remove the Brussels sprouts from the oven and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the cooked bacon and the parmesan cheese over the top.

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Ahh the crisp smell of Halloween… pumpkins, candy, jump scares, and psycho serial killers… okay, maybe not that last one. Whether you love Halloween or love horror movies, we have the perfect book for you! Filled with delicious food and cocktails recipes inspired by fan-favorite to classic horror films, The Horror Movie Night Cookbook is sure to add a spine-chilling taste to your next meal.

So to quote a famous final girl, “What are you waiting for?” Check out The Horror Movie Night Cookbook and make the perfect horror-theme dinner party for yourself or with your friends! Until then, recreate this Pumpkin Ravioli in a Brown Butter Sauce recipe inspired by Halloween (1978). Post your frighteningly delicious recreation and tag us @ulyssespress. Happy Halloween!

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Jack-O’-Lantern Bites: Pumpkin Ravioli in a Brown Butter Sauce with Toasted Pecans — from The Horror Movie Night Cookbook

The iconic title sequence of the original Halloween (the only version you need to watch) shows a smiling and sparkling jack-o’-lantern, a fine contrast to the horror that is to follow.

Body Count: 6 servings | Prep Time: 40 minutes plus 1 hour for the dough to rest | Cook time: 45 minutes

For the Ravioli Dough:
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup hot water

For the Pumpkin Filling:
8 ounces canned pumpkin puree, not spiced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt and black pepper, to taste

For the Brown Butter Sauce:
½ cup toasted and crushed pecans
4 ounces butter
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions:

1. To make the ravioli dough, in a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and water until well blended.

3. Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture until well incorporated. Knead the dough until firm. You don’t want it too wet, too sticky, or too dry. Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Let it rest at room temperature for at least an hour.

4. While the dough rests, make the pumpkin filling by placing all the ingredients for the filling into a pot over medium heat. Stir to combine, but don’t allow the mixture to come to a boil. You want to burn off some of the liquid, so do not cover the pot. Heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

5. For the next steps, use a ravioli mold with 12 holes, although a cookie cutter or the top of a ramekin will work just as well. (If using a cookie cutter or ramekin top, it should be 2 to 2½ inches in diameter.) When the dough is ready, divide it into 4 parts and roll them all out on a floured surface using a rolling pin. You want the dough to be very thin. You don’t want it to stick to the surface, so lift it up every now and then as you roll.

6. Flour the ravioli mold and place the first layer on the mold so that it covers all 12 holes.

7. Fill the 12 indentations with the pumpkin mixture, being careful not to overfill.

8. Place the next layer of dough on top, and roll the rolling pin over the mold to cut the ravioli. You should have extra dough on the sides. Flip the mold to release the ravioli.

9. Repeat until you have made at least 24 ravioli.

10. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the ravioli for 5 minutes, then drain and set aside as you make the sauce.

11. For the sauce, first toast the pecans in an oven preheated to 350°F. Let them cool and place them in a ziplock bag. Crush the pecans with a rolling pin or meat hammer. Be careful not to damage whatever surface you are using.

12. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the butter begins to just brown. Remove from the heat and add the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Stir to combine.

13. Add the ravioli to the skillet and spoon the sauce over them to coat. You can do this in batches if all the ravioli don’t fit at once.

14. Transfer the coated ravioli to plates and top with the toasted pecans.

When you’re finished wiping your tears and analyzing whether “Is It Over Now?” is Harry Styles coded, we have the best 1989 hangover cure. These Ulysses Press books are centered around cats, parties, hidden romances, and cures for those long nights. Taylor’s fully first pop album won our hearts back in 2014 and almost ten years later, it is even hitting harder. Without further ado, Welcome to New York and to the best list of book recs.

The Hard Seltzer Cocktail book is the perfect cocktail book for any 1989 inspired party. With the increase in seltzers as party drinks, we are sure this book will never go out of “Style”

1989 marked a different era for Taylor, and for us. Her twenties came along with many mistakes and decisions that were nitpicked by the media. However, we all now how uneasy it is to navigate the twenties era. Why not make fun of it? With Oh, The Places You’ll Eff Up! You can crack a joke or two about this revolution on an era.

This one’s an obvious one. Might be one of everyone’s favorite Taylor Swift ex, until that From the Vault song released… Being a child of divorce is quite difficult at times. With Pocket Hotties: Harry Styles, you’ll remember all the reasons he’s our favorite (or not).

We all need a few laughts after listenting to “Now That We Don’t Talk” and “Is It Over Now?” With Let Me Knock That Off the Counter for You, we’ll fix that issue with Taylor’s favorite thing in the world: cats.

Listening to “You Are in Love” is like living in an everyday Romantic Comedy, which is why we created a book where we get to create it all on our own. Maybe this will help in manifesting it?

Oh baby, baby! It’s been a Britney Spears filled week and we couldn’t be more excited. In honor of Britney releasing her newest memoir, The Woman in Me, we’re giving fans a free download page from the Official Britney Spears Coloring Book!

Celebrate your favorite songs, performances, and music video moments with this official Britney Spears coloring book. This official coloring book is the ultimate way to pay tribute to the Princess of Pop and the perfect gift for any Britney fan. So hit that Britney playlist one more time, grab your pens, and get coloring!

Post your recreation and don’t forget to tag us @ulyssespress.

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Click to Download

What’s life without a zombie outbreak? Embark on a creepy, scary adventure without the massive hoard of cordyceps zombies  rushing your way with the new release of The Last of Us Unofficial Coloring Book.

Inspired by the amazing Naughty Dog game and the HBO hit TV show, The Last of Us Unofficial Coloring Book has scenes from the video game and show. Take a sneak peek of what the book has to offer with this exclusive free downloadable page. It’ll almost be like you’re in Joel and Ellie’s footsteps…except without the fearing for your life….and the jumping onto building and gathering materials….okay let’s just let them do all that. But, in the mean time, grab some coloring pencils or pens and color your way through their adventure!

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Download the coloring page!

Ah life—it’s complicated, powerful, beautiful, and complex. And, who else to guide us through it than the enlightened Wednesday Addams. No need to worry about any problems life might hand you with your soon-to-be favorite guide…What Would Wednesday Do?

We’re excited to embrace our inner darkness with this advice book filled with dark wisdom that will leave us both unsettled and entertained. From advice to family to relationships, Wednesday Addams is here to help! Check-out this sneak peek to hold you off until What Would Wednesday Do?‘s release date!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.
To the Horrible Helper,

I have moved to a new town, and I’d like to make some new friends. I’m sure you’ll tell me to join a hobby or club, but I only enjoy swimming in quicksand and there isn’t a quicksand league in my new town.

Yours,
Alone in Quicksand

Dear Alone in Quicksand,
Making new friends is very simple. If you have the means to gather the necessary body parts and assemble them in time for your next lightning storm, we highly recommend making your own, brand new friend. We suggest exploring your new town’s graveyards and sourcing local materials.
In some Addams family properties, it’s suggested that the family’s butler, Lurch, was created in such a manner.

However, it can be a tedious wait for the perfect lightning storm. Let’s take a look and see how Wednesday has made new friends in various episodes of The Addams Family and beyond. In the original television show, there are many episodes in which the family generously welcomes a neighbor into their wonderful home to delight in train crashes or their pet lion, Kitty Kat, only to have the prospective new friend run screaming out the door. Even when the Addamses attempt to help their neighbors by giving their drab home a beautifully gothic makeover, the neighbors are appalled.

There is something to be learned from this: not everyone has good taste. Instead of wasting your time on people who have no appreciation for aesthetics, focus your efforts on finding quality friends. Do not try to force the unrefined and uncultured to be your friends. Of course, this advice is not always easy to follow. It’s been nearly sixty years and Morticia and Gomez have yet to learn this particular lesson.

This is not to say you should find only friends who share your limited interests. In Netflix’s Wednesday, for example, Wednesday finds one of her most valuable allies when she joins the beekeeping club. Though Wednesday initially has little interest in the Nevermore Hummers, she takes a chance and finds a loyal and trustworthy friend in Eugene Ottinger, a passionate psychic. Trying a new hobby isn’t always the worst idea. Sometimes it can even be quite painful, which we love. You could also start your own quicksand club, which is sure to attract the beautifully bizarre type of people you want to meet. And if you don’t like them, simply don’thelp them out of the quicksand to avoid any awkward conversation.

Always your friend,
Horrible Helping Hummer
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*