Everyone has anxiety in some form or another. It seems to be the defining condition of modern human brains. But until now, there’s been no go-to manual that can help anyone, no matter their background, understand the science and soul of the problem—and also find solutions. Building a Non-Anxious Life is that manual. Its wisdom is wide and deep and delivered in a way that’s empathetic, straightforward, and true. This book will help you unpack the deeper reasons why you’re anxious and provide you with actionable tools that lead to lasting freedom.
Michael Easter, author of The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain
In this era where we have taken full ownership of anxiety being an inevitable default mode in an increasingly fast-paced society, I cannot think of a better book or better ambassador that might help us not just cope but conquer (and re-conquer) it on a daily basis than John Delony. I believe strongly that our purpose will almost always be attached to some level of freedom that others desperately need. John is walking hard in his purpose, gifted in being able to provide choices for us to make rather than negativity for which we have to settle.
Being able to choose things like connection over isolation, belief over paralyzing fear, and even choosing the hard thing over the most convenient is giving us freedom from being resigned to a life that doesn’t feel worth living. As a former advocate and spokesperson for youth suicide prevention and mental health awareness, it brings me so much hope to know that information like this is being released into the world. This is content that will go far in giving us access to a better, more joyous, more stable quality of life. As John says himself, ‘I would not have written this book if I didn’t believe there is hope. For you, me, our kids, the people we love, and our world.’ Amen to hope. May you find it as you read.
Jade Simmons, author of the #1 bestseller Audacious Prayers for World Changers, concert artist, and speaker
Every time I’ve asked a mental health professional to talk to me about anxiety, I’ve somehow left the conversation feeling more anxious. Then I met Dr. John, who has this superhero-like ability to be comfortably relatable when talking about things that have been overly intellectualized for far too long. This book is a celebration of everything that makes us human, a reminder of how beautiful it is to be perfectly imperfect, a master class on the healing power of community, and a road map on how to become our most fully realized selves.
Will Guidara, James Beard Award-winning restaurateur
Not only has listening to Dr. John Delony’s podcasts and reading his books changed my life for the better, but I am grateful to call John my personal friend. Not only does he have an unbelievably deep knowledge of mental health, but he has been transparent about his own struggles and cares DEEPLY to improve people’s lives. Unlike many experts who talk in circles and do not provide clarity, John always provides clear, action- able instructions to improve your life. If you are willing to do the work, John’s material will improve your life.
Dr. Layne Norton, founder of BioLayne and best-selling author
John Delony’s great new book, Building a Non-Anxious Life, is filled with crucial insight into the challenges we all face as we try to navigate today’s hectic and anxiety-inducing world, and how to overcome them to build a better life. Through a combination of personal stories and insightful observations, John gives us easy, practical ways to create a peaceful life.
Dr. Caroline Leaf, cognitive neuroscientist and best-selling author
You will see a word that recurs often in this work: choice. Dr. Delony, to vastly oversimplify the beautiful messages in his book, has one overriding goal with this work: to give you back the choice that was so wrongly taken from you these past years. He reiterates a message I tell all my patients: All control is self-control. That’s where it starts and where it stops.
While Dr. Delony gives these messages with his usual humor, wisdom, and vulnerability, he is always clear that this book is not about his accomplishments but about yours. This book is about unlocking the person you still are, even in—and especially in—this brave new world we find ourselves in.
Michael Gomez, Ph.D., Director of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Assistant Professor at the Pediatrics Department of Texas Tech UniversityHealth Sciences Center
This book is an ice bath for the soul: a jarring yet essential plunge for anyone who suffers from anxiety.
Joshua Fields Millburn, The Minimalists
John Delony is one of the few honest voices in mental health. His advice is authentic, applicable in the real world, and effective. If John says something, we always listen.
Sal DiStefano, personal trainer, co-founder of Mind Pump Media, and co-host of Mind Pump radio show and podcast
In a post-Covid world, I am battle weary from the last few years. If that also describes you, then you, too need to read this book. Dr. Delony addresses head-on the sources and causes of anxiety and offers his readers remedies and paths to peace. Fear is often not our friend, and to have our feelings be our employee, not our employer, sets us free. Dr. Delony’s work is a path to freedom and a life lived to the fullest.
Dr. Andrew Young, hostage negotiator, crisis counselor, and professor at Lubbock Christian University
This book is so honest and relatable! In this book, John helps us understand the need to start the challenging but necessary move to build a non-anxious life. Our lives depend on it! His guidebook will have you taking notes in the margins and wanting to remember every piece of information he shares. So break out your highlighter and pen as you walk through this journey of regaining your life.
Dr. Lynn Jennings, Jennings & Associates Counseling Services and Texas Tech UniversityHealth Sciences Center
Dr. John Delony has spent his career seeking ways to bring joy, peace, connection, and health to members of his community. He has relentlessly pursued new tools to sharpen his craft along each phase of his journey, and his book Building a Non-Anxious Life is the culmination of such effort. It is a masterful assimilation of the concepts from his first two books, brought together in a practical way to give his readers (and listeners) the tangible tools and steps needed to help them along the path of deliverance from the chains of anxiety.
Jeffrey D. Smith, MD, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Frist College of Medicine, Belmont University
