Good Anger: How Rethinking Rage Can Change Our Lives

by Sam Parker

Overview

AS FEATURED IN THE GUARDIAN, THE OBSERVER, THE SUNDAY TIMES, THE INDEPENDENT, i, GQ, THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND THE NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB

'A marvellous book ... enhances our understanding of ourselves and others' IRVINE WELSH

'Enlightening' MAIL ON SUNDAY

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DISCOVER HOW A MISUNDERSTOOD EMOTION CAN OFFER YOU CLARITY, PURPOSE AND STRENGTH

We are used to complaining there is too much anger in the world. But what about the cost of having too little? And what if, instead of fearing anger, we learned to use it wisely?

In Good Anger, journalist Sam Parker investigates how one of our most complex emotions became a taboo and the cost that suppressing it has on our mental and physical health, relationships and society. He argues that, rather than trip us up or fill us with shame, anger can be turned into a life-enhancing source of bravery, purpose and self-respect.

Drawing on insights from psychology, ancient philosophy and emotional science, Parker looks at the gendered expectations around anger, how repressed rage shows up in our bodies, and the crucial role processing anger plays in treating depression and anxiety. We learn how understanding anger can improve every facet of our lives, from love to creativity to professional success.

This provocative and seemingly counterintuitive book is for people-pleasers, conflict avoiders and self-improvers. It reminds us that embracing our emotions – even the ones that scare or confuse us – can help us become stronger, happier people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399417853
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	08/19/2025
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.02(d)

About the Author

Sam Parker has been a journalist and editor for over fifteen years, writing for publications including the Guardian, Telegraph, Observer and GQ magazine. He can be found on X @samparkercouk, Instagram @samparkeruk, and the Substack goodanger.substack.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword

1. The other anger problem

2. Bad anger: a history

3. Anger and the body

4. Who is allowed to be angry

5. The anger advantage at work

6. Anger online

7. Anger in love

8. Good anger

9. The angry life

Afterword

References

Acknowledgements

Index

Editorial Reviews

There's a lot in life to be angry about, and we shouldn't be repressing that. The distinction between bad anger and good anger is a crucial one. A marvellous book which enhances our understanding of ourselves and others.” —Irvine Welsh

“Sam Parker's examination of anger is thrillingly incendiary… I haven't been able to think about anger in the same way since.” —Alice Vincent, author of Rootbound and Why Women Grow

“Compulsory reading … Grounded in wisdom from across time and culture, Parker offers us a variety of enlightening perspectives on this complicated subject. In today's maddening world dismissing anger simply isn't an option, we have to learn to live better with it.” —Dr. Aaron Balick, psychotherapist and author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking and The Little Book of Calm

“Powerful and engaging ... Parker's fluent book, which draws on dozens of stimulating examples – from Aristotle to Tony Soprano – has wisdom to offer about tackling unhappiness ... Whatever your own background or temperament, there is much to digest and utilise in this moving story of recovery and renewal ... Good Anger is a potent defence of a vilified emotion – and a compelling invitation to sit with it a little longer.” —Martin Chilton, The Independent

“A delightful dive into our most maligned emotion. If you feel angry – and the whole world seems to be right now – this book will help you understand, and perhaps feel better about it.” —Oliver Franklin-Wallis, author of Wasteland

“This book is wise in the way a good therapist or a clever friend is wise – it leads us gently towards our greatest fears and reveals that the thing we're taught to suppress might be the key to making our lives infinitely better. Far from a book for angry people, it's a book for all of us who smugly shrug and say 'oh I never get angry'. It is quietly, gently revolutionary and it will make you feel both naked and relieved that you're not the only one struggling. Crucially, it will give you the confidence to turn anger to your advantage. It is one of those books you'll want to buy for the people closest to you to let them in on the secret. Because this book isn't just about anger, it is, above all, about hope.” —Kate McCann, broadcaster, Times Radio

“A great book ... If you want to “figure anger out” - then this book is for you.” —Isabel Berwick, the Financial Times

“An enlightening read ... Parker is especially insightful on female anger. ” —Mail on Sunday

“A generous and rigorous exploration of an emotion we could all do with understanding better.” —Natasha Lunn, author of Conversations on Love

“I think I may have a new hero. For Sam Parker has written a book, and that book is called Good Anger and the title alone has been enough to blow my tiny mind… The idea that anger might be allowable, that it might be capable of being channelled as a force for good is the most profound, absurd, frightening, liberating one I have ever heard.

Sam Parker is my new man, my pole star, my homie, my ride-or-die.” —Lucy Mangan, i

“A Must-Read Book” —The Next Big Idea Club

“A thoroughly reported, groundbreakingly insightful personal journey through the dark side of anger and into the light.” —The i Paper

“A clarifying and subversive look at the history of one of the most natural human emotions, Good Anger travels through ancient philosophy, history and socio-politics in order to reframe the negative connotations of rage.” —GQ

“Anger is not the problem, it's how you express it. Expressing it properly is hugely beneficial. The how is a little harder, but this is an eloquent explanation of how you can do just that.” —Daniel Fryer, author of How to Cope with Almost Anything with Hypnotherapy

“Parker argues that anger can be a vital force for personal growth, happiness and even professional success. The book is part memoir, part manifesto – and entirely a product of its cultural moment: an era when we've learned to hashtag our sadness and destigmatise our anxiety, but still treat anger like a contagious rash.” —Protein

From the Publisher