Elise Loehnen – författare

Stop trying to be “good.” Start living freely.THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A stunning, big and bold encyclopaedia of how to live' LISA TADDEO'Astute, radical and utterly compelling' KATHERINE MAY'You will finish this book and immediately hand your copy to your best friend' JENNIFER ANISTONWhy do so many women feel the need to be “good”, even at their own expense?Why do we apologise when we’ve done nothing wrong?Struggle with people-pleasing and setting boundaries?Put others first, even when it leads to burnout and resentment?Praise ourselves for self-denial?Silence our anger?Ignore our needs?We’re told this is what makes us "good" women.In On Our Best Behaviour, Elise Loehnen reveals how these patterns aren’t natural - they’re learned.Drawing on feminism, psychology and cultural history, she exposes how women have been conditioned to self-regulate through an enduring framework: Lust. Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Wrath. Envy. Pride.These so-called “deadly sins” have shaped how women relate to their bodies (gluttony, lust), limit their ambition (greed, pride), and suppress anger and truth (wrath). This is not just theory - it’s a system that still influences how women behave every day. On Our Best Behaviour offers a new path - one where we build a life rooted in self-trust, autonomy and emotional freedom.'A guide to liberation and a return to the authentic feminine self' GABOR MATÉ 'Brilliantly reframes our toxic cultural programming' LORI GOTTLIEB 'This is a really important book' CHELSEA HANDLER

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A groundbreaking exploration of the ancient rules women unwittingly follow in order to be considered “good,” revealing how the Seven Deadly Sins still control and distort our lives and illuminating a path toward a more balanced, spiritually complete way to liveWhy do women equate self-denial with being good? We congratulate ourselves when we resist the donut in the office breakroom. We celebrate our restraint when we hold back from sending an email in anger. We feel virtuous when we wake up at dawn to get a jump on the day. We put others’ needs ahead of our own and believe this makes us exemplary. In On Our Best Behavior, journalist Elise Loehnen explains that these impulses—often lauded as unselfish, distinctly feminine instincts—are actually ingrained in us by a culture that reaps the benefits, via an extraordinarily effective collection of mores known as the Seven Deadly Sins. Since being codified by the Christian church in the fourth century, the Seven Deadly Sins—pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth—have exerted insidious power. Even today, in our largely secular, patriarchal society, they continue to circumscribe women’s behavior. For example, seeing sloth as sinful leads women to deny themselves rest; a fear of gluttony drives them to ignore their appetites; and an aversion to greed prevents them from negotiating for themselves and contributes to the 55 percent gender wealth gap. In On Our Best Behavior, Loehnen reveals how we’ve been programmed to obey the rules represented by these sins and how doing so qualifies us as “good.” This probing analysis of contemporary culture and thoroughly researched history explains how women have internalized the patriarchy, and how they unwittingly reinforce it. By sharing her own story and the spiritual wisdom of other traditions, Loehnen shows how we can break free and discover the integrity and wholeness we seek.