How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend

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Published by DK

By Rachelle Summers

"Whether you’re looking to understand why your brain behaves the way it does or seeking practical strategies to get your mind on your side, this is a must-read."

Jack Lawrence, video creator

"Somehow both a delightful and poignant piece of science communication. Rachel Barr’s writing is Bill Bryson-esque in both its accessibility and playfulness – your brain is “a well-meaning but inadvertently toxic-positive aunt”, “a multi-layered birthday cake”, and “A LIAR” – but it’s also tender and tinged with the pain of loss . . . I really enjoyed it!"

Professor Neil Shyminsky, Professor at Cambrian College and content creator

"Insightful and relatable psychoeducation that demystifies the brain . . . it’s a resource I’ll proudly keep on my shelf as a therapist."

Joshua Fletcher, Anxiety Therapist, author of And How Does That Make You Feel?

"A true masterpiece. Rachel Barr has done a phenomenal job breaking down the complexities of the human mind into language that’s easy to understand."

Jeffrey Meltzer, LMHC, licensed therapist and mental health content creator

About How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend

'Fun, but still deeply, rigorously researched.' - Professor Neil Shyminsky

'A true masterpiece. Rachel Barr has done a phenomenal job breaking down the complexities of the human mind.' - Jeffrey Meltzer, LMHC

'Insightful and relatable psychoeducation that demystifies the brain . . . it’s a resource I’ll proudly keep on my shelf as a therapist.' - Joshua Fletcher, anxiety therapist

Your brain is the most remarkable thing in the known universe.


Always trying to mend itself, and always trying to protect you, it’s in a constant state of flux — adapting, reconfiguring, finding new pathways . . . And it has an astonishing capacity for recovery.

Only it doesn’t always get it right.

Rachel Barr struggled through years of devastating loss, heartache, and uncertainty until neuroscience gave her the first spark of self-belief she had felt in her adult life — and proof that, because of the brain’s near-infinite potential for neuroplastic change, it’s never too late to carve out neural pathways to form new habits, new skills, and new ways of thinking.

Whether you want to nerd-out on Neuroscientific acronyms, finally understand what’s going on in your head, or take refuge in a book that’s like a warm hug for your mind, How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend is a delight-filled, evidence-based guide to taking better care of your brain — so it, in turn, will take better care of you.