Part the First. THE VILLA AT HAMPSTEAD. I. ON a summer's morning, between thirty and forty years ago, two girls were crying bitterly in the cabin of an East Indian passenger ship, bound outward, from Gravesend to Bombay. They were both of the same age—eighteen. They had both, from childhood upward, been close and dear friends at the same school. They were now parting for the first time—and parting, it might be, for life. The name of one was Blanche. The name of the other was Anne. Both were the children of poor parents, both had been pupil-teachers at the school; and both were destined to earn their own bread. Personally speaking, and socially speaking, these were the only points of resemblance between them.

Discusses how the brain and body work together to create, express, and manage emotions and stress, focusing on the physical processes that occur in various parts of the brain during emotional and stressful situations.

Outlines the author's stress management and reduction program, counseling readers how to apply supplements, nutrition, exercise, and techniques in order to heal a body's biochemistry and overcome such challenges as depression, irritability, anxiety, weight gain, and psychological illness. Reprint. 10,000 first printing. (view table of contents)