books by frank forencich
Maybe you learned it growing up. Maybe you learned it in sports, yoga, dance, or the martial arts. Maybe you learned it in the military or in your professional career. Or more likely, as a member of the modern world, you never learned it at all.
Tragically, the practice of showing up with a sense of composure, balance, integrity, and sincerity is fast becoming a lost art. Overwhelmed by distraction, noise, complexity and confusion, we struggle to function as whole human beings. Stressed and anxious about the state of the world, we retreat into escapism, apathy, helplessness, and drama.
But now more than ever, the art of showing up has become a vital life skill. This book will tell you how.
In progress… projected publication Winter 2026
The human animal is in big trouble. An ecological and social storm is upon us and the stress is growing more intense with each passing day. Our wild animal spirit moves us to rebellion but as author Naomi Klein puts it “No is not enough.” To succeed, there must be a creation of new culture, ideas, and life ways. We must be radically, ferociously, relentlessly creative.
More than anything, we need high-functioning people who can perform in the face of intimidating challenges. By designing radically human experiences for our students, clients, patients, and athletes, we can help them maintain their relevance, strength, and equanimity in a high-stress world.
This book is a practical, interdisciplinary guide for anyone who works with the human animal. If you’ve got an interest in creating magical, health-positive experiences for your people, this book is for you.
The world is filled with tigers but only some of them are real. Learn their ways and you’ll become stronger, wiser and more resilient.
Our world is in turmoil, bearing down on our minds and bodies with increasing pressure, systemic crises and wicked problems. Our aboriginal bodies, sculpted for success in wild, outdoor environments, have no idea how to adapt. Cortisol surges through our tissue, driving us towards impatience, distress, dysfunctional behavior and declining health.
The standard narrative tells us that stress is an individual problem with individual solutions. It’s a lifestyle issue, a medical condition, and a challenge to our personal well-being.
But the standard narrative gets it wrong. In fact, stress is a systemic, psycho-social problem and a global health issue. It’s a shared predicament that demands collective, systemic action.
You probably remember how it went when you were a kid: If your family was typical, your Mom said “Don’t fight,” but your father said “Don’t lose.” And that was the end of it.
With all due respect to Mom and Dad, this advice is little help in a hypercomplex world that’s teetering on the edge of social and ecological collapse. Conflict is inevitable in the human experience, but rarely do we teach it in any intentional way.
A sense of martial artistry is essential to our survival. Gripped by confusion, fear and outrage, we feel the need to act, but we don’t even know the fundamentals: what to fight, who to fight, when to fight, how to fight, or why to fight. Awkward and impulsive, we’re ineffective and a threat to ourselves and others.
This is a book about radical realism and adaptability. It’s about understanding the world, thinking clearly, navigating complexity, and exercising skill in the face of escalating stress and ambiguity.
