The Edge of the Sticker
The debut book from Bradley Frank, Ph.D and Bobby Frank
Have you ever tried peeling a sticker off your car? You probably start by looking for a corner that’s raised just enough to get your fingernail underneath. Once you’ve got that edge, though, you can gently pull it away. Sometimes the sticker comes right off with one satisfying tug. Sometimes it tears or separates and you have to start over. Either way, the process begins by getting the edge of the sticker. The same idea applies when life gets sticky. Life is stressful and everyone feels anxious or depressed at times, even people who appear to have it all under control. While it’s easy to get stuck and feel like there’s no way out, the path to feeling better begins by getting an edge, slowly pulling and changing course as life shifts underneath you.
The Edge of the Sticker was inspired by the collective psychological struggles we all faced during the pandemic. It tested our grit and resolve, and it proved that we could adapt even when faced with crushing uncertainty. This book brings together some of the lessons we learned from Covid with strategies developed over nearly 30 years of providing psychotherapy for mental health challenges of all kinds.
The Edge of the Sticker grew out of Brad Frank’s weekly Facebook Live series The Psychological Impact of Coronavirus. Beginning in March 2020, Dr. Frank set a standing appointment every Thursday at 4:00 to discuss the virus and share ideas to help people deal with the anxiety, isolation and uncertainly we all felt. Brad expected to do two or three live streams before coronavirus ran its course and we all returned to our normal lives. Fifty four weeks later, Brad ended the series and we turned our attention to writing this book.
The original plan for The Edge of the Sticker was simply to transcribe Brad’s live streams, edit the content then PRESTO!, a book would be born. Not so much. Instead, we built on the concepts he discussed to create a book that reframes the emotions and experiences from 2020 in a way that is relevant for life today. This is not a book about coronavirus. It’s a book about living.
The Edge of the Sticker is casual, easy to read and loaded with ideas, advice and stories you can use to help deal with what life throws at you. Things get a little salty in these pages but that’s just a reflection of how emotions bubble up. It is not a book for everyone, though. It is only intended for people who have experienced anger, anxiety, depression, fear, grief, joy, happiness, success, failure, wonder, or curiosity.
Bradley Frank
Brad Frank is a licensed clinical psychologist who has been practicing in Houston since 1993. He’s worked with children, adolescents, and adults in therapy to help them manage transitions in their lives. Dr. Frank has also done psychological evaluations of children in foster care for almost 20 years and has been touched by the trauma that peppers their lives.
He creates a safe and compassionate place for people to honestly confront difficult and often painful experiences so that they can make choices and feel empowered to live happier, more fulfilling, and contented lives.
Dr. Frank has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and an undergraduate degree in psychology and history from the University of Michigan.
In 2019, the spark from a freelance writing project lit a fire that’s led to a busy writing career which today is filled with everything from luxury watches to industrial equipment. Bobby is a lifelong musician who can be spotted behind the drums in clubs and venues around the Southeast. He got on the bus about 10 years ago and now plays in several Grateful Dead-inspired projects along with healthy doses of jazz, rock and experimental music.
Bobby completed his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and has an MBA from Hofstra University.
Bobby Frank
Bobby Frank is a writer and musician based in Nashville. He’s spent most of his career as an entrepreneur, starting and running several marketing and eCommerce businesses. The common thread in all these endeavors was writing. Though he never earned a living directly from it, his words were all over the creative produced for agency clients, company marketing materials, business plans and websites.