The study of Emotional Intelligence changed my life. I was academically gifted but didn't have the balance between my emotional and rational thinking process quite right - effectively, either I shut my emotions right down or couldn't control them. This often meant bad life choices and difficulties in relationships. When I finally hit rock bottom through a series of financial, health and emotional issues, I realised that I had to change the way I lived my life or give it up. With the help of friends and family I overcame the financial problems and through reading everything I could lay my hands on about EI and a great deal of introspection, which led to the writing of the book, I got myself back on an even keel emotionally. I am now passionate about helping others cope with stress, anger and change and I'm convinced that this can only be achieved through knowing what makes one 'tick'. Through the courses I run and the book, I explain how setting up clear channels of communication with oneself and others is the only way forward to a peaceful, balanced and happy existence.

My book, 'Emotional Intelligence: Journey to the Centre of Your Self' comes out on July 31st and is published by O Books. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon by using the ISBN number - 978-1-84694-187-0

Here are a couple of reviews from people who have had sneak previews:

Dr Allan G Hunter : 'Jane Wharam’s delightful book Emotional Intelligence; Journey to the Centre of Your Self ' is one that brings this most important topic back into the realm of the understandable. Daniel Goleman, of course, achieved best seller status with his book back in 1995, which shows us just how much interest there is in the topic. Since his was a long, sometimes ponderous, and often over-cautious academic treatise that probably drove many readers away before finishing the book.

Jane's contribution is that she puts the life back in the discussion. Her writing is accessible, lively, and she carries her not inconsiderable weight of learning with the sort of ease we should all aspire to. This is a major benefit to those of us who want to learn how to become more emotionally intelligent and thus more effective in our lives, and our dealings with others.

One of the great pleasures of this book is that Jane is always aware of her readers, and engages them though exercises that let us feel what it means to discover our emotional shortcomings, and thus allow us to strategize how we can overcome them. Perhaps the key to this is that we are told, early on, that we have choices around our emotions. Just because we feel something doesn’t mean it has to be that way. We can feel something and then search through our options, which will be much more likely to bring us to a place of understanding. The focus, then, is not just on knowing what we’re feeling (which most of us, on the whole, don’t) but on using our emotions as information, such that we can ask what the best way forward might be.

Much of the discussion focuses, appropriately enough, on the words we use to describe our situations to ourselves, and how lazy or habitual word choices can falsify what is actually doing on. Jane gives us practical, straightforward advice about what to watch for and what to do to avoid these traps, so we can be in control of our emotions now, not later on tonight when we’re rethinking a disastrous interaction. This situation, which is called emotional flooding, will be all too familiar to most of us. Something sets us off, and we can’t seem to get the rest of the interaction right from that point on. Knowing about this is the first step in eradicating it, and causes us to create the much happier circumstances we actually desire.'

'Jane Wharam's book, Emotional Intelligence, provides a giant step towards emotional mastery. With it, you can know yourself better, understand how to react in ways that improve the quality of your life, and learn how to build beautiful relationships with wonderful friends. Owen Waters, author of The Shift: The Revolution in Human Consciousness.'

Reverend Michele Lussier, of Tampa, Florida says this about Emotional Intelligence.

'It is a ‘must-have’ book that will be talked about in the years to come as ground-breaking, for many reasons. It is extremely well-researched and it’s written in a very accessible style. Unlike many books of this type, it doesn’t fall into the trap of preaching to the reader in a patronizing tone. It is clearly written by someone who has accepted and dealt with her own shortcomings and is keen to share experiences and lessons that we can all learn from. No-one is perfect and this book explains what makes us the way we are. It also offers excellent practical exercises which provide great insight into why we behave in the way we do. Why are strong people often secretly insecure? How do weak people manipulate others? Why do some people continue to repeat the same mistakes?'

It’s all explained in this book which I enjoyed so much I have recommended it to many of my friends. I can hardly believe this is the author’s first work and I eagerly anticipate her second.'

Here are some comments from courses on Emotional Intelligence I have run in London.

On self esteem:

‘Made me more confident to express my feelings…It has made me more aware’

'I wasn't aware how low my self esteem had got until I did the SWOON exercise.'

On communication:

‘Useful – interesting to see how we perceive ourselves’

'I express myself more and know when it is appropriate to express myself.'

On bonding with work colleagues:

‘Very relaxed which made every one contribute and have an input. This resulted in good open and honest conversation between us’

'I know more about my colleagues and understand how they feel.'