Get inspired by this light-hearted self-help guide that draws lessons from the Harry Potter series for every day life in the real world.

The books will always be a part of you. Now, revisit old Hogwarts haunts. Reconnect with favorite characters. And learn far more than the correct pronunciation of “Wingardium Leviosa.” With Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me, you’ll discover how the universal themes and lessons of the series apply to your Muggle life, including:

• Drawing strength from friends
• Learning from mentors and heroes
• Challenging conventional ideas
• Overcoming obstacles and setbacks
• Trusting yourself when others don’t

The author uses a combination of literary criticism and personal essays to explore issues that everyone faces, from courage and fear to the importance of girl power and the complexity of relationships.

Jill Kolongowski is a Hufflepuff who teaches writing and literature at the College of San Mateo. She is also the managing editor at YesYes Books. Her essays have won Sundog Lit’s First Annual Contest series and the Diana Woods Memorial Prize in Creative Nonfiction at Lunch Ticket magazine. Other essays are published in Profane, Sweet: A Literary Confection, Southern Indiana Review, Fugue, and elsewhere. She lives in California, and her Patronus is a tortoiseshell cat.