Green Tree snaps up Sam Parker's book about the positive side of anger

Green Tree has acquired Sam Parker’s Good Anger — a book about the positive aspects of anger.

Matthew Lowing, publisher for Bloomsbury’s Green Tree imprint, acquired world all languages rights from Imogen Pelham at Marjacq Scripts Ltd. The book will be published by Green Tree in hardback in June 2025.

"In recent years we have become much more open and accepting of difficult emotions, but one remains taboo: anger," the synopsis says. "While it’s true unchecked anger can be frightening and destructive, denying its existence — or shaming ourselves for it — robs us of its unique power."

The synopsis adds: "In Good Anger, Parker investigates how we can rethink this core emotion and harness it to positive ends. Using his own struggles with mental health as a guide, he explores the history and gendered expectations of anger, the untold cost suppressing it has on our bodies and minds, and why healthy aggression is a missing part of the puzzle in how we can tackle anxiety and depression.

"Drawing on the latest research from psychology and neuroscience and talking to experts from business, politics and sport, Parker argues that embracing anger can be a secret weapon in every facet of life – from building a healthier body to being more successful at work, tackling problems in love and relationships to driving positive change in the world through politics and protest."

Parker is a senior editor at British GQ, and has been a journalist and editor for over 10 years — writing about psychology and mental health for publications including the Observer and the Times. He also worked as a senior editor at Penguin Random House.

He commented: “After more than a decade researching and writing on mental health, I’m thrilled to be joining Bloomsbury to dive deep into the most maligned, misunderstood and powerful emotion we have: anger. For too long the focus has been on people who can’t control their rage, rather than the millions of anxiety sufferers and people pleasers who could do with a lot more healthy aggression in their lives."

Lowing said: "As a society, we seem the angriest we’ve ever been. So I was immediately drawn to the idea that we can harness the power of this emotion to constructive ends. Sam has delivered a brilliantly researched and profoundly compelling exploration of the potential for good anger.”