Book Details: Book Title: Living with Depression by Deborah Serani Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 254 pages Genre: Self-Help, Psychology Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Release date: September 11, 2023 Content Rating: PG: Trigger issues like suicide and non suicidal self injury. Choice words used but rarely.
Book Description:
In the fully updated second edition of Living with Depression, Serani outlines the various forms of depression, describes the different treatments, and outlines methods for living with depression and getting the help you or a loved one needs. However, since the first edition was published, much has changed in the landscape of depression including diagnostic aspects, new disorders, treatments and research, and Deborah Serani covers it all. Tips on how to choose a good therapist, negotiate the labyrinth of healthcare, and minimize stigma are addressed, as is learning how to use biology and biography as tools of empowerment. There is no other book that offers what Living with Depression – giving readers a dual perspective of what it’s like to know depression as a clinician and as a patient.
Dr. Deborah Serani is a psychologist, professor and an award-winning author, writing about psychological issues. Serani has books published in several genres including non-fiction, self-help, children’s picture books and fiction.
Book Details: Book Title: How Did I Get Here? -Traveling The Road To Resilienceby Andrew Fitzgerald Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 208 pages Genre: Memoir / Self-Help / Inspirational Publisher:Fitzy’s Branded Books Publication Date: Feb, 2023 Content Rating: G – For Everyone and no bad language or explicit scenes
Book Description:
HOW DID I GET HERE?
As he woke up after dying for the second time, Andrew Fitzgerald asked himself, “How did I get here?”
As he and his wife left Ireland and stepped foot on American soil to begin their lives in the US, he asked himself, “How did I get here?”
As his wife delivered their baby after four miscarriages, he asked himself, “How did I get here?”
As he sat in a customer sales meeting and negotiated the new listing, authorizations, and launch for what is now the no.1 Hard Seltzer in the USA, he asked himself, “How did I get here?”
As he stood on the first tee about to play golf with one of his sporting heroes and a three-time major champion, he asked himself, “How did I get here?”
As he sat in a board room meeting, asserted himself, and rebuked some negative assertions about him, he asked himself, “How did I get here?”
In this poignant memoir about resilience, Andrew Fitzgerald shares his story of immigrating from Ireland to America, only to return to Ireland, and then back to America for good. He explores his struggles with health crises, corporate culture, miscarriage grief, and adapting to his new country.
You’ll follow Andrew’s story as he shares his key learnings from the highs and lows of his journey, such as:
Talk about your challenging experiences; find someone to help you process your feelings
Follow your dreams; know they’re right for you no matter how they sound to others
Give yourself time to adjust; when making big life changes avoid running back to what was comfortable
Be true to your values; define what your values are and stick to them
Learn to trust; trust yourself, have confidence and don’t forget your purpose in everything you do
Negotiate in partnership; practice techniques that are customer-centric and deliver a win/win for your customer and company
Celebrate success; you deserve it
Andrew will affirm and demonstrate in his book that the journey is just as important as the destination, with the stark realization that the journey filled with highs and lows is sometimes more fulfilling than the destination. So come with Andrew on this journey to learn how he overcame the various obstacles in his life, flourished, and ultimately traveled the road to resilience a key trait you too can develop in your personal and business life.
Andrew Fitzgerald is a native of Ireland and now resides in Oceanside, California. A father, husband, and author, he speaks on what it takes to be successful in the corporate world, and how to overcome health crises and loss. He has recovered from serious setbacks to flourish and thrive with resilience. Andrew enjoys all sports, plays golf, and loves to cook and hike when he is not thinking about the next big brand launch.
Book Title: Been There Got Out: Toxic Relationships, High-Conflict Divorce, and How to Stay Sane Under Insane Circumstances by Lisa Johnson and Chris Barry Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+) Genre: Self-Help Publisher: Wordeee Release date:Mar 7, 2023 Content Rating: PG-13 + M: Self-help book for adults going through a divorce.
Book Description:
Been There Got Out offers practical advice for anyone suffering from or struggling to get out of a relationship with a narcissist or other toxic personality types. Packed with practical facts, tips, and advice, this book covers everything from identifying the problem, committing to take action and legal/custody battles to navigating a co-parenting relationship with a hostile spouse.
Lisa Johnson is the co-founder of Been There Got Out, a high-conflict divorce coach and certified domestic violence advocate who has successfully represented herself through scores of court appearances. Her case was published in the Connecticut Law Journal in March 2021 and is now being used as a legal precedent. Her live testimony helped pass Jennifer’s Law in Connecticut, the third state in America to expand its legal definition of domestic violence to include “coercive control.” She and Barry, the male half of Been There Got Out, coach people in high-conflict relationships, divorce, custody battles, and co-parenting hell so they have the chance of the best outcome in family court and beyond. They also offer a weekly Legal Abuse Support Group for those dealing with narcissistic opponents in legal matters.
Chris Barry is a certified high-conflict divorce coach and the co-founder (and male half) of Been There Got Out. He developed the Been There Got Out podcast, and manages BTGO’s website, YouTube channel, Facebook page, and all the background technology they use to run the business. He also specializes in writing high-conflict parenting plans.
Book Details: Book Title: Standing Strong: The Real Life Story of Overcoming Adversity and Becoming Unstoppable in Life and Businessby Tina Brandau Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 154 pages Genre: Memoir / Self-Help / Inspirational Publisher:Red Sky Publishing Publication Date: May 3, 2022 Content Rating: G: no bad language no sex etc
Book Description:
Is it possible to stand strong regardless of what life throws at you?
Standing Strongis a vulnerable, candid, and dramatic look into a forty-year-old woman’s journey when she found herself in the midst of a long healing process after a sudden and unimaginable accident. The doctors said she would never again function beyond that of a young child. Tina shares the story, the steps she took, and the life lessons she learned, including the unique view of the world she experienced along the way. No one gets out of this life unscathed, everyone faces stresses, challenges, setbacks, and adversity. Can you stand strong regardless of what life throws at you? Yes! Let Tina Brandau share with you the system, principles, and practices she used to help you see that anything is possible.
Tina Brandau is the premier life, leadership, and business “Success Coach.” She is an author, international speaker, coach, and founder of Success Coaching Solutions as well as a business executive of thirty years, wife, mom, lifelong learner, and serial entrepreneur. She believes the biggest challenge in life is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming.
Book Title: On The Edge of Shattered: A Mother’s Experience of Discovering Freedom Through Sobriety by Kimberly Kearns Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 252 pages Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Self-Help Publisher: Glass Spider Publishing Release date: November 2022 Content Rating: PG-13 + M: Intended for adults only, contains information on alcoholism
Book Description:
Before she stopped drinking for good, Kim was lying to herself and everyone she knew about her daily habit—sneaking morning sips of vodka behind her husband’s back, emptying bottles of wine and hiding the evidence from her family, and convincing herself that nothing was wrong and everything was under control. Until she realized that it wasn’t, and that her dishonesty could cost her everything she loved. What would happen to her marriage if things continued in this way? And how could she be a mother to her young children if she remained trapped in this cycle of abuse? Deciding she had to make a change, Kim threw herself into a new life of sobriety seven months into the Covid-19 pandemic. But only after severing the chains of bondage did she realize how much work there was still to do. Opening the doors to buried memories and past traumas was only the beginning. Throughout her journey to sobriety, Kim would come to terms with the secrets and lies told by her parents and loved ones, allowing her a clarity and freedom she never before thought possible.
Kimberly Kearns is a wife to an incredible husband and a mother to three beautiful children. She currently lives in Need-ham, Massachusetts. She continues to tell her story of sobriety and inspire others every day on her blog at kimberlykearns.com, and through her Instagram account @asoberandstrongmom. Kimberly co-hosts the podcast The Weekend Sober and is a writer for the Webby Award-winning narrative podcast F*cking Sober: The First 90 Days. Writing has always been an escape for Kimberly, even as a little girl. Being able to express herself in words and getting lost in her imagination has served as a source of comfort to her as far back as she can remember.
Book Title: Ask Yourself: Inspiring Questions for Health, Happiness, and Self-Discovery by Mike Parker Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 228 pages Genre: Self-Help Publisher: Mascot Books Release date: Nov 1, 2022 Content Rating: PG
Book Description:
Join author, speaker, and coach Mike Parker in an inspiring journey of self-discovery as he reveals the keys to finding, keeping, and savoring your most gratifying, heartwarming, and rewarding memories. It all starts with his delightfully unique and uplifting questions for you to Ask Yourself in a guided journal format. These questions are specifically designed to help you focus on the best times and people from your past, present, and even future.
Ask Yourself is your guide to a happier, healthier life, full of inspiring self-discovery. With the turn of each page, you will rediscover the memories and people you never want to forget. This thoughtfully crafted guided journal will bring all of those memories to the forefront of your mind and help you store them in the perfect place to keep forever.
Mike Parker has been delivering motivational presentations for over twenty years. He is driven by his passion to help others achieve more than they ever thought was possible by igniting their full potential. Mike has a clear and inspiring message about the qualities found in overachieving people, teams, and organizations. Mike has been able to inspire thousands of individuals through his motivational presentations and his work as a Success Coach.
As a former track and field athlete at the University of Kansas, and now as a coach who built one of the country’s most successful programs, he has firsthand knowledge of what it takes to get to the top and enjoy the journey along the way. His girls cross country and track and field teams at Iowa City West High School have won eleven Class 4A team state titles.
Mike’s firsthand knowledge of how to ignite individual and team peak performances has helped thousands of individuals and many teams, organizations, and corporations reach amazing success. Due to the success of his teams, Mike has been selected as the Iowa High School State Coach of the Year or the At-Large Coach of the Year thirty-two times. Mike has been a finalist for National Coach of the Year awards three different times. In 2018, the National High School Athletic Coaches Association selected Mike as the Girls Track and Field National Coach of the Year, and in 2022 they inducted Mike into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
I love to invite authors to share their thoughts and am so happy to have Marielle S Smith here today to share five of her favorite gratitude quotes.
Five of my favourite
gratitude quotes
With two gratitude journals out there, I’ve gathered
a fair collection of gratitude quotes. In today’s post, I’ll be sharing some of my favourite quotes from both the first and
second volume of the 365 Days of Gratitude Journal.
Life
is a series of thousands of tiny miracles. Notice them.
—Roald Dahl
I just
love this quote and it’s so in line with the one by Albert Einstein I included
in the introduction to the journal: ‘There are only two ways
to live your life. One is as though nothing
is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a
miracle.’
Each time I
hear or read any of these two quotes, my perspective instantly shifts to
something much lighter and joyful and I can’t help but smile.
The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.
—Mary Davis
There’s a reason I put this quote on the cover of the second volume—it
hits home every time. I can’t even put my finger on why, it just does. And I
know from experience just how truthful this statement is, which is why I get a
little bit frustrated with myself each time there’s a lull in my gratitude
practice.
It’s a good thing it’s so easy to get back into it!
We should certainly count our blessings, but we
should also make our blessings count.
—Neal A. Maxwell
Back in my
student days, I had a conversation with my supervisor about privilege. As a
relatively privileged woman—I’m white, cisgender, able-bodied, I can pass as
straight, I was getting a higher education—I struggled with those privileges
because it all felt a little unfair to me.
I’ll never
forget how she responded. She said: ‘There’s no point in feeling bad or guilty
about where you came from, because that’s beyond your control. But what you can
do is use whatever privilege you happen to have to help dismantle the system
that created these privileges in the first place.’
This quote
reminds me of that conversation and that I should really use all of my
blessings, including my privileges, for the greater good.
When you
focus on the good, the good gets better.
—Abraham Hicks
Whether this is
actually true, I couldn’t tell you, but it’s definitely something I want to
believe. At the very least, this quote reminds me to focus on the good things
that are happening in my life instead of all the things I’m not as thrilled
about, and that always makes me feel better instantly.
We’re all so busy chasing the extraordinary that we forget to stop and
be grateful for the ordinary.
—Brené Brown
This quote
is, in a nutshell, why I decided to create a gratitude journal in the first
place. We tend to celebrate and express gratitude over the big milestones and
large blessings in our lives, but the key to living a grateful life is to learn
to notice and be thankful for all those teeny tiny things we so easily take for
granted.
What are you grateful for today? Can you name
one thin
Thanks so much for being here today, Michelle. I hope everyone enjoyed the post.
365 Days of Gratitude Journal by Mariëlle S. Smith
GENRE: Non-fiction; self-help
BLURB
***
Now available in black-and-white AND full colour! ***
‘The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.’ Mary Davis
Gratitude is not just about ATTITUDE.
Gratitude is about PRACTICE.
But how do you create a gratitude practice that sticks?
After the success of her first 365 Days of Gratitude Journal, writing coach
Mariëlle S. Smith brings you Volume 2. Same journal but with an entirely
different look!
After years of barely surviving her own emotional minefield, Mariëlle
discovered the transformative power of practising gratitude. But, like no one
else, she knows that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is easier said than
done.
365 Days of Gratitude, Vol. 2 is an undated, guided journal. Complete with
inspiring quotes, daily prompts, and recurring check-ins, it was designed to
help you create a sustainable gratitude practice too.
Commit to the life-changing power of gratitude today and order your copy now!
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Mariëlle
S. Smith is a writer, writing coach, and editor. She lives in Cyprus, where she
organises private writer’s retreats, is inspired 24/7, and feeds more stray
cats than she can count.
I want to welcome Toby Negus to fundinmental. I left the topic open to whatever Toby would like to share. I hope you enjoy it. Take it away Toby….
Love
While I was sitting within a grove of
trees, my gaze came to rest upon a single tree. I tried to see this tree as it
was, to feel its life without my conditions of how I thought it should be. So, I waited for another way to understand
this tree, resisting the distractions in me that so wanted to tell the tree
what it was. I waited for the tree to tell me who it was. Ever so
slowly, an awareness of the tree grew in me of its life, its interconnectivity
to the other trees, the air, and the earth. This tree felt singular in its
purpose; not a different type of tree or a daffodil, but the tree that it was.
It felt like it had no doubt of what
it was or why it was. The power of the tree’s self-identity was total.
It was in love with being the tree that it was.
This irrevocable love that is evident in
nature, feels so different from the human experience of love. Ours seems a
kaleidoscopic chaotic love affair. Unfixed to the singular love that a tree
has. It is a helter-skelter ride of highs and lows, where our everchanging will
causes our love to come and go all too easily.
The tree does not have to make it, it is in
it! We have to summon it; create its opportunities and beckon it into our
lives. And we do this each day; rekindle the sparks of our purpose to find again
our love. Because we do long to be in love in what we do, with another and with
who we are. We love to love, love to share, love to give, love to make things
that shine, and of course, we love to be happy.
It seems that the human task is to ‘make love’,
to give birth to it by our will. And
this we do, in our choices of passion and in the struggles we endure to bring
our heart’s love to life.
The Heart Knows What the Mind Cannot See by Toby Negus
GENRE: self-help, mind body spirit
BLURB
This is a thought-provoking and enlightening
exploration of spirituality and perception. The text functions as a guide to
self-improvement, with a mixture of autobiographical elements and snippets of
universal wisdom. The speaker provides accessible solutions to life’s
difficulties, and an outlook of optimism applicable to any circumstance. The
illustrations and graphics are thoughtfully chosen, and the interactive textual
elements give this work an originality that sets it apart. The speaker’s own
experiences and conclusions are at the heart of this fiction, and the first
person narrative voice creates a sense of proximity between author and reader.
The text describes itself as ‘a journey to the heart’, and this truthful
discovery of the self is reflected in the speaker’s revelation of his whole
self through the text. The narrative often presents a dichotomy between positive
and negative outlooks or voices.
For example, the speaker includes sections in which
his self-doubt speaks, ‘you’ve got no proper education, you can’t spell
properly, you’re dyslexic and your grammar is crap. You’re not really a
writer’. This negative voice directly opposes the sense of self-belief the
speaker builds within the narrative. He uses examples such as this to remind
readers that the journey to happiness is complex and that flaws or setbacks are
natural. The negative separation or fragmentation of the self is prevalent in
the lines, ‘I do not love the grumpy me, the sad me, the hostile me, the parts
of me that act as if I do not care’. The act of writing represents a
unification of the self and an attempt to reframe the speaker’s life into coherence.
The frequent use of direct address and rhetorical questions promotes an active
reading experience, in which the author opens up a dialogue with the reader.
The text includes prompts and activities for the reader to engage with and
learn from. Encouraging readers to take part in the text is emblematic of their
journey to self-fulfilment and love, in which they must take responsibility for
actively creating their own happiness.
The speaker depicts his process of enlightenment as
a framework for others to emulate, and the format of the text demonstrates the
transfer of agency to those who take part in the speaker’s challenges at the
end of each chapter. This work ultimately teaches us that ‘we are the cause of
what is’ and thus sheds light on the crucial idea that every individual has the
power to create themselves and their world positively.
EXCERPT
Real learning is not what we expect. If we could expect it,
it wouldn’t be learning.
I looked in the mirror today and saw more than who I thought
I was; within the eyes was a million years of purpose. I saw the depth of the
universe and felt its unfaltering love. It was as if I had seen the divine
within myself, the truth of who we are. The us that never dies, the custodian
of our purpose, the love of our life.
This wasn’t what I expected and was somewhat sobering. There
was no blinding light, no sound of trumpets, and no big handshake with an
almighty. But it was as profound as if there had been. For it seemed I was
touching an eternal part of myself, an authority within that could create my
heaven on earth, that was already in heaven on earth! It was a glimpse of
something other than the me I thought I was. Its light questioned the lack of
self-care and love I held for myself. And its presence would eventually crack
and then dissolve my view of what I thought it meant to be human.
Doing a spiritual journey and tackling self-development
issues can give many profound perceptions, and I have had my fair share of
them. But this was different, this was personal. It was my eyes that were
looking at me, something that I could not escape from. It could not be brushed
off as a ‘perhaps’ or a nice perception that subsided over time. Its truth
seemed to embed itself into my very soul.
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Toby
Negus has studied and taught spiritual and personal development in the UK and around
the world for over two decades. He is qualified in advanced counselling, as a
life coach and as a Cognitive Behaviour therapist. He is an Amazon best-selling
author of a collaborative Conscious Creators book and has illustrated and self
published two books on the subject of self-awareness and the spiritual journey.
He is also a published author of a children’s book The Boy Who Dreamed in
Colour. He has given talks and run workshops in support of his published work
within the UK.
In
the last few years, he has created many pieces of artwork that are a reflection
of his spiritual journey. These have appeared in magazines and have been
exhibited in the UK.
I love book covers and I love the cover for Shelter From Our Secrets, Silence & Shame. I am delighted to have Rebecca Brown visiting fundinmental to share her own thoughts on the cover.
Topic: Discuss your cover — how it
came to be, what it represents, what you love or don’t love about it,
etc. Anything you’d like to share about it.
I’m excited to be part of this Fundinmental blog tour, and I love
that I can take this opportunity to talk about my book’s cover. I know
that we shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but I wanted my book’s cover to
catch people’s attention and hopefully draw them to it and start reading.
I took the photograph myself in May 2021 when I was out in my
kayak on Lake Huron, where I am lucky to live and work as a mental health
clinician. I need to find ways to burn off and let go of the difficult
stories that I collect in my day. One of my favourite ways to release the
stress is to paddle into the sunset and feel the tension release from my
body. I begin my book with this prologue:
I am floating.
On the water
calm
clear
soft
quiet.
Dusk,
the sun is setting.
The sky will hold light
for another half an hour
or so.
The beauty is often just after the sun sinks into the water, then the colours are
spectacular.
Or just softer.
It’s been a long day;
hard
heavy
yet healing.
I have no words left in me.
I cannot talk
or listen anymore.
I need quiet
peace
calm
presence.
I have found the shelter that I seek today
on the open water.
My kayak is my shelter this day.
I will paddle until I physically feel the release in my
body.
I will watch the sun set until I find the peace in my soul.
I hope to sleep tonight.
Rebuild my resilience.
I will wake and do it all again.
I may need to seek shelter differently tomorrow
Or not.
Knowing that I must still seek shelter sometimes,
makes it safe for me to continue in this work that I love.
Later in the book, I share a chapter which digs further into why
this particular photograph means so much to me.
Chapter Fourteen: Spring 2021
I couldn’t wait to get my little yellow kayak
in the water. It had been three years since I moved to the shores of the Great
Lake Huron. We live in a home that has a story of its own (more on this to
come), and it was built to look out at the beautiful water, which is a gift we
cherish every day. The sunsets have been called among the most beautiful in the
world, and the water itself changes from day to day: from calm, like glass, to
rough and choppy. We’ve referred to it as both Lake Atlantic and the Pond
Lake, all within twenty-four hours. The soft sand and miles of beach are what
draw people from afar, but what makes it the most magnificent sight always is
its colour. The water looks almost tropical. It can resemble a Caribbean
turquoise blue, so soft that it takes your breath away. Looking at the colour
of this beautiful water is a moment of awe that I treasure every day.
We’ve had a warm, mild spring, and this year
feeling confined to the house, working from home, unable to see people in
person, I have been trying to spend even more time outdoors in nature and, as
often as possible, down at the water.
On May 17, our temperature rose to twenty
degrees Celsius (68 F), and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. After dinner, I pulled
my little yellow kayak out from under the deck where it had been stored all
winter. I hosed it off to get rid of any spiders and dirt that had been hiding
there all winter, and within half an hour had it in the water.
Due to the State of Emergency and lockdown in
our area, there was virtually no one in the cottages that dot the shoreline of
our secluded little bay. I was able to paddle in silence for an hour. The sun
was high in the blue sky when I started, and once I went as far as I needed to,
I let my paddles rest, pulled out my phone, and took a couple of photos to
celebrate the moment. I floated and rested and let the warmth of the sun sink
deep into my skin, and I meditated silently for a few minutes, noticing the
slightest movement of the calm water swaying my boat.
It was both a moment of
happiness and awe that I was so grateful for.
Then I turned my little yellow Pelican kayak
in the direction I had come and started to paddle slowly and rhythmically back
home. My cup of happiness was full.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of
my dog beside my bed telling me the sun was up. I went downstairs with her, my
other dog, and two cats, and while I let all the animals out into the back
yard, I poured myself a cup of coffee and cued up a guided mindfulness
meditation. I let the small herd back inside and then made my way to my comfy
chair in my office to practice ten minutes of mindfulness. The meditation I
listened to this day was on Headspace.com, one of my favourite mindfulness
apps. I easily slipped away with the narrator’s voice as she guided me through
a visualization about balance, using the visual of a blue sky as a focal point.
This image of a blue sky is often one used in
guided mindfulness meditations, and it’s a lovely image to think about. We can
visualize the blue sky as something we always have access to; it’s the clear,
calm, uncluttered mind, but it can be buried beneath our busy, racing thoughts,
or the clouds. If we visualize clearing away the thoughts/clouds by
intentionally focussing on our breath for a few minutes, the clouds gently float
away to reveal the beautiful, calm, blue sky that is always somewhere in the
background of our minds. The meditation suggested visualizing a photograph of a
beautiful blue sky to help enhance this visualization, so I instantly
visualized the beautiful blue sky I had experienced just the evening before
when I was out in my kayak.
I opened my phone and turned to the photo I
had taken just twelve hours earlier, out on the water on my kayak, with the
beautiful blue sky in the background.
I knew instantly that I this photograph held so much meaning, which is why I chose it for my book cover.
As
a mental health clinician, Rebecca Brown has been a safe place for many to seek
shelter from their secrets, silence and shame. Inspired to finally slow down,
stop running from herself and share her own story, she found ways to seek and
savour her own shelter.
Rebecca’s personal
journey takes us through sadness, tragedy, self-sabotage, the impossible
pursuit of perfection, distorted thinking and eating, engaging with her shadow
self, divorce, and numbing with alcohol, all in an attempt to avoid the story
needing to be shared.
Dispelling the limiting
beliefs we hold about ourselves can unlock our limitless potential to reach
goals we never dared to dream. From the Boston Marathon to working with horses,
Rebecca sets out to prove to herself that anything is possible when you don’t
listen to the negative stories you tell yourself.
Everyone has a story.
We become who we are because of what has happened to us, and because of the
stories we tell ourselves. But do our stories continue to serve us well, or
keep us stuck? Are our stories fact or fiction? Is it time to rewrite the
versions we have been telling ourselves?
Shelter provides
strategies to help reframe the thinking patterns we have developed, and offers
tools to recognize when we are suffering from our own thoughts, feelings and
actions. Resilience-building techniques are woven through the pages, and
encouragement for the lifelong journey of collecting moments of awe and
happiness.
Seeking and reading
Shelter is a gift of self-compassion and self-discovery. Rebecca’s hope is that
it will be read with a highlighter in hand, pages folded down, re-read,
recommended to a friend, and used as a guide to start sharing our own stories
with those we love.
We may not have written
our beginnings, but we have the ability to write every word from this point
forward and just imagine where our stories can take us when we are free of
secrets, silence and shame.
EXCERPT
I give my talk.
The room erupts in applause.
A dozen people line up to thank me or say a few words at the
end of my session.
One man in particular stands out.
He is well over six feet tall and wearing a full Texas
sheriff uniform.
He has greying hair and is likely close to the end of his
career.
He pumps my hand as he shakes it, almost leaving it numb.
He thanks me for my talk. “Great stuff,” he says.
And then he hands me his business card.
But it’s not quite a business card.
It’s a photo card, like a baseball card, or a kid’s hockey
card, with the player’s name, position, and smiling face as they stand posed to
take a shot in their team uniform.
Only this is of a man on a black horse.
More precisely, it’s this man, a Texas sheriff on his
beautiful black police horse.
“I thought you’d like to have this,” he says. “My horse is
Canadian, like you.” And then he says something that has stayed with me,
because he couldn’t be more right: “Everyone in this business should have a
good horse!”
He meant the business of trauma.
I couldn’t have agreed more.
I still have his “business card.”
Two years later, I went back to Texas to teach a three-day
workshop on resilience to youth detention workers. I tried to look up my Texas
sheriff, but he had retired. I hope he’s finding more time to enjoy his good
horse. I’ve shared the story of our brief encounter and his photo card with
many police officers over the years. And every one of them agrees: horses can
heal humans. I’ve found shelter with horses. Sometimes in the saddle, but
mostly not. My story will get there. Eventually.
I finished my keynote address and spent the rest of the day
at the conference on Youth in the Justice System. People stopped me in the
halls of the hotel, telling me how much they enjoyed my talk. Later that
evening, I went for a run.
And then I drank a bottle of wine and went to bed.
AUTHOR Bio and Links
REBECCA BROWN is a clinical social worker with over 35 years in practice ranging from medical social work, childhood trauma, vicarious trauma for first responders, international psychological first aid, and Equine Assisted Therapy. She is honoured to hold a faculty appointment with the Department of Family Medicine at Western University in London, Ontario. She teaches extensively on the topics of trauma and resilience and has delivered keynote presentations throughout North America. She shares her life and career with her husband, a family physician and trailblazer in the field of Lifestyle Medicine. Together they live and work on the shores of the Great Lake Huron, where they seek and share shelter with their six adult children, four grandchildren, extended family and friends, two dogs, two cats and one horse.
Book Title: Plant Your Money Tree: A Guide to Growing Your Wealth by Michele Schneider Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+) , 272 pages Genre: Personal Finance, Stock Investing, Retirement Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Release date: May 8, 2019 Content Rating: This non-fiction, self-help book is rated G.
Book Description:
Plant Your Money Tree: A Guide to Growing Your Wealth was named ‘Best New Wealth Books’ by BookAuthority. On Amazon, it enjoyed the #1 New Release spot in three Amazon categories: Introduction to Investing, Business & Finance, and Retirement Planning. Plant Your Money Tree offers readers a strategic and actionable way to look at their financial life with a completely new attitude of confidence, empowering them to make smart decisions regarding:
What to do with their money
How to grow their money
When to make smart personal choices such as changing careers, guiding their kid’s education, expanding their business, buying a house, putting money in a savings account, capitalizing on social trends and investing in the future
How to manage their existing portfolios and 401Ks
In clear and accessible language, Mish Schneider walks the reader through the six most essential sectors of the U.S. economy as
seen through six market phases —bullish, caution, distribution, bearish, recuperation, and accumulation. She illustrates how to easily recognize these phases, understand their interrelationships and explains to readers why they should care. Using a personal and conversational tone, Mish’s goal is to help anyone who believes the topic of the economy and growing wealth is beyond their comprehension by giving them the tools to make independent, informed decisions about their money. With that knowledge, readers will gain insight plus have practical, smart options for what to do with their finances.
Mish holds the readers’ hands every step of the way with her welcoming and easy to understand language. Schneider does not endorse passive or buy-and-hold type investing. Rather, she teaches readers an evergreen methodology that adapts to every market scenario.
A former special education teacher, Michele “Mish” Schneider was one of the first female floor traders on Wall Street. Today she serves as Director of Trading Research and Education at MarketGauge.com, a 20 year industry-leading financial publishing company.
With Plant Your Money Tree, Mish combines her love of teaching with her world-class expertise in finance and investing. When she’s not changing lives through education, Mish spends her time exploring Sante Fe, New Mexico with her husband (and fellow trader) Keith.
