Cool Book Of The Day

Pitch reporters with our up-to-date media databases:

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: The high divorce rate is a statistic that is well known. In my private practice (K. Sherman), I became aware that even though many couples were choosing to stay together, they felt their partnership was stale and flat. Marriage Magic! is written for any couple, married or not, who is in a committed partnership but has realized that the zest is gone.

Q: What is the book about?
A: This is a self-help book that offers tools to revitalize a relationship. And these tools are effective regardless of whether one or both people read it. Initially, the misconceptions about a relationship are exposed. Then, vignettes are provided to help couples identify different emotions they might be feeling, followed by explanations and exercises. The book is purposely set up to afford the reader flexibility in the way it is used so that it has the greatest applicability to the couple.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: As a psychologist specializing in relationships, I certainly have years of experience and knowedge in this area. This was further enhanced by teaming up with a communications expert. The combination of these two specialties are a wonderful marriage of expertise for this subject matter.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: While many self-help books in this area focus on teaching good communication skills, these authors’ unique approach is to identifiy something that is missing in the readers’ relationship. In order for couples to gain a sense of authenticity, they must first become a aware of their own emotions and deal with them. This allows communication to truly serve its purpose without the burden of emotional barriers.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Not only is the book easy to read but it makes sure to present situations that are from the perspective of both men and women. It is set up in a format that is very user friendly.

Pitch reporters with our up-to-date media databases:

“This is the book Anne Lamott might have written had she become engaged and gotten into gardening.” –Pacific Sun 

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: New moms and gardeners or . . . anyone who thinks they have “family issues.” I can top them off. Throughout High School, My sisters and I referred to our mother as “The Queen Bee”, not mom. That should give you a hint.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Growing Seasons is a compilation of journal entries written to my one year-old son. It chronicles my own insights, insecurities and confusion on a plethora of enigmatic life lessons, but especially the changes that occur in a marriage when a baby is born. Included are stories about my zany relatives, ridiculous tales about working in the egomaniacal movie industry, trying to learn patience in the garden while becoming a California Master Gardener, and struggling with the complexities of aging parents. This is the irrepressible diary of a transplanted New Yorker on marriage and motherhood . . . and why my plants won’t grow any faster! From Chapter One entitled, “Your People Barely Survive the First Year” to the final chapter entitled, “Tom Jones, Morphine or Bust”, I hope you’ll sit back and enjoy the ride!

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: Because I moved into new motherhood without a bit of grace!

I began writing Growing Seasons for myself to keep sane in those first few years of new motherhood. I was also still examining, as I had done for years before, my difficult yet fascinating and loving relationship with my mother. She was a stay-at-home mom in the 1950s when mothers supposed to look perfect and be happy 24/7, while making dinner and cocktails for their husbands when they came home from a hard day at the office. I finally understood why my mother was somewhat bitter and cranky! And then Oprah broke down the conspiracy of silence last year when she had a program called “The Truth about Motherhood.” Finally, we were all allowed to admit that it wasn’t all picture-perfect every single minute. Mothers are human, not saints!

As for some cheap advice from the book, I’d say that women must trust their gut feelings — which is hard to do in that first year because you are in shock, overwhelmed by changes and so, so busy. Asking for help is a critical part. Letting your husband be an active part is huge. Men are great with babies, and we must finally stop this false stereotype that dads are clueless. The more involved they are, the more everyone wins.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: I think it’s very honest about the realities of new motherhood and how a marriage shifts when a baby enters it. It takes a lot of challenging balancing work to find time to be with your partner again without being in “parent” mode, but back as friends and lovers again. Imagine that!

Also, for most of the book you’re not sure if you should cry or laugh at the kooky cast of characters and misfits I call my family. I have a strong-willed gaggle of sisters who appear throughout the book, a demanding job in the egocentric movie industry, a mother-in-law obsessed with Thomas Kincaid “tchotchkees” and an aunt who only plays old Tom Jones hits all day long. You’ll feel right at home, I swear.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Yes. Three things.

1. I was studying in the California Master Gardner’s horticultural program the same year I wrote the book, so it’s filled with fun gardening tips for novice gardeners. I think it makes a nice switch of topics within each chapter, so you’re not consumed with constant entries about babies and chaotic “family lovefests” with the Queen Bee.
2. The last chapter deals with our aging parents and how we grow up and all of a sudden we’re taking care of them. We switch places. We drive them to their doctor appointments and to do their errands. They finally get to aggravate us as much as we annoyed them as teenagers. It’s payback time, baby!
3. ACT (Adults and Children Together)is where I donate a percent of the proceeds from the book sales. My favorite part of my booksigning is when I stop talking about me (imagine that!) and speak about the work that ACT (Adults and Children Together) is doing. ACT was started in 2000 by the APA (American Psychological Association) and the NAEYC (The National Association for the Education of Young Children). Nearly a half-century of psychological research has proven that violence is a learned behavior, often learned when a child is young. But children can also be taught nonviolence. The best teachers they have are their parents. They will copy behavior from the people closest to them. The ACT project stresses teaching nonviolence in the home especially during the early childhood ages between birth and age eight. Please visit: actagainstviolence.org

Pitch reporters with our up-to-date media databases:

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Adult males and females who are concerned about overeating and their weight

Q: What is the book about?
A: The Taming of the Chew helps readers clarify causes of food control problems and find ways to manage them successfully physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually – to be empowered — to feel happy, energetic, peaceful, and calm. “Chew” addresses the root causes of compulsive eating behavior and is not just another diet book. It is about loving and appreciating ourselves, relaxing, being peaceful, stopping self-defeating behaviors, enjoying life, freeing up energy, reconnecting with Spirit, and living in the moment with gusto. It is powerful, clear, amusing, beautifully written, and fosters a profound respect for self and for life.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I am the founder of Emotional Eating Awareness Month and have worked with people who want to understand emotional overeating and how to stop for over 25 years. I emerged from the adversities of being a homeless college drop-out, surviving multiple eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, severe obesity and binge eating disorder) and single-parenting three children to creating success as a Clinical Psychologist, Doctor of Holistic Health, author and national speaker. I have been noted in many publications, including “O” the Oprah Magazine, have appeared widely on television and radio and have spoken across the country and in Canada. Denise@DeniseLamothe.com; www.DeniseLamothe.com; Box 933, Epping, NH 03042; 603-493-6043 or 603-778-4814.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: This is the only approach that will truly help and readers respond positively to the idea of actual weight loss. They really do know way down deep inside what they need. My intention is to help patients and readers uncover what works for them and then to make a personal plan for changing their weight and improving their health. I empower each of them to do whatever they feel comfortable doing to tame their personal Chew. We are all different and there is no “one size fits all” approach to being healthy and feeling happy in life. I stress that each reader should take what fits from the book and disregard anything that does not. I urge people to follow their inner direction, their intuitive sense of what is truly best for them. I also urge them to approach this issue one day, one breath, at a time. You can’t do everything at once and if you try, you will set yourself up to fail. Then you will feel worse – more anxious – and you are likely to make a beeline for the refrigerator.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: This book is not about being thin or depriving yourself of anything. It is about self acceptance throughout the process of healthy change. It is very hard for most people to embrace the notion that they are perfect just as they are but, at the same time, they are human and cannot do everything perfectly all the time. I find that folks generally want things to be clear — to be black and white. They often want to be told what the one thing is that they can do to feel in control all the time around food. This is not possible. Life is not black and white – things are always in motion, always changing. The goal is to know yourself as much as you can, to develop a loving and patient attitude towards yourself and to flow with the many challenges and changes that life brings your way without anesthetizing yourself with food. The Taming of the Chew helps readers to do just that.

Pitch reporters with our up-to-date media databases:

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: The employee as well as the leader within all kinds of settings–business, academia, technology, sports, entertainment, arts, non-profit, spiritual, and government.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Imagine the opportunity to talk with 25 of America’s most respected leaders—-people like Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist; Mary Ellen Weber, former NASA astronaut; Susan Anton, Broadway star and actress; Dean Kamen of Segway; and Dipak Jain, dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School—-to learn firsthand what makes them so effective in their lives and work. Through our conversations, a new leadership model emerges, one that says there are effective ways to manage organizations and make profits without leaving a sense of humanity at the office door. More and more, at the helm of successful companies, you’ll find a different sort of leader. Collaborators, not controllers, they are “square apples,” bold men and women who dare to create success by reshaping the workplace with our 6 innovative values.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: We are the co-authors of the pioneering book Values-Based Leadership. Susan has taught leadership skills to audiences ranging from youth organizations to the United Nations. Tom has taught innovation for 27 years at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Authors of 7 books, our research, speeches, seminars, teaching, and pragmatic consulting have made us leading experts in the field of leadership.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: Our new leadership model is guided by 6 critical values: humility, compassion, transparency, inclusiveness, collaboration, and values-based decisiveness.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: “Square apples” symbolically stand for a new way to lead and measure success. Just as former NFL star Chris Zorich’s mother took rotten apples and reshaped them into something edible and appealing, we need to take bruised work environments, cut off the bad spots, and reshape them into dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative organizations