Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Those who are:
• Family members of those who are ill and bereaved individuals
• Healers: healthcare professionals, caregivers, volunteers, spiritual care providers, member of the clergy, social workers, etc.
• Individuals interested in overcoming their fears around death and the afterlife.
• Those interested in learning more about how to combine holistic approaches with end-of-life and grief care.
• Anyone interested in growing spiritually – spiritual seekers.

Q: What is the book about?
A: The Last Adventure of Life is an inspirational resource book that weaves together some of the best stories, poetry, scripture, prayers, and guided meditations that I have found to help those facing death or grief in their lives. It also includes chapters on grief and healing resources. This book also serves as an overview of hospice from a spiritual perspective; some have even said that it is one of the best introductions to hospice that they have ever read.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I am uniquely qualified to write this book because I grew up in Japan and am bilingual and bicultural. I was gifted with a broad, multi-cultural perspective and a curiosity about life that has made me delve into all kinds of material related to heath and healing through my professional and personal life.

After serving as a United Church of Christ minister for a decade, I served as a hospice spiritual and bereavement care provider for eleven years, so I developed a deep appreciation for hospice and how it can change your life. I have found that doing hospice counseling work for over a decade has given me an expanded view of life – not unlike a person who has had a near death experience. My work shares some of this material in a smorgasbord fashion.

As a healer, I am also passionate about wellness and have developed a body-mind-spirit perspective. Therefore, the last chapter of the book has a great deal of information on many of the complementary and integrative therapies such as: Aromatherapy, acupressure, acupuncture, massage, music, guided meditations, hypnotherapy, shamanism, and the like.

The material is presented in such a way as to be particularly helpful to those who are preparing to die or who are grieving. However, a person working toward their physical healing and wholeness could also benefit from reading my book.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: The Last Adventure of Life is a very comprehensive book. It covers a great deal of territory compared to most books on this topic. For example, it honors and shares material from many faith traditions and spiritual perspectives.

Most books covering hospice or these topics are either medically or religiously based. However, I share from a very broad spiritual base, so many faith perspectives are shared firsthand. Also, since there is a lengthy chapter introducing some complementary therapies at the end of the book, this also makes my book unique in its scope.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: The Celtic philosophy is that you need to die before you die so that when you die, you don’t need to die! In this vein, my book is actually meant to be a guide for someone who is ready to bring death back into their life.

Ideally, this book needs to be read by someone who is not directly facing death, but would like to deal with their fears and questions around it. Here is what Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, an expert in conscious aging had to say about my work: “Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once had a patient who said to her ‘I want to live through my dying.”

Anyone who shares that sentiment will find The Last Adventure of Life a way to expand their consciousness and to prepare for that moment.”

Here is a list of Chapter titles from the book and some frequently asked questions that my book could help answer:

1. TRUTH: Letting Go Is Liberating
2. BEAUTY: The Divine Presence Within All Living Things
3. LOVE: The Only Real Power
4. JOY: Tuning in to Humor and Gratitude
5. TRUST: Healing into Wholeness
6. REFLECT: Life Review and Dealing with Unfinished Business
7. AWARENESS: Cultivating the Art of Meditation
8. HOPE: Reflections on the Afterlife and the Interconnectedness of All
9. SPIRITUAL PATH: Receiving Strength from Our Faith Traditions
10. GRACE: The Transforming Power of Grief
11. RESOURCES FOR HEALING

The book also has an annotated bibliography with 110 books in it (including books for caregivers), and many other resources like magazines and journals, music, videos, DVDs, and websites. Many of the websites can be found as links on my website as well: www.thelastadventureoflife.com, or www.changewithcourage.com. Also, I have developed some “gift baskets for the soul” related to some of the integrative therapies I suggest in the last chapter. You can see more about my Soul Baskets at www.soulbaskets.com.

Frequently asked Questions:
• What is a near death experience? How have they transformed people’s lives?
• How can I start the “conversation” with our loved one who is sick and perhaps dying? Or with my loved ones who I must leave behind?
• What are some of the signs that death is approaching? How can I assist my loved one at this time?
• How can I talk with my children – and other young people – about death?
• What is meditation and how can it help someone before and at the time of death?
• What are some alternatives, besides more medication, to cope with the pain?
• What is hospice? How does it work?
• Where can I learn more about families directing their own family member’s funeral in a natural, personalized way?
• How can I cope with the grief I am experiencing since the death of my loved one(s)?

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: I wrote Before It Had A Name with people like me in mind who fight depression, obsessive compulsive disorder or any other “mental and emotional” disorder. I’d lived in shame for so many years and it’s time to drag the demon out of the darkness.

Q: What is the book about?
A: I had been a child training my brain to be accepted in a ‘normal’ world when a condition with no name became “Her”. I turned the condition into an individual who I co-exist with. I created two systems that have not only saved my sanity but helped me find joy in the dark world of chemical imbalance and bi-polar shame. Brain Coffins for the daily mental clutter and Brain Brakes for a softer landing after the extreme highs.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I feel I am the best person to write this book because I not only suffer like millions of others with this demon but I have learned to do it all without medication.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: This book is different because there is no confusing medical terminology. It is the story of my life and how I managed to survive six divorces, a son’s death and this demon to find real joy in life.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: The thing I’d like people to know about this book is it is the life story of a girl who lived with more that her share of tragedy but came out the victor of this demon… Praising God everyday for it!

For more information, visit http://www.beforeithadaname.com

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: 14 years old and up.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Swish: Maria in the Mourning is a non-fiction narrative which chronicles a mother’s process of mourning after losing her only child, the beautiful and charismatic Maria to a heroin overdose at 23.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: As a playwright I have produced six plays, and produced 3 plays for children. I have published poetry and won awards for my writing; in addition to teaching writing for twenty-five years, I have a B.A. in Literature and Theater (magna cum laude) and a M.A.T. in Secondary English Education both from Manhattanville College. After losing my only child to heroin, I needed to write a book that would appeal to everyone.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: Swish transcends the subject of addiction and captures the essence of a life lost, and every range of emotion that parenting, relationships, loving, losing and moving on can explore. Not a biography, the experience is told from the mother’s point of view, then shifts to the voice of Maria through her letters and journal entries during her addiction.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: This book has a performance version: Swish: Maria in the Mourning: The Monologues, which has received stellar reviews as a theatrical success, and after three performances, continues to journey to many more stages.

Pam
Swish: Maria in the Mourning
Outskirts Press

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Women of all ages; helping professionals; and anyone interested in stories about relationships, dysfunctional families, and how an individual’s upbringing can inform who they become.

Q: What is the book about?
A: A story about how a person can connect to others in a meaningful and satisfying way, despite a tortured past and a tangled family history. In this tale, Amber Cushing, abused by her mother’s boyfriend, strives to overcome this history; propelled along on a path characterized by a whirlwind of wrong choices, she continues seeking answers and solutions, struggling to find love and acceptance.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: Some of the issues presented in this book came about because of my career as a social worker, helping abused children and young people overcome their tragic histories.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: I injected my own personal experiences into the story, transforming what might ordinarily be a simple chronicle of abuse into a tale of hope and redemption.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Some of the peripheral characters in this tale are repeated in some of my other books, such as Miles to Go. My first published novel, An Accidental Life, introduces the character of Savannah Chacon, a former teen parent, who has transcended that history to become a promising college student; incidentally, she shares the boarding house where Amber Cushing lands, like a wounded bird.

Below are links to my home page and a couple of blogs; a link to Author’s Den, which features books and a blog; the link to My Space; and finally, a link to my GoodReads Author profile.

http://laurelrainsnowcreations.com/default.aspx

http://laurelrainsnowcreations.blogspot.com/

http://www.zimbio.com/member/laurelrainsnow

http://www.authorsden.com/laurelrainsnow

http://www.myspace.com/laurelrainsnow

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1185466.Laurel_Rain_Snow

And here is a link to an interview for COOL BOOK OF THE DAY.

http://www.coolbookoftheday.com/miles-to-go/

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: The protagonist is 15, so young adults are a major audience; however, I have received letters from men and women of all ages, even into their sixties, expressing interest and enthusiasm about the release of Courage in Patience.

Q: What is the book about?
A: After six years of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse from her stepfather, 15-year-old Ashley finally finds the courage to reveal the painful details of her experiences with her mother, who refuses to acknowledge the problem and turns her back on her daughter. After confiding in her teacher—the only adult whom Ashley can trust—she is removed from her home and sent to live with her father and his second wife, Beverly, an English teacher. Nurtured by Beverly, an extraordinarily positive influence in her life, Ashley and a summer school class of troubled teens learn to face their fears and discover who they really are.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a family member, as well as an experienced English teacher.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: It is not an autobiography or a self-help book. Honestly, with the exception of some of Chris Crutcher’s books that include the problem of sexual abuse, I have not seen many others like mine.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: I wrote Courage in Patience to give hope to anyone who has to face their greatest fears and find out what they’re made of.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Adults who are into improving mental health, self help, physical and emotional fitness, psychology, and the healing power of music. Those looking for an alternative to medication for alleviating depression and anxiety would also find the book valuable. Folks who like to read stories of personal redemption and healing will enjoy Body Mind Soul Solution.

Q: What is the book about?
A: The Body Mind Soul Solution is a self-help program that combines the benefits of physical exercise, the psychotherapeutic technique of self-questioning about your personal traumas, listening to music and journaling as a means to heal emotional pain. Exercise by itself has been proven to decrease depression, alleviate anxiety, increase confidence and improve self-esteem. The Body Mind Soul Solution will do all that and heal emotional pain that may have been present since childhood. The book is user friendly, written without psychobabble jargon, using case studies and the author’s personal stories that make the book a great read.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I have been a psychotherapist in private practice for over twenty years. I have worked with children, adolescents and adults. I have been instrumental in assisting victims of emotional and/or physical violence recover from trauma and no longer be victims. I have also had my own issues dealing with grief, rejection, loss, and resolving emotional pain. This has allowed me to be empathetic to those who also suffer from these issues.

This is my second book; my first one is titled Redemption of the Shattered: A Teenager’s Healing Journey through Sand Tray Therapy. I have been featured in The Dallas Morning News, The Hartford Courant, The Miami Herald, The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, USA Today, The San Francisco Chronicle, Natural Health Magazine, The Library Journal, Grand Magazine, Positive Thinking Magazine, Lee’s Summit Journal and Womansday.com. I have written articles published in DrLaura.com, Beliefnet.com, Sheknows.com, Ediets.com, Selfgrowth.com, Care2.com and Psychotherapy.net.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: The Body Mind Soul Solution has received rave reviews:

The Library Journal Review says the book is “highly recommended”.

The Miami Herald states: “Run through your anger and bike through your anguish with The Body Mind Soul Solution: Healing Emotional Pain Through Exercise ($15.95, Pegasus). It explores different kinds of emotional pain and helps you search for the source so your mind and body can work in concert to resolve pain emotional issues.”

The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says: “Bob Livingstone has written an emotionally charged book about personal revelations gained while exercising his body and mind. His program combines daily exercise with practical self-help psychotherapy techniques to relieve emotional pain and achieve total well-being. In offering the programs, Livingstone, a psychotherapist for the last 19 years, reveals much of the emotional pain he has endured.”

New York Times best selling author of The Fat Flush Diet, Anne Louis Gittleman calls the book “ground breaking”.

Visit www.boblivingstone.com for more information.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Many people have experienced adversity and, like myself, are more feeling than thinking types. Most self-help books focus on the thinking rather than the learning how to navigate the feelings of life, leaving people wondering how to let go. The Feeling Soul solves that problem by showing you what emotions are, how to healthily express emotion and then to deeply heal and move forward in life.

Benefits will come from reading The Feeling Soul to people who are finding themselves stuck, wondering how they got to where they are, and wondering how to gain insight and understanding of themselves. They will benefit by being more aware and present and free of triggers from the past.

Q: What is the book about?
A: The Feeling Soul helps us to understand where our feelings and habits come from. Then based on this understanding, the book gives practical guidance and coaching going on beyond that to healing and moving forward. Mark shows that focusing on gratitude, compassion and empathy can help people recover from physical, emotional, mental and spiritual ailments.

It is a thinking, feeling, and doing book, demonstrating that a new life can be learned. The Feeling Soul encourages, supports and uplifts people to rise above their adversity and negativity to learn a better way to deal with life. Drawing on countless personal experiences, Mark shares from his heart, providing clear and heartfelt understanding, practical advice and workable solutions on how to get unstuck and make changes to create a more centered self.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: Experience is the best teacher. As a young child and into early adulthood I experienced a significant amount of adversity. I learned at an early age to cope by stuffing my feelings down. Later in life I found I was isolated, easily upset, often near tears, and fearful of expressing myself. At various times in my life, I tried an antidepressant only to find that side effects were intolerable. Then when the medication was stopped, the troubling feelings returned.

My personal growth and journey of self discovery came from hard work and facing painful emotions that eventually gave way to mental health and joy. Through the natural wisdom of mind, body, and spirit, my body did what it does naturally – heal!

Many people don’t realize that tears and laughter are a natural part of the body’s healing system. There are more than 70 chemicals in an emotional tear. They are not present when you cry when cutting or peeling an onion. When you cry, the body is physically cleansing itself. By learning to work through emotions I was truly able to let go.

I realized that I have very specific and practical knowledge that I can share with others to help them in their journey. I discovered the key to mental health is tears, laughter and creativity. I wanted others to experience themselves without emotional pain.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Three psychics told me to write the book The Feeling Soul – A Roadmap to Healing and Living at a psychic fair in one day, I thought it was a pretty good indication. I never got good grades from my English teachers, so I had to put a lot of fear thoughts away and the writing just flowed out of me. The outcome has been very, very positive. Many people have thanked me for being so open, and readers realize that they’re normal, and they can get better and become happier.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Coping with Crisis is written for anyone who wants to know how to help others deal successfully with the aftermath of their exposure to a traumatic incident. In other words, all those who might need to comfort, or assist, people who have been affected by the pain and grief resulting from an accident, disaster or emergency situation should read this book. This might include members of the emergency services, emergency managers, disaster recovery specialists or practising trauma counsellors.

Q: What is the book about?
A: The book describes, in simple layman’s terms, a four-step counselling procedure known as Restabilization in which the emotional impact of a crisis can be understood and handled in such a manner as to enable the victim to face the future again with confidence. It is a disciplined procedure with specific objectives, employing a rigorous technique with clearly defined endpoints. The method does require a disciplined approach on the part of the counsellor and so the book includes a number of exercises to help the reader develop, or refine, the muzzled communication style which is an essential aspect of this approach.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: The author has spent the past 30 years of his life working in the area of disaster recovery disaster recovery and emergency management. He draws from his experience of direct exposure to dozens of real-life disasters, almost a hundred emergencies and countless problem situations. He has also benefited from the indirect experience of many more, gained from talking to, and working with, victims of various crises. Holder of a Lifetime Achievement award, he is a Founding Fellow and a Board member of the Business Continuity Institute, a Freeman of the City of London and a Knight of Grace within the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem.

There is probably nobody better qualified to understand the circumstances under which people’s normal coping strategies break down, leaving them with unhealthy reactions to the scenario and their reducing their ability to deal with the problems which may face them. He studied at the coal face and honed his skills before settling down to analyse what he had learned to establish a consistently reliable workable methodology which has been shown to produce long-lasting results for a wide range of clients. There are a number of case studies included in the book illustrating the broad scope of cases which the precise methodology of Restabilization has resolved successfully.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: The book opens with a description of the five emotions which a catastrophic incident may provoke and how they affect a person’s subsequent thoughts and actions. These reactions range from the debilitating effect of confronting fear for the first time through to the liberating effect of recognising one’s true capability. Each of these ‘discoveries of stress’ is likely to trigger a chronic reaction to whatever was perceived as the cause of that initial experience and these reactions are described so the reader can understand what they are likely to be called upon to deal with. The crisis intervention technique which is designed to deal with these chronic symptoms is introduced and the four stages of treatment are described as a viable means of returning someone to normal.

Each of the four sessions is then covered in some detail to provide the counsellor with the knowledge and confidence to engage in the process in the full knowledge that they will be in a position to guide a client through to a successful outcome; confidence in their ability to face the future. Because the process is dependent upon the use of carefully controlled but fluent communication techniques, the book outlines a code for counsellors which needs to be adhered to when conducting this type of work. This is supported by a series of useful exercises which have been specially designed to boost the counsellor’s ability to maintain the required communication protocol throughout the counselling sessions. Incidentally, these same techniques may also prove beneficial in controlling and maintaining a conversation in normal daily life.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: The basic idea behind Restabilization, the identification and correction of one’s reactions to a past incident, can be used in a group session to raise the emotional tone of a group who have shared the experience of a crisis event. This will help to alleviate the symptoms of many and provide an opportunity for others to come forward to seek additional help; providing, of course, it is handled correctly in accordance with the counsellors’ code.

The Dark Serpent Dilemma and Technique is an interesting approach to the solving of problems which can help people think a situation through and apply a logical strategy to resolve any problem situation; this may help them to avoid mistakes of the past where an emotion based response may have proved to be inadequate or inappropriate.

Coping with Crisis offers a pragmatic approach to dealing with a regularly occurring type of incident and its consequences. It is a practical handbook rather than an academic exposition, although the science behind it is quite sound. Well illustrated and easy to read.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Friends, family, and caregivers of those so afflicted.

Q: What is the book about?
A: The heart of the book consists of thirteen, riveting, in-depth stories of people and their families who fought back with courage, humor, creativity and a positive attitude. In addition to telling these stories, the book contains valuable information on how to find and use the latest medical developments and other valuable coping information about specific medical problems. There are scores of footnotes to valuable reference works I used in researching the book.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: spent much of six years researching and writing it. Before that I had recovered from eight major operations, including two open-heart operations, so I have walked the walk. The book is in no way autobiographical, but I occasionally borrow from my first-hand experience to support important points.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: The thirteen stories are about real, courageous people and their caregivers. This guarantees its uniqueness.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: There is much self-help wisdom in this book. From self-help organizations to web sites, it brims with useful information. The people the book focuses on have a wide variety of afflictions; various types of cancer – some survive, some don’t. Lou Gehrig’s disease usually kills it’s victims within two to five years. The book leads off with the story of a man and wife who together have fought his disease for nearly 30 years, and they are far from giving up. Several of the stories concern people with varying degrees of paralysis from illness and injury.

For more information, visit www.booksbydirk.com

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Women who deal with anxiety, fear, or depression.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Life Without the Monsters is about my life with anxiety disorder and how I learned to manage my debilitating thoughts. When I was 11-years-old, my parents went through a rather difficult divorce. It was then that I developed my life of worry and began having panic attacks. Of course in 1975 there were no such things as “panic attacks,” but each night at sunset I would become filled with terror. I would feel as if I was out of my own body—out of control. Then I would hyperventilate and feel as if I was having a heart attack. This happened every night for several years.

The attacks subsided for a time, but the worry was still there. I worried about everything—especially if it had anything to do with what other people would think of me. My mind needed constant approval, so I strived for perfection in everything every area of my life—school, work, marriage, motherhood, housework—everything. And as long as I would hear comments like, “ Wow! You did a great job on that!” I was ok. It never occurred to me that this was not necessarily normal!

The panic attacks returned in 1993. At the time I was married with two children and one on the way. I was in graduate school, had two part-time jobs and was student teaching full-time. Two of the high school teachers working with me made negative comments during an evaluation. This had never happened before! The comments still haunted me when I interviewed for my first teaching job. I was sure I wouldn’t be good enough, and the panic worsened. This time I couldn’t “snap out of it,” and I was hospitalized. My official diagnoses were major anxiety, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and depression.

After the discharge I continued counseling for a time, and tried lots of different medications – Zoloft, Prozac, Xanax, and Klonopin. I thought all was well – whenever a twinge of fear would surface, Klonopin would take it away. It would put in a drowsy state of disengagement from life. The counseling didn’t seem to be helping, but life was still tolerable.

Finally in 1999 I turned to God for help and was able for the first time to understand something: I don’t have to live this life of fear. There was something bigger than me, something bigger than my problems. I found ways to rely on this, and a great burden was lifted. I want other women to know that they don’t have to live in fear either. This is the ultimate purpose of the book.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I am the best person to write this book for three reasons. First, I’ve lived through it. I certainly recommend getting counseling and reading material from doctors and preachers, etc. But for someone going through anxiety there’s nothing like getting advice from someone who’s lived it.

Second, I have two degrees—one in biology and one in education. This allowed me to research extensively when I wrote and to comprehend what I was reading. I was able to understand very well what happens in my body chemically when I worry. My degree in education gives me enough psychology and communication to be able to teach this science stuff to other people.

And finally, I’m a Christian woman who understands what it’s like to worry—and I’m not afraid to talk about it! I found during my research that many Christians consider worry a sin—end of story. There’s very little tolerance for worry because, in some minds, if you do then you really can’t believe in God like you say you do. And since women suffer from anxiety twice as often as men—even in the church—they need to hear that there’s more to it than sin.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: When I decided to write the book I first did a lot of research. My husband actually said, “You can’t write the book from a Christian perspective. People won’t read it!” I thought about that and began thinking of other ways to write it. But there was no other way. So I bought every book I could find on anxiety—books from diverse perspectives.

My book is different because I found advice in the Bible that I haven’t seen presented before. There aren’t just the typical verses that tell you not to worry. I found that there are specific techniques on how to feel more peace. For example I learned that you can use all of your senses, even your sense of smell, to relax and calm your mind.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: There is “homework”. I spent most of my life wanting the answer—one thing that would give me the life I envied in so many other women. There’s not one. It requires commitment, effort, and time. I still struggle with worry. The difference is I now have tools to help me, and I grow with each new challenge. I want every woman out there to also live their lives without monsters.