Books that help deal with adversity, trauma, change-Life Challenges

Creative Ways to Transform Challenges:
Tools for coping, finding meaning and realizing positive growth, healing and change

Recommended Books/Tapes for the Journey

New Book Selections
Books Offering a Larger Perspective on Life's Challenges
Books On Spirituality Which Can Help Face Challenges
Books on Healing Body, Mind and Spirit
Books on Forgiveness
Books on Loss
Books on Related Subjects

New Book Selections

Women in Shadow and Light: Journeys from Abuse to Healing (Creative Minds Press, 2005) by author/photographer Jan Goff-LaFontaine. This book (excerpt here) is a celebration of women and the beauty and power of their indomitable spirits. I often found myself in tears reading the interviews and looking at the art photographs. But these were not tears of sadness. Rather, they were tears that emerged from being moved and touched deeply. They sprung forth from being inspired and having my heart opened, from being sourced by women who rose above the challenge of abuse and domestic violence to find healing. In the book, 40 women-ages nineteen to ninety-five-bared all to express their triumph over trauma. In this daring approach, fine art black and white photography combines with moving interviews to portray the essence of each woman's journey from the violence of abuse to transformation and healing. This is the most hope-filled book you will ever read about abuse and recovery. Begun as a photography exhibit, Out of the Shadows, the subjects are women who have experienced every economic situation from homelessness to the champagne lifestyle; they span many ethnicities; they are the famous-such as Laura Davis, coauthor of Courage to Heal-to the obscure-like the "ordinary" 62-year-old farm wife who left her abusive marriage. Each woman helped create her portrait as a personal symbol of healing, often focusing on one aspect of her body she felt was most affected in the healing process. For information: http://www.janlafontaine.com

Conscious Women, Conscious Lives, Book 2 (White Knight Publications, Toronto, Ontario, 2005) by Darlene Montgomery. Some of North America's leading women authorities on healing, spirituality and body mind wisdom share more life transforming stories of Healing, Triumphing Over Death and Scaling the Heights to Achieve their Greatest Dreams. Contributors include: Rachel Naomi Remen M.D., Marianne Williamson, Susan Jeffers Ph.D, the creator of this website-Alissa Lukara and many others. Each story is true and each brings healing, understanding, comfort and proof of women's courage. These stories show how the journey of facing some of life's greatest obstacles can be followed by a joyous emergence from the darkness of despair, and a return to the light of life, love and new wisdom. Themes include: Finding Meaning in Loss, Finding Life's Purpose, Learning to let go of a Loved one, The Gift in Illness and Loss, Turning Life's Obstacles into Stepping Stones, Rising to the Challenge, Overcoming the Fear of Death, Surviving and triumphing after life threatening illness. For more information: http://www.lifedreams.org. (Available in Canada now. Available in the U.S. in August or September.)

The Gift of Change: Spiritual Guidance for a Radically New Life (HarperCollins, New York, 2004) by Marianne Williamson. Best-selling author Marianne Williamson (excerpt here)delves deeply into the powerful role of change in our lives today. Change, she says, is not to be feared and avoided. Even the most difficult change gives us an opportunity to receive the gift of personal transformation. The only real failure in life, she notes, is the failure to grow from what we experience. Williamson helps us cross 10 key bridges of transformation. They include: From Forgetting Who We Are to Remembering Who We Are; from Negative Thinking to Positive Love; from Anxiety to Atonement; from Asking God to Change the World to Praying That He Change Us; from Living in the Past and Future to Living in the Present; from Focus on Guilt to Focus on Innocence; and more. For more information: http://www.marianne.com.

Conquering Fear by Chris Green. Fear spoiled Chris Green's plans for a better life for more than 12 years. He let pass opportunities to work overseas, to work in the entertainment industry, to become involved in two new businesses. Then, at 33, sick and tired of watching others get the breaks, he decided to work out why he was still stuck in a rut doing the same old same old, then watching others seize opportunity and make a better, happier life for themselves. Fear, he realized, was at the root. Through extensive research into what fear is and applying some real, concrete methods, he started a successful consultancy business, moved into a new home, eradicated debt totally and met some wonderful new people who became close friends. He achieved more happiness than he ever thought possible. Conquering Fear helps others overcome their fear, too, including methods to help conquer fear of rejection, success, loneliness, death, change, and to stop fear in its tracks before it can stop you from achieving what your purpose. For more information: http://www.conqueringfear.net

Gift of the Dreamtime: Awakening to the Divinity of Trauma (Spilled Candy Books, Niceville, FL, 2004) by S. Kelley Harrell, C.Ht. This is S. Kelley Harrell's story of transforming traumatic childhood memories into a true account of shamanic healing, through the heroine's fantastic experience. Through engaging with the author's inner worlds and reading the guidelines for shamanic journeying that follow, readers are awakened to ancient tools for creating healing in their own lives. She learned the nature of the spiritual relationships of significant people in her life, including of the person who sexually assaulted her as a child, and explores the healing that occurred in that process. She had infinite support not only in moving through that process, but in creating this book. It was published with her hope that it would serve as a guide for others to challenge themselves to manifest their spiritual truths in their waking lives. For more information: http://www.soulintentarts.com

Digestive Wellness By Elizabeth Lipski, PhD, CCN (McGraw-Hill, 3rd edition, 2005.) Dr Lipski, a nationally renowned clinical nutritionist, has completely revised and updated one of the most definitive guides on the subject of preventing disease through healthy digestion (excerpt on migraine headaches here). She explains how the digestive system works and what can happen when it doesn't. I like this book because it's user-friendly, comprehensive, and perhaps most important, tells you how to go beyond symptom treatment and address the real causes of your condition. I also appreciate her self-empowering approach. For example questionnaires, self-tests, and workbook style exercises help you identify your own body's digestive strengths and weaknesses. After completing them, you can choose among the dozens of self-care tips offered by Lipski, including diet, beneficial exercise, food journaling, detoxification, cleansing programs and de-stressing. Anyone going through a life challenge will especially appreciate Lipski's suggestions for overcoming stress. After explaining how it taxes our digestive system, she tells readers how to avoid environmental stressors and offers easy-to-learn-stress reduction techniques. For more information: www.innovativehealing.com.

The Wave: Flowing As Essence(Blue Dolphin Publishing 2005) by Lyn Mayo. You can find peacefulness just reading The Wave. Written in a meditative tone, it explores each of our own unique process of discovering the truth of who we are, our connection to all that is, and the endless discoveries of what it is to be consciousness in human form. A deeper understanding of truth can be found in honoring what are both unique individual and universal ingredients in the process of unfolding. In hopes of providing grounding and clarity, Lyn has illustrated concepts by using examples from her own life and from the lives of others who shared their spiritual stories. It focuses on the intricacies of the process of deepening awareness. Those who have been involved in their spiritual unfolding can often get discouraged at their perceived progress. Emphasis here is placed on validating the day-to-day experiences as well as the peak-experiences. The metaphor of the wave of essence is used to explore one's awareness of being with the flow and eventually becoming one with the wave. Our way of being in this world is continually changing as we find ourselves more often aware of the flow. These gradual changes in perception affect our relationships and our peacefulness of being. For more information: www.lynmayo.com.

The Awakening(Xlibris, 2002) and The Keys to Remember(Xlibris, 2005) by Jodine Turner. Novels teach us as much about facing and transcending challenges as any nonfiction book. These two particular novels, the first two in a trilogy, deal with the challenges that come with being called to a higher destiny, to a larger purpose to serve humanity, during tumultuous times. The Awakening is a story of spiritual evolution and elevations in consciousness, a 'turning of the ages. The first of the trilogy, the novel is set during the final days of Atlantis, when a corrupt governing body and a degenerate priesthood rack a once-vibrant culture. The Goddess of the Stars and the Sea, who intercedes on humanity's behalf during tumultuous periods of change, calls upon Geodran to help her assist humankind through this change. Geodran, who becomes a priestess, struggles to fulfill a destiny larger than and in conflict with her own personal desires and journeys through a heroic quest to bring forth the next era of human civilization. Author Jodine Turner observes strong parallels between today's political and societal events and Atlantis' final days as portrayed in her novel. "They both point to an overall picture marking a turning of the ages for humanity-an evolution in consciousness and spirit." The Keys to Remember is the award-winning continuation of the Goddess of the Stars and the Sea trilogy. Once again, humankind is on the threshold of a spiritual evolution. In fourth century England, six year old Rhianna is kidnapped and raised in a Christian Abbey but has never forgotten her grandmother's prophecy -"Your destiny lies with the Goddess of the Stars and the Sea." She alone must mid-wife the next stage of spiritual evolution, as dark times approach for humankind. Powerful forces within both the Abbey and the priestess community conspire to keep Rhianna from her rightful destiny and her true love. The price of her heroic quest is far higher than she expects. The third book will be set in modern times. For more information: http://www.jodineturner.com

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Books Offering a Larger Perspective on Life's Challenges

Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals By Thomas Moore (Gotham Books 2004) Reviewed by Jonah Blue. This book is indeed a treasure, and even more so since it deals with so much of what our website is all about. At some point in our lives, most of us experience a period of sadness, loss, frustration, or failure so disturbing and long lasting that it can be called a dark night of the soul. Moore does not see this as a psychological problem, but instead, an opportunity to find meaning during an event that affects one's life to the core-be it the loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship, an illness, career disappointment, or simply an ongoing dissatisfaction with life. Rather than being overcome by these periods of darkness, Moore encourages us to view them as transforming rites of passage that can be used as catalysts for personal growth and change. I loved Moore's number one bestseller, Care of the Soul and I love this book just as much. There are plenty of excellent "how-to" books available that tell us what steps to take when facing difficult challenges. But very few books have dealt with the "healing power of melancholy." Nor have they used someone like Humphrey Bogart as a role model. Bogart experienced a highly abusive childhood, and had a "dark luminosity that shone through his characters"-a luminosity achieved as a result of his childhood dark night of the soul, according to Moore. The author imagines that there is a black sun at our core as well as a bright sun, and tells us that a dark luminosity is "less innocent and more interesting than naive sunshine" His book will help you to appreciate your own dark luminosity. For more information: http://www.penguinputnam.com

Field Notes on the Compassionate Life: A Search for the Soul of Kindness, By Marc Ian Barasch (Rodale Books 2005) Reviewed by Jonah Blue. "Marc Ian Barasch's Fieldnotes on the Compassionate Life is an excellent and penetrating book. His argument for compassion is balanced yet persuasive, and long overdue. This book ought to be a compulsory read for all." -- Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. (excerpt here) Marc Ian Barasch sets out on a journey to the heart of compassion. Drawing from influences as disparate as Buddhist monks and skeptical neuroscientists, Barasch creates a riveting, persuasive argument that a simple shift to compassion consciousness can not only affect a tremendous, lasting impact on our psyches, relationships, and health, but also positively influence our society--and the very fate of the Earth. Barasch weaves a stirring, unforgettable account of his search to find the ability to live compassionately within himself and others. For example, he asks what we can learn from exceptionally empathetic people, such as a man in his late forties who is motivated to donate a kidney to a complete stranger. He also spends a little time living as homeless person, sleeping in the streets, discovering areas where he has been holding on to stereotyped ideas of who the homeless are, and eventually coming to a greater understanding of the common humanity in all of beings. And he reveals how a Buddhist monk, practicing deep compassion meditation while being scientifically tested for positive and negative emotions, had a reading that was literally beyond the curve in the area of positive emotion- the most extreme such result ever documented. Then, and perhaps most surprisingly of all, he delves into Charles Darwin's writings, and demonstrates how they are filled with admiring accounts of animal reciprocity, cooperation, and even love-a word shunned by most biologists that appears some ninety- five times in his major book (against only two entries for "survival of the fittest,") Perhaps, says Barasch, we have misinterpreted Darwin and must realize that the great driving force of our evolution is actually "survival of the kindest?" For more information, visit www.compassionatelife.com

The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back From Setbacks, By Al Siebert, PhD (Berrett-Koehler, 2005). Reviewed by Jonah Blue. Many people in our increasingly fast-paced society have to cope with high-levels of ongoing disruptive change. Dr. Siebert's book shows how they can deal with this in ways that will actually enhance the quality of their lives. The solutions to so many of life's challenges involve letting go of the old and bringing in the new. So I particularly appreciated Siebert's guidance on how to change to a new way when an old way is no longer possible, and do this without acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways. Also, many of you will be surprised at research which reveals that we all need a moderate amount of stress to remain healthy. Otherwise we lose strength and deteriorate. This is called "eustress" meaning good stress. Siebert also describes three essential strengths-self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-concept, which he says act as gatekeepers controlling our access to high-levels of resiliency abilities. At first glance, they may all seem the same. But he points out that self-confidence has to do with what results you expect from your self when you take action, self-esteem relates to how you feel about yourself, and self-concept refers to who you think you are based on factors such as your age, job title, physical attributes etc. For more information, go to www.resiliencycenter.com.

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why (W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2004) by Laurence Gonzales. Deep Survival is the first scientific investigation of survival. It is also a deeply spiritual book. Because it turns out that those who survive-whether in illness, accident, divorce, business or in the wilderness-must all go through the same journey and spiritual transformation. Using true stories and analysis of wilderness survival cases as a metaphorical frankwork, this book seeks to answer two elemental questions: How do we get into trouble? And, how do we get out again? By analyzing cases in which people have survived against seemingly impossible odds, often with no equipment or training, the book shows that there is an intangible quality of attitude, a set of psychological and emotional skills built over a lifetime, that ultimately determine how well people survive life's big challenges. The clear message in Deep Survival about who lives and who dies, Gonzales writes, is this: "It's not what's in your pack that separates the quick from the dead. It's not even what's in your mind. Corny as it sounds, it's what's in your heart." The book has captured the attention of diverse groups, ranging from scientists to mountaineers to people in 12-step recovery groups; from cancer survivors to business executives; and from abused spouses to the Navy SEALs. For more information: http://www.deepsurvival.com.

Soaring Through Setbacks: Rise Above Adversity Reclaim Your Life(Cameo Publications, LLC, Hilton Head Island, SC, 2004) by Cheryl Perlitz. Have you lost your loved one, your job, your promotion, or your dream? You may be asking, "How will I survive this…Loss? Disappointment? Disillusionment? Rejection?" "Will I ever feel happy and fulfilled again?" The fact is change is sad, painful, terrifying, overwhelming, and often overpowering. In Soaring Through Setbacks, you learn how to transform challenges at home and at work into opportunities for adventure and positive change. Cheryl Perlitz combines compassionate understanding of the change process with useful tools and 100 survival tips that will help you find a new beginning. Discover how to: " Survive so you can live through the pain of change; " Revive so you can find your true self again; " Thrive so you can reach the peak and soar with greater wisdom and purpose to serve others. For more information: http://www.soarwithme.com. For more information about Cameo Publications, go to http://www.cameopublications.com

Shifting Sands: A Guidebook for Crossing the Deserts of Change (Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2004) by Steve Donahue. We live and work in a mountain-climbing culture. We want to see the peak, map out a route, and follow it to the top. The metaphors, however, are meaningless, says author Steve Donahue. Why? Because most of our life and work experiences actually resemble a desert. We get lost or stuck, and even chase the occasional mirage. With no clear routes or identifiable peaks, the journey seems endless. Donahue know about the desert firsthand. With two Frenchmen and his buddy, he embarked on an overland odyssey across the Sahara-the world's largest desert-that, over the course of 49 days and some 4,500 miles, became the adventure of a lifetime. In the Sahara, Donahue learned it's impossible to know exactly where you're going or how you'll get there-much less when you've arrived. In fact, says Donahue, experts can't even agree where the desert ends. And so it is with the deserts of life and work. Unlike mountains, we can't conquer them. They resist planning and preparation-and even past experience. In Shifting Sands, Donahue intersperses the true tale of his adventure with the essential rules for crossing the deserts of life and work. Among the insight and ideas he shares are : Why goals are a cheap substitute for direction; Why the more you stop, the farther you go; Why wandering is the best way to find true direction; Why it's important to travel alone together; Why getting stuck is a blessing. For more information: www.stevedonahue.com

The Right Words at the Right Time (Atria Books, January 2004) by Marlo Thomas. Award-winning actress and bestselling author Marlo Thomas is joined by over 100 innovators, thinkers and cultural icons, such as Muhammad Ali, Tom Brokaw, Cal Ripken Jr., Steven Spielberg, Venus Williams, Rudy Giuliani, Toni Morrison, Jack Nicholson, Mel Brooks, Laura Bush, Billy Crystal, Tom Wolfe and Katie Couric, who each tell a story of a crucial turning point in their lives brought about by the right words at the right time. These first-person accounts of challenges and victories can provide guidance to all of us as we come to life's crossroads. Al Pacino and Gwyneth Paltrow were instructed by words they heard during a crisis. Billy Crystal and Chris Rock used their humor to guide them. Ruth Bader Ginsburg received advice from her mother-in-law on her wedding day that continues to help her on the Supreme Court. These original stories encompass life's struggles and adventures and demonstrate how people we admire found hope and inspiration through words delivered by family or friends, heard in a movie or play, sung on the radio, told in a joke or even drawn in a cartoon. For more information: www.rightwordsbooks.com.

You're Never Upset for the Reason You Think, by Paul & Layne Cutright, (e-book, www.enlightenedpartners.com) Paul and Layne Cutright teach you the secret to moving beyond blame, anger, resentment and hurt to your true power in any upset. They provide a powerful new model for enlightened conflict resolution in the Conscious Upset Resolution Exercise (CURE). It's a practical step-by-step program which helps you uncover the real cause of any problem or upset, stop the pain and halt the slide toward more upset and disappointment. The result: joyful, close and fulfilling relationships that are no longer poisoned by bad feelings, hurt, anger, and the inevitable "distance" that follows. It works with lovers, partners, business partners, co-workers, family members, children and any other relationship that is important to you . . . even with unsettling news you see on the television or experiences you have in life . . . absolutely anything at all that upsets you in any way. The CURE has two parts. Part One requires "inner work" and is done alone. Part Two is "outer work" and includes a dialogue between you and the person with whom you had the upset. It involves moving beyond blame and provides opportunity for lasting "resolution," because you're addressing the root of the issue, not just remedying the "outward" situation.

Get Off the Fence: 10+1 Steps To Help You Make That Big Decision, by Rhoda Makoff, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Makoff, Esq., (Health Communications Inc., Deerfield Beach, Florida, 2003). Big life decisions are difficult - sometimes impossible-to undo. What's more, a lot of us don't realize how many we're called on to make during the course of a lifetime. As a result, when a major decision does arise, we're ill prepared to deal with it. Indeed we often experience fear and anxiety--which can turn into decision making paralysis. The Makoffs, a mother-son writing team, offer 10+1 steps for making major life decisions in areas such as relationships, health, parenthood, career, and business. For example, when appropriate, they suggest that we break a problem into small pieces, admit what we don't know, find the best advisors, figure out the odds and reduce uncertainties. I especially liked their advice for handling the emotional components which are always involved when making big decisions. They suggest understanding how you feel about a decision and what impact an emotion will have on your decision. Thinking of starting a business? Ask yourself if you prepared to face the anxiety and other stresses that go along with it. Just received a marriage proposal? Dig deep and find out if you're ready to make marriage work--for a lifetime. The "+ 1" step involves respecting and listening to your intuition or gut instinct. That doesn't mean you should always act on it, but as the authors point out (and I have found in my life) intuition may sometimes serve you better than rational analysis. For more information: go to www.decisionmakingbook.com

Inner Security& Infinite Wealth: Merging of Self Worth and Net Worth, by Stuart Zimmerman & Jared Rosen (SelectBooks, Inc., New York, New York, 2003).) Money is undoubtedly a powerful, though puzzling, force. More than likely, you've experienced, as I have, any number of emotions - fear, excitement, pain, joy, confusion, despair, angst, happiness, grief, anger, thankfulness - all because of money. Regardless of how you view money, this book made one thing clear to me, as I hope it will to you: do not confuse your net worth for your self worth; financial security is no substitute for inner security. It can help anyone seeking clarity about their relationship to money and purpose beyond financial wealth. I loved the authors reminding us that, "There is more to security than money and matter. Everything we have in the material world can be taken from us in a heartbeat but true security - inner security - cannot." Using basic financial terms such as ownership, value, trust, investment and appreciation as a map for self-discovery, the book can help you unlock your inner wealth and discover wealth from the inside out. If you're looking to redefine their relationship to money, discover security beyond financial security, and achieve wealth beyond material wealth take a look at this book. For more information, go to: www.innersecurities.com

After Great Pain: A New Life Emerges by Diane Cole, Summit Books, New York, NY, 1992. A meditation on loss and renewal based on Diane Cole's personal experience with sickness, death and terror (she was held hostage). She draws on the findings of researchers, clinicians and other writers. She finds that deep suffering can be relieved and transformed.

Crossings: Everyday People, Unexpected Events and Life-Affirming Change (Harcourt Brace & Company, New York) by Richard A. Heckler, Ph.D. Crossings is a literal life raft for anyone undergoing a life challenge, major transition or otherwise having an encounter with the unexpected. It shows how people open to unimagined possibilities and create rich meaning out of passages that often completely change their lives. In the book, Richard Heckler charts the six stages of personal and spiritual transformation. These stages: The Slumber, The Call, The Incubation, The Search for Meaning, The Leap, The Integration provide a map to help navigate unexpected events and challenge.

End the Struggle and Dance with Life: How to Build Yourself Up When the World Gets You Down by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D., St. Martin's Press, New York, NY.1996. Inspirational advice, tools, wisdom and humor to lift your spirit, deal with life challenges and thrive even when faced with difficulties. Jeffers also wrote Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

BirthQuake: A Journey to Wholeness, by Tammie Fowles, LISW, Ph.D. The author writes, “If you've found yourself at a turning point, or are attempting to find meaning and purpose in your life, then BirthQuake was written for you. It will assist you in looking at several very important aspects of yourself and your world. It will offer you hope, guidance and insight. It's not a book that will provide you with easy solutions to your present dilemma. It’s not that simple - emotional and spiritual growth never is.” For excerpts and information about the book, go to SagePlace, www.sageplace.com.

The Gifts of Suffering: Finding insight, compassion, and renewal, by Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1996. Inspiring stories of people who faced great hardship, but emerged with renewed creativity and compassion, how they moved beyond pain and toward hope and understanding. Draws on Jungian principles and Buddhist teachings.

How to Handle Trouble by John Carmody, Doubleday, New York, NY, 1993. The author, who deals with incurable bone cancer, discusses how to deal with times of crisis. He draws on personal experience, various religions, and friends and acquaintances.

How to Master Change in Your Life: Sixty-Seven Ways to Handle Life's Toughest Moments by Mary Carroll Moore, Eckankar, Minneapolis, MN, 1997. Mary Carroll Moore wrote this insightful and truly helpful book on change based on her own experiences, hundreds of interviews and the teachings of Eckankar. It allows you to explore and embrace the spiritual aspects of change and transform life challenges into opportunities for growth, learning and fulfillment in our lives. The book includes many helpful, practical exercises to help you recognize the bigger picture of change and get the most out of the experience of any type of challenging change.

The Little Book of Letting Go (Conari Press, Berkeley, CA, 2000), by Hugh Prather. The New York Times has called Hugh Prather “an American Kahlil Gibran.” A minister, lecturer and counselor, he is best known for his many books, including the best-selling Notes to Myself, which helped spark the personal growth movement of the 1970s and has sold more than 5 million copies. In his new book, The Little Book of Letting Go (Conari Press, Berkeley, CA), Hugh combines spirituality and self-help in a “30-Day Program to Cleanse Your Mind, Lift Your Spirit and Replenish Your Soul.” The book offers tools to “cleanse our minds of what can sour our attitudes, block our intuition, tear apart our relationships, and undermine the very aim and purpose of our life.” For more information, contact Conari Press at www.conari.com.

Real Moments by Barbara De Angelis, Delacorte Press, New York, 1994. How to deal with life's challenges, find happiness, peace of mind and gratitude by living in the moment. How to find more richness in life's moments.

The Seasons of Change: Using Nature's Wisdom to Grow Through Life's Inevitable Ups and Downs by Carol L. McClelland, Conari Press, 1998. Go to www.conari.com for more information. Using a model based on the four seasons, this books offers heartfelt guidance, stories, suggestions and activities which help you align with natural forces during times of transition, navigate your transition journey and build a strong support network. It includes a questionnaire to help you ascertain where you are in your transition process, how to move forward and stay on track.

Staying on Top When Your World Turns Upside Down, Kathryn D. Cramer, Ph.D., Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA, Inc., New York, NY 1990. Help in getting through major changes, such as job change, divorce and death, while activating the potential these changes hold for gaining self-confidence, physical stamina and personal satisfaction. Full of questionnaires, charts, advice and self-evaluation tools. Kathryn Cramer is a stress management expert.

Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes by William Bridges, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1980. A model for what happens when we go through changes and painful transitions.

When Life Hurts: A Book of Hope, by Wayne Dosick, HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco, CA, 1998. How to create a new, more meaningful life after loss. A personal journey through the pain of loss when Rabbi Dosick and his wife lost almost all their possessions to a fire.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, by Pema Chödrön, Shambhala Publications, Boston, MA, 1997. Compassionate, enlivening advice for what to do when things fall apart in your life. Using Tibetan Buddhist wisdom, Chödrön suggests that to alleviate suffering, we move toward the painful circumstances in our lives with compassion and relax into the unknown. In this beautiful, wise, mind and heart-opening book, she offers advice on dealing with negative emotions, loneliness, chaos, negative patterns, hopelessness and more.

If it weren't for You, We could get along! How To Stop Blaming and Start Living, by Dr. Lewis E. Losoncy DC Press, Sanford, FL, 2001. Dr. Lewis E. Losoncy's book helps you uncover and develop your practical intelligence and shows you how to stop blaming and really start living. It provides down to earth examples and tools for understanding versus judging, living today and releasing past wounds, focusing on strengths rather than blaming weaknesses, developing inner confidence, accepting what is, encouraging others,and developing optimism in the face of challenges. For more information, go to DC Press.

Prosperity Pie: How to Relax About Money and Everything Else, by SARK, A Fireside Book, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2002. SARK's latest book explores how we can be and feel prosperous no matter how much we have or don't have, or what our outside circumstances and challenges may be. As in all her inspiring and imaginative books, SARK shares her own process of exploring who she is and how she responds both to life’s challenges and its kaleidoscope of pleasures. By her own example, one of the greatest gifts she provides us is "permission" to accept our glorious, flawed humanity in all its manifestations. Specific topics she covers include self, challenges, love, work, time, inspiration, teachers, adventures and prosperity. SARK is the author of 11 books and has more than two million books in print. For more information, go to Camp SARK.

Women of Spirit: Stories of Courage from the Women Who Lived Them by Katherine Martin (New World Library, Novato, CA 2001)These compelling stories of courage and spirit (excerpt here) inspire women and men alike to follow our hearts, listen to our deepest wisdom, and transcend adversity. The women that Katherine Martin profiles share those private, vulnerable moments when they make the courageous choices to live by their soul's calling--even when they are faced with their own and others' doubts and judgments, even when doing so means giving up the lives they know. Sections focus on women doing the unexpected, facing the truth, taking a stand, learning to be themselves, challenging and persisting. Many of these stories reveal ordinary women called to do extraordinary things. Well-known women are also represented, including Joan Borysenko, Iyanla Vanzant, SARK, Judith Light, Judy Collins, and Geraldine Ferraro. For more information, go to www.peoplewhodare.com.

Ten Things I Learned from Bill Porter by Shelly Brady (New World Library, Novato, CA, 2002). (Read Excerpt) Dealing with cerebral palsy and continual pain, Bill Porter was once told by the State of Oregon that he was "unemployable." But he was determined not to live on government disability. He started out selling Watkins household products door to door in one of Portland's worst neighborhoods. The people on his route didn't always want or need what he was selling, they didn't always respond to his smile and words of greeting, but he persisted and went on to become Watkins' top-grossing salesman in Portland, the Northwest, and the United States. After being featured in an article in The Portland Oregonian, he was interviewed for the television program, 20/20, and TNT produced a movie on his life, Door to Door. He's been called a "hero for our times" and this story of his optimism, courage, persistence, wisdom, heart and indomitable spirit are indeed an inspiration and reminder that each one of us can make a difference and change the world-one door at a time. Bill Porter's story forever changes the way most of us look at challenges and obstacles in our lives. Ten Things I Learned from Bill Porter was written by Shelly Brady, the woman who began working for Bill Porter as a teenager delivering orders and helping him with household duties. She continued after finishing college, marrying and becoming a mother. Eventually, she began sharing Bill's story with organizations and corporations. The ten lessons she relates encourage you to be and do your best and reveal how she incorporated these truths into her own life. Bill writes in the Afterword: "I never thought my life had meaning, and I didn't live it as though it was important to anyone except those close to me. Every time you ask yourself if you can make a difference, remember this answer: You bet you can." For more information: www.billporter.com

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger: Turning Bad Breaks into Blessings by Maxine Schnall (Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, MA, 2002- Read Excerpt Here). An unexpected tragedy-death, divorce, job loss, illness-can leave a person asking "why me?" Maxine says that internalizing that question-why me? Who am I? what do I want? Who do I want to be?-can help you understand yourself and become a more loving, resilient person. She knows from experience. Her own daughter was in a near-fatal car accident that left her permanently disabled. She reacted with guilt, anger and despair, thinking she could never transcend the misfortune. But she did. In fact, she emerged a stronger person psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. This book shares what she learned about adapting and growing from change. It also includes other people's stories of leaping from self-pity to self-actualization. For instance, when an accident left Nick as a severely brain-injured quadriplegic, Carol, his wife, became even more devoted to him and to the cause of helping disabled people. Matthew, a skilled doctor, lost his hand in a skiing accident, rethought his options and became a professor. 9/11 widows established foundations and scholarships honoring lost loved ones. Schnall's own daughter Rona, once a successful journalist, became an activist for the disabled, meeting a fellow advocate and falling in love. While writing this, Schnall was diagnosed with color cancer and overcame the disease in record time. Schnall says: "We can get through whatever challenges are thrown at us, as long as we accept each struggle as an opportunity for transmation, see the possibilities in loss, move forward toward our choices from the heart with a new sense of purpose, and have caring and compassionate people accompany us on our journey." Only by using what life gives us that we can become authentic people. For more infomation: www.makesyoustronger.com

Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety (Bantam Books, New York,1997 by Robert Gerzon. Robert Gerzon (read article here) brings the surprising message that anxiety, fear and stress may actually be your most direct route to inner peace. In this book you'll learn a simple but potentially life-changing method of transforming fear into love, stress into success, and anxiety into serenity. You'll discover the long-hidden secret to mastering anxiety and learn how to identify and use Toxic, Natural and Sacred Anxiety effectively for physical and emotional healing, achieving personal goals and spiritual growth. You'll learn specific techniques that will help you deal with everything from daily hassles to the deepest human problems. You will learn how to change your inner worrier into an inner warrior. You'll have fun firing your Anxious Chatterbox and hiring an Inner Guide. Written in a simple, yet profound and inspiring style, this book can help you experience unshakable serenity and live in the paradise of the present moment. For more information: www.gerzon.com

When Life Changes or You Wish it Would: How to Survive and Thrive in Uncertain Times (William Morrow, New York, 2002) by Carol Adrienne, Ph.D. If you’re dealing with change and life challenges,—and who isn’t—then read intuitive counselor Carol Adrienne’s new book, When Life Changes or You Wish it Would: How to Survive and Thrive in Uncertain Times (read article here).This treasure doesn’t just help you get through dark times, but actually shows you how such times can be used as opportunities to move through the gateway of an often fearful unknown and find a wondrous, new purpose and vision for yourself. Adrienne brilliantly constructs a “map” which describes four life conditions that make up the change cycle, so you can easily determine where you are in a particular situation. The Break is a time of disruption. The Void involves stagnation, confusion and loss of purpose. In The Return, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel but you need to keep moving towards it. Finally, you reach Dynamic Balance, a period of relative stability. The book is full of great advice such as “trust the change is purposeful,” find the spirit of adventure,” “align with guidance,,” be open and present”, and “overcome fear by training yourself to have the attitude that whatever happens, you’ll handle it.” But the real gem of this book is its stories. Inspiring real life stories. So many of them, I’m surprised the book is not twice as large as it is. Now I don’t know about you, but I learn the most from people’s stories. And the stories in this book consistently demonstrate, the resilience, compassion, caring, daring, and miracles that are not only available us all, but are truly the very essence of each soul. For more information: www.caroladrienne.com

Women of Courage: Inspiring Stories from the Women Who Lived Them by Katherine Martin (New World Library, Novato, CA, 1999). Recently, I've been going through major work/life transitions and navigating the course of anxiety and excitement inherent in that. Reading Women of Courage's amazing stories of courage (excerpt here )--particularly at this time--had a major impact in helping me move past fear and into a place of trust, faith and alignment with the deepest part of myself and my purpose. It also gave me a sense of "not being alone." For the most part, these women did not just have a challenge or an idea and forge fearlessly past their obstacles like superheroines. They often met adversity and followed their callings despite limitations, daunting fears and nay-sayers. They faced, survived and transformed wrenching losses and sorrows. The messages of heart, authenticity, perseverance, vulnerability and healing in these stories and Katherine Martin's insightful interviews still reverberate through my life, and I think of them often as I continue to meet my own challenges. Some of the women represented include: author Isabelle Allende; the Body Shop's Anita Roddick; past poet laureate Rita Dove; arctic explorer Ann Bancroft; psychiatrist and intuitive Judity Orloff, M.D.; founding executive of The Hunger Project, Lynne Twist; social activist for the poor, Cora Lee Johnson; artist Judy Chicago; Planet Hope founder Kelly Stone; academy award winning documentary filmmaker, Barbara Trent and many more. For more information, go to www.peoplewhodare.com.

Embracing Uncertainty: Breakthrough Methods for Achieving Peace of Mind When Facing the Unknown by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.(St. Martin's Press, New York, 2003) Embracing Uncertainty (read adaptation here) is about exploring, understanding and coping with the anxiety most people feel about the uncertain nature of everyday life. It's an incredibly powerful and healing book in these very uncertain times. With her invaluable insights, examples and exercises, best-selling author Susan Jeffers gives us tools to deal with the uncertainty in our life with a sense of wonder and possibility. She shows us how life can be fulfilling and rewarding, not in spite of, but because of the uncertainty. Never more timely than now, when terrorism and war have become a source of stress and uncertainty in the lives of all Americans, Jeffers' writing can help others understand and accept uncertainty in the minor and major worries of life. Providing a safety net in a world of constant change, Embracing Uncertainty is a comforting and life-affirming book. For more information: www.susanjeffers.com.

There Must Be More Than This: Finding More Life, Love, and Meaning By Overcoming Your Soft Addictions By Judith Wright (Broadway Books, New York, 2003). (Read excerpt) What keeps us from living the rich, fulfilling lives we desire? Judith Wright has found that too often we are tripped up by our dependence on seemingly harness habits like shopping, watching TV, gossiping, and surfing the net. These soft addictions can fill up our time, but leave us feeling empty, asking, "Is this all there is to life?" Wright invites you to overcome your soft addictions and discover a full, engaging life of more intimacy, purpose, joy, satisfaction, and love. An educator and life coach, Wright coined the term soft addictions after years of working with students who she found were limiting their experience and enjoyment of life by engaging in unsatisfying routines. She discovered that these time wasters and draining habits, which she named soft addictions, have a powerful hold on us because they satisfy certain wants -- to zone out, feet busy, numb painful feelings, or avoid anxieties -- but ignore deeper hungers for love, beauty, spirituality, and meaning. They substitute a superficial high or sense of activity for a sense of genuine purpose and fulfillment. There Must Be More Than This includes an eight-step program which helps you identify and fulfill the deeper longings behind your soft addictions. For more information: www.theremustbemore.com

The abc's of Successful Living: Getting What You really Want, by Dr. Tom Massey(Robert D. Reed Publishers, San Francisco, CA 2001) Another short book from the same author, using the same concise, succinct, format, offers tips for attaining success-however you define that. Whether success for you is a fulfilling relationship, a career that offers meaningful work and financial rewards, or personal health and well being, you'll finds the tips to be helpful. All of the tips describe some basic principles that will help you create the opportunities about which you dream. The book covers advice about such subjects as "Commitment"(go for it all), "Gumption"(ask for what you want), "Humility"(there's no limit to the amount of good we can do if we don't care who gets the credit), "Inclusiveness"(there is unity in diversity), "Quality of Life" (choose the most important things first), "Recovery from Stress," and "Learn from Your Mistakes". This book, like the other one, offers good practical advice as well as spiritual pick-me-ups. Some of you may have fun, as I have had, by just opening this book to any page and reading the tip that is there. Don't be surprised if you find, as I also have found, that you come across the perfect tip for what is going on in your life at that moment. Synchronicity is always just around the corner. For more information: www.rdrpublishers.com

Right Risk:10 Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps with Your Life, by William Treasurer (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, San Francisco, CA 2003). (Read excerpt here) Risks are part of a fully lived life-and essential for personal growth as well career advancement. I love the first two lines of this book which say that, "To live is to risk. Risk-taking is as essential to life as breathing." Right Risk teaches you how to determine which risks to take, and which to avoid, how to balance the need to take more risks with the need to preserve your safety, and how to confront all those people who tell you what a mistake it would be to take a risk. It also teaches you how to make wise and courageous choices-to confidently face life's challenges and take advantage of life's opportunities. It will help you become more comfortable with the uncomfortable, more courageous in facing fear, and more prepared to take the risks you've always wanted to take. In case you're wondering how the author knows all this, he overcame his fear of heights by making some 1500 high dives into water 100 feet below as a member of the U.S. High Diving Team. He also made 300 dives dressed in a cape drenched with gasoline, to which a match was lit-transforming him into his alter-ego, Captain Inferno, the human volcano. Wow. For more information: www.right-risk.com

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Books On Spirituality Which Can Help Face Challenges

20 Questions for Enlightened Living: Peace and Freedom through Jnana Yoga (Heaven On Earth Project, Mt. Shasta, CA, 2003) by Julia Tindall. This is the first book to bring the teachings of classical jnana yoga, the yoga of Self-inquiry, and apply them to modern, everyday life in a clear, easy format. Jnana yoga uses awareness to "witness" the workings of the mind in order to unravel the illusions of the ego and convert knowledge into practical wisdom, Each of the 20 Questions helps activate the witness consciousness and transcend the voice of ego. Other issues they address include how to feel more alive in the present moment, how to move through lessons more quickly, how to let go of the ego's attachment to outcome, how to graciously accept life, and how to free yourself from the monster that eats your peace. The book appeals to anyone following a path of growth and spiritual exploration. For more information: www.hoep.org

One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps (Rodale, Emmaus, PA, 2004) by Kevin Griffin. Kevin Griffin, a Buddhist mediation teacher and longtime Twelve Step practitioner, weaves his personal story of recovery with traditional Buddhist teachings. The book takes us on a journey through the Steps, examining critical Twelve Step ideas like Powerlessness, Higher Power, and Moral Inventory through the lens of Buddhism. One Breath at a Time describes the convergence of two vital traditions, one ancient, the other contemporary, and shows how they are working together to create a rich spiritual path for our times. For more information, www.kevingriffin.net or www.writtenvoices.com.

Come and See: A Photojournalist's Journey into the World of Mother Teresa (DC Press, Sanford, FL, 2003), by Linda Schaefer. Linda Schafer, a former editor and photojournalist with CNN, was hired by the Archdiocese of Atlanta to photograph a visit of Mother Teresa to open an AIDS hospice in 1995. Schaefer, known for the quality of her work (the Martin Luther King, Jr. family photographer, fashion photography in New York, crime scene photographer for the NYPD, video and still documentary on a nearly extinct tribe along the Amazon, the lost children of Rio de Janeiro, the 1988 presidential campaign) has had her work published in Time, Newsweek, the LA Times, the NY Times, Stern, Parade, the Catholic Digest, etc. Schaefer left her job and went to India in an effort to convince Mother Teresa to allow her to become her photographer. Having lost her first husband to cancer just prior to these events, Schaefer was also searching for some spiritual transformation and was devastated when Mother Teresa turned her down, saying "NO," and telling her that there were too many photographs and too many people making money off of her, while the sick and poor kept dying and being ignored. After accepting a challenge from Mother Teresa to "come and see" what the work was really like, she put her cameras down and went to work in the orphanages and houses of the dying and the leper colony. In time Mother Teresa was so impressed with her dedication and sincerity that she gave Linda a handwritten note on which she granted her permission to "photograph the work." With this OK, Schaefer went off on a round-the-clock photo shoot in which she captured sights and scenes previously unseen or documented. She followed Mother Teresa's on directive on how she hoped such a book would appear: with fewer photos of her and more of those who really made the work a reality. And so the book is a compilation of 155 select photographs (all full color, unlike most books that have been published previously in black and white) that show that in the midst of the poverty and agony of daily life, there is much joy and happiness. The book really does tell the story that Mother Teresa had hoped it would. For more information, go to www.MotherTeresaOfCalcutta.com.

The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, Riverhead Books, 1998. Howard C. Cutler poses the questions you'd like to hear answered by The Dalai Lama in a series of interviews covering subjects including loneliness, happiness, suffering, reducing conflict, dealing with anger, self-hatred, dealing with death, compassion and peace of mind. Cutler then intersperses with research and experience from his own life to corroborate what The Dalai Lama answers.

The Blooming of a Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh, Beacon Press Books, 1993. A series of guided meditations which nurture joy, encourage healing, help us tap into our true nature, and release harmful emotions.

Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life by Thomas Moore, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. New York, NY, 1992. Care of the Soul provides new perspectives on daily life and shows how to add meaning and depth by caring for one's soul and looking for the sacredness in the every day things.

Coming Home: The Return to True Self, (c) 1993 Martia Nelson, Nataraj Publishing, a division of New World Library, Novato, CA, 1993. For more information, go to www.nwlib.com. In 1984, a health crisis sparked Martia Nelson's spiritual awakening and introduced her to her greatest spiritual teacher: her own true self-that self that loves unconditionally, has compassion and is a guide and ally. She shows people how to access their own true selves and covers everything from how to open yourself more to love and address anger positively. A powerful, transformational book.

Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness, by Brother David Steindl-Rast, Paulist Press, New York/Ramsey, NJ, 1984. This book is about prayer and gratitude, covering many facets of spiritual life, including faith, love and hope.

The Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood by Wayne Muller, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1992. With sensitivity, depth and compassion, Wayne Muller explores how, without denying the pain, we can transform our perception of and response to a painful childhood and recognize the potential gifts that it brings us-including spiritual healing and awakening. Incorporating spiritual teachings of many traditions, Muller covers areas such as pain and forgiveness, fear and faith, judgment and mercy, performance and belonging, scarcity and abundance, and isolation and intimacy.

Living with Joy: Keys to Personal Power and Spiritual Transformation by Sanaya Roman, H.J. Kramer, Inc., Tiburon, CA, 1986. A channeled book of teachings by Orin, a spirit teacher of love and light. It is designed to help you grow spiritually, transform your life, empower yourself and explore your highest truth.

Miracle of Love: Reflections of the Christ Mind, Part III, by Paul Ferrini, Heartways Press, PO Box 181, South Deerfield, MA 01373, 1997. For more information: 1-888-HARTWAY. Insightful and inspirational reflections on relationships, love, abuse and forgiveness, creativity and abundance, freedom and more.

A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of 'A Course in Miracles' by Marianne Williamson, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 1992. A spiritual guide offering reflections, personal stories and insights drawing on 'A Course in Miracles' on how we can deepen our ability to love and express love in all areas of our lives-even with we are challenged. It gives examples on how accepting God in our lives, and by being living examples of love and forgiveness we can alleviate pain and gain greater peace and fulfillment.

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott, Pantheon Books, a div. Of Random House, New York, 1999. Anne Lamott writes with humor, wisdom, personal candor and insight about her brambled path to faith and how her faith and religious community have helped her pull through alcoholism, death of loved ones and other life challenges.

Waking Up Together: Illuminations on the Road to Nowhere by Paul Ferrini, Heartways Press, South Deerfield, MA, 1996. Reflections on "the path to your own heart, ...a journey through your pain to end the pain of separation." It covers areas including honoring self and others, moving inward, self-discovery, the lessons of relationship, grace, being where we are and forgiveness.

Buddha Mom: The Path of Mindful Motheriing by Jacqueline Kramer (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York, 2003) Drawing on her 25 years as a Buddhist and on many other spiritual traditions, Jacqueline Kramer offers powerful insights into cultivating a more spiritual attitude toward parenting and homemaking. Each chapter centers on a central Buddhist theme -Simplicity, Everyday Practice, Joyful Service, Unconditional Love and more. Jacqueline's own experience as a mother raising her daughter to adulthood serves as her guide for integrating the roles of parent and spiritual person, and each stage of parenting offers an opportunity for spiritual practice. For more information: www.buddhamom.com.

Wild Grace: Nature as a Spiritual Path. Words and Photographs by Eric Alan (White Cloud Press, Ashland, OR 2003) (Read excerpt) A deep meditation in clear photographic and prose visions on Nature as a Spiritual Path. Eric Alan masterfully integrates his stunning color photography of nature with profound prose on the spiritual dimensions of nature. Dividing Wild Grace into two sections (Sensing the Spirit and Living the Spirit), Alan draws us into the natural world as cathedral where deep lessons await us. In Sensing the Spirit, Alan shows us through words and images nature's teachings on "No Ceilings," No Floors," "Flowing," "Floating," "Silent Support," "The Faith of Stones," "Life Giving Life," "Awareness," "The Color of Peace," and "Perseverance." In Living the Spirit, he shows us how to cultivate the wisdom that comes from attuning our lives to the natural world. Meditations cover "Home," Surroundings," "Religion," "Sex and Intimacy," "Family and Community," "Exercise," "Stillness," "Balance," "Work," "Education," "Money," "Ownership," "Food," "Music," "Conflict," "Sleep and Dreams," and "Health." Eric Alan has created a beautiful celebration of the details of the natural world, and a meditation on living mindfully within it. For more information: www.wildgrace.org

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Books on Healing Body, Mind and Spirit

Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness (Hyperion January 2005) By Jon Kabat-Zinn. In the national bestseller Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn struck a chord in contemporary society that continues to reverberate to this day. It has been embraced by politicians, business leaders, and celebrities and endures as a classic with readers. In his groundbreaking new book, Dr. Kabat-Zinn teaches us how to harness the power of mindfulness to effect profound change in our personal lives and in the world. As stress continues to exact a toll on everyday life, people are increasingly turning to ancient, meditative methods, which have been tested by science, to relieve the ill effects and become more focused, healthy, and proactive. Kabat-Zinn has been for decades at the forefront of this mind/body movement and the revolution in medicine and health care it has spawned, demystifying it and bringing it into the mainstream. In Coming to Our Senses, he shares how every human has the capacity to mobilize deep, innate resources for continual learning, growing, healing, and transformation through mindfulness. Woven into eight parts, Coming to Our Senses uses anecdotes and stories from Kabat-Zinn's own life experiences and work in his clinic to illustrate healing possibilities. At its core, the book offers remarkable insight into how to use the five senses -- touch, hearing, sight, taste, and smell, plus awareness itself -- as a path to a healthier, saner, and more meaningful life. This is the definitive book for our time on the connection between mindfulness, health, and our physical and spiritual well-being. For more information, please visit http://www.writtenvoices.com.

Positive Energy: 10 Extraordinary Prescriptions for Transforming Fatigue, Stress & Fear into Vibrance, Strength & Love (Harmony Books, New York, 2004) (Read Interview here) Judith Orloff, M.D. Are you forever rushing around, fending off chronic exhaustion? Are you desperately overcommitted, afraid to say no? Do you have fang marks from being bled dry by energy vampires? Does the onslaught of violence in the news leave you drained? If so, you're the victim of a hidden energy crisis. Judith Orloff, M.D offers the Positive Energy Program. Dr. Orloff is the pioneer behind Energy Psychiatry, a new field that addresses the subtle energetic components of health and behavior. In Positive Energy, Dr. Orloff explains this exciting new discipline and how it led her to formulate ten essential prescriptions for boosting energy, improving relationships, and combating energy vampires. The prescriptions are: Awaken your intuition and rejuvenate yourself--and learn the cure for technodespair and overload; Find a nurturing spiritual path; Design an energy-aware approach to diet, exercise, and health--and learn how to avoid the "energetic overeating" that sabotages attempts to lose weight; Generate positive emotional energy to counter negativity; Develop heart-centered sexuality; Open yourself to the flow of creativity and inspiration; Celebrate the sacredness of laughter, pampering, and the replenishment of retreat; Discover how to attract positive people and situations; Protect yourself from energy vampires with specific shielding techniques; Create abundance and a continuing flow of energy. Following each chapter are Dr. Orloff's interviews with luminaries, including Quincy Jones, Larry King, Naomi Judd and Jamie Lee Curtis, who share how they use a specific prescription. Dr. Orloff says, "We can't stop the negative circumstances of our time--our cell phones will keep ringing, e-mails will keep coming, people will be rude, our children will be demanding, and bad things will happen. But we can learn ways to protect our energy so that we can stay centered in dealing with the stresses that arise." Positive Energy is a tool kit for transforming fatigue, stress, and fear into an abundance of vibrance, strength, and love. For more information: www.drjudithorloff.com. You can also find out more about Positive Energy here.

The Sedona Method: Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-being (The Sedona Press, Sedona, AZ) by Hale Dwoskin. The Sedona Method reveals a way to eliminate the painful emotions and limiting thoughts that sabotage success, happiness, and well-being. "It is powerful because it is simple," says Hale Dwoskin, CEO of Sedona Training Associates. Until now, the method has not been available except through seminars, and audio and video programs. In the book, Dwoskin upends the no-pain-no-gain theory of self-improvement. The premise is simple: The ability to be successful, healthy, happy, and experience true peace and joy is within us right now, whether we are aware of it or not, and no matter what our circumstances. All we have to do is access it. The Sedona Method shows you how to tap into this vast potential that everyone possesses by showing you how to rediscover your natural ability to let go of even long-standing, difficult emotions with ease and alacrity. Dwoskin bases the book on his work with thousands of individuals and corporations for over a quarter of a century and on the work of his mentor Lester Levenson. Lester, a physicist-engineer was literally on the brink of death in 1952 when he discovered the principles of the Sedona Method. He lived another 42 happy and productive years past when his doctors informed him he was supposed to die-doubling his lifespan. The method has also been validated by independent research, including a pilot study by Harvard Medical School. "We were born knowing how to let go of feelings that do not benefit us. Then our societal conditioning taught us either to repress or to express our emotions in ways that temporarily relieve us, but do not lead to more positive experiences," explains Dwoskin. "The Sedona Method teaches people how to rediscover their inborn ability to let go of limitations and what they do not want, making room for positive experience. For more information: www.sedonamethod.com.

Digestive Wellness By Elizabeth Lipski, PhD, CCN (McGraw-Hill, 3rd edition, 2005.) Dr Lipski, a nationally renowned clinical nutritionist, has completely revised and updated one of the most definitive guides on the subject of preventing disease through healthy digestion. She explains how the digestive system works and what can happen when it doesn't. I like this book because it's user-friendly, comprehensive, and perhaps most important, tells you how to go beyond symptom treatment and address the real causes of your condition. I also appreciate her self-empowering approach. For example questionnaires, self-tests, and workbook style exercises help you identify your own body's digestive strengths and weaknesses. After completing them, you can choose among the dozens of self-care tips offered by Lipski, including diet, beneficial exercise, food journaling, detoxification, cleansing programs and de-stressing. Anyone going through a life challenge will especially appreciate Lipski's suggestions for overcoming stress. After explaining how it taxes our digestive system, she tells readers how to avoid environmental stressors and offers easy-to-learn-stress reduction techniques. For more information: www.innovativehealing.com.

Dreamhealer: His Name is Adam-and-Dreamhealer 2-Guide to Self Empowerment By "Adam" (Dreamhealer Books, 2003, 2004) Reviewed by Jonah Blue. Throughout the ages, great healers have appeared, performing miracle after miracle, with most people still not having the slightest clue how they do it. Right now, John of God in Brazil is probably the most famous. But soon, more and more people will be hearing about "Adam," a 19 year old Canadian healer, who prefers to remain anonymous for the time being so as to protect him (he attends college) and his family from being overwhelmed by healing requests. Indeed, he received so many that he only does group healings now. But he feels that they are much more powerful anyway. Legendary rock music star Ronnie Hawkins says he was healed, from a distance, of pancreatic cancer, by Adam staring at his color photo and tuning into his energy field. Renowned astronaut Edgar Mitchell was also healed from a kidney tumor in a similar way over a six month period. These books not only tell Adams story, but contain valuable insights for all of us. Particularly unique is Adam's description of how see sees things while he's healing. Many healers can't, or aren't motivated to, tell us about their process. Basically, he views all people as holograms, and works with each person's hologram to see, identify, and clear energy blockages. In the second book, he tells us how to tap into our own healing abilities through the use of his visualization techniques. This is self-empowering in and of itself, and even more so since most of us will never get to work with him. For more information: www.dreamhealer.com.

Hello to All That: A Memoir of War, Zoloft, and Peace By John Falk (Henry Holt & Co., New York, 2005) The off-the-wall, heartbreaking, and often hilarious tale of a correspondent reporting from was while also battling his lifelong nemesis--chronic depression. His own chemistry was his worst enemy, and it took John Falk from the wilds of Garden City to sniper-infested Sarajevo during one of the most savage conflicts in recent memory. But through it all, he kept reaching out for the life, love, and friendship that his illness had made impossible. Hello to All That is his story--the crazed, comic, and hopeful tale of a guy who never surrendered. Falk was an average Long Island kid, until depression trapped him, at age twelve, in a lonely world. Ashamed and afraid, he said nothing and tried to keep going with tips from his big, loud, loyal family. By twenty-four, he was all alone, living in his parents' attic, surviving on the books by war correspondents that provided his only escape from the emptiness he felt. When he found a bluepill called Zoloft, he thought his struggle was over. But it took a journey to Sarajevo--where he set out to make his name as a reporter--to show him how far he still had to go. John Falk's journey has never been predictable. Neither is his moving, outrageous, and sometimes suspenseful memoir. Here is the tale of a real man's fight to defeat his greatest enemy, connect, cure himself, and finally, finally live. Among psychologists today, John Falk is known as patient X, and the story of his recovery from chronic depression is used to inspire hope in other patients. He is also a law school graduate and freelance journalist who survived the rough-and-tumble of reporting from the front in Sarajevo. An article he wrote for Details magazine, entitled "Shot Through the Heart," became an HBO movie and won a Peabody Award for Best Cable Movie of the Year. For more information: www.henryholt.com

Love Yourself: Joy-filled affirmations to inspire, encourage & comfort By Cheryl Rainfield. Many survivors or abuse have a hard time loving themselves and their bodies. Understandably so. Abuse sends the message that they aren't worthy of love or respect. These joyful affirmation cards are meant to give survivors of abuse positive messages positive, compassionate messages. They show girls and women of many shapes, sizes, races and ages, and offer messages that build self-esteem. They encourage you to listen to yourself, see your inner beauty, love and accept your body, depend on your own strength and reach out to others. Cheryl, the artist, is a survivor of incest and ritual abuse. She found that positive messages, along with therapy, can greatly help in healing. Each pack contains 54 affirmation cards that have been professionally printed in a playing card size, and have their own box. One side of each card shows an affirmation in an "I" message, the other side shows the same affirmation in a "you" message, because sometimes it's more powerful to be told something positive, and sometimes it's more powerful to tell ourselves something positive. Card purchasers can also download a deluxe screensaver with 40 images. For information: http://www.CherylRainfield.com

The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease (The Haworth Medical Press, New York, 2002) by Robert C. Scaer, M.D. Using the clinical model of the whiplash syndrome, this groundbreaking book describes the alterations in brain chemistry and function induced in individuals by what is known as traumatic stress or traumatization, experiencing a life-threatening event while in a state of helplessness. It presents evidence of the resulting and relatively permanent alteration in neurophysiology, neurochemistry, and neuronal organization-changes correlated with many of the most common, yet poorly understood, physical complaints and diseases, including whiplash, migraines, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and other painful, difficult-to-treat conditions. What's wrong, according to The Body Bears the Burden, is that physical traumas and emotional traumas are powerfully interrelated. After decades of research into brain chemistry, Dr. Scaer has identified some of the ways that the helplessness and terror of sudden trauma induce changes in brain function and the resulting consequences these measurable chemical changes can have on muscles, digestion, blood pressure, and many other bodily systems. Using the clinical model of the whiplash syndrome, the book offers new hope to anyone suffering from whiplash, post-traumatic stress disorder, or a history of abuse. It even provides ways to cope with new traumas to minimize the emotional and physical damage that's possible. For information, go here.

When the Body says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress (Vintage Canada, 2004) Gabor Maté, M.D. Review by Julie Devaney. Dr. Gabor Maté provides compelling medical testimony to describe what most patients instinctively know: stress makes us sick. Study after study has demonstrated that chronic stress produces physically toxic responses in our bodies. When I picked up this book I was initially skeptical. Highlighting people's lifestyles and using psychological profiling to determine the physiological patterns of cancer and autoimmune diseases sounded a lot like blaming the victim. But Dr. Mate makes it very clear very quickly that moralism and judgment have no place in science. Instead, he demonstrates with incisive criticisms of the medical establishment, that attempts to treat patients' diseases without reference to the material conditions that shape their lives is dangerous. He consistently demonstrates that only a combined understanding of the mind and body can actually provide insights into the human realities of autoimmunity and cancer. More information: www.whenthebodysaysno.ca

Fear and Other Uninvited Guests (HarperCollins, May 2004) by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D. (read excerpt)Unhappiness, says bestselling author Harriet Lerner, is fueled by three key emotions: anxiety, fear, and shame. They are the uninvited guests in our lives. When tragedy or hardship hits, they may become our constant companions. Anxiety can wash over us like a tidal wave or operate as a silent thrum under the surface of our daily lives. With stories that are sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking, we learn: * How to deal with the fear of not being good enough, and with the shame of feeling essentially flawed and inadequate; * How to stay calm and clear in an anxious, crazy workplace; * How to manage fear and despair when life sends a crash course in illness, vulnerability, and loss; * How "positive thinking" helps -- and harms, * How to be our best and bravest selves, even when we are terrified and have internalized the shaming messages of others. No one signs up for anxiety, fear, and shame, but we can't avoid them either. As we learn to respond in new ways, we can live more fully in the present and move into the future with courage, clarity, humor, and hope. Fear and Other Uninvited Guests shows how. More information about the book and author can be found at http://www.harpercollins.com/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060081570 or http://www.harrietlerner.com.

Conscious Women-Conscious Lives: Powerful & Transformational Stories of Healing Body, Mind & Soul (White Knight Publications, Toronto, Ontario, 2004) by Darlene Montgomery, Associate Editor, Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul. In this extraordinary collection of personal stories by Joan Borysenko Ph. D., Marion Woodman, Janet Matthews, Dr. Karen Jensen, N.D., Linda Anderson, Erin Davis and many more, women share their deepest and heart-felt experiences of healing from loss, illness, and accident. These stories show how the journey of facing some of life's greatest obstacles can be followed by a joyous emergence from the darkness of despair, and a return to the light of life, love and new wisdom. Themes include facing and overcoming the death of a loved one, receiving love in challenging times, recovering after painful divorce, healing and finding purpose in life after the unimaginable grief of losing a child, surviving and triumphing after life threatening illness, to living our greatest dreams and overcoming life's greatest challenges. These true stories written by women, for women, help open the heart, heal the spirit, and bring peace of mind during some of life's most challenging times. As each author brings a treasure from her own rich experience, she contributes to the pool of wisdom we share on this planet of how each of us can meet our greatest fears to rise again with wisdom, grace and courage. Whatever challenges you presently face, these stories offer hope, reassurance, comfort and proud examples of the resilient nature and courage of women. For more information: http://www.lifedreams.org.

We're Still Family (HarperCollins, June 2004) by Constance Ahrons, Ph.D. What is the real legacy of divorce? Constance Ahrons, Ph.D., author of the highly praised The Good Divorce, decided to find out by interviewing the 173 grown children whose divorcing parents she interviewed twenty years earlier. In We're Still Family, Ahrons challenges the myth that children of divorce are troubled, drug abusing, academically challenged, and unable to form adult relationships. Instead she provides new evidence that the legacy of divorce is not as devastating as some researchers have suggested. Major findings show that: * Most of these young adults emerged stronger and wiser in spite of -- or perhaps because of -- their parents' divorces and remarriages; * The majority were very clear that their parents' divorce had positive outcomes for their parents and themselves; * More than half felt that their relationships with their fathers improved post-divorce; * While their new families of stepparents and half-siblings may look different from other families, the majority of young adults feel connected to these family members. Divorce is never easy for any family, but it does not have to destroy lives or lead to family breakdown. By listening to the voices of these grown children, divorcing parents will learn what they can do to maintain family bonds. Parents need to believe that after all is said and done, their children will look at their post divorce families and say with conviction, "We're still family." More details about the book and author can be found online at http://www.harpercollins.com/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060193050 and http://www.constanceahrons.com.

Helping Children with Autism Learn: A Guide to Treatment Approaches For Parents and Professionals (Oxford, June 2003) By Bryna Siegel, Ph.D. Dr. Bryna Siegel gives parents of autistic children what they need most: hope. Her first book, The World of the Autistic Child, became an instant classic, illuminating the inaccessible minds of afflicted children. Now she offers an equally insightful, thoroughly practical guide to treating the learning disabilities associated with this heartbreaking disorder. The trouble with treating autism, Siegel writes, is that it is a spectrum disorder -- a combination of a number of symptoms and causes. To one extent or another, it robs the child of social bonds, language, and intimacy -- but the extent varies dramatically in each case. The key is to understand each case of autism as a discrete set of learning disabilities, each of which must be treated individually. Siegel explains how to take an inventory of a child's particular disabilities, breaks down the various kinds unique to autism, discusses our current knowledge about each, and reviews the existing strategies for treating them. There is no simple cure for this multifarious disorder, she writes; instead, an individual program, with a unique array of specific treatments, must be constructed for each child. She gives practical guidance for fashioning such a program, empowering parents to take the lead in their child's treatment. At the same time, she cautions against the proliferating, but questionable, treatments hawked to afflicted families. She knows the panic to do something, anything, to help an autistic child, and she offers parents reassurance and support as well as sensible advice, combining knowledge from experience, theory, and research. For parents, autism in a child is heartbreaking. But it need not be overwhelming. Bryna Siegel offers a new understanding, and a practical, thoughtful approach, that will give parents new hope. For more information: http://www.writtenvoices.com/titlepage.asp?ISBN=0195138112

Sacred Selfishness: A Guide to Living a Life of Substance (Inner Ocean Publishing, Maui, HI, 2002) by Bud Harris, Ph.D. Bud Harris Ph.D. shows us how to overcome the demands of culture, family and society so that we may live a life of true authenticity. He defines Sacred Selfishness as valuing ourselves enough to develop into "authentic" human beings who give back vitality and hope to the people around us. It is acquiring what Emerson refers to as "character-a reserved force which acts directly by presence, and without means."In this early thirties, Bud was "restless and generally dissatisfied." He was terrified that the rest of his life would "consist of going to work, meetings, church, soccer games, and vacations . . . simply adjusting to what one's family or society describes as a 'good life.'" This full-blown crisis led him into therapy and began a lifelong quest to become a person of substance.In Sacred Selfishness, he delves into classic quest stories to show that on the path of "renewed personal consciousness," we must examine all assumptions about ourselves and our lives to uncover our hidden potential. True change must come from within, and no mere outer change can solve our problems. Attaining self-knowledge both softens and strengthens us, and helps us love and appreciate life and other people. It affirms and enriches our choices of partners, vocations, and life-styles. "When the inner quest brings change, we can be comforted by knowing it's authentic, has been carefully thought through, and values our past and other people." This is the path of Sacred Selfishness. For more information: www.budharris.com.

So, What's Normal? Life After Pedophilia, Abuse and Neglect (Rhonnie & Company Publishing, P.O. Box 6219, Traverse City, Mi 49696-6219) by Rhonnie. This book is an astonishing narrative of on woman's journey from the horrors of childhood abuse and neglect down the long road to recovery and eventual hope. Her personal commitment to significantly reducing the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of children, families and neighbors is her ultimate triumph. Reading the heart- rending words of the author we can only begin to realize the magnitude of the prevalence of deviant sexual behavior and its impact on society. She pulls us through with her courageous example, and we see how she has successfully broken the cycles of abuse. For more information: go to http://www.livingafterabuse.com

The Instinct to Heal: Curing Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Without Drugs and Without Talk Therapy (Rodale, Emmaus, PA, 2004) by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D. (Read excerpt here) Americans seek therapy in record numbers and consume more medications than ever before, yet stress, anxiety, and depression continue to rise to epidemic proportions. People can spend years on the psychoanalytic couch without making any progress. But psychiatrist/neurologist David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D., knows that we can cure our emotional pain. He's seen certain natural methods produce tremendous results in his clinical practice, in that of his peers, and even in war-torn regions where horrific memories can leave deep scars. Some of these include EMDR, acupuncture, Omega 3 fatty acids, emotional communication, exercise, and dawn simulation. Numerous studies in prestigious scientific journals have documented the amazing benefits of these methods on anxiety and depression, but because the mechanisms through which they operate remain poorly understood, they've remained largely excluded from mainstream medicine and psychiatry. Dr. Servan-Schreiber explains how each of the natural methods in this ensemble treatment plan can help us escape the therapy/drug trap by working through the body to tap into the emotional brain's self-healing processes. Weaving fascinating accounts of his first-hand experience and findings together with the research of hundreds of other esteemed scientists, Dr. Servan-Schreiber outlines a program that's becoming embraced throughout the world as a permanent cure for emotional pain. For more information, please visit www.instincttoheal.org or www.writtenvoices.com

Lasting Love: The 5 Secrets of Growing a Vital, Conscious Relationship. (Rodale Press January 2004) by Gay Hendricks, Ph.D., and Kathlyn Hendricks, Ph.D. In this long-awaited follow-up to their seminal Conscious Loving, relationship experts Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks take on two of the most pressing problems that sap vitality and energy from committed relationships: how to forge a closer relationship that still allows each partner full creative autonomy, and how to generate the passion and preserve the harmony essential to keeping long-term partnerships alive and blooming. Filled with helpful real-life scenarios and straightforward advice, Lasting Love grew out of the Hendricks' laboratory of their 23-year marriage as well as their 10-year study of more than 2,000 long-term, committed couples. They discovered that the most common couples conflicts could be traced to at least one of five root causes: an imbalance between the creative energy each partner contributes to the relationship; a lack of emotional honesty; an unwillingness to accept responsibility for everyday issues; deep-seated commitment problems; and a deficiency of daily appreciations. Using these insights, the Hendricks devised a program based on five vital actions that simultaneously lead to a deeper flow of intimacy and greater creative freedom for each individual:

Spend time expressing your own creativity rather than focusing on "fixing" your partner
Eliminate the barrier to speaking and hearing the truth about everything
Break the cycle of blame and criticism
Make commitments you can really stand by
Become a master of verbal and non-verbal appreciation

For more information, please visit www.hendricks.com or www.writtenvoices.com.

Becoming Real: Journey to Authenticity (DC Press, Sanford, FL, 2003) by David Irvine. Self-respect, meaningful impact, and the freedom that comes from living in harmony with your deepest self is achievable. The promise of becoming real, of living a life without façade or pretence or the need for prestige is possible. In this personal and provocative work, David shares his profoundly human journey to realness and his vision of authentic living. The authentic journey is a voyage to awaken us and take us to the heart of what our life is meant to be about. Yet when we conform to the world's expectations, we stray from that path. While some books offer ephemeral ideas for behavior change, this book offers enduring wisdom for real change. Valuable for those committed to amplify your impact in the world from your presence rather than your position, from your soul, rather than your role, and for those who yearn for serenity beyond the fleeting allure of achievement and materialism. For more information: go to www.davidirvine.com

Emotional Rescue: Healing Your Emotional Pain and Creating Inner Peace (Powerbase Books, Toronto Ontario) by A. J. Moses, M.S.W. "Why is this happening to me?" - This is the question that many of us ask ourselves when we're feeling overwhelmed with life challenges. Psychotherapist and author A. J. Moses believes that answering this question with profound self-honesty sets in motion the process for triumphing over our life challenges and winning. She inspires us to look within to discover the source of our challenges, and the process involved in resolving the emotional issues that continue to cause unhappiness. Drawing upon poignant stories from people's lives and centuries of universal wisdom, Emotional Rescue helps us understand why unresolved emotional issues often manifest in painful life challenges. Presented in 3 sections: Section I - "Emotional Clarity" explores how stressful emotional issues build up over time Section II - "Looking In The Mirror" explores how unresolved issues may manifest in depression, addiction, health problems, abusive relationships, and/or career problems Section III - "Inner Peace" outlines the process for healing emotional pain and freeing ourselves to create a deeply satisfying life. For more information: www.pbperform.com/life_challenges.htm

Second Innocence: Rediscovering Joy and Wonder, A Guide to Renewal in Work, Relationships and Daily Life (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco 2004) by John Izzo, Ph.D. Is it possible to age yet keep the sense of wonder we had as children and experience the joy of being alive every day? Can we hold on to our ideals at work and in life even after watching the evening news? Do we have the power to change the world around us? Second Innocence is about rediscovering the wonder and joys of life. Based on Izzo's own unique experiences -- the death of his father, a rowing trip with his grandfather, his first real job, first love, a family suicide, teachers he remembers for their unique courage, and his experiences as a leader, lover, parent, and friend -- John Izzo's compelling stories will encourage you to reconnect with and learn from your own life stories. As Izzo tackles four key areas of human experience (daily life, work, love, and faith), he leads you to new perspectives on your own life and provides thought-provoking insights for reclaiming the innocence, idealism, and wonder that we often associate with youth. Dr. Izzo is also the author of Awakening Corporate Soul: Four Paths to Unleash the Power of People at Work. For more information, please visit http://www.writtenvoices.com/titlepage.asp?ISBN=1576752631.

Serenity in Motion, Inner Peace: Anytime, Anywhere (Warner Books, New York, 2003) by Nancy O'Hara. Too often, people spend their days racing to catch up, growing frustrated at delays, and worrying obsessively about the future. In Serenity in Motion, Nancy O'Hara shows how we can choose to shift our attitude, still our minds, and transform everyday challenges into opportunities for growth, gratitude, and joy. Building on the practice of mindful breathing for inner peace, she shows us how we can take our quiet corner with us and bring serenity to the rest of our lives. Whether you are driving in rush-hour traffic, stuck in the grocery checkout line, facing looming deadlines, or struggling with relationships, Serenity in Motion can help you learn to meet each moment as it comes and to be happy, serene, and secure in the knowledge that life is unfolding just the way it should. For more information: http://www.twbookmark.com/books/87/0446690856/index.html

Paths Are Made By Walking: Practical Steps to Attaining Serenity (Warner Books, New York, 2003) by Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart. In this unique synthesis of science and the study of spirit, psychologist Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart not only explains the phenomenon of the emotional brain, but, more important, shows us how to reap the valuable rewards of using it every day. Drawing on the Tibetan practice of Tong-Len, Indian Tantric disciplines, Christian contemplative thought, and other traditions, she offers twenty practices that help you improve relationships, develop leadership qualities, and calmly deal with the frustrations of daily life with sanity, and poise. The book includes fundamental practices that connect mind and body, promote greater awareness of the self, help stop you from going down old, well-worn unproductive paths, and show ways to deepen empathy with others. For more information: http://www.twbookmark.com/books/8/0446530670/index.html

No Regrets: A Ten-Step Program for Living in the Present and Leaving the Past Behind (John Wiley and Sons, January 2004) by Hamilton Beazley, Ph.D. In No Regrets: A Ten-Step Program for Living in the Present and Leaving the Past Behind, nationally respected self-help author Hamilton Beazley, PhD, points out that baby boomers are living with more grief, fear, and regret than previous generations. Divorce, career-family conflicts, terrorism and war, the economy, rising health-care costs, and many other factors contribute to midlifers' deep and worrisome malaise, according to a wide range of government and academic studies. He has dubbed this phenomenon "The Age of Regret." Dr. Beazley explains that regrets are an inevitable part of life, but they do not have to be burdensome. He offers an effective, original way for us to come to terms with harbored regrets and break free of their negative psychological effects, so we can get on with our lives. His book discusses toxic thought patterns that feed regrets; how the performance-focused boomer culture perpetuates "coulda-woulda-shoulda" thinking; the importance of forgiving clueless parents, heartless bosses, and ex-spouses; and how to view harbored regrets as opportunities for growth and self-knowledge. For more information, go to: www.wiley.com

Power Healing: The Four Keys to Energizing Your Body, Mind & Spirit (HarperCollinsSanFrancisco), by Dr. Zhi Gang Sha. According to renowned health specialist Dr. Zhi Gang Sha, despite continual advances in medical technology and know-how, society as a whole doesn't seem to be getting any healthier: "Incidences of illness and pain in this country are on the rise…" But take heart, says Dr. Sha: you have the power to heal yourself. Based on Sha's expertise in traditional Chinese healing modalities as well as Western medicine, Power Healing is a revolutionary guide to unlocking the body's potential to heal. Dr. Sha has a theory about why our bodies fall into disrepair: energy. "Healthy energy in the body, or chi, stems from the healthy vibrations of cells in every single part of you. When that vibration is in perfect order, your body has a good flow of energy. If that energy becomes blocked, imbalanced, or divered, pain or illness results." Sha explains and teaches the four keys: Body Power (special body and hand positions); Sound Power (healing mantras and chants); Mind Power (creative visualization); and Soul Power (the secret of soul healing) and shows how to use these self-healing techniques to enhance your mind, body and spirit. For more information: http://www.harpercollins.com.

The Alchemy of Illness, by Kat Duff, Pantheon Books, a div. of Random House, Inc. New York, NY, 1993. A profound inquiry into the purpose and function of illness. Duff reflects on her own experience with CFIDS and draws from philosophy, religion, psychology, other people's stories, anthropology and myth to explore the universal experience of illness.

The Four Levels of Healing, A Guide to Balancing the Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, and Physical Aspects of Life, ©1997 Shakti Gawain, Nataraj Publishing, a division of New World Library, Novato, CA. For more information, go to www.shaktigawain.com or www.nwlib.com. Shakti Gawain explores the four levels of human existence-spiritual, mental, emotional and physical-and how each is important to the healing process. She offers meditations and practical wisdom to help guide us along the healing journey toward wholeness.

Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Delacorte Press, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. New York, 1990. A guide based on the eight week program of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center which covers mindfulness meditation to develop relaxation, calmness and self awareness, the foundations for coping with stress, pain and illness.

Grace and Grit: Spirituality and Healing in the Life and Death of Treya Killam Wilber by Ken Wilber, Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston, MA, 1991. A soulful, beautiful portrait of Treya Killam Wilber's journey through cancer. It combine's Treya's journals with Ken's narrative to explore the many faces of illness and health, spirituality, suffering, surrender, rising above difficult circumstances and love.

Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective, by The Dalai Lama. Copyright ©1997. Reprinted by permission of Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, NY. For more information, go to www.snowlionpub.com. The Dalai Lama shows how the practice of patience and tolerance we can overcome obstacles of anger and hatred and open ourselves to compassion. This discussion comes from a series of teachings held in 1993 in Tucson, Arizona and is based on The Bodhissatva's Way of Life, a Buddhist classic.

Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal, Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., Riverhead