RISE AND SHINE Anxiety & Depression, & Life Management Tools

By Ron Williams

NOTES:

A) If Option for “New” & “Used” Paperbacks exist, order "New" to assure getting the latest“4th/Final Edition –“The Final Cut”” of Book; Rev. Date 05/15/2019.

B) “Intended Relaxation media”, YouTube link in Book’s section 5.3.1 is no longer available… Please refer to following Blog Post providing Options to either use alternate media, or to obtain the Intended media, Highly Recommended to avoid confusion…: https://riseandshineanxietydepression.net/2020/08/23

4th/Final Edition -- "The Final Cut": Add'l Layer of Rationale/Definition provided Elaborating & Tying Key Pieces of Book together, supporting Why So Effective (!) & Why this is All We Can Do as humans… Book's Effectiveness has not changed since Original, when reading/working Book’s Tools/Skills.

Reading Book will Educate the Average Individual who struggles some with negativity/Stresses, on How Best to Optimize their Game plan in Life. When Sufferers Read and Work this TRUE Self-Help Book, this is when It's True Power is Felt/Understood! This for those who Suffer with not only Anxiety/Depression, but for All negative based thinking Issues; PTSD, OCD, ADD, ADHD, Addiction Recovery, BPD, Bipolar 2 (at least)... Since this TRUE Self-Help Book provides all we can do as humans, to take care of Our Well-Being, the NATURAL Way with Permanent results, this applies to most everyone…

It's All about a Tremendous Education from a X-Sufferer as I am now, along w/Professionals She Knew and Trusted. Then, lots of Growth/Experience (40 + years), along with additional down times in Life. Key Additions were added which were Huge for me, and Certainly would be Important for any Sufferer...

I was a Significant Sufferer with A&D & OCD, for just about 25 years; A Worse Caser! I Do Not Want To See Anyone Go Thru This or Similar, & This Has Been My #1 Incentive In Writing This Book, after starting to write this to Help, if not Save Son after I Saved myself. I Certainly Understand what it is like when Anxiety and Depression goes unchecked; (4) times in a psych wards...attempted pulling the plug twice... We All have to do the Work Ourselves in Life Unquestionably! And without Change, there is no change in the way we Think & Operate which is Key! After So Many Years of Education/Growth/Experience (40 years now actually), Can't Imagine in a TRUE Self-Help/Self-Select Book, there Could Be Anything Better!

This Book's True Power & Importance, based on Tying these Key Pieces together:

1.) Optimum/Proven, Detailed Positivity Tools/Skills Process, w/Full Instruction set teaches us How Best To Change Our negative thoughts and mindset to Positive Thoughts and Mindset. This is the Bottom Line Key to Rid Ourselves from negativity which is root cause of most of Our Issues in Life (i.e. those individual neg. thoughts/& sources of, Self-Personalizing Process). Process allows us to Develop & Build-Up Our Inner Strength & Positivity Threshold.

2.) Allowing Our Faith to Grow... (ref. sect. 4). This the Basis of Our Positivity, & Helps Us through Recovery, Helps Amend or Establish that Strong Foundation, Helps Dealing with Life's Issues which push past our Positivity Threshold, especially when things stack up Outside Our Control! In Sum this Solidifies Everything & Our Peace Of Mind! & YES, Need Our #1 Dependence!

Section 4 also addresses, what is going wrong in Our Society and People these days complicating Our Lives with so many things unimportant vs. Things of Great Importance, including losing sight of the “Big Picture”… besides Issues of Greed, overuse of social media, our texting ways vs. using the vocal chords we were born with…

Of Course Exercise, Eating Well, and Power in laughter/:)s also addressed.

Go to Blog post :

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499010015

Ron Williams

"IT TAKES ONE TO REALLY KNOW ONE AND TO REALLY HELP ONE TO RISE AND SHINE!" 35 years + Experience = approximately 25 years with Significant Levels of A & D (4 times in those facilities and beyond), 10 years of a Recovery via Amazing/ Proven Tools came across, and Additional key elements provided due to what I Learned and what I Wrote about (through 59 years (now) of Life). The Book makes it clear, Experience trumps education in understanding sufferers and what it really takes to truly Help; "Professionals" likely can be misleading... What I learned and wrote about Saved my Life. My Son would have been on a similar route as well unless I caught him after graduating College. And now, to see the Power of this Self-Help Book in the hands of Two People in their 20s in my apartment complex, and the Positive difference it has made in a relatively short time period, Really Blew Me Away and Validated Everything About the Book's Effectiveness and Why I Wrote It! It Absolutely Humbled Me and Beyond... So Yeah I say again, in a "True Self-Help/Self-Select Book" Form, There Cannot Be Anything Better! Oh, I have included (2) Videos in the Look Inside Or Purchase Book tab, both in the same Hollywood setting :); don't call me Ronny De Niro :). And Please, We are talking about a Book here and not the ability of the Author to Act, nor for the Author to be part of a Popularity contest :); it is Hardly what this is all about...

Book preview

RISE AND SHINE

Anxiety & Depression

{SELF HELP A & D & LIFE

MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTIONS

AND TOOL SET (FOR ALL)}

37859.png

Ron Williams

—"IT TAKES ONE TO REALLY KNOW ONE AND

TO REALLY HELP ONE TO RISE AND SHINE!"

Copyright © 2014 by Ron Williams.

ISBN:   Softcover   978-1-4990-1003-9

             eBook         978-1-4990-1001-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/15/2019

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

614241

BIBLIOGRAPHY ETC.

1) The Core information contained in this Book, is derived from the "Attacking Anxiety and Depression Program’, 1999 version, generated by Lucinda Bassett (founder of Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety, Inc.).

• Dear Lucinda,

You are an Angel, and You Saved My Life!

Thanks Graciously &

God Bless,

Author Ron

2) Note to the Photographer (Aureliy Movila (teslacoils)) of the Book Cover Picture:

I am So Very Grateful and Thankful to be able to use this Most Beautiful Photo for the cover of my Book. You took an Awesome Photo and it reflects the Big Picture, which, in a sense is the most important factor addressed within this Book. And needless to say, this photo is being used in such a Positive way to really Help Someone, and hopefully, to Really Help Many who are Suffering. So. . . .

Huge Thanks &

God Bless,

Author Ron

PREFACE/SUMMARY

Some Background & Why Select this Anxiety and Depression and Life Management True Self-Help Book?

First of all, I need to identify, I (Author Ron) am one of those who is pretty much Honest to a Fault as they say, especially by today’s standards. And hope all understand there is No Fault in Honesty… When you understand that Honesty is not only the Best Policy but the Only Policy, you realize there is absolutely nothing to hide… And Certainly, Honesty towards Ourselves and Others is Very Important in the process to Improve.  Yes, I am human, and hence, hardly perfect (!), and I do falter at times, but nothing like during those early formative/teen years which I do address in the Book’s only optional section 1.2; i.e. upfront, where I identify a bit about my upbringing, & in item 1) So am I honest?, along with some  :)s as it naturally turned out :).  Nowadays if I falter with dishonesty, it would have to do with harmless accentuations of truths if anything (i.e. saying whatever is bigger, worse, faster, slower, grander, etc. vs. reality).  However, I Assure you, there are no Untruths being told within this Book, about this Book, or elsewhere on Book sites when my words are used. And how could I anyway, with section 4 being what It Is :). 

I bet my Life on the contents of this Book because frankly speaking, I would not be around today (nor would you be reading this), had it not been for the Tremendous Skills/Tools I came across, Learned, and subsequently, to have been Lucky Enough to Grow to Experience and Know what is Written in this Book; And all this for the price of a Good Pizza, with extra toppings really, and future bargains are a possibility :).   And as for me, what that amounts to, is I would be receiving maybe an average tip as the delivery boy (at age 62 now :)).  Regarding the :)s  you will see throughout this Book:  You will understand that Humor, a Laugh, and a Smile are very therapeutic (for specific reasons), and is like taking a free natural pill to lift one’s Spirit and Well Being.  And yeah, you may find a grammatical error here or there, but not in Content, and what I say to that, which is the way we need to handle the mistakes we make day to day in our lives is, first of all, fess up and say, Ooopppsss, Sorry :), I’m just a human being, and to be human is to err.  

When looking back at all the Changes within … from having Significant to Extreme Levels of Anxiety and Depression for approximately 25 years, with all that went along with that … regularly suffering with panic attacks, and sometimes multiple times in a day, feeling like I was the most fragile person on planet earth, (4) times in psych wards, attempting suicide  twice… Yeah, a Worse Caser (!)…  and then, understand  the complete 180 degree turnaround, and Transformation I went through(!), well, it just seems Magical really! Going from being excessively negative all the time, with all the Pains that went along with that, to being Predominantly Positive for the most part, and often Elated & Energized, but yet calm at the same time; you call that Peace of Mind :).  Cycling through the process made me feel like I was being set free for the first time in my Life (!), as I sensed the changes coming on … Just So Freeing!!  And then being able to look forward to the next moment, the next day, the next whenever … Motivated, and with Excitement instead of with constant dread and fear in the Life I was living; it is a WOW!… Now, whenever emotions are going south at times, based on Life’s Ups and downs, whether things are within my control or outside my control, I now Know, I  have the Positivity Tools/Skills, along with my Faith necessary to deal with Life’s Issues as Best as I can as a human.  In retrospect, I think I was truly the Ideal Guinea Pig for all of the downs, and now the True Ups involved, and most importantly, for the understanding what it really takes to turn it all around & Flourish.

I have been writing, editing, writing, editing, etc.…while continuing to Grow and Experience matters over the last 7 years, 4 months+ since starting to write this Book. I originally started writing the Original publication, towards the latter part of 2011, even though I did not know I was going to be writing a Book at the time (?). This was spurred by my Son who at the time was going through a downward Anxiety/Depression spiral in his senior year in college, What-Ifing this and that, and the road ahead… Essentially, I started writing for Him to Help, or maybe Save Him, sometime after I had to Save myself back when I was 46.  Anyway, just about 2 1/2 years later, the Original Book was published 6/19/2014. 

I felt Very Strong about this Original Edition, after going through all I went through … with the 1st 23 of those 25 years just being a continuous saga of increasing levels of Pain & Struggle, till I was 46, and then Completely turning matters around with a Tremendous (Proven & True) Self-Help program I came across, purchased, & worked  (i.e. the core Process which I flowed down into this Book).  Although, I  made some serious mistakes of impatience in process which caused me to miss some Key elements along the way, resulting in me to meander some, and sometimes excessively/Deeply into those dark holes again, intermittently, for maybe 2 out of the next 10 years or so …  DA me (!) (…you guessed it :)), as I later realized the mistakes made… This drove me to go through the full 15 week program twice more, in the prescribed time, as opposed to racing through it in like 9 weeks which I previously did… And why twice? Well, I wanted to squeeze Everything out of this I could, since by that time in my Life, I realized how Powerful this program was, with nothing better!

Yeah, after I sped through the Program the first time through, I did crash real hard with an impending divorce coming along which I was in denial about, and then happening. And that landed me in psych wards (3) of the (4) times actually, with the last two being back to back; was just not ready as I tried to migrate back to my normal life too quickly…  But, when I was pulling out of those mental jams in the follow-up out-patient care facilities, which had zero to do with what they (the Professionals) were informing me of, and Everything to do with being able to again see and grasp all the coping Tools & Skills I had already learned, I realized how Powerful that Program was/is!  I Rapidly Improved back to my Good Positive form each of those times, which I know, more than raised the eye brows of the working Professionals.  I sensed and then knew thereafter, that I really did know as much or likely more of What It Really Takes to turn a Life around, than the Professionals seemed to, although obviously, I was missing somethings… Finally (!), I thought I better go back and do that Program again, and that is when I learned of those mistakes I made… Nonetheless, along the way in my journey, based on pondering the overall Process time and time again, that ultimately allowed me to shore up & Add to the Process, especially when falling off on the depressive side of the fence. These improvements, Certainly Helped me ++, and I Know can Only Help Others as well! And Yes, in the Book, I do share those mistakes I made, so that the Reader does not make the same mistakes as I did to Progress!

Anyway, I had no idea I was ever going to make changes to this Original cut at the time. I was (and am) Convinced, the Key Ingredients in this Book, including this Optimum & Proven Positivity Process I Knew & Know it to be, plus section 4 in this Book (i.e. Our Belief System, Spirituality, Mindfulness … Our Faith), Combined, is All We Can Do as humans to Take Care of Ourselves through Life.  But due to the continued Growth, Education/Experiences, and the grey hairs along the way, including having gone through some additional down times, this prompted me to greatly improve on the clarity, and rationale supporting this Book’s Combination of what it takes…  So Yeah, Changes were inevitable, and I was Driven to do so. This included, providing another level of definition tying both the Positivity Process, and section 4 (Our Faith … allowing Our Faith to Grow) together, addressing the parallels/commonality between, and the complimentary relation of Both… and when Summed Up, this clearly defines All We Really Can Do to enhance Our Positivity, and Our Total Wellness & Well Being. 

Since the Original, 3 publications resulted, with the 2nd Edition published (rev. date) 2/19/2015, the 3rd Edition (rev date) 4/7/2016, and now the "4th / Final Edition -Final Cut" (planned to be added to the front cover), coming out sometime after 4/21/2019 (i.e. today’s date as I am finalizing words, and eeeuuuhh …grammar :)).  As for the Effectiveness of the Original vs. Final Editions, this really has gone unchanged; minimal tweaks only have been made to the Detailed Positivity Tools/Skills Instruction Set Process. And as for Section 4 ( …allowing One’s Faith to Grow), well that involves One’s Personal Journey, and is impervious to changes made.

Per the last set of updates, I finally addressed this Book is not only Important for Anxiety & Depression, but is likewise Important/Solid in dealing with all negative thinking based conditions People suffer from. These include, PTSD, OCD, ADD, ADHD, Other acronyms (?), and Addictions (Recovery), as long as Bi-Polar or Schizophrenia based conditions are not involved, which necessitates different/unknown (to me) solutions, including the apparent needs for medication for Life (?). This True Self-Help Book’s widespread use, was obvious to me for some time, and why I did not bother to add this in earlier edition updates, I do not know … Guess I can chalk this up as, Ooopppsss, Sorry, but I am only human here :). 

The Final Cut updates also include observations made while cycling through those psych wards & follow-up outpatient care stay overs & visits… As I connect those dots and sum matters up, with human nature qualities and how people operate… on how things are really going per related medication stats… and then realize the direction Society (driven by people) is going (ref: section 4.4.), it is Numbing!

As for the Book’s Main Ingredients etc.: 

A Complete Process including Detailed Instructions, and Optimum/Proven Coping Skills & Tools, Unmatched I believe, combining what I Learned from which Saved my Life upfront, plus additional elements provided which absolutely can only Help+, are provided for All. These Tools & Skills are those we were not born with, but we need to Learn.  This Detailed Positivity Process, which also addresses the importance of Exercise & Eating Well (i.e. per section 3), and laughter & :)s, teaches us how to change or reprogram a negative mindset to a Positive mindset to prevent or eliminate significant levels of Anxiety and Depression in Life. More Specifically, this allows us to drill down to our individual negative thoughts/mindset, changing those to Positive thoughts/mindset, and also drilling down to the sources of Our negativity and dealing with that as Best as we can; this personalizes the process for Anyone. This is the Bottom Line Key to Self-Improvement or Recovery from an Anxiety & Depression perspective.  Besides, a Positive mindset is what it takes to Aspire in Life; most all People believe this by now. This Process is based on the premise & the (Logical) FACT that a negative thought impacts the brain/body chemistry in a bad/negative way, and a Positive thought reverses that, and impacts brain/body chemistry in a Positive way. If this process works for those most afflicted, such as for me, it will work for Anyone!  I am certain there is not anyone who couldn’t get something out of this Book unless they have been fully educated on these matters, and more importantly, have experienced all this.  Take it from someone who has been Living and breathing this for 40 years now actually; and believe me a lot of those years up front, felt like it was 24 hours a day. Why for Anyone, is further explained in the 1st paragraph of the Introduction/Rationale (section 1.).  

Additionally, this Book goes One Big Step further, addressing what I and many Others believe, is Necessary to Solidify Recovery (or Improvement) from Our Anxieties & Depression, and then Solidify Our Well Being (i.e. Our Positivity and Peace of Mind). This allows us the potential to achieve True Peace of Mind/Tranquility through Life, Living Comfortably in an imperfect world (Everyone’s Goal!).  When we become Positive Thinking People via the Key Tools and Skills Process included in this Book, which Is Crucial for People to appropriately deal with their earthly problems, especially for significant sufferers from Anxiety and Depression, we then become more Clear In Thought and More Apt to See and Sense What Really Is Important in Life; and that Should Include Our Belief System/Spirituality/God (addressed in section 4 of this Book).  When we acknowledge, per my and many other People’s Beliefs (hopefully), that without God, there would be absolutely nothing, including Ourselves, all the Animals and Wildlife, and this Ecologically Perfect World we were born into…  well, that pretty much sums it up and validates it … doesn’t  it, or shouldn’t it :)?  Unless of course, we believe in the Big Bang theory where, I guess, that belief is based on some state of entropy or something where All This including Ourselves, just miraculously by luck/chance, came into being and ended up this way ((?:)).  For those who are not sure, I ask you… did All of This come from nothing at all, or from Something rather SPECIAL :)? If you’re thinking from something Special, you are on the Right Track :)! … When we work on our Positivity via the Tools, Skills, and Instruction set specifically addressed in this Book, together with Our Faith (section 4), then I Firmly Believe this is as Good as we can do for ourselves as human beings on planet Earth, providing us that potential to achieve that True Peace of Mind through Life. 

This Combination of what it takes, allows us to appropriately cope under Very Difficult situations whether matters stack up within or outside of our control.  At times, our Positivity which we can develop extensively/beautifully via the included Positivity Tools/Skills Process, can only take us so far, until we reach that threshold within us, past the burden we can bare, when we need More (i.e. Our Faith…); unfortunately, help from another human is very much limited. I have grown to know this from firsthand experience, with some of those (very) down times. Considering an example of an Extreme case of the combination of PTSD, and subsequent Addiction (to alcohol), Faith was the only answer for Louis Zamperini! His biography is written in the BookUnbroken, addressing this, which is also addressed fully in the sequel to the movie Unbroken, entitled,Unbroken: Path to Redemption.

Additional rationale supporting the Importance and Need to Combine the included Positivity Tools & Skills Process with Our Faith, involves the synonymous nature of doing this when compared to those 12 Step Programs and their approach to deal with addictions (for alcohol or drugs).  These programs have been around since 1939, and to this day are considered to be the Best Approach in Dealing with addictions.  The basis of these 12 step programs involve the Best Approach steps necessary for the People to rid themselves of their specific addictions,  and combining this with the Needs for Belief in a Power Greater than Us; and that is Belief in God Ultimately. So, when Combining Our Belief in God with the included Detailed Cognitive/Behavioral Modification Approach, which I Am Convinced to be the Best Means to Resolve Our Problems with negativity, or Resolve Our addiction to negativity which it is in a sense, especially if we are significant sufferers with Anxiety and Depression, sums up and Validates my Complete Understanding (and gut feeling) that in a True Self-Help Book form, It Can’t Get Any Better.

Summing up the Total Process of Recovery, or Significant Improvement of Our Positive Thinking Ways for Anyone, and then Flourishing, depends on Amending or Taking Care of Our Heart & Soul (i.e. Our Spirit/Our Faith addressed in section 4), and Our Mind & Body (i.e. the Positivity Process covered in the majority of the Book, with details in sections 5, & 6, along with importance of Eating Well, & Exercise per section 3).  We Need to Learn, to Balance our Lives, Physically, Mentally, and Our Spirit (Our Faith) which collectively defines Our Total Wellness & Well Being. 

Few noteworthy points, before wrapping this Preface/Summary up:

• Key information/text in the Book is often repeated for the reason, repetition of information is Important for education/training purposes. Most Importantly, this repetition applies to Sufferers in the Necessary process to reprogram their mindset, from being predominantly negative to being Positive.

• As far as my unorthodox writing style … i.e. Capitalization of words which would not be normally capitalized …  that is all based on Passion, Emotions, and Certainty of this subject matter, considering the Tremendous Education & Experience I have had through the years, and the Huge Emotional swings I went through, from the deepest of holes, to Flourishing in effect.  As for the :)s, you already read something about that … and then the … s … well, just for the flow of what said at times, or for those afterthoughts … , and also when providing snippets to condense a long story into short form, when addressing e.g. a bit of my story which I wanted to keep short … Hey, this Book is not about me … it is about the Reader with the Desire to Help Someone.  

Bottom line, I wrote this Book to Help Someone #1, so they do not have to go through what I had to in my Life! And I have seen the Power of this Book, with Book in hand only! 100% of those in an apartment complex where I lived at previously, who I Know Read and Worked it (in the 2nd or 3rd edition forms), the Positive Impacts observed were Impressive, to even Life Saving… That Completely Blew Me Away and I was in awe … I address a bit more about that in the Introduction/Rationale text. I am an unknown and did not get too many Books out there to date, since it is such a Popularity game out there for Books and all, Interestingly… But Yeah, I Know For Certain, this Book Is Truly Very Special, now Tying & Rationalizing Everything as to why So Effective, and would be Tremendously Beneficial for Lots of People out there. So Please, Read On for You and Your Loved Ones!

Life Is Good, Thanks,

& God Bless!

Author Ron

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTE: Section 1 (Introduction) identifies the Recommended if not Required Instructions/Training & Actions, for Recovery from Anxiety and Depression (A & D). All the information in this Book is very important so please do not jump ahead. I certainly know us anxious types, always trying to find the instant gratification of things yesterday :). NOW, IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE ANXIOUS/DEPRESSED TO THE POINT WHERE YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE READING/COMPREHENDING THINGS, PLEASE GO TO AND READ THE FIFTH PARAGRAPH IN SECTION 1 (INTRODUCTION/RATIONALE).

1.   INTRODUCTION/RATIONALE

1.1.   Important Considerations regarding One’s Present A & D condition, and Use of this Book.

1.2.   My Credentials and Why and How can I, and this Book

Really Help You.

1.3.   Continuing, the Book’s Introduction/Rationale and

What it Basically Will do for you.

1.4.   Recommended Instructions and Training and Actions

1.5.   About the included Core Skills/Tools, and the Additional Non-Core Material.

1.6.   You Are Your Safe Haven and Safea Place

1.7.   The Positive Influence, Your Incentive to Change, and Expectations of the Included Tools/Skills.

1.8.   Meaning of the Various Text Formats in Book

1.9.   Core reference information, its Implementation into this Book, and Coaching you.

2.   HOW DID WE GET HERE (I.E. US ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SUFFERERS) & IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND EDUCATION.

2.1.   Background information about Anxiety and Depression:

2.2.   What are the Impacts of Anxiety and Depression on our health?

2.3.   You are not alone!

2.4.   Accept it and don’t be in Denial about having this condition!

2.5.   Do Not Over-analyze this; Believe in it, and take it all in

Hook, Line, and Sinker!

3.   LIFE STYLE CHANGES / CONSIDERATIONS AND WHAT YOU ARE CONSUMING.

3.1.   Importance of Medication or Otherwise.

3.2.   Issues with Caffeine, Sugar, Alcohol consumption,

Drug abuse.

3.3.   Our Diet and Nutrition

3.4.   Get out there and Exercise!

4.   FACTORS INVOLVING ONE’S BELIEF SYSTEM; SPIRITUALITY, MINDFULNESS, LIVING LIFE WITH

CHILD LIKE ENTHUSIASM, AND SIMPLIFYING LIFE.

4.1.   Spirituality

4.2.   Mindfulness

4.3.   Live Life from the Heart, Humble, and with Child Like Exuberance

4.4.   Simplifying Your Life & Putting this section 4 Belief

System in Perspective.

5.   BASIC/KEY TOOLS NEEDED TO COMBAT AND

RID ONE OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION.

5.1.   Consideration for potential selection of a Partner to help

you through early stages of your Recovery.

5.2.   You need to start Loving Yourself Unconditionally today

and thereafter no matter what and no matter how you feel

in the process to improve!

5.2.1.   Things to Remember in the Process of Recovery.

5.2.2.   Use Humor in your Life and in your approach to getting

better; humor yourself, make light of situations, and learn

to Smile and Laugh and have fun!

5.2.3.   Consider the following definition adjustments and acknowledgements in our Lives

5.2.4.   Journaling is a/the Key Theraputic mental/physical type

action required for Recovery and Life management

5.3.   You Need to Learn and Implement Proper Relaxation

techniques Daily

5.3.1.   Implement and Repeatedly use Relaxation Routine

compatible with Lucinda’s provided tape/media.

5.3.2.   Implement Daily Relaxation Techniques to be used As

Needed.

5.4.   What Do We Do If Anxiety Crops Up and We Get Those Panicky Feelings

5.5.   Converting Negatives to Positives is Paramount and the

Key To Success & Recovery.

5.5.1.   So what are Negative thoughts?

5.5.2.   So what are Positive thoughts?

5.5.3.   Negative to Positive Thoughts Conversion Tools.

5.5.4.   Tidbits and Pointers which will help one in their process

to recover

5.5.5.   Examples of Negative to Positive statements, both Good

and Bad.

5.5.6.   Think Excitement instead of Fear!

6.   WHERE DID/DOES ALL THAT NEGATIVITY COME

FROM, RESOLVING SOURCES OF OUR NEGATIVITY,

AND SPECIAL TOOLS TO AMEND MATTERS.

6.1.   Our Environment and How We Were Brought Up During

Those Formative Years.

6.2.   Unrealistic expectations.

6.3.   We need to challenge our Should Do lists that we

formulate daily and in our lives

6.4.   Stop being Angry and Control Mood Swings & Rid

Yourself of Guilt.

6.5.   You need to Speak Up For Yourself,

Assertively but Not Aggressively.

6.5.1.   Your Assertive Rights per Lucinda’s Attacking Anxiety

and Depression program.

6.6.   End of What-if (Anticipatory Anxiety) thinking.

6.7.   Resolve or Dissolve Worries.

6.8.   Ridding of those Ruminating/Obsessive Thoughts

6.9.   Under-analyze instead of Over-analyzing everything

6.10.   People in our Lives.

6.11.   Courage to Change

6.12.   Time Management.

6.13.   Issues with Insomnia

6.14.   Avoid being Ritualistic/Regimented and Be Flexible and Non-Rigid

6.15.   Stay Active, and if you can, follow your Dreams &

Passion/Purpose.

6.16.   Self-Talk and Daily Goals Supporting a Positive Standard

for Everyday Living.

6.17.   Daily Self Talk/Positive Affirmations you want to

incorporate.

7.   FINAL SUMMATION; RECOVERY AND STRIVING

TOWARDS PEACE OF MIND IN LIFE.

1.   INTRODUCTION/RATIONALE

This True Self-Help Anxiety & Depression & Life Management Tools Book contains all the information and material necessary and geared for those most afflicted (i.e. significant sufferers from and Anxiety and Depression (A & D)). However, the included Optimum/Proven Coping Tools and Skills (Unmatched I believe), will help Anyone really. If you have a Tremendous Set of Tools and Skills that Effectively Rids one from Extreme Levels of Anxiety and Depression and allows that individual to subsequently Flourish, then don’t you think it will also serve the purpose of teaching any A & D sufferer, regardless of the extent of their condition, the Tools/Skills necessary to Ward Off Significant Levels of Anxiety and Depression in their Lives? No Doubts, It Absolutely does! The Tools and Skills provided cover all the key issues one could have which can lead to Anxiety and Depression. A standard template is essentially provided that can be used to select those issues and corresponding Tools and Skills which can readily help any individual. There is no need to Reinvent the Wheel here in one’s adventures to find alternate means to deal with their negativity and Stress through Life. For those average individuals out there who have average levels of Anxiety and Depression in their lives (was going to say normal here vs. average but what is normal anyway :)), there is a number associated with a card game that you will pick up on as you are reading through this that might be an approximation of the extent of repetitive Training days of selected Tools/Skills necessary to appropriately deal with Negativity and Stress. These Optimum Tools/Skills will greatly help you, to help yourself, eliminate or reduce the extent and magnitude of Anxiety and Depression that will crop up; hey, everyone has or will have some levels of Anxiety and/or Depression in their Lives. As far as that number is concerned, I am certainly not talking about a game of chance or a card game here, because I Know this is the Real Deal and as Real as it gets!

A Complete Process including Detailed Instructions, and Optimum/Proven Coping Skills & Tools, Unmatched I believe, combining what I Learned from which Saved my Life upfront, plus additional elements provided which absolutely can only Help +, are provided for All. These Tools & Skills are those we were not born with, but we need to Learn. This Detailed Positivity Process, which also addresses the importance of Exercise & Eating Well (i.e. per section 3), and laughter & :)s, teaches us how to change or reprogram a negative mindset to a Positive mindset, to prevent or eliminate significant levels of Anxiety and Depression in Life. More Specifically, this allows us to drill down to our individual negative thoughts/mindset, changing those to Positive thoughts/mindset, and also drilling down to the sources of Our negativity and dealing with that as Best as we can; this personalizes the process for Anyone. This is the Bottom Line Key to Self-Improvement or Recovery from an Anxiety & Depression perspective. Besides, a Positive mindset is what it takes to Aspire in Life (most all People believe this by now). This Process is based on the premise, and the (Logical) FACT, that a negative thought impacts the brain/body chemistry in a bad/negative way, and a Positive thought reverses that, and impacts brain/body chemistry in a Positive way. I am certain there is not anyone who couldn’t get something out of this Book unless they have been fully educated on these matters, and more importantly, have experienced all this. Take it from someone who has been Living and breathing this for 40 years now actually; and believe me, a lot of those years up front, felt like it was 24 hours a day.

Additionally, this Book goes One Big Step further, addressing what I and many Others believe is Necessary to Solidify Recovery (or Improvement) from Our Anxieties & Depression, and then Solidify Our Positivity & Well Being. This allows us the potential to achieve True Peace of Mind/Tranquility through Life, Living Comfortably in an imperfect world (Everyone’s Goal!). When we become Positive Thinking People via the Key Tools and Skills Process included in this Book, which Is Crucial for People to appropriately deal with their earthly problems, especially for significant sufferers from Anxiety and Depression, we then become more Clear In Thought and More Apt to See and Sense What Really Is Important in Life; and that Should Include Our Belief System/Spirituality/God (addressed in section 4 of this Book). When we acknowledge, per my and many other People’s Beliefs (hopefully), that without God, there would be absolutely nothing, including Ourselves, all the Animals and Wildlife, and this Ecologically Perfect World we were born into… well, that pretty much sums it up and validates it … doesn’t it, or shouldn’t it? Unless of course, we believe in the Big Bang theory where, I guess, that belief is based on some state of entropy or something where All This including Ourselves, just miraculously by luck/chance, came into being and ended up this way ((? :)). For those who are not sure, I ask you… did All of This come from nothing at all, or from Something rather SPECIAL :)? If you’re thinking from something Special, you are on the Right Track :)!

When we work on our Positivity via the Tools, Skills , and Instruction set specifically addressed in this Book, together with Our Faith (section 4), then I Firmly Believe this is as Good as we can do for Ourselves as humans on planet Earth, providing us that potential to achieve that True Peace of Mind through Life. This Combination allows us to appropriately Cope when dealing with Very Difficult situations, whether matters fall within or outside of our control. At times, Our Positivity which we can develop extensively/beautifully via the included Positivity Tools/Skills Process, can only take us so far until we reach that threshold within us, past the burden we can bare, when we need More (i.e. Our Faith…); help from another human is very much limited!

All the information/material contained in this Anxiety and Depression and Life

Reviews for RISE AND SHINE Anxiety & Depression, & Life Management Tools

[porte01 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really didn't like either of the sisters and found myself waiting for the story to get interesting and improve. It didn't. Overall I would give it a 2.5.

[suesbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was very interested in and cared about these characters. I also liked very much that New York City was such an integral part of this story. And now that I am trying to educate myself regarding the history of systemic racism it was interesting how much that was discussed even before it became a hot topic in the general community. I do wish that the book did not have to rely on a tragedy to have a positive conclusion.

[sukieclaus · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not my favorite Quindlen, but very well-written as always.

[russellbittner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Is it pure coincidence that I just finished reading Anna Quindlen’s Rise and Shine on the heels of Jack London’s Martin Eden? And would I expect Quindlen’s principal character, Meghan Fitzmaurice, to meet the same unhappy conclusion that London’s principal character, Martin Eden, inevitably met – given that their two trajectories on the booster fuel of fame and fortune are uncannily similar?


I don’t know. You tell me. In any case, one has to wonder whether life along the Museum Mile – or the equivalent in San Francisco – frankly ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.


‘Anna Quindlen’ is a name as well known in these parts as that of ‘Bergdorf Goodman’ or ‘Tavern on the Green’ – but is neither as rich and gaudy as the former nor as ticky-tacky-touristy as the latter. If Thornton Wilder had written a play titled “Our Girl” rather than “Our Town,” Anna Quindlen would be its natural subject – which is to say she’s so NYC, it makes one cringe to think people living outside this burg are actually reading her prose.


Perhaps that’s a backhanded compliment. Her descriptions of both character and setting – as well as the dialogue she puts in the mouths of her characters – are eerily (and grotesquely) familiar. Upper-crust New Yorkers do think, act and speak this way, and it’s always been a wonder to me that so many of them not only survive, but even function (reasonably) well in this 24/7 masquerade. But hey, there’s always southern Connecticut just to the north – and western New Jersey just to the west. Need I say more?


Lucky for us, Quindlen provides the occasional real-life breather with scenes from the Bronx as told by Meghan’s younger sister, Bridget (sometimes ‘Bridey’; other times ‘Bridge’). For those of us living and working in the outlying boroughs, these scenes are a quick – and welcome! – descent from the hot-air balloon ride over and through the highways and byways of Manhattan. “No Monday through Friday for the working poor: they take it where they can find it” Bridget ruminates on pp. 195-6. And while I’m by no means suggesting that every writer has to follow in the footsteps of Henry Roth or Frank McCourt in either writer’s depiction of life here in New York City, these last two would seem to me to be nearer the mark than Anna Quindlen – for at least 95% of the population, that is.


Quindlen is a capable story-teller – make no mistake about it – and this novel has all of the pieces in place to make it a good yarn. It’s just … most of these people! I swear if I weren’t living separated from them by a mere bridge, I could think of 100,000 other places I’d rather visit.


RRB
07/21/14
Brooklyn, NY

[needmoreshelves · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I feel like I always want to like Quindlen's novels a lot more than I actually do. Nothing about this felt new or surprising, and the two main characters were more annoying than sympathetic. The whole thing just felt like the author wrote a novel because she was supposed to, not because she actually cared about writing. It was ok, but not particularly memorable or impressive.

[wareagle78 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Intriguing story of a network news star whose career and seemingly her life is blown apart by a mike that was not switched off. But the story is actually told from the point of view of the social worker sister - an unexpected twist. The story is less about glamour and glitz, and more about family and belief in self and love. This book is worthwhile.

[lindap69 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

love Anna Quindlen and this is now my most favorite of her novels

[jillkb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mom and I listened to this book on the way to and from Arlington, VA. I enjoyed it, although there was one part about the end I really didn't like -- the fight that Megan and Bridget had near the end didn't ring true, and I also didn't like how the author didn't really address it -- there was no resolution to the fight itself.

[rincey_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love a book that accurately portrays sister relationships. This one did it for me, almost making me cry towards the end. Slightly predictable in a certain sense, but I loved it nonetheless.

[kebets_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Meghan is an anchor woman on a morning news program, Rise and Shine. She has everything - a great lawyer husband, a college son who is actually a nice kid, national and international recognition. She has it all and yet she has nothing. She can’t tell anyone how unhappy she is, especially not her sister, Bridget - the opposite. As Meghan’s career climbs to new heights, Bridget’s flounders from one thing to the next - always searching. She finally becomes a social worker and the head of a woman’s center in a nasty part of NYC - The Tubman Projects. She also falls in love with a crusty 20-year-older police commissioner.Then Meghan self-destructs - she breaks the cardinal rule of TV and utters what she really believes about a guest on air. She flees to Jamaica and turns into a recluse evading all she knew - running from her crumbling marriage and the strain of playing nice . Bridget eventually tracks her down and instead of bringing her home she has her eyes opened to the real Meghan.Back in NYC tragedy strikes the projects and Meghan is forced to return. In a moment of clarity, she reenters the world of TV news in a way no one could have predicted.This book give lots of insight into the glitter of upscale NY and the reality of the poor in the dark corners of the city. Meghan and Bridget are played out as sisters united by the tragic death of their parents at an early age, yet they are filled with their own secrets. I liked the book - but had a hard time really staying with it.01/07

[indygo88 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This novel had a good premise. It's basically the story of two adult sisters, one of whom lives in the spotlight as a morning talk show host, the other who lives a quieter life in her sister's shadow. The core of the book centers around the superstar sister's "fall from grace", when two profanities slip out of her mouth while the cameras are still rolling. It's a unique idea for a storyline. But the book is more about the relationship between the sisters & how it evolves & changes. And that's where it fell flat. It was unremarkable, really, and I found the sisters' relationship tiring and annoying most of the time. I don't have a sister, so maybe I just couldn't relate, but the story never did succeed in drawing me in. The last portion of the book was especially disappointing. It was as if Quindlen decided to push the fast forward button after writing the majority of the novel in slow motion. Not a very smooth transition, in my opinion. I've not read any of Anna Quindlen's other novels, although I had the impression she was a decent writer. This is just obviously not one of her best.

[cdianek · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Often in Anna Quindlen's books, there is so much there that renders the actual plotline secondary. She is so cohesive with her descriptions that characterizations and story can take a back seat. Sometimes this works well - for instance in her recent Every Last One, we slowly learned the dynamics of the central family, all the better to experience their tragedy with them. Other times, it can simply feel indulgent. Such is the case with Rise and Shine.Two sisters, orphaned at a young age, and raised by an aunt and uncle. Now grown up, Bridget is a social worker, running a non-profit to help indigent mothers and their children. Older sister Meghan is the host of the morning show Rise and Shine, and the most recognized woman in the country. Bridget seems to fit well in the dichotomy of her life; the teeming poverty of of her world, and the glittering excesses of her sister's. Quindlen does an excellent job of showing that underneath it all, it's not what it seems. Meghan is essentially miserable in her position; her husband, Evan, is even more unhappy in Meghan's world, and though no one can deny that they both are excellent parents, Bridget herself has spent more hands-on time with their college - aged son Leo than they have.After a slow buildup, everything collapses practically in 24 hours. Meghan lets loose with an expletive-laden open-mike perjorative aimed at a guest which blows up the tabloids as only that type of incident can. In her frantic attempts to contact her sister in its aftermath, Bridget discovers that her brother-in-law had asked for a divorce and left his wife only the night before. Faced with the bad publicity of the ended marriage and the on -air gaffe, Meghan simply disappears, hiding away at a friend's Jamaican villa. This leaves Bridget to pick up the pieces, with Leo, with the press, and with the few true friends that Meghan has. And continue her own life without her sister's guidance; the long term relationship, her job, her relationship with Leo.What follows is another long detour, describing the city, the different boroughs and attitudes of their inhabitants, the people, places and things of New York City. Informative? Yes. Necessary? Not really, no. Then the defining event occurs, bringing out the worst and best of everyone, and finally allowing the story to be completed.This is not a bad book; not by any means. It is populated with memorable and alive characters and a compelling story, it's just buried so far underneath the descriptions and recollections that it gets a little lost. Well done, though possibly too well done.This was an audiobook for me; the reader was superb, inserting humor, sarcasm and distress when needed. Superbly done.

[fearsomefoursome · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked, but certainly didn't love, this book about the relationship between two sisters. Meghan is the fabulously wealthy, incredibly famous, much beloved star of a morning television talk show. Her younger sister Bridget is a social worker in the Bronx. Meghan's seemingly perfect life changes when she inadvertantly curses on air while cutting to a commercial. Bridget, used to living in her older sister's shadow, feels the effect of the mistake as well. Their story of how they deal with the fallout, told by Bridget, follows from there. It is certainly an easy read. Most of the characters are interesting, but I didn't really connect to any of them. At one point toward the end Bridget lashes out at her sister. While I assume it was supposed to be a pivotal moment, I found it to be random -- completely out of character and nonsensical for Bridget to come to the conclusion she did. I thought a story about sisters would resonate with me because I have six, but instead it was simply a pleasant read with a contrived ending.Also, perhaps it is just me, but I wish people who live in New York City understood that those of us who don't live there don't spend our every waking moment wondering what it must be like and wishing to understand all its idiosyncrasies. Almost every chapter began with some piece of information about NYC that I am sure I was supposed to treat as the reveal of a great mystery, but most of the time the information was not novel to NYC. My favorite was a long discussion about how people who don't live there don't understand that you can't lose yourself in New York because New Yorkers know each other, recognizing their neighbors even if they don't know their names. Huh? Does Ms. Quindlen really think people in Cleveland or Houston or Chicago or even any small town in the US don't have the same experience? Early on Bridget says New York is the center of the universe; her lengthy comments about the city didn't persuade me.

[amaryann21 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A little slow to start, but very relateable and human.

[paulita_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Great premise: one sister observed through the others' viewpoint. I delayed reading this book after purchasing it because when skimming through it I found it dialog-heavy. After I started reading it, I found much to enjoy in the insider's views of upper-class New York Society. Unfortunately, although the contemporary, clever dialog did not grate on me as much as I'd thought it would, the lack of emotional connection with the characters did. Relationships that could have been intense seemed tepid. I had trouble caring, although I wanted to. Could the deliberately glib prose style have caused the emotional distance from the characters? Or did the author attempt to achieve that type of connection between character and reader and simply fall short? Deliberate or not, the emotional disengagement (after all, we are talking about intense events, such as shootings, pregnancies, divorce, career meltdown, sister dynamics) caused a failure to launch for me. I skimmed through the last third. As for Irving, his is a well-drawn portrait. I dated a Latino Irving; same age difference, same appreciation for women as a treat. I wish that the other characters had come alive for me. When you are writing about characters who are stuffing their emotions, you need to show more interior struggle. Perhaps seeing Meghan once-removed through Bridget's eyes was a poor choice? Fitzgerald did it in Gatsby, sure, but here it doesn't seem to catch fire. Her nonfiction is good, however.

[jepeters333 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Meghan is the popular host of America's top-rated morning talk sow - until she shatters her seemingly perfect life b letting two profane words slip freom her lips just before a commercial break. Suddenly, she is shamed - something she's not equipped to handle. Her sister Bridget, a social worker who has long lived in Meghan's shadow, feels the effects of the on-air gaffe, too. They may be different, but the Fitzmaurice sisters share a deep connection that helps them challenge the world when faced with disgrace.

[marthahuntley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked the Tale of Two Cities aspect of this wonderful story of two sisters -- the ultrawealthy NYC and the impoverished NYC. Characters are very well drawn, and the relationship between Meghan and Bridget Fitzmaurice lives and breathes.

[djupstrom · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I didn't care about one character, I didn't care about the plot, I was completely not buying what she was selling.

[wirtley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Literary Fiction. Relationship between two sisters. One works for television news station and the other a homeless shelter. Very wordy.

[mbergman_15 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think Quindlen is an amazing writer. I love her short essays for NEWSWEEK, & I've loved all of her novels. And I really shouldn't have liked this one. It's a book about New York City (very consciously so--the first sentence is: "From time to time some stanger will ask me how I can bear to live in New York City"--and that notion is repeated in various forms throughout the book), and it's in some ways a book of manners, like the 19th-century English novels I don't like. Furthermore, it's very much about the contemporary obsessions of academia--race, class, and gender--and about nontraditional families. BUT her characters & their emotions are so richly portrayed & so real that she breaks down the abstractions of the categories and in so doing illuminates them. (That's what makes her essays so good, too.) This one's about two adult sisters, in their 40s. One is America's best-known morning talk show anchor; the other runs a shelter for (mostly African American) women in the Bronx. When the "successful" one faces a career crisis, it affects her relationships with her sister, her husband, her college-age son, & her friends, and we, as readers, are witness to all the fascinating ramifications. Another Quindlen miracle.

[sunshine608 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I waited awhile to get this book for paperback swap and I have to say this book was definitely worth the wait.Rise and Shine is the story of two sisters Megan, a married mother of one, Katie Couric-esuqe morning show host (popular, lovable) and Bridget a single, dedicated social worker. One day Meghan utters something on air that changes her life and those around her. That’s the book in a gist. Check out the amazon.com for a better written one. I had trouble writing one, without giving away too many plot lines and this book is better going in blind.My thoughts on the book: * The prose and insight was wonderful. I loved the introspection on NYC, her observations about class & race in NYC and the beautiful descriptions of a Jamaican vacation. * I loved the interaction between the sisters- it felt real, and I enjoyed reading it from Bridget’s (the younger one) point of view. (I’m the older sister). * I loved the characters from Leo (Megan’s son) to Tequila (Bridget’s secretary) Irving ( the boyfriend) and Aunt Maureen. They were likeable and familiar. Even Leo who sometimes sounded almost too good to be true. * Toward the last third of the book the plot got away from me a little bit. While the events were not completely unfathomable or anything likes that- they way they were brought together made me almost roll my eyes. However who am I to say it can’t happen? Up until that part the books is relatively fast paced and insightful. After that, I felt a little dazed. * I like endings where unanswered questions are answered and this one does that. Not necessarily neatly and perfectly but answered. I hate books where I am left saying “WTF does that mean”?Overall : 4 and something stars. I enjoyed the book itself, the characters and the plot (minus the 3-4 penultimate chapters. I actually kind of skimmed through them, read the last chapter, and then returned to the ones I skipped to see if I missed anything, which I didn’t. A good read and an excellent addition to any bookshelf. It’s a mixture of intelligent chic-lit and little city lit ( books about the upper middle, upper class in NYC) This was my first Quindlen book and I am looking forward to more. This is one of those books I wish I could/would read in a book club setting and discuss it.* Side note: I disagreed with so many of the reviews on amazon.com that my original review sounded like a defense of the book. This type review flowed much easier.

[marient_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's an otherwise ordinary Monday when Meghan Fitzmaurice's perfect life hits a wall. A household name as the host of Rise and Shine, the countsy' highest-rated morning television talk show, Meghan cuts to a commercial breaki-but not before she does something that, in an instant, marks the end of an era, not only for Meghan, who is unacustomed to dealing with adversity, but also for her younger sister, Bridget. A social worker in the Bronx, Bridget has always looked up to Meghan while living in her long shadow.

[jrepman_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Terrific story of two sisters who live in New York-one is a Katie Couric like figure.

[legaleagle_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rise and Shine was a pleasant, fast-paced story of two sisters. Bridget and Meghan Fitzmaurice lead very different lives, but things change in the blink of an eye and their lives dovetail unexpectedly. I enjoyed reading about the family relationships, which we all know can be wonderful and complicated and messy all at the same time! Neither sister really understands very much about the other but they do learn and grow as the story progresses. The more interesting characters to me were Bridget's boyfriend Irving Lefkowitz and Meghan's son Leo. Everything ends nicely and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling, but this book wasn't anything to get TOO excited about. It was my first Anna Quindlen book, and I would certainly try another one.

[mermaids_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

very disappointed in this book. loved "black and blue." i so did not care about the characters in "rise and shine." i continued reading hoping it would get better, but it didn't.

[bobbieharv · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I just have to stop reading her books. The plots seem interesting, draw me in, and then her writing exasperates me in a way that's hard to describe. It's sloppy, filled with details that seem to serve no purpose; it's mostly serviceable, very occasionally quite good, and then a highly irritating cliche will pop up and ruin the sentence. No more Anna Quindlen for me.

[paisley1974 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A quick, entertaining read.

[theloislevel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Okay, it's impossible to read this without picturing Katie Couric. That may be more true for me than others because I used to live in a city where her late sister, Emily Couric, was the representative to the state city. Emily Couric certainly made her mark on the local level, though. Anyway, the book: enjoyable story, but not earth shattering. This book strikes me as sentimental chick lit that is slightly more high toned and not about finding a man.

[eileenmary_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

i didn't care for the younger sisters naration of her life and family drama. too new york, upper class, blah blah blah for my midwestern taste.