Inspiration. Strategies. Support.
“Women Who Spark After 50” by Aleta Norris
Do you find yourself lamenting your unrealized dreams? Are you experiencing burnout or boredom from a lifelong career?
Bestselling author and coach Aleta Norris knew she needed to reinvent something in her life. So, that’s exactly what she did. In this book, she asks the right questions to get you ready for an amazing second half. Through checklists and exercises, Aleta provides a roadmap to put your dream first after years of taking care of others.
This month’s Books To Live By selection was written by one of my all-time favorite authors — and maybe one of yours, too?
She is beloved in our Women on Fire circle, and I have a feeling you are going to love her latest novel.
Our September selection is….
I’m particularly delighted to introduce you to this latest adult novel by Judy Blume, who is often best known for her books for children and young adults.
(It’s hard to find a woman — or her daughter — who didn’t read Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.)
She’s had a huge impact on my life, as I know she has had for many of you.
If you’ve been following along with us, you already know how near and dear Judy Blume is to our Women on Fire community. I interviewed her two summers ago for our monthly membership program.
These days I spend so much time reading non-fiction that it is a treat when I can luxuriate in a work of fiction. I read Judy’s In the Unlikely Event on vacation last week — and I was completely engaged by it.
You are instantly transported back to the early 1950s, in the familiar and nostalgic way that she describes so well.
There we meet 15-year-old Miri and an elaborate cast of characters that learn to live, love and cope during unimaginable loss after three plane crashes in three months upend their small town.
Remarkably, these were actual events that happened in Judy’s hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Although the book is not an autobiography, you can’t help but wonder if Miri’s character provides a window into what Judy experienced at the time.
Full of surprises and heartwarming nods to the past, In the Unlikely Event will steal your heart, as Judy Blume novels tend to do.
I hope you will read this book, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Love,
P.S. Want a chance to win your own copy of In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume?
Join me for our monthly member Live Chat Master Class on September 15 at 8 p.m. EST for your chance to win! I’ll be talking about how to recharge your goals to finish 2015 strong.
P.P.S. You know that interview with Judy Blume that I mentioned above? It’s one of my absolute favorite monthly member interviews to date, and it is my gift to share it with you. Free.
Click here to download and enjoy!
It’s back-to-school season and this month’s Books To Live By selection highlights the astonishing truth behind a well-loved history lesson.
This fall, I invite you to explore how one of the most famous and cherished American icons came to be. It’s Lady Liberty as you’ve never known her!
Our September selection is….
Liberty’s Torch: The Great Adventure to Build The Statue of Liberty by Elizabeth Mitchell.
Before I share a sneak peek of this enchanting book, I have a little quiz.
True or False:
If you answered true to any of the above, you (and me too!) have been misinformed!
From extensive research and original letters, author Elizabeth Mitchell has pieced together one of history’s most overlooked entrepreneurial success stories, allowing her also to refute the blindly accepted explanation of how the Statue of Liberty made her way to America.
This book takes you back to the 1800s where you follow the dreams and determination of a young French sculptor, inventor and entrepreneur Frederic Auguste Bartholdi who stopped at nothing to see his vision through.
He needed commissions and had a dream to build the world’s largest sculpture at the headwaters of the Nile River. When Egypt turned down his project idea, he set his sights on America.
Liberty’s Torch reads far more like an adventure than a history lesson. It will leave you marveling at how our beloved Statue of Liberty came to be!
A great read and lesson for your entire family, especially if you have school-aged kids, I strongly recommend Liberty’s Torch!
With lots of love ~
This month’s Books To Live By choice highlights our November membership program theme — The Courage To Tell Your Story.
With Thanksgiving coming and the publication of powerful stories in Women on Fire book, Volume 2 only weeks away, our recommended book this month weaves together gratitude and collective storytelling.
From the creator of Story Corps, the popular radio project often heard on NPR, this book features vignettes of what it means to be grateful, to be in love with your life, and to be brave enough to share your story with others.
Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude from the First Ten Years of Story Corps (amazon link) by Dave Isay
Story Corps is an oral history project started by Dave Isay to provide the opportunity for people of all backgrounds and ages to record, share and preserve the stories of their lives. Since its start, Story Corps has recorded more than 45,000 interviews with 90,000 people.
Ties That Bind is a collection of conversations from those recordings that will introduce you to a variety of everyday people who have faced incredible odds, lived through unspeakable acts, and stand to tell the tale of how they have survived and healed.
What I loved most about this book is the reaffirmation of just how freeing it is to tell your own truth. The vulnerability of each contributor is deeply moving and the book will touch your heart.
Ties That Bind is a perfect gift and a great read for your entire family over the holidays. It’s the kind of book you pass around the table to share a favorite story — or 10 in it!
Hope you get a chance to read it and, as always, let me know your thoughts when you do.
