September Book to Live By

The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau

Compulsive goal-seeker Chris Guillebeau never imagined that his biggest revelation would be how many people like himself exist—each pursuing a challenging quest. These quests are as diverse as humanity itself, involving exploration, the pursuit of athletic or artistic excellence, or battling against injustice and poverty. Everywhere that Chris found ordinary people working toward extraordinary goals, making daily down payments on their dreams. These “questers” included a suburban mom pursuing a wildly ambitious culinary project, a DJ producing the world’s largest symphony, a young widower completing the tasks his wife would never accomplish—and scores of others writing themselves into the record books.

The more Chris spoke with these strivers, the more he began to appreciate the direct link between questing and long-term happiness, and he was compelled to complete a comprehensive study of the phenomenon. In The Happiness of Pursuit, he reveals the secret motivations of questers, their selection criteria, the role played by friends and family, their tricks for solving logistics, and the importance of documentation. Then, Chris examines the other side. What happens after the summit is climbed, the painting hung, the endurance record broken, the at-risk community saved?

A book that challenges each of us to take control—to make our lives be about something while at the same time remaining clear-eyed about the commitment—The Happiness of Pursuit will inspire readers of every age and aspiration. It’s a playbook for making your life count.

August Book to Live By

Inspire: The Art of Living with Nature by Willow Crossley

Willow Crossley combines her passions and shows vou how to use flower-shop purchases, beachcombing bounty, home-grown harvests, and foraged hedgerow finds to decorate your home. Divided into five chapters on Woodland, Flora, Fauna, Edibles, and Beach, here are more than 50 ideas ranging from a wreath made from hydrangeas, or spring narcissi planted in wooden wine boxes, to a tabletop display incorporating gilded apples and pears. Start collecting now to move your outdoors indoors before the weather changes.

 

June Book to Live By

“Matchmaking for Beginners” by Maddie Dawson

A delightful, sweet and smart summer beach read…Marnie MacGraw wants an ordinary life―a husband, kids, and a minivan in the suburbs. Then, she meets Blix, her fiancé’s great-aunt who’s dying, and everything changes―just as Blix told her it would.

When her marriage ends after two miserable weeks, Marnie is understandably shocked. She’s even more astonished to find that she’s inherited Blix’s house. She arrives in New York intending to sell the property, but discovers the hard way that love is difficult to recognize, and those who push love away are the ones who need it most.

May Book to Live By

“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.

March Book to Live By

“Wild, Beautiful and Free” by Sophfronia Scott

#1 in African American Historical Fiction on Amazon

This stunning work of fiction by award-winning author and Women on Fire member, Sophfronia Scott tells the story of Jeanette, a mixed race, escaped slave as she searches for purpose, love, and her place in the Civil War-era world. An instant BEST SELLER!

May’s Books To Live By

Are you safeguarding your future? The second half of life offers different challenges than the first half, and you have be ready for them.

This month’s Books To Live By will give you the help you need to create plans and gain peace of mind.

I am so pleased to present our May selections:

What_to_Know_coverProtect_Your_family_cover

What You Really Need to Know for the Second Half of Life and Protect Your Family: Don’t Write a Blank Check to the Nursing Home

One of our country’s top eldercare attorneys, Julie Steinbacher, who also is featured in the Women on Fire May membership package, was a co-author of the books.

She planned and organized the writing of this compilation book from a handpicked team of certified attorneys from across the nation who specialize in elder care law and estate planning.

The information is written in clear, direct language. It gives you the essential knowledge and best advice for planning for retirement, long-term-care options and end-of-life issues for yourself and your loved ones while protecting assets.

There is work to be done, but the groundwork is laid out for you here.

Topics include wills, senior living options and life care needs, business succession, Social Security, Medicaid, planning for an adult child with special needs, protecting seniors from financial exploitation, determining caregivers and decision-makers, and so much more.

You will learn about pitfalls, the documents you need and how to choose the best professionals to help you.

These books are filled with valuable information — real tools with real solutions.

You can be ready for whatever situations life throws at you!

 

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April’s Book To Live By

Have you ever stepped from another’s shadow to stand in your own light? Now that is something to sing about!

In the April membership interview, “20 Feet from Stardom’: From Superstar Backup Singer to Solo Spotlight,” I spoke with songstress Lisa Fischer, who has spent three decades sharing the stage and studio with such superstar acts as the Rolling Stones, Luther Vandross, Sting and Tina Turner.

To celebrate this amazing woman, this month, instead of a book to inform and inspire you, I want to introduce you to music that will touch your heart and make your spirit soar.

I am so proud to announce that our April 2016 Songs To Live By selection is Lisa’s solo album:

So Intense

So Intense by Lisa Fischer

In this incredible album, Lisa unleashes a superb range and thrilling, emotive delivery that will knock your socks off.

You may already know the monster-hit single “How Can I Ease the Pain?” — one of three songs on the album that Lisa co-wrote — which won the 1992 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The yearning in Lisa’s voice can bring you to tears.

From get-on-your-feet dance beats (“Save Me”) to soulful ballads (her cover of the classic “Wildflower,” produced here by Luther Vandross) to goosebump-inducing vocal acrobatics (“Chain of Broken Hearts”), So Intense is a stunning, soul-soothing, heart-pounding encounter. I cannot recommend it more highly!

And if you get the chance to hear Lisa in person — she is currently on tour — you simply must go! Lisa is a true gem.

 

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March’s Book To Live By

How is your health? If you are anything like me, you are a work-in-progress, striving and desiring to feel your very best.

This month’s Books To Live By choice expands and deepens the discussion we began in our March membership interview, “Five Steps to Take Charge of Your Health Now!”

I am proud to announce that our March 2016 selection is:

Mysterious Mind Cover

The Mysterious Mind: How to Use Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science to Heal Your Headaches and Reclaim Your Health by Trupti Gokani, M.D.

In this remarkable book, our own Trupti Gokani, a board-certified neurologist with a medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an expert in the ancient wisdom and traditions of Ayurvedic medicine, leads us through the wondrous mysteries of the mind-body connection so we can claim vital health and well-being.

Beyond her thriving medical practice in Chicago, Dr. Gokani has written and lectured extensively in the areas of neurology and psychiatry, and has generously shared her insights into such widespread modern-day ailments as migraines, insomnia, mood disorders, food allergies, autoimmune diseases, and digestive and hormonal issues.

In The Mysterious Mind, with clarity and compassion, she guides you to such discoveries as your true physical nature (your dosha), which holds the key to your health.

Her simple yet elegant diet and lifestyle choices will lead you through detoxification processes and help you to balance your hormones so you can finally feel your best.

This book has now replaced the more dated health book go-tos on my shelf. It’s a winner!

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October’s Book To Live By

This month’s book choice was recommended to us from one of my favorite inspiring women.

Sheri Salata, the president of The Oprah Winfrey Network, was the subject of our featured interview in this month’s Women on Fire membership package.

If anyone knows the best and latest book to recommend, it’s Sheri, and she didn’t disappoint!

Our October Book To Live By selection is….

 

Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum by Jessica Posner and Kennedy Odede is the true story of two young people from entirely different worlds who fall in love — and change the world.

Jessica Posner is a Wesleyan College graduate from Denver,and Kennedy Odede is a young man from Kibera, the largest slum in Africa.

Together, their work has changed the lives of many in Kibera’s most vulnerable population: girls.

They founded Kibera’s first tuition-free school for girls, a large, bright blue building, which stands as a bastion of hope in what once felt like a hopeless place.

There is intrigue and suspense in this book, and it’s impossible to read it without feeling uplifted for what is possible for the human spirit.

Mia Farrow called the book “an astounding story of love, hope, inspiration and triumph. It is a mesmerizing love story; two young people from very different cultures join forces to build a life together—and a new life filled with promise for others. I don’t think either of them understand the word ‘impossible.’ ”

Please order your copy today and let me know what you think. It’s a perfect book to curl up with this weekend.

Thank you, Sheri Salata. This book is such a winner!

Love,

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P.S. Please join me in New York City on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:30PM for an intimate evening, workshop and discussion of the Women on Fire book series.

Sponsored by BookTheWriter at a private home, the evening promises to be fun and inspiring! All information to register is here. I hope to see you there!

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Women on Fire’s September Book To Live By Is…

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,

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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!