Five books have been vying for my attention – I can’t seem to put any of them down. Happily, I don’t have to choose, having mastered the talent of reading five books simultaneously.
1. Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis by Amy FerrisI am amongst our many members who are indulging themselves in VN’s first book club selection, Marrying George Clooney, by our own Amy Ferris. George is, appropriately, on my bedside table. |
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2. Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown-Up Woman’s Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve by Cindy Ratzlaff and Kathy KinneyYou may recognize Kathy Kinney from her iconic role as Mimi on The Drew Carey Show. VN member Cindy Ratzlaff is a publishing marketing whiz, and the promotional brains behind The South Beach Diet. Best of all, like Amy Ferris, they are one of us. (Two of us, actually.) Drawing upon the rich stories of their lives, they recount how they chose to face their fears about aging and lighten up not only themselves about it, but us all. The transformation was precipitated by Cindy’s unexpected and untimely downsizing from her big career job. (Sound familiar?) Whereas I flopped around the house a lot, moaning that I’d been broken to the core, Cindy hopped a plane to Prague with her long-time friend Kathy. The trip turned into a spontaneous ritual, with the two friends addressing two key questions: “What do you want to let go of or banish from the first half of your life that no longer works for you or makes you happy?” and “What do you want to keep from the first half of your life that makes you strong and gives you joy?” They reclaimed the joy, as captured in this wonderful quote from Father Alfred D’Souza. “Dance as though no one is watching, love as though you have never been hurt, sing as though no one can hear you, and live as though heaven is on earth.” |
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3. Small Pleasures: Finding Grace in a Chaotic World by Justine TomsI’m not going to say too much about the third book, only because you can follow this link and get into the spirit of this little instant classic in conversation with the book’s author, VN member Justine Toms, elsewhere on our site. Suffice it to say that the simplicity, innocence and open-heartedness of this book touches me deeply. Having already read it once through, I only need look at the glorious cover of a still life of fruit against a landscape I recognize as the expansive view of hills and greenery from Justine’s Northern California home, to put all the everyday stressors that greet me at my desk into larger perspective. |
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4. Longevity Rules: How to Age Well Into the Future by Theodore Roszak, Robert Butler and Harry (Rick) Moody, et. al. This book, on my “resources” bookshelf newly tucked between my more scholarly works about Boomers and aging, is the only one on the list not authored by a member of the VN community. It is a collection of essays by many top thinkers, such as Theodore Roszak, Robert Butler and Harry (Rick) Moody. How could you not love David Shields on: “The Thing about Life is That One Day You’ll Be Dead” and Laura Carstensen’s “Growing Old or Living Long: Take Your Pick”? The book is divided into four areas of inquiry: political, medical, societal, behavioral and mathematical. This is a must-read for anybody – scholar or not – who wants to know what the best minds are thinking about aging and longevity now. |
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5. The Daughter Trap: Taking Care of Mom and Dad…and You by Laurel Kennedy This book is on my entranceway table, where I read chapters at a time while waiting for the first of my many friends who are caregiving their aging parents to come through the door. I know I won’t be able to resist loaning it out, but I’m determined to finish it for myself first. The book’s author, VN member Laurel Kennedy, does a great job capturing how much of the caregiving burden has gone to the women of our generation, and the emotional and economic toll it takes. This book is as much a call to action as it is a survival manual for the daughter in the family. |
I love love love “Queen of Your Own Life” and all that they are about. Their presence extends beyond their book, to blog and Facebook updates to continue the flow of joy!
http://www.queenofyourownlife.com/
I’d like you to read MY books. I will be interviewed on Internet Radio on October 20th at 7 p.m. Eastern time at http://www.ArtistFirst.com. I write pleasant non-fiction books, mostly about interesting characters who lived in the Southwest during the last century. I was there to interviews them. FROM THUNDER TO BREAKFAST is about Hube Yates, a pioneer to Arizona from Oklahoma when he was eleven. He grew up to be a firefighter, hero (he received the Carnegie Hero Medal), horseman, hunting guide and a marvelous storyteller with a great sense of humor. Hugh Downs, another admirer, wrote the foreword for us.
WIDOWHOOD HAPPENS encourages married people to prepare as best they can for the death of their spouses. It’s an easy read, not preachy. I interviewed 12 widows and 2 widowers and various professionals who deal with their problems. It’s something you should read. It’s not tough to do.
THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT CAVE CREEK (It’s The People) is about some of this Arizona town’s characters. There was Leadpipe, a squatter who lived next to the county dump; O K Charlie, a little man who was a prospector and an artist who
traded his art for booze at a local bar; the bar itself, and its owners; sheriffs, one who took the job because no one else would do it and another a tough-minded woman who prided herself on being a sure-shot; an environmentalist from England who fell in love with the desert and fought hard to protect it; a dude wrangler and others who fascinated me.
The most recent is a children’s book titled JAVELINA (Have-uh-WHAT?). That strange subtitle is because “javelina” is pronounced “have-uh-LEE-nah.” All my books are non-fiction, so this is no exception. Javelinas are wild pig-like animals
that roam our Southwestern deserts. Some people hate them because they destroy their gardens, but others, like me, love to watch them and their lifestyles. They’re great parents, have enemies such as coyotes, bobcats, etc. and they protect themselves when danger lurks. The book is photographically illustrated by Al Brown and me.
I’ll be talking about them all at the interview on October 20, 7 p.m. Eastern Time at http://www.ArtistFirst.com.