Tag: reviews

Are You Afraid You Might Fail?

Posted on March 22, 2015 by

courage4

Is something holding you back from living your best life? Are you afraid that you might fail? Are you ready to move forward but find yourself frozen in fear?

You need to read this book: What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail.

 The parenting website, Ten To Twenty (I’m a regular contributor now) loved this review I wrote and is publishing it today on their front page – here.

I adored this little book; it was the first review I did for Viva Books, and has let to a great partnership. You can read more of my Viva books reviews about living in the present, gratitude, and finding the right words with these links:

Wholehearted Life

Toasts: The Perfect Words To Celebrate Any Occasion

The Grateful Life

Imagine The Life You’d Like To Live, Then Live It

header photo credit: Courageous via photopin (license)

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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The Grateful Life: A Book About Gratitude

Posted on November 11, 2014 by

grat·i·tude

ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/
noun
the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Gratitude is trending. In less than a second I can find nearly 400,000 hits for #gratitude on Google. Twitter is alive with posts about gratitude, everything from people’s 5 Things A Day, ways to teach our kids gratitude, and celebrities like Oprah reminding us to “never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.”

It’s everywhere. How could we miss it? How could we not feel it around us, a never ending reminder that life is good and we should be grateful?

On Facebook we’re grateful for leaves changing color, for veterans and our loving husbands. Some folks are grateful for their ‘amazing’ main course or dessert, for their adorable kids and dogs, and for…gratitude itself. For the awareness, finally, that life is worth shouting out about.

If you’re inspired by stories of gratitude – stories by REAL people experiencing the transformative power of gratitude – you should put The Grateful Life: The Secret to Happiness and the Science of Contentment on your reading list. Written by Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons (I reviewed their last book, What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail), The Grateful Life offers tips and inspirational stories from people just like you and me who have experienced the benefits of living mindfully and with an awareness of the blessings in our lives.

Each of the ten chapters offers several short vignettes accompanied by sidebar tidbits, all centered around a theme. The book starts with Chapter One’s “How Gratitude and Intentional Behavior Move to Our Hearts, Creating Blessings in Our Lives” and sidebars “The Network for Grateful Living” and “Gratitude Prayer”, and ends with Chapter Ten’s theme of “The Secret to a Gratitude Makeover: How to Create Gratitude Practices That Stick” and sidebars about Jimmy Fallon’s Thank You Lessons, Writing Thank You Cards, and tips about how to bring more gratitude into your life.

I’ve experienced the power of gratitude first hand, as have millions of people. When my son was faced with a broken leg last summer and saw his ski racing dreams severely compromised, we got through the hardest hours by rattling off three gratitudes – and we made it. Life will always get better, but sometimes we need to take a little pause and give ourselves time and permission to remember that.

The Grateful Life: The Secret to Happiness and the Science of Contentment can offer just that – a reminder that in sharing our stories of the benefits of gratitude as told by people just like us, we can begin to live a life of more contentment, gratefulness and transformation.

To read more about the book, visit their website: http://www.vivaeditions.com/book_page.php?book_id=85.

p.s. – did you read my previous posts about gratitude? Deep Gratitude,  Thanks, Coach, For the Life Lessons, and Broken?

I received a free copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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reading with mamawolfe: Diary of a Mad Fat Girl

Posted on March 9, 2012 by

 

http://www.blogher.com/bookclub/now-reading-diary-mad-fat-girl

 

 

I actually didn’t think I would like this book.  It was the title.  Diary of a Mad Fat Girl.  Fat just isn’t a politically correct word, and I wondered how the author could get me past the initial stereotyped image she was presenting.

Honestly, it didn’t take long.  Once I got into the first few chapters I was hooked, and I didn’t care who saw the cover!  Stephanie McAfee’s skillful characterizations of protagonist Graciela “Ace” Jones, her best friend Lilly, mutual friend Chloe, their boyfriends, lovers, spouses and an adorable Chiweeenie dog named Buster Loo brought me right into their lives in current day Mississippi and I never wanted to leave.

Daphnee, a 3 ½ year old Miniature Dachshund / Chihuahua mix (Chiweenie)
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/chiweenie.htm

Ace Jones, the mad fat girl of the title, and her tall, willowy and beautiful BFF Lilly reminded me of girls I used to teach with when I was young, single and figuring out the world.  Ace and Lilly teach, live and love with passion.  Ace leads with her heart and not her head, a strategy which lends itself to poignant humor and situations the reader can imagine herself alongside the characters – well, maybe not the hilarious drag bar scene!

As if Ace and her pals weren’t enough, Stephanie McAfee’s addition of the fabulous Gloria Peacock and her friends Daisy, Birdie and Temple absolutely sealed the deal for me.  The addition of these mature, wise matriarchs provides grounding and depth for the story and characters.

I could just picture Ace and her girlfriends, desperate for advice on their love lives, grasping for advice from the more ‘experienced’ ladies: “I look at Gloria Peacock, who smiles at me.  ‘Follow your heart.  It won’t lead you wrong.’  ‘Mind did,’ Daisy says.  ‘More than once.’  ‘I think you were following something besides your heart, Daisy,’ Birdie says.

Gloria and her cohort represent female strength at a mature age, and highlight McAfee’s ability to create complex female characters.  Add in a bit of tragedy and a whole bunch of humor, and you’ve got a book to lose yourself in for an afternoon.

But Diary of a Mad Fat Girl isn’t a typical single-girl-finds-the-right-guy predictable type of love story.  Ace and her pals sample life with enviable gusto, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, I didn’t.  Kind of like life.

I’m still not crazy about the title, but Diary of a Mad Fat Girl has the ability to move the reader out of their own reality and into the lives of these strong women living in Bugtussle, Mississippi, and to let us know that stereotypes are meant to be broken.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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