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February 2024 MBR The Self-Help Shelf
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Midwest Book Review
Feb 20, 2024, 1:37:06 AMFeb 20
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The Self-Help Shelf
Sacred Celebrations
Elizabeth Barbour
Empower Press
c/o GracePoint Publishing
www.GracePointPublishing.com
9780972468695, $22.95 Paper/$9.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Celebrations-Designing-Milestone-Transitions/dp/0972468692
Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life's Milestone Transitions comes from Elizabeth Barbour, a life coach who first makes the case for why rituals are needed to celebrate and reinforce transitional points in life, then outlines the types of rituals that are possible for all forms of change.
From birth and death to moving, divorce, and daily living, these rituals, big and small, she offers readers opportunities for connecting in celebrating and sharing moments of life. Initially charged with creating the ritual for her mother's passing, Elizabeth Barbour made not one, but two ceremonies, and in them found the strength, inspiration, and healing from her efforts to be transformative.
With clarity, honesty, and revealing tenderness, Barbour translates her experience for readers who can then glimpse the actual impact and meaning that rituals hold and promise to those who organize and participate in them: "We have access to ministers and rabbis and other holy people to help facilitate funerals because it allows space and time for the family to grieve and feel all their emotions. But for some crazy reason, I had decided that Mom's first send-off should be fully planned and executed by me, her only child. What was I thinking? Slowly, my circle started gathering and my jangled nerves calmed down with each hug I received. More than thirty women arrived from all aspects of my life in Houston, neighbors, church friends, book club members, networking colleagues, clients, and Zumba dance buddies -- only three or four had actually met my mother. They all gathered for me. This diverse group of women all enjoyed meeting one another, and my home and my heart overflowed with the rich sounds of women talking and laughing together."
Each example in her book outlines the possibilities ritual can introduce to virtually any facet of life. They are opportunities for connection and healing that only come from organization, purpose, and spiritual and psychological intention, and apply to many surprising life changes that readers initially won't associate with ritualistic applications, such as divorce:
"I proceeded to move through my condo one room at a time and I lit a ceremonial fire in each. There is something deeply primal and oh-so-powerful about fire as a tool for transformation. Using a large Pyrex bowl, I put in a little bit of Epsom salts and rubbing alcohol, and then I lit a match. I had a bowl of water nearby in case the fire got out of hand. With each tiny fire, I forcefully spoke out loud the things that I was ready to release from my marriage."
The result is a lesson plan for life that does more than outline ritual possibilities, but embraces them as part of the act of letting go, moving on, or releasing negative energy to make room for the positive forces of support and healing. Ideally, Sacred Celebrations shouldn't be limited to spirituality or new age collections (which will be its most likely audience), but will be incorporated into general-interest libraries and selected for book club and discussion groups from all walks of life, from spirituality to psychology circles.
More so than most books about celebrations, Sacred Celebrations translates the act and ritual of healing to everyday life, making it a top recommendation for libraries seeking a wider-ranging approach to better living.
Thought Leader Academy
Sara Connell
Muse Literary
https://museliterary.com
9781960876386, $33.99 Hardcover/$15.99 Paper/$5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Thought-Leader-Academy-Through-Mission/dp/1960876384
Thought Leader Academy: 10x Your Impact and Income Through Your Mission and Message isn't just a book: it's a program developed by Sara Connell to guide fellow coaches and entrepreneurs to make the most of their leadership abilities.
Now, Connell's message isn't new. There are many other coaching books and guides on the market that boast of doing the same. What differentiates Thought Leader Academy from many of its peers is an approach to the process that offers proven strategies and tips for honing one's ability to increase impact and income in an exuberant, uplifting way, as a thought leader. "Have you had a Resonance moment? Felt the tingling, demanding, that won't let you go no matter how hard you try to push it away, this is my destiny? Was there something you came across that grabbed you by the spine and said, "You will follow me, you must follow me. For this you have come!"
From childhood trauma to her first book deal that landed her on Oprah, being published in the New York Times and founding Thought Leader Academy to help others overcoming inner blocks to become the leaders they are meant to be, Thought Leader Academy is more than a memoir or self-help guide. It's a strategic program to help readers publish books, speak on stages, build communities, and monetize their missions.
The journey is powered by Connell's own life experiences as well as those of others: "I knew this transformation was not going to be subtle. I could feel that, like recovering from an addiction or summiting a high mountain, it would require radical new thinking, behaviors, habits, and action. What I found is that it required an uplevel of my identity. I went for this work from every possible direction, investing in coaching, mindset work, spiritual practice, new styles of meditation, neuroscience techniques."
The uplifting nature of her subject is tempered by realistic assessments of what makes thought leadership difficult work, ultimately challenging and productive. Her assessments of these pivot points of transformation and new possibility creates a dialogue of step-by-step approaches to giving, learning, and pushing the boundaries of success.
Readers of Thought Leader Academy should, like AA members, be "willing to work the program" presented here. The roadmap is proven, but the work itself is up to the reader who takes action on Connell's Thought Leader Academy.
Libraries seeking inspirational self-help guides to leadership will want to highly recommend her approach to various discussion groups, from entrepreneurial circles to book clubs interested in not just ideals, but programs that hold both the promise and the nuts and bolts of active change.
Creating Harmonious Relationships
Andrew LeCompte
https://andrewlecompte.com
Connections Press
9798988748304, $16.95, PB, 254pp
https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Harmonious-Relationships-Practical-Empathy/dp/B0CN2H3KNK
Synopsis: "Creating Harmonious Relationships: a Practical Guide to the Power of True Empathy, Revised Edition" by Andrew LeCompte is empowering in a heartfelt way. It teaches the reader how to communicate wisely and effectively with other people. The basic technique is easy to grasp, and it is taught in a step-by step manner. It teaches how to listen in a way that invites the other person to open up and disclose what is really bothering them while also encouraging them to turn what might be their negative complaint into a positive hope. This is the use of "true empathy." It is particularly useful in defusing an argument when emotions are running high.
"True empathy" involves first acknowledging the other person's feeling state, as in "Are you upset because...?" This guess shows concern for the other person's feeling state and invites their correction. They might say, "I'm angry at you because you've only been criticizing my idea." Then you guess at what their positive hope might be that is behind their feeling criticized. You might reply, "So you're angry because what you really want is some positive support." Then they will supply what their hope is, in this case probably involving some kind of help. This defuses their emotional energy.
Hopes are a key concept in interpersonal communication. We are all motivated to get our hopes met. Hopes are such things as to be heard and understood, to be accepted. These are connection hopes. We also have freedom hopes such as to be free to express our creativity and to be treated with honesty. Hopes are positive needs that can be met without infringing on someone else. They are at the heart of effective conflict resolution.
This method of communicating is the culmination of techniques that have been practiced and refined over many decades. Thousands of people have learned and benefitted from the first edition of Creating Harmonious Relationships: a Practical Guide to the Power of True Empathy. The book was sold out in its first printing and the much awaited Revised Edition is now available.
Critique: While being a successful human doesn't come with an instruction manual. But this newly revised edition of Andrew LeCompte's "Creating Harmonious Relationships: A Practical Guide to the Power of True Empathy" is the next best thing. Expertly written, organized and presented, "Creating Harmonious Relationships" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections, and supplemental Communications curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for personal and professional reading lists that "Creating Harmonious Relationships" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).
Editorial Note: With a master's degree in Humanistic Psychology in Organizations, and practical life experience, Andrew LeCompte (https://andrewlecompte.com) developed a deeper method of interpersonal communication, which involves tapping into each person's emotions and what they are most hoping for. He then taught empathic speaking and listening skills to couples and to people in schools, colleges, civic groups, legal practices, hospitals, pharmaceutical and financial corporations. As President of the Let's Talk training group he led leadership, management, and organizational development programs.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.
The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com
Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
Sacred Celebrations
Elizabeth Barbour
Empower Press
c/o GracePoint Publishing
www.GracePointPublishing.com
9780972468695, $22.95 Paper/$9.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Celebrations-Designing-Milestone-Transitions/dp/0972468692
Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life's Milestone Transitions comes from Elizabeth Barbour, a life coach who first makes the case for why rituals are needed to celebrate and reinforce transitional points in life, then outlines the types of rituals that are possible for all forms of change.
From birth and death to moving, divorce, and daily living, these rituals, big and small, she offers readers opportunities for connecting in celebrating and sharing moments of life. Initially charged with creating the ritual for her mother's passing, Elizabeth Barbour made not one, but two ceremonies, and in them found the strength, inspiration, and healing from her efforts to be transformative.
With clarity, honesty, and revealing tenderness, Barbour translates her experience for readers who can then glimpse the actual impact and meaning that rituals hold and promise to those who organize and participate in them: "We have access to ministers and rabbis and other holy people to help facilitate funerals because it allows space and time for the family to grieve and feel all their emotions. But for some crazy reason, I had decided that Mom's first send-off should be fully planned and executed by me, her only child. What was I thinking? Slowly, my circle started gathering and my jangled nerves calmed down with each hug I received. More than thirty women arrived from all aspects of my life in Houston, neighbors, church friends, book club members, networking colleagues, clients, and Zumba dance buddies -- only three or four had actually met my mother. They all gathered for me. This diverse group of women all enjoyed meeting one another, and my home and my heart overflowed with the rich sounds of women talking and laughing together."
Each example in her book outlines the possibilities ritual can introduce to virtually any facet of life. They are opportunities for connection and healing that only come from organization, purpose, and spiritual and psychological intention, and apply to many surprising life changes that readers initially won't associate with ritualistic applications, such as divorce:
"I proceeded to move through my condo one room at a time and I lit a ceremonial fire in each. There is something deeply primal and oh-so-powerful about fire as a tool for transformation. Using a large Pyrex bowl, I put in a little bit of Epsom salts and rubbing alcohol, and then I lit a match. I had a bowl of water nearby in case the fire got out of hand. With each tiny fire, I forcefully spoke out loud the things that I was ready to release from my marriage."
The result is a lesson plan for life that does more than outline ritual possibilities, but embraces them as part of the act of letting go, moving on, or releasing negative energy to make room for the positive forces of support and healing. Ideally, Sacred Celebrations shouldn't be limited to spirituality or new age collections (which will be its most likely audience), but will be incorporated into general-interest libraries and selected for book club and discussion groups from all walks of life, from spirituality to psychology circles.
More so than most books about celebrations, Sacred Celebrations translates the act and ritual of healing to everyday life, making it a top recommendation for libraries seeking a wider-ranging approach to better living.
Thought Leader Academy
Sara Connell
Muse Literary
https://museliterary.com
9781960876386, $33.99 Hardcover/$15.99 Paper/$5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Thought-Leader-Academy-Through-Mission/dp/1960876384
Thought Leader Academy: 10x Your Impact and Income Through Your Mission and Message isn't just a book: it's a program developed by Sara Connell to guide fellow coaches and entrepreneurs to make the most of their leadership abilities.
Now, Connell's message isn't new. There are many other coaching books and guides on the market that boast of doing the same. What differentiates Thought Leader Academy from many of its peers is an approach to the process that offers proven strategies and tips for honing one's ability to increase impact and income in an exuberant, uplifting way, as a thought leader. "Have you had a Resonance moment? Felt the tingling, demanding, that won't let you go no matter how hard you try to push it away, this is my destiny? Was there something you came across that grabbed you by the spine and said, "You will follow me, you must follow me. For this you have come!"
From childhood trauma to her first book deal that landed her on Oprah, being published in the New York Times and founding Thought Leader Academy to help others overcoming inner blocks to become the leaders they are meant to be, Thought Leader Academy is more than a memoir or self-help guide. It's a strategic program to help readers publish books, speak on stages, build communities, and monetize their missions.
The journey is powered by Connell's own life experiences as well as those of others: "I knew this transformation was not going to be subtle. I could feel that, like recovering from an addiction or summiting a high mountain, it would require radical new thinking, behaviors, habits, and action. What I found is that it required an uplevel of my identity. I went for this work from every possible direction, investing in coaching, mindset work, spiritual practice, new styles of meditation, neuroscience techniques."
The uplifting nature of her subject is tempered by realistic assessments of what makes thought leadership difficult work, ultimately challenging and productive. Her assessments of these pivot points of transformation and new possibility creates a dialogue of step-by-step approaches to giving, learning, and pushing the boundaries of success.
Readers of Thought Leader Academy should, like AA members, be "willing to work the program" presented here. The roadmap is proven, but the work itself is up to the reader who takes action on Connell's Thought Leader Academy.
Libraries seeking inspirational self-help guides to leadership will want to highly recommend her approach to various discussion groups, from entrepreneurial circles to book clubs interested in not just ideals, but programs that hold both the promise and the nuts and bolts of active change.
Creating Harmonious Relationships
Andrew LeCompte
https://andrewlecompte.com
Connections Press
9798988748304, $16.95, PB, 254pp
https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Harmonious-Relationships-Practical-Empathy/dp/B0CN2H3KNK
Synopsis: "Creating Harmonious Relationships: a Practical Guide to the Power of True Empathy, Revised Edition" by Andrew LeCompte is empowering in a heartfelt way. It teaches the reader how to communicate wisely and effectively with other people. The basic technique is easy to grasp, and it is taught in a step-by step manner. It teaches how to listen in a way that invites the other person to open up and disclose what is really bothering them while also encouraging them to turn what might be their negative complaint into a positive hope. This is the use of "true empathy." It is particularly useful in defusing an argument when emotions are running high.
"True empathy" involves first acknowledging the other person's feeling state, as in "Are you upset because...?" This guess shows concern for the other person's feeling state and invites their correction. They might say, "I'm angry at you because you've only been criticizing my idea." Then you guess at what their positive hope might be that is behind their feeling criticized. You might reply, "So you're angry because what you really want is some positive support." Then they will supply what their hope is, in this case probably involving some kind of help. This defuses their emotional energy.
Hopes are a key concept in interpersonal communication. We are all motivated to get our hopes met. Hopes are such things as to be heard and understood, to be accepted. These are connection hopes. We also have freedom hopes such as to be free to express our creativity and to be treated with honesty. Hopes are positive needs that can be met without infringing on someone else. They are at the heart of effective conflict resolution.
This method of communicating is the culmination of techniques that have been practiced and refined over many decades. Thousands of people have learned and benefitted from the first edition of Creating Harmonious Relationships: a Practical Guide to the Power of True Empathy. The book was sold out in its first printing and the much awaited Revised Edition is now available.
Critique: While being a successful human doesn't come with an instruction manual. But this newly revised edition of Andrew LeCompte's "Creating Harmonious Relationships: A Practical Guide to the Power of True Empathy" is the next best thing. Expertly written, organized and presented, "Creating Harmonious Relationships" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections, and supplemental Communications curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for personal and professional reading lists that "Creating Harmonious Relationships" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).
Editorial Note: With a master's degree in Humanistic Psychology in Organizations, and practical life experience, Andrew LeCompte (https://andrewlecompte.com) developed a deeper method of interpersonal communication, which involves tapping into each person's emotions and what they are most hoping for. He then taught empathic speaking and listening skills to couples and to people in schools, colleges, civic groups, legal practices, hospitals, pharmaceutical and financial corporations. As President of the Let's Talk training group he led leadership, management, and organizational development programs.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.
The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com
Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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