Life in the Modern World

 

This month is devoted to the crazy, stressful life of the twentieth and twenty-first century.  Historically speaking, other centuries may have suffered from stress -- attacking Visigoths and the Black Plague could certainly bring you down, I must admit.  But our modern world has its own unique hang-ups and problems.  This month's spotlight features non-fiction, poetry, and contemporary fiction.

Non-Fiction

The Last Horizon by Floyd M. Orr

The Last Horizon is a psychosocial study of feminine sexuality and the social structure of the American middle class.  If you want to understand the real driving forces behind America's societal and corporate psychoses, this is the book to order.

Floyd M. Orr is retired from several factions of the financial industry. He has published four books, several short stories, and three blogs, all of different genres.

From the Author:

"Things you can learn from reading The Last Horizon:  1. How not to get too romantically involved with a butthead before you fall in love.  2. How not to let people routinely take advantage of you in your everyday affairs.  3. How America got to be in such a sad state socially, economically, and psychologically ... " and more ...

You can read more about Floyd Orr's book at his website -- or enjoy his notorious book reviews at his other site, iUniverse Book Reviews.

 

 

Medicines for Mental Health by Kevin Thompson, Ph. D.

If you suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, or care for someone who does, then this book was written for you. Medicines for Mental Health is the first book to provide detailed and readable information about all psychiatric medications, and other medical treatments, for these mental illnesses. Medicines cuts through the jargon, demystifies your illness, explains how the treatments work, and goes beyond current fads to cover important medications you need to know about, that even your doctor never heard of.

Kevin Thompson is a physicist with an interest in medical treatments for mental illness.  When he could not find a comprehensive guide to psychiatric medications, written for the educated layperson, he wrote his own.

Reviews:

"This, to me, is a must-have resource for today's mental health." ~ Daniel A. Hoffman, M.D., Neuropsychiatrist

"...For those with a practical interest in psychotropic medication such as patients, their families and carers this book is a very convenient 'first stop' in understanding treatment with psychotropic medication." ~ PsyWorld.com

Awards:

Finalist in the 2008 National Indie Excellence Awards

To read some of Kevin Thompson's articles on mental health or peruse an online version of this book, visit the author's website.

 

 

Making Our Lives Work by Shirley A. Mahood

How can I manage the stress I feel? Why do my relationships go so wrong at times? What am I supposed to be doing with my life? If you have ever asked yourself these questions, this book is for you. We can learn to assess our strengths, value ourselves, and ultimately to feel more peaceful. Topics cover include dealing with crisis, anger management, learning how to forgive, developing the skill of self-care. Making Our Lives Work is an excellent class text as well as a self-help manual for the individual.

Drawing on her experience as a teacher of English, pyschology, and public speaking, Shirley A. Mahood first developed a successful series of workshops and seminars which focused on ways to make life more peaceful, less stressful. The first edition of this book, published in London, England, grew out of those presentations. Now Ms. Mahood resides back in the United States where she continues her motivational speaking career. This second expanded edition is a result of her continued work.

Reviews:

"A book to be kept in car or tote bag.  This book can change the way we think, resulting in our living healthier lives." ~ Diana Woodruff, PhD., P.C., Marriage and Family Therapist

"I keep a copy of this book in my desk drawer for quick peeks." ~ Mary I. Lang, CPS

Learn more about Shirley Mahood, her workshops, seminars, and this book by visiting the author's website.

 

 

Stress?  Find Your Balance by Allan Press and Lynn Osterkamp

Stress? Find Your Balance provides simple step-by-step directions for 14 effective stress-management techniques the authors have taught to thousands of people over the past 25 years. Candid personal reports from people who use the techniques illustrate each chapter. Readers learn to choose the stress-management techniques that work best for them, and create a personal plan that they can follow at home to reduce or eliminate stress from their lives.
 

Allan N. Press, Ph.D. and Lynn Osterkamp, Ph.D., MSW have studied and taught stress-management techniques for over 25 years. Their Computerized Stress Inventory has been used nationally and internationally by hospitals, wellness centers, physicians, military installations, employee assistance programs, universities, psychologists and consultants since 1984 to help people examine their sources and symptoms of stress. Through their research and consulting firm, Preventive Measures, Inc., they have compiled comprehensive data about stress and coping patterns from thousands of adults nationwide.

Reviews:

"Contains a multitude of helpful stress-fighting strategies presented in an understandable and concise fashion." ~ Craig S. Brown, Ed.D., P.C, Licensed Psychologist

"Covers the central threads of stress management so well, I refer to it as ‘the Cliffs Notes of stress management.'" ~ Frank J. Gilbert, Ph.D., Wellness Coordinator

You can find more information about this book and others published by PMI Press at the publisher's website.

Poetry


Sightlines by Janet Grace Riehl

A beautiful collection filled with 90 poems, 190 pages, and 25 photos, Sightlines offers a frank portrait of a family not only coming to terms with its grief, but also celebrating its past and difficult present. Although deeply personal, these poems strike poignant and universal chords. They offer a vision of life filled with little treasures that carry us back to what is truly important in our lives.

Following a family tragedy, Janet Grace Riehl returned to her childhood home in the Midwest. There, through her craft, she discovered a new sense of connection reuniting her, and the reader, with life. Janet Grace Riehl is an award-winning author, artist, performer, and creativity coach. Her poems, stories, and essays have been widely published in national literary magazines and the newly-released anthology Stories to Live By: Wisdom to Help You Make the Most of Every Day. Her life moves between two great bodies of water—the Mississippi River in Southwestern Illinois and Clear Lake in Northern California.

Reviews:

"Village wisdom for the 21st century. Between these covers lives an enlightening friend.” ~ Clive Matson, author of Let the Crazy Child Write!

“Janet Riehl’s poems tread that thin line between insightful nostalgia and objectivity Midwesterners are so good at.” ~ Hal Zina Bennett, author of Write from the Heart

“Rich and vibrant, complete with vivid language that bursts, or sneaks, into your mind.” ~ James BlueWolf, author of Sitting by His Bones and Grandpa Says

Awards:

Honorable Mention at the 2007 DIY Book Festival

Learn more about this book and other writing by Janet Grace Riehl at the author's website.

 

 

Poetry for the Chronically Heart Broken and Depressed by Shannon McRoberts

 

A collection of poems written and illustrated by award winning poet Shannon McRoberts. Most poems in this collection are of a brooding or sad nature, thus the title of the book. As an added bonus, the book also has a special section for the reader to jot down their own thoughts, doodles, and poems. If you are in the mood to read about love lost or love gone wrong, you are sure to enjoy these poems.

Shannon McRoberts was born and raised in Kentucky. She still resides in the state with her husband. Shannon is currently working on launching her independent art and writing career, which is something she has wanted since she was only six years old.

Awards:

Honorable Mention with Illiad Press

Read samples of Shannon McRoberts' poetry and view her photography books at the author's website.

 

Contemporary Fiction

Second Chance by Joy Collins

Mothers, fathers, children, wives, husbands-everyone deserves a second chance, don't they?
Or do they?  Sara Weber has always felt she was married to two people-her husband and his ex-wife. Suddenly her world-and her marriage-is turned upside down when his ex demands money for their college-age daughter. Her husband's response? He wants his daughter to move across the country to Arizona, live with him and Sara and attend the local university. As if this weren't enough stress, Sara's mother is becoming more senile and Sara has to help her sister place her only living parent in a nursing home. When Sara's stepdaughter is in a car accident, the ex swoops in and attempts to re-kindle a relationship with Sara's husband. Devastated, Sara turns to the last person she ever thought could help her-her own stepmother. Second Chance is the story of one woman's marriage and how she learns that understanding and forgiveness are the keys to a second chance at love.

Joy Collins and her husband John share their Arizona home with two dogs and three cats. She is a registered nurse and holds a degree in Business Administration. Joy divides her time between her busy legal nurse consulting business and writing and is already working on her second novel.

Reviews:

"A familiar tale about a woman in a second marriage with a man whose ex-wife is a real pain. I immediately felt sorry for Sara, the protagonist, because of the insults she has to endure and the interruptions she suffers in her otherwise satisfying life. As Sara says, her husband ...didn't just have the baggage from a previous marriage, but ...steamer trunk loads full of crap leftover from his life with Mona." ~ ReaderViews.com

"Joy Collins shows a depth of maturity rarely found in a writer's first novel. She takes the reader through a tightly interwoven set of circumstances, defining and delineating the psychodramas as they unfold. The show-don't-tell compositional style is never boring and the editing is as taut as the strings on a violin." ~ iUniverse Book Reviews

Learn more about this book and Joy Collins' "Fiction for Today's Woman" at the author's website.

 

 

Secretarial Wars by Linda Gould

Miriam, a Washington secretary in her late twenties, recently divorced, living in a drab apartment and stuck in a dead-end job, longs for fame, fortune and love. Her days are spent in an office cubicle, surrounded by files belonging to applicants for U. S. Peace grants, a program that sends scholars abroad to teach and disseminate American ideals - or maybe for more dubious purposes. Miriam's two best friends at work, flower child Jocelyn and conventional Cass, harbor ambitions of their own. The three secretaries lunch together weekly at a nightclub that Jocelyn co-manages in her spare time. Her life's dream is to be reunited with a rock star who got his start there. Cass sets her sights on a local football hero, and hatches a plot to use her superior secretarial skills to ensnare him. Miriam plans to write an investigative piece about her agency for an underground newspaper editor who holds court there. The three girlfriends confront their dreams and their demons in a wild finale, a fund-raiser for a fire-breathing Mayoral candidate. From the cubicle to the Oval Office, Secretarial Wars offers a light-hearted look at bureaucratic life in Washington, D.C.

Linda Gould is a career bureaucrat. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Western Maryland College and a master’s degree in political science from American University in Washington DC. Her first novel, Secretarial Wars, was published in 2003. Gould lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Reviews:

"Linda Gould has written a testament to the power of secretarial staff. Be warned people! Secretaries know your dirty little secrets. The book's plot is well thought out and moves along nicely.  The story is almost too real. A well balanced read of scandal, sex, drugs, and politics." ~ BookReview.com

"The plot develops slowly and meticulously, as if it had been directed by Stanley Kubrick." ~ iUniverse Book Reviews

 


Following My Toes by Laurel Osterkamp

Even if nobody believes her, Faith Emerson knows she's psychic. After all, she totally saw it coming when Peter, her boyfriend of two years, dumped her for her best friend. Heartbroken, Faith needs a fresh start. So when her good friend Carolyn suggests she move from Duluth to Minneapolis, Faith takes the plunge and embarks on a new adventure. However, Faith soon learns things don't always go as planned when she's forced to deal with a coffee shop customer from hell, a bruised tailbone, a phone-sex operator roommate, a freeloading younger sister, her parents' taxidermy convention, and a new love interest who may be stalking her. Yet every time Faith tries to rely on her perceptive abilities, friends or family accuse her of being self-involved. Faith believes in love, but knows she must solve the stalker mystery before she can trust any of the new men in her life. In the process she discovers that she has more to learn about following her heart and following her instincts than she ever imagined. Following My Toes is a tale of love and forgiveness, told with humor and a fresh, innovative voice

Laurel Osterkamp has been a comedy writer for Minneapolis performance groups over the last seven years. She currently teaches creative writing to high school students, and lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son. This is her first novel.

Reviews:

"...a funny, believable story about learning to live and love and let go.   A delightful, quick read." ~ Armchair Interviews

"Osterkamp's background as a comedy writer is readily apparent with the nice balance between the humor and the serious." ~ Book Pleasures.com

Awards:

Winner in the 2008 National Indie Excellence Awards

View the book video trailer for Following My Toes or read the first chapter on the author's website.

 

 

Sweethearts and Monsters by Trudy W. Schuett

Sweethearts and Monsters is about the pre-Google, pre-MySpace era of the Internet, when e-mail discussion groups with members numbering in the hundreds and thousands were not uncommon. It almost classifies as historical fiction! The story centers on the annual in-person conference of the Outriders, and long-time members Fran and Alan, who are meeting F2F for the first time. This is not just another "cybergeeks in love" story, as they are being stalked by religious radicals who'd be comical if they weren't so dangerous!

Trudy W. Schuett is a writer, blogger, chef, and speaker. She is a grandmother of three and lives in Yuma Arizona with her husband.
 

From the Author:

"It’s about the Internet culture of the late 1990s; a walk down memory lane, if you will, for some people."

Read more about this book and Trudy Schuett's other works at the author's website.

 

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