Jenn was a few days away from her thirty-first birthday when she had a stroke and a significant brain bleed. She spent eleven weeks in the NICU (neurological intensive care unit) and rehab.
Jenn's memoir is written from several points of view: Caryn, her mom David, her dad Amanda, her sister Misha, her boyfriend
This book packs an incredible punch as the medical hits just kept on coming---during the first several intense days and weeks, as well as once Jenn returned home with 24/7 care. Caryn aptly summed it up, with a dry sense of humor, "Seizure the day."
This is a book about rebirth, renewal, and recovery.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
One of the best books I have read regarding health. Highly recommend!
Several friends are wearing glucose monitors and I am considering wearing one. AfOne of the best books I have read regarding health. Highly recommend!
Several friends are wearing glucose monitors and I am considering wearing one. After reading Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar, I feel like I have learned an incredible amount about glucose spikes and how to reduce them significantly. I still want to wear a glucose monitor because I want to understand my body's response to specific foods.
This was a book that I could not put down and I highlighted many, many parts of the book. The last chapter has ten Glucose Hacks that are easy to remember and easy to do. The Glucose Hacks that I have already incorporated include:
* Eat foods in the right order: Fiber (veggies), protein, and then starch. Sugars at the end, preferably fruit in its natural state, if needed. If you eat foods in this order, you can reduce your overall glucose by 73%. A research study in 2016 demonstrated that those who ate their food in this order had a significant reduction in their HbA1c level. The author uses fabulous analogies. Think of your stomach as a sink and your intestine as the pipe below the sink. If you start a meal with a vegetable, it has plenty of fiber which goes from the sink to the pipe very slowly....like a mesh lining. This mesh lining makes it harder for glucose to make it to the bloodstream.
*Vinegar: 20 minutes before each meal drink a glass of water with one tablespoon of vinegar in it. Reduces your glucose spike by 30%. Researchers have shown that adding vinegar before meals for three months helped participants lose weight, reduce visceral fat, lower triglyceride levels, and decrease waist and hip measurements.
* Move after you eat. Spend a minimum of ten minutes walking, tidying your house, doing calf raises, etc. Walking after eating can decrease glucose spikes by up to 27%.
I read this book to my five year old nephew and it’s fantastic! It’s about a boy named Quinn who tries many sports and activities but he quits each onI read this book to my five year old nephew and it’s fantastic! It’s about a boy named Quinn who tries many sports and activities but he quits each one. His nickname becomes Quitt.
Longevity is a hot topic and one that I am immersing myself into so that I can learn and understand many aspects of it. The Longevity Paradox: How to Longevity is a hot topic and one that I am immersing myself into so that I can learn and understand many aspects of it. The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age is written by Steven R. Gundry, a heart surgeon in Loma Linda, CA (one of the Blue Zones where people live to be 100+ at 10x the rate of the US population.)
Gundry wants to change the current aspect of aging where people live longer but unhealthier and it's a long steady decline to death. The book focuses on treating your gut bacteria, referred to as gut buddies, to change your health. Gut bacteria influences how long and how healthy you live.
The book is very detailed and filled with research information, but it's delivered in an understandable, and, at times, humorous style. It also includes a one-month plan to follow to improve your gut buddies.
Some of the key takeaways include:
* People who live in Blue Zones eat very little animal meat. Many meat and poultry products in the US have growth hormones injected into the animals which make it into our system when we eat.
* Have your last meal and snack at least four hours before you go to sleep. This allows for your gut to finish digesting, but more importantly it allows for the brain "washing" cycle each night to clear out proteins in the brain that create plaque.
* Skip dinner once a week to ensure a thorough brain "wash."
* Vegetables and produce with roots and tubers (sweet potatoes, yams, onions, garlic, etc) are very good for your gut buddies.
* Sugar is bad, including the artificial sweeteners. One packet of Splenda kills 50% of the good gut buddies.
* Eat sardines, herring, and/or anchovies daily to improve brain health and increase Omega 3s.
* Eating at least one serving of leafy greens every single day can add 11 years to your life.
* Eat a handful of nuts daily. Best nuts to eat: pistachios, walnuts, macadamia, hazelnuts. Do not eat peanuts.
* Avoid all commercial salad dressings and sauces. Make your own with olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, and pepper.
* Avoid all sodas, sports drinks, and lemonade. Drink tap water or sparkling mineral water, coffee, or tea.
* Planks and squats are the best exercises.
* If a sibling becomes obese, the chances of another sibling becoming obese is 40%.
* If a spouse becomes obese, the chances of their life partner becoming obese is 30%.
* Social connections are critical. Isolation is deadly. Human connection drives successful aging.
Fantastic book about young girls playing basketball. Great storyline about friendships, mistakes, competition, and collaboration. My seven year old twFantastic book about young girls playing basketball. Great storyline about friendships, mistakes, competition, and collaboration. My seven year old twin nieces love this book!...more
I recently hiked 559 miles on the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. Many of the villages that I hiked through had populations between 20 and 2,000. I also traveled through larger cities: Logrono, Burgos, Leon, Sarria, and Santiago. The large and small towns had many things in common.
It was very rare to see anyone who was overweight. Occasionally I would see a person with a cane, but I didn't see anyone with a walker. Almost every family yard had an incredible garden with lettuce and vegetables. Dinner started after 7:00 pm and many families gathered in the town center to eat, drink, and spend time with family, friends, and loved ones.
As I reflected about what I saw, several friends mentioned the Blue Zones. Blue Zones are communities where people are 10 times more likely to live to be 100 than the U.S. average. Many of the Blue Zones are on secluded, remote islands or mountainous regions. However, Loma Linda, California and Singapore are considered Blue Zones.
I watched the Netflix documentary, Live to Be 1oo: Secrets of the Blue Zones. I read this book as well as The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100. I want to incorporate as many items as possible to increase the odds of longevity.
The main ingredients for increasing longevity include: * Eat a plant-based diet; eat meat only occasionally. * Actively move; try to walk 5 miles/day. Find items that increase movement like gardening. * Have a social network of friends, family, and loved ones; spend time with them * Enjoy red wine in moderation * Have a sense of purpose; volunteer, work, help others * Take time to nap at least 5 times/week; reduces the chance of a heart attack by 35%
I recently watched the Netflix documentary, Live to be 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. Blue Zones are specific communities where there are 10 times moI recently watched the Netflix documentary, Live to be 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. Blue Zones are specific communities where there are 10 times more centenarians per capita than the US average. Dan Buettner studied these communities to learn what they are doing differently.
I recently hiked 550 miles on the Camino de Santiago in Spain and noticed that very few people are overweight, each home had an incredible outside garden, and town squares fill up every evening where families get together to talk, eat, and spend time with their community. Much of what I saw is similar to Buettner's key findings.
The cookbook is fabulous! It's filled with photos, information, and recipes. The recipes are plant-based and include many recipes with beans. While in Spain, I ate many dishes with lentils and chickpeas, so it was terrific to see recipes with these two ingredients.
Grab a front row seat, buckle in tightly, and experience the ride of a lifetime! Ben Mezrich takes the reader deep inside of Twitter with several key Grab a front row seat, buckle in tightly, and experience the ride of a lifetime! Ben Mezrich takes the reader deep inside of Twitter with several key leaders’ experiences and points of view regarding Elon Musk’s role as CEO of Twitter.
Most of us have experienced CEO changes, upper management changes, business strategy pivots, layoffs, restructurings, closing businesses, selling businesses, and decisions/policies regarding remote work. Breaking Twitter highlights primarily the first 90 days of Musk as CEO and much of it left me gasping.
There are many challenging topics that are addressed: free speech vs offensive, hate-filled rhetoric; Nancy Pelosi’s husband’s attack by an intruder and Musk’s tweet about it; massive layoffs via email vs Musk’s deep sense of betrayal when key people resign; and the safety of loved ones when personal data is available and shared.
Elon Musk is highly accomplished and shares similar traits as other incredibly successful leaders: drive, passion, vision, clarity, high expectations, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. When he joined Twitter, staffing was bloated and smoothie bars were more top-of-mind than pursuing excellence. Musk took draconian steps to try to change the culture immediately.
The key question at the end of the book is whether Elon Musk broke Twitter….or did Twitter break Elon Musk?
I recently traveled to Sydney, Australia and visited Dymocks bookstore, a historical business that Wow! Powerful. Spellbinding. Could. Not. Put. Down.
I recently traveled to Sydney, Australia and visited Dymocks bookstore, a historical business that was often advertised as the largest bookstore in the world with over one million titles. It is still an independent bookstore that has remained in the same family for generations.
I found Teacher’s Pet which is a true crime book based in Sydney. A wife and mother of two young daughters disappeared in 1982. Her athletic, attractive, rugby-star husband had been sleeping with their 16 year-old babysitter who he immediately moved into the family home.
Thirty-six years later, the incredibly talented investigative journalist, Hedley Thomas, created a podcast to help bring new information to try to solve the mysterious disappearance.
In addition to riveting true crime drama, there is critical litigation wrangling over the role of journalists and the use of podcasts.
Thomas Jefferson, in 1786, insightfully stated, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
Because I had visited Sydney and knew the locations of Circular Quay, The Rocks, and other scenes, it was memorable to me.
The Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances grabbed my heart and wouldn't let go. The author, Andy Andrews, beautifully narrates this powerful tale. TThe Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances grabbed my heart and wouldn't let go. The author, Andy Andrews, beautifully narrates this powerful tale. The audiobook is six hours and I listened to it for six hours straight......three hours of walking, then through a manicure and pedicure, and then running errands.
Could. Not. Put. It. Down.
It starts with Andrews digging up a dead magnolia tree on his property and unearthing a tin can with WWII artifacts. I did not know that during WW II, German submarines patrolled US waters in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic seaboard and torpedoed hundreds of US ships.
At the beginning and end of the book, Andrews does a terrific job describing his research and the key question on whether this story is true or not.
Could. Not. Put. This. Down. I read it in one day on a coast to coast airline flight. Fascinating, riveting, and heart-pounding. LOVE this book! It wiCould. Not. Put. This. Down. I read it in one day on a coast to coast airline flight. Fascinating, riveting, and heart-pounding. LOVE this book! It will be one of my top reads in 2024!
The first sentence on the first page, the Author's Dedication, grabbed me and wouldn't let go: This book is dedicated to all the women who keep on fighting.
Marta Molnar's previous books under the pen name Dana Marton were fantasy, romance, and suspense. She watched a documentary about Johanna van Gogh-Bonger and knew she wanted to write about Johanna. She had never written books based on true events.
Johanna was married to Theo van Gogh, the brother of Vincent van Gogh. Johanna became fiercely dedicated to bringing Vincent van Gogh's paintings to the world after his death. Women were not art agents or in many other careers at that point in time.
The Secret Life of Sunflowers was rejected by 19 publishers. Molnar ran out of money and after being a writer for two decades considered quitting. But the grit, determination, and resolve that Johanna exhibited kept Molnar fighting.
There are 70 varieties of sunflowers. Sunflowers are extremely adaptable and can grow in rich or dry soil. The worse the soil, the bigger the flower. Sunflowers are downright scrappy!! Vincent Van Gogh painted sunflowers and he used the color yellow in many of his paintings.
The writing is phenomenal! Some of my favorite passages include: 1. Will history remember my name?
2. Being challenged is the only way to grow.
3. Drive this auction like a Lamborghini.
4. The meaning of life is to live it.
5. Battle drums beating in my brain.
6. After someone dies, build new train tracks.
7. Difficulties came for us, lined up like joined train cars, one following the other. And fast.
8. Being a strong independent woman who speaks the truth is a revolutionary act in this world.
9. Every heartbeat was a punch of pain.
10. Guilt is a slow poison.
11. If life was a rolling river, friendship was the life raft.
12. Women are made exceptional by necessity.
13. Someone either speaks to your heart or they don't.
14. Sunflowers turn toward the sun in gratitude.
15. Theodore Roosevelt: Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
Wow! Fiona Davis packs a spectacular punch with her historical novel, The Spectacular. It is superbly narrated by Rachel L. Jacobs and Kimberly Farr.
MWow! Fiona Davis packs a spectacular punch with her historical novel, The Spectacular. It is superbly narrated by Rachel L. Jacobs and Kimberly Farr.
Marion, a nineteen year old woman, faces her future with grit, determination, and dreams. Her father and her boyfriend want her to pursue a respectable career for women in the 1950s: secretary, nurse, or teacher. Marion loves to dance and auditions for the Rockettes and makes it.
I loved so many things about this book: * The nonfiction elements: there was a Mad Bomber in NYC who detonated over 30 bombs during a 16 year period. He set them off in Radio City Music Hall, public libraries, Grand Central Station, Port Authority, phone booths, the subway, and other locations. In the book, he's referred to as the Big Apple Bomber. * Another nonfiction element: Psychological profiling was used to help catch the Mad Bomber. * Lots of family and relationship dynamics, including a very controlling, domineering father. * The story arc, character development, and details about Rockettes are fabulous. * Marion is a spunky, determined young woman who wants a dancing career regardless of what her father and boyfriend say and do. * I learned a lot!
The story was created after a Rockette who was in her 80s reached out to Fiona Davis. She shared many details about being a Rockette in the 1950s. The Rockette's performed four shows a day which meant 600 kicks a day. They worked three to four weeks straight before getting a day off. The Rockette's performed shows between movies. If there was a western movie, they learned new dances and performed in cowgirl costumes.
At the end of the audiobook, Fiona Davis mentioned that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2020.
Earlier this week I listened to the podcast below. It's from Professional Book Nerds; they interviewed Jodi Picoult about her book Small Great Things.Earlier this week I listened to the podcast below. It's from Professional Book Nerds; they interviewed Jodi Picoult about her book Small Great Things. It deals with racism. It took Picoult 25 years to write it. After listening to the podcast, I listened to Small Great Things on audiobook. It's captivating and I just finished it. It will be a book that remains with me for a very long time.
Ep. #64 — Interview with Jodi Picoult
The narration is phenomenal; kudos to Audra McDonald, Cassandra Campbell and Ari Fliakos. They are the voices of the main characters: Ruth, an African American nurse accused of the death of a newborn; Kennedy, the public defender; Turk, the white supremist father of the infant who had indicated he did not want any African American hospital employee to touch his son.
Picoult's research, which is mentioned on the podcast and at the end of her book, is thorough and she hopes the book encourages white readers to educate themselves, speak out/speak up, understand white privilege, and make choices to fight racism.
Racism is the most controversial, challenging topic to discuss. There are wide ranges of opinions, approaches, and experiences. There need to be many more authors and publishers who are people of color. And there need to be many, many white people who are willing to learn, explore challenging topics, and become loud, vocal advocates when they see injustices.
I admire Picoult for her thorough research, robust character development, fast-paced story arc, tackling racism, and indicating what behaviors she wants to see from her (predominantly white) readers. ...more
This book left me speechless. Louise Braun Frank poignantly describes the lives of her son, Joshua, and her daughter, Leah. Both were diagnosed at ageThis book left me speechless. Louise Braun Frank poignantly describes the lives of her son, Joshua, and her daughter, Leah. Both were diagnosed at age six with Friedreich's Ataxia which is similar to ALS. Joshua passed away at age 23 and Leah passed away at age 25.
Frank's life before her children were born is far from perfect. She unflinchingly describes the incredible challenges and decisions she made as a young adult. Unfortunately, her marriage was crumbling before Joshua and Leah were born. Frank adopted a laser-like focus on her children once they were diagnosed. Her father advised her to "watch them live; don't watch them die." Frank was determined to re-edit a life she never imagined.
After her son passed away, Frank traveled to Israel and retraced Joshua's trip to Israel that he had made with his father. Frank placed Joshua's ashes at key sites of Joshua's trip. When Leah passed away, Frank hiked the Camino de Santiago, including continuing to Finisterre which is viewed as the end of the world. Frank placed Leah's ashes along the Camino.
I was incredibly fortunate to meet Louise Braun Frank via FaceTime before I read The Gift of Great Sorrow. I did not know her personal story until she shared it with me. She is an amazing person--humble, captivating, inspiring, and full of strength.
There are many memorable quotes, including:
* We are not meant to stay wounded. Caroline Myss
* Strong women aren't simply born. They are made by the storms they walk thru.
* Where you stumble, there your treasure lies. Only in pain do we grow and become better. Joseph Campbell
* Every day may not be good, but there is good in every day.
* The eyes see all, but the mind shows us what we want to see. William Shakespeare
* If you're going through hell, keep going. Winston Churchill
* Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional. Roger Crawford
* You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. CS Lewis
* A hero is an ordinary person who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. Christopher Reeves
* Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin
* Live life in such a way that each day is a pilgrimage and each step a journey to a sacred place. Sherrie Frank
* Tell me the story of the mountain you climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else's survival guide. Morgan Harper Nichols
Frank's memoir shares the transforming power of perspective, love, and courage. She personally took each day one at a time and faced what frightened her. She was determined to help her children live the best life possible.
The first paragraph in Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder grabbed me and wouldn't let go. "At a quarter to eleven on August 12, 2022, on a sThe first paragraph in Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder grabbed me and wouldn't let go. "At a quarter to eleven on August 12, 2022, on a sunny Friday morning in upstate New York, I was attacked and almost killed by a young man with a knife just after I came out on stage at the amphitheater in Chautauqua to talk about the importance of keeping writers safe from harm."
I vividly remember when I heard the news about the attack on Salman Rushdie. I had just read the first chapter of Azra Nafisi's book, Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times. The first chapter is about authors Rushdie, Plato and Bradbury. The news broadcast indicated that Rushdie was in the hospital and might lose one eye and an arm and his liver had been damaged.
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder goes behind the scene of the crime and the grueling recovery process. It demonstrates the power of love that Rushdie shares with his amazing wife, Eliza, his two sons, his sister, and his sister's daughters.
Rushdie refers to his attacker as "the A." His attacker had only read two pages of Rushdie's writing and had watched a few YouTube videos before planning the attack. It had been 33 years since Ayatollah Khomeini's death order on Rushdie for The Satanic Verses. Rather than live in fear, Rushdie moved to New York City in 2000 and chose to live as a free man by embarking on high visibility outings. He wanted to help others overcome their fears.
There were many, many memorable passages in this five-star book. Several are captured below:
* Chautauqua is known for debating ideas in an atmosphere of tolerance, openness, and freedom
* A gun can be fired from a distance. A knife attack is a form of intimacy.
* Coin-toss moments of life
* Chance determines our fates at least as profoundly as choice.
* A defiance of death and a celebration of life and love
* Imagination can bridge the gulf between dreams and reality.
* What can't be cured must be endured.
* Through literature, I could repair myself.
* Words are the only victor (the ending statement of Victory City
* Death was showing up at the wrong addresses.
* I would answer violence with art.
* Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life.
* Milan Kundera: Life is a one shot affair.
* When you are given a second opportunity, what do you do with it?
* The powerful may own the present, but writers own the future.
* We must work to overturn the false narratives of tyrants, populists, and fools.
I Have Something to Tell You, a memoir by Chasten Buttigieg is captivating. I listened to it on audiobook and it is narrated by the author---I LOVE whI Have Something to Tell You, a memoir by Chasten Buttigieg is captivating. I listened to it on audiobook and it is narrated by the author---I LOVE when an author narrates their work.
Chasten describes his childhood growing up near Traverse City, Michigan and being the youngest of three boys. He is very different than his two older brothers. Being chosen to be a foreign exchange student and ambassador to Germany for his senior year in high school exposed him to different people and cultures.
His writing and narrating style is warm, inviting, inclusive, humorous, and thought provoking. He asks all of us to be inclusive of all people and to ask bullies, "What did you mean by that?" when bullies make demeaning, insulting comments.
Kurson immediately immerses readers into national and world events in the sixties, particularly the tumultuous, divisive year of 1968. I felt like I had a front row seat to historic events in 1968: Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination in Memphis, Robert Kennedy's assassination after he had a successful campaign stop in California, the riots at the Democratic National Convention, Walter Cronkite breaking from fact reporting on Vietnam and expressing his opinion after the Tet Offensive that it appeared America wasn't winning the war, President LBJ deciding he wouldn't run for President after Cronkite's pronouncement, and the extremely close Presidential race between Richard Nixon (43.4%) and Hubert Humphrey (42.7%).
Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. This triggered the Space Race. In 1961, a young President John Kennedy dramatically expanded the U.S. space program and committed to landing a man on the moon, and returning him home safely. President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, a few weeks after the President of South Vietnam was murdered.
During incredibly challenging times in 1968, NASA was preparing to launch Apollo 8 in December. Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth and orbit the Moon ten times. The astronauts were Frank Boorman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders.
I felt like I was riding in the rocket alongside the three astronauts. Stories about bowel movements during and after the flight are interesting and something that wouldn't be discovered without extensive interviews decades after the flight. Kurson does a brilliant job describing the astronauts, their wives and families during the sixties as well as what they have done over the past four decades.
Holy Moly!!! My favorite quote about reading is by Kevin Ansbro, "A book should grab you by the lapels and kiss you into tomorrow." The Last Green ValHoly Moly!!! My favorite quote about reading is by Kevin Ansbro, "A book should grab you by the lapels and kiss you into tomorrow." The Last Green Valley did exactly that, and then some! Highly, highly recommend!
Mark Sullivan has written more than twenty books, including bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky. I am going to add every Mark Sullivan book to my TBR. His writing is phenomenal.
Sullivan's preface hooked me immediately! After he wrote the historical novel, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, he received dozens of letters and pitches about other possible war stories. His criteria was that the story had to be moving, inspiring, and potentially transformative to him and to readers. In November 2017, while speaking at a Rotary Club event, a man came forward and shared with him the story that would become The Last Green Valley.
The preface and afterword are spellbinding. Sullivan describes in detail what is factually accurate in the book as well as the travels and research he conducted to create the story.
The book is about the Martel family who find themselves trapped between Nazi forces and Stalin's Russian Army in 1944 while farming in Ukraine. Their decisions and actions have life and death consequences. There is a continual tension between disillusionment and believing in hope and dreams.
This was a story that needed to be told and Mark Sullivan is a masterful storyteller.
Re-read this book for Book Club. Phenomenal, memorable historical fiction based on a true story. Robust character development coupled with a fast paced story arc make this a book that lives on after it has ended. ...more
Michelle Norris started The Race Card Project over 14 years ago by asking people to submit six words about race. Submissions were originally on postcards and then became virtual submissions. Later, people with submissions were asked to share their backstory regarding their six word choice.
The six word phrases and personal stories are poignant, tragic, mesmerizing, thought provoking, gut punching, and memorable.
Some of the six word phrases include: * Hate's passed down like family heirlooms * He's my dad, not the gardener * Black boyfriend visited. Nana called police. * Will my son get shot too? * International adoptee. Parents praised. Children unwelcome. * If found hung, not a suicide. * I'm not your damn China virus * I grew up scared of myself * I think I am becoming racist * DNA testing changed who I am * Good Asian girls don't get raped * I'm only Jewish when it's safe * Mixed baby coming soon, in-laws afraid * Mom's secret children, my mixed-race siblings * I think grandma had a secret * Lady, I don't want your purse * Race, is someone expected to win?
Norris' phenomenal writing style weaves together a collective narrative about exclusion. Some of the stories are about the impact of DNA testing and learning that there are relatives from different races and ethnicities.
Norris indicates that we need to widen our aperture because race is a shape shifter and the flame that threatens our well-being.
Highly, highly recommend!
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this thought provoking book in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Loading...
