MSI Press Blog

Christina Fisanick Greer, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of English at California University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches writing, literature, digital storytelling, and creative non-fiction. She has written dozens of articles about writing, especially as a form of therapy, and is the author of nearly thirty books. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, son, and two cats. Her book,  The Optimistic Food Addict: Recovering from Binge Eating Disorder , has attracted the attention of the Associated Press and of the National Eating Disorders Association. This book has been reviewed by many sources with high marks. Read these reviewers, along with many interviews of and articles by Christina HERE Read other posts by and about Christina and her book HERE .

Part of a series on the coronavirus pandemic written by MSI Press authors to share expertise, help, and hope,  Tips, Techniques, and Anecdotes to Help during a Pandemic  focuses on physical and mental well being during any time of crisis. Topics include meditation and mindfulness; positivity; managing setbacks; laughing at oneself; overcoming chal lenges; friends, family, and others; managing daily tasks; adaptive solutions; tricks and tools; and miscellaneous musings. Joanna is also author of: Living Well with Chronic Illness 100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness and A Movie Lover's Search for Romance . More posts about and by Joanna Charnas may be found HERE .

Dr. Haim Omer recently published an e-book on parenting during a crisis. Information can be found at his blog HERE . Find more information by and about Dr. Omer and his MSI book, Courageous Parents, HERE .

Dr. Filatova is a highly respected Russian psychologist, specializing in the area of personality. A senior professor of psychology at St. Petersburg State University, she is the foremost expert in Europe on socionics and published the first-ever book on socionics in Russia (which was the Soviet Union at the time). Since then, she has written many books on the topic and is held in high regard by socionists worldwide. Her book with MSI Press,   Understanding the People around You: An Introduction to Socionics , is the seminal work on socionics in the USA and is gathering a following. Sad note: Katya died on March 14, 2015  of a heart attack in her home in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her son wrote that her last act, just minutes before her death, was to send off an email, related to her many books on socionics. “So”, he said, “she did work right up until the last minute of life.”  Katya was a wonderful person, larger than life. A professor of psychology at St. Petersbu...

First review of Damascus amid the War by Muna Imady has appeared -- on Library Thing ! "touching and poignant" "well worth the read" Read more about Muna Imady and her books HERE .

Irit Schaffer, physiotherapist and author of Good Blood , a story of healing -- from the Holocaust, from a difficult family history, from one's own fears -- will be presenting, via Zoom, a lecture on healing today at Nova Southeast University. Find more information by and about Irit and her book HERE .

I moved to Los Angeles a year after graduating college. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot going for me. I worked intermittently at a series of terrible jobs. My studio apartment was the size of a large shoebox. Money was so tight that ramen noodles were a luxury. And I was completely alone. Who knew that being broke, underemployed, and living in a glorified closet wouldn’t appeal to the ladies? I felt pretty down. I was alone in the world and didn’t see a way to lift myself up into a better situation. So, I thought carefully about all my options. Should I empower myself with a self-help book? No, those are for chicks (or so I told myself). Could I talk things over with my friends? Doubtful. Sharing my feelings with a group of guys didn’t appeal to me because, well, I’m a guy. I briefly toyed with the idea of seeing a life coach. But that wouldn’t work because who in their right mind sees a life coach? I couldn’t come up with any other options. So, where could I go to get my life ...

13. Body Beautiful   After three months of sitting on the couch and bingewatching Grey’s Anatomy, funked out, combined with holiday overeating and two months of illness, I gained ten pounds. I had just enough work clothes to make it through the week. In the mirror, I saw a small watermelon nestled just below my rib cage. I kept thinking, this isn’t good, but I’m not allowed to catastrophize. I will lose the weight eventually. This fluctuation in weight is common for many women in their 50s and 60s. I have several friends who gain and lose fifteen pounds routinely. I thought, under no circumstances am I allowed to hate my body. So I didn’t. I tried to combine my limited work wardrobe in creative ways. My colleagues complimented me. I worried that I would be less attractive, but both a previous and a current paramour let me know this wasn’t an issue. I struggled, failing week in and week out to lose the ten pounds. I repeated: you are only allowed to love your body. Even...

From 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas , an award-winning book: Make Life Better with Ayurveda I fell deeply in love with self-care when I met Ayurveda. Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, is one of the world’s oldest medical traditions, which originated in India around the time yoga did. Ayurveda literally means the “science of life.” It is a personalized approach to well-being and longevity that incorporates wellness rituals into everyday life. When paired with yoga, Ayurveda and yoga form an unmatched powerhouse. I first learned about Ayurveda in my yoga teacher training in 2010, and that’s when I started to experiment with Ayurvedic practices. Back then, I did not yet know how revolutionary these practices were until I began to weave them into my everyday life balancing a full workload as a working mama. Today, my everyday Ayurvedic practices include • meditating, breathing exercises, and simple yoga stretches every morning, which typically take 10 to 2...

Marty: Mr. Nice Guy  This chapter about Marty will be short, mainly because although he was a very nice man, he didn’t challenge me intellectually. Even though we dated for 2 1/2 years I really don’t remember any life-changing events or conversations that we had together. Perhaps the excitement that Tony brought to my life kept me from giving Marty a fair chance, but I just couldn’t picture myself with Marty for the long haul. I met Marty when a friend of mine, 80-something-yearold Barbara, begged me to go to her daughter’s high school reunion with her daughter Susan. Susan wanted to go, but since she lived out of state and hadn’t kept in contact with anyone in her high school class, she didn’t know anyone to ask so that she wouldn’t have to walk in alone. I didn’t even know Barbara’s daughter and felt very squeamish about attending a reunion like that with another woman for fear everyone there would think we were a lesbian couple. Remember, this was in the early 90’s. Thi...

Colorin' Colorado features Syrian Folktales as a n excellent way to gain better English language skills and learn a lot about Syria in the process. Muna Imady, the author, was a teacher, so Colorin' Colorado, you made a good call! The book is on sale at a big discount on Amazon . Learn more about the book HERE . See posts about Muna Imady and her book HERE .

Jeremy Feig is originally from a small town in slightly upstate New York. After graduating from New Paltz College, he moved to Los Angeles for TV and film production work before stumbling into a career in digital marketing. Jeremy spends much of his time working on creative projects, usually involving comedy. He’s written numerous screenplays and TV scripts, created original cartoons, and directed quirky short films. Jeremy lives in Santa Monica with his wife, young daughter, and large cat.  His book,  How My Cat Made Me a Better Man , has captivated men and women alike. Jeremy's book placed as a finalist in the 2016 Book of the Year award, and it has not lost its appeal since. 5 stars from Reader's Favorites Highly recommended by US Review of Books. Teena in Toronto says, "Of all the self-help books out there, this was an interesting twist." Cat blogs LOVE this book! US Review of Books calls it "fun-filled" and "novel." ...

Seanne Larson Emerton, L.M.F.T., L.I.M.H.P., is one of our newest authors. She has been in private practice for over twenty years.  She loves her work and life in the Heartland,, including practicing yoga, spirituality and health, and enjoying music, travel, and time with her sons and families in Boston and Denver. The power of relationships fuels her desire to help others. She is grateful for her grandparents and parents who were her first teachers.  She and her husband, Tom, live on the land her great-great-grandfather homesteaded.  Family is her greatest joy.  Her book, co-authored with Dr. Geri Henderson,   Healing from Incest: Intimate Conversations with My Therapist , has earned multiple awards and recommendations. Finalist, Book of the Year Award. Book Excellence Award. Brings comfort and understanding and resolution to individuals. MidWest Book Review says that every library should have a copy. US Review of Books recommended it. ...

This book contains 100 miracles from the Gospels -- and similar true-story miracles for today, for a total of 400 (!!) miracles described, explained, and discussed in the book, with questions for individual or group reflection. Here is one of those miracles with its modern-day counterparts: A BIG FISH STORY  (Gospel account in Luke 5:1-11)  Peter and Andrew were fishermen by trade. They’d caught thousands of fish and no doubt loved to swap fish stories with their friends, but this particular fish story topped them all. Here is what happened: One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to hear this charismatic street preacher. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge—their owners had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. Then he sat down in the boat and continued teaching the people. When he finished speaking, he s...

The following excerpt comes from Dr. Fisanick's book, The Optimistic Food Addict (Chapter 6):               The roads were thick with ice the night I told my parents I was pregnant. My boyfriend and I broke the news to my mother first, as we sat on that old, gold couch in the living room, waiting for my dad to get home from the midnight shift.               My mother, who had been a teen mother herself, was disappointed, probably because she knew the hard road ahead of me. She wanted me out, and she was sure my dad would feel the same.               I had just turned seventeen and was in my senior year of high school. I was an underachieving Honors student. I stopped caring about school the day I met my neighbor’s blond haired, blue-eyed best friend. And there I sat next to him, five months pregnant ...