MSI Press Blog

  Yes, our book, Dia de Muertos is about the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead, that occurs the day after Halloween, but these days have much in common -- and not. One section in the book spells out these differences; check it out! For excerpts from Dia de Muertos and other information about the book, click HERE .

  Exploring the Dark Side of the Moon Erik Erikson, well-known psychologist (1902-1994), proposed eight stages of human personality development (1993), each having a significant development task to complete in order to successfully go on to the next stage. The eighth and last stage he called maturity and identified it as beginning at age 65. The conflict experienced in maturity he described as ego integrity versus despair and the task as reflection on and acceptance of one’s life. Success, he suggested, is measured by feeling a true sense of oneself and having a fulfilled or fulfilling life. Reflection is a way to strengthen our confidence in transitioning to an aging woman with a sense of self and purpose. Some of the past is occurring in the moment. One of the women I interviewed would be 70 that year and is just now giving up working. “I haven’t had a summer off since I was 14 years old,” she said in a way that caused me to believe that she was astonished by this fact. That...

 Just out from US Review of Books, the verdict is: This book is a must-have companion for those seeking a guide that will help them re-center and re-focus. It is easily accessible for readers of all backgrounds and ages, and it will make them look forward to incorporating the book's message into their daily lives. Read the entire review HERE . For more information about Julie and her books, click HERE . For more posts about and by Julie and her yoga and self-care topics, click HERE . Read about Julie's other book, How to Stay Calm in Chaos , HERE . Julie's books are available at  Amazon Barnes & Noble MSI Press (coupon code FF25 will give you 25% discount)

  Posted today to Amazon -- the kindle version of I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them by Franki Bagdade. For more posts about Franki and her book, click HERE .

  Carl's Cancer Compendium lists the top 15 cancer centers in the USA, as identified by the National Cancer Institute. Some interesting facts: Most, but not all, are associated with a state university or Ivy League university or equivalent Four of the 15 are located in California; if one is to get cancer, clearly there is a certain advantage to being a resident of California. No other state has more than one top-flight cancer center. Only 13 states, including California, have a top-flight cancer center (one center is in two states): California Illinois Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Texas Washington See Carl's Cancer Compendium for links to all of them. for more Cancer Diary posts, click HERE . For more posts on cancer in general, click HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI  is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point fo...

  Lamentations of the Heart is a memoir about the death of the author's son. THE LOVELY THINGS          Today, I look fondly upon this place, this life of mine, in a softer way, from a different view. Choosing to see something new, even in its long-lived state. To peer upon my world and see the faintest lovely things grow large, as the smallest acts of kindness show their power.       Weary of grief, this choice was made. A call for beauty among ashes, overlooked before, pulled from a time that cannot return, from thoughts that churned in an aching stream. Those were the days when I dwelled on my loss—when it seemed there was nothing more.          But there is always more. “God, help me,” I said, “to seek them out, the parts that will cover the rest of my life.” Shaping the corners where you once stood, connecting the spaces that you once filled, I asked for something to move me when I stand too still...

  The following is an excerpt from the description and history of the Day of the Dead as written by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission in her book, Dia de Muertos. Los antiguos mesoamericanos, quienes comenzaron la costumbre de celebrar la vida de sus antepasados =cada año (el Día de Muertos) creían que la muerte es parte del viaje de la vida. La muerte no es mala, no es el final de la vida, sino el comienzo de una nueva vida. Nueva vida viene de la muerte, al igual que los nuevos cultivos en este valle agrícola en el que se encuentra la ciudad de San Juan Bautista surgen cada año para que nuestros maravillosos trabajadores agrícolas cosechen en beneficio no solo de nuestra ciudad, valle y estado, sino también para muchas personas en muchos estados de los Estados Unidos donde nuestro producto se envía todos los días. Tal vez esta interpretación de la muerte—de que sea parte de un ciclo de nacimiento y renacimiento, es la razón por la cual San Francisco se refirió a la muerte como “H...

  ANGER needs to be verbalized and needs an outlet. Show me a caregiver who says he or she never gets angry, and I’ll show you a liar or a saint.  Once, a patient who was 75 years old came into my office. She had been caring for her 97-year-old mother for ten years. I told her I was a caregiver, too, and remarked that I thought caring for someone else when you were 75 must be most difficult. With a sheepish look on her face she said, “You know, I’m ashamed to tell you this, but sometimes I get very angry." I responded, “Of course you do; that’s only natural. I get angry, too.”  She looked astonished. “You do?” she said, “I thought I was the only one.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I assured her that most caregivers experience this strong emotion more often than they would like to admit. She was very happy and relieved to hear that.  There is no way you can keep from feeling angry about seeing your loved one suffering and about having acquired such tremend...

  On October 18th, Steven Greenebaum, author of One Family: Indivisible   and Seeking Balance in an Unbalanced Time , spoke at the Parliament of the World’s Religions first virtual Parliament – with people tuning in virtually from all over the world. Steven’s topic was “Interfaith Congregations” and how coming together to celebrate each other’s spiritual paths might lead us to a more inclusive, respectful and compassionate future. This was the third consecutive Parliament where he was invited to speak about an aspect of Interfaith.  For more posts about Dr. Greenebaum and his book, click HERE .  

  No one could give a better introduction and summary of this podcast than Arthur himself, author of A Theology for the Rest of Us : For those of you who missed it--which is one way of saying "for those of you who have a life"--this is a recording of my radio interview with Patricia Raskin on VoiceAmerica. As I understand it, she found what I had to say compulsive....ummm...no...I believe "compelling" was the word she used. (Norm Crosby, where are you?) Also, if you listen closely, you can hear Frodo criticizing my analysis of Arjuna's existentialist dilemma in the Bhagavad Gita. That alone is worth the price admission...errr...which, at "free," is very reasonable... Here is the official description of the podcast episode: In his new book, Yavelberg tackles all types of questions in the hopes of providing some religious illumination in these uncertain times. By examining various religious' insights on topics like free will, the identity of the ...

  photo by Frank Perez It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic returns to an earlier topic -- book tours -- with more detail. Some interesting posts and articles and research have come out since the earlier posts, so there seemed to be a need for an update.  Book tours are often imagined by new authors as exciting places publishers will send them to meet hordes of fans-to-be at almost-sycophant book stores. While at one point in time and even today for very famous authors, publishers did and do this, it is rare, and certainly a new author is not going to get this kind of red-carpet treatment from a publisher.  Book tours generally do not m...

  Retired Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff and former Secretary of State, GEN Colin Powell , died today from the complications of Covid-19 and cancer. Both deadly. He was fully vaccinated; however, cancer made him vulnerable, especially the kind of cancer he had, multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that lowers immunity and thereby reduces the effectiveness of vaccines.* This death is particularly painful for my family though the Powell family has no idea of it. You see, with Carl Leaver, my husband, just dying of cancer, any cancer death is painful. However and moreover, years ago, when she was in high school, our daughter was a good friend of Anne-Marie Powell, the general's youngest daughter. All the kids gathered at the Powell house, always. Most of the kids were unaware of the stature of their friend's father because of his humility. He loved kids, and he welcomed them all -- as a father, not as a statesman or military officer. It spoke a lot about him. Likewise, when our ...

  The question arises form time to time from readers who come to this blog for the first time -- who is writing this blog? I suppose that is as one might expect because often I use the pronoun, "I," so it makes sense for a reader to want to know who "I" am. But first, the purpose of the blog -- to provide readers with information about our great authors and their wonderful books, most of which have won awards, and, according to reviews, have changed people's lives; we try to include some excerpts, over time, from all our books. Beyond that, the blog focuses on topics that can be useful to authors (ours and those who are not ours) and would-be authors. Finally, upon occasion one or another author offers an interesting, inspiring, or helpful post that they have published on their own website or that they offer specifically for this blog; in this way, you can get to know our authors a little more personally.  As for me, the "I" of the blog posts, I have b...

Old Mission San Juan Bautista is famous -- in part, because it is beautiful; in part, because it is one of the oldest Missions preserved in its original conditions; and in part, because Alfred Hitchcock made it famous in the movie, Vertigo , considered by the American Film Institute as the 7th best movie of all time, and at times, considered the best movie ever. (You can even visit the Vertigo coffee shop and buy Vertigo coffee at the Windmill Market in San Juan Bautista, inspired by the movie, and in San Juan Bautista you can see most of the places in the movie today just as they were in 1957--and 1857.)  The Mission is indeed old, and it needs preservation. For preservation, it needs funds. That is why Sula, who serves as the Parish Cat at Old Mission writes books, ministers to parishioners, and has her own pew. (The picture above was taken from Sula's pew during a healing Mass; she does get a good view.) For a short video about the work of the preservation committee and the reas...

Sensory Sensitivities: When Fun Becomes Painful Disney World is not always the happiest place on Earth. I know this is hard to imagine, but it’s true, and an “unfortunate” experience can happen to the best of us. The Bagdade family version went something like this: We quickly rubbed the sleep out of our eyes, poured the kids heaping bowls of Fruit Loops, and boarded a Disney shuttle bus. The kids, still too tired to talk, exchanged excited smiles with us as we wasted no time taking plenty of pictures. It wasn’t until we drove under the Magic Kingdom archway that the bus full of sleepy passengers erupted with excited chatter. We took more pictures by the welcome signs as we disembarked and were herded into line. Besides all the visual fantasy surrounding you, it’s easy to tell you are at Disney World because of the lines, the never-ending lines—for everything. We waited an hour before the park opened, just like all my meticulously researched blogs and Pinterest pins had told me ...

  MSI Press author, Gewanda Parker ( It Only Hurts When I Can't Run ) recently posted a very helpful and interesting video, " What Do You Want? " on Linked-In.  For more posts about Gewanda and her book, click HERE .

  Joanna Charnas's award-winning book, A Movie Lover's Search for Romance , has been released in hard cover, joining her paperback and e-book versions. Check out more information about this book . Get a discount on the book at the MSI Press webstore by using the code FF25.

  photograph by Frank Perez) It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic addresses expectations that authors, especially first-time authors, have of publishers. Often these are unreasonable and are just not going to happen, leading to disappointment. Jane Friedman has written an excellent column on this topic, pointing out the following: Publishers are not going to send you on a national book tour--and shouldn't.  Publishers are not going to invest as much in your book as they would in a bestselling author--and what they invest is likely to be far less than you thought and hoped when you embarked on this journey. Publishers are not going to thro...

  In her classic tome on death and dying, On Grief & Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief through the Five Stages of Loss , Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identifies five stages that those faced with shocking news associated with loss or potential loss go through: Denial (avoidance, confusion, elation, shock, fear) Anger (frustration, irritation, anxiety) Bargaining (struggling to find meaning, reaching out to others, telling one's story) Depression (overwhelmed, helplessness, hostility, fight) Acceptance (exploring options, new plan in place, moving on) Th subsequent works by Kubler-Ross, including those with colleagues, as well as works by others building on her research have pretty much confirmed these stages. How long it takes to go through any one of them depends upon the individual. Future Cancer Diary posts will dive deeper and personally into these stages. Grief is a complex and highly individual topic and intrinsically intertwined with cancer. MSI has published some helpful w...