MSI Press Blog

from  Divorced! Survival Techniques for Singles over Forty  (Romer)   Feeling Abandoned   There you are, facing your first Christmas alone—ever. You’ve always had someone around at the holidays—first your parents and siblings, later on your spouse and your own children—but this year, things are different. Your wife left you in August and you haven’t really had the heart to hook up with anyone else yet. Both your parents are long gone and your only sister lives 3,000 miles away, with her own family to take care of. What should you do? There’s a big part of you right now that feels like a motherless child, totally abandoned. Maybe you feel rejected, unattractive, or unworthy of love. These are all feelings that society places on people who are the “victims” of divorce, and they have nothing to do with who you really are. This is not a place where you want to remain for very long. Once you erase the perception of yourself as being abandoned by your ex-spouse, a lot...

  Excerpt from  Creative Aging  (Vassiliadis & Romer) - How to Age with Panache   For years I’ve admired the women wearing beautiful scarves, twisted expertly enough to look like they’d just tossed the scarf over their shoulders with a casual knot slipped in front. These women possessed an air of assured confidence that I didn’t feel belonged to me. Whenever I put on a scarf, it felt presumptuous. Who did I think I was? I didn’t belong to this fearless group.   Some of these feelings may have manifested because I didn’t start my work life in an office setting where the appropriate attire was business formal. None of my relatives dressed that way, either. Somehow, whenever I tried wearing a scarf in the mode de jour , it didn’t feel right.   As I’ve aged, though, I’ve grown more comfortable in my own skin. Life marches on, and it’s easier now to let self-doubt and criticism roll off my shoulders and into the if-they-feel-that-way-it’s-their-problem-not-m...

  Recently released - the audiobook edition of  How to Get Happy and Stay That Way  by Joanna Romer. Book description: A winningly simple yet comprehensive look at the source of happiness, based on interviews with twelve of the happiest people that the author knows, most of whom have had what others might consider difficult lives. Each "happy person" vignette includes an introspective mini-bio and advice for how readers can attain the same level of happiness. At the end of each chapter (interview), the author provides guidelines for achieving happiness in small steps that any reader can take with confidence. An excellent book for developing self-awareness and an attitude of gratitude, leading to peace and joy. Book Review by RLAManna (Amazon): What is the way to happiness and how does one stay on that path? How do we move beyond hardened views of the world, our place in it, and our often faulty perceptions? If it is true that peace and happiness abide within us, waiting t...