MSI Press Blog

  Today's publisher's pride is You're Not Too Old, and It's Not Too La te by Ilene Berns-Zare, which reached #90 in midlife self-help. Book Description Designed as an accessible 52-week companion, this inspiring guide invites Baby Boomers and Gen Xers to reimagine aging with confidence, vitality, and purpose. Drawing on research-informed tools and practical reflections, it encourages readers to tap into inner strengths, embrace meaningful shifts, and discover everyday “ah-ha” moments that spark renewal. Whether you seek greater wellbeing, deeper meaning, or renewed fulfillment from midlife through older adulthood, this uplifting resource reminds us that aging well is an active journey—and that the best chapters may still lie ahead. Keywords: midlife transformation; aging with purpose; positive aging book; Baby Boomer wellness; Gen X wellbeing; 52‑week self‑growth guide; midlife reinvention; aging well strategies; vitality after 50; personal growth after 50; midlife mi...

  When a woman loses her spouse, she often steps into a chapter that is both tender and formidable — a stretch of years that can span a decade or more. Statistically, women live 10–15 years longer than their husbands. But those years are not simply an epilogue; they are a distinct season of life, rich with its own rhythms of grief, adaptation, and rediscovery. 💔 The First Quiet The early months after loss are marked by disorientation — the sudden absence of shared routines, the silence where conversation used to live. Even simple acts — making coffee, folding laundry, locking the door at night — become reminders of a vanished partnership. This is the threshold , where memory and reality begin to negotiate their coexistence. 🌿 The Middle Years As time passes, many widowed women find themselves rebuilding around new anchors: Community: Friendships deepen, and new ones form through volunteering, faith circles, or shared interests. Purpose: Some return to long-set-aside passions —...

  University German At Penn State, my German skills exploded. German being a heritage language at that time in Pennsylvania, it was, for all intents and purposes, a commonly taught language. Classes were full; the range of courses was impressive—from historical linguistics to contemporary literature and, of course, writing and stylistics at higher levels and composition at lower levels. I don’t believe that is the case now, given that German is considered a less commonly taught language (anywhere) these days. My two years of high school German should have allowed me to skip one semester of college German, the rule of thumb being one year of high school covers about as much as ½ semester at college. However, I tested out of first year, skipping two semesters, one for each year of high school. That, in my mind, is great testimony to the value of Mr. Hurley’s second-year class, the one almost all the students hated and the one I devoured. That deep foundation in grammar meant a lo...

    Recently, An Afternoon's Dictation (Greenebaum), reached #296 on the Amazon bestseller list of books in ecumenism Christian theology. The book has been on bestseller lists many times.  Book Description:  In 1999 Steven Greenebaum felt he'd hit the wall. Fifty years old, he could not make sense of his life or the world around him. For several months he angrily demanded answers from God, if God were there. One afternoon, an inner voice told him to get a pen and paper and write. Steven then took dictation - three pages, not of commandments but guidance for leading a meaningful life.   An Afternoon's Dictation grapples with, organizes, and deeply explores the revelations Steven received and then studied for over ten years. His sharing is NOT offered as the only possible way to understand it the dictation. It is offered, rather, as a start. The book's sections include deep explorations into "The Call to Interfaith," "The Call to Love One Another," ...

  Difficult people are rarely actually difficult . More often, they are the ones who care enough to speak up, who see what others overlook, and who refuse to quietly tolerate dysfunction. They are the early‑warning system of an organization — and if you listen to them with an actionable mindset, they often become your strongest allies. 🌱 Start with Actionable Listening Active listening is hearing. Actionable listening is responding. When a “difficult” employee raises concerns, treat their input as field intelligence. Listen with the intention to do something: Fix what is easy to fix — immediately. For the harder problems, ask them to suggest solutions. Even better: invite them to help build the fix. Make yourself accountable to them through servant leadership and reverse evaluations. This transforms the dynamic. They stop being “the complainer” and become a co‑architect of improvement. 🔧 Empower Them Through Servant Leadership Servant leadership flips the hierarchy: You serve t...