MSI Press Blog

Joanna Charnas’s  latest book,  100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness,  recently came to my attention. This book is short and filled with tips and ideas.  Library Journal  calls it, “An excellent resource worthy of multiple reads. For those with a determined spirit during discouraging times.” Actually, after reading through the book, I think that most of us are “chronically human” and can benefit from most, if not all, of the suggestions. It would even by a nice Mother’s Day or birthday gift. Joanna has personal experience with chronic illness, have been ill for seventeen years before she learned it was a condition that had no cure. Following the publication of her first book, Joanna spent two years as a  Huffington Post blogger, and she currently writes articles for an international health website. Her first book,  Living Well With Chronic Illness,  was an American Book Fest Finalist in the “Health: General” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards. I like the siz

  Just in today! Readers' Favorite has rated A Movie Lover's Search for Romance as 5 stars! Here is a piece of the review: one of the most honest dating memoirs I've read Charnas is a delight to read and her optimism and experiences are nothing short of extraordinary. For the rest of the review, click HERE . For other posts by and about this book, Joanna Charnas, and other Charnas books, click HERE .

  On Friday, August 28, Deborah Kalb interviewed Joanna Charnas about her new book, A Movie Lover's Search for Romance. Read the interview HERE . For more posts about Joanna Charnas and her books, click HERE .              

Author: Joanna Charnas Books:  100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness Living Well with Chronic Illness Date of Interview: August 20, 2018 Joanna Charnas has authored two books published by MSI Press. Meet the author! Who are you? What do you want readers to know about you? I've been a social worker for thirty years, and I have clinical licenses to practice psychotherapy in two states. My books are based on my professional experience with patients and my personal experience managing my own chronic illness . Why are you qualified to write this book? I've been ill since I was nineteen years old, and I've learned over the years how to have a happy life while struggling with illness. I've also listened to my patients and understand what they find helpful. What is the message of your book? What should be the take-away by readers? The message of my books is that it is possible to have a good life while chronically ill

Joanna Charnas, author of Living Well with Chronic Illness and 100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness,   at first thought that she culd not travel from San Diego to New Delhi, given her state of chronic illness  So, she turned down multiple invitations from a friend in India to visit. Then, her nephew married a young woman from Delhi, and the compelling desire to see their wedding took over in spite of concerns about the level of medical care available in India, And she found -- joy in the experience. Read about her experience in her post in yoursnews.india: You Will Dance: Finding Joy in an Indian Wedding . Read more posts by and about Joanna Charnas here :

  During the 1970s, many of the girls in my high school had feathered blond hair, like Farrah Fawcett, who starred in the television show  Charlie's Angels   and was a huge celebrity at the time. Short, curvy, and dark haired, I couldn’t relate to her at all. I spent much of my free time in adolescence obsessively watching classic movies in art houses, among them the 1955 film  The Rose Tattoo , starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster. The day I saw that movie, I discovered a star I could relate to. She was dark and curvy, just like me. This year while lunching with my stepmother and aunt, I told them I’d always wanted to look like Anna Magnani. They both immediately exclaimed, “You do!” I was deeply gratified. I finally fulfilled my ideal of female beauty. We can spend our lives wanting to be something we’re not, or we can set our own standards. We don’t have to fit into what’s popular. I found a movie star I could relate to, and she provided the imag

  Now you can hear all five interviews of Joanna Charnas by the hosts of OwlTail at the same time! They have been pieced together into one podcast HERE . OwlTail has some very interesting programming, including interviewing the likes of former president Obama and Elon Musk. Well worth following! Read more posts that include links to writings, interviews, and podcasts by Joanna Charnas, including her four books,  HERE . American Book Fest Best Books Awards Finalist 2917 2018 Book Excellence Award Hollywood Book Festival Honorable Mention 2021 a pandemic series book

  WHEN A MOTHER DIES YOUNG   By   Joanna Charnas   My mother died thirty years ago this week, eight days after her forty-ninth birthday, and she’s been on my mind as the anniversary of her death approaches. Mom’s cause of death was probably avoidable. Her will stated she didn’t want an autopsy, but because she died at home and had not been under the care of a doctor, the law required she have one. Her autopsy revealed her primary cause of death as pneumonia. Mom feared hospitals for reasons she never disclosed. She’d had a couple knee surgeries, and perhaps her hospitalizations after the operations traumatized her. About six months prior to her death, my brother and I discussed her frail health, which included diabetes, small airway disease, a bad back and knee, a bladder issue, and other ailments too numerous to list. I told him she would rather die at home if living meant a hospitalization. I had no idea then how prophetic this statement would be. In addition to her o

  Joanna Charnas, author of several award-winning books , has provided the following guest blog post. My Father’s Influence on Managing Chronic Illness: Common Sense and Saliva By Joanna J. Charnas   I’m always striving to manage my multiple chronic illnesses effectively and with more ease, and less stress. My eighty-one-year-old father entered a nursing home this year due to worsening Alzheimer’s symptoms. Since his placement, I’ve considered his influences on my life and have particularly savored memories of my early childhood with him. As I contemplated this period, I began to appreciate the long-term effects his parenting style had on my health challenges.     Dad was a hands-on, no fuss parent. If I wet my bed in the middle of the night, I was instructed to wake him up, not my mother. He’d calmly help me into fresh pajamas, lay a large towel over the soiled linen that would be changed in the morning, and then tuck me back into bed. My occasional bed-wetting was drama f

  A HERO'S SUICIDE   b y Joanna J. Charnas   This following essay was written in 2017 but has not been previously published.   Earlier this week I learned that one of my former patients killed himself. I’m devastated and can’t stop thinking about him. His name was Ryan Larkin.   Ryan was a Navy SEAL. He completed four tours of duty, two in Iraq and two in Afghanistan as a corpsman. Ryan arrived at the inpatient psychiatry ward of the hospital that employs me four weeks prior to discharging from the Navy, and he remained with us for a month.   While he was in our care, I became concerned about Ryan’s treatment. His attending psychiatrist was a skilled and caring provider, but the other players in the larger mental health system seemed mostly fearful of Ryan. Fear is not an optimal state in which to deliver care. My colleagues repeatedly expressed concern about his opioid use and labeled him “drug seeking.” In 2016 the country had a new awareness of the burgeoning opioid abuse epidem

  From Joanna Charnas, the author of A Movie Lover's Search for Romance   I found everything about Henry Cooper completely charming. Erudite and cultured, he’d written about the space program for the New Yorker Magazine. I’d encountered my father’s old high school friend when I was forty-four, during a visit to New York City for a family event, when Dad was staying with him. A few months after the trip, I confessed my thing for Henry to Dad, who was surprisingly supportive. To amuse myself, I later wrote a short essay about my crush, and read it to Dad. His response: “You should get that published.” Dad was the most intellectual person I’ve ever met. Hyper educated at Andover, Harvard, and Harvard Law, he read books on architectural theory and the collected letters of Mozart for fun. Based on my father’s enthusiasm, and trusting his judgement, I continued to write about dating and all things romantic post-divorce. These essays turned into A Movie’s Lover’s Search for Romance. Of th

  We congratulation our author, Joanna Charnas, for the selection of her excellently written book and compelling story, A Movie Lover's Search for Romance, as a Book Excellence Award Finalist. For more posts on Joanna and her book(s) click HERE .

  Joanna Charnas was interviewed about the topic of divorce by Authority Magazine recently. You can read the interview HERE Joanna is author of four books: Read more posts by and about Joanna and her books HERE .

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Creative Aging   (Vassiliadis & Romer) USA Best Books Awards finalist 11/6 - 11/13 El Poder de lo Transpersonal  (Ustman) 11/7 - 11/14 Healing from Incest  (Henderson & Emerton) Book of the Year Award finalist 11/9 - 11/15 How to Live from Your Heart  (Hucknall) Book of the Year Award finalist 11/10 - 11/17 Books on discount at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last: 10 Quick Homework Tips  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) $5 book sale at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last 100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chroni c Illness (Charnas) 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas  (Gentile) For posts on any of these books or their authors, type in the name in the search bar; you will have plenty to read! Sign up for th