MSI Press Blog

  With cancer, it does happen. Many stories do not have happy endings, and some endings come sooner than we would like. MSI Press has published several books on bereavement. Broader in scope than the experiences of those who have lost loved ones to cancer, they share many, if not most, of the emotions of those who have grieve for those medical science could not save -- and they give hope and a wide range of options of how to go on and LIVE.  Harnessing the Power of Grief (Julie Potter) get the book or ebook In this book, Julie Potter traces back decades the research on understanding and coping with grief, which she describes as a natural human response to loss. Pulling from the work of Worden, the author prescribes four tasks for those in grief to use in managing their grief. She also walks the reader through special situations like tragic loss without warning. A book for those who are grieving and those who are walking with grievers. Read more posts about Julie and her book HERE . Lif

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 Continuing with the samples of successful books, in this blog post I am including information of a book in the self-help genre; The Widower's Guide to a New Life by Joanna Romer. The book was recommended by US Review of Books and was selected as a finalist for the Book of the Year Award. How the book came into being: As editor, I proposed the book because I saw a market for it. I proposed the book to Joanna because she had written a similar book for Widows, which had sold well. I knew that Joanna had the writing and research skills to pull off a good book on this topic. Why the book sold: It filled a gap -- most of the

  excerpt from A Widower's Guide to a New Life (Romer) -  Self-Esteem What gives you self-esteem? Is it wearing a clean shirt and well-polished shoes when you’re heading out to dinner with a friend, whether male or female? Is it the knowledge that you can still be useful as you fix your neighbor’s lawn mower, or maybe even her computer?  Is it the fact that the woman in the grocery store smiled at you when you let her go ahead of you in line, or the realization that you can still beat your old pal Phil on the tennis court after 31 years? All of these things (and more) can contribute to self-esteem, a very useful commodity for a widower to have. Chances are, if you’ve lost your wife recently, your self-esteem has taken a beating. When our typical routine is drastically altered and we find ourselves struggling with everyday events, one of the first things to plummet is our opinion of ourselves. That good opinion, that high self-regard, is very important in the process of healing. Mo

Whether the death of a child was due to illness, accident, suicide or drug overdose, the pain is the same — an ache in your heart that won’t go away. Will your life ever be the same? Perhaps not, but as the interviews in this book reveal, you can go on to have a meaningful life. Trish Armor [previous chapter] dealt with her loss through a number of powerful methods. She started a local branch of a bereavement group called Compassionate Friends for other parents who had lost a child. She turned to her faith, a gift she said her daughter had given her, and most significantly for her, Trish turned to Mindfulness. According to Mindful.org, Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present—aware of where we are and what we’re doing at the moment. Such an awareness, says Trish, can be hugely beneficial. “We tend to live in the past when losing a child and have a lot of negative thoughts,” she remarked. Forgiveness is another very important element in the process of co

                                                                                       (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. Ever wonder how books get to be accepted for publication? There is often more to any author's story than non-authors and not-yet-published authors would image.  Yes, of course, every publisher has the normal channel of proposal reading and acceptance based on the quality of the proposal, the "fit" of the book, the quality of the writing, and the perceived marketability, typically based on the author's platform. But...some books come into being in some other ways. Here are a few from the MSI Press e

  San Juan Books is the hybrid division of MSI Press LLC. It allows first-time writers to become published in a traditional way through the reduction of risk by sharing publication costs. All other publishing features are traditional in nature, and most SJB authors go on to be offered traditional contracts for their subsequent books. SJB publications are available as paperback, hard cover, and e-book versions. SJB authors' books very much hold their own against their contemporaries in the traditional publishing division. Indeed, a number of them have outsold their traditional compatriots. Today, San Juan Books presents author Julie Potter. Julie published  Harnessing the Power of Grief . Her book has earned 5-star reviews and won the Best Indie Book Award in the category of Grief and Bereavement. To see more posts about Julie and her book, click HERE .                                                          Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow

  Today's fortune cookie is associated with The Widower's Guide to a New Life  by Joanna Romer. Read more about this book and its author  HERE .  Get a paperback copy at  MSI Press webstore . If not on sale at the time, use code FF25 to get 25% discount. (Note: the code does not work on books that are already on sale att discounted prices.) Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.  Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our  Authors' Pag

  excerpt from Harnessing the Power of Grief (Potter) Introduction Grief, the process by which we adjust to the losses in our lives, is often one of the most devastating and life-changing experiences in a human being’s life. Like all who have come before us, each of us will suffer important losses and will experience grief. A fraction of us will experience complicated grief and will benefit from professional help. Treatment of complicated grief is beyond the scope of this book, as discussed below. Most of us will experience normal grief, still very difficult, but manageable without professional help. In time, with our inner and outer resources, we will make a satisfactory adjustment to our loss. How do we do this? We harness the power of grief, and that is the subject of this book. In my career, I coordinated a hospital-based wellness program including a spousal bereavement program. Volunteers, who themselves had been widowed for at least two years, provided help and support to t