MSI Press Blog

  Back Story of 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas From the author: The Story Behind the Book: How Self-Care Helped Me Achieve My Dream of Writing My First Book Julie M. Gentile It started between an inhale and an exhale on my yoga mat. My idea to write a book for other busy moms like me trying to live well was planted in the pause between both parts of the breath. I had just had my second child and had become more aware of the options busy moms had to manage their full plates. One word about being a busy mom immediately came to mind: Overwhelmed. I knew I couldn’t manage my own busy life without self-care by my side. Since becoming a yoga teacher in 2011, I was already practicing a variety of nourishing practices to feed my mind, body and soul: getting quality sleep, staying hydrated, practicing yoga, meditating, exercising, journaling, eating more plant-based foods and reading uplifting content. These practices helped me pause enough to get glimpses of how I co

  A bit of a detour from the usual Cancer Diary posts, this week we are posting reviews about a well-liked but not widely known book about living with cancer (spoiler: it has a religious appeal): Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista. #1 Synopsis: Sula is a cat with a divine mission who has an uncanny ability to sense which parishioners at the California's San Juan Bautista Old Mission need her attention at any given Mass. But is it really uncanny, or does St. Francis give Sula tasks during her daily conversations with him? Or is she led by God? Sula has developed a special bond with cancer survivors like herself. The bond between her and the Old Mission parishioners saw her through two bouts of cancer, flooding her with gifts: money for surgery, a home for recovery, prayers, and love. In the pages of "Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story" is comprised of truly charming, heartwarming,

  This week's book back story tells the tale of He's a Porn Addict...Now What? (Overbay and Shea). From the editor -  Joshua Shea had read and was taken with Healing from Incest (Henderson & Emerton, in which an author and her therapist, with permission from the State of Nebraska psychological ethics board, teamed up to tell a compelling story). He and his therapist, Tony Overbay, wanted to do the same. We saw a very positive aspect of these book parallels and offered a contract. From the paperback came a hard cover, e-book (the most popular version of this book), and an audio book. Paperback copies of this book can be purchased at the   MSI Press webstore   at 25% discount with coupon code FF25. For more posts about this book, click HERE .  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 c

  This week's book back story focuses on the award-winning  Mental Health Mayday  by Gregg Bagdade. From the author: As a firefighter and a paramedic for the Chicago Fire Department, I served 20 + years before I realized that my department was behind the times regarding handling mental health within the fire service. With the support of my wife and family, I went back to school, obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State and then my Master’s Degree from Concordia University. I became licensed as a professional counselor and set out to change the stigma that was mental health within the fire service. I began working in private practice with first responders exclusively helping them with their mental health needs. Shortly thereafter, I realized that my affinity for writing would pay off in dividends if I just wrote a book so my message could spread far and wide. A year later, Mental Health Mayday was published. It is a portable, easily digestible primer on how firefighters can ha

  This week's book back story features How to Be a Good Mommy When You're Sick by Emily Graves. from the editor -- Unfortunately, the author has been incommunicado for several years, so all I have is a few notes from correspondence with her. It seems that she had some significance first-hand experience in chronic illness, in her case, rheumatoid arthritis at a young age. As she strove to maintain her professorial position and raise her son in a "normal" environment, she learned many useful things that could help others in similar circumstances -- not necessarily suffering from rheumatoid arthritis but from any debilitating illness. Library Journal was impressed with her book and provided an excellent review. And the book was off and running.  Purchase the paperback 25% discount with coupon code FF25 at the  MSI Press webstore . For more posts about this book, click HERE . For more book back stories, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Pr

  Blest Atheist is the perfect book story to tell on Easter. After all, it opens and ends with an Easter scene. The story behind the book is actually told within the pages of the book. Dr. Mahlou sspent her life as an atheist; Blest Atheist is the story of that life and of her conversion to Catholicism.  Here is the book description: As a young child, outraged by the hypocrisy she finds in a church that does nothing to alleviate the physical and sexual abuse she experiences on a regular basis, Beth delivers an accusatory youth sermon and gets her family expelled from the church. Having locked the door on God, Beth goes on to raise a family of seven children, learn 17 languages, and enjoy a career that takes her to NASA, Washington, and 24 countries. All the time, however, God keeps knocking at the door, protecting and blessing her, which she realizes only decades later. Ultimately, Beth finds God in a very simple yet most unusual way. A very human story, Blest Atheist encompasses the

  Today's back story is about the book,  Old and On Hold  by Bertha Cooper . From the publisher The story behind this book and 14 others like it share one important thing in common: they came out during the pandemic. Not only did they come out at that time, but they were planned as a set of books (by various MSI Press authors with special expertise related to various aspects of the pandemic). Bertha, who had earned the recognition as "best new voice in health and fitness" with her book, Women, We're Only Old Once , knew a lot about aging, and older folks were particularly hard hit by COVID at that time.  Many of the insights in the book are true even now. After all, many retirees get caught holding in place for many reasons, not just the pandemic. Some useful thoughts and insights shared in this book are true at any time. Book available at 25% discount with code FF25 at msipress.com/shop. Read more about Bertha and her books HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsle

  This week's book back story features Intrepid: Fearless Immigrant from Jordan to America by Carl and Betty Lou Leaver from the publisher -- When Carl Leaver's beloved cat -- with quite a unique personality -- died from cancer, he found one way to deal with his grief was to compile the pictures he had made over the 11 years of Intrepid's life into a story. For sure, Intrepid did have a story. Ironically, Carl died from cancer three years ago. Intrepid is buried with him. Purchase the paperback at 25% discount with coupon code FF25  at the  MSI Press webstore . For more posts about Carl Leaver and his books, click  HERE . 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 . Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our  author au pair  services will mentor you through the process. Interested in receiving a