MSI Press Blog

11. A Slice of Canine Heaven  When Emme died, I struggled to find the right words of condolence for her owner, my colleague Matt. I finally told him that rarely are my expectations of great things completely fulfilled, but my day with Emme exceeded my hopes and was a joy. Emme was a 170-pound Great Dane who spent one hot summer day, per Matt, “babysitting” me when I was homebound with a sinus infection. I’d been sick in June with a similar illness, and when I returned to work, Matt offered to bring Emme to my home the next time I felt ill. He knew I loved Great Danes but couldn’t own one because of my chronic illness. So, during my second week-long bout that summer with sinus issues, I gave Matt a call. At six-thirty the next day, he arrived with Emme and the largest dog bed I’d ever seen.  After an hour of anxiously checking my front door, Emme settled in. She was the most obedient animal I’d ever encountered. She jumped on the couch to cuddle on command. She placed her head

Just up! Managing Editor, Dr. Betty Lou Leaver, and Graphic Designer/Tech Director, Carl Leaver, traveled to San Diego, California in February. While there, they met with author, Joanna Charnas, author of three books, and conducted an interview on each book. Listen to the podcast  about 100 Tips & Tools for Managing Chronic Illness on our podcast page on our website by clicking  HERE . Take a look at Joanna's three books: 100 Tips & Tools for Managing Chronic Illness Living Well with Chronic Illness A Movie Lover's Search for Romance (to be released in July)

  We do have books that make great Mother's Day gifts. Here are some of them: Girl, You've Got This! Transitioning to motherhood is hard. Along with it comes a lot of fear, anxiety and responsibility. You want to provide everything for your new child, and it is all too easy to let other things – like self-care – slide. How do new moms stay on top of finances, a healthy diet, housework, a fitness routine, work, and other personal needs? Combining her expertise as a personal trainer and successful entrepreneur with her life as a wife and mother who is pregnant with her second child, Brittany Renz helps readers find balance as new moms by preparing and establishing routines throughout the nine months of pregnancy. She encourages expectant mothers to set themselves up for success as mothers, spouses and working professionals – and she knows what she is talking about. How to Be a Good Mommy When You're Sick Soon after receiving her Bachelor’s Degree, Emily Graves was diagnosed w

As school starts again, here are some great books for parents. All are available from online sellers, through local retailers, and at discount (code FF25 for 25% discount) from the MSI Press webstore. Want to read some excerpts first? Here you go: 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley & Trombly): #11 Thinking Out Loud   Enthusiasm is contagious. Start an epidemic.  ~Unknown Did you know that talking to yourself not only helps you organize your thoughts but also helps your child? When you are working through a problem, make it a point to say what you are thinking out loud. Look for opportunities to do this. For example: "I need to make 100 cupcakes for the bake sale. If each muffin tin makes 12 cupcakes and I have 2 muffin tins I can make 24 at a time. So, let’s see… how many batches will I need to bake? I will divide 100 by 24…." Your child will realize that adults, like children, must go through a series of steps to conquer a problem. If you're e

Introduction: My Story When women with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) get pregnant, their RA goes into remission. At least, that’s what my doctor told my husband, Robert, and me when we went in to discuss the possibility of having a baby. At that time, we both were professors with busy careers. I was 28, and, according to my doctors, my RA was on “cruise control.” Thus, we were given a big “thumbs up” from the medical community to get pregnant. I would not trade our son for the world, but, boy, were they wrong! There was no remission for me, not unless remission means running head first into kidney failure and an abrupt pause in my career. After many months of discussions with baffled doctors, biopsies, and blood tests, I was diagnosed with Essential Mixed Cryoglobulinemia Type II—a complication of my RA that was causing kidney failure. I was officially the complicated, rare case “only found in medical journals.” In other words, my bewildered doctors and nurses all but labeled

  Excerpt from How to Be a Good Mommy When You're Sick ebook:  Amazon Kindle paperback: MSI Press webstore  (code FF25 gives 25% discount) Everyday Basics Remember your foundation Do not apologize!     Apologizing for meeting your basic sleeping needs does not benefit anyone. This also gives people the impression that your needs—including your schedule—can be altered based on their own needs or that your schedule is merely a matter of convenience and not essential to your wellbeing and that of your family. Stick to what you know is best for you, your health, and your child/children. Everyone else can learn the routine and should be happy that you are showing strength and doing everything you can to stay as healthy as you can be. People who are not happy about your strength and resolve to take your health needs seriously should be given the boot! Do what you can and be happy with it!          At times, your sleep schedule may require you to pick and choose some activities ve

  Shared from Jackie's blog:  The Day I Learned I Was Really Important, Just Not in the Way I Thought The past week or so has been tough! Blog subject, or maybe book subject tough. On Tuesday I picked up a full mug of coffee and felt a familiar dull ache. This ache sent a panicked message to my brain. Oh crap! I’m getting a flare. My "tell" that a fibro flare is coming is this dull achy hand and wrist pain. So uncomfortable that I can’t wrap my fingers around a glass or even hold my phone without making it worse. I quickly calmed myself with the reminder that I hadn’t had a flare up that lasted more than a few days in over three years. Whatever I was doing, meds, supplements, diet, exercise-ish (being honest here), was keeping my symptoms at bay! For the rest of the day I took it easy on my joints and tried my best to stay calm. Later that my evening my shoulders and neck started to ache but again I reminded myself that it should all be over soon. I thought about how luck

Sadness  Sometimes, living with chronic illness can make us feel deeply sad. It’s okay to occasionally fall apart. Cry if you need to. After a painful and unexpected episode of particularly bad health, I often found myself overcome by sadness and despair. I would be doing the dishes, making the bed, or watching a television commercial, and I’d start to weep. On top of everything else, I then felt stupid. But so what? No one besides you cares if you sob while you wash the dinner dishes! However, if sadness overwhelms you and you can rarely shake it off, you may be clinically depressed. Then you might consider consulting a therapist for counseling or antidepressant medications. Therapy and/or medication won’t ensure your happiness, but they may alleviate the oppressive quality of your sadness. While it’s natural to feel sad, try not to dwell on your despair longer than necessary. Only you know how long you need to focus on your sad feelings. But if you find yourself weeping

Part of a series on the coronavirus pandemic written by MSI Press authors to share expertise, help, and hope,  Tips, Techniques, and Anecdotes to Help during a Pandemic  focuses on physical and mental well being during any time of crisis. Topics include meditation and mindfulness; positivity; managing setbacks; laughing at oneself; overcoming chal lenges; friends, family, and others; managing daily tasks; adaptive solutions; tricks and tools; and miscellaneous musings. Joanna is also author of: Living Well with Chronic Illness 100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness and A Movie Lover's Search for Romance . More posts about and by Joanna Charnas may be found HERE .

Joanna J. Charnas is a social worker with over thirty years of experience as a licensed mental health provider. She received her master’s degree from Boston University School of Social Work in 1988 and has earned the highest level of social work licensure in California (Licensed Clinical Social Worker, 2001.) She has worked in numerous service sectors, all of which placed fragile people in her care and enhanced her clinical acumen and skills. Since 1995, she has worked specifically with people with mental and physical illnesses. She published on HuffPost Blog for two and a half years, and her writing has appeared in PopSugar, The San Francisco Review of Books, and SteadyHealth. More about her writing can be found at  www.joannacharnas.com Her first book ,   Living Well with Chronic Illness ,  was released August 25, 2015. Her second book,  1 00 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness , was released in April 2018. Her third book, A Movie Lover's Search for Romance

   Excerpt from  100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness  (Charnas) -- Tip #1. CALL ME DADDY   When I visit New York City, I usually stop by Levain Bakery on West 74 th street to buy their amazing chocolate chip cookies. The storefront is down a flight of steps and occupies a space the size of two coffins. Previously, this had never been an issue. But when visiting the city last October, every time I passed the bakery I saw people lined up for ten yards outside. On my last day of the trip, despite the cold weather and long lines, I decided to buy a couple of cookies. Several middle-aged women wearing transit uniforms stood in front of me in line. I asked them why the store suddenly had such long waits, and they explained that it now had a Facebook page.    The three transit workers and I chatted briefly as we tried to stay warm in the frigid air. One of the ladies, Darlene, had never eaten a cookie from the bakery before. Fed up with the wait, she declared to her friend,