MSI Press Blog

  Most modern countries tend to look at aging is a time of slowing down, of loss, of not being able to do what the aging adult has always been able to do or wanted (wants) to do. Creative Aging by Vassiliadis and Romer takes a very different view -- a positive one. An award-winning book, highly recommended by leading reviewers: This timely book...is geared to help those who are at or nearing retirement creatively to plan for their upcoming years. More than a how to, this is a book that opens readers' minds to possibilities ahead. Uplifting...thought-provoking."                                                                                                            --- Library Journal "Two boomers who have aged creatively share their advice in this well-written, inspiring book...Vassiliadis and Romer have crafted a book with a strong voice and a thematic approach that is just different enough to make it stand out from the glut of books targeting retiring boomers. For tho

    Excerpt from  Creative Aging  (Vassiliadis & Romer) - INTRODUCTION Do We Have to Grow Old?   “To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.” —Henri Frederic Amiel, Philosopher   Time marches forward whether we like it or not. From the day we emerge on our birthdate with baby-soft skin, tiny toes and fingers, and a world of possibilities ahead, we begin to age. Even as our lungs fill with precious gulps of air and we cry out to tell the world we’ve arrived, time moves ahead. Aging is inevitable. But--do we have to grow old as we age?   As Baby Boomers, we have an imposing heritage. Many of us, in our 20s or younger, pursued the absorbing occupation of self-discovery. Books such as The Road Less Traveled, along with the mystical music of The Beatles and others, opened the imaginations of Baby Boomers across the country. Could there be something else besides the prescribed roles of businessman and housewi

  From Cheryl Vassiliadis - Creative Aging:A Baby Boomer’s Guide to Successful Living  came about as a collaboration of two friends who discussed what the future would look like as we stepped into the troisième age. Joanna Romer, my co-author, was my Communications professor when I started college as a non-conventional student at 45. We were so like-minded that we hit it off in class and then as we became good friends outside of class.  She introduced me to other women engaged in artful endeavors, and I introduced her to a special dance class I launched in my local community for ladies over the age of 50 called Flowing Rhythm. Later, when I moved to an over 55, active adult community in Georgia, I began that dance class in my clubhouse, and it had one of the most rewarding outcomes of my life. Joanna and I stayed in touch and wrote each other back and forth, and when she authored her first book  Widow: A Survival Guide for the First Year  in 2012, she told me I should try writing a boo

  excerpt from How to Get Happy and Stay That Way (Romer) - How Can We Tell When True Happiness Is Ours? Knowing when we are happy may seem like a no-brainer, but actually it can be trickier than it sounds. What seems to be true happiness may be deceptive and turn out to be just a passing phase or, worse, the opposite of happiness. For example, have you ever spent hours, even days, planning an event, and it turns out to be something that sounded much better on paper than it actually was? In this case, it may be that whatever happiness was derived from the situation came from the planning process, and not the event itself. Now there’s nothing wrong with achieving satisfaction from producing an event—event planners will vouch for that! However, it’s important to know whether it’s the process or the result itself that makes us happy, so that we’re not disappointed. But how about simple, everyday happiness, not associated with major projects—how can we accurately tell when happiness is up

  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

  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 the

  It is always a question of whether to introduce a deceased author. In this case, though, Joanna's books still sell well -- and she has been our most prolific author. Joanna Romer‘s writing has appeared in  The New York Times ,   Cosmopolitan ,   Mademoiselle , and other publications. With her late husband, Jack Milton, Romer wrote and produced the 1972 feature film,   Please Stand By . For the past 14 years, she has taught communications at colleges and universities in Florida and New York. In her last years, Joanna Romer lives in Daytona Beach, Florida, where she wrote ten books for MSI Press, including one with co-author Cheryl Vassiliadis and one with co-author Pat Young. which have achieved various forms of acclaim.  To read posts about Joanna and her books, click HERE .

  Franciscan Ladies Lunch Out: from left - the author, Anne, Alice, and Barbara Three of us were a decade apart: Alice, Anne, and I; Barbara was a half-decade between Anne and Alice. Alice - even in her 90s was the renegade; Barbara was the dependable servant; Anne was the intellectual pusher; and I was the world traveler (some of our "out" meetings had to be scheduled around my irregular travel schedule).  We came together in an odd way. We were all Franciscans, and we met monthly for more than ten years for Franciscan Ladies' Night Out, until Alice who had reached her 90s, could not drive in the dark anymore. Then, we switched to Franciscan Ladies' Lunch Out. We always had plenty to talk about and always on the same wavelength. Just one of those lucky and blessed groupings where all of us could always rely on each of us for anything needed, but especially for maintaining sanity in a growingly crazy world as we approached the Covid months. These "out" exper