MSI Press Blog

What better gift for a widowed father on Father's Day than a book leading to a new way of being, a way of moving past the trauma of losing a spouse? The Widower's Guide to a New Life by Joanna Romer, which relates the experience of ten bereaved men, has been praised by Library Journal , US Review of Books , MidWest Book Review , and Foreword Reviews . Selected as a finalist for the Book of the Year Award. Available from online bookstores, retail stores, kindle, and the MSI Press webstore. Read more about The Widower's Guide to a New Life HERE and blogposts/excerpts about widowers from this book and other MSI Press publications  HERE . Read posts about Joanna and her other books HERE .

Julie M.Gentile's 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices For Busy Mamas is an uplifting and inspirational book that will give confidence to moms out there to become their own wellness leaders by prioritizing self-care so they can make positive changes in their families, friends, coworkers, and the world. The author's ultimate wellness path shared in this book will help to create an easy transition from caring for others around the clock for caring more for you. The 108 (a sacred number in yoga) writing prompts, meditations, yoga poses, breathing exercises, and other wellness practices will inspire readers to walk a path of self-love.  The book will help readers kick start their self-care journey and readers who practice will see wellness coming into their lives. The life-changing practices can be incorporated into daily life and the tips and tools are good to getting started  and keeping the wellness inspiration flowing. Practicing yoga gives the resources and motivation to t

Yep. No typo in that subject line. I am 100% convinced that deit soda has nothing to do with a good diet if by diet you mean the attempt to lose weight. I want to lose weight. I must lose weight. With push-ups, I am pushing an extra 30 pounds. That is a lot. With pull-ups, I am pulling an extra 30 pounds. That is a lot. I have trued everythng available. Well, probably not everything , but many things. Keto? Fat cells cling stubbornly. Paleo? Fat cells cling ferociously. Trainer's special diet? Fat cells thumb their nose. Drop caloric intake to 900 calories day after day? (The thinking goes: you will lose weight with no more than 900 calories.) Those fat cells proved that thinking wrong. Cling, cling, cling! Then, Carl was busy ubering, and there was no diet soda in the house -- for a couple of days. Time for tea! Suddenly, without other explanation, a couple of pounds walked away. Gone! The only difference that I could identify: no diet soda. That prompted some resea

The following excerpt comes from the introduction to the book, Understanding the Challenge of "No" for Children with Autism   by Colette McNeil, long-time special needs teacher and aunt to a child with autism. Corey Giggling so hard he almost loses his balance, on tippy-toes, bouncing foot to foot, arms swaying in the air, 3-year-old Corey celebrates with joy as he watches Alice approach.   “Uh Oh! Corey thinks this is a game. I probably shouldn’t have been so playful.”  Alice has removed Corey from the tabletop three times in the last three minutes.  Each time keeping the interaction light, she spiritedly engaged, “Oh no, no, no, little man.  We don’t stand on tables. Get down.” He was then scooped up in a hug, spun away from the table and gently placed with his feet on the floor.  Now, standing next to the table, Alice speaks in a more subdued, neutral tone, “No, get down.”  Corey gleefully throws his hands up and rests his body against hers. Alice makes an

Name: Julie M. Gentile Book: 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas Date of Interview: June 10, 2019 Who are you? What do you want readers to know about you? I am a full-time working mom, certified and Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher, author of the book 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas (MSI Press), wellness speaker, and creator of the blog Stand Up for Your Self-Care . I am on a wellness mission to inspire other moms to have the courage to stand up for their self-care. Why are you qualified to write this book? I have two young children and I work full-time, so I understand what it means to be busy in the modern world raising little ones. I have been leading yoga classes since 2011, and I have authored numerous health and wellness articles for multiple publications and websites.   What is the message of your book? What should be the take-away by readers? Everyone deserves more self-care. Whether you dedicate an hour to exerc

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

  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