Two ladies in a coffee shop sat chatting; they were friends. They danced together years ago when their careers began. Although they seemed so happy now, this wasn't always true- A dangerous plague once sneaked into the world they both clung to. So now the years have passed and two old friends can sit and chat. While sipping coffee, sharing jokes, and talk of this and that. They finally learned the joy of sharing what they both held dear. For they saw what they had almost lost before it disappeared. Who knew that Madeline and Lydia could be the best of friends? They're in each other's hearts for good, their memories will never end! Their friendship now is precious and will never, ever fade. They learned to share their dreams, their art - And a special bond was made.
Get inspired by the women who discovered that working with your best friend can be the secret to professional success—and maybe even the future of business—from the co-founders of the website Of a Kind. “Read this, then plot your own work-wife-driven empire.”—Glamour When Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur met in college in 2002, they bonded instantly. Fast-forward to 2010, when they founded the popular fashion and design website Of a Kind. Now, in their first book, Cerulo and Mazur bring to light the unique power of female friendship to fuel successful businesses. Drawing on their own experiences, as well as the stories of other thriving “work wives,” they highlight the ways in which vulnerability, openness, and compassion—qualities central to so many women’s relationships—lend themselves to professional accomplishment and innovation. Featuring interviews with work wives such as Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs of the influential food community site Food52, Ann Friedman, Aminatou Sow, and Gina Delvac of the hit podcast Call Your Girlfriend, and Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings of Olympic volleyball fame, Work Wife addresses a range of topics vital to successful partnerships, such as being co-bosses, tackling disagreements, dealing with money, and accommodating motherhood. Demonstrating how female partnerships in the office are productive, progressive, and empowering, Cerulo and Mazur offer an invaluable roadmap for a feminist reimagining of the workplace. Fun, enlightening, and informative, Work Wife is a celebration of female friendship and collaboration, proving that it's not just feasible but fruitful to mix BFFs with business. Praise for Work Wife “Is the old adage ‘Friends and business don’t mix’ true? Not according to college friends Cerulo and Mazur, who translated their love of fashion and desire to support emerging fashion designers into a successful business, the e-commerce site Of a Kind. . . . By exploring topics such as setting expectations, defining roles, dividing responsibility, dealing with finances, and addressing disputes, they deftly demonstrate how female friendships produce empowering business partnerships. . . . This insightful, engaging work is an essential guidebook for friends considering a business collaboration.”—Library Journal (starred review) “Engaging and thoughtful, Work Wife champions strong relationships, healthy attitudes, and pragmatic decision-making—an excellent primer for women interested in creating their own opportunities.”—Booklist (starred review)
Revamp your life to grow, evolve, and become who you want to be Lifestorming is the indispensably practical handbook for becoming the person you want to be. Redesign your life, friends, behaviors, and beliefs to move closer to your goals every single day, guided by expert insight and deep introspection. Written by a veteran author team behind almost 100 books on human behavior, this guide helps you learn why you do things the way you do them, and how to do them better. The Lifestorming Test allows you to assess your current state in concrete terms, and assess your ability to change and adapt — from there, it's about identifying people, actions, habits, and beliefs that either support your personal and professional growth or hold you back. You'll learn the six building blocks of character, challenge your belief system, develop a leadership mindset, and overcome the fear and guilt of success. You'll map out an action plan, and learn how to continually move forward at work, at home, and in everyday life. We often don't realize how much of our natural default is established by others. Whose goals are you working toward? Are you measuring your progress with the correct yardstick? This book shows you how to take a step back and compare your life today with the future you want — and build a plan for changing track toward constant evolution and growth. Assess your current state and your capacity for change Develop the right goals and the right metrics to create the future you want Learn how character evolves, and why it's essential to growth Change your habits and behaviors to consistently grow and evolve We all carry around old baggage, obsolete "friendships", and counterproductive beliefs — and every day, they pull us a little further away from what we really want. Lifestorming is your real-world guide to shedding the stagnation, and allowing yourself to grow into the person you want to become.
What happens when older men become widowers? Popular books, movies, and television present widowers as lost and unable to cope or care for themselves. These stereotypes do not encapsulate the experiences of real widowers, how their daily lives change, and what being a widower means to individuals in both sociological and practical ways. By Himself is based on in-depth interviews with twenty-six widowers over the age of sixty living in the United States and Canada. Using these interviews, Deborah K. van den Hoonaard explores masculine identity and traces the stories that widowers tell about their wives' illnesses and deaths. She also focuses on the widowers' changed relationships with their children and friends, as well as with women, and details the men's encounters with tasks such as housework and cooking. An eminently readable and accessible book, By Himself sheds new light on the social meaning of being a widower.
How Early American Quakers transcended the idea of the nation-state during the turbulent Age of Revolution: “Provocative . . . important . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice Early American Quakers have long been perceived as retiring separatists, but in Holy Nation Sarah Crabtree transforms our historical understanding of the sect by drawing on the sermons, diaries, and correspondence of Quakers themselves. Situating Quakerism within the larger intellectual and religious undercurrents of the Atlantic world, Crabtree shows how Quakers forged a paradoxical sense of their place in the world as militant warriors fighting for peace. She argues that during the turbulent Age of Revolution and Reaction, the Religious Society of Friends forged a “holy nation,” a transnational community of like-minded believers committed first and foremost to divine law and to one another. Declaring themselves citizens of their own nation served to underscore the decidedly unholy nature of the nation-state, worldly governments, and profane laws. As a result, campaigns of persecution against the Friends escalated as those in power moved to declare Quakers aliens and traitors to their home countries. Holy Nation convincingly shows that ideals and actions were inseparable for the Society of Friends, yielding an account of Quakerism that is simultaneously a history of the faith and its adherents and a history of its confrontations with the wider world. Ultimately, Crabtree says, the conflicts between obligations of church and state that Quakers faced can illuminate similar contemporary struggles. “A significant and highly important contribution to the scholarship on the intersection of religion and nationalism during [these] critical decades. . . . carefully researched and elegantly written.” —Kirsten Fischer, University of Minnesota
Discover the unexpected ways friends influence our personalities, choices, emotions, and even physical health in this fun and compelling examination of friendship, based on the latest scientific research and ever-relatable anecdotes. Why is dinner with friends often more laughter filled and less fraught than a meal with family? Although some say it’s because we choose our friends, it’s also because we expect less of them than we do of relatives. While we’re busy scrutinizing our romantic relationships and family dramas, our friends are quietly but strongly influencing everything from the articles we read to our weight fluctuations, from our sex lives to our overall happiness levels. Evolutionary psychologists have long theorized that friendship has roots in our early dependence on others for survival. These days, we still cherish friends but tend to undervalue their role in our lives. However, the skills one needs to make good friends are among the very skills that lead to success in life, and scientific research has recently exploded with insights about the meaningful and enduring ways friendships influence us. With people marrying later—and often not at all—and more families having just one child, these relationships may be gaining in importance. The evidence even suggests that at times friends have a greater hand in our development and well-being than do our romantic partners and relatives. Friends see each other through the process of growing up, shape each other’s interests and outlooks, and, painful though it may be, expose each other’s rough edges. Childhood and adolescence, in particular, are marked by the need to create distance between oneself and one’s parents while forging a unique identity within a group of peers, but friends continue to influence us, in ways big and small, straight through old age. Perpetually busy parents who turn to friends—for intellectual stimulation, emotional support, and a good dose of merriment—find a perfect outlet to relieve the pressures of raising children. In the office setting, talking to a friend for just a few minutes can temporarily boost one’s memory. While we romanticize the idea of the lone genius, friendship often spurs creativity in the arts and sciences. And in recent studies, having close friends was found to reduce a person’s risk of death from breast cancer and coronary disease, while having a spouse was not. Friendfluence surveys online-only pals, friend breakups, the power of social networks, envy, peer pressure, the dark side of amicable ties, and many other varieties of friendship. Told with warmth, scientific rigor, and a dash of humor, Friendfluence not only illuminates and interprets the science but draws on clinical psychology and philosophy to help readers evaluate and navigate their own important friendships.
Dangerous Characters is about people of all kinds, stuck with their unique personalities and trying to negotiate their ways through lifes bramble strewn path. As intellectual historians, psychologists of love, and psychotherapists, Elaine Hatfield and Richard L. Rapson bring to bear their sharp and wry observations upon a constellation of vivid characters.
“If you struggle to simplify your life and wish you could savor the here and now, this book is a must-read.” —Crystal Paine, founder of MoneySavingMom.com and New York Times–bestselling author Have you ever felt that your life—and budget—is spiraling out of control? Do you sometimes wish you could pull yourself together but wonder exactly how to manage all the scattered pieces of a chaotic life? Is it possible to find balance? In a word, yes. Ruth Soukup knows firsthand how stressful an unorganized life and budget can be. Through personal stories, biblical truth, and practical action plans, she will inspire you to make real and lasting changes to your personal goals, home, and finances. With honesty and the wisdom of someone who has been there, Ruth will help you: Discover your “sweet spot” —that place where your talents and abilities intersect. Take back your time and schedule by making simple shifts in your daily habits. Reduce stress in your home and family by clearing out the clutter. Stop busting your budget and learn to cut your grocery bill in half. This book provides real and practical solutions from someone who has been there. Ruth doesn’t just offer advice, she walks it with you, and shares with brutal honesty her own mistakes, failures, and shortcomings. It is encouraging, motivating, and life-changing. “An inspiring book full of step-by-step instructions and spiritual wisdom. I love how Ruth is transparent about her mistakes as she leads us to reevaluate our priorities. This book is a great biblical guide to living well and finding joy!” —Courtney Joseph, founder of Women Living Well Ministries
