He's Got A Lot To Learn Scott Matthews had no idea Ginger Winchester was a teacher when they first met—he didn't even know her last name. That didn't stop them from sharing a night of passion. Scott hoped he'd see Ginger again—just not in his daughter's new classroom! Yet, somewhere under that frumpy sweater and chalk dust is the sultry redhead who's been haunting his dreams. Smart, sensitive and nurturing, Ginger is everything Scott wants. But when Ginger discovers she resembles his first wife, she fears stepping in as a replacement mom. She wants a family, but not this way. She's happy to offer tips on handling rambunctious kids, and even helps the Matthews family adopt a big, lovable puppy. But when it comes to handing over her heart, Scott must prove to her that she's more than just a stand-in—she's the one.
The Mother/Daughter Relationship gets a Makeover from the Feminine Divine. You love your mother, but she can drive you crazy. No matter what you do, it isn't quite good enough. When you speak up, mom says, "Well then, I guess I'm just a horrible mother." The mixed messages and guilt weighs you down and leaves you wondering if you can ever get it right. How can you turn this around, free yourself from self-doubt, and break the cycle for your own daughter? You can meditate, chant affirmations, and dutifully practice feeling grateful all you want, but you can't create the life you desire without addressing the issues around the person who first gave you life. Do you apologize chronically, saying, "I'm sorry" and "it's ok," when it isn't? Second-guess yourself with every decision? Look to others for your sense of self worth? Feel that you have to choose between looking good and feeling good? Come with me, as I show you how the problems you have with your mother mirror the problems you have in life. By understanding what has gone wrong in the mother/daughter relationship and turning it around, you activate the Feminine energy that is the key to having the life you've always wanted. Are you ready to rise up, come alive, and live beyond your mother's limiting messages? Rise up and claim your full true Feminine power! In psychotherapist's Katherine Fabrizio's ground breaking book, DAUGHTERS RISING, she tells you how your relationship with your mother is affecting your life in ways you have not yet imagined. Your struggle with mom mirrors the internal struggle you have with yourself. The impossible standards your mother tried to live up to has caused you to be filled with shame, guilt and self-doubt. It doesn't have to be this way. Buried in each disempowering message is a message of strength and hope when you get back online with your Feminine power. You can't get there with the masculine energy that held your mother down and is so prevalent in the western culture today. This book will break the spells that are holding you back from the life you've always wanted and show you the way home to claim your true Feminine power. Get clear on the mixed messages that were passed down to you and learn how to rise above those messages. What are you waiting for? Your life is waiting. See how you have had the power in you all along. This, my pretty, changes everything."
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Has it been months since you’ve read a book with actual adult words that had nothing to do with farm animals or superheroes or going potty? Well then, it’s time to take a break. Pour yourself some wine. Put on your comfy pants. All good? Ok, welcome to the party. Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley, the creators of #IMOMSOHARD, know that you probably didn’t get to shower today and that the last thing you need is more advice on how to be a better parent. Instead, they invite you to join their laugh-out-loud, best friend banter on the eighty bajillion ways moms give their all every day—including: I KEEP IT TOGETHER SO HARD I BODY AFTER BABY SO HARD I HIT THE TOWN (AND AM IN BED BY 9:30 P.M.) SO HARD I BUST MY ASS SO HARD I KEEP FOOLS ALIVE SO HARD Come for the laughs, stay for the kinship with two friends who are just getting it right, getting it wrong, and leaning on each other for a laugh at the end of the day. They don’t care if your house is a mess and they won’t judge you if you pee a little when you sneeze.So kick back, relax, and enjoy. You deserve it.
This essential guide for all military families provides helpful advice and reassurance on topics ranging from boot camp, to deployment, to PTSD, from a former "Army brat" turned mother of four military kids. When you enlist in the United States military, you don't just sign up for duty; you also commit your loved ones to lives of service all their own. No one knows this better than Elaine Brye, an "Army brat" turned military wife and the mother of four officers-one each in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. For more than a decade she's endured countless teary goodbyes, empty chairs at Thanksgiving dinners, and sleepless hours waiting for phone calls in the night. She's navigated the complicated tangle of emotions that are part and parcel of life as a military mother. Be Safe, Love Mom braids together Elaine's own personal experiences with those of fellow parents she's met along the way. She offers gentle guidance and hard-earned wisdom on topics ranging from that first anxious goodbye to surrendering all control of your child, from finding comfort in the support of the military community and the healing power of faith to coping with the enormous sacrifices life as a military mother requires. With hard-to-come-by information and encouragement that is like advice from a wise and trusted friend, Be Safe, Love Mom is an essential handbook to membership in a strong and special sisterhood.
Sometimes, grace gets messy. Caleb Kaltenbach was raised by LGBT parents, marched in gay pride parades as a youngster, and experienced firsthand the hatred and bitterness of some Christians toward his family. But then Caleb surprised everyone, including himself, by becoming a Christian…and a pastor. Very few issues in Christianity are as divisive as the acceptance of the LGBT community in the church. As a pastor and as a person with beloved family members living a gay lifestyle, Caleb had to face this issue with courage and grace. Messy Grace shows us that Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” doesn’t have an exception clause for a gay “neighbor”—or for that matter, any other “neighbor” we might find it hard to relate to. Jesus was able to love these people and yet still hold on to his beliefs. So can you. Even when it’s messy. “Messy Grace is an important contribution to the conversation about sexual identity for churches and leaders. Caleb's story is surprising and unique, and he weaves it together compellingly. He states his views clearly, leaves room for disagreement, and champions love no matter where you are in this conversation.” —Jud Wilhite, Sr. Pastor, Central Christian Church
With wry wit and touching humor, Louie Anderson, New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award–winning comedian currently starring in Zach Galifianakis’s Baskets, shares his journey of turning life’s challenges into joy, as well as plenty of wisdom he’s still discovering from his late mother. “I started out writing these letters to my mom, but a few friends said I should write a book. I said ‘okay’ because next to ‘we’ll see,’ ‘okay’ is as non-committal as you can get. But somehow, I stuck with it. I hope you like it. I hope that after you read it, you’ll write or call your own mom—and dad, sister, brother, cousin, nephew. Or have lunch with them. Or breakfast. It doesn’t have to be lunch. But do it now. Don’t wait like I did.” —Louie Louie Anderson has channeled his beloved mom, Ora Zella Anderson, in his stand-up routine for decades, but she died before seeing him reach his greatest heights, culminating in his breakout TV role as Christine Baskets, the mesmerizing character she inspired. Hey Mom is Louie’s way of catching her up on the triumphs, disappointments, and continuing challenges in life. Full of heartache, but also great hope, and of course—given Louie’s inimitable comedic voice—laugh-out-loud stories and his trademark observations on life’s many absurdities, Hey Mom shows a poignant side of Louie you may not know, and proves that he is one of the most nuanced and wide-ranging comics working today.
A self-help book based in science, the result of more than a decade of research, Daughter Detox offers the daughters of unloving mothers vital information, guidance, and real strategies for healing from childhood experiences, and building genuine self-esteem. Writer Peg Streep lays out seven distinct but interconnected stages on the path to reclaim your life from the effects of a toxic childhood: DISCOVERY, DISCERNMENT, DISTNGUISH, DISARM, RECLAIM, REDIRECT, and RECOVER. Each step is clearly explained, and richly detailed with the stories of other women, approaches drawn from psychology and other disciplines, and unique exercises. The book will help the reader tackle her own self-doubt and become consciously aware of how her mother's treatment continues to shape her behavior, even today. The message of the book is direct: What you experienced in childhood need not continue to hold you back in life. What was learned can be unlearned with effort. The book begins with DISCOVERY, opening up the reader's understanding of how she has been wounded and influenced by her mother's treatment. Recognizing the eight toxic maternal behaviors-dismissive, controlling, emotionally unavailable, unreliable, self-involved or narcissistic, combative, enmeshed, or role-reversed-lays the foundation for the daughter's awareness of how her way of looking at the world, connecting to others, and ability to manage stress were affected. DISCERNMENT delves into the patterns of relationship in her family of origin and how they played a part in her development, and then shifts to looking closely at how the daughter adapted to her treatment, either silencing or losing her true self in the process. Next up is DISTINGUISH, seeing how the behavioral patterns we learned in childhood animate all of our relationships in the present with lovers and spouses, relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. The act of distinguishing allows us to see why so many of us end up in unsatisfying relationships, chose the wrong partners, or are unable to develop close friendships. Active recovery begins with DISARM as the daughter learns how to disconnect unconscious patterns of reaction and behavior and substitute actions that will foster the growth of self-esteem. Understanding the triggers that set us off, the cues that put us on the defensive, and the default positions of blaming ourselves and making excuses for other people's toxic behavior are addressed, as are unhealthy behaviors such as rumination, rejection sensitivity, and more. RECLAIM is the stage at which the reader begins to actively make new choices, preparing herself so that she can live the life she desires by seeing herself as having agency and being empowered. Making new choices and figuring out how to manage her relationship to her unloving or toxic mother is the focus of REDIRECT. There are stories to inspire and challenge your thinking, exercises that show you how to swap out self-criticism for self-compassion, guidance on how to use journaling as a tool of self-discovery and growth, and advice on goal setting.Finally, RECOVER challenges the reader to come up with a new definition of what it means to heal, suggests tools to overcome the obstacles she places in her own way, and strategies to become the best, most authentic version of herself.
