This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down
by Deborah Collins Stephens
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This is Not the Life I Ordered. I think at some point in each of our lives we all say or think some version of this phrase. It may be that something traumatic has occurred in our lives (a death, infidelity, the end of a marriage, the loss of a job, a major illness, etc) or simply that the daily chaos of life has suddenly become overwhelming. In any case, life happens to us all and every so often we all need a little pep talk.
This is Not the Life I Ordered is a multifunctional book. The sect...more
This is Not the Life I Ordered is a multifunctional book. The sect...more
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I think I read this book at a wonderful time in my life, and maybe I'd like it more if things were in the crapper. Why did I pick it up then, you ask? I'm asking myself the same thing. I thought these women would have more wisdom to impart and instead I just felt really sad after reading it. Also, the organization of the book and the number of quotations were very distracting. Great idea though.
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Read in November, 2007
recommended to Liz by:
Jessica
If you have ever felt like your life is totally out of control, you're not where you want to be, you've encountered more challenges than you think is your fair share - this book will help you put it into perspective.
Told by some very smart and accomplished women who found themselves facing some pretty outrageous circumstances, it offers some very personal stories and then some exercises to practice at the end of each chapter. Personally, I found the exercises a little forced (like a work se...more
Told by some very smart and accomplished women who found themselves facing some pretty outrageous circumstances, it offers some very personal stories and then some exercises to practice at the end of each chapter. Personally, I found the exercises a little forced (like a work se...more
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Read in July, 2007
This is such an amazing idea - the accounts of four women who have been to hell and back, and lived to tell the tale. But somehow, they took real substance, and made it glib and shallow and worthless. You can't even get a self-help book about dealing with trauma today without coming face to face with our society's denial of any real trauma or pain. This book reads like, "Wow, pain is great, because it makes you a better person!" Um, do you think it could be more complicated than that? ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
any woman going through a tough time, to know you're not alone.
I bought this book for a friend of mine going through a divorce. I looked through it before I mailed it, and she has said it's helped her so much that I now have a copy for myself. Now that I've finished reading it, it has a number of tips for not getting dragged into a perpetual pity party by all the things life throws your way. The advice most helpful to me were the reminders to be grateful and to start a gratitude journal. My daughter broke both of her arms the day I read that portion of ...more
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I'm loving this book. Some great ideas on how to develop a "kitchen table club" where you can meet with friends on a regular basis to discuss life's challenges in a non-judgmental atmosphere. Each chapter (or segment) ends with discussion topics for your own "club" and journal writing tips for your own "WIT kit." Can't wait to start putting some of these ideas into practice!
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Reading this with my good friends with a once a week discussion.
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...from comments, at the Yoga Retreat. Nicole used as part of the journal exercise. See <<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... intro
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I hate self help books. I picked this up because of the clever title, and I knew better but read it anyway. I didn't find it in the least bit helpful or inspiring. Told the story of 4 women who toughed out some bad times & were lucky enough to make it through intact.
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Read in July, 2008
Not so much into the self-help, but the idea of dealing with adversity with the support of good friends is a wonderful way to look at life.
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Read in March, 2007
This is the perfect book on resilience. It is also the perfect book on women supporting women through the rough things that life hands us.
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