Journals Books

I've read quite a few self-help books and this is one of the best. The Stress Reduction Journal successfully integrates theory and practical advice and follows up with exercises so that readers can explore and practice on their own. Trina Swerdlow uses simple but effective diagrams to illustrate her points and uses examples that we can all relate to. This comprehensive guide is written in easily understandable language with a sense of playfulness and good-humor. As a hypnotherapist and career counselor who leads life balance workshops, I frequently recommend it to my clients. It is useful for health care practioners as well as individuals and could be used as a text to accompany a stress management class.

This book is a winner for anyone dealing with stress. Trina Swerdlow combines great writing, moving imagery, useful tools,
and real examples to make this book easy to read and easy to use. In today's stressed out environment, whether at work, raising families, or just getting through the ups and downs of life, her tool:"The Relaxation Response", meditation techniques, and guidance on journaling are among the stress busters that make this book a worthy read.

In the flood of recent self-help books, Trina Swerdlow's Stress Reduction Journal emerges as a jewel. Its straightforward, practical, and user-friendly style provides all the tools every stressed-out person desperately needs.

Loren E. Pedersen, Ph.D., Jungian psychoanalyst and author of "Dark Hearts: The Unconscious Forces That Shape Men¹s Lives," "Sixteen Men: Understanding Masculine Personality Types," and "The Soul Grows in Darkness."

Cleo Hutton suffered several stroke episodes. This is not an unusual story as worldwide stroke is a widespread cerebrovascular dysfunction. Pages from her diary are present in this book. The book itself must remain as milestone for health books written for broader audiences. The reason is simple: a patient testimony is commented by a specialized doctor. Every corner, every step of Cleo's struggle, revenge and recovery is commented by Lou Kaplan, a well known neurologist in an open and clear manner. Several details are there, including the understanding of the several exams made by Cleo. Physical and psychological human relations were affected after Cleo's stroke. Weeks were deleted from her life while she struggled for getting back what her body had taken away from her. This is indeed a recommended book for all, from doctors to (possible) future patients. Not merely another book from a stroke survivor, this book should be considered the story of a stroke that didn't survived the patient where it appeared.
Paulo J. Oliveira, Post-Doc research fellow, Center for Neurociences of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, Portugal

"Striking Back at Stroke" by Cleo Hutton and Louis R Caplan, MD is an unusual book about stroke. Most publications cover either the stroke survivor's story or a medical explanation of stroke. The book combines the two. The first part of each chapter is from Hutton's diary. Through it we are able to learn the survivor's perspective. The second section is Dr Caplan's medical explanation.
 
Hutton experienced an ischemic stroke in 1992. The book starts with the experience of TIA's, beginning five years before the stroke. Even though Hutton was a nurse the TIA's did not register as a danger signal. The book also covers the event, rehabilitation, and reflections on what she has gained. In addition to standard early rehabilitation techniques, and therapies Hutton devised, her recovery included surgery to correct a hole in her heart.
 
Caplan's chapter on diagnosing stroke damage and designing a treatment plan is particularly enlightening. He explains the tools of CT and MRI scans as well as the role of history, learning the patient's experience of the stroke and discerning what abilities the patient has lost. He states that physical abnormalities can develop after the strokes first occurring. He also describes other tools used to discern exactly what happened. These details can inform stroke survivors and their families.
 
Hutton shares the thought processes, which helped her cope. She documents what it is like to be a hospital patient. Stroke survivors will find themselves identifying. Medical personnel, families, and caregivers will benefit from her perspective.
 
The psychological effect of illness is covered. Of special interest is discussion of the role of other patients. It was very powerful to see others struggling to improve.
 
Hutton also explores the role of serious illness in forming a better person. She found herself learning to be a survivor. The key was looking to the future rather than the past. One key element was deciding to attend college. At first she saw it as a coping mechanism. It ended as a goal. She graduated and started a business.
 
The explanation of factors effecting stroke recovery is successful in showing how multifaceted stroke can be. Hutton's story is a success. She realized that when her official therapy ended she was not through with rehabilitation. Hutton found herself designing therapy.
 
Reflection on the stress stroke puts on families is included. Families do not receive training in how to relate to stroke survivors. Everyone must take the journey to look toward the future rather than the past.
 
Dr Caplan's medical observations are extremely helpful. He explains what is happening at each stage from a clinical perspective. Those who have experienced stroke will find answers to some questions.
 
The book concludes with advice from both authors. Hutton's focus is on what is needed for the survivor to recover to their fullest possible potential. Caplan's remarks focus on current stroke treatment and future trends.

This book is highly recommended for everyone in the stroke family. Hutton and Caplan both share insights which all will find helpful.
 

A first in resiliency books! Cleo Hutton's heroic, inspiring story shows how to go beyond stroke recovery to reach a better life than before. Dr. Louis Caplan adds easy to understand medical information that self-motivated people need to have as they take control of their healing journey. This "doctor/patient" book will prove to be extremely valuable for patients, families, and health care practitioners!
Al Siebert, Ph.D.
Director of The Resiliency Center

The product was as I expected. I am verys satisfied with this product. An excellent book!!

I am very impressed with Bill Johnson's teachings. He helps you see a higher possibilty in God.

This book is so encouraging and I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a little help getting into their own "quiet time". It gives you a jumping off place and really is annointed. Gives lots to get you through the day.

This is a great devotional and journal. Each day I find myself more eager to meet with God in my secret place. Well put together, easy to use, thought provoking, and spiritually uplifting.

These devotionals that take only a few moments to read have enough truth and thought to last all day. T.D. Jakes has a gift to write so all can understand. There is real meat packed into a baby bottle.

This is an excellent book for anyone who has given up on life, marriage, work, family etc. This book opened my eyes and allowed me to see past the events that happened earlier in my life. A teenager and I bought the book together and she told me that she was happy because "she touched me." I was touched by the excitement she expressed and knew that only God had allowed such a magnificent moment to happen. Each day I am eager to open the journal and learn God's word from a new point of view.

The 2 previous reviewers describe the 'book' well. It's a funny & most unique idea and I'm so sorry to find that it's no longer available. Makes a wonderful gift for cat lovers.

I really recomend this book for people who have cats. It tells you how you can teach your cat to read! Yeah I'm not joking your cats I.Q. is acutually as high if not higher than a chimp! In this book you'll find a piture on the next page the word also it'll give info. on how to train your beloved cat.

Montaigne once wrote, "When I play with my cat, who knows whether she isn't amusing herself with me more than I am with her?" Cat lovers will probably find this book more amusing than their feline friends, but it's all in good fun.

Just paws and think about it - a kitty literacy kit complete with "Cat's First Reader," which includes a feline dictionary and a suggested reading list, "Advanced Cat's Reader," feeding bowl, and book stand. Now cats can enjoy their favorite chow cuisine while studying such important words as m-o-u-s-e, b-i-r-d, and m-i-l-k.

After a few weeks of this, the brightest of kitties may be advancing to "Of Mice and Men" or "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof."

A unique gift for a cat lover.

- Gail Cooke

For those trying to understand Gurdjieff as a teacher, this is one of the best accounts available. For those who have been involved for some years in the Work, and have been reading and rereading Gurdjieff's All and Everything, the third part of Nott's book, Orage's commentary on Beelzebub, is the best you will find as a guide. It is well worth the cost just for these 90 pages. I would strongly recommend this for all interested in a glimpse of what might life have been like at Fontainebleau with Gurdjieff. Additionally it gives some account of A.R. Orage who may have been Gurdjieff's best disciple and in Gurdjieff's own words "his brother." A quote from page 51 "...a question about 'freedom', and Gurdjieff began: 'Freedom leads to freedom. That is truth, not in quotation marks but in the real sense. Truth is not just theory, not just words; it can be realized. The freedom I speak of is the aim of all schools, of all religions, of all times. It is a very big thing. Everyone, consciously or unconsciously, wishes for freedom. There are two kinds, the Lesser Freedom and the Greater Freedom. You cannot have the Greater Freedom until you have attained to the Lesser Freedom. The Greater Freedom is the liberation of ourselves from outside influences; the Lesser, from influences within us."

This is an interesting book for those interested in Gurdjieff the man and teacher although it doesn't explain very much about the system. If you're looking for an introduction to the 4th Way then Ouspensky's In Search of the Miraculous, The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, and The 4th Way are perhaps the best introductions to this amazing system.

As a long time student of the 4th Way I found re-reading this book after 20 years interesting for the glimpses of Gurdjieff at work and for Orage's comments on Beelzebub's Tales, but don't expect many answers from it. Nott has recorded some interesting moments he shared with Gurdfieff.

The value of C. S. Nott's books in the study of Gurdjieff is first of all due to the lack of other first hand reports from Gurdjieff's teaching in the early European and American times.

Orage's commentaries on Beelzebub gives a presentation of Gurdjieff's All & Everything with the knowledge and understanding of the man who was mainly responsible for the English version of the book.

This book became important for me when I entered into correspondence with Stanley Nott and after three years of exchanging letters moved to London to join the Work.

Stanley Nott lived to the age of 91 and passed away in 1978. His wife, Rose Mary Nott (Lillard) was the first American to enter the Gurdjieff Work. Mrs. Nott taught music and movements to a great number of people.

This is an awesome book about a family seriously devoted to the heart of GOD! Today so much lip service is given about loving GOD and HIS WORD especially in our worship services all over the land. BUT then after 20 minutes or so of singing about loving GOD and HIS WORD, we then are consumed with other loves, the gods of technology, etc. that have worked their way into the thrones of so many areas of our lives. This book describes a family of ten who simply read GOD's WORD, the BIBLE, and they lived it, sang it, and truly breathe it. Don't read this book if you don't want to be convicted by the HOLY SPIRIT and challenged to change your life into a more simple pattern of pleasing the heart of GOD! So readers beware. WARNING: This book can cause serious health implications and spiritual awakenings unlike you've ever dreamed. GOD's WORD will not return void! Read it (The Holy Bible) and believe it, then miraculous things will occur weekly in your life. We know, because we are a family of eight that live by faith. This book though written in the mid-sixties, has eternal value for all walks of life. We have been seriously challenged by this book to increase our almost daily devotion time and Bible reading.
Grace and Peace,
The Lord Family - www.LordFamilyMinistry.com

Being a family that wants to honor God and obey His Word ourselves, it was neat to hear the adventures of the Arnold Pent family. They traveled all across North America, often wondering where they would sleep or where their next meal would come from or how they would pay for gas. But they trusted God and He always provided.

As a father, this book gave me a vision for teaching my family the Bible--hearing how much importance Mr. Pent placed on READING the Bible. Before breakfast, and after every meal--regardless of where they were or who they were staying with.

DON'T GET ME WRONG--This is not a boring, stiff, how-to kind of book that makes you feel guilty. It's just a FUN story about a family who was very different from your typical family. Almost every page made our whole family laugh.

We were given this wonderful book in 1980 and as a result our small children in a matter of weeks could quote chapters and entire books of the Bible without memorization. In the following years, our four kids would travel, sing and recite series of verses that my wife and I compiled on various Bible subjects. We told the Pent Story where ever we went. We even were blessed by several personal visits by David Pent to our home and got to eventually meet 5 of the 8 Pent children. Our children are grown now, but the scripture they learned is still with them effecting how they live their adult lives for the Saviour that died for them. If you want to step out of the mundane and into the extraordinary life of serving God... this book is the key to leaving a legacy that no one will ever forget.

It's true: many of us only write in a journal when we're unhappy, mad, ticked off. Journals are so good for that kind of catharsis. Joan Mazza's guided journal, Things That Tick Me Off, may be where you turn when you need a safe place to ventilate, but because Mazza is so skilled at what she does, you'll likely end up feeling much more relaxed. You might even tap into some creativity while you're emoting according to the many prompts she provides.

Divided into chapters that cover such hot button stress areas as work, personal life, and world affairs, this book also has a lot to say about how to transform your anger into something that can do you -- and maybe others -- some good. A great starting point if journaling is new to you, and a good new beginning if you've become bored with your same old diary.

In my own life, I've found that focused, "one subject" journals like this can be enormously helpful and satisfying. As if anger didn't swoosh over into ALL areas at times! It's even possible that by tapping into all that fury and frustration, you might be able to convert what you come up with into something creative. A story, a poem, a letter?

This journal is unusual in that it helps its reader to identify and examine anger triggers. It is a great source of information on anger and provides a path to anger management. I can see how it would help anyone to become a master of their emotions.
...

I am a psychotherapist in private practice who has utilized "Things that tick me off" as a therapeutic tool with several clients. It has been a remarkable asset in their quest to get in touch with internalized and externalized anger. Many of the exercises assist in appropriately re-directing anger, allowing clients to reconfigure their lives and move toward a healthier and happier life.

I just found my copy while cleaning my shelves. It was buried under some other books. And I remember why I still have it. What a wonderful, simply just wonderful book. I wouldn't give it up for nothing. If you can get a copy, buy it you will find it is book to cherish.
I am a scientist, so the quest to find the real spelling of Chebychev was a wonderful thread.
A book to cherish!!

If you are a science or math person, by which, I should clarify, I mean, someone who loves to get his hand on a good book, then by all means, this book is for you to crave. Philip Davis should be congratulated for writing this book.

There are books and there are books, and often, in these brand new days of marketing, we miss the chance to savor some of the best works, for lack of that very thing - either a fault of the publisher, or some other standard possibilities that exist, that are unknown to me.

This book is a funny account of the matter of the spelling of the name of a Russian scientist, but did I say it was funny. If you are put off by the word funny, let me restate this as - a book that is thin as a pancake with some explosive humorous material - not in the same league as Dave Barry or George Carlin, but in its own right, in a more academically fostered way. Then there are some great cartoons that, in their own right, should be mentioned as an added incentive to add this book to your collection of mathematical books. To that end we should thank Miss Dorian.


I am still upset over the fact, why, we the readers of books, who diverge greatly from the median population in our voraciousness of appetite, cannot get hold of these gems, and have to depend on frail probabilities to chance on them.

Hopefully, I haven't given anything away, and hopefully, by the time you read this, there will be some books available to read.

I read this book some 10 or more years ago. It's very interesting and very funny. The story starts when the author reads a glowing review of his doctoral thesis. There is, HOWEVER, a catch, and it leads the author on a quest for the correct spelling of the mathematician Chebychev's name. I haven't read any of the author's other books, but I'd say he does pretty well, and would expect good and humorous things from him.

There are so many wedding journals out there, but this first year of marriage journal is truely unique. Our wedding is about a year past, but I want to remember our special first year of marriage, also! This book is perfect for that. The guided questions examine things from details about your first home to writing a love letter to each other. It is dotted with scriptures related to love, also. I would recommend this book to any Christian couple.

There are so many wedding journals out there, but this first year of marriage journal is truely unique. Our wedding is about a year past, but I want to remember our special first year of marriage, also! This book is perfect for that. The guided questions examine things from details about your first home to writing a love letter to each other. It is dotted with scriptures related to love, also. I would recommend this book to any Christian couple.

My brother gave us his book as a wedding present, and it was one of our favorites. Think in terms of a baby book, but for newlyweds. Here you'll have a chance to forever document everything from your wedding vows, to you thoughts as you were coming down the isle, to your fears and joys...you name it! This is going to be a treasured family heirloom. I can't recommend it enough.