Loss Books

This book was incredibly helpful to me in dealing so many different types of loss and the grief that follows. Ms. Zimmerman's wonderful writing style really captured the true essence of loss and how to work through the turmoil. I was brought to tears a few times, but they really started to flow when I got the the last page where there is a quote for the Velveteen Rabbit. It basically said it all.

Zimmermann writes movingly about her own struggles and those of others, with zinger quotes from other authors that you may find yourself wanting to copy out and frame. She had a long-term grief centered around a disabled daughter, but get a copy of this book and read about it yourself. If you never write a word, it will still help (but do write, as she directs you with compassionate exercises). She writes beautifully, every chapter starting with a concrete story of herself or someone else who has experienced the bitter side of life and come through with a renewed sense of wonder (and more stories in between).

I found myself wiping away tears of mingled sadness and admiration at the stories of resilience and the examples of life's inexplicable gifts. Such a compassionate and comforting book!

Susan Zimmerman has found meaning and purpose in what many would consider a hopeless situation. She shares the gift of her daughter, Katherine, through her writing. This book is so much more than a writer's guide-it is a guide to accompany the journey of life, love, loss and grief. Each chapter begins with a moving story which illustrates the point; included are specific exercises to help the writer get started. This book will have even those who never intended to write reaching for a pen and notebook. People who are already writing will find validation on every page.

As a director of nutrition services for a public school district, and a parent, this book is an essential addition to my library. As a busy parent, there are days when I can't think of having five minutes to help stop childhood obesity. Yet, while flipping the pages of this easy to read book, I found many realistic ideas which I can do in less than five minutes a day. This book `s practical advice can help to reverse a national epidemic and save many children's lives, one minute at a time.

We have waited a long time for a common sense approach to helping parents, children and health care providers (including school personnel) in their efforts to contain the obesity explosion. The most on-target, clear message I got from this book is to balance intake with outgo, i.e., balance the energy/food taken in with the energy/exercise one does. This compact, easy-to-read book is extremely valuable for all of us. Even Grandparents can benefit from the ideas and helpful resources offered in this favorably priced book. It is my fervent hope that all public libraries, schools and Doctors' offices will have copies available.

This book is a wonderful tool for every family with kids. It is very readable and a great source of information. Eating healthy doesn't have to be difficult and this book gives helpful suggestions. Also it gives great ideas on activities to do with kids . We desparately need to get away from the television and parents have to set an example. As a mother and now a grandmother I found this book so interesting. I highly recommend it to all new parents as well as parents in general. We must overcome our obesity problem in this country and we need to start at home. Buy this book and read it.

I enjoyed reading this book tremendously. It was such an eye opener, and more importantly, brought awareness to my day-to-day activities. This is not a typical diet book! The reader can make informed, smart lifestyle decisions through understanding and from Todd's suggestions. Not only was it informative and entertaining to read, it was motivating!

The problem with the conventional wisdom regarding losing weight is that if you exercise more and eat less you can reduce your weight -- and maintain the weight level that you want. The problem is that for most of us, conventional wisdom isn't all that wise! Todd Hoff lost more than 100 pounds and in the process discovered why losing weight is so difficult, why being overweight isn't a matter of 'fault', the science behind weight loss (and gain), and how to permanently control weight through creating the perfect and personalized diet for ourselves within the context of our lifestyles. Basically what Hoff has done in "Your Designer Diet: How To Stay On Any Diet For The Rest Of Your Life" is to lay out a program that we can customize to our own life circumstances, our own personal strengths, and which is compatible with our own schedules -- be they hectic or leisurely. Hoff's basic message\ is that we can be in control of our weight, we can learn how to stay on any diet, how to avoid threats to our dieting success, diverse and effective strategies for losing weight, and maintaining our weight loss through simple daily monitoring. Of special note is what "Your Designer Diet" has to say about 'Joyful Eating'. Invaluable, informed and informative, and thoroughly 'user-friendly', "Your Designer Diet" is an enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone having to deal with problems of excessive weight.

Absolutely love the book. "Your Designer Diet" is filled with original ideas, leading edge research results and humor!

Todd is frank about his personal experience. He truly practices what he believes in.

"Joyful eating" is my favorite in the book. If you are interested in
genuinely enjoy food ( and LIFE), jump to "Joyful eating" in chapter 14.

And do you know ?

1. Obesity can be caused by a virus?
2. How to weight proof your environment?
3. How to become a designer of your own diet?

Enjoy the book.

Better Homes And Gardens 3 Steps To Weight Loss is the latest in a long tradition of tested excellence at Better Homes and Gardens. Written by the Director of Weight Management at Johns Hopkins University, it contains both method and means. This is Dr. Cheskin's plan:

1. Use the latest standards to determine your healthiest weight.
2. Find the calorie level uniquely tailored to your body.
3. Choose an easy-to-follow meal plan to fit your life style.

The best tools of all are the 100 plus imaginative, simple, sophisticated, tempting recipes he offers. Each is clearly presented with dietary exchanges, nutrition facts and daily values listed at the beginning of the recipe. Some examples are Chunky Chipotle Pork Chili, Curried Crab Salad, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Chicken and Garbanzo Bean Soup, Cheddar Polenta Puff, and Flax Seed Corn Bread, just to mention a few. An emphasis on fresh produce, imaginative use of herbs, spices, seasonings, and low fat and sugar make this a winning recipe collection for weight loss enthusiasts and healthy eaters.

There are even delectable desserts, such as Mango and Raspberry Tart, Mocha Pudding Cake, and Chocolate Snickerdoodles.

In addition to meal suggestions, Better Homes And Gardens 3 Steps To Weight Loss emphasizes the value of exercise and logging your meals and exercise. Finally, there are a week's worth of 1200 calorie sample menus. Beautiful colored photographs embellish the collection, offering further tempting serving suggestions. I can hardly wait to try them all!

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

In Better Homes And Gardens 3 Steps To Weight Loss, Dr. Lawrence Cheskin draws upon his expertise and experience at the Weigh Management Center at Johns Hopkins University to provide the non-specialist general reader with realistic solutions for losing weight, keeping it off, and maintaining a healthful, satisfying lifestyle through three basic steps involving nutritious eating, physical exercise, and behavioral changes. Step One is identifying the optimum and healthy weight for a particular height and build. Step Two is determining how many calories are needed to lose weight and maintain the weight loss. Step Three is a healthy eating plan based on caloric needs. To that end, the Better Homes And Gardens 3 Steps To Weight Loss showcases 110 superbly presented recipes enhanced with full color photography of the finished dishes. From Greek Lamb Salad with Yogurt Dress; Pork Medallions with Pear Sauce; and Chicken with Braised Spinach and Leek; to Sesame-Teriyaki Sea Bass; Sweet Bean Pilaf; and Mocha Pudding Cake, Better Homes And Gardens 3 Steps To Weight Loss will grace any family cookbook collection as an instant favorite!

This book is easy to follow. The recipes are awesome, the diet is easy and the exercises are very easy to do. I lost 4 pounds the first week and feel like my stomach is flatter. I totally recommend this book for everyone. The author agrees that you do have to combine diet with exercise; which I think is wise. On this diet I eat a lot, I just avoid cakes and cookies and only eat certain fruits late at night.

I was really sceptical when my mom sent this book from England but it really did produce excellent results in just five days. This is a way of eating/cooking that I can see myself sticking to.

this handy record keeping tool is great for monitoring food intake. A very helpful tool and I wish they would reprint it - soon!!.

This inexpensive diary is loaded with terrific drawings and cute messages to motivate the reader to write down everything eaten and all exercises. The info provided in this pocket-size diary is eminently usable, and the reader is given incentive to THINK about what he or she is putting into the mouth by writing it down, plus total daily calories, exercise and daily weight. If you want to control what you're eating, by all means buy this handy and inexpensive diary!

This book is great for anyone who wants to find ways to lose weight quickly without a lot of effort. As is the case with most diet books, the tips may not highlight the most sound nutritional practices, but it gets the job done. What I liked best is that the author explains in detail that this is a great way to JUMP START a diet....not lose weight permanently (you'll be better off in the long run if you look at other methods to promote long-term weight loss and keep the weight off safely) and there is enough variety in this book to satisfy anyone's tastes. This book presents good ideas without alot of fluff; it's short and to the point. Good ideas to start you on the way to weight loss.

Finally! We found this step-by-step guide really helped us. It was proven ways (seven in fact) to lose weight. We found it realistic without unnecessary preliminaries. It understood our need to loose weight quickly for a recent special occasion, and it worked. We found this no-frills approach doing no less than what it promises. It was a pleasure to loose weight without needing to join a club or take exotic herbs, invest in expensive drugs, or do extraordinary exercise. We have recommend it to friends. A couple of weeks before a cruise it helped them shape up before shipping out.

Amy Barzach's true story of overcoming the terrible tragedy of the death of her 9 month old son is both heartwrenching and inspiring. Amy's son Johnathan is diagnosed with the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis at a young age. She manages to channel her grief into a project: playgrounds accessible to children of all abilities. Amy copes with her feelings by making a difference in the lives of countless children. This book is truly inspirational and should be on everyone's reading list.

The journey that Amy Barzach took from the diagnosis of her son, Jonathan, to his death at 9 months and thru the grief that followed is touching, beautiful and inspiring.
I give this book to friends who are experiencing a loss as a source of comfort, and a source of courage. Amy's story is told in such a way that all who read it can empathise with, and hopefully emulate, her ability to celebrate life.

"The Alchemy of Loss" is a compelling book about one woman's loss on September 11th and how that event ultimately transformed her life. Abigail candidly shares her journey from the first moment of realization that her life would never be the same again through the grief of her loss and dealing with the reality of her new role as head of a family of three, forging ahead to make choices and create a life that would allow her to heal and her children to be fulfilled, happy people.

I'm thankful that Abigail chose to open her heart and share her story...I think it's an important one for everyone to read, not just to be reminded to embrace the moment and live life to the fullest, but to know that change, no matter how painful, always has the potential to create growth, goodness, and hope.

A first-hand account of a Canadian woman with two young children coping with the death of her husband in the World Trade Centre destruction.

It starts with a typical day in a typical family with the author Abigail Carter preoccupied with getting one of her two young children ready to catch a school bus. The phone rings and it is her husband telling her he thinks a bomb may have gone off at the World Trade Centre. Still focused with getting her daughter to the bus in time, Ms. Carter dismisses the news as just another non-event in the big city and responds to her husband as such.

Rushing out of the door to get to the bus, she does not realize that she has heard her husband's voice for the last time.

The book highlights the real pain and tragedy for thousands of ordinary individuals sometimes forgotten in the media coverage of national interests, formal memorial ceremonies etc.
Ms. Carter tells it as it is, without falling into the trap of sentimentalism or manipulation of emotions. The story, simply told, naturally tears at the reader's heart. I did not have a dry eye for the first 50 pages. But, as is always true in such cases, the tragedy is mixed with times of laughter, humour and wit about the absurdities of everyday life.

It is not a book trying to make a point, or a lesson in how to survive the death of a loved one. It does, however, provide an opportunity to understand, at least partially, ( I feel no-one not having gone though this could possibly fully understand what it must be like) the aftermath of such a tragedy. The book highlights the depths of despair and and the incredible will to survive in ordinary individuals facing extraordinary challenges. It also reminds us that the World Trade Centre collapse was, and continues to be, an unimaginable tragedy for thousands and thousands of unknown individuals.

All Saints' Day is a moving story of people in south Louisiana--their lives, their loves, their hopes, and misfortunes. Although there is a common thread, each chapter is a self-contained tale. The descriptions of the people are poignant--there is a girl who, by the side of the road, cradles the head of a dead dog in her lap. It is thought provoking--the story of a man who can only be considered schizophrenic as he fears that man others around him are machine men (robots). And many other characters that are both strange and familiar, yet all are caught in the nexus of just trying to survive in a poor area.

The realism of All Saints' Day should be expected. The book was written by an author who grew up near Baton Rouge, within sight of the Mississippi River. His eye for detail insures that this book remains a favorite of readers for Southern literature.

Great writing, great story. Benoit's amazing debut novel says something important about the ways that every family lives and dies and keeps living, how people are remembered and forgotten, and how love (and hate, and callous indifference) work into this. The style, mixing English with Cajun French, gives a sense of immediacy that allows the reader to inhabit the tense world of Maringouin. The hopes characters have pinned on gambles such as bush-track horseracing and oil rigs are heartbreaking even as the details are unerring and fascinating. The texture created by the multiple points of view gives a full, round portrait of the Gidot and Bueche families, and offers a welcome counterpoint to outsiders' misguided notions of what life in Cajun southern Louisiana has really been like: here it is, honestly, with all its bad health and poverty and real tragedy. Best book I've read in years.