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Waking in a Wide Land
At 19, Truman Miller is married to the meanest girl in town. Truman falls for Velma Vickus, his best friend’s sister, before he understands that life with the perpetually dissatisfied Velma will be filled with frustration and heartache.
A lively assortment of friends, family, and neighbors who
populate the dwindling town of Whitney, Texas, watch helplessly as Truman is subjected to one cuckolding after another.
A crescendo of drama unfolds as Truman realizes the true state of his marriage, and he is faced with a choice: does he try to make things work with Velma, or does he leave Whitney and brave the unknown world beyond its dusty borders?
Waking in a Wide Land is about difficult relationships, friendship, faith, and the urge to belong. At times rollicking, at times heartbreaking, this is a story that draws you into Truman’s life and makes you want to stay. (2012)
A lively assortment of friends, family, and neighbors who
populate the dwindling town of Whitney, Texas, watch helplessly as Truman is subjected to one cuckolding after another.
A crescendo of drama unfolds as Truman realizes the true state of his marriage, and he is faced with a choice: does he try to make things work with Velma, or does he leave Whitney and brave the unknown world beyond its dusty borders?
Waking in a Wide Land is about difficult relationships, friendship, faith, and the urge to belong. At times rollicking, at times heartbreaking, this is a story that draws you into Truman’s life and makes you want to stay. (2012)
Outwitting Stress -- A Practical Guide to Conquering Stress Before You Crack
Globe Pequot Press/Lyons Press, 2003 ($14.95)
It's here. Finally. A comprehensive book about stress that is filled with practical, innovative solutions, ideas that can make your life easier, more productive, more serene.
It's a fact of modern-day life: No one lives without stress. In a whirlwind world of increasing work
expectations, family obligations, financial strains and chronic shortages of time, stressful situations seem to lurk at every turn.
Consider this: The divorce rate is currently hovering at a staggering 50 percent. Both couples and individuals need solutions to beat the stresses that are wearing them down, wearing them out, ruining their lives and their relationships with pressures and demands virtually unheard of in generations past.
Here, then, is the ultimate resource for conquering stress. Ideas have been culled from high-level CEOs, attorneys and service-industry specialists, from parents and grandparents, athletes and marriage therapists, coaches, bosses, clergy and cops. You'll hear advice from those who have "been there, done that," as well as suggestions from those who are still in the thick of battle, who have found practical solutions to stress and want to pass along their hard-earned wisdom.
While a world without stress is scarcely imaginable, what we can envision--and achieve--is a world where we minimize the stress we encounter, and where we deal with stress in an effective way.
Here are just a few of the topics covered in Outwitting Stress:
-- Is stress avoidable?
-- How can I deal with the anxiety of relentless bad news?
-- What are the most effective ways to deal with stress? Least effective?
-- How can I deal with stress at home? At work? In relationships?
It's a fact of modern-day life: No one lives without stress. In a whirlwind world of increasing work
expectations, family obligations, financial strains and chronic shortages of time, stressful situations seem to lurk at every turn.
Consider this: The divorce rate is currently hovering at a staggering 50 percent. Both couples and individuals need solutions to beat the stresses that are wearing them down, wearing them out, ruining their lives and their relationships with pressures and demands virtually unheard of in generations past.
Here, then, is the ultimate resource for conquering stress. Ideas have been culled from high-level CEOs, attorneys and service-industry specialists, from parents and grandparents, athletes and marriage therapists, coaches, bosses, clergy and cops. You'll hear advice from those who have "been there, done that," as well as suggestions from those who are still in the thick of battle, who have found practical solutions to stress and want to pass along their hard-earned wisdom.
While a world without stress is scarcely imaginable, what we can envision--and achieve--is a world where we minimize the stress we encounter, and where we deal with stress in an effective way.
Here are just a few of the topics covered in Outwitting Stress:
-- Is stress avoidable?
-- How can I deal with the anxiety of relentless bad news?
-- What are the most effective ways to deal with stress? Least effective?
-- How can I deal with stress at home? At work? In relationships?
Off Your Rocker! The Ultimate Guide for Grandparents
(Mosaic Media 2012: $14.99 on Amazon)
Off Your Rocker! is chock full of innovative, interesting ideas, ways to connect to babies, children and teens, and there are specific chapters to help deal with some of the more difficult issues that grandparents may face, such as grandchildren who are in trouble, long-distance grandparenting, and dealing with illness and loss.
In this book you'll find practical suggestions: where to take kids, what to do with them, how to talk to them, and how to build memories that your grandchildren will cherish forever. We've interviewed kids, parents, grandparents, family psychologists, ministers and teachers. Here are their ideas. After reading this book, you'll have all the tools you need to connect with your grandkids and build strong, satisfying relationships that will last a lifetime.
In this book you'll find practical suggestions: where to take kids, what to do with them, how to talk to them, and how to build memories that your grandchildren will cherish forever. We've interviewed kids, parents, grandparents, family psychologists, ministers and teachers. Here are their ideas. After reading this book, you'll have all the tools you need to connect with your grandkids and build strong, satisfying relationships that will last a lifetime.
Outwitting Housework -- Brilliant Tips, Tricks and Advice on Housekeeping... and Life
Globe Pequot Press/Lyons Press 2004
Practical tips, strategies, and plans to clear the clutter and regain control.
About Outwitting Housework:
"I just wanted to tell you that I had sworn off reading any more organizational books until I saw the cover of your book, Outwitting Housework. It was TOO funny!!! I had to see what you had to say, and I'm glad I grabbed your book. I've read a large number of organizational books over the years, in a continual search for a way of approaching housework that I could do. I've taken ideas from many people, from the Sidetracked Home Executives all the way to the Fly Lady and back. What I eventually learned about myself over these years was that I had a chronic illness, inherited from my family, that keeps me short on energy and ability to handle too much stimulus/stress. Recently I told my husband, "I think that's the last organizational book I'll read." (It was Doing Housework with Kids or something along those lines.) I was tired of reading about and understanding things I could not physically or emotionally accomplish. Enter your book. The gem I gleaned from it is your weekly schedule
(floors on Monday, bathrooms on Friday, etc.). It was the first reasonable list (very nicely pared down) for weekly tasks that I have come across in 23 years! I ran at it two weeks ago, and held up through Wednesday (not bad for me!). This past week has been a blur, but I have kept elements of your suggested weekly schedule going (managed to do 7 loads of laundry in seven days, kept the dirty dishes going into the dishwasher and not neatly rinsed and stacked on the counter). My husband even said, "The kitchen has been looking so nice!" For the first time I feel like I have a list that I can work on, tailor to my needs
(perhaps even do it over a two-week time period), and it just might work! I've posted it inside one of my kitchen cupboard doors (another of your tips) and I think I will keep checking it, adjusting it, poking away at it, and tweaking it until it fits. Thank you for sharing it in your book. I'd welcome any other ideas you might have for the energy-compromised and I'll probably be checking
through your book, Outwitting Stress, next. Many thanks." -- Valerie F.
About Outwitting Housework:
"I just wanted to tell you that I had sworn off reading any more organizational books until I saw the cover of your book, Outwitting Housework. It was TOO funny!!! I had to see what you had to say, and I'm glad I grabbed your book. I've read a large number of organizational books over the years, in a continual search for a way of approaching housework that I could do. I've taken ideas from many people, from the Sidetracked Home Executives all the way to the Fly Lady and back. What I eventually learned about myself over these years was that I had a chronic illness, inherited from my family, that keeps me short on energy and ability to handle too much stimulus/stress. Recently I told my husband, "I think that's the last organizational book I'll read." (It was Doing Housework with Kids or something along those lines.) I was tired of reading about and understanding things I could not physically or emotionally accomplish. Enter your book. The gem I gleaned from it is your weekly schedule
(floors on Monday, bathrooms on Friday, etc.). It was the first reasonable list (very nicely pared down) for weekly tasks that I have come across in 23 years! I ran at it two weeks ago, and held up through Wednesday (not bad for me!). This past week has been a blur, but I have kept elements of your suggested weekly schedule going (managed to do 7 loads of laundry in seven days, kept the dirty dishes going into the dishwasher and not neatly rinsed and stacked on the counter). My husband even said, "The kitchen has been looking so nice!" For the first time I feel like I have a list that I can work on, tailor to my needs
(perhaps even do it over a two-week time period), and it just might work! I've posted it inside one of my kitchen cupboard doors (another of your tips) and I think I will keep checking it, adjusting it, poking away at it, and tweaking it until it fits. Thank you for sharing it in your book. I'd welcome any other ideas you might have for the energy-compromised and I'll probably be checking
through your book, Outwitting Stress, next. Many thanks." -- Valerie F.