Thank you Amazon Books for the opportunity to share all the wonderful books I've read and enjoyed, with my friends and visitors. I have often wanted to make a list of every book I've read that I felt has assisted me in the path in life that I travel.
Please read through my list of books and if you don't find what you are looking for, feel free to use the search at the end of this page. Please come back and order via my site next time you plan to order from Amazon Books. Thanks!!
--Starlene
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BIRTHING
CREATIVITY
EXERCISE
HOMESCHOOLING
PARENTING
RELATIONSHIPS
SELF-RECOVERY
SPIRITUALITY
Silent Knife : Cesarean Prevention and Vaginal Birth After
Cesarean, VBAC
by Nancy and Estner, Lois J. Cohen
Very informative regarding
labor, childbirth and delivery. This book will help you know your
rights as a laboring woman. I have not had a cesarean section,
but I knew that the recovery period is much longer than a normal
vaginal birth. I found this book very helpful -- I became much
more informed as a result of reading it.
Order your copy of Silent Knife today!
I found this book while looking for books on
"creativity" at the library. (The definition
of creativity I am using is: Creativity is the ability to solve
problems that are worth solving. It is the ability to create
knowledge. Creativity is subject-specific: it is the
meta-knowledge of how to solve a specific class of problems. So
there is no such thing as "raw", undifferentiated
creativity. From the Taking Children Seriously Website.) In this book I got more understanding
of why it is that thoughts tend to stay in my mind, especially
when I try to banish (suppress) them. I also learned why my
family tends to giggle at things that aren't funny. I learned
that suppression can lead to oppression. I learned that
suppression is at times appropriate. I really enjoyed reading
this book. I liked learning why I tend to voice things, rather
than suppressing and how that is healthy. Luckily I have a
wonderful support system that allows that.
Order your copy of Daniel M.
Wegner's White Bears and Other Unwanted Thoughts:
Suppression, Obsession, and the Psychology of Mental Control today!
Bottoms Up! : The Total-Body Workout from the Bottom Up from
Cellulite to Sexy--In 24 Workout Hours
by Joyce Vedral, Ph.D.
Joyce has the most
complete workout books that I've ever read. I like how she
clearly explains each exercise, with pictures to describe. This
was the second workout of hers that I enjoyed. I started with The
Fat Burning Workout. That's the neat thing about Joyce's
different exercise books, you can switch between one or another
as you desire a change in routine.
Order your copy of Bottoms Up! today!
Definition : Shape Without
Bulk in 15 Minutes a Day!
by Joyce L. Vedral
This is the workout of
Joyce's that I currently enjoy.
Order your copy of Definition today!
Fat-Burning Workout : From
Fat to Firm in 24 Days
by Joyce L. Vedral
I found this exercise book
of Joyce's in 1992 and was amazed at my progress!
Order your copy of Fat-Burning Workout today!
Gut Busters : The
Fifteen Minute-A-Day, Twelve Week Plan
by Joyce L. Vedral, Kent Maurer
Written with men in mind,
this workout is also good for women to hit those abs.
Order your copy of Gut Busters today!
Weight Training Made Easy : Transform Your Body in Four Simple
Steps
by Joyce L. Vedral, Ph.D.
This book is Joyce's
latest (copyright, 1997) and easiest.
Order your copy of Weight Training Made Easy today!
Teach Your Own: A Hopeful Path For Education by
John Holt
This is the book that
turned us into unschoolers! I had heard about homeschooling while
pregnant with my first, but found the thought daunting. We did
have a short period of time in public kindergarten and it was
very stressful for our entire family. I joined a homeschooling
group that practiced "school at home" homeschooling. It
didn't feel right to me, and I started reading up on
homeschooling. I found John Holt's description of unschooling to
be more of what I and my children would be comfortable with.
Order your copy of Teach Your Own today!
The Womanly Art
of Breastfeeding.
by La Leche League International
A MUST READ for new parents. Nursing your new baby can be confusing, especially if you don't have any experience with it, and don't have support. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is the breastfeeding mom's answer to all her questions.
Order your copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding today!
Your Child's Self Esteem
by Dorothy Corkille Briggs
One of the first books I
read when my oldest was a tiny baby. As I read this book, I began
learning how *I* should/could have been raised as a child, and I
knew that I would be making great changes in my parenting
philosophies. An example I recall from this book was that of our
first feeling seldom being anger. For instance, your child gets
lost in the mall. You are frantic with worry, almost in tears,
but when you finally spot your child, your feelings turn to
anger.
Order your copy of Your Child's Self Esteem today!
How to Really Love Your Child
by Dr. Ross Campbell.
This is one of those books
that I would recommend to read and take what you like, and leave
the rest behind. It has a decidedly Christian slant to it, but
what I took most from How to Really Love Your Child was Dr.
Campbell's description of our children having a "cup"
inside, that gets empty when we don't take time and care to
"fill" that cup sufficiently. This was one of those
books that I read about ten years ago, at the beginning of my
parenting career.
Order your copy of How to Really Love Your Child today!
The Continuum Concept :
In Search of Happiness Lost
by Jean Liedloff
Another book read early on
in my parenting career. I really loved Ms. Liedloff's views of
how very different our children would be if we would only nurture
them and hold them as they desired, among other radical
practices. I recently checked this book out again to read, and
was pleasantly surprised to find that I was again deriving
valuable information. This time in regards to how the tribe that
Ms. Liedloff stayed with viewed "work". They didn't
even have a word in their language, work equals life. They just
*live*. It helped me to realize that I should view my housework
as part of living, not a chore.
Order your copy of Jean
Liedloff's The Continuum Concept today!
Punished by Rewards: The Problem with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise and Other Bribes
by Alfie Kohn
Did you ever feel uncomfortable being praised as a child? How about doling out praise as an adult? Read this book and explore why you might want to give up punishing by rewards.
Order your copy of Punished by Rewards today!
Getting the Love You Want:
A Guide for Couples
by Harville Hendrix
Imago Relationship Therapy
for couples. I would recommend reading the couples book first,
and then go on to the singles book, whether you are in a
relationship or a single person. This book (and the singles book)
are my *bible* to relationships, what they are about, how they
work, *why* we attract the people we do. I have often wondered
why we choose people who appear to be our opposites, and
eventually end up being so like our mother and/or father. Dr.
Hendrix explains that in great detail in this book.
Order your copy of Getting The Love You Want today!
Keeping The Love You Find:
A Personal Guide for Singles
by Harville Hendrix
Imago Relationship Therapy
for single persons. I have found this book to be immensely
eye-opening in what relationships are all about. Harville
Hendrix's theory is that our subconscious is attracted to people
who are our "Imago" - ever wonder why the people you
become serious about eventually seem to act suspiciously like
your mother and/or your father? They fit your "Imago".
There are exercises in the singles book to follow, which will
help you figure out why your past relationships haven't worked
out, and helps you become aware of what you will need to do to
make your future relationships last. I like knowing that the
partners I've chosen weren't trying to drive me nuts. I chose
them and they chose me, because we were similarly wounded. If we
both are aware, and make the effort, a very wonderfully rewarding
relationship is possible. Harville Hendrix believes even the
rockiest of relationships (barring abuse) can be helped and
healed using Imago Relationship Therapy.
Order your copy of Keeping the Love You Find today!
Being Single in a Couples' World: How to be Happily Single While
Looking For Love
by Xavier Amador, Ph.D., Judith Kiersky, Ph.D.
This book discusses what
the authors call our personal and cultural "marriage
scripts". It was helpful to me to just hear the phrase
"marriage script" and get an understanding of what is
behind the feeling of being "less than" because I am a
single person. It's like there is this exclusive membership and
if you aren't part of a couple, you don't belong.
Order your copy of Being Single in a Couples' World today!
Resonance--The
New Chemistry of Love: Creating a
Relationship That Gives You The Intimacy and Independence You've
Always Wanted
by Barbara Fishman with Laurie Ashner
This book describes the relationship I hope to someday share with a partner. Some relationships have one partner clearly in control, Resonance's authors describe a relationship where partners tackle problems together, as a team with a goal in mind to meet the needs of both partners.
Highly recommended by Harville Hendrix.
Order your copy of Resonance today!
The Road Less Traveled
by M. Scott Peck
My younger sister sent me
this book when she first entered therapy. Slighty "dry"
(a little hard to stay with at that point in my life) but I hung
in there and read it all, and enjoyed it very much. I feel this
was one of the books that eased me onto the path I travel today.
This book helped me to begin to get an idea of what relationships
are about. Also touched on some religious explanation which
helped me begin to come to terms with the religion of my
childhood.
Click here to order your copy
of The Road Less Travelled today!
People of the Lie:
The Hope for Healing Human Evil
by M. Scott Peck
I learned a new
definition of "evil" in this book by Dr. Peck. People
who are just so ignorantly cruel and don't even stop to think of
how they are damaging others. An example that comes to mind is of
a friend who was just starting to excel in a mechanics class in
high school. This person wanted more than anything to learn how
to fix cars. The parents decided to punish this young man for an
unrelated incident by forcing him out of this class. This was a
terrible blow to this young man, who has never quite been able to
understand the reasoning of his parents.
Click here to order your copy
of People of the Lie today!
Born to Please:
Compliant Women/Controlling Men
by Karen Blaker, Ph.D.
I found this book very
close after a breakup, a relationship that I had considered an
almost *perfect* relationship. Upon closer examination, and also
with reading this book, I was able to see that my partner was
exhibiting some *possible* signs of control, which might
*possibly* have gotten more predominant had the relationship
continued. Or just as easily could have been my misperception as
a "compliant" person. Dr. Blaker walks you through an
eight step recovery plan which helps you determine if you are a
"compliant" woman, (which unfortunately, too many woman
*are* because of how we are raised) how you became a
"compliant" woman and with the eighth step, she gives
exercises to work on which will help you be able to stop seeking
relationships with controlling partners. I had discovered my
tendencies to be a "people pleaser" prior to reading
this book, and feel this book will help me continue my desire and
intention to let go of this dysfunctional behavior.
Order your copy of Born to Please today!
Brain Sex:
The Real Difference Between Men and Women
by David Jessel, Ph.D. and Anne Moir
This book explores how our
hormones affect us, and why we (males and females) are the way we
are. I really liked learning that because I am a woman, I am
going to be affected in certain ways hormonally. (As are men) I
like knowing that premenstrual syndrome is actually hormonally
driven, and not just a figment of my imagination. I took the
things I learned in this book, and use them to assist myself in
coping better. Among many other interesting ideas was the one
that school is set up in such a way that boys have a difficult
time learning. Girls are better able, hormonally, to sit still
for hours at a time, and focus. Boys, on the other hand, learn
better with more activity. I did really enjoy this book, and its
theories.
Order your copy of Brain Sex today!
The Drama of the Gifted Child:
The Search for the True Self
by Alice Miller
Wonderful book! I
especially loved discovering why I have an intuitive ability and
why its not such a good tool to have. It is because of my
childhood, having to learn to "read" the adults around
me, to know how to act so as to not anger them. I also read this
book with my current parenting methods in mind, and felt quite
exhilarated to see that my children do not appear to have the
"antennae" that I myself do. They are *FREE*, they do
not glance around fearfully when they play and yell -- worried
that they will anger someone. Alice Miller also in this book
discusses how repressing the traumas of our childhoods can make
us physically ill as adults. The "gifted child" part of
the title of this book isn't talking about the "kid who
excels in school". It's more about the tragedy of having to
develop the antennae just to get by in one's childhood family. I
highly recommend this book!!
Order your copy of The Drama of the Gifted Child today!
Get Rid of Him
by Joyce L. Vedral Ph.D.
Dr. Vedral offers some
down-to-earth suggestions on how to evaluate the man in your
life. This book will come in handy with someone who is ready to
make that break. If you want no-nonsense advice, be sure to get
this book.
Order your copy of Get Rid of Him today!
Body and Soul : Sexuality on the Brink of Change
Very insightful look at today's sexuality and how our American culture distorts sexuality.
Read Dr. Hastings personal review on the Amazon site.
Order your copy of Body and Soul today!
Order your copy of Woman : An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier today!
Thanks to Amazon Books for this awesome opportunity!