New Book for Review: Inspirational Motivational ‘Waking Up Happy: A Handbook of Change with Memoirs of Recovery and Hope’ by Jill Muehrcke

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Jill Muehrcke will be touring April 2 – May 25 with her inspirational motivational book, Waking Up Happy: A Handbook of Change with Memoirs of Recovery and Hope.

WAKING UP HAPPY: A HANDBOOK OF CHANGE WITH MEMOIRS OF RECOVERY AND HOPE: Powerful, absorbing, and beautifully written, this first-of-its-kind book of transformation and healing includes memoirs of people who have recovered from addictions, harmful habits, and intolerable situations, along with exercises readers can do to make the same transformations in their own lives.

EXCERPT:

Those of us who tell our stories here had different time schedules for changing our lives and have taken varied pathways, but all of us were — and are — on the same odyssey. Moving away from our addictions was just one step on that road to a new life.

Before we could create lasting change, we needed to find the root causes that made us turn to drugs – and other addictions – for relief – childhood abuse, neglect, mental illness in the family, secrets and fears that stifled honest communication as we were growing up and made us doubt ourselves and our worth. Confronting those ghosts, we learned to care for ourselves and find peace in our hearts.

It wasn’t about the drugs. There was always something missing at the core. What was missing was love. We had to learn to love ourselves, the people and environment around us, and finally the larger world.

The afflictions that went along with addictions – depression, eating disorders, sexual compulsions – complicated our voyage. We had to be vigilant that we didn’t slip back into those secondary disorders. Doing so required us to become detectives in unraveling the mystery of our own lives, and digging for those answers became one of the most exhilarating parts of the journey. The only thing more magical was sharing our discoveries with others and listening to their stories of self-discovery.

We have come full circle but have discovered that life isn’t really a circle but, rather, a spiral. Each time we come around to what seems like the same place, we’re on a different level, with greater ability to apply the lessons we’ve learned before.

We ask ourselves: How many times do I have to learn this lesson? The answer is: You will be learning your life lessons forever. But each time, you embed that lesson within your psyche a little more fully.

Step by step is the way. Slow and steady is the speed. That’s how change happens – by inches. By millimeters. By micrometers.

It is our brokenness, the jagged parts of ourselves that catch the light like crystal. It’s the glitter of those pointed pieces that beams a light for us and for others.

Taking these lessons to heart, we’re stronger than we ever thought possible. And yet we’re stronger still – immeasurably strong – when we join with others on the pilgrimage. We’re like beads of water falling on stone. Together, we transform the stone into something altogether new. We will never give up.

REVIEW:

Waking up Happy resonated with me in a way no other book has before. The stories and lessons are compelling, heart-felt, candid, optimistic, and illuminating. I found myself nodding with understanding, crying with each struggle, smiling and joyful in the triumphs of these stories.

I greatly value the organizational tools in the book, such as A Step on the Journey, Turning Point, and Tools for the Journey. They provide concrete lessons the reader can use, but they aren’t prescriptive. I also appreciate all the friendly suggestions to get readers started on their own journeys. I sympathized, empathized, and resonated with the turning points, and I’m already acting on the suggestions. I like that the stories are broken up with these pauses, which allowed me to reflect on my life and how I might learn from the storytellers’ experiences. The quotations sprinkled throughout the stories are also powerful and fitting, adding even deeper insight and greater perspective.

I’m especially struck by the fact that, in addition to telling her own eloquent story, Jill Muehrcke tells her daughter’s and granddaughter’s stories in later chapters. There’s something unique and provocative about having personal accounts from three generations of addicts. Readers can glean wisdom and guidance about how addictions and behaviors are passed down from one generation to the next and ways they can help themselves and future generations “wake up happy”!

–Dawn Gundermann, Madison, Wisconsin

286 pages

You can visit her website at www.wakinguphappybook.com.

If you would like to review Waking Up Happy, please fill out the form below or email Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife(at)gmail.com. Please mention which date would work for you. Deadline for inquiries end April 25 or until the tour is filled. Thank you!

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

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