Medical Medium Liver Rescue by Anthony Williams

What if you could focus on one aspect of your well-being to transform all the others--and at the same time prevent health problems you didn't even know were lurking beneath the surface?

In today's world, we have no idea how many symptoms, conditions, and diseases are rooted in an overloaded liver. It's not only about liver cancer, cirrhosis, and hepatitis. Nearly every challenge--from pesky general health complaints to digestive issues to emotional struggles to weight gain to high blood pressure to heart problems to brain fog to skin conditions to autoimmune and other chronic illnesses--has an origin in an overloaded liver and can improve and heal when you harness the force of this humble organ.

Yes, I have jumped on the bandwagon and decide to see what the Medical Medium is all about. Myself and Marlene set this as our April Non Fiction book read challenge. There were some very good points made in this book and I certainly took away a lot of tips for improving by eating and fasting habits. He could have made the same points in half the time. Each chapter had a lot of repetition under different health issues but ultimately telling us the same thing. Will the people who need this the most actually read it, probably not as it gets a bit technical at times and, as mentioned above, is longwinded. Now to the author, I must say he came across, to me, as an unlikeable cocksure person. I do not believe and was disturbed by his claims of getting his information and guidance from a Spirit. It came across as rather preachy/Preacher at times and that everyone should believe him even without proof of his claims. I didn't like the tone he continually used to debunk Doctors, people who have spend years getting professional training unlike him who gets it from his Spirit! I do agree that Doctors are often too quick in prescribing a drug to "cure" an ailment when a change in diet or habits may have helped more but people need to be careful and make those changes under the care of their doctors. I am not a convert to his "cult" but can give him credit for some good ideas. If he toned it down a bit I would like him more but I guess that is his brand/gimmick.

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova

An accomplished concert pianist, Richard received standing ovations from audiences all over the world in awe of his rare combination of emotional resonance and flawless technique. Every finger of his hands was a finely calibrated instrument, dancing across the keys and striking each note with exacting precision. That was eight months ago. Richard now has ALS, and his entire right arm is paralyzed. His fingers are impotent, still, devoid of possibility. The loss of his hand feels like a death, a loss of true love, a divorce—his divorce. He knows his left arm will go next. Three years ago, Karina removed their framed wedding picture from the living room wall and hung a mirror there instead. But she still hasn’t moved on. Karina is paralyzed by excuses and fear, stuck in an unfulfilling life as a piano teacher, afraid to pursue the path she abandoned as a young woman, blaming Richard and their failed marriage for all of it. When Richard becomes increasingly paralyzed and is no longer able to live on his own, Karina becomes his reluctant caretaker. As Richard’s muscles, voice, and breath fade, both he and Karina try to reconcile their past before it’s too late. This was a hard book to read for me. Not because it was bad but just because of the subject matter. While my father din't have ALS but had several bad strokes, it still felt too close to home for me. I could feel the emotions of him losing the ability to use his body, which was particularly hard for a world renowned pianist. The emotions of the people around him felt very real as well. The frustrations and helplessness of seeing someone you love becoming more and more dependent on you. Yes the book did follow the authors usual pattern but was one of her better stories. If you haven't heard the piano pieces mentioned throughout the book, please look them up on Youtube as they are amazing. I could never play Rachmaninov in my playing days so am always impressed by people who can. Apparently, he had strangely large hands which made it possible for him to stretch his fingers wider than the average person, hence allowing him to play and compose his pieces. Particularly look up Ravel's Piano Concerto for the left hand  and watch the full video. It is an amazing work of art.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJTUUKAdZDU&t=2s

Comfort Zone Challenge 1 - Marlene

Marlene

“Life begins outside your comfort zone.” A quote I’ve heard through the years. If we always do what we know ... we don’t learn/grow. This premise is at the heart of coaching and I regularly challenge/encourage my clients to push the edges of their comfort zone - giving them greater capacity and confidence in life. So when Hazel suggested that we challenge one another to do something uncomfortable ... how could I, in good conscience, say anything other than ... yes?!

Trusting the other person I would say is key in this type of exercise. Someone who has your best interests at heart and has an idea of what stops you in life. 

I admit I was a little nervous to find out what my comfort zone challenge was ... so in retrospect... even agreeing to this type of thing was outside my CZ! It was also a bit challenging to come up with something ... trying to find something meaningful but with a sufficient gradient to make it worthwhile.

I was challenged by Hazel to attend a jiu jitsu class that I had never attended before. I had been avoiding trying it even though I had been invited by instructors, friends and even my husband who is a devotee and attends regularly. My “reason” was not wanting to risk injury but upon closer inspection I would say it was partly that and partly not wanting to “look bad.” Things like borrowing a gi, looking stupid and being a beginner were all outside what was comfortable. 

This was interesting to me because until I was challenged to do it ... I didn’t realize how much of my resistance was based around fear of looking bad. I was just generally avoiding it and going about my business. 

One surprising outcome of doing this was how HAPPY it seemed to make my husband. He had our picture taken in our gi’s and promptly printed and displayed it. I had no idea to expect that although Hazel said that actually played a role in her selecting my challenge.

Synopsis: Do this with a friend who is committed to growth and who knows you well. Pick something that would stretch them ... but not break them. Baby steps - outside one’s the comfort zone - can yield BIG results. We will likely try this again and perhaps up the gradient! 

Comfort Zone Challenge 1 - Hazel

Hazel

Most people don't know but I have always been exceedingly shy and socially awkward since I was a young child.  I have taught myself over the years how to, not get over it, but to fake it so that it is not apparent to the outside world.  They don't see the churning going on inside, the multiple conversations I practice in my head before having the actual conversation.  Or indeed, the finite analysis of a conversation after the fact I have to see if I could have done something wrong to offend someone, or trying to analyze what the other person thinks of me.

My husband will attest to the fact (which frustrates him no end) that I would rather wander around a store for 30 minutes looking for something that actually asking someone where it is, or that I hate phoning up to order takeout food because of my anxiety about talking to people on the phone.
This has been crippling at times in my life and has prevented me from doing some things but, at an early age, I knew that to be successful I had to do something about it.  So here comes "Fake it until I make it".  I have developed ways of dealing with this to save me time wandering the aisles although I have still not fully overcome it.  For Example, in Wegman's, I don't wander the aisles looking for something but I do look it up on their app rather than just asking someone.

Knowing all this, Marlene set me my first challenge.  To ask for help/favors from 5 people, 2 of which were strangers.  This nearly sent me into meltdown.  I thought of my friend group and knew that if I needed a favor I would just ask them for it.  Although I am a just work it out myself rather than ask for help kind of girl.  But the thought of asking strangers was TOTALLY outside my comfort zone.

A challenge is a challenge so I decided to ask real people for help when needed.  It started off slowly, some slight wandering in a shop and then asking for help.  I then realized that I needed to embrace the challenge fully.  So here comes Empowerment Friday.  I had a number of errands to run and decided that I would not work things out for myself but just ask other people.  I proceeded to march into one store and, literally, grabbed the first person working there and asked them where the thing I needed was.  Turns out they don't even stock the item and guided me instantly to a shop that does.  Time saved.  I then marched into several other places doing the same and instantly got help/direction.  I can't even begin to think how much time I saved.  It was quite empowering and made me realize how helpful people working in stores can actually be.  That they are not judging me for not knowing something or working it out for myself.

I know some people will not understand as they do not have social anxiety or shyness and will wonder what my problem is, but I am beginning to realize that either, their opinion does not matter to me, or that they really don't care either way.  And that is what I should start feeling about other people's opinions as well!  Who really cares what someone thinks of you, if you are content with who you are and what you do, then just live your life.

Comfort Zone Challenge

We both just turned 48 and have been having many discussions about keeping active and alert as we age.   Physically we know what to do and we exercise fairly regularly but how do we exercise our mind.  I use some apps on my phone for that purpose. Lumosity is one that I find fun but we wanted to take it to the next level.

This article inspired us.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-aging/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-super-ager?fbclid=IwAR1Kj-jbUz5Xt8cp9OfXo18oNthDVVywFcxy-czeE0Za6dn5vcq7N71KDSw

It basically says that research suggests that moving out of your comfort zone is the key to staying mentally and physically young.

What it has inspired us to do is to set each other challenges that take us outside our comfort zone.  Everyone has a different comfort zone and that is no different for myself and Marlene.  For example, I don't mind heights and extreme activities while Marlene is much less keen on them.  She is a naturally friendly, outgoing person who does not mind talking to strangers, while I go out my way to avoid speaking to people.

We know each other pretty well so it should be easy to challenge each other in a friendly way.  We will share our challenges on this blog over the next few weeks, so watch this space for some fun and reflections.

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?

Andrea Cooper knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . . . 


Somewhat disappointed in this novel.  Another of my favorite authors just did not deliver this time.  The story was not written fluently and jumped about in a way that dud not make it easy to read of follow.  I think it would have benefited by being written in 2 parts, like the book "The Last Mrs Parrish", telling the story in two separate parts, one time zone and then the other, rather than trying to jump back and forward.

The insertion of some convenient characters did not help either as they were, obviously, there to lead us down one storyline path but just ended up confusing the story and giving me more questions.

The overall concept was good but, knowing how well this author can write, I was not a fan.