BOOK REVIEWS

108 Ways to Market Your Practice: A Practical Guide to Success
by Theodore W. Robinson
Inner Healing Press, 2008
www.innerhealingpress.com
“Comprehensive” is the best word to describe Ted Robinson’s second book on opening and maintaining a successful alternative health care practice, such as massage, energy work, or various forms of counseling. He also includes a section on EFT, or Emotional Freedom Technique, to expand the tools which practitioners can offer clients, as well as for use on their own limiting beliefs. Perhaps the most significant thrust of his approach is that alternative practitioners need more coaching in the various aspects of professionalism to improve public perception of their work, and therefore their potential client base. Of special note is the exceptionally detailed table of contents, while the chapter suggestions are clear and practical. Interestingly, the number108 is a sacred number in Tibetan Buddhism; it may very well assist the individual who considers their practice sacred, also.
– John Calabrese, Editor-at-Large

Notes from a Minor Key: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Healing
by Dawn Bailiff
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.
www.hrpub.com
Notes from a Minor Key is thoroughly engaging, both in depth of honesty as well as originality of format. Written from two perspectives, Dawn and her soulmate Paul, the memoir is a wrenching, fascinating look into the life of a world-class musician, a child prodigy who used her music and intellect to ride the storms of multiple sclerosis. The book shows, from an intensely personal point of view, how a person can suffer incredible loss but still not lose their love of life. The writing itself is almost transcendent, as evidenced in the description of Dawn and Paul’s introduction: “I felt a strange sensation as our hands met for that fraction of a moment, like our souls had interacted before. As we released our grip, the residue of centuries of feeling stretched between us.” Notes from a Minor Key will remain deeply etched upon your memory.
– John Calabrese, Editor-at-Large

The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die
by John Izzo, Ph.D.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2008
www.bk-life.com or www.bkconnection.com
Death is the king of transitions, yet we avoid looking at it, which only creates more fear around it. The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die is a wonderful step towards shifting this destructive mindset. Death is often perceived as a traumatic loss, but perhaps the greatest loss is what we don’t learn about the life that “…goes by so fast.” Dr. Izzo interviewed over 200 happy people, ages 60-106, probing their methods for creating everyday bliss. The interviewees offer a spectrum of perspectives and possibilities about life that will round out even the most knowledgeable (or jaded) among us. This beautifully formatted book is a testament to the most basic-yet-essential elements of a life well lived.
– John Calabrese, Editor-at-Large

A LETTER THAT WILL COME TOMORROW
by Naomi O’Hara
iUniverse, 2008
www.iuniverse.com
Country first! are words which are firing up the nation right now. However, patriotism can be twisted into a dangerous mindset, which can lead to disastrous global consequences according to author Naomi O’Hara. That is this underlying theme, which is cleverly woven into the storyline of this masterful literary work. Set in post 911 United States, a virtual police state fraught with terrorism and restrictions on personal freedom, this short novel follows the literal and symbolic journey of an ill psychiatrist to NYC. Through her dialogues with interesting characters who reflect the dismal times, she challenges us to consider the exclusionary and divisory nature of patriotism, how it “erodes humanity”– and provides a frightening, vivid vision of it run amok. Provocative and timely.
– Rachel Marks, Huntington