Cute little manual for self-care - for cats and their humans. Full of reminders of ways to keep your mind peaceful and to look after yourself (first.)
(#16-2022)
Valerie Bertinelli shares her story up to losing weight as a Jenny Craig spokesperson. She talks about her time on One Day at a Time, through marrying Eddie Van Halen, divorcing him, having her son and the acting roles she played up to and between. Her struggles with self-image and societal/Hollywood expectations are central to her continuing story, which she shares herself in a way that helps to motivate and inspire her reader, even if it's not necessarily her intention.
Happy Women Live Differently: 13 Ways to Trigger Your Happiness Every Day by Valorie Burton
I love the logic with which Valorie Burton writes. Nothing she says in her books is particularly groundbreaking, or earth-shattering, but most people would never reach these conclusions on their own.
The thirteen triggers or areas that we each need to look at in order to live our best life are fairly simple to see. And taken individually they are also easy to adapt into your own life. You may not want to change all of them, but you can acknowledge that making the changes might increase the happiness in your life.
The biggest take away from the book is to be at least content with your life the way that it is now. Dream big, keep striving, but don't expect reaching those goals to provide the miracle of happiness. Be happy now. Be happy with what you have now. Then strive to be better.
#48-2021
I've been seeing a lot of Dr. Gupta on CNN over the course of the pandemic, and I feel like he's trustworthy so when I heard about this book I decided it was worth a look. I appreciated all the background information and his perspective as a neurosurgeon on aspects of the brain and how it ages. It's not something that I've spent much time thinking about - I've mostly relied on "common knowledge" about brain ageing before, and based on this book I'm not really sure that's the best way to think about it.
I've glad I read it - if you have any interest in learning more about how the brain ages, and how to help it age more slowly and how to potentially slow the process of dementia and/or Alzheimer's this is definitely something you want to read. And soon.
#16-2021
The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain by Steven R. Gundry, MD
I picked this up and actually started reading it a couple of years ago when several celebrities were touting Dr. Gundry's techniques. I'm interested in different perspectives on how food affects the body so it was a natural fit for my reading list.
I am definitely not a biology person, but I know that different foods affect different people differently and that no one "diet" will work for everyone because of that.
