Growing apart AND growing stronger
592175
We all hope for happily ever after in marriage, but it doesnt always go that way. So what if separation and divorce could be navigated with love and respect, instead of bitterness, anger and defeat? Leah Ruppels book, growing Your Separate ways, provides a proven process to help individuals within a couple to grow their separate ways while consciously supporting themselves and each other towards deeper, more authentic ways of being.
Through cultivating greater awareness for what has been avoided in the relationship, to more clarity about what isn't working, to enhanced communication and specific forward action, Leahs 8 Straight Steps client coaching and strategic facilitation process provides expert guidance. Each step of the process is described in detail for the reader, ultimately leading to a shift in consciousness and a place of greater freedom and inner peace.
By choosing to identify what isn't working, and discussing ways to move forward together yet separately, you leave room for possibility; this is essential for growth.
743381
Thank you for opening up and telling your story. It takes a brave mommy to leave and start over you can accomplish anything now. Your dreams are within reach. Once you realize them your half way there.
398519
I must admit, this review is biased because Jr. Inman is my "little cousin" who has become a grown man before my very eyes.  Having the pleasure of witnessing JR's beautiful transformation is a blessing.  I have begun reading his book, (and as he stresses, it will not be his last), and I have gained further insight into his growth in many areas, academics; athletics; and his relationship with GOD.  What really strikes and motivates me is that fact that JR really believes in giving back and giving of himself.  Giving of himself is a very strong desire and need for him.  As an individual in his age bracket, it is usually the opposite.  JR keep inspiring us, keep on growing and making your worldy statements in GOD's image!  Love you!
2383767
This book really caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting this much growth reading one book. It challenged many of my worldly generated perspectives and forced me to reexamine my presuppositions. Having grown up in an "intellectual" house i have always over focused on words rather than heart intent. This book was very helpful to me and renewing and restoring the weakened bond with my wife. God gives grace to the weak.
4691005
I love reading this story. I would like to believe there is a reason why God brings people together and sometimes puts obstacles in our path. When we come out on the other side we are stronger and better for it.
2615984
The author did a wonderful job intermixing her personal story with practical advice for anyone that is on the path to continuous growth. With self-reflection at the end of each chapter, you are sure to find more self-awareness after reading this book.
3491708
Ava is blessed.  She has a loving husband with a good job that provides a comfortable lifestyle.  She has a daughter in college who is engaged to be married, and she has a son in high school who is a star on the football team.  She even has a ministry, comforting those who have just experienced a tragic loss.  Her life is far different from her childhood.

Suddenly, Ava's life starts to unravel.  Her husband is working too many hours and won't discuss problems at work.  Her daughter flies home unexpectedly from college.  And Ava must face the tragedies of her childhood before she can grow to deal with the challenges she faces now.

Song of the Brokenhearted shows how clearly the authors understand human emotions and how our past impacts our present and sometimes our future.  Ava can overcome once she understands the ties that bind her to the fears of her childhood.  Sheila Walsh and Cindy Martinusen Coloma have written a well-crafted story of hope and growth.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
4704306
Very good to get yourself started when trying to renew yourself and begin a new.  Very encouraging.  Shows a young person getting herself together openly and helping others as weel.  God bless her on her journey.
1887943
Picking up right where The Power to Break left off, Maci and Ethan are both struggling with doing the right thing. This book gives us the opportunity to see both characters grow and find their way back to being whole, both together and as individuals. I love Ethan and his progression into the man that he becomes.
1737954
This book has been written to examine some of the ways love heals and helps a person to climb impossible heights and rise from immeasurable depths.

Two months ago, I read Maya Angelous Letter to My Daughter  the first of Angelous books I read. This morning, I read Mom & Me & Mom which was delightful, wonderful, sometimes sad, sometimes not, but throughout has that same lovely tone that I found in Letter to My Daughter. Id read poems of hers before, seen her speak, although not in person, but theres something about her that just reaches inside your soul and tugs on it while reading, or listening, to her words. Someday, I will get an audio copy of this to listen to, I suspect just hearing her distinctive voice read these words would add another level of impact.

Suppose I really am going to become somebody, imagine.

Mothers and Daughters. In Mayas case, she barely knew her mother, Vivian Baxter, before she was shipped off to live with her paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, along with her brother Bailey. Bailey was five years old to Mayas three. Babies, put on a train with notes attached to them.

I was three and Bailey was five when we arrived in Stamps, Arkansas. We had identification tags on our arms and no adult supervision. 

It would take a while for them to re-establish a place for her mother in Mayas life, and primarily in her heart. For a long time, she called her Lady, which made me smile, a name my daughter calls me now and then. When she was first re-entering that space, with a new stepfather in the picture, their relationship was cautious, tentative, slowly growing over the years  but growing.

She had my back, supported me. This is the role of the mother, and in that visit I really saw clearly, and for the first time, why a mother is really important. Not just because she feeds and also loves and cuddles and even mollycoddles a child, but because in an interesting and maybe an eerie and unworldly way, she stands in the gap. She stands between the unknown and the known.

There are some of the stories of her life that are included in her Letter to My Daughter, but there is sometimes comfort in that, much like once-again hearing some of my fathers favourite flying stories when he had a new, and willing, audience. Theres joy in hearing wisdom repeated, tales that your heart takes and translates into your life, your language, your being. I loved reading about the progression of their relationship, Maya and her mother, Vivien, when all those doubts had faded away, when proof of love was no longer required or questioned, and most of all I loved seeing more of her heart and its wisdom.

Her love and support encouraged me to dare to live my life with pizazz.

Highly Recommended
2698616
Growing up, in a dysfunctional family, shapes and motivates Jeannette Walls.  She loves and accepts her self-absorbed, artistic mother and her visionary, impractical and alcoholic father.  The chaos of her childhood is simply part of life.
Don't other three year olds cook their own hotdogs, accidentally catching her dress on fire and then get checked out of the hospital prematurely by a father when they can't pay the bill?  Her mother greets each new hardship as an experience while her father says it will toughen them up.  She and her three siblings raise themselves as the family misfortunes compound and their lifestyle disintegrates further and further.
Eventually she realizes that she must save herself and let her parents continue their downward spiral as they choose.  She's quite matter-of-fact about her childhood and doesn't whine or feel sorry for herself.
It's amazing to see her survival skills and that she managed to grow, educate herself and go on to a life of achievement as an adult.
This is a fast read, that inspires and makes one think about what it takes to overcome adversity.
264833
Wonderful story.  This story unfolds young children grow up together.  As they grow they fall in love.  But life interferes with there lives.  Separating them and bringing them back together again.
1477114
I loved this book! There's a very disjointed family, with two daughters left to take care of and raise themselves in a very small community. Unfortunately the situation happens more than one would like to believe. The younger daughter rebels, leaving the older single sister left to try to pick up the pieces. Time passes, the sisters become estranged, then unexpectedly the older daughter is left once again to pick up the pieces with a very smart but damaged teenage niece who struggles to find her unknown father.  A series of events threaten to tear them apart, after they knit an unbreakable bond. I love the main characters and didn't want the book to end. The end was not surprising, but the author does a wonderful job of creating understanding and healing leaving the reader feeling good. I hope the author writes another like this.
3503058
My youngest daughter was in early elementary school when I read this and I had read dozens of books to help us; she was in therapy; the family was in therapy; and she was only slowly becoming happier when I found this book.  It helped me 'see'  her and our relationship in an entirely new light.  Our family began to work together to provide the environment and interaction that could support a healthier structure for her.  It took lots of thinking, time and work.  She was exceptionnally different from my other child and had to be treated that way which was sometimes confusing for her.  That needed to be worked through throughout the years.  Lots of talking all the way around.
Now my  youngest is 25 years old and life for her is not what l would dream but it is what she wants it to be.  We all lived through it and we love each other. She has a trade;  she can support her self.  I consider her and us successful.
I believe this book gave us the grounding for much of that success.
2134112
I would recommend this book for anyone, whether you are going through a divorce or any other difficult experience.  It's about picking up the pieces of a broken life and becoming stronger as you put those pieces back together.
3376287
We all have ups and downs, but it takes a lot of strength to be positive and keep fighting.
This book describes the reality of many.
1470246
Hailey is hiding out. Working as a temp for Sam. Waiting to make her next move. Sam is intrigued. She brings out a different side to him and he's not sure how to take it.

An inspiring story of strength and resilience. Loved watching the characters grow and change. The emotions almost lept off the page.