Mental health is just as important as physical fitness. There are two sides to mental health, and both are equally important: what weighs heavily on your mind and what puts wind in your sails.

Many of us share common mental stressors – time, money, work, emotions, and relationships. Ironically it can be too little or too much of each of these that causes stress. While we are never going to eliminate stress, we can address what do we do to manage it and its affect on our health.

As many humans as exist in the world, there exists as many combinations of answers to mental health concerns. For most diagnosis, medication and talk therapy has been proven to be the best practice. I am not trained as a mental health professional in any way. The information provided here is simply to be a resource for conversations about what has worked to help manage the stressors above to bring joy and lightness to my life and to hear what works for other. To make the daily grind something not just palatable, but something we can look forward too. Some of these ideas might be meditation, learning, or hobbies.

When We Left Cuba – Chanel Cleeton

Rating: 3 stars

Cliff Notes: Audiobook – EXCELLENT narrator in Kyla Garcia.

Full Summary: This book would make a FANTASTIC movie. I got frustrstrated at the constant message of “I don’t need a man, I want to save Cuba!….. oh, I cannot give this man up.” Blarrghhhhh

This reminded me a little of The Americans TV show with a strong woman spy kind of character that I just wanted to ditch the man and move on.

When We Left Cuba Chanel Cleeton
By |2019-12-12T19:24:26-05:00July 22nd, 2019|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

Second Glance – Jodi Picoult

Rating: 3 stars

Cliff Notes: I did not love it as much as most Jodi Picoult books, mostly because I hate a happy wrapped up ending. I thought for sure we were going to be looking at four deaths, then nope.

Full Summary: What amazes me most about this author is the sheer depth of research she does for each topic. This book was no exception. The knowledge of ghosts and paranormal activity was very real and made for an interesting read. What does not make for an interesting read for me is a dopey love story. There was a bit too much of that for me.

Jodi Picoult Second Glance
By |2019-12-12T19:24:56-05:00July 10th, 2019|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

Wunderland – Jennifer Cody Epstein

Rating: 3 stars (would be 3 1/2 if Goodreads had partials)

Cliff Notes: I love all books about WW2 so I might be biased.

Full Summary: I have always had a fascination with books about World War 2 so when I saw this book‘s review in People Magazine I knew I wanted to read it. It did not disappoint. It was a a little different in that the 2 girls were teenagers during the Nazi-era vs most of the books I read where the characters are adults. Plus it went in reverse time through part of it and also had flash backs and flash forwards so that was interesting, but made it confusing at times.

Wunderland Jennifer Cody Epstein
By |2019-12-12T19:26:05-05:00July 5th, 2019|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

I Miss You When I Blink – Mary Laura Philpott

Rating: 4 stars

Cliff Notes: I love this format – separate chapter essays of non-fiction. This is the first thing I have read by this author, and I really enjoyed it. I plan to put her other book, Penguins with People Problems, on my TBR as well.

“I feel like a human traffic jam.”

This is but one of the gems you will get in this book. I usually call this feeling Tuesday afternoon.

Full Summary: One of the best things I like in a book is chapter, passage, or page that can feel like a gut punch and make me laugh out loud at the same time. This book is that.

One of my favorite chapters is about friendships, how they change as adults, and how they can sometimes be mindnumbingly superficial. I get tired of talking about the weather, “Pleasant weather we’re having. Blessed be the fruit.” I get tired of talking about superficial stuff or bragging about how much we are failing as mothers, wives or women. The author describes a long, painful discuss about chicken salad.

I too am done discussing chicken salad. I want more from my relationships.

I Miss You When I Blink Mary Laura Philpott
By |2019-12-12T19:26:21-05:00July 4th, 2019|Mental Well-being|0 Comments
Go to Top