memories – The Self-Help Whisperer®

I first saw What’s Stopping Me From Being Happy? by Lisa Ellis on my Facebook timeline. Although I’ve taken down my professional FB page, I kept my personal one. Throughout…

From My Bookshelf

Winnie the Pooh – Oh, Pooh!

16 Jan 20225 Sep 2022

What new thing can be said about a book known and loved by everyone I’ve ever met? Maybe this: ‘A gorgeous new collectible edition of the beloved classic, Winnie-the-Pooh, crafted as a…

From My Bookshelf

Greenlights – Not a Fan?

9 Oct 202126 May 2022

I never liked the young Matthew McConaughey's acting, appearance, or personality. You know how some people just rub you the wrong way? (And here, I would be remiss not to…

Photography

Picture of the Day & Haiku – “Not Forgotten”

24 Jul 2021

Children, holding hands Once filled these steps with laughter Gone, not forgotten.

Photography

Photo Journal – Niagara Falls Festival of Lights

13 Dec 2020

From My Bookshelf

And The Answer Is… – The Musk Ox

23 Nov 202023 Nov 2020

A good education and a kind heart will serve you well throughout your entire life. - Alex Trebek Memoirs are often great sources of self-help because they give us a…

Photography

Picture of the Day – The Sheryl Files

8 Nov 2020

My peeps, it had to happen. I'm depressed. And oh-so anxious. Shit. I wanted to go out and get some shots on this fantastic, unusually warm, November Sunday... But... Instead...…

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one?* – Emotional Intelligence

17 Sep 2020

My IQ is modest. My common-sense is pretty-much nil. But my emotional intelligence? Well, let’s just say it works better than the other two combined. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman is the kind…

Photography

Picture of the Day – “Shipwrecked”

7 Jun 2020

There is a story to this scene but today is not the day to tell it. Please, just enjoy it, as I do!

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one? – Living The Truth

5 May 202016 Jul 2022

Living The Truth by Dr. Keith Ablow sounds pretty straightforward. Live the truth. Easy-peasy. Not so fast. I have always considered myself an honest person. My mother will tell you I…

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one? – Make the Connection

28 Apr 202028 Apr 2020

Before we begin, allow me to answer your questions (that you haven’t yet asked but are wondering about): Yes, I was an Oprah fan and waited for this book in…

Self-Help Whispering

Turtles – okay, yes, I talk to animals

28 Mar 2020

It will come as no shock to anyone who knows me that I LOVE animals. I remember, when I was young, being devastated when Bambi's mother died. I know everyone…

Self-Help Whispering

Haiku – “Grief”

23 Mar 2020

Condensation, or weeping woman, misty-eyed Thought I saw you there.

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one? – How to Live Between Office Visits

8 Feb 20208 Feb 2020

Faith is the health's requisite - John Updike, from "Ode to Healing" It was an act of faith that led me to buy this book... because... as a person with…

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one? – Dear Me

28 Dec 201928 Dec 2019

“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” ― Robert Frost Dear Me is *not* one of the classics among my collection … but maybe it should be. It is a collection of letters written…

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one? – Tuesdays with Morrie

17 Dec 201917 Dec 2019

You may have noticed that I kinda jump all over the self-help map. So far, I’ve been able to keep from duplicating books. Go, me! And also, so far, I’ve avoided even…

From My Bookshelf

Lessons in Loss and Living – What would you do if you didn’t know better?

7 Dec 20197 Dec 2019

Oh yes, our old friend grief... again. *sigh* I typed "grief" into the search field of my blog and got this list. You can look if you want. I'll wait.…

From My Bookshelf

Memory and Abuse – With a caveat

11 Nov 201928 Apr 2022

Charles L. Whitfield, MD is one of my favorite self-help authors. I've mentioned him before regarding his excellent book Healing the Child Within. However, today we are talking about Memory and Abuse…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – On Intuition

9 Oct 20196 Oct 2019

I have two books on intuition that are favorites: Practical Intuition by Laura Day and The Intuitive Way by Penney Peirce. For years… if you were like me… you believed in intuition, gut…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – Healing the Shame that Binds You

9 Sep 20194 Apr 2021

Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw is another of the classics on my shelf. To be honest, John Bradshaw himself is a bit of a classic. If you get the…

From My Bookshelf

Toxic Parents – Emotional aftereffects

2 Sep 201916 Mar 2022

Trigger warning: Discussion of abuse. No details, no photos. Toxic Parents by Dr. Susan Forward has been patiently sitting on my shelf waiting for me to pick it up and write…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – The Emotionally Abused Woman

19 Jul 20193 Jun 2021

Note: "Remember this one?" = Posts that you may have missed the first time around. This post was originally posted by me on February 13, 2018 The Emotionally Abused Woman by…

From My Bookshelf

Fiction as Self-Help – Turtles All The Way Down – Never has there been a more appropriate book for the Fiction as Self-Help Category!

20 Jun 201915 Sep 2021

I almost don't know where to begin. Turtles All The Way Down is by the same guy (John Green) who wrote The Fault in our Stars, which I didn't read…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – Motherhood The Second Oldest Profession

14 Jun 2019

“Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.” – Erma Bombeck I was going to write about comedy as self-help. Erma Bombeck was certainly funny… but I’d consider her a…

Self-Help Whispering

Soul Without Shame – Heavyweight contender

11 Jun 201912 Jun 2019

If you're looking for a quick-fix for your shame, Soul Without Shame by Byron Brown is NOT it. Not that it's a difficult read - it isn't - but that…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – The Things You Would Have Said

22 May 2019

The Things You Would Have Said by Jackie Hooper is a stunning little book. Under two hundred pages, it doesn’t need more words to get the point across. The best things…

Self-Help Whispering

Ghost Whisperer – What festers below the surface?

18 May 201919 May 2019

It will not surprise you to know that during 2014: My Year of Pain I gravitated toward mostly-spiritual television. I've already talked about Being Erica. Today, I will be talking about…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty

4 May 2019

Listening to Diane Keaton read Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty is like listening to an old friend reminisce as you sit together on the breakwall outside her house at the beach. The sun…

Self-Help Whispering

DON’T GO THERE! (This flies in the face of everything I’ve read about healing trauma)

21 Apr 20195 Sep 2022

As many of you know, my mother is a Dr. Mom (Ph.D. Jungian therapist) and I respect her immensely. She has been my guru and my muse on many-a-post(s) here.…

From My Bookshelf

You Don’t Look Your Age… and Other Fairy Tales – “This happened to me, learn from it!”

9 Apr 20199 Oct 2019

You Don't Look Your Age... and Other Fairy Tales by Sheila Nevins is a book after my own heart. In fact, it could have been written by me. It wasn't! But it…

From My Bookshelf

Garden of Friendship – This makes me happy!

8 Apr 20199 Oct 2019

I remember the first time I shared with an artist friend about my love for the work of Thomas Kinkade. She said, "He's dime-a-dozen! Commercial, simplistic and cliché. Just awful." "Oh,"…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – Start Late, Finish Rich

6 Apr 2019

I’m old. And as Chef Ramsey would say: “Let’s get that right, yeah?” I’m going to talk – for just a moment – about me and money. Or rather, me and my…

Self-Help Whispering

How goes my “Year of Water”?

24 Mar 20195 Sep 2022

At the end of December, 2018, I decreed 2019 to be my Year of Water. I thought you might be wondering how it's going. Are you? Then, read on, McDuff!…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – How long does grieving last?

15 Mar 2019

I was driving to work this morning, praying. I will be honest in saying that prayer no longer comes naturally to me. I used to pray a lot. Not so…

From My Bookshelf

A Series – The Tapping Solution – Part 2

12 Mar 20199 Oct 2019

This (probably/obviously) follows up A Series – The Tapping Solution – Part 1. The Tapping Solution by Nick Ortner is an amazing book and program. That said, I have a confession... and it pains…

From My Bookshelf

Healing Crystals and Gemstones – Healer or Amateur Geologist, you’ll like it!

25 Feb 20199 Oct 2019

My friend Bonney presented this book to me in the year I'd like to forget, 2014. I know this because she inscribed it: "To my gem of a friend"... and…

From My Bookshelf

What Your Childhood Memories Say About You – I need a Tylenol

23 Feb 201911 Sep 2020

What Your Childhood Memories Say About You by Dr. Kevin Leman will lead you back to childhood to reflect on what you remember. Me? My first childhood memory is bathed in…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – Keep Moving

21 Feb 2019

Keep Moving is an apt name for this gem by Dick Van Dyke. After all, it’s the number one thing he’s done to keep young (at heart… and body, too, by the…

Interviews

Interview – Kaden Ferretti: Friend, neighbor, and lighthouse

8 Feb 201911 Feb 2019

You first heard about my friend (and community-support-powerhouse) Kaden in this shameless teaser. Readers, I have shared so often that everyone you meet has something to teach you, if you…

Interviews

Teaser for Upcoming Interview – Kaden: All her bags are packed

3 Feb 20193 Feb 2019

You don't know Kaden (yet!) but you will, soon enough. She's my next Interview! How did I get so blessed to know such wise women and men? Well, in this…

From My Bookshelf

Secrets You Keep From Yourself – Unless you’re like me, in which case…

1 Feb 20199 Oct 2019

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. - The Wizard of Oz The entire premise of this book is wasted on me. Not that it's a bad book...…

From My Bookshelf

The Art of Possibility – It’s like music for all humankind

28 Jan 20199 Oct 2019

“I have a definition of success. For me, it's very simple. It's not about wealth and fame and power. It's about how many shining eyes I have around me.” ― Benjamin Zander…

If you have a medical or mental health emergency, call your doctor or 911.

Nothing contained in this blog (The Self-Help Whisperer®) is intended to establish or replace a physician-patient relationship or services.

If you are IN CRISIS and NEED TO TALK but don’t know who to call…

In USA: Mental Health America In Crisis? Call 1-800-273-TALK

Or elsewhere in the world – By Country, as compiled by Wikipedia

Suicide hotline numbers

Someone dies from suicide every 40 seconds

United States 1 800 273 8255

Canada 1 800 456 4566