As a freelance writer and publisher of a weekly marketing email newsletter, Brainy Tidbits, I am often sent books to review. Most of them, quite frankly, do not hold my interest. But Dylan’s Story by Cristin and Joe Fergus is an amazing story of one family’s journey to learn about and heal their child of autism.

Thankfully, I do not have a child with this problem. I do have a friend whose child has been stricken, however. I have also raised two children with sensitivities to dyes, preservatives and chemicals as well as various food allergies.

This book clearly discusses how to eliminate these toxins from a person’s environment and how to move toward a healthier lifestyle that includes whole grains, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables, and organic foodstuffs. Several recipes and numerous resources are included in the book, making it an essential reference book for anyone dealing with food and toxin sensitivities.

It is written in an easy-to-read style and discusses the ordeal these parents went through for almost 6 years before healing their son. I highly recommend this book, especially if you have an autistic child. It may be your way to heal your own child.

~Lois

You can now buy Nancy’s books directly from her through her new website. Check it out:

Nancy Bondurant Jones’ Website

~Lois

This book is the only one you’ll need if you are planning to adopt a child. It is filled with practical advice, stories of success (and a few failures), and loads of online resources divided by state. Priced at just $34.95, this book can help you get through the process, whether it’s a local, foreign or direct adoption. There are even useful tips for the birth mother.

Mardie Caldwell, the author, certainly knows what she’s talking about. It’s available in paperback through Amazon.com and most bookstores.

~Lois

In this quick-to-read book by Doug Hewitt ($16.95 from Hatherleigh Press, the author discusses 101 creative, affordable and fun weekend activities to do with your children. Many of the ideas can be used with just about any age child.

My favorite—one that I used when Erin was little—is the “Make up a story” activity. Hewitt calls it “Round Robin Stories.” Erin loved it. I would generally start the story. Something like:

“Once upon a time there was a little brown bear named Delilah. She lived in the woods with her mom and they went blueberry picking every day. It was a fun and delicious adventure, but one day…”

And then Erin would have to continue the story. When we first started this game, she would say something like:

“Delilah met a rabbit in the blueberry patch and…”

And then she would give it back to me. But as time went on, she got better and better at telling stories. Sometimes she would go on and on with a very elaborate tale. We always had loads of fun.

I enjoyed my quick scan trhough Hewitt’s book, The Practical Guide to Weekend Parenting. It reminded me of several activities I plan to do with my granddaughter when she comes to visit.

Get more information and ideas from WeekendParenting.com

~Lois

It’s no news that Boomers are the “sandwich generation.” You all feel it, don’t you? You’re squished between all of your duties and responsibilities.

Many Boomers are finally coming out of the child-rearing age, and now we’re hit with having to help our parents as they become older and more frail. Some of us are still supporting children. And we might be working full- or part-time, juggling volunteer responsibilities, trying to manage our own health, and still get more than just a few hours of sleep each night.

Whew! I don’t know about you, but it’s no wonder I’m tired. And my parents have all passed on.

For those of you who are either just beginning to deal with helping your parents in their elder years, or those who are deep in the throes of it, there’s a book for you. It’s called Unwrapping the Sandwich Generation. The author is Susan L. Cunningham, CSA, of Senior Resources Group in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

In little, easy-to-read vignettes, the book will help you come to understand the issues of managing your senior’s care and show you that you are not alone in these issues. I highly recommend it.

~Lois

Michael Green, founder of the HowToCorp, has a terrific
video about writing better sales copy and you can watch it
for free.

He’s a master at writing good email copy, and with this short
video he talks about how you can do it too. He walks you right through the whole process.

Watch the video.

~Lois

Sales is a great way to make a living. If you’re good, you
can make a lot of money and enjoy plenty of free time. But
when you’re working, stay focused!

Remember:

• Idle conversation with coworkers doesn’t pay the bills.

• Casual Friday doesn’t mean “relax your sales
commitment.”

• The day before a holiday can be a great time to generate
leads and close business.

• Prospects are everywhere! Let people know what you do.

• Don’t spend too much time with nonqualified prospects.
Close the file and move on.

• Increase your activity level during focused selling
time.

• Do not hide behind “administrivia.”

Yes, that’s right…I said “administrivia.” Administrative
work can be a lot like the game of Trivia—a lot of useless
information. While you do have to do some administrative
work to do your job properly, make sure you don’t spend so
much time on this that you forget to SELL! Keep your
administrative work to a minimum and do it during your least
productive selling time.

This tip is from the ebook I cowrote with Jim Wilson,
Sales Success! Strategies for Women.

For more tips like this, subscribe to our free “3 Day Sales Course.” It will be delivered by autoresponder when you subscribe.

~Lois

It seems like everywhere you go online where people are talking about sales copy and copywriting, there’s just so much hype. People talk about being able to “sell sand to a man in the desert” because they’re so persuasive in their copy.

Come on. What value is there in that? For me, I want customers who actually need my product and will be satisfied with what I have to offer.

There’s one copywriting teacher I’ve always turned to for great advice on how to sell better, but how to also ensure I have satisfied customers who will buy from me over and over again. That teacher is Alice Seba—a one-time copywriter for hire, turned Internet marketing teacher.

She’s released a great training package that I know you’ll love. Here’s to integrity in effective online selling!

~Lois

I’ve heard is said that the three biggest fears people have
are: (1) speaking in public, (2) change and (3) death. That
means that most people would rather die than speak in
public. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live!

But I admit…attracting more business is a VERY slow
process if you’re unwilling to speak to strangers! How’s
your business going? Not as good as you’d like it to be?

Then maybe it’s time to get over that fear of speaking in
public and start doing it to attract more business. One way
to get good at speaking is to go to Toastmasters. That’s
what my husband, Don, is doing. He was a pretty good public
speaker to begin with, but he wants to be a STAR. He’s only
been attending the meeting for a few months and already, he
is amazing. His use of his voice has improved. His hand
gestures and movement are much better, and he is much more
comfortable speaking to an audience.

But you don’t have to go to Toastmasters to master the art
of public speaking. You could “hide” behind your telephone
and do a teleseminar. Trust me, they are very easy to do. It
does take a bit more coordination and organization than a
simple speech, but no one can see you blushing.

There are, however, several tips and tricks to producing a
fabulous teleseminar. And they are all contained in Dan
Janal’s ebook, “How to Record Your Own Telephone Seminars
and Create Money-Making Information Products,” which I highly
recommend. (Click on bookstore to learn more about the book.)
Trust me, if I can do it, so can you. Expand your comfort zone in
your own home! Learn how to do them and go for it.

~Lois

Everytime I go visit my daughter Erin I borrow a book. She has tons of good novels to choose from. And because she’s already read them and recommends them, I know I’ll like them. This time she gave me Barbara Kingsolver’s 1998 novel, The Poisonwood Bible. It’s fabulous. In fact, it’s so good that I think it might move into my favorite book spot.

Let me tell you why.

It’s about a family that goes to The Congo in the late 1950s as missionaries. The four kids (all girls) are all very different—even though two of them are twins. The father is domineering and brutal; he doesn’t have a clue about life and why people do things. The mother is kind, hard-working and relatively practical. She tries hard to protect her children.

The story is told from the perspective of the five females in the family. You see the incidents from several angles, as each of them has a different interpretation.

Since I work as the editor of the Journal of Mine Action (which is about ridding the world of landmines), and it is a magazine that relies on receiving articles from authors around the world, I have learned a great deal from my authors.

I have begun to understand why people think of us as “ugly Americans.” We constantly run roughshod over others and think they should just do it our way…because, of course, our way is best. And this attitude is pervasive throughout the novel.

But through interesting dialogue and stories, the author points out there can be more than one explanation or interpretation for what is said. The father in the story preaches incessantly about getting baptized. He wants to baptize all the people, especially the children, in the river by dunking them under the water. But what the villagers hear is that he wants to feed their children to the crocodiles! Who would consent to being baptized in a river filled with crocodiles?

The land, weather and culture cause many problems in Africa during the story. But the people from outside Africa who try to steal its resources while letting the people starve are truly the root of all evil. It’s a fascinating, eye-opening book. If all Americans read it and really listened to its lessons, the world would be a far better place.

~Lois