Celebrating Local
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ucia Amsden’s new book, Breaking Eggs: Finding New Meaning with Chronic Illness, is a practical guide toward leading a healthier and more fulfilling life. As readers learn to meet the challenges of their chronic illnesses with resiliency and hope, they develop relationships with their bodies based more on appreciation than fear. Lucia’s own story of living for 30 years with rheumatoid arthritis, along with the experiences of people with other conditions, form the scaffolding for helpful principles, tools, and guidance. Included throughout are occasional exercises to bring the lessons home. Among topics discussed in Breaking Eggs are: • Building a healthy relationship with our bodies • Releasing guilt, negativity, and outdated patterns • Establishing routines that maintain and increase energy • Understanding our body/mind/emotion/spirit network • Re-defining our roles and amending our stories • Enhancing supportive relationships & communication skills • Developing emotional resilience • Establishing a life based on personal values and priorities
Lucia has a Master’s in Social Work, and was a practicing therapist for 20 years. She has written extensively about chronic illness and spiritual psychology. She lives in rural New Mexico with her husband, Tim. Lucia’s book is available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and in electronic format for Kindle or Nook.
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hyllis Tempest’s The Parent Gardener: Raising Children Who Blossom, for caring parents everywhere contains the fundamentals of how to be a nurturing parent. It weaves the teachings of the majority and minority culture (specifically the Navajo) to create an awareness of our physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions that contribute to health and wholeness. Elements of good parenting are identified and explained in a down-to-earth, culturally sensitive way. Fables and problem-solving tools illustrate important concepts related to nurturing. Ideally, it is a teaching tool for small groups, such as high school classes and parenting groups. The late Dr. Taylor McKenzie, past vice president of the Navajo Nation said, “This book is a masterful work that brings together in a clear understandable way the basic truths and dynamics of how a child should be brought up, nurtured in love and comfort to facilitate the process of learning and development of good personal habits so important to the maintenance of a healthy self-image and the fostering of good interpersonal relations . . . It reminds me and I’m sure it reminds many of the readers, of the teachings applied to my cousins and me, by our mothers and grandmothers . . . In a time when parenting skills appear to be waning from Navajo culture and society, this manuscript might well be the vehicle and encouragement needed to re-institute and revitalize the parenting and teaching role of Navajo mothers and fathers.” Phyllis lives in Gallup, New Mexico and enjoys spending time with her family. Her book is available at Butler’s and Amazon.com.