Book Review Friday: Life Lessons from the Therapist's Couch

Looking for answers? Life can be tough when there’s self-doubt or problems that’s always return to the forefront of your mind. Therapy can be helpful to see life a little clearer, but it can be hard to take that first step.

Enter Lisa Ferentz.

Lisa Ferentz is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist who has been in private practice for over 30 years. She is the founder of The Ferentz Institute. 

An internationally known author, speaker, clinician and consultant, Ferentz participates in documentaries, webinars and podcasts related to trauma, self-care and wellbeing.

She is also the author of Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Trauma Survivors: A Clinician’s Guide and Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors: A Workbook of Hope and Healing.

Her newest book Finding Your Ruby Slippers: Transformative Life Lessons From the Therapist’s Couch, focuses on behaviors that you can adapt to using the tools in this book- with a workbook-type style that can help the reader identify that they would like to work on personally. 

With more than 30 years of private practice and motivational speaking experience, psychotherapist Lisa Ferentz provides compassion and guidance for using the tools already at your disposal to overcome the issues, struggles and symptoms she’s been addressing in traditional therapy throughout her career.

Connect with Lisa Ferentz on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, at www.lisaferentz.com, and through her column for Psychology Today.

Finding Your Ruby Slippers: Transformative Life Lessons From the Therapist’s Couch has launched and can be found on Amazon, PESI’s website and wherever books are sold.

Book Review: Shore House Slumming

Dana and Bella are about to embark on the summer o f a lifetime- stay warm this winter with thoughts of the beach with Carli Palmer's latest novel, Shore House Slumming. 

Q: What is the basis for this novel- what was the inspiration?

My inspiration for this book came to me while watching “Friday the 13^th, believe it or not.  If you’ve ever seen it, the backdrop for the movie is a summer camp deep in the woods.  My imagination took over and I thought how freaked out I would be if I had to house-sit for someone in the middle of nowhere. I would be paranoid at all the things that would go wrong. That’s when Dana was born – a house-sitter with unpredictable and crazy things happening to her in strange surroundings.

Q: What are your favorite beaches?

Living on the east coast you get to experience at one time or another beach life. Out of all the beaches I’ve been to, so far I have to say that Myrtle Beach, SC is my favorite, because I’ve made some everlasting memories there with my family that I’ll never forget.

Q: What’s the best part about Dana and Bella- what do you hope they accomplish in this journey?

Dana’s mission is to get to Florida. So when she gets into all these unpredictable dilemmas she has to use her best judgment on what to do. The dilemmas in turn help her make better decisions once she settles in her new home.

Bella is just a go-with-the-flow character, and that’s what I like about her. She’s not like Dana where as Dana sees a disaster, Bella sees an adventure ready to be conquered.  My hope is that Dana gets to her destination and acquires some street smarts and Bella stays in touch with her and becomes her voice of reason.

Q: In your writing, what part do you look forward to the most?

Seeing the finished cover! I always have an idea of what I want it to look like in my head and seeing a designer take my idea and going with it gives me joy to no end. It’s a high to see the finished product.

I also look forward to the research. From the locations to the names of the characters, I research everything and learn so much on subjects that I wouldn’t think twice about if it wasn’t in my book.

If Not 4 U and Some Shoes Book Review

Francie Lanoo- a young adult on the adventure of a lifetime for love, challenges, and the perfect pair of shoes.

This book was a delightful journey of protagonist Francie from high school to adulthood, and while this book had many opportunities to slide into the world of YA and OMG shoes- and it does not. 

Francie travels the world, educates herself, loves and loses and is still searching for the perfect pair of shoes that are functional, practical, beautiful, and unique- just like her.

Another thing I loved about this coming of age story is that Francie has shoes for each stage of her life- ones that serve her well and serve her dramatic gestures or tragic moments. Plus, who doesn’t get nostalgic about the 90s?!

This book proves girl power is alive and well and that you can have a brain, fall in love a few times- and boy does she, but we all know she is searching for her true love- and find your bliss in life.

Francie’s ongoing shoe hunt eventually morphs into something soul-searching and metaphoric, leading her to realize that by stepping out of her comfort zone, she opens herself up to a world of endless possibilities in life, love and fashion.

If Not 4 U and Some Shoes is by Laurie Nenson. Find it on Facebook!

* Sample book copy provided for review.

Book Review: Once Upon a Zombie (Book 1)

Oh my gosh how I loved this book. I wanted to jump inside with these fierce fighting fairy tale zombie chicks and kick ass. This book is a delightful blend of contemporary zombie fiction meets traditional childhood fairy tales, plus an awesome dose of girl power thrown in. 

Via social media, all over the world strange sightings of zombies and other supernatural phenomena has been occurring within graveyards. What does it mean?

In Billy Phillips' new series Once Upon a Zombie, something mysterious has happened to the classic characters of our beloved fairytales. An awful curse has been cast into the traditional fantasy worlds, transforming Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Cinderella into the undead who, despite their urges, valiantly refuse to give in to their zombie instincts.

Caitlin Fletcher, who has some odd tie to this phenomena, along with her younger sister, will search through London and end up falling into the proverbial rabbit hole to a world they never knew existed, plus discovering some truths about their past and the mother that unexplainably disappeared.

Caitlin lets fear and anxiety rule most of her life- she feels that if she makes as little ripple as possible, more awful things won't happen to her,

Disappear into the world of the undead and see how your traditional fairy tales comes alive…with a vengeance.

"This is a zombie book that is also not a zombie book," Billy Phillips, President and CEO of Toon Studio Licensing explains. "The 'zombie' is a metaphor for the incessant impulses associated with fear. If fear, anxiety and selfishness blindly controls our lives, we are mindless, a slave to these rash impulses and negative thoughts."

Phillips has used positive energy to take control again.

Get Once Upon a Zombie here.

* Review copy furnished via Smith Publicity.