Monday, May 20, 2013

John Z. Highly Recommends This Book For Boomers and Caregivers

In my roll as Business Development Director for Tattered Cover Press, I get to do some entertaining and interesting things, like meet with different groups who are interested in self-publishing, and it's always good to meet folks, and hear what they're doing and wishing to accomplish with their books. 

For the second year in a row, I got to attend the Author U Extravanganza here in Denver as the guest of my friend, Dr. Judith Briles, who in a weekend takes an aspiring author through every facet of publishing through scores of workshops on everything from social media to bookmaking to literary agents and beyond. It's exhilarating and illuminating fare for aspiring authors.

Both years, I met up with Barb Warner, who this year proudly showed me her finished book called, Keep Your Fork which carries the reading line, "Dessert is on the Way: Savoring the Second Half of Your Life." This is a perfect book for me, because I need daily direction, and practical advice, in order to deal with my ego, which isn't instinctively fed by the length of time it takes me to get out of my chair, and other humbling geriatric rituals. I've learned as I get older that my attitude dictates how my day is going to go, and being born under a cynical star, I can choose to take my last years in grace or decline, and that choice is going to be the denominator of the quality of my life. 

That's not simple for me and I need help with that, and that's what I get from Barb's book, which is at once, thoughtful, relevant, and practical. Best of all, it doesn't drone on and on with intellectual arguments, it just lays it out there. One frequently hears the "Short is the New Long," and if that's true, then Keep Your Fork cuts mustard. I can read a chapter in five minutes, or twenty, and there's plenty to reflect on. There's a just do it affirmation at the end of each chapter, as well. Highly recommended for boomers and caregivers. Congratulations, Barb!

--John

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