Review: The What if? Book of Questions....by Miggs Burroughs

This is THE book. I mean it really is. This is the book that you keep by your side and with just a few minutes of reading, you can get your head right. I love reading self-help books, especially ones dealing with inspiration and motivation, but let's face it...often we read these books and then promptly forget what we've read. And referring back to them can be a chore because they contain so much information. A book like The What If? Book of Questions contains small snippets of motivation and the book is small so it can be easily kept by the bedside or carried in a purse. What I would call these snippets in the books are little "aha" moments. That's exactly what I experienced as I was reading.

Here are some favorites from the book:

"What if the most important moment in your life is this one? Can you handle the power it gives you to choose how you will spend the next one?"

"What if you have only one more day to create a positive change in your life? What are you waiting for?"

"What if you spend most of your life struggling to achieve some lofty goal. How much is 'most of your life' worth when it's all over."

"What if the best way to enjoy your life is to welcome whatever it has to offer? Are your heart and your arms open?"

"What if you think of all the things you need to feel fulfilled. Who is the only one with the magic to make it all happen?"

"What if fear, anger, envy and insecurity are part of your wardrobe? Why do you insist on wearing the same thing every day?"

"What if the sure way to find out what you are really guilty of is to make a note of everything you blame on everyone else?"

"What if the next time you go dancing you pretend there's nobody watching? What kind of dancer could you be?"

"What if certain people make you feel guilty or angry or worthless. Who gave them this awesome power - and who can take it away?"

"What if there was absolutely nothing missing from your life. Would what you have fill a basket or a warehouse?"

"What if the best way to be heard is to step talking? Have you listened to what your heart has to say, lately?"

"What if the quality of your life will only be as good as the quality you bring to this very moment. What kind of moment have your just chosen?"

The last two pages spoke volumes for someone (me) who has been putting off getting back to writing that novel. Ahem...

"What if you were to write the next page?"

"Or, the next book?"

Pretty profound, these...in my opinion. Basically, it's the idea that we are responsible for what happens to us, for how we act, or react, to situations and other people. This book really reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt, "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." This is exactly the message this book is conveying and I'm receiving it loud and clear. Thank you, Miggs!

About the book
A thoughtful Q & A book that asks life questions about who you are and how you might navigate the challenging choices we all have to make. With charming illustrations throughout, it points a way toward wisdom like a Zen Koan, with each question wrapped in its own. The book can be flipped through at random resulting in many a smile and nod of recognition or awareness. Or read only a paired question and illustration at a time to better absorb the message that we should live each moment of our lives, one moment at a time.

About the author
A lifelong resident of Westport, CT, Miggs Burroughs has been creating art and graphic design since he was 20 and his very first painting was accepted into Silvermine’s prestigious Art of the Northeast show. At age 26, he was chosen to design a Commemorative U. S. Postage Stamp. Shortly thereafter he illustrated several covers for TIME Magazine, one of which resides in the Smithsonian Institution. Miggs has designed hundreds of award-winning logos, websites and print material for global companies as well as non-profit organizations. He has recently won acclaim for his work with lenticular imagery, which has been exhibited in several one-man shows and is held in several private collections. Miggs graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Carnegie-Mellon University and has taught graphic design at Fairfield University and UCONN.

As part of the healing process after his divorce in 1995, Miggs compiled a list of “What if” questions, which are now creating a sensation in book form.

Visit his blog at http://www.whatifthisbookcouldchangeyourlife.com/

Thank you to Pump Up Your Book for having me on the tour.

*A copy of this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for providing it.

Cat Thursday: Cats being hilarious, as usual!

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

This first one so reminds me of Alice. Poor dear...she's not very bright at times. We have to keep the water dish in the kitchen sink because Alice makes a huge mess when drinking. She likes to dip her paw in and drink from her paw (I know...). Well, Alice is getting bigger and bigger and having a hard time jumping up on the counter so we moved the kitchen step stool over so she could jump up on it to get there...to make it a little easier. Yeah, right! She just doesn't get it. I even showed her a couple of times. Oh well...poor thing.

Who can resist a good boop? Not me!

Awkward!

Oh Grumpy, you're so mean!

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HFVBT: Forty Years in a Day by Mona Rodriguez/Dianne Vigorito--Guest Post and Review #FortyYearsTour

Living conditions/lives of immigrant families in Hell's Kitchen is the blog topic that was suggested to me for a blog tour. I immediately thought—that’s exactly what our book, Forty Years in a Day, is about. The story begins in 1900 and follows the incredible journey of a young mother and her four children as they escape from Italy into the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, New York. Forty Years in a Day is layered with the struggles and successes of each family member and defines the character of an era. I believe the book answers the topic quite nicely so how much more could I share? As if it were fate, a friend sends me a link to a YouTube audio of her Aunt, Margaret Carlson, who is being interviewed by her daughter. This elderly woman, who has long since passed, had grown up in Hell’s Kitchen. She shares an amazing childhood memory that I think is the quintessential example of what living in Hell’s Kitchen was like. I would not be able to describe it with any more craft or poignancy than Mrs. Carlson; therefore, these are her exact words transcribed from Margaret Carlson's Memorial Video on YouTube. http://youtu.be/V55rDRi5Dw0
______________________________________________________________

I was born 1928. I was born in New York City—36th street and 11th Avenue. It was called Hell’s Kitchen. Bad neighborhood. On 11th Avenue there were railroad tracks and the freight trains use to go along the railroad tracks with the cows, and the pigs, and the sheep, and you could hear them all mooing. They were going to the slaughterhouse which was on 28th Street.

I guess I was about 5, and it was early on a Sunday morning, and I was running the streets on the other side of Eleventh Avenue, where I wasn’t supposed to be, but of course I was. Two men were laying on the street. We called them bottle babies. It was depressing days and there was no work for the men so the men use to hang out on the corner and get drunk. You know, they couldn’t afford food, but they could get drunk. And they were our fathers, we knew them. So these two men are sleeping, and one man gets up and he picked up a big cinderblock and he dropped it on the other man’s head. He looked at me, and I just raced right home. I raced up four flights of stairs. You always lived on the top floor cause it was cheaper.

I told my mother, “Mama, Mr. So and So hit Mr. So and So over the head with a brick.”

My mother said, “What’d did you say, Margie?”

“Mr. So and So hit Mr. So and So over the head with a brick.”

What a whack my mother gave me. She never hit us. My father’s hobby was hitting us.

My mother never hit us.
“What’d you see, Margie.”

I was crying. “Mr. So and So hit Mr. So and So over the head with a brick.”

She gave me another whack. I landed on the floor, and I’m laying there, and she said to me, “What’d you see, Margie?”

I looked, and I’m thinking to myself she’s going to hit me again. I sat up, and I said,

“I didn’t see nothin, Mama.”

She said, “That’s right, now go downstairs and play.”

That’s how I learned you don’t see nothin, you don’t know nothin.

So I get downstairs and there were lots, torn down buildings. Rubble. Empty lots we call them. And the lot was full of people. I was only little so I climb the rocks and I’m standin there and I’m lookin. The police have a man, blood all down his face, saying, “Did anybody see this? Does anybody know anything?”

The West side was nice, nobody’s there, all of a sudden people are coming out of the woodwork. Of course, nobody saw nothin. So I turn around to climb down the rocks and there is Mr. So and So staring straight at me, right behind me. I just ran home and that was the end of that. But like I said, I knew then—you didn’t see nothin and you don’t know nothin. That’s where I come from.
________________________________________________________________

Thank you, Margaret Carlson, for your story and for reminding us to count our blessings.

My thoughts
Forty Years in a Day is a poignant story of a family's immigration to the United States just after the turn of the century. It surrounds the life of Victoria, who decides to take the enormous step to immigrate after enduring years of sorrow due to the neglect and pain of her failing marriage. Her words here indicate what many women have endured (I can certainly relate) and, as hard as it was, she was lucky to have escaped to America:

She needed him to be a man, yet he was acting like a child, and she had no energy left to coddle another. The friendship and love they had once shared had been irreparably tarnished by his escalating affliction. It was as if his hardened heart had sculpted his feelings into a mound of stone and offered no remorse.

Although a fictional account, based on the family histories of the authors, it was very easy to think of Victoria and her family as real people. These were people I cared about and the story kept me wanting to read to find out what becomes of these hard-working and persistent characters. I think perhaps the book could have been a bit longer, so as to flesh out the characters a bit more, but overall, the book tells a story that many will want to read.

With a surprise twist added to the mix, Forty Years in a Day is an unforgettable book and a testimony to the perseverance of the human spirit.

About the Book
Authors: Mona Rodriguez & Dianne Vigorito
Publication Date: February 19, 2013
Tate Publishing
Paperback; 388p
ISBN-10: 1621471381

Confession is good for the soul even after the soul has been claimed...

The story begins in Italy, 1900. After years of torment and neglect, Victoria and her four small children immigrate to Hell's Kitchen, New York, to escape her alcoholic, abusive husband. On the day they leave, he tragically dies, but she does not learn of his death for several years—a secret that puts many lives on hold.

Quickly, they realize America's streets are not paved with gold, and the limits of human faith and stamina are tested time and time again. Poverty, illness, death, kidnapping, and the reign of organized crime are just some of the crosses they bear.

Victoria's eldest son, Vincenzo, is the sole surviving member of the family and shares a gut-wrenching account of their lives with his daughter during a visit to Ellis Island on his ninetieth birthday. He explains how the lives of he and his siblings have been secretly intertwined with an infamous Irish mob boss and ends his unsettling disclosure with a monumental request that leaves Clare speechless.

Forty Years in a Day is layered with the struggles and successes of each family member and defines the character of an era. Follow the Montanaro family through several decades, and stand in the shoes of a past generation.

About the authors
Mona Rodriguez coauthored Forty Years in a Day with her cousin Dianne Vigorito. Throughout their lives, they had heard many stories from family members that were fascinating, sometimes even unbelievable, and decided to piece together the puzzle of tales. Through research and interviews, their goal was to create a fictional story that follows a family through several decades, providing the reader an opportunity to stand in the shoes of a past generation and walk in search of their hopes and dreams. What they realize in the process is that human emotions have been the same throughout generations - the difference is how people are molded and maneuvered by the times and their situations.

Mona Rodriguez has her MS in environmental Management from Montclair State University. She is presently a trustee on the board of directors of a nonprofit foundation created to benefit a local public library and community. She lives with their husband in New Jersey, and they have two grown sons.

For more information, please visit the official website.

http://www.fortyyearsinaday.com/

Visit other blogs on the tour--Tour Schedule
Twitter Hashtag: #FortyYearsTour

*A copy of this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for providing it.

Cat Thursday: Authors and their Cats (24)

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

The second Cat Thursday of each month is Authors and their Cats Thursday. Each time I will feature an author and their cat(s).

I absolutely adore this pic of Neil Gaiman and his kitty...

Credit

And since Gaiman is a fantasy author, I will take this opportunity to shamelessly plug my revamped Fantasy reading challenge. Check it out HERE, or by clicking the button. Thanks for indulging me. =O)

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Check out my guest blog...

I'm the guest blogger over at Whitney's (She is Too Fond of Books) today. Stop by and check it out!

Today I celebrate four years of blogging!

I was trying to think of something clever to post in celebration of my four years of book blogging, but I'm sorry to say...I just don't have the energy. Why did the day have to fall on a Monday? HaHa!

Anyway, I am happy that I've been blogging for four years. Book blogging has become my haven and my fun. I have met so many wonderful people...people I know would be my friends in real life too. Thank you to all of my great blogging friends who follow me, read what I have to say and put up with my adoration of cats.

I have always loved books and reading and book blogging has made books an even bigger part of my life. For that, I am truly grateful so....

Happy Blog Birthday to me!

The Book Tower Read-a-Thon, Books, Brains 'n Blood and a Beat the Heat Read-a-Thon Update

I'm a bit late with this, as The Book Tower Read-a-Thon started yesterday. This thon is hosted by, of course, Hannah at The Book Tower. Get details and sign-up (I think you still can) HERE.

The Books, Brains 'n Blood Read-a-Thon started yesterday, hosted by April and Pabkins at My Shelf Confessions. It's part of their month long Vamps vs. Zombies event. Fun, fun, fun!

Goals

• get started on The Talisman, Stephen King (for read-a-long)
• make progress on Under the Dome (also SK)
• City of Bones, Cassandra Clare (during BBB RAT)
• Forty Years in a Day, Mona Rodriguez & Dianne Vigorito (tour/review...Friday)
• Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy (90 pages for read-a-long)

I may add to the list, or I may not accomplish what I have listed. We shall see!

Beat the Heat Read-a-Thon Update

Finished The White Queen, Philippa Gregory--82 pages
Gracianna, Trini Amador--277 pages (review)