advice

Eleanor Roosevelt served as her husband’s eyes and ears throughout his twelve years in office; she knew every corner of the United States from personal visits and meetings with locals without a cocoon of Secret Service protection. Starting in 1941, the very hands-on First Lady solved the personal problems of worried Americans while she traversed the continent. Ladies’ Home Journal included her first of several advice columns, entitled “If You Ask Me,” which shares both its name and content with this book. Collected from over twenty years of columns, Ms. Roosevelt’s writing exudes purpose

Alice Hoffman's Survival Lessons is a tiny, beautiful gem. While I have eagerly devoured all of Hoffman's fiction, I was not aware that she had written a non-fiction book or that she had survived a life-threatening illness. 

Survival Lessons details Hoffman's journey through cancer in the form of life advice. Eighty-three pages long, all the short chapters have the word "choose" in their titles: Choose Your Heroes, Choose to Enjoy Yourself, Choose your Friends, etc. Often displayed in waiting rooms for Oncology patients, Hoffman's book offers so much more than just survival lessons; it offers

When John Bichelmeyer passed away in 2004, his daughter Mary Lucas started writing down the lessons she had learned from her father. Originally intended as a way to share her father’s advice with family and friends, interest was so great that Lucas sought out a publisher. She took some time to tell us a little bit about her journey to “accidental author.”

Tell us a little about Lunchmeat & Life Lessons.

After my father passed away, I was afraid that all his wonderful bits of wisdom would be lost. I began to write a book about him as a gift for my family and myself. All my life, I listened to

Published in 2014 this book is an updated version of Kathleen Peddicord’s How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well Abroad. The two authors have extensive experience living in Latin America, as they moved there to work for International Living magazine in 2001. This edition does a good job of going over all of the basics of moving abroad, including the factors you should seriously consider before making a move.  It is very detailed when it comes to the Central and South American countries that offer the best options for expats.  Each of these countries gets its own

I dare you to read this collection of Strayed's advice columns and not be moved. I also found it odd that critics found her personal stories narcissistic and meandering. Au Contraire Mon Frere - her stories reveal her brokenness, her unworthiness, her poor judgment and the tragic acts she's endured at the hands of others. She has walked through the fire and she is still standing strong.

Sixty-three authors and artists have written letters to their younger selves, including major names like Gregory Maguire, Jacqueline Woodson, David Levithan, and Armistead Maupin along with many others, to form this Bookbent selection for July through September.

"If I only knew then what I know now," is a common lament. With good reason. While this collection  of letters cannot reach the intended recipients, with luck they'll fall into the hands of other people equally in need of a comforting word of advice from the future.

I think everyone can find at least one letter in this collection

After an adult Halpern moves in with his parents, he starts tweeting things his Dad says. In short order so many people are following his tweets that the media contacts him for interviews and appearances. Those tweets are compiled and found in Sh*t My Dad Says.  While I found most of the things his father says hilarious, I appreciate that some people are disturbed, not only by the foul language he uses, but the manner in which he addresses his children. For me, what saves the book from condemnation is that when told in context, it is obvious that Halpern Sr. loves his children. This is not