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“Marie Pizano is an example of how you can overcome challenges to live with passion and purpose, and realize your ambitions. Her story can help empower and motivate others to find their Yes.” — Jack Canfield, Award-winning Author and Life Coach
Marie Pizano was once told that she makes coffee nervous, and for good reason. She has a bottomless well of energy that propels her forward no matter what forces are at work to hold her back.
“I’m generally prepared to jump off the cliff — with my stilettos on — and land on solid ground before I take off and go,” she says in her inspirational memoir, From Barefoot to Stilettos: Finding My Yes.
Her story is one of a woman who seeks purpose-driven endeavors that create change and redefine expectations. As the CEO and founder of MVP3 Entertainment Group, she used her expansive vision to launch a groundbreaking multipurpose complex in Memphis by partnering with Darnell Stitts of ATWEC Technologies to form MVP3 Studios & Partners, LLC. She also partnered with Melissa Harville-Lebron, the first African-American woman to own a NASCAR team, and they are joining forces for the upcoming NASCAR series.
But she is not all-business. She is also an impassioned community activist who spent the better part of 2020 advocating for a Tennessee amendment requiring divorcing parents to become educated on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) — before being granted a divorce.
Giving back to the community and empowering others to rise up have been her driving forces since she could afford her first pair of stilettos. Finding My Yes is Pizano’s way of sharing the trials she endured and the triumphs she celebrated through humorous and heartfelt vignettes that elucidate simple but powerful life lessons. Ultimately, she hopes to encourage readers to ignore the haters, bolster their moral backbones, and ultimately, find their own “yes.”
“I believe that the universe gives back what you put out there, but I also believe that no matter how positive you are or how much you mediate or pray, some things are just out of your control,” Pizano says. “Sometimes things just happen, and sometimes life is just not fair. Regardless, you cannot give up.”
About the Author Born and raised in Chicago, Marie Valentina Pizano moved to Memphis in 1999. She has served on the boards of the International Children’s Foundation, the Women’s Foundation for Greater Memphis and The Commission on Missing & Exploited Children. She was co-founder of the Tiara Tea Society, chairperson for Go Red for Women and created “ROCK FOR HOPE” for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
She is a devoted mother of two and very passionate about film, music and community. The author, producer, radio/TV host and speaker is building her life and her company, MVP3 Entertainment Group, on truth and integrity.
From Barefoot to Stilettos is being made into a TV series, with Karyme Lozano (best known as an award-winning actress from Mexico) on board as writer. Pizano donates 10 percent of her book sales to charities that raise awareness and funding for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking: Amanda’s Way (www.AmandasWay.org) and Thistle & Bee (www.ThistleandBee.org); and she is working with www.Rotary-FYI.com to educate the public on ACEs.
For more information, visit http://mariepizano.com/ or www.FromBarefootToStilettos.com.
From Barefoot to Stilettos, Finding My Yes Publisher: WaterSide Publishing ISBN-10: 194763755X ISBN-13: 978-1947637559 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Teresa Hinojosa Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 832.569.5773 Direct 281.333.3507 Phone [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
The Devil Thought He Had Me! Shares Remarkable Journey from Sinner to Servant of God
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At 18 years old, Wendell White lay trapped in the trunk of a car and assumed it would be his last ride. Battered from a beating during a drug deal gone-wrong, all he could think about was his 19-month-old son. White prayed. He asked God for forgiveness. He steeled himself to face the consequences of the sinful life he was living. And he wondered in angst, “How in the world did I get here?”
The Devil Thought He Had Me! is White’s raw, compelling story of resilience and survival, and a profound testimony to the power of God’s grace and mercy.
“After getting beaten and put into the trunk of a car, I knew then that I wanted to help the youth and adults all over the world to not make the same decisions that I had made,” he reflects.
The Devil Thought He Had Me! is the result of White’s genuine desire to use his own tragic story to connect with and help alter the trajectory of others who have veered off course. White candidly walks readers through his early days in the poverty-stricken Englewood community on Chicago’s South Side, where his mother sold drugs to make ends meet and often left White and his siblings home alone as she worked the streets. He would later follow in his mother’s footsteps until that fateful day when a drug buyer paged him to purchase two and a half ounces of crack cocaine. And everything went wrong.
The Devil Thought He Had Me! is White’s profound journey from drug-dealing teenage father to well-grounded husband, father, friend, mentor and servant of God. It’s White’s hope that by openly sharing his experiences, he can help others facing difficult life circumstances realize that there’s a pathway out.
“This book was written to be a light in a dark world,” White says. “If I can change the way that you think, I can change the way that you live.”
Author and motivational speaker Wendell White has had to overcome obstacles most cannot even imagine. His difficult upbringing on the South Side of Chicago taught him many bad habits but also instilled in him the values of loyalty, toughness, respect and a strong work ethic.
Today, he is a powerful speaker who draws from his life experiences to address audiences. He is motivated by faith, changing lives, inspiring others and legacy. The Devil Thought He Had Me! is his first book.
For more information, please visit www.wendellwhitespeaks.com, or follow the author on Facebook at Wendell White; on Instagram at wendellw_24; and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1s8sYANHZdGtsXJnOCDpw/videos.
The Devil Thought He Had Me Publisher: KS Media and Publishing ISBN-13: 978-1736491201 Available from Amazon.com and www.wendellwhitespeaks.com
Trish Stevens Terri Johnson Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
50+ And Healthy Examines The Importance Of Mental Health As We Age
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The worldwide stay-at-home orders have turned weekend warriors into daily dog walkers, joggers and cyclists — all hoping to stay fit and avoid the “quarantine 15.” But there’s more to being healthy than having a fit physique. Mental health is equally important, but often gets buried beneath the stigma surrounding it.
“Many of you recognize that mental illness is often a taboo subject … due to seeming com-plexity, mystery and stigma,” explains Murali Rao, MD. “Unfortunately, the high discrimina-tion of the subject leads to a statistic of nearly two-thirds of the world population refusing to seek help for mental health related issues.” Adding: “Though this primer is directed towards learning to help elders, the material can readily apply to any age group.”
Rao, an expert on clinical geriatrics and geriatric psychiatry, addresses the concepts of men-tal health and mental illnesses in the overarching context of healthy aging in 50+ and Healthy: What You Need to Know About Mental Health and Healthy Aging — for You and Your Loved Ones. This exceptionally strong, evidence-based guide emphasizes the im-portance of nurturing our mental health as we grow older.
Using easy-to-understand language, he explores common health-related conditions, how to recognize symptoms, practical approaches to treatments and his GAME PLANTM method for helping yourself and your loved ones, of any age, during times of distress or mental health crises.
For readers of any educational and professional background, 50+ and Healthy offers easily presented information and relatable case studies.
With this book, you can learn from a world authority about:
Healthy aging and mental health
Common mental illnesses, why people get them, how to identify them and how to manage them
Practical approaches for first aid and later interventions
Self-care for mental health and successful aging
If you are interested in healthy aging and how to help yourself, your family members and your friends with mental health, this book is for you. All proceeds from book sales go to a nonprofit organization engaged in mental health awareness education in the United States and India (www.nndcifoundation.org), founded by Dr. Murali Rao.
Author Murali Rao, MD, is a professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. He specializes in liaison and emergency psychiatry. Additionally, he serves as a member of multiple professional bodies including the American College of Psychiatrists, the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, CINP, the Indian Psychiatric Society and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA).
Dr. Rao has received multiple awards and fellowships, including Distinguished Life Fellow by the APA, Outstanding Academician Award by the Indo-American Psychiatric Association and the Master Teacher Award by the Stritch School of Medicine. Dr. Rao has also had more than 80 journal publications, books and book-chapters. He has recently published trainee and trainer manuals on Adult Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Workplace Mental Health.
For more information, please visit www.nndcifoundation.org, or follow the author on Twitter at @MuraliRaoMD.
50 + and Healthy: What You Need to Know About Mental Health and Healthy Aging — for You and Your Loved Ones Publisher: Loyola University Chicago ISBN-10: 1735177504 ISBN-13: 978-1735177502 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Terri Lynn Polk Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
