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Like a fragile flower emerging from a crack in the sidewalk, professor and trained psychotherapist Laura Berg pushed aside personal setbacks and found a way to be better in spite of them — or maybe even because of them.
In her new book, Thriving Life: How to Live Your Best Life No Matter the Cards You’re Dealt, Berg blends the knowledge she gained from her own experiences with her education in psychotherapy to build strategies that she hopes will resonate and help heal.
“For most of my life I felt stuck, as though I was just trying to survive life one day at a time,” Berg said. “I found it difficult to move beyond the traumas in my past to live the life I deserved. I wrote this book to share with others my experiences and the lessons I learned that helped me overcome the obstacles in my life that were holding me back. I’m hoping that these stories and the advice I share in this book will help the reader live a more joyful and thriving life.”
Chapter by chapter, Berg takes a deep dive into specific issues that many people struggle with, such as defining your own happiness, making good relationships last, dealing with toxic relationships, how to stop comparing yourself to others and overcoming rejection. With practical tips and a step-by-step approach to help you find what makes you happy, Berg teaches readers how to stop victimizing themselves and find strength in asking for help.
About the Author Laura Berg is a professor, author, entrepreneur, trained therapist and award-winning parenting expert. Among her many accolades, she has been named one of the Top 10 Mom Entrepreneurs, Savvy Mom of the Year, and was awarded YouTube’s Silver Play Button.
For more information, please visit her website: lauraberginc.com.
Thriving Life: How to Live Your Best Life No Matter the Cards You’re Dealt Publisher: HCI Books Release Date: November 2, 2021 ISBN-10: 0757323960 ISBN-13: 978-0757323966 Trade Paperback, 256 pages Available for pre-order wherever books are sold
Trish Stevens Lindsey Mach Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
25 Years in a Cult: Former Follower Draws Readers Into Disciple Mindset
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Radhia Gleis didn’t wake up one day and decide to join a cult. That’s not how it happens, she said.
“It has nothing to do with intelligence or education,” she explained in a recent interview. “It has to do with being in the right (or wrong) place at the wrong time when you’re in a state of searching for something, and someone comes along who meets that need.”
Her powerful new book, The Followers: “Holy Hell” and the Disciples of Narcissistic Leaders: How My Years in a Notorious Cult Parallel Today’s Cultural Mania, articulates the complexity of how she fell under the influence of the charismatic leader of the Buddha-field cult. The Holy Hell reference in the book’s title is a nod to the 2016 Buddha-field cult documentary, in which Gleis appears.
A nutritionist, biochemical analyst and educator, Gleis says her post-traumatic stress, forever entombed in her psyche, is repeatedly triggered by the characteristics of current political and cultural leaders, prompting her to explore her past decisions through a much broader lens that sheds light on the blind spots — and dangers — of groupthink.
The Followers lays the groundwork by skimming Gleis’ upbringing in Hollywood and tracing the steps of her life when, at age 14, she began to crave a deeper sense of spirituality. She spent the next 12 years searching for nirvana, and at age 26, she found what she thought she had been searching for. Gleis draws strong parallels between her devotion to a cult leader — an authority — whose damaging behavior and influence she willfully ignored, and the followers of other narcissistic authorities. She goes into detail about the characteristics of narcissists and explains the “feedback loop” that sustains the disciple-narcissist dynamic.
Gleis weaves together her personal experiences with reflections on a number of thought-provoking topics, including the search for a higher truth, cults, groupthink and mind control, authoritarian leaders, malignant narcissistic personality disorder and sociopathy, the American schism, and how an intelligent, well-educated person may find herself under the control of a narcissistic sociopath.
Author Radhia Gleis has been a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, CCN, MEd. biochemical analyst and educator for over 33 years. She has appeared as a featured guest on numerous radio and television shows including Fox News, Austin. She hosted The Health Revolution and Let’s Get Healthy on Talk 1370 AM, KLBJ, and The Wellness Connection podcast on Voice America. She was the host and executive producer of three YouTube series: Wake up America; How the Body Works; and The Natural Way. She was featured in the internationally viewed movie, Holy Hell, which was broadcast on CNN and named one of Sundance Film Festival’s and Netflix’s top 10 documentaries. It can now be viewed on Amazon Prime.
For more information, please visit www.radhiagleis.com, or follow the author on Twitter (@radhia_gleis).
The Followers: “Holy Hell” and the Disciples of Narcissistic Leaders: How My Years in a Notorious Cult Parallel Today’s Cultural Mania Publisher: Sage Card Publishing ISBN-10: 1737125803 ISBN-13: 978-1737125808 Available from Amazon.com, BN.com and Audible.com
Trish Stevens Kay Williams Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Understand the 7 Archetypes and Finally Meet Your Match
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“Commitment can’t be forced, scheduled, or altered. It either comes from the heart or it doesn’t.” — Dr. Carmen Harra
What does your dream relationship look like? Perhaps you’re looking for a fairy tale, or a lifetime of financial stability, or just the “perfect” partner to grow old with. You may have already created a “type” in your mind, and you’re looking for the person who checks all the boxes. But what if this approach to love is wrong?
Preconceived standards and expectations about relationships can be misleading at best and flat-out harmful at worst, explains world-renowned psychologist Carmen Harra.
Whether you’re entering the dating scene for the first time, starting over or hoping to strengthen a current relationship, Harra’s new book, Committed: Finding Love and Loyalty Through the Seven Archetypes, will prompt you to reevaluate the way you think about love — and ultimately make better choices.
“Before you can find a devoted partner, you have to unlearn other people’s versions of love and relearn your own,” she said.
In Committed, Harra and co-author and daughter Alexandra Harra, who is a certified relationship coach, explain the seven main archetypes we all encounter, the promises they hold and the challenges they pose to relationships.
The first part of Committed is devoted to the work we need to do on the inside, and readers will learn how to reexamine core beliefs they hold, clear karmic patterns, heal any emotional trauma, liberate themselves from people who no longer serve them and develop an unshakable sense of self-worth.
The second half of the book teaches readers how to identify archetypes in others and themselves, navigate the world of online dating, build emotional intimacy, mediate external influences and apply real-world solutions to resolve relationship problems.
Ultimately, Committed aims to help you find and keep the love you deserve: an authentic, impassioned relationship that fills you with excitement each morning and puts your mind at ease every night.
Carmen Harra is an intuitive psychologist, best-selling author, radio show host and relationship expert. In the past 25 years, she has helped over 40,000 people rediscover peace of mind, reclaim personal power and regain joy. Her clients come from all walks of life, from the lady next door to Hollywood celebrities and eminent politicians. She’s the author of international best-sellers like Everyday Karma, Decoding Your Destiny, The Eleven Eternal Principles, and Wholeliness, among others. Carmen has been featured in such publications as The New York Times, New York Post, and New York Daily News, and on shows like Good Morning America, The View, Good Day New York, the Today show, and Fox News. She currently hosts Miracle Guidance for Everyday Life every Tuesday on OMTimes Radio.
Alexandra Harra is a certified life and relationship coach and author, while also boasting commendable career accomplishments as a writer. She writes regularly for renowned publications such as The Huffington Post and proactively aids her mother’s mission to bring joy and love into people’s relationships.
For more information, visit www.CarmenHarra.com, or follow the author on Instagram (carmenharra) or Facebook (DrCarmenHarra).
Committed: Finding Love and Loyalty Through the Seven Archetypes Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing Inc. ISBN-10: 1638812586 ISBN-13: 978-1638812586 Available everywhere books are sold, including Amazon.com and BN.com
Trish Stevens Andrea Kiser Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
‘Eggstraordinary’ Story Awaits Youngsters on Your Holiday Shopping List
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An active imagination is something worth celebrating, and a new book from CK Gregory, Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination, shows young audiences that there is an “eggciting” alternative to screen time: the power of their own minds.
Written for ages 5 to 10, Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination introduces young readers to Tommy, a boy stuck at home on a rainy day. There is nothing to do; his mother is busy making breakfast; and Tommy has grown bored with his toys. What will he do to entertain himself?
An “eggstraordinary” character named Mr. Sunnyside comes to Tommy’s rescue and saves him from boredom by taking Tommy on one adventure after another. Tommy is the only person who can see Mr. Sunnyside, and he’s the only one who needs to, in this charming story that gives new meaning to the power of an active imagination.
With clever wordplay, colorful illustrations and subtle lessons, Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination shares the story of a delicate egg who enters Tommy’s life as a play friend and turns Tommy’s mood from blue to “eggcellent!”
Author CK Gregory worked in many areas of theater and the media, both in front and behind the scenes. Now, he is embarking on a new career as a children’s author. Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination is his first book in a series of “eggstra” adventures to come!
“The world can seem, at times, scrambled,” Gregory said. “I hope my egg friends will set good ‘eggsamples’ for the readers and help children stay on the Sunnyside.”
Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination Publisher: Gatekeeper Press ISBN-10: 1662912595 ISBN-13: 978-1662912597 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Carrie Wilson Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Spirituality Can Help Us Find the Light in Every Darkness Words For All website shares messages of healing, love and unity.
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Minister and licensed psychotherapist Dr. Pieter Noomen developed a deep connection with a spiritual presence, and one by one, the 12 components of life came to him: Oneness, Love, Life, Fire, Space, Connectedness, Progression, Effect, Freedom, Joy, Differentness and Harmony.
“On an evening walk, out of the blue, I heard in a clear voice that was in and around me, without comment, the 12 ingredients or components of everything that exists, one each day,” Dr. Noomen wrote. “It was at a time that the question about what life, my life, was really all about, was much on my mind. Then came the voice. For more than a year, I didn’t know what to do with what I had heard. It dawned upon me that I could write down what it stirred up in me.”
Dr. Noomen’s journey toward forming a conscious closeness to the source of all existence began more than 25 years ago when he studied the work of Dr. Peter D. Francuch, who communicated with what he called “the Positive State.” Dr. Noomen would go on to significantly widen his own spiritual path and have extraordinary experiences on the spiritual plane.
On his website, www.wordsforall.org, Dr. Noomen shares 147 thought-provoking questions and the illuminating answers that came to him during his communications with the All Spirit. Readers will also find 10 rules for praying, wisdoms of the week, and detailed descriptions of his extraordinary journeys in the spiritual dimension, including how the very first visit began: a strong light coming through a cracked door.
The message that forms the foundation of his writings on www.wordsforall.org is that directly or indirectly, life stems from one common source, and to connect with that source is the highest level of existence we can achieve on earth.
Born in the Netherlands, Pieter Noomen completed doctoral studies in theology and pastoral psychology at the Free University of Amsterdam and was senior minister of three protestant churches. Later, he worked as a psychotherapist and as a staff member of a Los Angeles metropolitan church. He was involved in mental health issues like suicide prevention and hospice. Sadly, Dr. Noomen passed away in 2019, but his wealth of wisdom and insights freely shared on www.wordsforall.org will continue to inspire people throughout the world to broaden their spiritual paths.
“Gratitude can be something ‘in general’. Yet, thanking for some specific thing can go to the core of who we are. Once, someone bedridden and suffering told me she looked for something, anything, she still could be grateful for. For her, it was the pillow she could put her head on. Realistic? Yes! In every darkness is somewhere a flicker of light. Even if ‘only’ in our spirit.”
Trish Stevens Kathleen Harrison Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 281.333.3507 Main [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
Formerly Imprisoned American Peace Activist Shares His Captivating True Story
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In 2018, Dr. Frank Romano stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer that was preparing to destroy a Bedouin village — Al Khan al Ahmar in the Jericho Valley, West Bank. He was promptly arrested and imprisoned in Jerusalem.
His harrowing true story, Love and Terror in the Middle East (5th Edition), recounts this last voyage to the troubled Holy Land. It covers his arrest, his experiences in jail, his living underground in Palestine, and then his second arrest and subsequent deportation.
After his arrest in Jerusalem, he was thrown into a cell with four hardened Israeli criminals who immediately attacked him, striking and stabbing him with a sharp object. Bloodied and injured, he broke away from the onslaught and pounded on the door. After the guards saw the dripping blood, they pulled him from the cell and locked him in solitary confinement.
The following day, Romano was to stand trial in Jerusalem. The police, instead of taking him to court for the trial, drove him to the airport after an Israeli Military Court convicted him of a felony and ordered his deportation. When the judge became aware of the police duplicity, she ordered them to return Romano to Jerusalem to stand trial. After the trial, he was acquitted and released, but the court ordered him to leave Israel and Palestine.
Romano disobeyed a court order to leave Israel and Palestine. Preferring to continue his work in Palestine, he went underground in Palestine to avoid arrest.
While he was hiding from Israeli police, Romano worked with a team of lawyers in Ramallah, West Bank, preparing a case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of Defense Avigdor Lieberman and American authorities, before the International Criminal Court for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and other serious international offenses. He filed that ICC brief in August 2021.
For a decade, through interfaith grassroots efforts, Frank Romano has brought Jews, Muslims and Christians together from all corners of the world in support of peace. The story he shares in Love and Terror in the Middle East was a voyage into a tense war zone, the first time defending Palestinian Bedouins, and it is a powerful story of courage, resilience and Romano’s dedication to world peace.
He presently lives and works teaching French in the Sabra and Chatilla Palestinian and Syrian refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon.
Love and Terror in the Middle East Publisher: AB Film Publishing ISBN-10: 0990485234 ISBN-13: 978-0990485230 Available from BarnesAndNoble.com and Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Kelly Freeman Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Mother of Young Heroin Addict Opens Up and Says, ‘This is Us’
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Christine Naman understands all too well that those who struggle with mental illness and addiction are not faceless numbers. They are real people who are valued and cherished by their families, and she wants the world to know and understand her daughter, Natalie.
“People are silent in their shame,” Christine said in a recent interview. “They’re quiet about it. And when you reach out and say, ‘this is us,’ people are anxious to unload and say, ‘that’s us too.’”
Christine traces her daughter’s years-long battle with mental illness and addiction — and opens up about her own struggles with denial and the shame she carries for not recognizing the signs — in About Natalie, a gripping, cautionary tale of how a child can suddenly end up on the wrong path, meet the wrong people and get lost in the unthinkable.
“I did not know the signs or symptoms,” Christine said. “I didn’t know the looks of things or the smells of things. Often times, it was right in front of me. I just didn’t know what I was seeing.”
Natalie was just 15 years old when she became addicted to heroin. They were everyday people, living everyday lives, and then the floor dropped out.
About Natalie takes readers deep inside Christine’s emotional and mental turmoil as she grows into her new, unfortunate role as the parent of an addict. She steps on syringes left on the floor. She lives the nightmare of finding an unresponsive child on the floor and uses Narcan to revive her. She chases away a drug dealer and stays up all night waiting for her missing child to come home. She rejoices during periods of recovery and hope and is devastated during relapses. When her daughter suffers, Christine suffers right along with her.
Interwoven with Christine’s reflections are Natalie’s brilliant poems that share her personal pain and the unvarnished truth of her struggle.
Full of compassion, understanding and hope for those struggling with mental illness and addiction, About Natalie is a story of fighting for — and right alongside — the ones we love, no matter how difficult the circumstances. It is a story of keeping the faith, battling hard and never giving up.
Bestselling author Christine Pisera Naman is a wife to a beautiful man named Peter and a mother to three fantastic kids named Jason, Natalie and Trevor. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, which she does poorly; painting, again poorly; and volunteering at her local hospital, which she hopes she does well. She is the author of the Faces of Hope series of books that are now housed in the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City. Her other works include Caterpillar Kisses, Christmas Lights, The Novena and The Believers. About Natalie is her heart poured onto paper.
She hopes that by sharing her family’s difficult story she can bring understanding and knowledge to those who do not know these problems firsthand as well as provide comfort to those who know the struggles of mental illness and addiction all too well.
