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Posts Tagged ‘Substance Abuse’

43 Years Later, the Unseemly Saga of Spectacular Bid is Revealed

43 Years Later, the Unseemly Saga of Spectacular Bid is Revealed

(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet or used by any means of social media sharing.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

In an era of spectacular thoroughbreds, Spectacular Bid may have been the most exalted racehorse of them all. In 1979, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness — and transcended his sport on a run of 12 consecutive stakes victories. But his quest for the Triple Crown was lost with a third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes due to a series of bizarre events that have never been accurately reported.

In The Fast Ride: Spectacular Bid and the Undoing of a Sure Thing, author and journalist Jack Gilden tells the story of what really happened the day “the Bid” lost the biggest race of his life. Along the way, Gilden introduces readers to a cast of characters from the gilded age of late twentieth-century horse racing, from Bid’s owners, the renowned Meyerhoff family, to Grover “Buddy” Delp, the fast-talking trainer, to teenage jockey Ronnie Franklin, whose meteoric rise to fame aboard Spectacular Bid came at the cost of his innocence and well-being.
“I came into the story as Franklin lay in an East Baltimore hospice gasping his last breaths,” Gilden writes in the introduction. “I was aided and abetted by one of his friends who had decided it was time that the truth came out.”

Also present in Gilden’s narrative are four of the era’s magnificent Latino riders, Ángel Cordero Jr., Jacinto Vasquez, Georgie Velasquez and Ruben Hernandez. They all felt the sting of rejection and bigotry during their long careers, even as they found their way and raised the level of competition to a feverish pitch.

Underlying Spectacular Bid’s saga was the thin line between hard work and excess, including substance abuse, animal manipulation, doping and race fixing. Hardly anyone in the horse’s circle made it out unscathed or undamaged.

The Fast Ride is the story of a great racehorse, unfulfilled dreams, the exhilaration and steep price of striving at all costs, and an American era in which getting everything you ever wanted could be the most empty and unfulfilling sensation of all.

Jack Gilden is the author of Collision of Wills: Johnny Unitas, Don Shula, and the Rise of the Modern NFL (2018). His editorials, columns and articles have appeared in Orioles Magazine, the Baltimore Sun, the Evening Sun, Chesapeake Life, Style magazine and the Baltimore Jewish Times. He has written about the anti-Semitism of H.L. Mencken, the literary life of Bernard Malamud, the lost legend of “Swish” Nicholson, Joe Louis as civil rights hero and the profane genius of Earl Weaver. He scripted the Orioles 40th Anniversary Video, narrated by the legendary Jim McKay. Gilden lives in Baltimore with his wife, two children, two step-children, and his dog.

For more information, connect with the author on Twitter at @JackGilden, or visit
www.williamsonlit.com.

The Fast Ride: Spectacular Bid and the Undoing of a Sure Thing
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
ISBN-10: 1496230507
ISBN-13: ‎978-1496230508
Available from Amazon.com, BN.com and other online retailers

Trish Stevens
Ben Marshall
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone

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Be Happy Without Faking It: Put These Principles Into Practice Now

Be Happy Without Faking It: Put These Principles Into Practice Now

(This press release may be reprinted in part or in its entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet or used by any means of social media sharing.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Negative social media posts. Frightening headlines. Workplace challenges. These are all things that Pamela Gail Johnson, the founder of the Society of Happy People, would label “Happiness Zappers,” and they are a fact of life. The good news is these Happiness Zappers don’t have to put a lid on our smiles.

“We will all experience at least one or more Happiness Zapper — unhappiness, stress, fear, chaos or annoyances — each day,” Johnson said in a recent interview. “Much of our happiness is based on how we manage the Happiness Zappers.”

In her enlightening new book, Practical Happiness: Four Principles to Improve Your Life, Johnson paves a pathway toward authentic joy and fulfillment, with actionable strategies, transformational techniques, and real stories about real people who have put Johnson’s principles into practice.

“The Society of Happy People identified 31 types of happiness to help you identify more happy moments when they happen,” she added. “Sometimes, we’re happier than we think we are; we just don’t notice all of the happiness we experience.”
In her book, she details four happiness principles for living an authentically more joyful life:

• Happiness is Personal
• Happiness Zappers Can be Managed
• Happiness Changes as You Change
• Happiness is Bigger Than You Think

These four principles will help readers redefine personal happiness, manage their Happiness Zappers, and become more aware of the happy moments taking place all around them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela Gail Johnson founded the Society of Happy People in 1998, created the first three globally celebrated happiness holidays, and is the author of Practical Happiness: Four Principles to Improve Your Life. She started her career with Junior Achievement, then worked in the mental health and substance abuse field at the Hazelden Foundation. She was an award-winning salesperson for American Express and Staples, and now helps leaders and teams create happier workplace cultures.

A frequent media guest on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, radio and podcasts, her work has been covered by magazines, newspapers and online publications.

She divides her time between Dallas, Texas, and Washington, DC.

Visit her websites at: pamelagailjohnson.com and SOHP.com/media-pr.

Practical Happiness
Publisher: HCI Books
Release Date: January 4, 2022
ISBN-10: 0757324134
ISBN-13: 9780757324130
Trade Paperback, 240 pages
Available 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

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50+ And Healthy Examines The Importance Of Mental Health As We Age

50+ And Healthy Examines The Importance Of Mental Health As We Age

(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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:

  1. Healthy aging and mental health
  2. Common mental illnesses, why people get them, how to identify them and how to manage them
  3. Practical approaches for first aid and later interventions
  4. 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

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