On her 50^th birthday Pesi Dinnerstein recognized the need to address the mountain of clutter that had built up in her life. It overflowed at her home and at her office, and she wasn’t sure where to start getting rid of it, or even if she could. She turned to a group of women friends for support and advise, and thus began the journey she tells in her memoir, A Cluttered Life: My Search for God, Serenity and My Missing Keys.

While many of us likely have too much stuff in our lives, Dinnerstein found that hers was weighing her down in more ways that one. Yet as she started to deal with the piles, she also came to realize something important about herself: being surrounded with things that reminded her of past events brought her comfort. Her decisions about what to get rid of therefore, had to honor her need for attachments, while helping her let go of things that didn’t matter. Often, that meant paper clutter.

In her quest to find a way to keep what was important to her and get rid of the rest, Dinnerstein eventually found help not only in the support of her friends, but also with backing from others in Clutterers Anonymous. Her honesty about her struggles and the story she tells of her efforts to be closer to God and live more spiritually aware, is sure to strike a chord with many, even if they don’t face similar issues.

In her introduction Dinnerstein says her book is about her relationship with clutter—not an instruction manual on how to get rid of it or a guide explaining how to organize it. What it is, is an honest story that will may inspired you to ponder some of your own issues that may keep you from achieving what you long for in life.

Start your own journey by leaving a comment here before midnight (PST), Monday, February 13 for a chance to win a copy of A Cluttered Life. U.S. and Canadian addresses only please.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.

Here’s a guest book review by author Christina Hamlett (AuthorHamlett.com).

Title: “Growing Up Jewish in Small Town America: A Memoir”
Author: Elaine Fantle Shimberg
Published in 2011, Abernathy House Publishing

Among the numerous delights in Elaine Fantle Shimberg’s latest release, Growing Up Jewish in Small Town America: A Memoir, are the inclusion of quotes that speak as much to Jewish culture and philosophy as they do to the universally bewildering dichotomy of wanting to blend in and yet still stand out as unique. Shimberg’s fond recollections of being one of the 32 Jewish families living in 1940’s Fort Dodge, Iowa are funny, conversational and reminiscent of a safer era in which kids could ride their bicycles after dusk down neighborhood streets and not worry about ending up on the back of a milk carton. The black and white captioned photographs sprinkled throughout the text are sweet frosting on an already delicious cake, and it’s easy to see how the young Elaine’s curiosity, daredevil sense of adventure, and unabashed mirth laid the foundation for such a successful career as an author, columnist and talk show host when she grew up.

As a former actress, I can likewise find much to relate to in her anecdotes about treading the boards as the Virgin Mary at her kindergarten’s Christmas pageant and turning her time in the spotlight into a boisterous solo of “Rock a Bye Baby.” That she disavows blame or credit for her embarrassed teacher later joining a convent is one of many humorous postscript remarks guaranteed to have liquid come out of your nose if you’re foolish enough to be drinking while reading.

What I especially admire about Shimberg’s breezy and approachable style is that she doesn’t resort to one of the common practices of others who have penned life stories; specifically, their penchant for analyzing, interpreting and justifying actions and events from the 20/20 perspective of adulthood instead of just relating them from the innocence of memory. Though written decades after-the-fact, the voice in which she whimsically brings her past to life is that of an inquisitively impatient young adult who wants to rush headlong into the future and yet recognizes that – like Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” – everything that defines her true values has not only been with her all along but was shaped by the experiences of her ancestors, themselves strangers once upon a time in a strange land.

Shimberg’s book will resonate as much with teenagers starting out on their own journey as it will with well traveled adults caught up in the introspection of all the roads not taken. If I have any criticism at all of the book, it’s that it was much too short. One can only hope that this exceptional storyteller has many more chapters and pictures up her sleeve that will entertain us in the coming years.

Isabel has always done what she was expected to do. She helped her parents run their winery in California, and she took care of them both before they died. She let her ex-husband Nick stay on at the winery even after their divorce, because she knew he needed stability in his life. Now she’s on the cusp of selling the winery and free to do whatever she wants for the first time in her life.

Then news reaches Isabel of her cousin’s death in Argentina, and she learns Brenda has named her guardian of her three children. She sets out to handle the situation like any other business transaction she has encountered. Only this time, she’s not familiar with the rules and the children don’t respond the way business associates would. Isabel must decide if accepting her cousin’s wishes is the right thing to do, or if it would be better for everyone involved if she finds a more suitable guardian. Complicating matters is that Nick decides he wants to be part of her future.

Say You’ll Be Mine by Julia Amante takes a look at what happens to a woman in her 40s when life throws her a curve ball. Julia herself grew up in Argentina, and part of her heart still belongs there. She’s always been strong, which means that while she’s good at negotiating, she doesn’t often let down her guard even to herself. Consequently, she’s lost the ability to even know what she truly wants. She loves her cousin’s children, but she’s not sure she knows how to be a mother to them. She must sort out all of her conflicting emotions and make decisions that will affect the rest of her life. The question is, can she do that before she takes steps that will limit her options.

Say You’ll Be Mine is full of complicated, flawed characters who are trying to do the right thing for themselves and the people around them. They don’t always know the right path to take, which means they make decisions that may make them unlikeable for some time. In the end, it’s their ability to concede past mistakes that helps them move into the future.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.

Martha Allen is 22 and well past the age when her family started to think of marriage for her. But her hard disposition has attracted no man who would marry her, and so she is sent to live with her cousin Patience and help with the household while Patience goes through a difficult pregnancy.

Lie is hard in rural Massachusetts during the late 1600s, and Martha is a big help. She finds herself attracted to Thomas, an indentured man who helps to run the farm. There are whisperings that Thomas has a secret to hide, that he was somehow involved in Cromwell’s execution of England’s king years before. Whatever happened in his past, it now threatens to shatter the peaceful existence that has settled over the household.

The Traitor’s Wife by Kathleen Kent tells the beginning of the story of Martha Allen and Thomas Carrier, the parents of Sarah Carrier in The Heretic’s Daughter. In this prequel, Kent once again brings this time in the early years of the Massachusetts colony alive. There were fears of violent natives on the prowl, the plague, and mischief-makers from England. This new frontier was a hard place to live, and despite the separation of colonists they depended on each other to stay alive.

In The Heretic’s Daughter, Sarah struggles to understand her mother and the hard exterior she shows to the world. Here, Martha is revealed as someone who has a backbone of steel, but it’s a rigidness born of necessity as much as personality. The same goes for Thomas, who is reluctant to involve anyone else in protecting him from his past, but is eager to begin anew in this raw country.

Through Kent’s research and masterful storytelling, she has created another fascinating tale that draws on family stories of her very real ancestors. I recommend The Traitor’s Wife for anyone who loves historical fiction.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.

As I’ve been creating my resolutions and goals for 2012 this week, I’ve also been reading Christina Katz’s new book for writers, The Writer’s Workout: 366 Tips, Tasks, & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach. Over the years I’ve taken many online writing classes from Christina and read her other books for writers. Each one has boosted my writing career in just the way I needed it at the moment, and I expect it to be the same with The Writer’s Workout.

Just as the subtitle says, this book is chock full of short, easy to digest tips, suggestions and other ideas for writers at all levels, whether they are just getting started or have been writing for some time. Each page starts with an inspirational quote that sets the tone for the advice to come. For instance, tip number 166 is titled, “Consider Specializing.” It starts with a quote from Joyce Carol Oates about connecting with your true subject. Katz’s advice on what it means to specialize and how to do it follows.

The Writer’s Workout is organized into four sections according to the seasons starting with spring. In her intro, Katz says you can think of this as the seasons of the year or the seasons of your writing career. She also says it’s up to you whether you read one page a day, or “blaze through the whole book.” I’ve chosen to do both. I’ve been blazing through this week, and with the start of the new year I plan to read one new page every day. I expect I’ll skip around instead of reading one page after another. That way I can find a topic that may be especially relevant to me at the moment. But starting my writing day with a bit of inspiration and a nudge in the direction I want to go can only help me be more focused and productive at what I do.

I’ve also discovered in my “blazing through” that just because the advice comes in small bites doesn’t mean it’s something you can read quickly and move on. This is good stuff that you’ll want to mull over and think about for a while so you can determine what it means to you and your writing career at the moment.

Reading The Writer’s Workout daily is one of my new year’s resolutions. Consider making it one of yours.

Mari McCarthy, who has written many journaling eBooks, including Who Are You? How to Use Journaling to Know and Grow Your Life, and Help for the Holidays: 7 Days of Journaling Ho! Ho! Ho! has a new eBook out that chronicles the stories others have to offer about their journaling experiences. Called Dark Chocolate and the Journaler’s Soul: 17 Personal Journaling Stories for Healing and Growth, this collection touches on struggles and successes, and how journalers exlpore many issues in their lives by writing down what they want to say. Each personal story is followed up with a question and answer format about frequency of journaling, inspiring quotes, tricks for overcoming writer’s block and how journaling has positively affected their lives.

This is rich stuff, just like you’d expect a tasty bite of dark chocolate to be. You can find lots more ideas about journaling, sign up for a newsletter with tips, and learn more about McCarthy’s eBooks at her website, Create Write Now. If you’d like to win a copy of Dark Chocolate and the Journaler’s Soul, just leave a comment on McCarthy’s post about the shared journal.

Have you ever wished you could do more to contribute to a cause or organization you really believed in? Kevin Salwen and his family took that desire and turned it into something tangible by selling their upscale home, downsizing to a smaller house, and donating half their profit to a charity.

Inspired by daughter Hannah’s frustration with the inequity she saw around her suburban Atlanta neighborhood, the Salwen family’s decision is probably more of a sacrifice than most of us are willing to make. Yet, the premise behind their decision, to identify something they could use less of and give away half of the excess, can be put into action by most anyone.

Kevin and Hannah Salwen tell their story, and hope to inspire others to take action, in their book, The Power of Half. While Kevin writes most of the narrative, Hannah contributes sidebars that call the reader to action, such as the one titled, “Helping Small Kids Start Volunteering.” We also get to see how the rest of the family reacts during the process, including Kevin’s wife Joan, and their son, Hannah’s brother Joseph.

Many mother-daughter book clubs have taken on volunteer projects as a group, and reading The Power of Half could help groups identify something they believe in and decide how they want to contribute. When my adult book club read this book we made a list of organizations where we have volunteered time or contributed money. We discussed the criteria that go into helping us decide which organizations we want to support. We also decided to volunteer together as a group by helping an organization dedicated to providing books to needy children.

I already like to cook, and most of the time I think I do a pretty good job whipping up things in the kitchen. So when I started to read The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn, I thought I would enjoy her story but not find much to learn about cooking. From the first chapter, I knew I was wrong.

Flinn’s narrative about working with 10 women who didn’t feel comfortable in the kitchen is fascinating on many fronts. It all started with Flinn’s encounter with a woman in a grocery store who was buying mostly boxed foods to prepare at home, because she didn’t feel she could cook anything that would taste as good. From there she recruited 10 volunteers who opened up their pantries and fridges to Flinn, then prepared her something they would often cook. The lessons that followed were geared toward novices, but they hold something worthwhile for experienced cooks as well.

The volunteers learned everything from how to hold a knife and chop vegetables, to how to cut up a chicken, use leftovers, make soup and more. Each chapter of the book recounts the lesson and comes with recipes at the end. Flinn’s style is conversational, and she includes little bits of fascinating information about cooking and food throughout the story.

I found myself reading passages out loud to my husband and checking my own cupboards each time Flinn went through a new lesson. And I was inspired to make several of the recipes even while I was reading the book. Things I previously thought were too much trouble to make, like chicken stock and homemade bread from scratch, Flinn demystifies and makes easy. I really enjoyed taking the opportunity of getting out of my rut in the kitchen and learning new things that I believe will serve me for a long time to come.

I’m keeping my copy of The Kitchen Counter Cooking School right alongside my Joy of Cooking and my Cajun cookbooks. I’m also planning to give this as a gift to several friends who have commiserated with me over their lack of skills at the stove.

Want to win a copy for your own kitchen? Just leave a comment about something you do or don’t like to cook and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a giveaway. Be sure to comment by midnight (PDT) on Thursday, October 27. Addresses in the U.S. and Canada only please. Please note: the giveaway is closed. Congratulations to Jen on winning.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review.

Every parent of teens expects difficulties as their children go through adolescence. But what’s less expected and talked about are the issues that arise when children move into their late teens and early 20s and move away from home to either continue their education or work full time.

In his new book, Boomerang Kids: A Revealing Look at Why So Many of Our Children Are Failing on Their Own, and How Parents Can Help, Carl Pickhardt, PhD, looks at many of the issues both parents and young adults face during this time. Pickhardt begins with the premise that late-stage adolescence is when parents need to move from managing their children to mentoring them. He goes on to examine 11 challenges young adults commonly face, and he talks about what parents can do to encourage their ultimate success.

Pickhardt has the experience to back up his advice. He is a psychologist in private counseling, writes a weekly parenting blog for Psychology Today, and is the author of many other parenting books. He talks directly to parents without relying on a lot of industry terminology, and the examples he uses makes it easy to understand each challenge and how to approach it.

Chapters also end with helpful “parenting prescriptions” that recap what came before and include suggestions for how parents can react to the challenge presented. My daughters are both in the age range Pickhardt writes about, and they are on the cusp of what he refers to as “trial independence.” I imagine I will keep this book handy and refer back to it for years to come, as my husband and I move through this stage with our daughters. I can also see how it would be helpful to parents of younger adolescents, as it can help them understand some of what their children are going through and how that may play out in the future.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review.

Any parent who’s had a child apply for college will be able to relate to Andrew Ferguson’s look at the process in Crazy U: One Dad’s Crash Course in Getting His Kid Into College. But the ones who will get the most out of reading the book will be anyone with a kid who’s in high school as well as the students themselves.

I read Crazy U with my daughter and our mother-daughter book club with girls who are nearly 17 and looking at completing college applications in the fall of 2011. Most of them have older siblings who have already gone through the process, so both moms and daughters are familiar with what to expect. Even so, Crazy U is an eye opener in many ways, and Ferguson’s ability to humorously focus on the absurdities in the system makes it fascinating to read.

It was also interesting to get a “behind the scenes” look at things like the college rankings put out by U.S. News and World Report, the SAT, marketing strategies colleges use, writing the college essay and more. I’m not sure my daughter will drastically change her approach to filling out applications as a result of having read Crazy U, but I think it has helped to demystify the process more and help her relax—at least a little bit.

As for me, I’m recommending Crazy U to every parent of a high schooler I know. As one of the “kitchen people” Ferguson describes, I have a new outlook on the role I play in helping my daughter through the process. We’ll see if I can keep that attitude until next May.

This book was a reading selection of my mother-daughter book club.