First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety by Sarah Wilson

Author Sarah Wilson shares anecdotes and anxiety-busting methods from her life experience.

“One of the dear, dear things about getting older, is that it does eventually dawn on you that there is no guidebook. One day it suddenly emerges: No one bloody gets it! None of us knows what we’re doing. pg 5, ebook

Through her research and personal experiences, Wilson shares the best, and the worst, of the treatments and latest scientific advances. Even though we don’t have the treatments for anxiety nailed down yet, it helps to know that sufferers are not alone in their struggles.

“We’re told that globally one in thirteen people suffer an anxiety-related illness. Some studies tell us that one in six of us in the West will be afflicted with an anxiety disorder at some stage in our lives, making it the most common officially classified mental illness.” pg 14, ebook

I liked Wilson’s definition of anxiety: she sees it as a separation of self from something larger and more meaningful. The anxiety makes us reach for this something, but we don’t know what we’re reaching for and it hurts.

“Anxiety is a disconnection with this Something Else. As I say, the doctors and scientists can call it all kinds of things, but I believe it all comes down to this disconnect.” pg 44, ebook

Wilson excels at the physical descriptions of anxiety and bipolar disorder. She captures the raw edges of the experience and how life can feel painful because all the stimulation coming in when you’re having a panic attack or a manic episode.

She includes a couple exercises to help bring yourself down when you’re experiencing anxiety. But not too many, because: “I don’t plan on filling this book with too many exercises that people like me skim over to get to the meaty theory. I’ll just include the ones that suit people like you and me.” pg 57, ebook

Highly recommended for anxiety sufferers or their loved ones who want to know what it’s like to be inside the experience.

Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World by Kelly Coyne, Erik Knutzen

“Making It” is a collection of recipes and how-tos to create items from toothpaste to garden beds and everything in-between.

The dedication says it all: “To anyone who is in their kitchen, garden, or garage right now, making it.”

I picked this book up because I was curious about the processes listed in it. How does one forage? Or create drip irrigation for vegetables? Or create a variety salves? The topics go on and on in this book.

The recipes and instructions are divided by time – how long it will take you to complete the various projects.

I could see it being incredibly useful for homesteaders both experienced and not.

As for me, I’m not in a place right now where I can do much of this. But, I’m hopeful I will be in that place some day in the future.

Highly recommended.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

The Body Keeps the Score is a non-fiction book about how the body stores trauma and what you can do about it.

My most distressing take-away from this book was how common trauma is. Author Bessel van der Kolk discusses how people from all walks of life suffer from trauma.

People suffering from these kinds of afflictions believe they’re the only ones. They try to numb the pain with drugs or alcohol and are easily triggered which brings back the pain of the traumatic events again and again.

This affects their lives, relationships and ability to trust others.

Kolk details how traumatic memories can be triggered by smells, touch and taste. He explains how powerful emotions remain behind, even after the logical mind has processed the event.

He suggests you can’t think your way out of strong emotions.

What do we do about this?

Form a strong community around yourself with supportive relationships. Practice mindfulness and yoga- exercises that explore the mind and body connection.

Also, find a therapist who practices eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The author records amazing recoveries by sufferers who utilized this therapy.

Personally, I’ve practiced EMDR with a therapist and the results were astounding. I left the session feeling lighter than I have in years, having released trauma I didn’t realize I was carrying.

But, like others, I still struggle with powerful emotions stored in my body. It is a process, not a cure. And I’ve learned to take life one day at a time.

Highly recommended for readers looking for scientifically-proven ways to handle trauma.

Thanks for reading!

Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead by Laszlo Bock

Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead by Laszlo Bock is a behind the scenes glimpse into the “People Operations” of Google, the mammoth internet company.

Laszlo explains Google wasn’t always a global leader. It started out like every other company- with a couple of dedicated people and a big dream.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

After some background, Laszlo gives step-by-step ways to improve your own business, whatever that may be, from the inside-out while remaining true to the mission that led to the creation of your company in the first place.

It’s clear from this book that Google is an engineer-dominated workplace. Every decision from hiring to employee perks is tested and the numbers are crunched to justify the expense, time spent, etc.

Photo by Anna Nekrashevich on Pexels.com

To be honest, psychology tests, graphs, and in-depth analysis isn’t really my thing. I enjoy a more artsy approach to the world and so the nitty-gritty of Laszlo’s work wasn’t that interesting to me.

In <i>Work Rules</i>, I was hoping for more insider stories than engineering problems, but that’s not how the book was written.

That’s not to say that there isn’t value to be had in this read. My take-away chapters were “It’s Not All Rainbows and Unicorns” and “What You Can Do Starting Tomorrow.”

In ‘It’s Not All Rainbows and Unicorns,’ Laszlo gives the reader moments in Google’s history when their policies didn’t really work and how they got through the crisis. It was heavy on dramatic stories and I enjoyed it quite a lot.

In ‘What You Can Do Starting Tomorrow,’ Laszlo boils down his previous chapters into ten steps for businesses to take right now. If you don’t have time to dig through the entire book, ‘What You Can Do Starting Tomorrow’ gives you a pretty thorough overview.

If you enjoyed <i>Work Rules!</i>, you may enjoy The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. Shawn explains, in an engaging manner, many of the principles that Google has adopted to improve their employees’ quality of life.

I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads. FTC guidelines: check! And thank you for reading.

The Creator’s Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs

For The Creator’s Code, Amy Wilkinson interviewed over 200 wildly successful entrepreneurs and narrowed down the skills that they used to create their businesses to an “essential” six.

These essentials are the keys to the “creator’s code,” she writes.

My favorite chapter from The Creator’s Code is Chapter 5: Network Minds- Solve Problems Collectively. We’ve recently instituted some collaborative projects where I work and I’m excited to see this creative skill in action.

Also, I enjoyed the portion of the book where Wilkerson explored businesses trying to integrate computer games into the work day in order to encourage co-workers to help each other as well as to instill a sense of play into the creation process.

I wish that my library management system could be tweaked to do something like that. Imagine how fun that would be! Playing computer games in order to boost productivity.

In some ways, this book reminded me of Napoleon Hill‘s Think and Grow Rich. He also interviewed hundreds of wealthy people to understand their mind set. However, unlike the New Age, positive thinking slant of Hill’s work, Wilkinson relies on scientific studies as well as real world results.

Of the two approaches, I personally favor Napoleon Hill’s, but readers of a more scientific mind-set might enjoy this book more.

While we’re on the subject of read-alikes, I also read [book:How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery|20342540] by Kevin Ashton and it shared some of the stories from The Creator’s Code.

It felt slightly repetitive because of this. Otherwise, I may have given The Creator’s Code five stars instead of four. It felt like I was covering the same material. Despite this bookish deja vu, The Creator’s Code is very well researched.

So, if you’ve already read the other book, don’t be hesitant to pick this one up too. It was just not ground-breaking reading for me- my reviewer’s bias, I suppose.

There are some differences between the two works: How to Fly a Horse focuses on the history of the creative process and uses that knowledge to encourage the average Joe to be creative today.

The Creator’s Code has distilled the essential nature of creation and lists guidelines that can be used for success in business, art, science, whatever.

Though both encourage creation, Wilkinson gives actionable steps to take at the individual level whereas Ashton focuses more on the big picture.

If you enjoyed The Creator’s Code, I highly recommend How to Fly a Horse by Kevin Ashton and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Both of these works share the themes of success in business through creativity exploration.

I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads. FTC guidelines: check! And thank you for reading!

Now & Again: Go-To Recipes, Inspired Menus + Endless Ideas for Reinventing Leftovers by Julia Turshen, David Loftus (Photographer)

Now & Again is a cookbook that utilizes leftovers from the dishes within its pages to create new and exciting meals using the same ingredients in different ways.

I thought the premise was a good one. People who find themselves cooking meals for one or for a large family may have trouble with wasting perfectly good food. Not because the meal isn’t tasty, but because it is tricky to get the proportions correct during the preparation.

Photo by Monserrat Soldu00fa on Pexels.com

I liked the pork chop recipe from Now & Again. By following the written instructions, the meat was juicy when I ate it, which is a fair indicator of the skill of the chef who authored the book. At least, that’s what I believe.

However, the apple cake I attempted from this book was probably one of the worst things I’ve ever baked. The author said the cake should have the texture of banana bread. That was not the case for me.

To borrow a term from The Great British Baking Show, the cake was stodgy. The texture was all wrong. And it seemed to stick going down my throat. I took one bite and threw the rest away.

Banana bread, as most lovers of baked goods are aware, has a moist and cake-like texture rather than the feel of traditional grain-based bread.

So, other than a failed baked good, I recommend this cookbook for anyone looking to make the most of their grocery budget and prepared portions.

Happy eating and thanks for reading!

Gourmet Cooking for One or Two: Incredible Meals that are Small in Size but Big on Flavor by April Anderson

April Anderson, founder of Girl Gone Gourmet, has compiled a beautiful book of smaller portioned “gourmet” recipes. Photos of each dish are found opposite the instructions.

It is a pleasure to turn the pages and an even bigger one to utilize the recipes found within.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a person in possession of excellent cooking skills, must be in want of people to eat their food.

All joking aside, I love to cook. I find it profoundly relaxing to turn on some music and start chopping vegetables or heating the oven.

Here’s my two slice sun-dried tomato and sausage lasagna from page 31!

There’s a definite rhythm to cooking- like an ancient domestic hymn. Humanity must eat. Some of us have the good fortune and privilege of eating well.

However, when you’re by yourself, it can be difficult to control the portions. Most recipes assume at least two or more people are going to eat the food. It can be problematic and wasteful.

For example, I’ve made dishes and given three-quarters of it away to family, and still have three or four meals left for myself.

Anderson has scaled back her recipes in order to amply feed one, or so she writes. She reminds readers to have fun!

“Last but not least, I want you to enjoy yourself, because I believe time spent in the kitchen cooking for yourself is time well spent.” pg 10

I tried a couple dishes in here (sun-dried tomato and sausage lasagna pg 31 and pork chops with savory apple bacon hash pg 123). They were tasty, but I still had way too much food for just me.

The moderate kitchen skills are required to make these dishes. You’re putting together sauces and browning meat, seasoning and slicing.

I took my time with it and didn’t have any difficulties. Beginner chefs might be a little overwhelmed, but if you take your time, you can do it.

Recommended for foodies who can find their way around the kitchen and aren’t afraid to try recipes that might be challenging. Make sure you have some containers on hand because you will probably still have leftovers.

Thanks for reading!

Yoni Shakti: A Woman’s Guide to Power and Freedom Through Yoga and Tantra by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli

“When we unlock our sakti we re-connect with our capacity for inner joy and peace with ourselves: all our experiences begin to join up and make sense. Freeing our sakti in this way gives us the key back to our sexual selves, so that we may inhabit our whole being with authenticity and joy.” pg 508 ebook.

Author, yogini and tantrika, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, shares yoga sequences, mantras, mudras and meditations to assist readers in becoming more aware of their inner selves.

What does this accomplish, you may be asking yourself. According to Dinsmore-Tuli, it’s the foundation of a mindful existence.

“All of the poses to unblock the life force energy are also very practical means to keep the creative and sexual energies in circulation so that they are available to nurture and enrich our creative, family, social and professional encounters.” pg 518, ebook

That sounds pretty good to me.

So, I tried some of the suggestions from this book which I had to cherry pick because there are dozens to try. And my results were unexpected and stunning.

After the first practice, I experienced an almost immediate increase in my sensitivity to my body’s energy and overall energy level. After the first week, this improved awareness led to some fascinating experiences during my meditations.

Apparently, practitioners of yoni shakti routinely encounter visions or spontaneous energy body knowledge. The goal is not to seek these experiences, but to be aware when they arise and dissipate, and then utilize them for greater self knowledge.

Using these teachings, I feel like I’m learning a whole new dimension to life- one that arises from practices of mindful awareness. Yoni Shakti is a good reference book for that journey.

That being said, a majority of this book is repetitive to the point of unreadable. I realize Dinsmore-Tuli is passionate about the women’s movement in yoga, but she goes on so much about past abuses by gurus and organizations that it detracts from the delivery of the wisdom of the book.

I found myself skimming entire sections because they read the same in the previous chapter and the ones before it.

On the other hand, this book shines in its accounts of the women who were suffering and then rediscovered their power and ability to heal themselves through their yoga practice.

“There is a deep relief in knowing that other women have experienced the same losses, and a comfort in hearing others speak about what is so often unspoken. The sharing is healing.” pg 597

Recommended, with a few reservations, to spiritual seekers interested in yoga and tantra- particularly women.

Thanks for reading and namaste!

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg stresses the need for collaborative approaches and teamwork because both strategies lead to greater success and gender equality in business. She then takes that idea a step further and ventures to say that if this collaborative model could be applied both on the job, in relationships, and at home that this could change the world.

It probably could. I’m certainly willing to give it a try.

The part of Lean In that I was most receptive to was the discussion about the Queen Bee syndrome of females in upper management and how, sometimes, women keep other women down because of the attitude that “there can only be one”.

Probably because of my background, I’ve always approached friendships with other women with the mind set of a “world family” and do my best to help others with their needs in whatever capacity I can. I have rarely found a friend or business associate who responds with the same level of support. I suspect that this tendency in life to look out for number one is caused by the lack of unconditional love that a supportive family unit provides first developmentally as a child and then into adulthood.

It is no wonder that women, if made to feel inferior to other family members at home, react in an aggressive way when “competing” with other females on the job rather than reaching out a hand in welcome.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

I was fortunate to grow up in an all female household (plus Dad) so gender equality wasn’t an issue that I ever had to consider until I had a child of my own and had to make decisions about work and childcare. My sisters and I weren’t compared to brothers or ever told that we couldn’t have something that we wanted or be successful simply because we were female.

In fact, my mother’s father was on the forefront of the integration of females into the Air Force. He gave his daughter a male name (Allyn) because his thinking was that gender equality was going to shift to a more equal stance during her lifetime. But, it was going to take some time for attitudes to change. In the meantime, he wanted her resume and career to be judged and advanced on its merits, which, he figured, would be smoother and avoid all the pitfalls of sexism if recruiters thought she was a man.

Photo by Maryia Plashchynskaya on Pexels.com

Clever Grandpa and hooray for me that my mother had a positive, feminist role model for a father.

I’m also lucky in that, because of my many female siblings, I have a ready-made “sisterhood” of support. Many of the issues that Sandberg discusses in Lean In, I’ve encountered, but I was lucky enough to have solutions for in the embodiment of my family. I know that not everyone has that type of support in their career and personal life, and I fully appreciate that I’m spoiled in my lifestyle.

If you enjoyed Lean In, I’d suggest Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own (a discussion of feminist issues in relationships and marriage) and Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman (a feminist dissection of a few mythological archetypes to empower women through the exploration of the subconscious mind).

Thanks for reading!

The Help Desk Book Blog

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Category: Dewey Decimal 600s

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety by Sarah Wilson

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead by Laszlo Bock

The Creator’s Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs

Yoni Shakti: A Woman’s Guide to Power and Freedom Through Yoga and Tantra by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

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