Featured Book of The Month August 2010

Pacific Book Review

First Place Winner Reviewers Choice Awards 2011
Relationships

Kick Start Guy Book of the Year 2011

2010 Finalist: Non Fiction - Relationships

USA Book News
The National "Best Books 2010" Awards
Award Winning Finalist in 3 Categories:
Health: Psychology/Mental Health
Self-Help: Relationships
Spirituality: Inspirational

2010 READERS
FAVORITE AWARD
Silver Award Winner,
Non-fiction - Relationships

WINNER
Allbooks Review Editor's Choice Award 2011 - Category: Health

"A holistic, thought-provoking venture that time warps readers back to their formative years and why they think and feel the way they do about relationships, intimacy and sex today."
- San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review

"It will replenish your spirit, nourish your soul, and enrich important aspects of your life."
- Pacific Book Review

"An excellent resource and guide which I use for Psychology seminars. My students can't get enough!"
- Reader Views

"Takes readers through a step-by-step process of internal transformation."
- ForeWord Reviews

"The Highest of Recommendations! I have renewed energy in my own search and understanding of what I need to do, not to mention Hope!"
- Allbooks Review

"The night before her wedding, Judith Desjardins sits alone in her room, sick with dread. She is stilled by the consuming fear that she's going to get it all wrong, all over again. She's been married and divorced twice already and even though this time it feels right, she can't ignore the nugget of fear and doubt that tells her something is wrong. Something is wrong. Like many couples, Desjardins and her husband are illprepared for the onslaught of post-honeymoon marital issues which, if ignored, insistently eat away at the fibers of a marriage. But more than this, as an individual, Desjardins is deeply flawed. If she yearns for a healthy marriage, she must first learn to heal herself. It is with this spirit of self-examination and healing that Desjardins offers readers Creating A Healthy Life and Marriage, an all-encompassing guide to fostering healthy, happy relationships. Divided into eight sections, this book takes readers through a step-by-step process of internal transformation. Placing great emphasis on the importance of the individual's relationship with one's self, Desjardins guides readers through a provoking examination of childhood relationships. Using the term "Inner Child" to describe the "authentic self," readers analyze unmet emotional and psychological needs rooted in the formative years of their development. This assessment of the inner child forms the basis of Desjardins' theory of holistic healing: because "body, mind, emotions, and spirit" work in synthesis to produce healthy individuals, and by extension, a healthy marriage, a reader must confront and recognize the wants and needs of his or her inner child and in doing so, recognize the deficiencies in his or her own character. Each chapter builds on the skills honed in the previous section, with active exercises assigned for each major emotional investigation. These "homework assignments" are thoroughly constructed and move beyond superficial self- help jargon. Though the litany of self- help questionnaires is both visually and psychologically exhausting, the questionnaires pose probing, often uncomfortable, but necessary questions about family history and personal traits. The book is not meant to be a quick, browse-at-random self- help manual. There are expectations placed on the reader--he or she is required to be an active participant in his or her own healing. One of the major strengths of this book is the inclusion of excerpts from the creative work of Desjardins' own therapy clients. As a licensed clinical social worker and a practitioner of ho listic psychotherapy, Desjardins' use of creative writing and art therapy is exemplified through the work of her clients and gives readers a realistic sense of how the process of transformation unfolds in real lives. A comprehensive and interactive guide for building lasting relationships, Creating a Healthy Life and Marriage will appeal to readers both married and single wishing to invest serious time and effort into the journey of self-healing and improvement."
--Shoilee Khan, ForeWord Reviews, September 2010.

"I decided to read Creating A Healthy Life and Marriage when it got Reader Views's Book of the year. It presents a comprehensive approach to a healthy life by guiding the reader to search within. Desjardins presents information about our psychological development in a very simple way. The reader will be able to apply this found knowledge onto themselves immediately through simple charts and questionnaires. But she doesn't stop there! She also shares her own journey, showing her charts as example. At the end, my favorite part, Desjardins shares stories written by some of her patients during their writing therapy. I'm always open to self-growth books, however many times I don't get to the end without skipping pages. This time was different. I loved it. I took my time, took the questionnaires, and read the stories. I found this book to have a well of knowledge, without feeling like a textbook; I also found it personable without being preachy. Very well written, it will keep the reader reading while finding insights about themselves. Truly a book of the year!"
--Susan Violante Author of Innocent War

"In order to fully experience love, you must first find it within yourself." This powerful, yet compassionate book was born as the result of a dream, and it's relationship to the author, Judith Anne Desjardins. She has bared her personal journey of healing and finding her true identity, connecting the reader with this subject. Combined with her professional wisdom, she has produced a comprehensive book for the reader based on the Holistic approach to create a healthy life, belief in self-empowerment, responsibility and personal transformation. Most of us have heard the phrase "the past can ruin your future" or the term ‘Inner Child.' These terms and their significance are thoroughly explained. J.D. believes children have five emotional/psychological needs, developing their own coping mechanisms as a child. Whether one or all of the needs were met, or not met, defines how the child will react in their adult life, even in the capacity to give or receive love. Thousands of people reach a traumatic point in life, when they realize they are not making healthy or fulfilling choices. Many spend years repeating the pattern of failed relationships, leading to self doubt, poor self esteem, even developing physical ailments. She teaches the value of our conscious and unconscious. That forgiveness has to be learned, it does not erase the event or wound, but can set you free. If you do not resolve your personal issues, they become like a toxin having the capacity to destroy your life. Included are chapters on dating and developing relationship skills. It is imperative to have a solid relationship with your own self, in order to maintain a healthy relationship with others. Judith Desjardins has maintained a 33- year holistic psychology practice. Having been raised in a military family, she learned appreciation for multiple cultures and religions. She has been an educator in the U.S. as well as Canada, but emphasizes her greatest achievement to be her marriage, children, their spouses and grandchildren. It has taken her 15 years to prepare this straightforward, life altering, self-help guide. Take the time to participate in the provided exercises and analysis. Review now finished, I intend to take my time with it. I have renewed energy in my own search and understanding of what I need to do, not to mention Hope! It is my pleasure to give the Highest of Recommendations!"
Reviewer: Cheryl Heinrichs, Allbooks Review