Nerd @ 190

Smash Poetry Journal: 125 Writing Ideas for Inspiration and Self Exploration by Robert Lee Brewer My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is exactly as promised. It is filled with wonderful and creative prompts. Each one is new and different. I feel that these prompts can encourage all kind of creative activities (not just poetry, it could carry into collage, photography, music.. any creative activity you enjoy.) I can't wait to begin on my journey of a poem a day. View all my reviews

The Upward Spiral Workbook: A Practical Neuroscience Program for Reversing the Course of Depression by Alex Korb My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read this book in an unedited advanced reader copy from Netgalley. The Upward Spiral Workbook is such a helpful format and clear on concepts that I would use it for myself and for therapy clients. Alex Korb gives simple explanations of complex neurological systems. The book then breaks down all the different things that a person can take to make those neurological systems healthier into easy to manage and highly organized steps. I wanted something that would encourage motivation and activity. That is exactly what this book does. I would buy a paper copy to benefit from the pieces I missed out on by the book being pre-published form. View all my reviews

I find death and other horribly traumatic things to be funny.  I believe a big part of the reason I find them to be funny is that, true story, when I am asked to describe my life, I describe it as generally positive and myself as constantly moving forward towards happy goals.  The funny part of this, is when you ask me to describe things in my life, I say "nothing too bad"  then proceed to watch shocked faces as we get into the nitty gritty details.  That happens to be a significant piece of my challenge with the "targets" session of EMDR I previously described.  When I tell someone "Oh, nothing too bad"  then proceed to list off things all the things, the professional person I'm speaking to stops being professional and starts to get confused.  They ask questions: "how did that happen in elementary school? That a thing?  Um, how many cutters?  He jumped off a what?  You were almost shot?   Did you say they attempted... no completed suicide. Wai

I've just finished Mindy Kaling's book, Why Not Me.  It is wonderful.  I also think it is very important that you know I love Mindy Kaling.  If I ever become one of those therapists on TV, know I have done so to better position myself to be friends with Mindy Kaling.  Possibly also to better the world by talking about mental health stigma, and the ways that I believe (and are backed up by the research of people much smarter than me) the disabled, veterans, and chronically ill are horribly treated in the mental health community, but mostly to become friends with Mindy Kaling. Why not me is lighthearted, offers advice, and is often hilarious.  It is everything that you could possibly want if you pick up a memoir of a comedian.  There are tales of romance, slights about her looks and a fabulous chapter about her relationship with B. J. Novack.    Any good Mindy fan will expect nothing less.  I found it to be just the right length, as I never wanted to put it down and didn't

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris My rating: 4 of 5 stars Grave Secret gives a satisfying conclusion to Harper Connelly's travels with her step brother. The characters, the mystery, and the romance remain exciting, enticing and enjoyable. The book is the perfect length. It gives space for the reader to put together some (possibly all) of the pieces to the mystery that is the focus of the book. It is filled with the type of nuanced descriptions that make Charlaine Harris a best selling creator of mysteries. I greatly enjoyed it, and have it in my "read again" pile so that I can pick up on any puzzle pieces that I missed. View all my reviews

Crazy Beautiful Letters: Learn the basics of brush lettering, happy mail, and envelope art with creative lettering projects YOU can do! by Judith Graves My rating: 3 of 5 stars Crazy beautiful Letters is a quick, helpful book if you are interested in beginning lettering. I received it as an ARC from Net Galley. It has nice instructions, practice pages, and a bakers dozen of crafts, to get one started. There are a few short personal stories from the author, nothing that detracts from the purpose of the book. This is exactly the type of book one wants when beginning a new art. It will benefit me greatly as I begin the practice of being a pen pal. View all my reviews

In a rather surprising turn of events, my hysterectomy did not solve all of my problems.  I'm being sarcastic. I never expected it to solve everything, but I have been struggling with the challenges that came with menopause. First off, I've had a migraine almost every day.  The migraines are new and different migraines from my previous two migraines.  The pain isn't as much, but the nausea, dizziness and blurred vision are awful.  Yes, blurred vision.  I haven't been able to read or study like I want to.  There is also a very strange perfume-like metallic taste in my mouth.  Apparently, that is a rare symptom of menopause. Not the kind that people chat too much about.  Truth is, many of my menopause symptoms have had me thinking I was dying or that something horrible was wrong.  I didn't know that these light migraines were migraines; they are so different than the migraines I have had all my life.  The exhaustion and metallic taste are strange and extreme.  This