By Liza Weiman Hanks NABBW’s Estate Planning Associate Dear Liza,  My father passed away recently, and all of his and my mom’s assets are held in a living trust (except an individual checking account), of which I am now the Trustee.  A few collection agencies are now contacting me about collecting on some credit card balances, which are fairly significant.   From what I’ve read online, it sounds like debt collectors might not be able to lay any claims against the trust, but they can collect from the personal estate of the deceased (i.e. checking account or other assets held in the... Read More

Probate Pirates Author: J. Kristi Hood Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne Holmes Is the probate system a protection racket? Based on her personal experience, author Hood says yes. Starting with her first chapter, titled “It’s all about the money all of the time,” she warns the reader that the information provided in her book, which is based on her personal experience with her father, is “pugnacious and provoking.” Her goal in writing of her experiences and subsequent research, is to help readers understand “the tar pit our probate counts have become.”  Specifically,... Read More

The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father One Day at a Time Author: Jonathan Kozol Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne Holmes If you know National Book Award winner Jonathan Kozol for his lifetime of work among our nation’s most disadvantaged children, you’re aware of his seminal books like: Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, or Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America These books, along with about a dozen others, have branded Kozol as a fine writer, a man who, as... Read More

In Search of the Baby Boomer Generation Author: Rick Bava Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes Like Rick Bava, I am a Baby Boomer who has developed an encore career dedicated to serving the Baby Boomer generation. Unlike Bava, I did not spend two years traveling the country talking to Boomers of every stripe. This trip was a critical step, as having done so, Bava has now written what many Baby Boomer experts, myself included, I see as the definitive book on our generation. It is a core resource piece for anyone of a future generation, who seeks to understand our iconic “pig in a python” demographic... Read More

Stuck in the Passing Lane: A Memoir Author: Jed Ringel Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne Holmes I’ve not read a book like this before. It’s the memoir of a recently divorced (the divorce actually takes place partway through the narrative) upper class Baby Boomer man, who, as he puts it, has become “trapped on the Internet dating superhighway.” His Amazon.com bio tells us that “In prior lives, Jed Ringel has been an Ivy League drop-out, a failed sculptor, a morally impoverished Wall Street lawyer (seeking salvation in chasing fallen dictators to repatriate what they stole), and the founder... Read More

By Ronda del Boccio NABBW‘s Associate for Entrepreneurial Authoring I came across this outstanding, to-the-point article guest-written by Ray Edwards on Michael Hyatt’s blog, Your Virtual Mentor.  In this excellent column, Ray shared seven simple ways to improve your writing skills. As a veteran writer, I can tell you that he is right.  Here are his first three tips. Know your reader. This means more than knowing a few demographics (how old they are, their average income, etc.). To know your readers means you understand their fears, frustrations, and aspirations. Writing from... Read More

By Janice Taylor NABBW’s Expert on Weight Loss and Hypnotism According to the ancient Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui, your kitchen is the central part of your home that provides nourishment and sustains life. Therefore, it is the most important area in your home. In addition to having a profound effect on your health, the kitchen is a symbol of wealth and prosperity. Given the importance of this room on our overall wellness, as well as our healthy weight, I thought I’d share a few Feng Shui facts that may motivate you to close your computer and head straight into your kitchen to clean it up... Read More

By Dr. Janet Brill, Ph.D., RDN, FAND, LDN NABBW’s Associate for Healthy Heart Lifestyle You know that you should be eating vegetables every day, but did you know that you should try and get in allium vegetables on a regular basis? The allium family of veggies include onions, leeks, chives and garlic. What’s so awesome about allium veggies? Allium vegetables house a unique combination of polyphenols and sulfur-containing nutrients that have been shown to decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. They also reduce inflammation and prevent loss of bone and... Read More

By Leigh Anne Jasheway NABBW’s Associate for Boomer Humor I’ll admit that I’m lousy at setting boundaries. Words come out of my mouth that in my mind make my desires or lack thereof clear, but what other people seem to hear is, “What you need to do is wheedle, and manipulate, and pressure me into changing my mind.” And by other people, I mean mostly male people. Wish-washy boundaries are why I ended up married to my last ex-husband, a man who proposed to me while he was in the bathtub! He could leave a ring around the tub, but I couldn’t draw a line in the sand. How sad is that? My... Read More

The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon Author: Linda Ballou http://LindaBallouAuthor.com Reviewed by: Anne Holmes for the NABBW As this book opens, life seems pretty good for Gemcie McCauley, a talented and dedicated Grand Prix jumper. She and her beautiful horse, an Irish Hunter named Marshal, whom she’s raised from a colt, are about to capture the World Cup. Gemcie and her handsome husband Jorge, live on a horse ranch owned by his parents. Billy, her longtime trainer, is a father figure for her. She’s never known her father Tom, a cowboy, who left when she was just a month old. We learn that Gemcie... Read More