Sullie Saves the Seas Author: Goffinet McLaren http://www.sullietheseagull.com Reviewed By: Anne Holmes for the NABBW This wonderful children\’s book introduces the world to Sullie the Seagull, Author McLaren\’s newly hatched “spokesbird” for clean oceans. This is a parable told by Sullie, an old seagull. Sullie\’s tale begins on Turtle Beach, the morning after Memorial Day, and provides a lesson about the dangers of trash in our oceans. Sullie\’s information is correct: All the experts say the solution to our trash-choked oceans begins at home, since most... Read More

Moon Over Taylor\’s Ridge Kindle Edition Author: Janie Dempsey Watts http://www.janiewatts.com/ Reviewed By: Anne Holmes for the NABBW This is a wonderful story populated with well-developed characters, and set in a historically rich place – the tiny town of Taylor\’s Crossing, Georgia. The fictional community\’s location is crucial to the story. We quickly learn that Taylor\’s Crossing is in northwest Georgia, near Taylor\’s Ridge, and south of Ringgold. Nestled into an arm of the Appalachians, in Chattooga County, it\’s an area rich in Native American... Read More

Why Don\’t More Parents Talk About Empty Nest? By Natalie Caine, M.A. NABBW’s Empty Nest Expert This weekend kids are packing up and heading to college. Parents are shocked at the gut pain they are feeling, hugging goodbye. The “ugly cry” visits them at unpredictable times, like while marketing. Goodbye drops them into the reality that their parenting role will never be as it was before. They are kicked out of the kingdom with an unfamiliar role as parents. Parents are in the background, not leading, not seeing day to day, and not hearing the stories after school. It is... Read More

Are You In Love or “Love” Addicted? Take the Quiz and Find Out By Jed Diamond, Ph.D., LCSW NABBW’s Male Menopause Expert When I was young I spent many hours at the movies longing for the kind of love I saw on the screen-big, passionate, and lasting. I wanted Splendor in the Grass and believed that Love Was a Many Splendored Thing. But as I got older and got married, became a therapist, and began working with men, women, and families, my views began to change. I found there was a difference between love and “love” and “love addiction.” I wrote a book... Read More

Why Women Need Life Insurance By Pamela J. Sams, CRPC NABBW’s Retirement Planning for Women Expert Today, women have more financial responsibilities than ever before. How will your family or loved ones manage financially if you die? Whether you are single, married, employed, or a stay-at-home mom, you probably need life insurance. At the very least, life insurance can help pay for the costs of funeral and burial services, estate administration, outstanding debts, estate taxes, and the uninsured expenses of a final illness. Who needs life insurance? Working women Increasingly, families... Read More

Don’t Sleep on It By Leigh Anne Jasheway NABBW’s Boomer Humor Expert Driving back home from a trip to Portland, Oregon, I saw a full-size travel trailer painted flame red with the black silhouettes of three obviously young naked women on the side. In fact, they appeared to be naked and living on a planet with little or no gravity. I immediately thought that strip clubs had gone mobile. Yes, it would probably be difficult to stay on the pole as the trailer careens around curves or comes to an abrupt stop, but I’m sure men would pay extra to watch that. If you think talking on cell phones... Read More

Saying Goodbye to Your College Bound Kids By Natalie Caine, M.A. NABBW’s Empty Nest Expert In our parent group, I suggested each share what they will miss and what they look forward to when they aren\’t parents every day. I suggested they remember to allow different parts of them to speak, the confident one, the brave one, the sad one, the freedom one, etc. We forget we have so many parts within us when sadness grips. Tears are a great thing even though I have never met one person who likes to cry unless they are alone. Even alone, the beginning of tears feels the worst because you... Read More

Harnessing the Power of Place By Mary J. Yerkes NABBW’s Living with Chronic Illness Expert Not long ago, during a time when stress and fatigue had taken their toll on my body, I booked a weekend away at a local bed and breakfast. Nestled in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I watched breathtaking mountain sunsets, delighted in deer frolicking in the woods, and sat for hours in a red Adirondack chair, soaking in the beauty around me. It was healing. But most of the time, the converse is true. I spend time in stressful places — doctor’s offices and hospitals, crowded shopping malls... Read More

Can You See The Bigger Picture? By Natalie Caine, M.A. NABBW’s Empty Nest Expert Parents are on the countdown to goodbyes. When you are going through a transition, it helps to focus on the grander image of why you are choosing what you are choosing. 1. Do you need more energy?2. Is it time to explore a change of behaviors or people in your life?3. Whether chosen or given, change happens, so what is possible now for you?4. Who can help you?5. How do you make decisions, quickly or over time?6. What are your gifts and your limitations?7. How do you comfort yourself?8. What fears pop up about... Read More

Last Chance for Romance in the West By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert Aspen leaves spinning in a stout wind rattled like castanets. I found shelter beneath the spreading arms of an ancient spruce from the intense sun on a ledge overlooking the Platte River Valley. The ceaseless chatter of the river on its merry way to Denver kept me company. Below, nestled in the cleft of the blue mountains sheathed in Ponderosa pine, North Fork Ranch rests hidden from the modern world. People come here from around the globe to breathe the crystalline air, fish in the clear waters, and let... Read More