Advice you can take to hear, I sure did!

Lessons on Finding the Love of Your NEW Life from Award-winning Author Carole Brody Fleet

Carole Brody Fleet, author of Happily Even After: Getting Through (and Beyond) the Grief of Widowhood, counsels people of all ages and backgrounds with her wisdom and experience.

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Happily Even After: Getting Through (and Beyond) The Grief of Widowhood

(PRWEB) August 01, 2013

When Carole Brody Fleet lost her husband at age forty, there were no resources that spoke directly to her needs as a young widow. The books she turned to spoke only about grief, but Carole knew that focusing on grief was going to keep her in a place of sorrow. Twelve years later, she is the Founder and CEO of Widows Wear Stilettos, Inc., a non-profit organization and website founded in 2006 and devoted to service. Carole’s brand is a recognized imprimatur of quality and trust among grief counselors, therapists and widows themselves.

Carole presents her sage advice in her column on Huffington Post, one of the most widely read on the whole website. In her most recent article, "Finding The Love Of Your NEW Life: You Can Do It If You Choose It," she discusses finding love after loss and how to decide when the right time to start dating again is.

"Whether you are widowed or divorced, you can find love again. You can enjoy the companionship of another once again; even if you choose to remain unmarried. You can love again. You can do away with the excuses and the negativity; whether it is coming from those who surround you or from within yourself. Rather than simply accept the circumstances that have been handed to you—whatever those circumstances may be—you actually can control, design and live the life you choose to live."
—Carole Brody Fleet

Carole will be interviewed on "Real Life with Lisa Jesswein" on August 29th, so tune in to hear more life-improving advice.

Happily Even After
A Guide to Getting Through (and Beyond) the Grief of Widowhood
By Carole Brody Fleet

A Compassionate and Comprehensive Guide for Anyone Who Has Lost a Spouse or Life Partner. Happily Even After is also available as an audiobook.

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Proud and grateful:

Viva Editions: Books for Inspired Living Proudly Announces Author Carole Brody Fleet's Happily Even After wins the Books for a Better Life Award

Books for a Better Life is one of the most prestigious awards in book publishing. Happily Even After: A Guide to Getting Through (and Beyond) the Grief of Widowhood, by award-winning Carole Brody Fleet, founder and CEO of Widows Wear Stilettos, is in the running for the Relationships Award.

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Happily Even After: Getting Through (and Beyond) The Grief of Widowhood

Learning to live happily after the experience of devastating loss is among the most important lessons that can ever be taught.
—Marci Shimoff, Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul

Happily Even After: A Guide to Getting Through (and Beyond) the Grief of Widowhood is in the running for the Relationships Books for a Better Life Award.

Brenda Knight, Associate Publisher of Viva Editions, acquired Happily Even After having experienced widowhood herself said, "This is the book I wish I had at the time. I feel incredibly proud of Carole's book, essential reading for anyone experiencing grief. Now it can get to many more people who need it thanks to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Our intention all along was to get this book to widows, young and old, as well as "widows of the heart," partners not in legally joined relationships. Carole's heart, humor, and practical guidelines cover everything from finances, dealing with children, living single in a couple's world, and more. Carole's courage in sharing her own experiences and those of others is invaluable to anyone who's lost a spouse or life partner."

About the Book
The issues that surround the loss of a spouse are numerous and complex. The widowed must find a way to accept and deal with conflicting and confusing emotions while being expected to "carry on and carry forward." They must also adjust financially and legally and be available to children that inevitably look to their surviving parent for guidance and support. Happily Even After answers the most common questions that the widowed have, both immediately following a spouse's death and in the months and even years after. In her warm, witty, and wise tone, Carole walks widows through the shock and overwhelming sadness and back into the land of the living. Whether a young woman in the early years of a marriage, a golden anniversary celebrant, or a "widow of the heart" who lost a significant other with no legal claims, Fleet offers practical tools.

About the Author:
Carole Brody Fleet is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Widows Wear Stilettos, Inc. Widely recognized as a leader and expert in the areas of grief and loss recovery, Ms. Fleet is a regular guest on national and international TV and radio shows. She has been featured in many magazines, newspapers and websites, and is recipient of the Embrace Life Award from State Farm Insurance Companies and the Board of Directors Outstanding Service Award from the Soaring Spirits Loss Foundation. She is also one of Huffington Post's most popular bloggers. Carole Brody Fleet resides with her family in Southern California.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the founder and sponsor of the Books for a Better Life Award:
Since its inception in 1996, Books for a Better Life has recognized more than 650 self-improvement authors and has now raised more than $1.9 million for the New York City - Southern New York Chapter’s comprehensive support services and educational programs for people living with MS, their friends and families. The Awards recognize self-improvement authors whose messages are aligned with the chapter’s mission of inspiring people to live their best lives. The National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now—to move together toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. MS stops people from moving. We exist to make sure it doesn't. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS through our 50-state network of chapters. The Society helps people affected by MS by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, and providing programs and services that help people with MS and their families move their lives forward.

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Excerpt of the Day: "Every Day Love" by Judy Ford

Falling in love: easy

Sustaining love: well, it’d be easier to complete a triathlon ten times over.

We long for love.  It’s a universal want.  But for some of us, sustaining love is difficult.  Counselor and author Judy Ford’s Every Day Love can help.  Filled with stories and experiences that are often overlooked as insignificant, this book sheds light on how to avoid pitfalls and celebrate the differences between yourself and your love.

Take a peek:

Not Easy Being a Sweetheart

You’ve probably experienced how your sweetheart can bring out the best in you and the worst in you? In the morning, sharing the paper, sipping coffee, making pancakes for the kiddies, looking forward to the evening out together—content and optimistic—all is right with the world. Your kids are smart and cute, your husband’s smart and cute, and you’re feeling on the smart and cute side yourself. In those smart and cute moments your heart swells up so big that you think it might burst.

Later it’s a whole new scenario. The kids make sandwiches, spill ketchup on the floor, leave crumbs on the counter. Your husband decides to remodel the bathroom. You’re glad to get the project started but secretly question his timing. Proud for showing restraint and not wanting to stir up trouble, you squelch your observations. But two hours before you’re scheduled to go out he’s still tearing down a wall and removing the sink.

“We have reservations across town,” you say. “Aren’t you going to get ready?”

He doesn’t respond.

“Are you going to get ready?” you ask a little louder. Still, no answer. To get his attention, you call his name. Firmly.

“What?” he answers.

“Why do you always do this?”

“Do what?”

“Why do you squeeze everything in at the last minute?”

“I thought you wanted me to remodel the bathroom.”

“Not when we have plans,” you snap.

“What’s your problem?” he snaps back. “There’s plenty of time.”

Next thing you know, you’re crying and slamming the door. “Geez,” you hear him mutter as he steps into the shower.

After all I do for you, you’re thinking. Later he confesses what he was thinking: I can never do anything right.

Without even knowing there are triggers, triggers get triggered. Buttons get pushed. Feelings get bruised. You hate to admit it but you’re hard on your sweetheart and hard on yourself. You know it’s impossible to get it right every time, but you want to. You expect to do better, you fail, you beat yourself up, you try again. You’re tired and cranky and when your sweetheart asks what’s wrong, you know you should be happy that he noticed, but his tone sounds more like criticism than concern.

“Nothing,” you snap.

“I was just asking,” he snaps.

Suddenly you’re embroiled in a snapping match.

You’d like to reach out, kiss and make up, but instead you walk on eggshells for a while. It’s hard. It hurts. It’s very confusing.

“I’m sorry,” you say.

You both mean it. You promise not to act that way again. You love your sweetheart, yet life around the home doesn’t always go in the direction intended.

It is not easy to be a person. It is not easy to be a sweetheart. A lover. A partner. A spouse. A friend. A parent. A child. A companion. A confidante. Much is expected, so many surprises. That smart, cute side we’re so proud of is not the only side. It seems there are multiple sides—our public side, our private side, and the secret side only our sweetheart knows.

We are meant to love 24/7 -every chance we get!

by Judy Ford

Viva Editions, $15.95, 263 pages

Life is too short not to show those you love how much you care every day. This is the basis of Judy Ford’s book Every Day Love: The Delicate Art of Caring for Each Other. Ford is a family counselor with 25+ years of experience and in her practice she found that it’s easy for people to fall in love. It is sustaining love from day to day that is the hard part.

Ford presents her ideas in a conversational style that is accessible and non-threatening. Each idea is followed by a love lesson – suggestions you can implement now to make important changes in your life. These lessons aren’t just meant for couples, but can be utilized to strengthen any relationship you want to improve. Each section is no more than a few pages so the book is perfect for browsing or reading on the go. But don’t be surprised if you read the book in one night. There are exercises for every type of learner. Ford suggests journaling, reciting daily mantras, and meditation, just to name a few. With this book, you’ll learn about yourself and your ability to love and be loved.

Reviewed by Kathryn Franklin

love notes from our readers for "Every Day Love"

Ms. Ford ~

I have subscribed to Science of the Mind Magazine for the past 8 years. I think I remember seeing your book "Every Day Love" advertised before, but I never was moved to pick up a copy until the April issue....it must have been Divine Intervention. The monthly magazine arrived in my mail box early in March.

I went to Barnes and Noble a few days later gathered up a few recommended books, purchased a cup of coffee at the in-house Starbucks and started browsing through them...deciding which ones to purchase. I could not put your book down...I have it on my night stand and read several chapters each night. I knew almost instantly that I would be writing to you when I finished it. Tonight I finished it and am feeling a bit let down that that my nightly ritual with your book has ended.

I am in my 60's and have been in several relationships during my life...I think I finally got it right this time...reading your book made me realize that I have been doing many of the Love Lessons you talk about....your lessons have validated that I am on the right track...and you have offered many others that I will put into practice.

I have shared many chapters with my sweetie. Your book is so loving and so gentle...we could all benefit from treating our loved ones in this manner. It took me many years to get to this place...but I finally got it...thank you! I look forward to reading some of your other books.