The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life, by Rick Warren, Daniel Amen, and Mark Hyman

 Title: The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life

Series: The Daniel Plan

Author: Rick Warren D.MIN., Daniel Amen M.D., and Mark Hyman M.D.

Publisher: Zondervan

Date: December 3, 2013

Paperback: 352 pages






About the Book
Revolutionize Your Health … Once and for All
During an afternoon of baptizing over 800 people, Pastor Rick Warren realized it was time for change. He told his congregation he needed to lose weight and asked if anyone wanted to join him. He thought maybe 200 people would sign up, instead he witnessed a movement unfold as 15,000 people lost over 260,000 pounds in the first year. With assistance from medical and fitness experts, Pastor Rick and thousands of people began a journey to transform their lives.

Welcome to The Daniel Plan.

Here’s the secret sauce: The Daniel Plan is designed to be done in a supportive community relying on God’s instruction for living.

When it comes to getting healthy, two are always better than one. Our research has revealed that people getting healthy together lose twice as much weight as those who do it alone. God never meant for you to go through life alone and that includes the journey to health.

Unlike the thousands of other books on the market, this book is not about a new diet, guilt-driven gym sessions, or shame-driven fasts. The Daniel Plan shows you how the powerful combination of faith, fitness, food, focus, and friends will change your health forever, transforming you in the most head-turning way imaginably---from the inside out.

My Take
I  was really excited to get this book. I thought it was going to take us back to Bible times and show us how they ate back then. I wanted to change the way that I had been eating. Get rid of a lot of processed foods and start eating a more healthy balanced way. Not what the book was like at all. One thing it is, is like a lot of other "health weight loss books" except for the part about relying on God to get you through.

The book does have a recipe section. I don't really approve of some of the choices of foods to eat. I went on the Internet that goes along with the book and saw recipes including pork and sea food. This shocked me. Daniel would have never eaten these types of foods. So I personally think that they used the word "Daniel" to help sell the book or attract more people to buy the book.

This book does give you the option of a 10 day and a 40 day plan to choose from. There is also online support if you need it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't too happy with the book and that is a rare thing for me.

About the Author
Dr. Rick Warren is pastor, author, global strategist, theologian, and philanthropist.  His book The Purpose driven Life has been called the bestselling non-fiction hardback in publishing history by Publishers Weekly, having sold more than 32 million copies.  Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980 with his wife, Kay.  In addition to a 120-acre campus in Lake Forest, CA, the church has ten satellite campuses in Southern California and three international campuses.


Dr. Daniel G. Amen is a physician, double-board certified psychiatrist, teacher and eight-time New York Times bestselling author. Widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on applying brain imaging science to everyday clinical practice, Amen is the founder of Amen Clinics in Newport Beach and San Francisco, Calif.; Bellevue, Wash.; Reston, Va.; Atlanta, Ga.; and New York City. His work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including “The Dr. Oz Show,” “ABC World News,” “20/20,” Newsweek, TIME, The Huffington Post, BBC, London Telegraph, Parade Magazine, New York Times and Cosmopolitan. Additional information is available at http://www.danielplan.com.


Dr. Mark Hyman is a practicing family physician, a six-time No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator and advocate in his field of Functional Medicine. He is also the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center, chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine, a medical editor of The Huffington Post and a regular medical contributor on Katie Couric’s TV show, “Katie.” For more information, visit http://www.danielplan.com/.

Bend Your Brain, by Marbles The Brain Store

Title: Bend Your Brain: 151 Puzzles, Tips, and Tricks to Blow (and Grow) Your Mind

Author: Marbles: The Brain Store

Publisher: Three Rivers Press

Date: August 19, 2014

Paperback: 192 pages






About the Book
Want to get your frontal cortex breaking a sweat? Make your blood pump to your cerebellum? Stretch your occipital lobe to its limits?

Then you need to bend your brain! This first book from the team behind Marbles: The Brain Store, a chain devoted to building better brains, offers puzzles and brain teasers to help enhance memory, build problem-solving skills, and reduce stress.
        Since Marbles started helping people play their way to a healthier brain, they've sold, solved, and been stumped by more than their fair share of puzzles. Along the way, they've learned which puzzles tie people in knots (not in a good way) and which ones make the neurons downright giddy. With the help of their in-house team of BrainCoaches and access to cutting-edge neuroscience, they've designed these puzzles to keep your mind flexible and fit.
        Arranged in five key brain categories—visual perception, word skills, critical thinking, coordination, and memory—Bend Your Brain offers a variety of puzzles ranging from mind-warming (easy) to mind-blowing (hard!):

·  Connecting the dots? More like working your spatial-orientation skills.
·  Identifying famous smiles? Flexing your visual memory.
·  Taking a closer look at your keyboard? Coding, storing, and retrieving.
·  Word-doku? Summoning cognitive abilities like appraisal, inference, impulse control, and evaluation.
·  Word scrambles? Tapping your brain’s association areas.

Your brain is your most important muscle, so let the brain-building begin!

My Take
I am one who loves to be challenged cerebrally and I have to say this is an amazing book that does it. If you love puzzles or physical activities, then you are going to love this book.

The book starts out by telling/showing you the different parts of your brain and how if you don't use it, you can lose it. It also shows you the best way to use the puzzles for a maximum result. Before each puzzle group, you are shown what it does and how it works. The different puzzles in the book are:

Visual Perception (my favourite)
Word Skill
Critical Thinking
Coordination (loved this one as well)
Memory (hands down the funniest)

At the bottom of some of the pages you will find little brain facts that go along with what you are learning.

I really enjoyed this book and answered most of the questions on paper so that I could either do it again or have a friend try it. It could easily be the entertainment at your next party. Or possibly a way for the family to spend some time together.

So, whether you  are out to train your brain, challenge it or just want to have some fun, I highly suggest you pick up a copy of this book to add to your collection.

About the Author
MARBLES: THE BRAIN STORE is in malls across the country. They and their branded products have been featured in Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, USA Today, and Wired, as well as on the Today show and Martha Stewart Living.



Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review.

Brunette Ambition, by Lea Michele

Title: Brunette Ambition

Author: Lea Michele

Publisher: Crown Archetype

Hardcover: 208 pages

Date: May 20, 2014







About the author:
LEA MICHELE is best known for her performance as Rachel Berry on the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe, Grammy, and SAG-award-winning Fox television series Glee. She has been nominated for an Emmy, a SAG Award, and multiple Golden Globes. She divides her time between New York and Los Angeles. 

About the book:
The star of the hit show Glee shares her experiences and insider tips on beauty, fashion, inner strength, and more in an illustrated book that’s part memoir, part how-to, and part style guide.

In Brunette Ambition, she reveals the lessons and advice that have worked for her--from beauty and fashion secrets to fitness tips, and career insights.  Supplemented with never-before-seen photos and revealing anecdotes, it’s the book Lea wishes she’d had in her teens and early twenties: A practical and inspirational guide to harnessing tenacity and passion and living the fullest life, no matter what obstacles life puts in your way.

My take:
Brunette Ambition turned out to be better than I thought it would. I thought it was just going to be about make-up tips and that was pretty much it. I was so wrong. Lea Michele has packet as much information in here as she possibly could. And on top of that, most of the information is very helpful.

First, she takes us on the journey of how she came to be the person she is today. We learn about her childhood and her different Broadway performances. I didn't have any idea that she even started acting that young. After that she goes into the parts that I really enjoyed. Not that her life story wasn't enjoyable, but I love a good informational book.

There are a couple of sections in the book that I really enjoyed. I like the sections about self-care, food, exercise and style. With self-care, she talks about how to pamper yourself. For example, we learn how drinking water is very important (which I already knew), recipes for different home spa treatments, and what to use to help one relax (Lavender Oil and Epsom Salts is high on my list). In the section on food we learn how to create a great meal supplement, a great debloating drink, and a ton of great recipes. Next is the section on exercise, which she lists a lot of great ones to try. Last but not least is the section on style. She shows us how we can dress nice without having to spend a ton of cash.

What I like most about this book are the pictures. She has great pictures all throughout the whole book. They are very colorful and really add to the book in a good way. We can tell that her role model in Barbara Streisand. Not only does she tell us, but she has quotes from her listed all throughout the book. She also has little sections called The Spotlight that gives us extra information on the topic she is discussing, which I love because she has it on notebook style designs. A lot of her extra information is on colorful style paper throughout the book. Her writing style is as though she is speaking to a friend. It is very light and fun. You really enjoy reading it, which has me realizing that I will probably pick it up more than one time. With all the information that she has in here, one can go back to it time and time again.

I received this complementary book from Blogging For Books for an honest review.

Soaring Above Co-Addiction, by Lisa Ann Espich

Are you involved with a drug addict or an alcoholic? Do you know someone who has an addiction to something so strong that it is messing up your lives? I have a solution for you, a book by Lisa Espich, Soaring Above Co-Addiction.

Her story is like most people who are in a relationship with a person who has an addiction problem. You are very stressed. People wonder where your love comes from and why it is so strong for a person who seems to be ruining your life. But one of the differences is that she was able to overcome it and find a way to better herself and make her marriage work. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy, but she made it work.

In, Soaring Above Co-Addiction, you learn how to rise above all your problems and come out a better person. Lisa Espich shows you how to deal with your situation by doing a couple of different exercises. For instance, the visualization exercise. With this particular exercise, you picture yourself attached to the addict with a rope. Every time he moves somewhere, you go with him. You either picture yourself being tugged by the addict forever or you picture yourself cutting free. Another thing she teaches you is how to look out for yourself. If you think better of yourself, you will become a better person. In this exercise, you wake up in the morning and give thanks for all the good things in your life. A third one is affirmations and finally keeping a journal. I really like the one about keeping a journal. I believe that writing is great therapy. Of course, these are just a couple and there is a lot more to learn from reading this book.

The purpose of this book is to show you that you can survive. You can make it to the silver lining at the end of the cloud. It is not going to be easy, but it is achievable. It will help you learn how to pick up your head and deal with the situation you are in. You can, and will triumph.

This is a great book, if you couldn't tell by now. I highly advise one to read this book if you are going through or dealing with someone with an addiction. Even if you know someone who is going through this very thing, reading this book will give you a better understanding of what he or she are going through and how you can help them.

Thanks to Lisa Ann Espich for allowing me to read and review her book.

Breaking Free of Parenting Pressures, by Debbie Pokornik

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with being a parent? Do you ever feel as though you cannot live up to your or someone else's expectations of a "good parent"? Well, in Breaking Free of Parenting Pressures, by Debbie Pokornik, we learn just how to do that very thing. Break free and let go.

In this book we are shown how to deal with the various tasks of being parents. The book is broken down into four different parts:

Part 1 - Being a parent
Part 2 - Understanding you and your family
Part 3 - A free parenting pack
Part 4 - Caring for the caregiver

All throughout the book the author has placed free parenting tips for us to read and use. I found a lot of them to be very helpful. For instance, one of the tips was regarding privileges and taking them away as a measure of punishment for misbehavior. Also listed throughout the book are other helpful tidbits. There was one that I liked in particular, In Case of a Power Struggle-Emergency Guidelines. She suggested that you take the list and copy it and put it somewhere you could see it (and possibly use). Duly noted!

I also found very helpful were the different exercises at the end of each of the chapters. This made me feel as though I was really engaged in the book and it helped me get into the book a little more.

I really think that every parent should read this book. No matter where one is in their life with their kids, there isn't anything that we cannot learn. Whether you have 3, 2, or even 1 kid, there is something new you can learn. Remember, ever kid is different and you will have different experiences with them. I enjoyed it and feel as though you will too.

This book was give to me for free for an honest review.