Want a seven-day prescription for a better relationship?

I wish it were that easy.

However, even though these seven action steps by the infamous Gottmans aren’t guarantees, they are plenty to make a shift in the right direction.

John and Julie Gottman have compiled extensive scientific data on what makes relationships work in this book, The Love Prescription: Seven Days to More Intimacy, Connection, and Joy.

They start with advising you to accept your partner’s bid for attention. A bid is when one partner says something like, “Wow—look at that bird!” The other partner can respond to this bid in one of three ways:

(1) Turn away – ignore them and say nothing

(2) Turn against – make a hostile response like, “Stop interrupting me.”

(3) Turn toward – say, “That’s amazing! Such beautiful colors.”

The Gottmans found in healthy relationships, partners use turn toward (3) their partners’ bids for attention 86% of the time. But in unhealthy couples, only 33% of the time.

So Day 1 of their prescription begins with toward moves. Here are all seven days from The Love Prescription.

Day 1: Make Contact
Day 2: Ask a Big Question
Day 3: Say Thank You
Day 4: Give a Real Compliment
Day 5: Ask for What You Need
Day 6: Reach Out and Touch
Day 7: Declare a Date Night

The advice is nothing magic, nothing expensive, nothing particularly time-consuming.

Yet if followed, what a difference it might make!

The Gottmans are also widely known for predicting the end of a relationship based on the frequency of these four communication styles: (1) criticism, (2) contempt, (3) defensiveness, and (4) stonewalling.

Quotes from The Love Prescription

“Small things often.”

~ * ~

“The best relationships aren’t built on partners mostly telling each other what’s wrong. They’re built on partners mostly telling each other what’s right.”

~ * ~

“Have a 10-minute check-in during which both partners ask, ‘Is there anything you need from me today?'”

~ * ~

“What turning towards really does is put money in a couple’s emotional bank account.”

~ * ~

“Anyone can surprise you if you give them the opportunity to do so.”

~ * ~

“Love is worth it.”

Which of the 7 pieces of advice could you try today: Day 1: Make Contact, Day 2: Ask a Big Question, Day 3: Say Thank You, Day 4: Give a Real Compliment, Day 5: Ask for What You Need, Day 6: Reach Out and Touch, Day 7: Declare a Date Night?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Today is the final day of the 28 day series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}. 

See all 28 recommended books here.

Previous:
“The Office BFFs” {Book 27}

When The Office mockumentary sitcom first aired on TV in 2005-2013, I wasn’t a watcher. We still had kids in the house and we didn’t watch much TV at all. And when we did, it was educational. So this didn’t qualify.

But now that our children are grown, Jeff and I finally began watching The Office last fall as our show-before-we-go-to-sleep (do you have one of those, too?).

Admittedly it took a few episodes before I liked it, but then I grew to love it. It never failed to make me laugh and put my mood in a better place.

And now I understand the multitude of Office memes, GIFs, and quotes that populate the internet.

So when I saw that “Pam” and “Angela” had written a book about the series, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There, I couldn’t wait to read it. (Granted, I didn’t start the book until I’d finished watching all 9 seasons of the show; I didn’t want any spoilers.)

I thoroughly enjoyed the book with the funny and poignant stories about Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. They include many wonderful photos, too.

But one of the most heartening things is seeing that Jenna Fischer (receptionist Pam Beesly) and Angela Kinsey (accountant Angela Martin) truly are best friends in real life.

“Sometimes that’s all you need to help you move forward: You need the right person to listen.”

Early in the show they became friends. And then best friends. Their characters didn’t like each other in the show, but when the cameras weren’t rolling, the women themselves couldn’t stop talking to each other.

If you’re also a fan of The Office, either from 2005 or now, you’ll enjoy reading this book.

If you’re a podcast listener, subscribe to Office Ladies for more laughs. Jenna and Angela are breaking down every episode on their podcast, one episode at a time, telling behind-the-scenes stories and interviewing cast members and staff.

Because sometimes you just need to laugh with people you love (even when Michael Scott, Jim and Pam, Dwight Schrute and Angela are only characters on a show). 

“Invest in the people in your lives. Find that friend who makes you feel ten feet tall and bulletproof. Build them up and encourage them. Show up for each other no matter how big or small the occasion. Link arms and walk into any crowd, fake laughing like you own the world and you will!”

What’s a funny TV series you’d recommend? Are you a fan of The Office? Share your thoughts in the comments.

You are on Day #27 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}. Each day of February 2023 I’m recommending one book a day from favorite nonfiction books I’ve recently read.

The Table of Contents for all 28 books is here, updated daily.

Previous:
“Good Inside” {Book 26}

Next:
“The Love Prescription” {Book 28}

Technically, this is a parenting book. Dr. Becky Kennedy gives advice on handling separation anxiety, temper tantrums, sibling rivalry, perfectionism, etc, in her book, Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be.

But this book is not only for parents. It’s a book for navigating relationships of any age, whether with a child, an adult, or reparenting ourselves. It’s for anybody who is human.

Dr. Becky’s advice is to prioritize connecting more than correcting. And to intervene by looking for the good inside each person instead of reacting from frustration and anger.

“Underneath ‘bad behavior’ is always a good child.”

To find the good inside, Dr. Becky says to ask ourselves this question before we respond to a situation:

“What is my most generous interpretation of what just happened?”

This works not only for parenting decisions, but for marriage decisions, friendship decisions, etc.

It correlates with one of the top pieces of marital advice I give (when asked): Give each other the benefit of the doubt as much as possible.

Do I always do it? No. But is it a worthy goal? Yes. For any kind of relationship.

This approach still requires parents to embody their authority with children (we are still the adults in the room, after all), but in a way that opens up space for seeing the whole person in front of us instead of just a misbehavior.

“Our kids should not dictate our boundaries and we should not dictate their feelings.”

Validation, empathy, boundary – that’s Dr. Becky’s formula to build resilience in kids, not just happiness.

“Resilience helps us bounce back from the stress, failure, mistakes, and adversity in our lives. Resilience allows for the emergence of happiness.”

At every age we will have problems in our lives, but if we can build resilience for working through our distress, we eliminate some of the extra struggling.

Knowing how to better support our kids (and ourselves) in the current moment makes for a healthier future for all.

Quotes from Good Inside

“Remember: it’s not our feelings that are the problem, it’s the regulation of the feelings.”

~ * ~

“The larger lesson to teach our kids is that distress is a part of life and when upsetting things happen, we can talk about them and get through them with the people we love.”

~ * ~

“At our core, we all want someone else to acknowledge our experience, our feelings, and our truths. When we feel seen by others, we can manage our disappointment, and we feel safe and good enough inside to consider someone else’s perspective.”

~ * ~

“Confidence is our ability to feel at home with ourselves in the widest range of feelings possible. It’s okay to be who you are no matter what you’re feeling.”

~ * ~

“Say this to yourself and then to your child: Here’s something I’ve noticed about you. You’re a person who can do hard things. We will keep getting through this. I love you.”

Do you have a favorite parenting book? Share your thoughts in the comments.

You are on Day #26 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.

Previous:
“Cultish” {Book 25}

Next:
“The Office BFFs” {Book 27}

My body recoiled when Jeff and I stepped on this property on the outskirts of Waco, Texas, last fall. In April, it will be 30 years since a fire ended the 51-day standoff between the FBI and the cult of the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh, killing over 80 people.

A small group of Davidians still meet on the land.

They sell propaganda applauding David Koresh inside their church building.

But a book you will NOT find for sale on the Branch Davidian compound is this one, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism.

Written by Amanda Montell, Cultish helps explain the mindset of cults. In this book you’ll learn about all things cultish in clear and disturbing details, from cults like Heaven’s Gate to the modern MLM (multilevel marketing) organizations.

Cultish also helps answer the question we all may have wondered: “Could this happen to me, too?”

In the past few years we’ve all watched those among our friends or families who now believe in what are known as conspiracy theories, even if not fully a cult.

It doesn’t take a total brain-washing. There are ways to watch out for it. And some of those ways include language.

“Language is a leader’s charisma. It’s what empowers them to create a mini universe—a system of values and truths—and then compel their followers to heed its rules.”

Language strengthens beliefs.

Words have power.

Watch the words.

Quotes from Cultish

“The goal is to make your people feel like they have all the answers, while the rest of the world is not just foolish, but inferior.”

~ * ~

“When you convince someone that they’re above everyone else, it helps you both distance them from outsiders and also abuse them, because you can paint anything from physical assault to unpaid labor to verbal attacks as ‘special treatment’ reserved only for them.”

~ * ~

“Language doesn’t work to manipulate people into believing things they don’t want to believe; instead, it gives them license to believe ideas they’re already open to.”

~ * ~

“Language—both literal and figurative, well-intentioned and ill-intentioned, politically correct and politically incorrect—reshapes a person’s reality only if they are in an ideological place where that reshaping is welcome.”

~ * ~

“Researchers found that when someone is in a good mood, they become more innocent and unsuspecting, while feeling grumpy makes one better at sensing deception. Which has to be the most curmudgeonly superpower I’ve ever heard.”

~ * ~

“Tune in to the loaded language, us-versus-them verbiage, thought-terminators, and verbal abuse that make up the language of cultish influence, and the leaders’ motives will ring loud and clear.”

Have you been in a cult or know someone who has? Share your thoughts in the comments.

You are on Day #25 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.

Previous:
“The Fire Next Time” {Book 24}

Next:
“Good Inside” {Book 26}

Near the end of each month, I share four somethings at Jennifer’s linkup: what I’m loving, reading, learning, and eating. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

What I’m Loving

• NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY & CULTURE

Jeff and I finally got to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC a few months ago, shortly after its 6-year anniversary. It’s the largest and most comprehensive museum exclusively dedicated to telling the African American story.

It was all the things I expected it to be . . . heart-wrenching, terrifying, sobering, and in the end, inspiring. It’s still hard for me to put into words the depth of emotion and thoughts it stirred in me.

I highly recommend this masterpiece of a museum.  

 ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

What I’m Reading 

• THE FIRE NEXT TIME

On the second floor of the museum, I was delighted to see the museum’s book exhibit.

It included this book that I finally read and recommend now to you: The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin.

“The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it… History is literally present in all that we do.”
– James Baldwin

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

What I’m Learning

• REMEMBER HISTORY

I already knew this, but the museum was a great reminder of this lesson I don’t want to forget: The truth of history needs to be remembered and told in the present, even when it hurts.

Maybe especially when it hurts.

Sadly, The Fire Next Time still feels oddly relevant to our current climate of racial tension in the United States.

And it’s 60 years old.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

What I’m Eating

• SWEET HOME CAFÉ

The museum has a large restaurant inside it, Sweet Home Café. It serves African-American dishes in four dining stations: North States, Creole Coast, Agricultural South and Western Range.

Jeff and I ate from the Agricultural South section: pulled pork BBQ, cornbread, and mac and cheese, a meal we might also eat on any given day at home. It was delicious.

What’s a favorite museum you’ve visited? Have you been to the National Museum of African American History and Culture? 

Share in the comments.

You are on Day #24 of the February series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.

Previous:
“Platonic” {Book 23}

Next:
“Cultish” {Book 25}

“When you choose to be a friend, you choose to show up.”
– Marisa G. Franco

Eating our breadsticks at Olive Garden yesterday, my friend Kay and I talked about our friendship through the years.

We acknowledge our ups and downs. But we’ve made it work. Through changes and conversations and commitment, we’ve built a strong relationship. I’m grateful Kay consistently shows up for me. 

Did our attachment styles also play a role in keeping our friendship strong?

We’re both new to learning about attachment styles, so we can’t say for sure. (But I can say for sure we’ll talk more about it. It’s the kind of conversation we love.)

Do you know your attachment style?

In this new book by Dr. Marisa G. Franco, Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends, you’ll learn more about the three attachment styles.

The attachment styles are:

• SECURE ATTACHMENT
  Secure people assume they are worthy of love, and others can be trusted to give it to them, leading them to give others the benefit of the doubt, open up, ask for what they need, support others, assume others like them, and achieve intimacy.
• ANXIOUS ATTACHMENT
  People who are anxiously attached assume others will abandon them, so they act clingily, are overly self-sacrificing to accommodate others, or plunge into intimacy too rapidly.
• AVOIDANCE ATTACHMENT
  Avoidantly attached people are similarly afraid of abandonment, but instead of clinging, they keep others at a distance, eschew vulnerability, and leave relationships prematurely.

In other words, the rich get richer in friendships, at least when it pertains to attachment styles. Because when we feel accepted and loved (secure attachment style), we develop qualities that lead us to continue to connect better.

“Assuming the best sets secure people up to receive the best.”

But when we’re anxious or avoidant, we may self-sabotage our friendships in harmful ways.

I was surprised by the depth of this book about friendships, including chapters on initiative, vulnerability, authenticity, anger, etc.

You’ll find lots of practical advice here based on scientific data (yet easy to understand) about making and keeping friends.

“The crux of these theories is that people like people who like them.”

And don’t we all need strong friendships?

“Out of 106 factors that influence depression, having a confidante is the most powerful. Loneliness is more fatal than a poor diet or lack of exercise, as corrosive as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day.”

Quotes from Platonic 

“One study found the most pronounced difference between happy and unhappy people was not how attractive or religious they were or how many good things happened to them. It was their level of social connection.”

~ * ~

“If someone has a history of being rejecting in your moments of need, don’t assume they’ll change. Don’t look for water in an empty well. Your vulnerability is too precious for that.”

~ * ~

“If we can’t tolerate sadness, we may avoid friends who need support. If we can’t tolerate tension, we may withdraw from friends instead of addressing problems.”

~ * ~

“Studies have found that expressing anger is more likely to benefit a relationship than destroy it. . . . Addressing your hurts makes the friendship better.”

~ * ~

“Not every friend has to be a best friend. Maybe we expect less from them, share less of ourselves, and compartmentalize the friendship to what feels most fulfilling about it.”

~ * ~

“The more contacts we have, one study found, the less time we spend with each one. The larger our network, the weaker our relationships tend to be. If we try to invest in everyone, we may end up investing in no one. We first need to figure out who our friends are.”

~ * ~

“What is the distinguishing quality of the super friends? It’s security.”

Did all your friendships survive the pandemic? Share your thoughts in the comments.

You are on Day #23 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.

Each day of February 2023 I’m recommending one book a day from favorite nonfiction books I’ve recently read.

The Table of Contents for all 28 books is here, updated daily.

Previous:
“Nonviolent Communication” {Book 22}

Next:
“The Fire Next Time” {Book 24}

We often know what we want in a relationship.

But do we think about what we need from another person?

And even if can identify a need, do we know how to communicate that need?

“Most of us grew up speaking a language that encourages us to label, compare, demand, and pronounce judgments rather than to be aware of what we are feeling and needing.”
– Dr. Marshall Rosenberg

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life is a wonderful book to help us trade in our harmful communication patterns for healthy ones.

Instead of defending, withdrawing, and attacking, use observing, identifying, and articulating.

“No matter what else is going on, we all have the same needs. Needs are universal.”

Author and psychologist, mediator, and teacher Marshall Rosenberg (1934-2015) also wants us to differentiate between our feelings and our thoughts. We often confuse statements of “I feel…” and “I think…” to our detriment.

Why does it matter?

Because Dr. Rosenberg says that articulating what we feel (not just what we think) is one of the first steps to identifying what we need.

“The objective of nonviolent communication is not to change people and their behavior in order to get our way; it is to establish relationships based on honesty and empathy that will eventually fulfill everyone’s needs.”

It may sound easy, but anybody in a relationship can attest that communication between any two people can be tricky.

We all have room for improvement.

This book is a great place to start.

“When we listen for feelings and needs, we no longer see people as monsters.”

Quotes from Nonviolent Communication 

“Connect your feeling with your need: ‘I feel…because I need…'”

~ * ~

“Expressing our vulnerability can help resolve conflicts.”

~ * ~

“What others do may be the stimulus of our feelings, but not the cause.”

~ * ~

“Use positive language when making requests. [You can’t do a don’t.]”

~ * ~

“Listen to what people are needing rather than what they are thinking. . . . You’ll find people to be less threatening if you hear what they’re needing rather than what they’re thinking about you.”

~ * ~

“Focus on what we want to do rather than what went wrong.”

What do you most need from a relationship? Share your thoughts in the comments.

You are on Day #22 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.

The Table of Contents for all 28 books is here, updated daily.

Previous:
“How to Human” {Book 21}

Next:
“Platonic” {Book 23}

Jeff and I are in the living room watching our local nightly news (not a nightly thing for us). We’re waiting on a specific report of a local event.

Here it comes. The TV screen splits between the news anchor and a new guy, the reporter in the field. We lean in to closer to hear the details.

But the reporter keeps bungling his words. Again and again. We wonder how he got this job. And how long he’ll keep it.

He stammers and starts over. But this is live TV. He can’t call for a repeat.

After an excruciating two minutes, the reporter gives his sign-off statement, “This is ___, reporting live for WAFF-48. Liz, back to you.”

But instead of the cameras switching back to the single screen of Liz at the anchor desk, they hesitate a second too long, still rolling on the reporter, too.

The reporter doesn’t realize his video and audio are still on live TV.

All the viewers watch as the reporter hangs his head and makes a face. We hear him as he visibly groans, “I messed up so much!“

And in that moment, instead of wanting this new guy to be fired for incompetence, I become his biggest fan. Why? Because I see myself in him. I see him as a fellow human being struggling to do a tough job. And I love him for it.

Forget professionalism. I want human.

As I work with my word of the year, Human, I’m seeing how the humanity in others makes me more happy to be a human myself.

This new book by Carlos Whittaker does this for me, too.

In How to Human: Three Ways to Share Life Beyond What Distracts, Divides, and Disconnects Us, Carlos Whittaker, an author, speaker, and social-media pro, reveals his own stories and advice on being human, seeing humans, and freeing humans. Although he writes from a Christian lens, his larger goal is to help all people everywhere become better at being a human.

“We are called as Christians and, dare I say, as humans to wake up every day with one goal: to love others ferociously. All others.”

When we learn to see the good in each other, treating other humans better, we become better humans ourselves.

“Let’s remind the world exactly how to do this. How to help. How to hope. How to human.”

(I also love in this book that Carlos uses human as a verb. Perfect.)

Watch this video of Carlos to get a taste of how he humans:
“How to help the black community in this moment… If you’re not black…“

You can also find Carlos Whittaker living life out loud on Instagram @LosWhit.

More Quotes from How to Human

“If we want to get back to being human, we must recover our compassion.”

~ * ~

“Being human means purposely bringing wonder into your God Speed life. . . . So, the task at hand is simple. Slow down. Wonder up. Be more like birds and you’ll be more human.”

~ * ~

“To see another human is not only for your benefit but for theirs. Almost all the ugliness that we encounter online can be boiled down to people wanting to be seen.”

~ * ~

“We need to see past who we think people are and into who they really are. That’s what Jesus did so well.”

~ * ~

“We’ve got to continue getting near to the people we are doubting or are doubting us. It’s the most human thing you can do.”

~ * ~

“What really matters most is also what is most simple: showing up and loving.”

What do you love about being human? Share in the comments.

My thanks to NetGalley + WaterBrook &
Multnomah for the review copy of this book

You are on Day #21 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.

The Table of Contents for all 28 books is here, updated daily.

Previous:
“Beating Guns” {Book 20}

Next:
“Nonviolent Communication” {Book 22}

Jeff and I saw this monument “Guns into Plowshares” in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on our way to Washington, D.C. last fall. It’s a large plow blade made in 1995 by Mennonite artist Esther Augsburger and her son Michael from 3,000 confiscated guns collected by the D.C. police department in an amnesty program.

It was moved from Washington, D.C., to Eastern Mennonite University in 2017, where it now resides.

I’m not anti-gun. I’m married to a hunter. We have guns in our house, safely secured.

But I am also pro-common sense gun laws.

And we don’t have enough of these, especially in my state of Alabama.

Our gun safety laws are among the worst in the nation.

So it’s not surprising that Alabama is #5 in the nation for firearm death rates (as of 2021 statistics), behind only Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico and Wyoming. Our gun homicide rate now even outpaces our suicide rate. (In most states, gun suicides are greater than gun homicides.)

We have been better at protecting guns than protecting people.
– Shane Claiborne

Gun violence disturbs all of us.

This book, Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence by Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin, shows how gun violence is both a heart problem AND a gun problem.

There is a way to slow down our gun violence problem in America. But are we willing to take it?

Claiborne and Martin write from a Christian perspective in this book, but you don’t have to be a Christian to benefit from the truths they share.

“Some will say, ‘All we can do is pray.’ That’s a lie.
We can pray, and we must pray. Gun violence is spiritual.
But we can do more than pray. We can organize. We can dialogue. We can boycott and keep vigil. We can write letters and make phone calls and go to jail for nonviolent civil disobedience. Gun violence is social and political and economic; it is also a moral issue.”

Beating Guns is full of statistics that reveal just how extensive our problem has been for many years.

• America has as many guns as people.
• More Americans have died from guns in the last 50 years than in all the wars we’ve been in.
• Americans own almost half the world’s guns, yet we are less than 5% of the world’s population.
• America’s biggest gun problem is suicide.

I recommend Beating Guns to anybody concerned about gun violence and wanting to make a change.

I also recommend joining or donating to your local chapter of Moms Demand Action, a non-partisan grassroots organization for all women and all men dedicated to ending gun violence.

Quotes from 

“The Golden Rule—do to others what you would have them do to you—is a greater commandment than the Second Amendment.”

~ * ~

“A gun is much more likely to be used in a suicide, a domestic homicide, or an accidental shooting than it is to be used to ward off a criminal.”

~ * ~

“The Jesus I worship carried a cross. Jesus did not tell us to kill our enemies; he told us to love them.”

~ * ~

“When Jesus said to love your enemies, isn’t it safe to assume he meant that we shouldn’t kill them?”

~ * ~

“We have been better at protecting guns than protecting people.”

~ * ~

“Every human is created in the image of God. We have love in our DNA. There is something in almost every person that recognizes that killing is wrong.”

If you also have guns in your homes, make sure they are safely secured. Did you know that 4.6 million American children live in homes with guns that are both loaded and unlocked? Get great advice here on how to safely store your firearms.

Have you lost anyone to gun violence, either homicide or suicide? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

You are on Day #20 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.

Each day of February 2023 I’m recommending one book a day from favorite nonfiction books I’ve recently read.

The Table of Contents for all 28 books is here, updated daily.

Previous:
“Stories I Only Tell My Friends” {Book 19}

Next:
“How to Human” {Book 21}

As a young girl, I fell hard for Rob Lowe. Maybe first in St. Elmo’s Fire? Then I grew up and realized he’s just a person like every other person with his own set of problems. 

But when I heard he’d written an autobiography—and I kept hearing it was good—I wanted to catch up on him again. Not as a star, but as a very interesting person who’s had a very interesting life.

I don’t read many celebrity memoirs, but I am often delightfully surprised when I do. That’s what happened to me with this one, Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe.

I actually listened to it as an audiobook, read by Rob Lowe himself. His stories were fascinating and Lowe was very humble in the telling of them.

In the end, even though our experiences may vary wildly, our basic humanity is more alike than different.

Quotes from Stories I Only Tell My Friends 

“I followed my heart and stayed out of the results.”

~ * ~

“So I came to the realization: Nothing in life is unfair. It’s just life.”

~ * ~

“I’ve learned to only concern myself with my end of any transaction. I do the best job I can and then let the results be what they will. I am out of the people-pleasing business.”

~ * ~

“If you can’t get honest with yourself, if you can’t look yourself in the mirror, no matter how much money they pay you, or how much you are lauded, you are literally putting your life at risk.”

~ * ~

“Anyone can run a career when the going is good. But it’s in the down times, the quiet times, that long-term careers are really made. You need to find ways to stay in the conversation, to be current and to reinvent yourself.”

~ * ~

“You can’t build a life on a backstage pass or free swag at Sundance.”

~ * ~

“The best part is not the biggest, it’s the one that’s most memorable.”

What celebrity memoir would you recommend? I also recommend Bruce Springsteen’s memoir, Born to Run. Share in the comments. 

You are on Day #19 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.

Previous:
“I Take My Coffee Black” {Book 18}

Next:
“Beating Guns” {Book 20}