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Posts from the Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend... Category
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - The 10 Greatest Gifts I Give My Children
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on January 26th, 2009
This is one of my all-time favorite parenting books! I got so much out of The 10 Greatest Gifts I Give My Children, not only as a parent but as a human being on my own life path. I first read this when my kids were young. One of my favorite quotes from this is that “you can only focus on one thing at a time and you go toward what you focus on.” Check it out if you can find a copy - you won’t be disappointed.
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - Close to the Bone
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on January 19th, 2009
Close to the Bone: Life Threatening Illness and the Search for Meaning is one of those books that sticks with you for years after you read it. Jean Shinoda Bolen uses ancient archetypes to help you discover your own search for meaning in the midst of serious illness. I first read this many years ago, and it is still one of my favorite books dealing with illness.
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - The Wisdom of Menopause
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on January 12th, 2009
This is such a good book! Menopause is a time of life, not a medical disease. In The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change, 2nd Edition, Dr. Christian Northrup takes a holistic approach to living with this profound time in a woman’s life. She does a great job of discussing mind, body, and spirit, and I agree with her in many ways. You can read this from cover to cover or take sections at a time as you need them.
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on January 5th, 2009
The author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions is an interesting fellow. He spends his time asking strange “why” questions about why people act the way they do. For instance, why do people cheat in some situations and not others, why do people order what they do in restaurants depending on who is eating with them, why do we now happily pay almost $5 for a cup of coffee when we paid less than a dollar for it several years ago? None of the answers will change your life in any big way, but I still thoroughly enjoyed how the author’s mind works.
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - Return to the Sacred: Ancient Pathways to Spiritual Awakening
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on December 29th, 2008
Return to The Sacred: Ancient Pathways to Spiritual Awakening is an excellent new book written by our dear friend, Jonathan Ellerby. Jonathan is the Spiritual Director at Canyon Ranch Health Resort, and he has traveled and studied all over the world to learn about the spiritual practices that inform our lives. He is one of those special people who truly walks his talk, and his eloquent discussion of the spiritual path is well worth a read. I couldn’t put this book down, and it renewed my commitment to the adventure of a spiritual life.
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - Change of Heart: A Novel
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on December 22nd, 2008
I was looking for a heartwarming story to recommend at Christmastime, but this is the one that popped out at me. Heartwarming in another context maybe! In Change of Heart: A Novel, the author weaves this story from the viewpoints of the major protagonists, including a mother, a priest and a lawyer. Each one offers a piece of the whole picture, centered around a woman who has lost her husband and child in a violent crime. It is now several years later and she is dealing with the life-threatening illness of her daughter, the one she was pregnant with at the time of the murders. Her daughter needs a heart transplant, and there is only one option for saving her life. The man who was convicted of the murders now wants to donate his heart to her after he is executed. Miracles start happening around him, and people wonder if he is the next coming of the Messiah. This book is a commentary on religion, on capital punishment, on guilt and innocence, and on forgiveness. It will most certainly have you thinking about it long after you finish the last page.
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on December 15th, 2008
The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language is a book that begs to be listened to rather than read. You would be surprised at how interesting the story of the English language is. From its roots in Sanskrit to its current shifting with the force of the internet, this is quite an adventure tale. I loved hearing about how words got their footing, and there are some colorful stories behind the phrases that you may use every day. Check out the audiobook version - the narrator does a wonderful job with the various languages, and listening to it helped me to hear the similarities between the languages more clearly. Another bonus - I never realized how beautifully lyrical Old English was!
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - Survival of the Sickest
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on December 8th, 2008
OK, so this is my new favorite medical book! Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease satisfies two loves for me - my fascination with the miracle of our bodies and my love of history. This book talks about how forces from our past influenced our genetics. He shows how such illnesses as diabetes, heart disease and hemochromatosis were originally methods for our bodies to survive other dangers. Check this out - you will be fascinated and intrigued by the deep intelligence of your body.
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - The Witch of Portobello: a Novel
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on December 1st, 2008
The Witch of Portobello: A Novel (P.S.) by Paulo Coelho is a story of one woman’s quest for meaning in her life, a woman who finds that her message of love, spirituality and individuality sets other people’s hearts on fire. For some, that fire creates the space for these virtues to come into their own lives, and a following develops. For others, this fire turns into a hatred and intolerance that threatens to burn all who come into contact with it. This book has you walk “the path of the witch” through interviews with friends, family and acquaintances. I will leave the ending for you to discover, so check it out!
Drs. Bruce and Molly Recommend - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on November 24th, 2008
Thanksgiving is a decidedly American holiday, but I love the universal feeling of gratitude that is attached to it. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah is a book that personifies thanksgiving, precisely because there was so little to be thankful for in his life.
This is a book that captures the deep sorrow and tragedy of those who have watched their families die and were forced into servitude as boy soldiers. On the surface, this is a story about the loss of hope and humanity, and if it ended at that, we would have understood.
And yet, here Ishmael is, very much human, with a kindness and softness that seems to belie those atrocities that he admits to committing in the name of duty. Despite extensive training geared toward wiping out his emotions and becoming a killing machine, he has transformed himself into a lover of peace. He brings a message of hope and humanity to counteract his story of cruelty and deprivation.
Isn’t it interesting how when we have the least, we appreciate the small blessings the most? Find your center of gratitude in the midst of your own troubles and strife, and become the Grateful Hero in your own life story.
Happy Thanksgiving!
