Bounce

A book to read over and over. When I am feeling like my self esteem is gone or I am going through a difficult time, I pick up this book and read a chapter or two and get re-charged again. It makes you re-examine all the dreams you ever had and didn't act upon because you thought you weren't talented enough or someone else had discouraged you. After reading this book you will believe "I can really make this happen".

Roger Crawford is a living example of how an attitude of gratitude can make all the difference in the world. This book highlights the fact that we indeed do become what we focus on. If you are feeling as if you need a boost in your resiliance buy this book and recharge your batteries. It is money well spent!

This is a great book. He has some real good advise that you can start implementing right away.

This is a gentle, flexible exercise routine that begins with exercise routines suitable 24 hours after birth that start off with 5 minutes of floor exercises (with no balance ball or other equipment at this point) and 5 minutes of walking.

The goal for the first level of exercises is not to lose weight but to enhance the mothers' physical condition and to enhance recovery after childbirth. There are special exercises to help heal c-section incision area and simple things to do to help prevent c-section scar adhesions. Other exercises help episiotomy site healing, separation of diastasis recti (abdominal muscles) due to pregnancy and exercises for recovering from urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence (which has been linked in a study to be caused by episiotomies).

Another important focus of the book is the goal of not having back pain. The book teaches prevention of back and shoulder injury by teaching proper positions for holding baby, breastfeeding, and lifting baby up, such as when lifting out of crib. Using a stroller is discouraged if the woman has carpal tunnel syndrome due to pregnancy as pushing the stroller can further aggravate the pain and the condition. Use of a front pack baby carrier is recommended as a back-healthy way to carry baby and proper usage of it (so it is comfortable and doesn't cause back pain) is outlined by the author. I have witnessed many people wearning their baby carriers in a way that causes back pain, I encourage everyone to read the manufacturers directions and this authors' directions so using this style baby carrier doesn't cause you pain!

The program progresses in stages up to a 5-star difficulty rating, as the woman desires to get into physical shape with increased aerobic activity designed for fat burning, weight loss and increased muscle strength.

The book features cutout one-sided pages that illustrate an entire workout by name, order, and illustration so the mother can carry it with her for reference rather than propping up the book and trying to keep the book open during the workout. Later in the book are the longer, detailed instructions for each exercise.

There are loads of references to studies on everything from why a vaginal birth is easier on a woman's body to why an episiotomy can cause a woman physical problems to why breastfeeding is beneficial. I was surprised to see so many studies cited throughout the text and in side bar quotes.

Other than some stretching exercises, breathing and abdominal exercies, the baby is incorporated into the routine (but it looks to me that this is only possible when the baby can strongly hold up his/her neck), which is great because doing the exercises won't require mother and baby separation. The exercises can be done in short segments multiple times during the day when the busy mother can carve out these small time segments.

Breastfeeding is portrayed in a positive light, including a photo of the author breastfeeding and with tidbits of positive research about breastfeeding's health benefits and personal opinions of the author about enhancing bonding between mother and baby.

An attitude and emphasis on the woman being the expert of her body is throughout. It begins with self-tests for separation of abdominal exercises, Kegel muscle self tests, etc. and urges the woman to listen to her own body. Using the information in this book the woman can design her own workout schedule and assess her own body's strengths, weaknesses and areas that would benefit from exercising. This book does not promote reliance on exercise clubs, gyms, etc. so this is a low-expense workout. The balance ball that is used in later parts of the text costs about $30 and can be used in the home (which is far less money than most exercise shoes cost).

I especially appreciated that this book does not portray pregnancy or childbirth in a negative light. It is not like other books that almost treat pregnancy as a bad thing for making the woman gain weight and other body changes occur that are negative. It does *not* have the attitude that as soon as the baby is born a mission must begin to get in shape and lose fat. There is no negative language about the physical appearance of the body while pregnant or after the baby is born. The book is more focused on feeling good, developing strong core muscles, and being able to live pain-free.

This is not a killer-workout that requires huge amounts of time and energy; it is definitely do-able at all the stages of difficulty, and will definitely help any mother who uses it.

Bounce Back Into Shape After Baby by physical therapist and exercise specialist Caroline C. Creager (Founder and CEO, Executive Physical Therapy, Inc., Berthoud, Colorado) is an energetic, authoritative health and workout guide designed specifically for new mothers. Individual chapters address exercise guidelines for mothers recovering from vaginal delivery, Cesarean delivery recovery, techniques for managing Cesarean scar tissue, ways to strengthen weakened abdominal muscles, balancing exercise with breast feeding, the value of working out on a ball, fitting exercise into a busy schedule and much more. Bounce Back Into Shape After Baby is a superbly presented and "user friendly" health and exercise guidebook and especially recommended for young mothers who may feel overwhelmed but don't want to neglect their physical well-being.

I highly recommend this book! As a middle-aged grandma, I was initially interested in this book for myself, as I will soon have an abdominal hysterectomy, and will be needing some gentle, yet effective post-op abdominal exercises. I am also an RN/certified fitness trainer, so I have used Caroline Creager's books in the past. I am finding this book to be an excellent source for my clients, especially new moms, and people like myself, needing strengthening after surgery. The section on diaphragmatic breathing is essential for the post-op period. Although this is a postpartum program, most exercises could apply to anyone, as they emphasize strengthening the core, which is fundamental in beginning an exercise program. The exercises and stretches using the Swiss ball would benefit anyone, young and old, as they are safe, functional, and help to improve posture and balance.

But first and foremost, this book is a must for the new mother, full of fun, energy-efficient workouts,demonstrated by Caroline and her baby. There is emphasis on posture, as well as the proper body mechanics in lifting and carrying baby to support your back and prevent injury. The exercises are beneficial to baby as well, aiding sleep, improving strength, balance and socialization. What a great way to interact and bond with your baby! This would be a unique and much appreciated gift for mom and baby.

I recommend this book to anyone at any fitness level. It has clear explanations and pictures of the various exercises, good nutrition and workout advice and most importantly of all - it produces good results!

Exercises can be modified to accomodate anyone from a beginner to an advanced athlete. This book is especially good for people who would rather work out at home than in a gym setting. The workouts provide better results than machines without the investment in space and money that gym memberships and home equipment require.

I am a former collegiate athlete and working mom with two young children who has been looking for a way to stay in good shape with a minimal amount of time and without having to leave my kids with a sitter. For me, this book was the key. The kids are enthralled with the ball and they use playground balls to imitate me while I exercise. It's the first home exercises I've been able to do without them interrupting. They enjoy watching and participating themselves. This is the first book I've felt compelled to take time out of my busy schedule to write a review for - it is that great!

Dr. Applegate was my nutrition professor when I was a student at UCDavis. She changed my way of thinking about nutrition and fitness. When I saw she wrote a fitness ball exercise book, I couldn't wait to try it.

The exercises are fabulous and the nutrition advice realistic. The book is written in a straightforward way and the exercise positions are clearly explained and include photographs. I appreciate the fact that she included ways to alter the exercises to fit individual needs.

Overall, the book is easy to read and the numerous pictures leave no doubt about how to perform each exercise. The six-week plan and diet suggestions will help anyone looking to improve their body, regardless of their current condition. Additionally, I found the exercises for toning and strengthening your abs, and all the muscles in your core, to be particularly useful. I've always had a soft belly, but by using the ball and the recommended exercises, I've seen a noticeable difference. These muscles are notoriously difficult to strengthen with traditional weights and nautilus equipment, but need to be worked because they are so important in nearly every sport. The ball workout is one of the best I've found for working your core. Dr. Applegate provides excellent exercises for the whole body and doing them on the ball forces you to work your core to stay balanced.

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Based on his over thirty years of experience as a psychiatrist, Frederic Flach reveals the antidote for the destructive effects of stress and change -- resilience. And the good news is that Flach assures us is that the "most encouraging observation I've made over these years is that resilience is a strength most of us can develop through thought and practice."

What is resilience? Flach tells us that it is "the strengths we require to master cycles of disruption [emotional upset caused by stressful events such as a family death, divorce, or job loss] and reintegration [putting the pieces of our life back together] throughout our lives." This book offers simple and practical advice on HOW to perfect those strengths that we all have within us.

In this book, some of the things you will discover are as follows:

===> over a dozen traits that will make you more resilient
===> why giving into stress and "falling apart" may be the best step to take on the road to resilience
===> why the use of prescription drugs may not be the best choice in removing the psychological pain caused by stress
===> why creative problem solving is a major part of resilience
===> the factors in our environment needed to facilitate resilience

A remarkable quality of this book is that it is easy to read and thus easy to learn from. There is no confusing technical psychobabble. The most interesting aspect of this book is that Flach uses some of his actual patient studies to illustrate his practical advice. Also, there is a large reference section if the reader wants to learn more.

In conclusion, this book will change the way you think about stress FOREVER.

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Frederic Flach, M.D., graduated from Cornell University Medical College where he currently serves as Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry. He is an attending psychiatrist at the Payne Whitney Clinic of New York Hospital and of St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center. He has written numerous books on resilience and the survivor personality, with a particular emphasis on the management of stress throughout one's life.

This 234-page book is clearly written and well laid out, with a table of contents, index and bibliography. Dr. Flach starts the book with an introduction explaining the concept of resilience, which he defines as the "psychological and biological strengths required to successfully master change." In the modern, fragmented, urban world that 95% of us in the U.S. live in today, no topic could be more significant. Dr. Flach has spent years studying how people cope with major catastrophes and terrible hardships, as well as potentially dangerous major turning points in their lives. He has discovered that there are common personality traits of people who are resilient/survivors, including:
--creativity
--a high ability to tolerate pain, emotional and physical
--self-insight
--self-respect
--self-esteem and the ability to restore it when it is diminished or temporarily lost
--a capacity for learning
--the ability to make and keep friends
--the ability to cooperate and inter-depend on others without being dependent
--a vital, evolving perspective on interpreting the events in one's life and giving them meaning
--a willingness to utilize crisis and suffering as an opportunity to heal old wounds, discover new ways to approach life and make themselves over
--a body able to deal with the physical strains of the stress response
--a willingness to "appropriately collapse" in the face of a significant amount of stress and change (take time to experience the extent of the problem on all levels)
--an ability to contain within reasonable limits the amount of disruption in their lives due to the stress and change
--a desire to directly and practically attempt to reassemble the pieces of their lives after collapsing and containing the disruption
--a support network out in the world and a willingness to seek help when they need it, from friends, family or mental health or medical professionals

I find Dr. Flach's theoretical framework fascinating, informative and very useful, to wit: that it is a fact of life in nature that the physical world we are all part of is made up of endless cycles of disruption and reintegration. As human beings with physical bodies, living in the physical world, no matter how brilliantly and creatively we have managed to seemingly defy and work against the natural reality, it remains, always, within and around us. Thus we continually face crisis (the end of a cycle in our life, which demands that we change in response to a newly entering, different reality), and stress (the response of the body to any demand made upon it).

Dr. Flach provides an clear, easily understandable, compelling discussion of both these issues. I found his remarks on stress an excellent expansion on the huge body of literature on this topic written over the past 30-40 years. And I found extremely profound and useful the way he ties stress and disruption-reintegration together by explaining, very clearly, the concept of homeostasis. This, he states, is the innate drive within all living creatures, including humans, to maintain themselves in states of coherence, that is, to return to the status quo after being disturbed. This self-preserving, adaptive capacity is in all of us, and it is essential that we use it, rather than fighting against it, to maintain physical and mental health.

If you were to read only one book on the subject of resilience, this would be a very good choice. It is easy to read, and it makes a logical, concise, clear argument that is consistent throughout. Dr. Flach draws practical, meaningful conclusions, based on his professional experience with thousands of patients and his own professional research, and offers simple, understandable, practical suggestions for ways to survive and grow in the face of the inevitable stress and change we all face constantly.

The New England Journal of Medicine: "Part practical, part inspirational...Written with clarity...contains short, readable examples for all aspects of life...useful to lay persons in times of crises."...Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Saybrook Institute: "Well written and vital. Flach presents ways of coping with stress, recovering from disruption and creating a process by which one can not only survive catastrophe but can escape with flexibility, faith, and the will to endure."

As a CEO of an executive search firm, I have interviewed professionals for 13 years. I have seen too often highly educated, successful people flop on an interview due to the trauma of a firing or unexpected layoff. To all those readers I urge, PLEASE read Martin's book!

Frank G Risalvato, CPC, CEO IRES, Inc. (Inter-Regional Executive Search) Pompton Lakes, New Jersey

This book expertly looks at the dynamics of losing your job. It shares skills on how to leave on the best possible footing. It then goes on to describe the steps you can take to find yourself and a new career or job as well. Very detailed and well written.

I have alot of first hand experince with this subject matter and can tell you that this book will give a reader the best idea of what working on the NYPD is like. I read the book in one sitting it was that good. I don't normaly read cop books, but I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what they do. The author pulls no punches when he describes the job and he lays out the nature of the beast in an unheroic and truthful manner. The book is the best education a person can get on being a NYC cop without actually having to wear the uniform. Joe Poss and Henry Schlesinger have really put together an exceptional book. Well done! A review from one of the finest.

The best non-fiction book about police work!

This book is well-written and was extremely helpful to me. The author, who also has started the PIT oragnization, has provided a resource that otherwise seems to have been missing in the world of job-searching/unemployment. The book goes through the different emotions and practical steps that someone laid off form work must (usually will) go through on the way back to employment. Actual stories of people who where downsized or just plain laid-off, and the description of steps that they took on the road to reemployment (effective networking, collaborative job-searching, and effective interviewing) are inspiring and insightful. In all- a worthwhile read.

Career Bounce-Back! was an invaluable tool. When I lost my job, I couldn't believe that it could happen to me. One minute I was angry, the next minute depressed. My life was "out of control." I thought it was all my fault, until I read Career Bounce-Back! After reading the book I realized that you could manage through the emotional wave that unemployment brings, and also learned the importance that networking plays in the re-employement process. Career Bounce-Back! helped me get the job.

These delightful characters are back with their continued charm and endearing friendship. Clarence brings Smoky to his neighborhood in the big city and he is anxious to show Smoky everything that is important in his life. Through these events, Smoky quietly becomes homesick for the open range but does not want to hurt Clarence's feelings. The solution will make you smile, shed a tear or two but in the end you will feel as "bouncy" as Clarence and Smoky. Author/illustrator, Jean Ekman Adams continues to produce books for children that teach gentle lessons of friendship and caring for one another. She and her characters are a gem.

Jean Ekman Adams' whimsical drawings and humorous writing continue in this wonderful story of the newest adventures of my favorite pig and his charming sidekick, Smoky. You will laugh out loud at this unlikely pair's latest adventures and the newest characters to this wonderful series. As always, the illustrations are filled with hilarious detail that will delight you each time you pick up the book and the story further defines and solidifies the unique and wonderful friendship Clarence and Smoky share. The newest cast of characters, Fern and the duck doctor, fit right into this quirky mix of personalities with Fern's outrageous cooking concoctions of egglant rollups, spinach tasties, and carrot blobs. You'll find yourself touched by the special friendship shared between the characters, laughing at their humor, and smiling at their views of the city. I am eager to see where Clarence and Smokey will land next!

I am an Elementary Physical Education teacher and have used the book, Bounce Along With Big Bird, in my curriculum for the past 12 years or so. This book and casssette helps kids get the exercise they need and they don't even know they are exercising. They are just having fun! My favorites are "Y'All Fall Down" and "Up Goes The Castle." "Y'All Fall Down" not only exercises the heart, but helps children practice their locomotor skills, such as hopping, jumping, and skipping. After each locomotor skill, Big Bird says, "Y'all Fall Down." Kids love to fall down. They have to fall and then get right back up again quickly. They have a blast with this song. "Up Goes The Castle" is a great cool down activity. It also helps the kids learn proper breathing techniques and has a great story line for the kids to listen to while resting. There are also other warm-up and exercise songs and activities in this book that are great. I highly recommend this book and cassette to all moms of young children and to all Pre-k-2 Elementary Physical Education Teachers and Pre-K-2 Classroom Teachers!

I agree about the Boo-hoo and other things. I was torn between giving this book a 5 for the writing and a 3 for the fact that it was so short and so dense, like the other reviewer said. The thing about it is that if you read books by Zane and EJD you get used to character development and exciting subplot after subplot. I kept thinking about how Zane would have written this book. I kept thinking about how there were other scenarios where people could have been having sex like, the Exhusband Tyrone, and we could have gotten some more exposure of the scenes with Red and his boss. I wanted to read a book that I could get lost in. I could not get lost in this book, but I'm still going to give it a 5. Let me tell you why.

I read every word of this book. Every word. It was like a poem to me. I was awake all the way through it, not skipping through chapters because I didn't want to miss anything. Then when I finished it, I lent it to my sister cause I wanted somebody to talk about it with. She was cracking up reading it. When she finished, we started to talk about it. She liked it more than I did because she's kinda like Cindique, except she doesn't take abuse from men (she just let's them steal all her money!) But anyway, we agreed that we both read every word, no skipping through. I gave it a 4 because the ending could have been happier. She gave it a 5, because she said that's the only real way it could have ended. Not every book has to be written like EJD. It's a tight book in its own way. We loved it. Boo-hoo, boo-hoo. 4.5

This Book is excellent! I don't think my writing skills can do it justice but here goes. I have been waiting a long time for Preston Allen to put a new book after Hootche Mama, which I liked a lot. but this one takes the cake. His hero is a beautiful confident young black and Dominican woman named Cindique who falls in love with a handsome troubled man named Red. They both don't trust each other because of bad relationships they have had so they play a game to tell each other all of the truth about each other that they are hiding. The game they play is called truth for truth. So then they tell each other these great sex stories about themselves, plus Cindique is a writer and she tells this great story about an under aged stripper named Summer Rose. Now I don't want to ruin the book for you but you have to watch the name Rose everytime it appears in the story because there are a couple secret twists tied to it you will catch through out it. Plus the word Bounce. The book has so much stuff like that in it for such a short book. I read it in one day. The ending is beautiful and sad but powerful. I truly understood the word Bounce after that. The author has just really got to write another book like this one, I am begging him please. It is excellent. Bounce!

Every line of this book is great. Preston L. Allen is a very versatile writer, who is extending his range into romance, crime fiction, and serious literature. I think I have read everything that he has written, including his erotica, so I can make a statement that reflects his body of work. This writer pens masterpieces of the heart. You always care about his protagonists, male or female, old or young, gay or straight, and you cheer for them hoping that they will win. I had my suspicions about Red from the beginning, so I wasn't totally surprised by his choice at the end. I know many men like him; maybe I am one of them. We are not bad guys, just overextended in our romantic obligations. I hope you will go out and buy this book right now to see just how good a writer Mr. Allen is. In terms of sheer raw talent, he is among today's best writers.