Treasures in the Darkness: Extending the Early Stage of Lewy Body Dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkins

This book is a wonderful story of love and hopefulness. Caregivers for loved ones with any debilitating illness will find very useful information. Pat Synder has shared her personal journey and the obstacles that exist in order to help others find their way and discover that there is hope and help. Pat makes it clear that LBD is a devastating diagnosis, but "Treasures" are abundant for families. I believe that the all inclusive lists of tips for medical help, controlling stressors, exercise, social support, faith, helpful resources, and more will serve as a quick reference for caregivers. This book provides so many ideas that caregivers can utilize to postpone the need for a nursing facility. There is much hope and practical help for caregivers to be found in this book as well as teaching us how to be better than we are inspite of the challenges we face.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Few of us would have the courage to draw back the curtains on our personal lives the way that Snyder has done, but in doing so she will undoubtedly help those who are struggling with a spouse or loved one stricken with a chronic illness. While Treasures in the Darkness contains very precise information about LBD (particularly the Caregiving Tips section), the theme and message of the book transcends whatever disease a victim, caregiver and his/her family may be facing. The messages of love, self-reflection, forgiveness, patience, acceptance and undying devotion are at the heart of the book and offer insights for anyone facing a family struggle, particularly with a spouse. We each try to live our lives in such a way that, when we are called Home, we leave something behind, a gift of sorts, that helps those who follow to understand that God had important reasons for creating us. Treasures in the Darkness will no doubt be among the gifts Pat and John Snyder leave behind.

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This book was a quick, to the point read with incredible amounts of information that is useful to people dealing with this tragic diagnosis as well as other care-taking situations. Ms. Snyder's targeted observations, suggestions and research are well developed and diverse. I read it in an evening and within 24 hours passed it to a friend.

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Some would say this book has all of the elements that every author strives for. The chapters on family evoked laughter, tears, pain, joy and hope. It spoke to me as a wife, mother, grandmother and child. It awakened some of my own "demons" and the desire to put them at rest. It made me want to communicate better with my own spouse and children, as well as improve our relationships with friends and family. On top of all this, I was educated on this disease of which I knew nothing about. Thank you for sharing such a compelling, wonderful, selfless, revealing portrayal of your journey. God Bless you and your family.

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These were the words I needed to hear. There were so many parallels to my own story, it was uncanny. Pat's words confirmed a lot of my own feelings and allowed me to feel less "alone". Thank you, Pat, for sharing your journey. I know your book will help others.

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Asian Faces: The Essential Beauty and Makeup Guide for Asian Women

I'm not usually one to buy books on makeup and beauty, etc. So, this is a first for me. The book truly embraces the beauty of Asian faces and is filled with gorgeous pictures. As someone who tends to stick with really simple and basic makeup applications, I've really been surprised at the results I've gotten from following the step-by-step and "down to earth" instructions.

Also, there are examples given for different kinds of faces and features (ie. eye makeup applications for those who have double lids and those who don't). It is a really empowering book for Asian women who have either tried to follow makeup instructions for Caucasian faces that usually don't work and/or had someone do your makeup who tried to make you look Caucasian instead of playing up your natural and beautiful Asian features.

After the superb reviews, I was really excited about this book but found it to be too basic and lacking in real information. For example, makeup basics section is mostly pictures of items (lipstick, lipliner, eyeliner) with a name of what it is underneath. There is a section on how to wash your face (1. splash warm water 2. lather in circular motion 3. rinse). The second part of the book is composed of picture of face on left and description of how it was done on the right but the description is written stepwise with breakdown like this--"1. use foundation 2. use highlighting foundation 3. use eye shadow at base 3. use eye liner 4. use mascara 5. use lipliner." There is nothing about how to apply to eye liner, how to apply to lipliner, the foundation, etc. I can't do the makeup in the pictures but I can definitely write this book. Save your money.

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I am a 27 year old woman of (probable) Korean ethnicity (I was adopted and whoever my birth parents were are untraceable). I grew up in a white family in a small hick town in PA where Asians were unheard of (lol, for ex. at age 15 a record store owner truly thought I was Yoko Ono, excitedly pointed to a poster of the Beatles/John Lennon and called all of the employees over to look at "John Lennon's wife in our town"! Another time, a 19 year old student told me, "Its so cool that I met you because now I can say I met a real life Asian, because before you came along I thought Asians only lived in the TV!")

My adoptive mom has never worn make up in her whole life even for her wedding!! Obviously, I was clueless about makeup, clueless regarding my appearance in general growing up. The time period was right before Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, and other beautiful Asian actresses began to appear in common media and grace the beauty ads of women's magazines.

I was very self conscious because I had no idea what I looked like, I know it sounds weird.. I used to search magazines and TV shows, to no avail.. Ppl told me I looked exactly like Yoko Ono/Connie Chung/and Lisa Ling of Channel One news (in High School). I didn't think I looked like any of them but I didn't know what I looked like either, so I was just confused.. I had no clue what to do about make up, so I pretty much ignored it, gaining names like pizza face because of horrible acne...

Anyway, sorry about the ramble...

I WISH I HAD A BOOK LIKE THIS GROWING UP. I am sure many other Asian women would have found this book as life changing as I would have.

In my early 20's, when I finally started gaining confidence about my looks, I bought every make up book that there was.. all of the Kevin Aucoiyn books were my favorites, because of the creativity, variety, limitless possibility, and stunning beauty of the images... I was stunned by the transformations done by makeup alone, and this is when I first began to view makeup as an art form.

I began to take pictures of myself experimenting with all different types of makeup looks. The only thing was, I could never understand why some of the looks would not work on me, and all of the ones that did I had to spend hours of confusion 'adapting' them to fit me, eyes especially. It was very frusterating to find looks that I loved, but couldn't figure out why they did not work, or looked completely different. I wondered if I was doing something wrong, or at more frusterating times, if something was just wrong w/ my face, if I was defective in some way, since the looks worked on my friends that I made up.

There are only 3 other books that have direct info for Asian women (Asian Beauty by Margaret ?, a small book by Jaceyln that took 6 weeks to arrive from Amazon, and Iman's Beauty of Color book). The first one disappointed me as far as the makeup tips went, but I thought it was nice for teenagers in situations like mine was because of the emphasis on Asians being beautiful too and the role models/famous Asian women... The 2nd one was a big disappointment it was so small and didn't have many looks at all. It labeled eyes into 4 categories, and the whole techniques revolved around trying to make a "double eyelid" look and by the end I had no idea what type of categories my eyes fell into, because they are very small but I do have a lid. Iman's, even though it was for all women of color, was the best of those because of the wide variety of looks, and truly celebrated all shades of women of color... The only thing was, since the book focused on many races, it wasn't directly presented to Asians of course, since that was not the aim of the book. I would highly recommend that title as well.

I was ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY the moment I flipped through Asian Faces by Taylor Chang-Babaian. The photographs were stunning, and I had never in my life seen such a variety of Asian women. I'm definitely no longer a beginner by now, so typically the first section of makeup books (a breakdown of the various cosmetics and basics) never provides me w/ anything new. However, I found myself reading and re reading the sections on layering, eyeliner, contouring, and other basics that she shed new light upon.. it was finally like the light bulb in my head clicked on, and every Asian adaptation of looks made sense. (the eyeliner close to the lashes was something I always thought was essential, I had a photo shoot once where the make up artist said that was wrong but I felt in my heart I looked better w/ it.. Taylor confirmed I was right after all!) Total beginners will find the first part of the book easy to follow, and advanced makeup artists will find tons of inspiration (and probably learn quite a few new tricks as well!!)

I LOVE how Taylor displays endless creativity in her looks... the gorgeous full size pictures make some of the looks seem complex, but on the other side of the page she breaks everything down into steps, w/ an intensive focus paired w/ a close up picture of the more complex techniques. It is the morst thorough examination of the looks and best system of explaining the steps in any make up book I've ever seen!

I also love how she puts the focus on the variety and beauty and art of makeup merging w/ her models, as opposed to focusing on "how to make a double eyelid" or other tips that might as well be saying, "how to make your eyes look less Asian".. or other things that make you feel flawed to be Asian. Instead, she celebrates the diversity of the many Asian women of the world.

The book has seemingly endless looks, format being similar to Making Faces or Face Forward in the looks section which is divided into :

Day, Evening, Cities (such as looks of LA or NYC), Period Looks (I LOVED this section.. I never realized these looks that I admired so much but was unable to adapt in Kevyn's books were even possible for Asian women, until now!), Special Occasion, and Costume.

FINALLY, I can try every look out of a book directly from the instructions, instead of spending frusterating hours attempting to adapt looks that usually never looked the same or don't work on me at all. This book exceeded anything I could ever imagine. I did a 1920's period look last night for the first time ever w/ no makeup remover involved! The days of irritated red eyelids from rubbing off products over and over, the nights of being the latest one out for a night on the town because my special night out makeup took an hour longer than the other girls... Those times are over!!

My only complaint is, I wish this book would have existed 12 years ago, and there better be more.. many many more from this groundbreaking author!

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I like this book. The previous reviewer who said it was like an Asian version of Kevin's Making Faces book was spot on. This book thankfully covers different types of Asians. I wish that it had more on cool and warm tones and color theory though. Overall nice book I would love to see an updated version and maybe a little more on the history of Asian make up. That would be really nice.

Enjoy the video. Sorry it is out of focus.

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I have mono-lids, meaning no crease on my eyes. Most make-up advice in magazines have tips on eye make-up involving people with deeper set eyes and creases, all which don't apply to me. I bought this book hoping to learn techniques that work with my eyes, but the only one it offered was a basic sweep of one color of eye shadow just above the eyes something I had already accomplished the first time I put on make-up.

At least it includes great advice on color choices for cheeks, eyes, face, etc. I went out and bought brown eye shadows in gold, dark brown, and taupe upon this book's recommendation and it has worked well in giving me a natural, but polished look.

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AD/HD: Helping Your Child: A Comprehensive Program to Treat Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorde

THIS WAS THE FIRST BOOK ON ADD THAT I PURCHASED AFTER MY SON WAS DIAGNOSED. IT HELPED ME AND MY HUSBAND TO UNDERSTAND OUR SON'S CONDITION AND GAVE US TOOLS TO HELP HIM. I ALSO GAVE THIS BOOK TO HIS TEACHERS AND IT GAVE THEM ALOT OF INSIGHT AS WELL. UNLESS THERE IS MANDATORY TRAINING FOR TEACHERS IT'S UP TO US TO MAKE SCHOOL AN AS POSITIVE EXPEREANCE AS POSIBLE FOR OUR CHILDREN AND THIS BOOK IS ONE WAY.

I refer to this book often. It provides very helpful information about diagnosing and dealing with children with ADD/ADHD. When my child was first diagnosed as ADD, this book helped me realize that it was a fair diagnosis. Every time I get frustrated with the way teachers deal with him, or need to be reminded about all the implications of his being ADD, this is the book I read. I understand that there is a revised edition coming out soon. I plan to get it as soon as it is out. Dr. Umansky provides professional information with personal stories as examples, which make the book accessible to parents and professionals.

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The Women's Health Big Book of 15-Minute Workouts: A Leaner, Sexier, Healthier You--In 15 Minutes a

I've had mixed reactions to Selene Yeager's books before (some I like, some are just okay). This one is just okay. Yes, there's a lot of variety, and they're definitely 15 minutes, but there's a few things I wasn't as crazy about...

1. Most (not all, but nearly all) use at least 2 pieces of equipment and often 3: dumbbells, a step, a bench, a stability ball, a pull-up bar (have one of those handy?), a resistance band, a kettlebell, a medicine ball, a foam roller, a BOSU, and and for one medicine ball workout: a partner! I'd have liked it better if there were more workouts using just one piece of equipment for the entire 15 minutes particularly since these are circuit workouts.

2. Names of routines were too cute by half, such as "Mood Lifting" and "Cowgirl." When I'm flipping through the book, I'd rather not have to use some of that 15 minutes to decipher what body parts a routine actually works. It seems they could have been categorized in way that could be accessed faster.

3. Circuits, circuits, and more circuits, and "15 minutes" is more a matter of approach. You get to 15 minutes by running through most of these routines 3 to 4 times. So I'm guessing that if I leave out a circuit, it's 10 minutes and if I add one it's 20. In that case, these aren't *necessarily* 15 minutes, depending on whether you complete the number of circuits as prescribed.

(NOTE: I would NOT recommend performing the classic kettlebell 'halo' as it's shown in this book! You could seriously strain your lower back.)

Generally, it's no worse than any other workout book, but it's not among my favorites. There's variety and most routines can be adapted to be more challenging. However, I can't past the fact that I really liked the The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises by Adam Campbell, and it's too bad more of those moves (and a little less equipment) didn't show up in this book. I think this would've been a better book.

This big book shows dozens of quick workouts. Many of the workouts are basically about 15 minutes of circuit training. These exercises are designed to get a lean, fit and toned body as pictured by the lady on the cover, as opposed to buiding up.

Here's how the workouts go. In general, a few specific exercises are performed intensely and then repeated in a cycle or circuit. The key to getting the workout down to 15 minutes is that there is minimal rest between the exercises. The rest between the circuits is minimal too.

In terms of layout, color photos are large and clear, illustrating the exercises well.

I liked the range of workouts, including bodyweight exercises with no equipment required. Some workouts use dumbbells. If you are at a gym or have workout equipment, you may make use of the workouts that use a barbell, a step, a large (Swiss) ball, a medicine ball, tubing, a bench and a few other tools.

There are 77 workouts.

(71) 15-minute workouts

(2) 1-minute workouts

(1) 4-minute workout

(3) 5-minute workouts

Here is a list of some of the 15-minute workouts. Exercises are listed for a few workouts.

High school reunion workout 1: Here are the exercises for this workout.

-Test the water squat and biceps curl

-Take a walk

-Rotational lunge and shoulder press

-Warrior 3 triceps extension

-Plank with front raise

-Sumo squat side knee raise and side crunch

-Lying 1-2 punch

High school reunion workout 2

Bikini workout 1

Get my body back workout 1

Stress Busting workout 1

-Runner's lunge to knee skip

-Plie jumping jacks

-quarter-turn squat jump

-donkey kick

Mood-lifting workout

Tighter tush workout

I need some lift in my Levis workout

So long, saddlebags workout

Jiggle free triceps workout

Pushup bra workout

Belly blast workout

Pear body workout

Hourglass body workout

-Tai chi lunge

-Side planks with moving knee

-Lateral stepups

-Glute bridge with triceps extension

Kettlebell workout 1

Exercise band workout 1

Exercise band workout 2

-Squat

-Standing incline fly

-Resisted supine crunch

-Rubber band sidesteps

Medicine ball workout 2

Hotel room workout 2

Cowgirl workout

Post partum workout

Age eraser workout

Golf workout

-Windmill

-Leaning hamstring curl

-Lawn mower

-Low cross chop

Tennis workout

Triathlon workout

Yoga metabolism workout

Fat burning flow workout

Ballet workout

Pilates workout

Perfect posture workout

~~~

Besides this book, there is a men's version. It offers more use of different tools or equipment. If you liked this book, I suggest you get the men's version.

Another fine book is, "You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises" by Mark Lauren and Joshua Clark. This is excellent for exercises which do not require equipment. All you need is your own bodyweight.

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This book is a great resource for quick and easy workouts when you just can't get to the gym. The only real negative is that you have to own about $500 in home gym equipment to do the workouts (i.e. Bosu, step, yoga ball, mat, kettle bells...etc) for this reason I wouldn't recommend the book for someone new to working out. Also it does require some knowledge of proper form (although the book does describe how each exercise should be done properly). All in all for me and my fitness level it was an excellent find.

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I love this book! I use it every single day! The excersises in this book keep you entertained and challenged all at the same time. I have been obsessed with Women's Health ever since I first pick up the magazine. Many other books will require alot of equipment and even recommend machines (which I do not have at home.) I have a gym membership so access to the equipment is easy. However, if you do not have a membership to a local gym, in the back of the book are excersises for specific pieces of equipment (ex. Medicine Ball, Kettlebell.)

This book alone has helped me changed my mind set of eating habits, work out schedules and so much more. It's like having a personal trainer with me everyday!! Just be sure to pay attention to your form or the excersizes will obviously not be as affective.

The only downfall to the book, is that because it is so big, it is not as easy to carry around the gym as the magazine. But I guess thats why they call it "The Women's Health BIG Book of 15 Minute Workouts."

All in all, I LOVE this book!!! I recommend it to anyone and everyone!

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Great investment...I started this yesterday (Total Body Workout) + 1 mile on treadmill feel greater results than I did with 10 mi on bicycle + 2 miles on treadmill, and it took about 20% of the time! Not only does it cover total body, but target areas (tummy, arms, butt, etc.), and meal suggestions. Educational, too. I *highly* recommend this to anyone ditch the gym and save your money; buy this instead and do it all at home or on the road!

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