The Courage to Laugh or Generation XL

The Courage to Laugh: Humor, Hope, and Healing in the Face of Death and Dying

Author: Allen Klein

"Life," said George Bernard Shaw, "does not cease to be funny when someone dies, any more than it ceases to be serious when someone laughs." With heartening and amusing examples from a world in which many think there is no laughter, Allen Klein augments the truth of Shaw's insightfulness. Illustrating the inherent importance of the ability to laugh, Klein gives readers the power to face the end of life with dignity and compassion. Based on the author's years of giving speeches and leading workshops for patients and their caregivers and families, The Courage to Laugh will be the first book to: * show how patients use humor to cope when life is threatened;
* offer hope and encouragement to readers dealing with loss;
* give readers permission to laugh when they feel like crying;
* explain how popular culture can ease death-related fears; and
* provide uplifting quotes and jokes. With poignant wisdom from children, parents, doctors, and nurses, combined with the spirited writing of the author, The Courage to Laugh is a lifesaving tool for everyone experiencing a serious illness and for the people who care for them.

Publishers Weekly

After his wife died from a rare liver disease, Klein wrote The Healing Power of Humor, which explained how laughter had helped him recover from her untimely death. Calling himself a "jollytologist," the author, who lectures and leads seminars on humor, enlarges on this earlier theme by presenting a welcome compilation of many personal stories culled from his research into death and dying. These show the important role of laughter as well as tears in the grieving process. Although Klein stresses that humor should not be used to cover up grief, he believes that, for the patient as well as loved ones, appropriate laughter is a refreshing and therapeutic tonic in the face of illness and death. Among the examples he provides are the sustaining power of humor for the terminally ill living in hospices, as well as the amazing capacity of AIDS patients to make jokes that ease their pain ("In my condition, I don't even buy green bananas anymore"). He describes the bravery of very sick children who seek out light moments to help them cope with their disease and includes the experiences of concentration camp survivors who sustained their will to live through humor. Never glib, Klein's affirmations allow a crucial measure of relief for moments of distress, or in the face of loss. Editor, David Groff; agent, Shelley Roth. (Sept.)

Books about: La Boîte à outils d'Étude de marché :un Guide Concis pour les Débutants

Generation XL: Raising Healthy, Intelligent Kids in a High-Tech, Junk-Food World

Author: Joseph Mercola

Childhood is a pivotal time for good nutrition. Organs and blood streams nurtured with junk food cannot build a foundation for good health and longevity as an adult. Drs. Joseph Mercola and Ben Lerner believe profound inactivity, addiction to electronic media, and diets of super-sized fast food and sugar-laden beverages have created a national emergency. Generation XL is a clarion call and a detailed guide to giving your child a vibrant, successful future and a healthy, wholesome, invigorating youth.

As children riddled with pain, illness, learning disorders, and even depression begin to show up everywhere, rather than looking at brain development, nutrition, and lack of movement as the culprits, concerned parents are turning to more and more medications. Think about that. Is that how we were designed? To make medication a way of life and to be drugged early on a consistent basis?

What does the future hold for us when kids are overweight, out of shape, and taking medications for the effects? What kind of children are we creating?

This is not a diet book-far, far from it. Dropping another diet book into the same culture will do nothing but take up more room on your shelf. Generation XL shows you how kids were created to eat, breathe, sleep, run, and live. At the same time, Drs. Mercola and Lerner help you change your family culture and recognize where the culture around you isn't working so you can avoid it or help to change it.

Since prevention is always easier (and wiser) than cure, incorporating the lifestyle changes suggested in Generation XL gives your child a realistic way to reach and maintain a healthy weight;dramatically reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other health risks; and build a strong body and positive mental attitude, maximizing his or her IQ and giving the best chance for success.

Table of Contents:

Contents

Preface: Taking a Stand for the Health of Our Children....................vii
Introduction: Excelling in an Average World....................xi
1. Confessions of a Twinkie-Eating TV Junkie....................1
2. Why Peer Influence Is So Powerful....................11
3. Junk-Food Nation....................21
4. How the Body Gains-and Loses-Fat....................32
5. The Health and Fitness Zone....................54
6. The Right Foods: High-Octane Fuel for Your Child....................62
7. Discover Your Child's Metabolic Type....................77
8. Liquid Assets: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Beverages....................89
9. Are Supplements All They're Cracked Up to Be?....................100
10. Making Changes That Stick....................110
11. Get Moving!....................125
12. Movement Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers....................141
13. Tying It All Together....................154
Afterword: Get Off the Bench!....................163
Kid-Proof Recipes....................166
Notes....................241
About the Authors....................246