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One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping Others
 
 
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One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping Others [Paperback]

Andrew Bienkowski (Author), Gordon Livingston (Foreword), Mary Akers (Contributor)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

January 5, 2010
Find Yourself by Helping Others—Life Lessons from an Extraordinary Story of Sacrifice and Survival

In the winter of 1939, five-year-old Andrew Bienkowski was exiled to Siberia with his family. The two years of struggle that followed—especially his grandfather’s amazing act of sacrifice during their first long, cold winter—have informed the rest of Andrew’s life. Thanks to his devoted mother, his quick-witted grandmother, and the unexpected kindness of strangers, Andrew established an approach to life that emphasizes helping others as the essential path to finding our greatest human fulfillment.

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One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping Others + How to Love + Only Spring: On Mourning the Death of My Son
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“What we make of the adversities with which life inevitably confronts us determines whether we have anything useful to say to those who follow us. Andrew Bienkowski passes the test with this extraordinary story of his childhood exile to Siberia and the lessons he learned there about loyalty, perseverance, gratitude, and love.”
—from the foreword by Gordon Livingston, MD

“Reading this book is truly a gift to oneself—a profound and riveting experience that kept me up into the late hours following a journey both immensely provocative and transformative. Andrew Bienkowski gives fully of himself in this book with a power that brings forth a spirit of healing so important at this time in our world. I'm already recommending this to everyone I know.”
Stephan Rechtschaffen, MD, co-founder, Omega Institute and Blue Spirit Costa Rica

“I was touched by this story of courage and sacrifice, blended with gems of wisdom reflecting the author's many years as a psychotherapist. I found myself highlighting many excellent points throughout its pages.”
Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior

One Life to Give is a compelling and heartwarming saga that will inspire, uplift, and move you to appreciate your loved ones and consider what you can contribute rather than get. Andrew Bienkowski brings a lifetime of experience as a soulful therapist to his account, and for that I am deeply grateful. Anyone who values family, or feels disconnected from loved ones, would benefit immensely from this extraordinary book and the powerful, practical lessons it bestows.”
Alan Cohen, author of Linden's Last Life

“Like Viktor Frankl’s 1946 classic Man’s Search for Meaning, this book has a keen eye for spotting the best of human spirit and endeavor in the most trying of circumstances.”
ForeWord magazine

“Shows the importance of hope and community. It is a definite light for dark times.”
Western New York Catholic

About the Author

Andrew Bienkowski, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who served in the Korean War, worked as a psychologist for 40 years, including 32 years for New York state, designing and implementing mental-health programs and working directly with patients. This is his first book. He lives near Buffalo, New York.

Mary Akers's fiction, poetry, and non-fiction have appeared in many journals and anthologies. She is the author of a short story collection, Women Up On Blocks, from Press 53. Although raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, which she will always call home, she currently lives in western New York.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: The Experiment (January 5, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1615190082
  • ISBN-13: 978-1615190089
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Grim but gorgeous, January 8, 2010
This review is from: One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping Others (Paperback)
I don't read "instructive" literature, books written for the avowed purpose of telling you how to live better. I read for transport and discovery. Tell me a story. And that's what makes "One Life to Give" such a gratifying reading experience. It tells a story, a tale that is as grim as it is gorgeous.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, inspiring book about living wisely, December 30, 2009
By 
Clifford Garstang (Staunton, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping Others (Paperback)
One Life to Give, written by Andrew Bienkowski with Mary Akers, is divided into fourteen chapters, each one a separate lesson derived from Bienkowski's life as a child when he and his family were exiled from Poland to Siberia. They endured incredible suffering that the book can only really hint at. But through the suffering and the sacrifices of others, Bienkowski learned. And so the reader learns about the concept of "Radical Gratitude"--taking nothing for granted and remembering all the things in our lives with which we are blessed. We also learn about Listening, Hope, Perseverence, Kindness, and Love. But these are not abstract lessons at all. They are concrete suggestions for living a more fulfilled life skillfully crafted by Bienkowski, a therapist, and Akers, a talented writer. The total package is one that will be hard to put down and even harder to forget.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspiring Book, January 8, 2010
This review is from: One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping Others (Paperback)
This gem of a book straddles the line between history and a novel, with chapters on self-help following gripping, spine-tingling stories of survival from World War II. You will laugh and cry. It will capture you from page one. It will make you aware not only of what the human body can endure, but also of how much we have to be grateful for in our lives today.
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