Second Bloom [Hardcover]

Anne Marie Smith (Author), Michelle Gamble-Risley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

How would you feel if you could set a new direction in your life that challenges and fulfills you? Wouldn t you love to renew your passion for life and be in a place where you bounce out of bed looking forward to every single day? You can. All you need is the desire and a plan.
Second Bloom is a practical and powerful 10-step planning tool that you can use to transform your life and achieve your dreams. Learn how to:
- Identify the change you want to make in your life
- Create a bold and daring vision that electrifies and motivates you
- Smash through obstacles clearing the path to your vision
- Craft a plan of action that empowers you to move from hoping and wishing to living and loving your dream
At times irreverent but always inspirational, Second Bloom includes dozens of stories about ordinary women who rediscovered their spirits. Loaded with exercises, the book walks you through the process using a beautiful, easy-to-use planning template. When finished, you will have a transition plan that maps out where you want to go and what you need to do to cultivate your second bloom.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The idea of creating a new life for yourself can be a life-saver for women and Second Bloom also shows you how. In working with many women and in my own personal life, those moments arrive, sometimes suddenly, and often they creep up like a growing shadow. Recognizing the challenge for what it is and then having a guided path for how to create a new solution is a powerful message. Straightforward, frank and inspiring, Second Bloom is a woman's voice and wisdom that coaches you through every step. Can books change your life? You bet they can! ----Carole Peccorini, RN, MA

Second Bloom is a book as arresting as its title and as appealing as its cover. In other words, the pretty face delivers! Few self-help books written specifically for women meet Second Bloom's demanding mix of variables: ingenious, lighthearted copy that never misses a chance to take the reader deep into the woods of change. Its spirit is contagious and supportive, yet unflinching in its honesty about what is required to bloom a second time. And just to make sure the gift within these pages isn't lost to the strong tides of inaction, the authors provide a fold-out template that serves as a step-by-step guide for all who are serious about moving from the Big Blank to the Big Blossom. As a therapist of twenty-five years, I endorse Second Bloom as a catalyst for the kind of inner change that makes outer change last season after season. ---- Maridel Bowes, M.A., Therapist, Author

Second Bloom rounds the circle by turning years of psychological research into techniques that make changes in life easier and more attainable. This unputdownable book was written with women in mind. It is my belief that the ten steps described apply to all persons in transition. I will be recommending it to those I meet in the course of my everyday work. ----Vincent Molony, Psychiatrist and Author

About the Author

Authors Anne Marie Smith and Michelle Gamble-Risley each personally experienced what it feels like to abandon their spirits and collide head on into the Big Blank. Both women went on their own voyages of self-exploration and reinvention and created more joyful lives centered on their values and passions. Their greatest wish is for Second Bloom to empower its readers to grow, thrive, and blossom into happy, contented women.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 136 pages
• Publisher: Kaabrah Publishing, Inc.; First edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981832202
• ISBN-13: 978-0981832203
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,456,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Change Your Life, May 21, 2009

By 

Story Circle Book Reviews - See all my reviews

This review is from: Second Bloom (Hardcover)

At some point in our lives, many of us yearn for something different or feel that something is missing. What we're doing no longer has the meaning it once did. The authors of Second Bloom call this The Big Blank. This is exactly where I am right now--empty nest, growing old, bored with the norm. There's no pizzazz in my life. Reading this book was just what I needed to remind me to stop whining about my humdrum existence and do something about it. Maya Angelou said, "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."

How do so many of us get to the point where we only look at ourselves one-dimensionally? Why do we define ourselves by what we do? One answer is that society puts definitions on our titles and assigns status to them. Another involves the status quo--it feels safe. If we change and grow it takes us out of our comfort zone.

Anne Marie and Michelle tell us we can just decide to make our dreams come true. And we don't have to let anybody break our spirits...not our husbands, not our bosses, not our children, not ourselves. Remember, you can't hear your inner voice until you quiet the voices of others. The book includes dozens of stories of ordinary women who rediscovered their passions, and is loaded with exercises and a planning template.

The authors have laid out a transition plan: define the issue, plan how to resolve it, define your values, be clear about your vision, choose your allies, list the challenges, assess your strengths and weaknesses, form your strategies, brainstorm the actions, then name it and claim it. Each chapter tells you how to accomplish these steps. It sounds like a big undertaking, but I think it would be worth the effort and it all seems feasible.

The chance to reinvent our lives and make a conscious decision to live differently doesn't give us an instant "get out of jail free card." It does, however, give us an opportunity to be different and explore a new path. We can own our lives because we have the power and that actually liberates us from having to find the answer to the helpless question, "Why did this happen to me?" We are the puppet masters in our own play.

Anne Marie and Michelle want us to use Second Bloom as a tool to help us get what we want. They firmly believe we must first ask ourselves what it is and then have a plan to make it happen. And once we get started, we'll probably be surprised to learn what we can accomplish.

I've already started my transition plan: I've defined the issue. I see that my biggest hurdle is to believe that I can overcome the hurdles! I think my number one obstacle is going to be me. So I'm on to step two: planning how to resolve the issue. I want this to be my vision for the the years ahead, because, after all, it is all about me.

by Doris Anne Roop-Benner
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Book to Get You Out of a Blue Mood, March 15, 2009

By 

Amy N. Lawrence - See all my reviews

This review is from: Second Bloom (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I wish I would have read it last year when I was going through the "Big Blank." I would have understood that it's normal to go through this. Like the authors say, "The Big Blank sneaks up gradually, for no known reason, slowly killing your spirit." This definitely happened to me. I'm glad I figured this out last year, but I might have transitioned more quickly if I had read this book first. Their plan would have made things a lot easier to get started. Since reading, "Second Bloom," I have gained new insight and have used their steps to revise my plan. It's a very quick read and it gives you practical steps to rejuvenate your life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what those in one of life's ruts need, March 8, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Second Bloom (Hardcover)

Sometimes a heartfelt change of life is what one needs to be happy. "Second Bloom: 10 Steps to Reinvent, Rejuvenate, and Realize a New Life" is a guide to charting a new direction through one's life, using a unique and effective ten step planning tool. Step by step, the plan outlines finding the change a person wants to make, creating a vision of what one truly wants out of life, and dealing with the roadblocks in one's way to realizing that dream. Inspirational and thought provoking, "Second Bloom" is just what those in one of life's ruts need.