After reading an interview with Anne Lamott in the March 7, 2021, issue of The Dallas Morning News, I suddenly realized that I have spent a great deal of time being either perfect or neurotic—or, probably, more accurately, being neurotic while trying to be perfect. “At some point, you realize that we all have dual […]
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We made it
by resolutewoman on November 7, 2020 in courage, stress
“When this day is over and the night takes us, allow yourself a deep breath. Because we made it through this day….There will be another one along tomorrow,” says Frederik Backman in his book Anxious People. I heard Frederik Backman speak at an Arts & Letters virtual presentation, and I couldn’t resist reading his book.
Merry and mellow
by resolutewoman on October 27, 2020 in beauty, stress
Sing apples and peaches and pears! Sing orange and scarlet and yellow! Sing green turned to glory To tell us the story That autumn is merry and mellow! –Alice Henderson We’re wishing you some mellow-ness this week!
Irritated?
by resolutewoman on May 26, 2020 in advice, families, kindness, stress, Uncategorized
I’ll admit it. The person I am staying-in-place with sometimes irritates me. However, I smiled, when a friend reminded me: “The person irritating you may be the person you are irritating.” –Joy
An inescapable network
by resolutewoman on May 21, 2020 in courage, stress
One of my favorite Martin Luther King quotes is this one. “All life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality–tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” I heard someone repeat this quote last week on a TV news show. Doesn’t it ring true today […]
Read a book
by resolutewoman on May 16, 2020 in book, courage, stress
What do people need more than anything now? Books, says author Emma Straub. “What are we all doing in our quarantines? We’re figuring out how to walk out the door without walking out the door. Reading a book is the best way to do that.” Straub talked about her new book All Adults Here in […]
Drink and be whole
by resolutewoman on May 2, 2020 in peace, stress
Poetry helps me when I feel stressed or anxious. Recently—I can’t remember where or when—I heard someone quoting Robert Frost. “Here are your waters and your watering place. Drink and be whole again beyond confusion.” I like the message. What makes me feel less stressed and less anxious? A poem. A walk. A phone conversation […]
I am not okay
by resolutewoman on April 21, 2020 in balance, overwhelmed, stress
I am okay. That’s what I frequently tell friends when they ask how I am doing during this coronavirus pandemic. And, I am okay—almost all of the time. But, sometimes I am not okay. Recently, a friend said that she had read an interview with a mental health expert who stressed that it is okay […]
It’s okay to do nothing
by resolutewoman on April 18, 2020 in stress, things-to-do, Uncategorized
I am cleaning the drawers in my desk. The task makes me feel productive—which makes me feel better. I have to remind myself that it’s also okay to do nothing. My husband, Jerry, read an article in The New York Times by a psychologist or psychiatrist who emphasized that message: All of us are feeling […]
A gloomy day
by resolutewoman on April 7, 2020 in beauty, depression, happiness, stress
I woke up Sunday feeling gloomy. The gloom surrounded me as I faced another day of stay-in-place during this coronavirus crisis. The gloom lingered until I took my afternoon walk and saw a friendly neighbor and some spring flowers starting to bloom. “Where flowers bloom so does hope,” Lady Bird Johnson once said. –Joy
What’s this site about?
We wrote our book and we’re writing our blog because we were frustrated. We were frustrated with experts who try to tell people how to lose weight, raise their children and improve their marriages—and be a success—in 10 easy steps. In three weeks. In one book.
Our self-help book and blog are for grownups—for women who know that there are no easy answers to life’s complex problems—that finding solutions requires some self-knowledge and self-searching and hard work.
We want to help women discover their own answers and live with them as their guide. We want to help you and other women Help Yourself!
We write about making changes and also about many other issues important to women, including families, friends, work and food.
