This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down - Hardcover

Deborah Collins Stephens; Michealene Cristini Risley; Jackie Speier; Jan Yanehiro

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327 ratings by Goodreads

9781573243056: This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1573243051 ISBN 13: 9781573243056

Publisher: Conari Press, 2007

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""These women inspire us to go for the gold. in our lives..They all deserve 10's ""
-Kristi Yamaguchi, Gold Medalist Figure Skater

""This is the needed inspiration to survive the worst luck and circumstances that catches women unexpectedly. Stories of individual strength to transform shock, despair and paralysis into sheer will and guts. It is the innate resources we have to climb out of the abyss and into a new life with unexpected happiness.""
-Amy Tan, Best-Selling Author, "The Joy Luck Club"

""I love this book and all the threads of wisdom ""
-Debbi Fields, Founder and Former Chairwoman, Mrs. Fields Cookies

""Full of hope and encouragement. I laughed and cried but always felt uplifted ""
-Jessica McClintock, Founder, CEO Jessica McClintock Inc.

""Even before you hear their stories, you feel their strength and find yourself engulfed (in a good way) by their spirit.""
-Gerry Laybourne, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Oxygen Media

If you've ever felt overworked, overwhelmed, or just plain unlucky, this book is for you. Through this collection of stories, wisdom, and practical advice, you'll meet four ordinary women who have faced extraordinary life challenges. Together, they have a history of 6 marriages, 10 children, 4 stepchildren, 6 dogs, 2 miscarriages, 2 cats, a failed adoption, widowhood, and foster parenthood. One of them was shot and left for dead on a tarmac in South America and two lived through the deaths of spouses.

Over a decade, the power and strength of their collective friendship enabled these women not only to survive, but to thrive. Join them to learn how you too can turn misfortunate events into joy-filled.

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From the Inside Flap:

This Is Not the Life I Ordered is the culmination of weekly "kitchen table coaching" sessions that took place for more than a decade and were designed to support one another through life's ups and downs. The women realized their support of each other could help other women struggling with lifeas myriad issues of work, family, and love, as well as the big questions of life and death. The power and strength of their collective friendship has enabled these women to not only survive but to thrive and the remarkable results are in this collection of lessons and stories and wisdom, which can help any woman turn any misfortunate event into a joy-filled opportunity.

About the Author:

Deborah Collins Stephens is the co-founder and managing partner of the Center for Innovative Leadership, which consults with leaders and organizations on improving customer service, creating inspired teams, and building the link between employee motivation and customer loyalty. She is the author of six books, three of which have been best sellers: Maslow on Management, One Size Fits One, and Revisiting the Human Side of Enterprise. Stephens lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Michealene Cristini Risley is an entrepreneur who has created some of the largest deals in the consumer products and entertainment industries. As an executive with twenty-plus years' experience, she launched the first-ever branded maternity license for Adidas. As vice president of licensing and character development for Sega of America, she championed the Sega Girls Task Force. She also produced, directed, and funded a documentary called Flashcards, which garnered status at last year's Cannes Film Festival. Christini Risley lives in Marin County, California.

Jackie Speier served in the California State Legislature for 18 years rising to the Assistant Pro Tem of the State Senate and Chair of Committees on Banking, Finance and Insurance and Government Oversight. Previously Speier served 6 years on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. She ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2006 and lost by 3% of the vote. She gained national attention in 1978 as legal counsel to Congressman Leo Ryan accompanying him on an ill-fated trip to Guyana to investigate Jim Jones and the People's Temple. Ryan was killed and Speier shot 5 times. She is featured in the PBS documentary American Experience

Jan Yanehiro has skydived with the Army's Golden Knights and ventured up a frozen waterfall...all in the name of getting a good story! Jan pioneered the magazine format on television as co-host of Evening Magazine, a nightly program in San Francisco from 1976-90. Currently, Jan is the host of Everyday Angels on Comcast Cable TV and the Executive Producer of Pacific Fusion TV. Her latest documentary, Resettlement to Redress, examines the resettlement of Japanese Americans after WWII and the apology from the US government regarding internment. Married and mother of six, Jan has won multiple awards and the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award. She holds seats on several boards including the Kristi Yamaguchi Always Dream Foundation and The Bank of Marin.

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