A Bittersweet Season - Caring for Our Aging Parents--and Ourselves

In 1906, the Chinese in California lived in the shadows. Their alien customs, traditions, and language hid what they valued from their neighbors . . . and left them open to scorn and prejudice. Their communities were ruled—and divided—by the necessity of survival among the many would-be masters surrounding them, by struggles between powerful tongs, and by duty to their ancestors.

Then, in the wake of natural disaster, fate brought to light artifacts of incredible value along the Monterey coast: an ancient Chinese jade seal and a plaque inscribed in a trio of languages lost to all but scholars of antiquity. At first, chance placed control of those treasures in the hands of outsiders—the wayward Irishman who’d discovered them and a marine scholar who was determined to explore their secrets. The path to the truth, however, would prove to be as tangled as the roots of the ancient cypress that had guarded these treasures for so long, for there are some secrets the Chinese were not ready to share. Whether by fate, by subtle design, or by some intricate combination of the two, the artifacts disappeared again . . . before it could be proved that they must have come there ages before Europeans ever touched the wild and beautiful California coast.

Nearly a century would pass before an unconventional young American scientist unearths evidence of this great discovery and its mysterious disappearance. Taking up the challenge, he begins to assemble a new generation of explorers to resume theperilous search into the ocean’s depth . . . and theshadows of history. Armed with cutting-edge, moderntechnology, and drawing on connections to powerful families at home and abroad, this time Americans and Chinese will follow together the path of secrets that have long proved as elusive as the ancient treasures that held them.

Through the inspirational, wise, and informative stories of the residents, either in their own words or based on interviews, and environmental photographs of each, this book focuses on various residents of long-term care facilities and especially on the positive facets of their life, their thoughts, and their feelings. The only issue that reaches the media about nursing homes is the negative and unfortunate events that sometimes occur, but there is so much more to the story.

Most people are afraid of long-term care homes because they recognize that it is the last phase in their life - it is the step before death. But some people have years from the time they enter the home until they die. This book shows how many men and women make the best of their situation - often leaving a positive legacy for family and friends - and how these can be fulfilling and quality years.

Much has been written about narcissism, addressing not only its theoretical aspects, its psychodynamics and the defense mechanisms within the spectrum of various kinds of narcissists. Yet, little if anything has been written about how to actually communicate with one, or what Lachkar refers to as the “Language of Empathology.” This book focuses on specific communication styles in addressing patients with severe narcissistic personality pathology which can be extremely beneficial to mental health professionals, who are often inundated with technical terms rather than offered a practical guide on how to actually "talk" to a narcissist.

How to Talk to a Narcissist is designed to be a guide useful to both beginning and seasoned practitioners. The book is recommended to all clinicians treating individuals, couples, groups, within the scope of various narcissistic personality disorders. The book has many applications, including use as a textbook for universities, clinics, graduate courses, and analytic training institutes. People in business, partnerships, commercial sales, and human resources will also find the approach to communicating with a narcissist most valuable.

Through reflections, remembrances, poems, and vignettes, Reed tracks her own small steps through realms as varied as love, parenthood, loneliness, fear, and connecting to places, other people, and holy presence. Each true story, told in Reed?s conversational, nurturing tone, is a tribute to those who have found ways to live happily and healthily after great difficulties?to see the extraordinary in their everyday experiences.

The life that inspired the major motion picture The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese.