Title: I've Got Some Good News and Some Bad News: You're Old Author: David Bernstein Publisher: Dynamic Learning Pages: 202 Genre: Health/Fitness Format: Paperback/Ebook Life is an aging process. Each of us will go through it in our own way. How we lead our lives when we are old, particularly as we near the end, is, I believe, worth pondering. In this way, "I've Got Some Good News and Some Bad News: You're Old" serves as a guide for all of us as we age, providing topics for contemplation and discussion with friends, family and colleagues. "You're Old" uses real patient experiences to explore what happens as we age-physically, mentally, and socially. The book also examines the tremendous abilities of medicine today as well as its limits, and the social issues that adults in America face as they age. Each chapter concludes with Notes on Living Longer, and a resource section, providing topic-specific information on organizations, websites, and other expert sources that can help the reader better understand and prepare for the prize of surviving youth and middle-age: becoming old. "You're Old" is written for the aging and the aged, their children, and younger people who aspire to grow old. It is written for the physicians, nurses and other providers who care for the elderly. The experiences explored in this book include the "good news and the bad" as the inevitable ravages of age intrude into the lives of Dr Bernstein's patients. From the most mundane situations to the truly sublime, the tales illuminate the emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of aging along with the diverse strategies people use to adapt to its realities. For More Information
|
Guest Post from David Bernstein, author of I've Got Some Good News and Some Bad News: You're Old11/10/2014
0 Comments
ABOUT GRYDSCAENTitle: grydscaenGenre: Science Fiction/Fantasy Author: Natsuya Uesugi Publisher: Xlibris EBook: 288 pages Release Date: July 21, 2011 Follow the lives of the main characters as they come together in the backstory to grydscaen:retribution, the first volume of the grydscaen saga. Faid is tired of life on the run in the Echelons, trying to keep his psychic power in check, he founds the Packrats establishing a safe haven for psychics. As a hacker he uses his jack to support his neurocyne habit. Lino is recruited by the Psi Faction and is sent on a mission to kidnap Faid. Riuho, Linoâs half brother becomes a prisoner of the Elite military and they experiment on him, train him and subject him to mind control, then send him out on a mission. On his return, Riuho is set on escaping and recruits Faid who hacks into the Psi Faction systems. They escape and return to the Packrats leading up to the start of grydscaen:retribution. Xlibris Question1: What do you think makes a good story? I think there are two things that make a good story, a believable world with rules and three dimensional characters. I think those are important. If the writer doesnât follow the rules of the world the reader will get confused and the story will not flow. If the characters are not believable then you lose the whole means for the action. Question2: What book are you reading right now? Reading a few things, nothing spectacular. Trying to get through Divergent but it is not really working with me. Question3: As a child what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a fighter pilot and a writer. Writer happened, unfortunately fighter pilot did not. Question4: If you could select one book that you could rewrite and add your own unique twist on, which would that be and why? I would pick Less Than Zero by Bret Eason Ellis and insert Lino the main character from grydscaen into the story line. I find that book was influential with me and the characters would fit in with Linoâs friends Question5: Please tell us a little more about your current release. The grydscaen series can be stripped down into hackers against the government. The Atlantea Federation dropped a nuclear bomb on the Pacific Territories and the Pacific Territories retaliated in 2055 and started a world war. The Pacific Territories also have a civil war going on with the hackers against the government. The Packrats are cyber terrorists the government says but they are trying to free the people from government oppression. The nuclear bomb that was dropped caused fallout over the Echelons and the Zone which created something call codess which manifested as psychic power. The government is rounding up psychics off the street and experimenting on them and also using psychics as clandestine operatives. Grydscaen is a sci fi epic. The grydscaen series which is set in 2055 in the near future is a microcosm of todayâs society. Technology is pervasive and infiltrates the day to day lives of the people recounted in the book. The lead character of grydscaen is Ameliano âLinoâ Dejarre who is the son of the Viceroy of the Pacific Territories and a prince. Lino is a clandestine psychic operative of the Psi Faction whoâs job is to fight against cyber terrorism and the infiltrations of the Atlantea Federation which dropped the nuclear bomb called the Dionysis Effect on the Pacific Territories. Lino and the psychic operatives of the Psi Faction are set against the Packrats which are seen as cyber terrorists by the government. The grydscaen series makes a commentary about freedom and anti government actions. Today we have activists and hackers standing up against oppression in various countries. I think that grydscaen gives voice to that fight and shows how things could happen in a world where there are less freedoms and the government rules everyday life. Psychics are oppressed in grydscaen and I wanted to make a commentary about marginalized groups in society such as the transgender and gay community. LGBT youth also have to face bullying in schools and can have a difficult time adjusting to just being who they are. I wrote grydscaen to provide positive role models to todayâs youth and show them that they can be different and still be respected. Bullying is a big problem today in person and online. I remember being bullied in high school for just being who I was and who I liked. This shaped who I am and I wrote grydscaen because I wanted to give back and let gay and trans kids know that they can be accepted for who they are. The other topic that I touch on in grydscaen is mental health. There is stigma about mental illness that is pervasive in society. One of the grydscaen characters named Sati Ima has schizoaffective disorder but he is a pilot in the military. He just needs to take medication and otherwise he handles his symptoms. There are many people who deal with depression and other mental illnesses that take medication. There should be no stigma to that. I wanted to shed light on this and make it clear that people with mental illness can lead full and fulfilling lives and they should be treated with dignity and respect. Grydscaen deals with difficult themes all rolled up into a science fiction backdrop. I also talk about LGBT homeless youth in the series as one of the characters Rom who is 16 years old lives on the streets. I wanted to detail the plights of homeless youth and give them a voice that is often not heard. Many people think this is just a problem in the inner cities but there are many cities where gay kids come out and tell their parents and then they are kicked out on the street, or for some reason or another they are running away from abusive situations. Homeless youth need a voice and I just wrote a grydscaen short story which is available on the grydscaen blog called âA Stormâs Comingâ which is about Rom the homeless LGBT youth. Grydscaen makes a commentary about life and marginalized groups in society. It calls for equal rights and equality like the marriage equality initiative that is getting media now. When I was in college I wished that I had strong LGBT role models that I could look up to who would have helped me find out more about who I am. I wrote the grydscaen series to provide this voice for those that might not feel that they were worthy of having a voice or had no means to speak up. Grydscaen shows that a gay teenager can have a position of power and rise up and make a change in his environment for the better. Lino is that character and the grydscaen series revolves around him. I wanted to give him a voice and tell about his struggles and his triumphs. Grydscaen is about respect and being recognized for your talents. I wanted to give back and grydscaen allows me to do that. There are currently 4 books published in the grydscaen series: grydscaen: utopia, grydscaen: beginnings, grydscaen: retribution and grydscaen: war with a fifth book grydscaen: alliance due to be published this year. I hope that you would take a look at grydscaen and the positive message that it brings for todayâs youth. For more on grydscaen visit http://www.grydscaen.com |