Internal Medicine physician, who actually makes house calls, Dr. Maggie Mears has won acclaim for her approach to healing the whole person as well as just symptoms. This book arose out of the unique connections she made, while listening to her patients. Knowing they were safe with her, they began sharing “miracles” too- a dynamic that that revealed dozens of inspiring anecdotes that form the basis of her book. Mears is also the founder of Write From Your Heart™, a creative writing workshop in which participants blossom as they discover the healing power of writing.

REVIEW

I just finished reading ABC's Of Lighthearted Living... My Rx: .As soon as I put the book down, the first thing that popped into my mind was the slogan from an old Nissan commercial — “Life is a journey. Enjoy the ride.” These seven simple words capture the gist of what ABC’s is all about.

Drawing on her 30+ years as an Internal Medicine and Hospice physician as well as a lifetime of personal experience, the author, Dr. Margaret Mears, shares her wisdom on how to turn negatives into positives through 26 “prescriptions” she wrote for attaining more joy, better health and greater contentment out of life. Let's face it... isn't this something all of us could use right now?
Each Rx begins with a letter, starting with A is for Attitude and proceeding through the alphabet ending with Z is for Zebra (read the book to find out what this means!). As a physician who addresses the complete patient, Dr. Mears maintains that wellness can only be achieved when the mind, body, and spirit are in sync with each other. In addition, she encourages her readers to find a passion to pursue, use imagination, experience joy, be grateful, laugh, and cultivate a new talent. She even extols the benefits of ridding our homes of the junk that clutters not only our living spaces but our minds as well. Through a medley of humorous, touching, and awe-inspiring short stories, anecdotes, and quotes, Dr. Mears reveals how we can improve the quality of our lives by changing the focus of our thoughts and actions.

This book is filled with excellent information, thought-provoking, and easy-to-practice remedies. Do yourself a favor. Pick up a copy of ABC’s. Your life will begin to take you down new paths you never dreamed possible. Enjoy the journey.

Reviewed by: Debbie Friend, Blogcritic:

EXCERPT

From O is for OUTRAGEOUS!

Several years ago, I dated a fellow whose passion was dune buggies. It was a thrill for him to careen up, down and over those sand dunes at top speed. One sunny weekend, my mother and I accompanied Mark to the dunes just outside Yuma, AZ. That day, my seventy-six year-old mother was the outrageous one.

She had just recently recovered from massive abdominal surgery. So, as she stepped over the rails of that strange vehicle and strapped herself in, he reassured her. “Don’t worry, Mom. I promise I’ll take it easy. I’ll just take you for a nice little ride over there,” pointing to a gentle slope. Waving goodbye and trusting Mark completely, off Mom went for her “nice little ride.” However, nice, little, just, gentle, and promise were foreign words to Mark.
In a few minutes, as I searched for them in the crowds of buggies on the hill, I stood, horrified, my hand over my mouth. “”Oh, no, “I screamed. “What is he doing?”

For there were Mark and my mother barreling down one of the steepest dunes in the place. Finally she screamed for him to stop, as her poor abdomen was being bounced all over, causing her much pain. I could see her holding her tummy with one hand and whacking him with the other.

However, as they pulled to a stop in front of me, she was grinning. Mom had never learned to drive a car. She had chickened out on her second lesson with my Dad, after she steered their Ford into a ditch. Yet, at seventy-six, she had placed herself in the hands of this wild, racing, no-holds- barred dune buggy fanatic. Now that’s outrageous!