Opening Up: How To Develop Your Intuition And Work With Your Angels by Lisa Driver Published by DriverWorks Ink Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $19.95 ISBN 978-1-927570-13-5 Are you as happy as you’d like to be? I’m guessing that most would answer “no” to this glaring question, whether our challenges concern illness, loneliness, grief, financial woes, strained relationships, confidence issues, employment worries, addictions, or something altogether different. Of course many books promise happier, healthier living, but Lisa Driver’s Opening Up: How To Develop Your Intuition And Work With Your Angels takes a unique approach: it combines elements of Christianity (the author was raised in a Christian home and uses “God” to describe the “loving energy” we all share) and what some term “new age” beliefs, ie: developing intuition through meditation; using crystals; participating in Angel Tarot card readings, energy work, and Reiki; and recognizing when our angels are communicating with us. Regina-born Driver was in transition in her own personal life – she’d had “about seven jobs in as many years” – when she attended a “Natural Health and Healing Expo” in her adopted city, Medicine Hat. There the “’regular’ Saskatchewan prairie girl” was introduced to an “angelic medium from…

Am I the Only One? Struggling Being a Teen by Treena Wynes Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Jessica Bickford $16.95     978-1-927756-37-9 Navigating our modern world is tough enough as an adult, let alone as a teenager.  In Am I the Only One? Treena Wynes, a social worker with fifteen years experience working with teens, sets out to create a quick and honest guide to the challenges, and possible solutions to the many, many problems teens these days face.  This is a book written directly for teens, and even though a couple sections focus on giving advice to caregivers, the bulk of it is straightforward, simple, and perfect for anyone in the 13-18 bracket. Wynes focuses primarily on healthy bodies and minds – discussing puberty, eating disorders, mental wellness, and emerging sexuality in a non-judgmental way.  She encourages open communication, but also recognizes that many teens may not be able to talk to their parents, or that their parents might be the root of much of their stress, what with high expectations and pressure to conform. Wynes also touches on social media and how it can be a very positive source for friendship and belonging, but the dangers…

Love and Laughter: A Healing Journey by Catherine Ripplinger Fenwick Printed by St. Peter’s Press Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $21.95 ISBN 1-896971-34-2 The last time I was in McNally Robinson in Saskatoon, I happened past the self-help section and was amazed at its size. I was thinking about this as I read “Crises are part of the human condition …” in the introduction to Catherine Ripplinger Fenwick’s Love and Laughter: A Healing Journey. The book, an expansion on her popular 2004 title, “Healing With Humour,” is in part “a psychological and spiritual first aid kit.” Inside it the Regina author, therapist, and educator offers anecdotes, quotations, poetry, prayers, jokes, affirmations, activities, cartoons, strategies, and information on making humour and hope part of daily life, which results in a healthier and more joyful existence. It is both a “work-book and a play-book,” and for those who need a lift, it could be just what the doctor ordered. After a breast cancer diagnosis in 1990, Ripplinger Fenwick set out on her lifelong goal to write a book, recognizing the importance “healthy humour and hope” would play in her healing journey. She maintains that laughter is important because it “enriches all aspects…