From Heartbreak To Wholeness

A guidebook for discovering how heartbreak can become the doorway to profound meaning and joy from the bestselling co-creator of the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff Series In 2006, after building the bestselling franchise Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with her husband Richard, Kristine Carlson faced a shattering loss—the sudden death of her beloved spouse. Woven together with the remarkable stories of others’ loss and recovery, her deeply moving story reveals a clear process of healing that is common to everyone and goes far beyond ordinary prescriptions for getting through hard times. In her new book, From Heartbreak to Wholeness, Kristine offers a life-altering map for navigating the heroic journey from loss to joy—one that ultimately awakens readers to a deep love affair with life. Every day, people suffer heartbreaks of some kind—loss of a loved one, divorce, illness, loss of a job or home—and seek to understand why these losses and traumas have befallen them and how they’ll make it through in one piece. For readers who have endured loss of any kind, Kristine takes them by the hand, showing them how to traverse their own jagged edge of growth and emerge as the hero whole, happy, and empowered. Each chapter of From Heartbreak to Wholeness includes powerful exercises in self-inquiry and reflection, along with step-by-step guidance for writing one’s own heroic story of healing. Journey with Kristine Carlson and learn how you can walk the path from heartbreak to wholeness.

Dionysos, one of the most misunderstood of the gods, is a masculine energy that brings us back to life and vitality in a way that includes deep partnership with the feminine. Through the exploration of the love story of Ariadne and Dionysos, Alchemy of the Heart takes us on an archetypal adventure into an ancient world where the dance of masculine and feminine ignites fullness of being in both men and women. From the shadowy labyrinth of Minos to the sacred Initiation Chamber at Pompeii, Alchemy of the Heart travels the landscape of both the outer world and the inner psyche as it points the way past contemporary hedonism and pornography addiction into a Dionysian world of joy, vibrant sexuality, and spiritual transcendence. “A solid and important work of scholarship that is a must-read for those doing depth psychological work. Aguilar mines the myth of Dionysos and Ariadne for its insights into expanding Jungian notions about the animus and a woman’s journey to wholeness. In the process, she updates Jungian thought to match emerging ways of seeing gender, the feminine, and the masculine in our time.” —Carol S. Pearson, Ph.D., Author of Persephone Rising, The Hero Within and Awakening the Heroes Within. Former President of Pacifica Graduate Institute. “Joseph Campbell showed us the mythic mysteries, now Marina Aguilar unlocks the secrets of ecstatic teachings. Alchemy of the Heart is a breakthrough work on our divine connection to nature and the playful wisdom of the body.” —Jonathan Young, Ph.D., Psychologist, Founding Curator, Joseph Campbell Archives. “A superb study of the myth of Dionysos through the lens of Jung’s spiritual alchemy. Focusing on the sacred marriage of Dionysos and Ariadne, the author illuminates the journey to wholeness, both horizontal and vertical, revealing a power to heal not only a broken psyche but a broken world. Aguilar’s ‘meditative exegesis’ on the Dionysian initiation chamber in the Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii is a model of transcendence at the heart of Plato’s noetic philosophy. This is a penetrating reading bringing to life an ancient, yet timeless, myth.” —Michael P. Morrissey, Ph.D., Author of Consciousness and Transcendence: The Theology of Eric Voegelin. Marina Aguilar received her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, and has been a practicing depth psychotherapist and educator since 1990. She specializes in individuation as a spiritual, as well as soul process. Her expertise in mythology, comparative religion, spiritual alchemy and the ancient mystery school teachings serves as a valuable tool in working with archetypal themes as they emerge in day to day life, imagination, art and dreams. Having lived in the United States, Mexico and Europe, her work bridges cultures, continents and spiritual modalities and focuses on increasing consciousness and wholeness within the individual and society as a whole.

An evocative debut novel chronicles the lives and fortunes of four generations of Jewish women, as their stories span two continents, from Eastern Europe to modern-day Cleveland, and one young woman, Hannah Felber, struggles to resolve her troubled relationship with her mother. Reprint.

Mandy Hale, the creator of The Single Woman, the social media movement that rewrote the rulebook about singleness, challenges every woman to see that she is sufficient, acceptable, and complete. After years of trying to prove she was enough in the world's eyes, even working alongside Oprah and hitting the New York Times bestseller list, Mandy hit rock bottom. But as it turned out, that very rock bottom became the most firm foundation she had ever planted her feet on. A foundation so solid, it finally provided the springboard she needed to outrun the taunting shadow of unworthiness that she'd tried to escape her whole life. Now she wants readers to see that though life may not always be lighthearted and happy and shiny, each woman is deserving of the life she dreams of and hopes for. Nothing readers do can ever take away from their worthiness or enough-ness in God's eyes. This book is for any woman who wants to overcome heartbreak, claim her healing and step into wholeness!

If you had one hour to live and could make just one phone call, who would you call? What would you say? Why are you waiting? Richard Carlson's sudden, tragic death in December 2006 left his millions of fans reeling, but even their many letters, calls, and emails couldn't erase the loss felt by his wife, Kristine. To try and come to terms with her loss, she pored over 25 years of love letters, reliving the memories and cherishing her late husband's memory. But one letter stood out. Richard had written to his wife on their 18th wedding anniversary and attempted to answer the question: if you had one hour to live, what would you do, who would you call, and what would you say? An Hour to Live, an Hour to Love is a profoundly moving book that shows the importance of treasuring each day as the incredible gift it is.

Kristine Carlson had an idyllic life. She and her husband, Richard, had a romantic marriage, two beautiful daughters, and—thanks to the success of Richard's bestselling Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series—all the comforts of the American Dream. But on December 13, 2006, that perfect story took a sudden turn when, on a typical flight to New York, a pulmonary embolism would take Richard's life, catapulting Kristine into heartbreak and uncertainty. It was the end of life as Kristine knew it and the beginning of a journey through the depths of grief and mourning that would reveal to Kristine her true strength and an immeasurable love that cannot be broken. This book is a courageously honest memoir. It is the true story of a wife, a mother, a woman forced to come face-to-face with fear, insecurity, and the painful but ultimately precious teachings Kristine Carlson discovered along the way. This wise little book offers a timeless message of inspiration, empowerment, and courage for anyone who has experienced loss or hardship of any kind.

From years of pastoral experience and the heartbreak of losing his own son, the author knows that grief is anything but a tidy, predictable progression. Written in short, easy chapters, this book can help readers free themselves from the painful grief that grips their hearts.

Love Exists. It's for You--and It's Worth Pursuing Rock princess Lacey Sturm wants to share her journey from heartbreak to wholeness with young women. In The Mystery, Sturm helps readers understand that any loving relationship begins with knowing your own identity in Christ. And yet, so many people have learned to define love through their own dysfunctional family, unhealthy relationships, the romances and wrecked relationships of mainstream pop culture, or, sadly, through pornography. Is it any wonder so many people end up brokenhearted, divorced, abused, abusive, or even suicidal? Through personal stories, Sturm shows readers why true love is difficult and often painful but still worth fighting for. She helps women recognize destructive patterns in their relationships, discover a vision for a true and heart-flourishing love, and heal from past wounds. For anyone seeking healthy, loving relationships in our broken world, The Mystery lights the way to the love we were meant for.