Self-Help

In this unique, profoundly inspirational memoir, Divorce Court star Judge Lynn Toler shares her mother’s wisdom for learning to conquer anger and become immune to insult.

Toler credits her mother’s “rules” for life – a life that saw her grow up the daughter of a poor teen mother and endure a husband who suffered mental illness and alcoholism – with providing the grounding for her own success and happiness. Toler shows how the mindset of “a black woman who knew how to make things work” taught her the power of knowing how to manage one’s emotional business—lessons that this book offers in wrenching stories written in spare and graceful prose.

My Mother’s Rules is an unforgettable book that will captivate readers with its illustrations of how to rise above the most difficult circumstances and find peace and success in life.

Maxine Clair, award-winning author of the critically acclaimed short story collection Rattlebone and the novel October Suite, has assembled a deeply inspirational yet practical book to help readers access their inner creativity. Imagine This is a beautifully written set of deeply personal stories from which Clair draws examples of how we can be aware of the now, keep ourselves motivated, and create work of which we are proud.

Imagine This explains how some of us consciously choose the vehicle through which we express our magnificence — be it business, art, science, or other — while others of us have dutifully plied a trade in arenas that society has suggested are worthwhile, with self-expression only fixed on a hobby. Both, Clair maintains, can contribute to a good life. Occasionally, however, a moment comes that is sufficiently insistent on deep examination. In that moment we float the possibility for expression of a greater self.

Imagine This shows readers how to be aware of these moments and how our inner creativity is always seeking an outlet. By combining captivating memoir with step-by-step advice, Clair helps us find and develop our own unique and personal creative outlets.