Turning Life’s Lemons into Limoncello

Lemons into LimoncelloToday is the official release of Lemons into Limoncello: From Loss to Personal Renaissance with the Zest of Italy by Raeleen D’Agostino Mautner. It’s a guidebook for finding self-acceptance, comfort, courage, and personal renewal on the heels of adversity—Italian style. Here’s what Steve Parillo, CEO of Parillo Tours, has to say:

Perhaps life has knocked you down one too many times. Or maybe you’ve just gone ‘stale.’ Dr. Mautner is part philosopher, part psychologist, part life coach—but entirely Italian. She offers Italian-style therapy: food, family, friends, and fun—a recipe for your own, personal renaissance. What would Freud say if he was Italian? Here’s your answer!”

The challenges we face over the course of a lifetime, especially those that involve major personal loss, can seem devastating, as radio personality and self-help specialist Dr. Raeleen D’Agostino Mautner discovered when her husband suddenly and unexpectedly died of a heart attack. The Italian rituals and lifestyle habits she grew up with—and later began researching—were instrumental in helping her stay grounded, feel comforted, and be gently redirected to a new path of joy and the next level of her own personal transformation.

I assure you that this is a book you’ll refer to many times in your life. #selfhelp #grief Share on X

At some point in our lives, most of us will experience the kind of personal devastation that accompanies something as devastating as the death of a loved one. But the loss of a job, a home, a pet, finances, health, a friendship or even the loss of one’s self-esteem can send us into a tailspin, too.

When in the throes of such challenges, it is hard to believe that we will ever enjoy life again, let alone possibly come away with the courage to live the next phase of our lives with deeper appreciation and clarity. Lemons into Limoncello offers a front-row seat to the Italian ability to arrangiarsi (get by) through elevating ordinary events to the extraordinary, and is the first self-help book to prescribe a traditional Italian cultural approach as a pathway to one’s own personal renaissance at a time when it is most needed.

Lemons were as big as footballs. And twice we ...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the editor of this unique self-help book, I assure you that this is a book you’ll refer to many times in your life. And it’s one you’ll want to hand to a friend who is ready to move forward after adversity of any sort. The tone is warm and inclusive, and you’ll feel like you’re sitting at the author’s kitchen table with a cup of espresso and a biscotti (the recipe is in the book) as she shares her thoughts, wisdom, and advice.

You can learn more about the author:

Here’s one more review, this one from a NetGalley reviewer, to whet your appetite for this amazing book:

I truly enjoyed reading Mautner’s book Lemons into Limoncello. Not only did it have recipes, but it also had some wisdom in how to move on after disaster strikes no matter what type. She was able to weave her own story of painful loss of her husband untimely death along with her helpful tips for allowing the healing process to enfold in her life. Read this book, it is amazing. You will get some great recipes and great wisdom from a woman who has had her own journey.”  —Jamie Holloway, NetGalley

Update May 29, 2013: Connecticut Style television interview with the author about the book: http://tinyurl.com/owml57h 

Update June 18, 2013: Slideshow on Beliefnet.com: http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/Find-Happiness-and-Health-the-Italian-Way.aspx

 

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Happy Reading!

—Candace

Watch LaDonna Gatlin on "Marie"

67576_521658957890493_1078880582_nEvery author dreams of appearing on a national television show to promote his or her book. LaDonna Gatlin, whose book The Song in You: Finding Your Voice, Redefining Your Life I was privileged to edit, is a lucky author who is doing just that.

After several well-received appearances on local TV shows, including San Diego Sunday, Bay Sunday, and Life Today (see links below), LaDonna was invited to appear on Marie Osmond’s new hit show, Marie, on the Hallmark Channel.

Set your DVR for Wednesday, April 24 12 noon/11am central—you don’t want to miss LaDonna talking about her book and her career touring with stars like Johnny Cash and June Carter. And while you wait for Wednesday, whet your appetite with one of the clips below to see LaDonna discuss other aspects of her book and her journey.

Buy the book and CD at http://ladonnagatlin.com
Buy the book and CD at http://ladonnagatlin.com

About LaDonna’s book, The Song in You: Finding Your Voice, Redefining Your Life:

Before Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers became one of the biggest hits in country music, they toured with their sister LaDonna as The Gatlin Quartet, and in this optimistic message of hope and healing, LaDonna Gatlin shares the choice she made to embark on a different “tour”: raising her children, putting family first, overcoming adversity, and ultimately helping to inspire countless others discover their own song.

You can read it all in The Song in You: Finding Your Voice, Redefining Your Life. Today LaDonna is a Certified Speaking Professional and a member of the National Speakers Hall of Fame, part an elite group of CPAE recipients such as Ken Blanchard, Ronald Reagan, Norman Vincent Peale, and Zig Ziglar. (Click here to read more.)

You can learn more about LaDonna Gatlin and purchase her book or any of her CDs on her website at http://ladonnagatlin.com.

—Candace

(P.S. I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon with LaDonna, and you can read about that here.)

(P.P.S. While you wait for Wednesday’s Marie appearance, here’s a video clip of LaDonna singing “Moon River” with the Lennon Sisters. LaDonna says she always wanted to be one of them!)