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February/March 2014

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art & soul BOOKS Fail Fast, Fail Often How Losing Can Help You Win By Kathy Eldon M ost people who leave the heartland and end up in California get on Route 80 and head straight west. Kathy Eldon's route was a bit more circuitous. It took her through three continents, several psychics, a string of di- sastrous love affairs and a tragedy that would forever alter the course of her life. Raised in Iowa, Eldon married young, to an Englishman who spirited her across the pond. Soon a restless stay-at- home mom of two, with a nagging hole in her soul, she was thrilled when her husband was transferred to Kenya. The entire family fell in love with their adopted country, but the marriage foundered. Eldon was just starting to emerge from a divorce and identity crisis when her son Dan, already a successful Reuter's photographer at age 22, was stoned to death by an irate mob while covering the war in Somalia. The bumpy journey that follows is the heart of the book. Occasionally guided by psychics and moments of "automat- ic writing," but mostly by her own heart and intuition, Eldon stumbles her way to creating something positive from her tragedy, often in tandem with her daughter Amy, Dan's sister. In the process, her journey of "ordi- nary" suffering be- comes profound. Eldon's hon- esty is raw, and it is precisely that el- ement that makes her encounters with otherworld- ly phenomena so credible. Surely, we think, a woman who shares such painful personal experiences can't be fabricating. Whatever the reader's con- clusions, there is no denying the outcome. And even though we kind of know the ending, this is one journey where you'll want to tag along. (Harper One) —Abigail Lewis Ryan Babineaux, Ph.D. and John Krumboltz, Ph.D. I f your life is unsatisfying, your career seems stalled, you're stuck in a rut and want to break free from limiting behaviors, or you're apprehensive about pursuing the things that nourish your passion, this book will set you on the path to success that has so far eluded you, and help jumpstart your life. Psychologists Ryan Babineaux and John Krumboltz, career counselors and creators of a Stanford University course with the same title, ask, "What if your biggest mistake is that you never make mistakes?" Happy and successful people spend less time planning and more time acting. They go out into the world, try new things and make mistakes. By doing this they benefi t from unexpected experiences and opportunities. Fail Fast, Fail Often offers guidance on how to act boldly and leverage your strengths, even if the idea of failure terrifi es you. The authors offer practical advice and effective tools to redefi ne failure (aka product testing), break down complex problems into achievable goals, and focus on opportunities, rather than on problems. They provide powerful, specifi c guidance on how to put your ideas into practice to enact immediate change in your life. Chock full of inspiring quotes from the greatest minds of our generation, Fail Fast, Fail Often offers lively and engaging guidance about embracing change and injecting fun into your journey every day. Otherwise, as John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." (Tarcher/Penguin) —Howard Sann In the Heart of Life A restless soul, a search for meaning, and a bond that nothing could break 30 wholelifetimesmagazine.com WLT-FEB-MAR-1-30.indd 30 1/30/14 1:10 AM

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