Find humor and hope in this compelling and heartwarming journey through depression, divorce recovery, and breast cancerAfter two broken engagements, Tiffany Allen thought her fairy tale had finally come true when her childhood crush re-entered her life in her 30s. But after a few years, the marriage fell apart and she was left trying to make sense of why the “all-American” couple had imploded and … couple had imploded and what part she played in its demise.
Witty, charming, and bittersweet, Carry On and Ditch the Excess Baggage! is a journey that begins in this first-time author’s childhood and uncovers emerging patterns and events that may have contributed to the difficulty in her marriage and her constant battle with depression.
For anyone who has experienced the debilitating effects of depression, the devastation of divorce or the crucible of cancer, Carry On and Ditch the Excess Baggage! will prove that there really can be silver linings in the darkest of clouds and that it is possible to rid yourself of past hurts that are genuine and excess baggage that plays no role except to weigh you down.
Benefit from the author’s “Lessons Learning” and discover for yourself that with effort, you can find humor in painful circumstances and healing from despair. A must-read for those who have had to take a detour from their fairy-tale ending to find a completely new beginning.
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Blessed Sunday to you My Fellow Book Dragons. I hope your day has gone well and peacefully. Our Gem tonight is a bit different. A peaceful teal and pink, it’s colors reflect a hard won battle this is still being fought by it’s Gem Maker, Tiffany Allen, on some fronts. See the hairline cracks that look as though they have healed over in places, cracked and are healing again. Like old fractures in a bone? This has been a long time coming.
Miss Allen, in her book, ‘Carry On and Ditch the Excess Baggage (A Journey Through Depression, Divorce and Cancer) ‘ talks earnestly and honestly about her battle with all three subjects. Her pen is not a bakery as she writes on the topics that have most governed her life. She does not lay blame elsewhere, even when there are times she very well might have. She places herself as the sole responsible party for her issues. A breath of fresh air in today’s “anyone but me” mentality.
She gives us a look at her Mormon upbringing. A solid family, loving parents, a good, if economically poor household. She doesn’t say they aren’t dysfunctional on some level for she believes, as do I, that there is no such thing as a a completely functional family. She has parents who support her at every turn. As a matter of fact they are over protective to a degree, but also a bit overly expectant at another. Here is an example. Her mother will sit and listen to her pour her heart out day and night, no matter the issue when she is an adult. Let her cry and go over every little problem that makes her want to cry and stay in bed. She doesn’t tell us what advice her mother gives her, just that she listens. This is fine when you are 18 or 20 or so..but when she has to do this repeatedly throughout her life, something is wrong. And this is where things may have gone wrong (please remember this is just my opinion): Tiffany writes that when she and her siblings were small and got into trouble, they were meted a punishment and sent to their rooms. They were not allowed to come out until they were “happy”. Making a nestling mask anger, sadness, rage or any negative emotion by acting happy or smiling, they are only teaching them not to deal with the negative emotion. It’s perfectly okay to tell your nestlings, “You don’t have to like the punishment, but you did “thus and so” and you need to learn to deal with the consequence, when you calm down, we will talk about it. ”
Tiffany is also honest about her depression as an adult. She was so depressed that when a dear friend attempted suicide she couldn’t reach out to her emotionally. She did get her help, but she couldn’t offer her any personal compassion. She talks honestly about her pursuit of money and her fear of being poor. She is honest about her friends thinking that money is a god to her.
She is honest in her obsession with her husband when they break up and get divorced and her cancer. This is the most honest book I have ever read when it comes to personal issues. It is definitely something One can learn from. I would not suggest this book for anyone with deep issues, that person needs clinical help, but if you are working on your own issues and you want to feel you are not alone in your struggle, reading about Tiffany Allen’s experiences and how she overcame them, might make you feel less alone.
Early in the book she mentions her Mormon faith and she mentions it several more times throughout the book. I would love to have seen a chapter about how that helped or hindered her progress, and what role it plays in her life now, if at all. I would like to have read more about what her mother did say to her when she called her on those long calls. Did she give advice? Did she soothe her and if so how? Now that she doesn’t call her mother, what does she do instead? Three years later what is life like for her? An addendum would be wonderful! This book is now available on Amazon. I hope you find it helpful.
Until tomorrow I remain, your humble Book Dragon, please remember, our November giveaway will be announced tomorrow!
Drakon T. Longwitten
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.