The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time

If you are ready to lighten up and enjoy life, this is the book for you! Did you know that you don't have to suffer daily just because the economy is bad, your promotion prospects are bleak, and the television keeps reporting exceptionally discouraging news? Cheryl Richardson has the right view . . . that life can be a pleasure and from that pleasure you can bring much happiness to others. She realizes that you probably have lots of bad habits that make you miserable and suggests one change a month that cumulatively build to create the kind of enjoyable life that may exceed your wildest hopes. The changes are couched in gentle, friendly terms and illustrated with breath-taking photos. Ms. Richardson describes how hiring a personal coach changed her life and taught her the lessons in this book. If you just follow this advice, it's like saving hundreds of dollars to get valuable secrets. In the first month, you identify where you are deprived (such as in sleep, emotional support, personal time, energy, companionship, peacefulness, hope, and physical closeness) and start eliminating those deprivations that are most important to you. In the second month, you begin to approve of yourself more through a series of mirror exercises where you tell yourself, "I love you." In month three, you learn how to say "no" and do it nicely. In month four, you re-schedule your life to feel more comfortable and do important activities that make you feel great at the optimal times. In month five, you offload a lot of what keeps you overly busy, annoyed, and stressed by "letting go." In month six, you decide what you will never do again . . . all of those things that make life a drudge and an annoyance. You then work on remembering to stop doing those things. In month seven, you change where you live and work to nurture rather than annoy you. In the eighth month, you learn to insulate yourself from things that stress you out and serve no purpose (such as watching the latest violence on the television news). In the ninth month, you begin to pay more attention to your health and body. In the tenth month, you work on letting anger go. In the eleventh month, you identify and begin to spend time on something that you are passionate about. During the last month, you develop a plan for dealing with unexpected problems and emotional blows. Each chapter is filled with lists of books and other resources you can use to flesh out the simple concepts that the book presents. I read this book while on a long plane flight and found myself enjoying the trip simply due to taking Ms. Richardson's approach to how I thought about and treated the experience. Instead of being a bore, I had fun!

I first became acquainted with Cheryl when I worked at Wainwright House and took one of her classes there. The warmth and energy that she exuded as a teacher is found in her new book. The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time, by Cheryl Richardson is a short book--just over 100 pages--but it is just packed with great information. Just as she has de-cluttered her home, Richardson has presented a thoughtful book without any fluff, just substance. In 1994, Richardson saw a coach, Thomas Leonard, who introduced her to the concept of Extreme Self-Care. Extreme self-care is for women like Richardson once was; women who took on the role of caretaker to their detriment. She writes: "I was a good girl, and it was sucking the life out of me." The following are some of the concepts of Extreme Self-Care: * Surround yourself with people who give and take * Eliminate clutter * Create a soul-nourishing work and home environment * Get finances in order * Don't make commitments based on guilt or obligation * Make pleasure a priority There are 12 chapters and Richardson encourages the reader to tackle one chapter a month. Each chapter is filled with her personal stories. It is obvious Richardson has worked through each chapter herself. She even presents her own list of things she will never do, for example. She wrote about her experience on Oprah with Louise Hay and others on the subject of the Law of Attraction. Hay recommended looking in the mirror and saying "I love you" to yourself every day. Richardson liked the advice and writes about her experience doing that in the book. As an interior designer who knows how important the environment is on the well-being of the occupants, I really enjoyed her chapter on this subject. She writes about creating a soul-loving space: "The power of being in a space that feels fully aligned with our soul is sorely underrated." Amen! Richardson spends most of the chapter discussing how to get rid of clutter--even going as far as saying remove 50% of it. She suggests de-cluttering one often-used room first to experience the difference it makes on how you feel. Excellent advice. Each chapter concludes with resources for further reading, all good choices. By the author of the award winning book, HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET.

i've been a fan of Cheryl Richardson's work since her first book (Take time for your life) and I really enjoyed this book. It's beautifully presented and I actually read it twice over the holidays. Extreme self-care can be seen as a selfish thing...but CR presents it as a key component of living an authentic life. She has some very practical suggestions about getting used to disappointing people and learning how to "say no with grace and love". She also has a good chapter on honouring sensitivity...particularly for those of us who are HSPs (Highly sensitive persons). The only quibble I would have with the book is that I feel it could have had more content in each chapter. I know she is offering an online course on Hayhouse around this topic so perhaps there is more content in that. It's written in her easy conversational style and it's a timely topic. Her message is that the better care we take of ourselves, the better human beings we will be. And she makes the point that many people have grown up with parents (particularly mothers) who neglected their own needs and this wasn't always pretty. Extreme self care may seem selfish but it's simply really good sense...highly recommended.

Cheryl Richardson has written a beautiful and uplifting book on the power of self-care. Not only do her words inspire, but so do the wonderful pictures of the ocean throughout the book. Some people may think "extreme self-care" sounds like a selfish concept; but as Cheryl explains, when we learn to care for ourselves deeply, we naturally begin to care for others in a healthier and more effective way. In fact, if we always put others first out of guilt or obligation, it can lead to resentment which doesn't benefit us or those we love. Throughout the book, she shows us through personal stories what obstacles stand in the way of self-care. For instance, she notes she used to be an "automatic yes machine" when people asked for help because she wanted people to like her and she didn't want anyone to disapprove of her. She learned the hard way why that doesn't work and offers tips on how to respond to requests for help through a 3-step process of (1) buying some time, (2) doing a gut check, and (3) telling the truth directly with grace and love if it is necessary to say no. This is a short and wonderful book that provides 12 ways to practice self-care, gives examples of each, issues a 30-day challenge for each principle and offers additional resources at the end of each chapter. It would make a great gift for yourself or someone you love.

Cheryl Richardson and her publisher, Hay House, have created a beautiful book, filled with exceptional wisdom, and perfectly timed. Because I had listened to the audio summary which was released before the book, I knew I would love Cheryl Richardson's latest book. I had so thoroughly enjoyed the audio CD set (see my separate review). But, my high expectations were surpassed when the book arrived and I experienced the physical beauty of this book. This book has the look of a coffee table style book with wisdom that exceeds the norm for such books. As such, this will make a wonderful holiday gift (and a bargain at that). Far more important than the beautiful packaging is Cheryl's wonderful message that is perfectly timed to arrive at a moment when so many people are stressed by the economic meltdown and all of its consequences. I can't imagine a more thoughtful antidote to these tough times. Cheryl has skillfully woven twelve elements into a divinely inspired mosaic of the notion of extreme self-care. She appropriately credits Thomas Leonard, who many consider the father of the coaching profession as we know it today, with introducing her to the concept of extreme self-care. She then introduces us to her own twelve elements, comprising extreme self-care, so as to create the potential for a yearlong program of self-improvement (for those who want to implement one improvement per month). This book is typical of the excellence with which Cheryl creates new material. The concepts are practical, well explained, and delightfully supported by a story from Cheryl's own life to illustrate the concept. As I said in reviewing her last book, Cheryl has moved from being a traditional teacher to a wonderful conversationalist who teaches by openly sharing experiences from her own life. So many self-help authors use stories involving others to make their points. Not so with Cheryl! It's as if she opened up her home and invited you to watch as she (occasionally) bumps through life. Her gracious humanity is one of her many personal strengths. So many of her stories brought a smile to my heart, as I pictured Cheryl having the experience and as I related to my own experiences with some of the very same bumps of life. "Hands off the Wheel" brought me back to the time when my business experienced significant growth when I finally let go of controlling every decision of my colleagues. Other sections, e.g., "The Absolute No List," provide me with opportunities for new personal performance gains as they are lessons I have yet to master. Cheryl's timing in releasing this material (the book and the audio) is so perfect. I believe we are headed for some very challenging times...times where self-care will be especially critical for all. We are fortunate to have such a wonderful guide, for such an important activity, during such turbulent times. PS I am confident that this book, like Cheryl's previous, will quickly become a well deserved best seller. I know that Che