This Is Not the Life I Ordered

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This Is Not the Life I Ordered
This Is Not The Life I Ordered.jpg
Book cover
AuthorDeborah Collins Stephens, Michealene Cristini Risley, Jackie Speier, Jan Yanehiro
IllustratorJohn Grimes
Cover artistJessica Dacher
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject Self-help
Genre Non-fiction
PublisherConari Press
Publication date
March 2007
Media typeHardcover
Pages220
ISBN 1-57324-305-1

This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down is a collaborative non-fiction inspirational self-help book written by Deborah Collins Stephens, Michealene Cristini Risley, Jackie Speier, and Jan Yanehiro. The book was first published in a hardcover format in 2007, by Conari Press. [1] The first printing of the work was for thirty-five thousand copies, and a second printing is planned. [2]

Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. Many different self-help group programs exist, each with its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders. Concepts and terms originating in self-help culture and Twelve-Step culture, such as recovery, dysfunctional families, and codependency have become firmly integrated in mainstream language.

Jackie Speier American politician

Karen Lorraine Jacqueline Speier is an American politician who currently serves as a U.S. Representative for California's 14th congressional district, serving in Congress since 2008. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 12th District from 2008 to 2013, includes the northern two-thirds of San Mateo County and the southwest quarter of San Francisco. She represents much of the territory that had been represented by her political mentor, Leo Ryan. In 1978, while working as his aide, Speier survived five gunshot wounds during the assassination of Ryan, part of the Jonestown massacre.

Jan Yanehiro is a Japanese-American broadcast journalist.

Contents

About the authors

The four authors were all friends prior to writing the book. [3] Jackie Speier is a Congresswoman from California, and was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California in 2006. [4] Speier survived five gunshot wounds when she was shot by members of Peoples Temple in 1978 when she traveled to Jonestown with Congressman Leo J. Ryan. [5] Jan Yanehiro is a broadcast journalist, and co-hosted Evening Magazine which aired on San Francisco's KPIX. [6] Yanehiro is a co-executive producer of "Pacific Fusion", a television magazine program featuring Asian American lifestyle, which airs on KRON. [7]

United States House of Representatives Lower house of the United States Congress

The United States House of Representatives is the lower house of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper house. Together they compose the national legislature of the United States.

California U.S. state in the United States

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents across a total area of about 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

Lieutenant Governor of California statewide constitutional officer and vice-executive of the U.S. state of California

The Lieutenant Governor of California is a statewide constitutional officer and vice-executive of the U.S. state of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to basically ceremonial roles, serving as acting governor in the absence of the Governor of California and as President of the California State Senate, the lieutenant governor either sits on many of California's regulatory commissions and executive agencies.

Michealene Cristini Risley was Vice-President, group director of licensing and character development, at Sega Corporation. [8] She is also the founder and president of Fresh Water Spigot, a creative content company based in Portola Valley, California. [9] Deborah Collins Stephens is the cofounder and managing partner of the Center for Innovative Leadership. [10] She is also the author of One Size Fits One and co-authored The Maslow Business Reader, with Abraham H. Maslow. [11] [12]

Sega Japanese video game developer and publisher and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings

Sega Games Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational video game developer and publisher headquartered in Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and London. Sega's arcade division, once part of Sega Corporation, has existed as Sega Interactive Co., Ltd. since 2015. Both companies are subsidiaries of Sega Holdings Co., Ltd., which is in turn a part of Sega Sammy Holdings.

Portola Valley, California Town in California, United States

Portola Valley is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, which was founded in 1964. It is the wealthiest town in America per the American Community Survey, based on per-capita income for communities larger than 4,000. Home prices are also among the highest in the nation.

Contents

In the book, the authors share advice gained from personal experiences on topics including family life, work, and love - and the difficulties of balancing these issues. [13] As the title suggests, the book offers fifty ways in which the reader can stay focused and upbeat when misfortune strikes. [14] The book is structured topically, with each chapter dealing with different types of issues such as dealing with misfortune, managing mistakes, understanding money and how to network with other women. [15] Each chapter concludes with a "WIT (Women in Transition) Kit," which contains action plans and exercises related to the previous section. [16] [17] The chapter "Understanding Money and a Women’s Worth" provides "straightforward directives" on topics such as net worth, tax returns and how to create a financial plan. [17]

Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an institutional unit or sector minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net worth can also be conveniently expressed as non-financial assets plus net financial assets. Net worth can apply to companies, individuals, governments or economic sectors such as the sector of financial corporations or to entire countries.

Tax returns in the United States are reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or with the state or local tax collection agency containing information used to calculate income tax or other taxes. Tax returns are generally prepared using forms prescribed by the IRS or other applicable taxing authority.

Reception

This Is Not the Life I Ordered reached the best seller list of the San Francisco Chronicle for the second time in June 2007. [18] [19] The book also appeared on the NCIBA bestseller list, [2] and was featured on the "Sacramento 07 Books" list, by the Professional BusinessWomen of California organization. [20] This Is Not the Life I Ordered received a positive review in ForeWord Magazine , where the reviewer noted that the work: "is more about 'turning ‘woe is me’ into action' than coddling." [17]

<i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> newspaper serving the San Francisco Bay area

The San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California in the United States. It was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The paper is owned by the Hearst Corporation, which bought it from the de Young family in 2000. It is the only major daily paper covering the city and county of San Francisco.

See also

Related Research Articles

Peoples Temple defunct new religious movement founded in 1955

The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious movement founded in 1955 by Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones used the Peoples Temple to spread a message that combined elements of Christianity with communist and socialist ideology, with an emphasis on racial equality.

Jonestown former community established by the Peoples Temple, known for a mass death event on November 18, 1978

The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement established by the Peoples Temple, a cult under the leadership of Jim Jones, in northwestern Guyana. It became internationally known when, on November 18, 1978, a total of 918 people died in the settlement, at the nearby airstrip in Port Kaituma, and at a Temple-run building in Georgetown, Guyana's capital city. The name of the settlement became synonymous with the incidents at those locations.

Jim Jones American mass murderer

James Warren Jones was an American civil rights preacher, faith healer, and cult leader who conspired with his inner circle to direct a mass suicide and mass murder of his followers in his jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana. He launched the Peoples Temple in Indiana during the 1950s. Rev. Jones was officially ordained in 1956 by the Independent Assemblies of God and in 1964 by the Disciples of Christ. He moved his congregation to California in 1965 and gained notoriety with its activities in San Francisco in the 1970s. He then left the United States, bringing many members to a Guyana jungle commune.

Leo Ryan American teacher and politician

Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. was an American teacher and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. Representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until his assassination as part of the Jonestown massacre in 1978.

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References

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  2. 1 2 Rosen, Judith (July 30, 2007). "Indie Surprises for Fall". Publishers Weekly . Reed Business Information.
  3. Fisher, Patty (June 14, 2006). "Fisher: Adversity won't keep Speier down". San Jose Mercury News .
  4. Katayama, Lisa (July 7, 2005). "Reforming California's Prisons: An Interview With Jackie Speier". Mother Jones . The Foundation for National Progress. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  5. Haddock, Vicki (November 16, 2003). "Jackie Speier -- moving on, moving up: Survivor of Jonestown ambush plans run for lieutenant governor". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  6. Staff (September 8, 1986). "A Survivor Celebrates 'Evening Magazine'". San Jose Mercury News.
  7. Nakao, Annie (November 7, 2004). "Spotlight on Bay Area's Asian Americans: 'Pacific Fusion' profiles life and lifestyles in weekly 30-minute show on KRON". San Francisco Chronicle . Hearst Communications Inc.
  8. Staff (May 16, 2004). "Cyberspace, it turns out, isn't much of an Eden after all". Newsweek .
  9. Staff (May 1, 1999). "Get girls into the software game". Playthings .
  10. Staff. "Deborah Collins Stephens, Seminar Speaker". pbwc, Professional BusinessWomen of California. PBWC. Archived from the original on 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2001-10-23.
  11. Stephens, Deborah C.; Gary Heil; Tom Parker (April 26, 1999). One Size Fits One: Building Relationships One Customer and One Employee at a Time. Wiley. ISBN   0-471-33167-8.
  12. Maslow, Abraham H. (April 14, 2000). The Maslow Business Reader. Wiley. ISBN   0-471-36008-2.
  13. Donahue, Dick; Lauren Joyce (January 22, 2007). "Springing Forward: Women's Studies". Publishers Weekly. Reed Business Information.
  14. Staff (November 23, 2006). "Jackie leaves on her terms". San Mateo County Times.
  15. Speier, Jackie; Deborah Collins Stephens; Michealene Cristini Risley; Jan Yanehiro (March 2007). This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down. Conari Press. ISBN   1-57324-305-1.
  16. Staff. "The Book: Synopsis". This Is Not The Life I Ordered, official site. Archived from the original on 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  17. 1 2 3 Bonter, Pam. "Book Review: This Is Not The Life I Ordered". ForeWord Magazine . Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  18. Staff (June 21, 2007). "This Is Not the Life I Ordered Remains on The SF Chronicle Bestseller List!". Conari Press News. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007.
  19. Staff (Jun 17, 2007). "Best-Sellers". San Francisco Chronicle . Hearst Communications Inc.
  20. Staff (October 16, 2007). "Sacramento O7 Books". Professional BusinessWomen of California. PBWC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-23.