Gen Plus » Guest Writers

Are you in a Crisis? Midlife Crisis Queen releases new book

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:20:21 +0000

Laura Lee Carter, well-known blogger (Midlife Crisis Queen), recently released her book “Midlife Magic: Becoming the Person you are Inside!”

It’s could almost be sad to say that books about the midlife crisis have become relatively available. However, there is something very compelling about a writer baring her emotional soul to the anonymous reader.

In this case, Laura Lee Carter writes a very heartfelt and well-thought out chronicle of her journey through leaving an abusive marriage, losing her job in her late 40′s and a hysterectomy to a successful rediscovery of self and a promising look at the next stage of her life.

Complete with a reference guide and peppered with motivating quotes and resources, Laura Lee’s book is a quick read, sure to give you a boost of inspiration for managing your own midlife crisis! Available on her website, at B&N, or at Amazon.

Very cool online interactive interview!

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:18:00 +0000

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Gail Rentsch about her new book, “Smarter Women Don’t Retire—They Break Free: From Working Full-Time to Living Full-Time through my Careers group on Eons.com.

It was a novel idea, lots of fun, and if you missed it, head over to the Q&A and get a feel for the concept of the online interview yourself!

Online Interview…the New Book Tour Concept

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:59:00 +0000

Looking for something to do on Wednesday…around 11 PST or 2 EST? Then you might want to take part in the new form of online book touring — the online interview. Yours truly will be interviewing Gail Rentsch, author of Smart Women Don’t Retire—They Break Free: From Working Full-Time to Living Full-Time, live and online through my very popular and active group on Eons, Careers for Boomers and 50 Plus. To observe, simply head over to the group at: http://www.eons.com/groups/group/careers-for-boomers-and-50-plus

If you want to want to take part in the interactive component and ask a few of your own questions, make sure to head over to Eons in advance and sign up as a member (you can only post messages and replies, or to join groups if you are an Eons member.)

Gail’s book take a candid, fact-filled look at the challenging transitions women face in their 50′s and 60′s and how that translates into real life. This promises to be a fun and lively exchange, so don’t miss it.

So, how will it work online?

When you head over to the group on Wednesday., you’ll see a message with the title “Janet (Gen Plus) interviews Gail (Smart Women) HERE!” You’ll see my questions and Gail’s responses within THAT message stream. At the same time, you can post your own question to Gail by starting a new message and she’ll respond in real time, or if you are shy, just send me a “private message” and I’ll ask your question for you through my message stream. We’ve only got a tight 30 minutes with Gail on her busy book tour schedule, but don’t worry — if you have questions that don’t get answered in time, Gail will come back and answer them later that day.

What if I can’t join you?

If you can’t join us live, but have questions about your own transition that you’d like to have answered, feel free to send me your questions in advance (through private message on Eons or at wspiegel@genplususa.com ) and I’ll do my best to get them included in our discussion.Should be fun! Looking forward to having you join us. Great book, great author, great group. Nuff said. Hope to see you on Wednesday at 11 PST, 2pm EST.

Touched by the Stork — a review of Cryo Kid

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:53:00 +0000

Just released Cryo Kid: Drawing a New Map is already picking up some attention. Over at Touched by the Stork, blogger Kathryn gives a revealing write-up of the book:

It’s hard not to be touched by the story of a grandmother who has watched her daughter struggle with infertility and who finally sees a granddaughter born through the use of cryogenics. It’s particularly hard not to be touched when you know that the story is true and that it’s told straight from the heart.

Corinne Heather Copnick has published just this book called Cryo Kid: Drawing a New Map. And there is more to it than meets the eye.

Although the book is written from the perspective of the grandmother, it also adds in the voice of the granddaughter (the girl who was born through cryogenics.) And surprisingly, it adds in the voice of the sperm donor who made her birth possible, touching on the fact that this girl has siblings out there in the world. More importantly, it takes a very real and human perspective at looking at the issue of infertility and the technological treatment options that are available today.

Anyone who has gone through the struggle of dealing with infertility will benefit from reading this book.

Siblings, Donors, DSR and Oprah!

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:13:00 +0000

I have so many items to cover this week, but they will have to wait another day. I’ll be sharing a brilliant start up, Brighter Planet, and the web-conference I took part in (all about carbon offsets, carbon footprints and conservation.) And I’ll introduce you to an innovative new way to help boomers and 50 plussers get a virtual foot in the door through video-resumes at CV-Vision.

But all that is temporarily pre-empted today because of an exciting bit of news that flew into my email this morning…

As announced earlier this week, my mom released her new book “Cryo Kid: Drawing a New Map.” One of the resources in the book is Donor Sibling Registry (or DSR). Headed by the dynamic Wendy Kramer, DSR evolved out of a desire and a need for donor offspring to connect and a desire from the anonymous donors themselves to contact their offspring.

I found out about Wendy after I’d had my daughter (by DI, or donor insemination — long story, better buy the book!) I’d used the California Cryobank in order to find a donor, however, I hadn’t had success finding out if my daughter had any siblings…or for that matter if her biological father would want to know about her. Out of the blue, someone mailed me a copy of an article…about the Donor Sibling Registry. I jumped online, donated my $40 for a membership, and searched out my donor. Imagine my delight when his number connected me to four moms and eight other siblings. The rest of the story is outlined in the book, but I contacted Wendy Kramer minutes after connecting with the first mom and we’ve stayed in touch from time to time.

I let Wendy know about the release of Cryo Kid, and coincidentally, she let me know that she was going to be on OPRAH (Friday, February 8th) specifically to look at donor fathers and siblings. My DVR is set up and ready to go.

The world is changing due to technology. No matter what anyone wants or believes, it is changing as fast (faster) than the internet changed our method of communication. I’m proud to say that I’m a supporter of DSR, one of society’s changers. I’m proud to be connected to Wendy Kramer through her registry. She’s a dedicated and enthusiastic warrior, and I’m delighted that she is getting the additional recognition this week.

Cryo Kid: Drawing a New Map — a look at the human emotions behind the science of assisted reproduction

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 17:21:00 +0000

It is rare that I can proudly share a profound, pivotal moment in the life of my family. And even rarer that I can share it with the rest of the world.

My mother, an accomplished, awarded writer (who has also guest written on this blog), has just published her new book, Cryo Kid: Drawing a New Map. As someone who promotes the efforts of the Boomer and 50 plus demographic, it blows me away that my 70-something mother shares so deeply, so passionately, her thoughts and philosophies through the written word (and yes…I’m a character in the book.) Not only that, but with a zest for life, an energy for forward momentum that pushes me to my own forward movement.

I ask you, supportive readers, to extend your support to her efforts. I’ve attached the press release below (the public release goes out tomorrow) and for any of you in the Los Angeles area who would like to join us for the LA launch, we’d love to have you there! Email me and I’ll put your name on the list so you’ll get a reminder evite.

Corinne Heather Copnick invites you to join her in celebrating

the publication of her new book

Cryo Kid: Drawing a New Map

A seventy-something Grandma barely survives her career-driven daughters’ quest for children and discovers a heartwarming new definition of family.

Thought-provoking, humorous and inspiring!

“…a remarkable job of demystifying the increasingly common experience of using a sperm donor.” — California Cryobank, Los Angeles

Author talk, book signing and refreshments. Please join us!

Sunday, March 9th

2:00 pm

Dutton’s Brentwood Books

11975 San Vicente Blvd.

LA, CA 90049

View Map

Take a look, purchase the book for someone you know who has gone through assisted reproduction, someone who is thinking about it, or someone who is mother, father, relative or friend. It’s a tough road and educating others about the changing family concept together with the emotional hurdles of going through assisted reproduction is vital as our technology continues to outpace our capacity to process the emotions that necessarily ride alongside it.

Sneak peek — PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Publication February 3, 2008

CRYO KID:
DRAWING A NEW MAP

An inside look at the human emotions behind the technology.

The little seven-year-old girl born to a single mother through an anonymous donor from a sperm bank never met her Daddy, so she doesn’t miss him. That’s what she tells curious people who ask. She is a cryo kid—the word “cryo” is short for cryogenics. As readers of CRYO KID: DRAWING A NEW MAP, a just published book by Corinne Heather Copnick, roller coast through the human side of technological ups and downs with the cryo kid’s seventy-something grandma (the author, who barely survives her career-driven daughter’s quest for children), they discover a heart-warming new definition of family.

From Grandma’s perspective, the author explores the exponential transformation that has taken place in families in her lifetime, as well as the infertility crisis currently being experienced by career women who waited too long to have children.

Against the backdrop of three cities, Montreal, Toronto, and Los Angeles and inspired by true experience, CRYO KID is, in fact, written from several perspectives: the voices of Grandma, her daughter, the grand-daughter (a gifted child who adds so much joy to their lives), and the sperm donor. Unexpectedly, eight siblings are discovered across the country, and the donor reveals himself.

Written with insightful humor and a sense of wonder, CRYO KID is intended to be educational, positive, and eye-opening. It asks this question: How do we maintain our values in an exponentially changing world? “Corinne Copnick does a remarkable job of demystifying the increasingly common experience of using a sperm donor,” attests the California Cryobank. “Her warm, caring account of her own daughter’s story provides a compelling introduction into the possibilities and responsibilities … as the field of assisted reproduction technology grows.”

Available at Amazon.com, bn.com (Barnes and Noble), other online booksellers, and ordered through major bookstores. Author autographed copies available through cryokid.com

L.A. Book Signing!
CRYO KID will be launched in Los Angeles at Dutton’s Brentwood Books, 11975 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310.476.6263) on Sunday, March 9, 2008 at 2 P.M. (everyone welcome).

For further information, please contact Corinne Copnick by email or telephone (818.345.1531). Coverage and interviews will be greatly appreciated. The author is available for online or offline promotion.

An Immodest Proposal

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 05:09:00 +0000

Los Angeles guest writer, Corinne Copnick, shares thoughts she penned before Michael Moore stirred up the pot with “Sicko”. In Sicko, Michael Moore took a couple of boat’s worth of ailing people to Cuba for medical care (and it looks like he may be in trouble with the U.S. government now.) In this satirical (and I think really funny) look at the crumbling US health care system, we can look to the future…at least, Mexico has diplomatic relations with the U.S.

An Immodest Proposal

by Corinne Copnick

In the 19th century, satirist Jonathan Swift (of Gulliver’s Travels fame) suggested to the outraged English in his essay, A Modest Proposal, that Ireland’s famine could be alleviated if only the procreative Irish would eat their children. Given the abysmal breakdown in our present day U.S. health services (have you seen Sicko?), I am hereby making a similarly “politically incorrect” Immodest Proposal: to resolve the embarrassing and seemingly unstoppable problem America is facing with millions of undocumented, mainly Hispanic, workers on its hands. Undeniably, they are a drain on our health services. Congress can’t agree on what to do.

The Immodest Proposal: A Population Exchange

A give-and-take population exchange would both help our health system and ease our immigration headache: Let us give de facto recognition to the illegal workers. Eventually they will become citizens who pay taxes and thus reduce the burden on our health system. In return, a population transfer – history has witnessed lots of them — will be put into effect: Millions of our most elderly and infirm citizens (whom our health system is also loathe to carry) will be transported free of charge to the sunny climes of Mexico — where they can be treated by the excellent resources and inexpensive drugs of the Mexican health system.

Preposterous, you say? Where will a poor country like Mexico find the financial resources to build hospitals, nursing homes, and other needed facilities for millions of relocated elderly who may not have received their passports yet? Unnecessary, I say! This population will be transported to open air locales renowned as pleasant spots to visit, such as Rosarito Beach, just 20 miles south of California’s borders with Mexico. There, tended by caring Mexican doctors and nurses, our elderly will expose their arthritic limbs and aching joints to the healing air and nutrients brought by the caressing waves of the sea. They will consume health-giving veggies (like chopped cactus with onions and peppers and seaweed) along with a steady diet of fish and shellfish (healthier than red meat and easier on the cholesterol). This gustatory largesse will be totally at the cost of the Mexican government, gratuitously aided by the Latino drug cartels to improve their public image and show they are good corporate citizens. They will even throw in a little pain-relieving marijuana and cocaine – for medicinal purposes, of course.

U.S. relatives will be glad to visit their elderly kin in outdoor health spots like Rosarito Beach (or Acapulco or Cancun or Puerto Vallarta) rather than in the depressing environments of nursing homes. And since the elderly population is known to have a high rate of attrition, hopefully from natural causes in this health-giving atmosphere, the worrisome high cost of funerals can be alleviated. No cemetery plots or tack-on charges are involved. Residents of these beach communities will simply be placed reverently at the edge of the sea to be swept away by the tide, thereby enriching the ocean with the useful nutrients of the human body.

Also, since recent polls show that people respond to change best in slow increments, perhaps the elderly could be introduced to the concept of population transfer with assistance from our marketing community. Flashy brochures will feature free three-day inspection trips with all-you-can-eat buffets. Casinos (again courtesy of organized crime) that accept U.S. credit cards and reverse mortgages will line the seaside locales at one mile intervals so that the old folks don’t have to travel too far in the free beach carts. Plenty of nickel slot machines will be available. It will be fun, fun, fun — just like Las Vegas — to be transported to a health beach community in Mexico.

I am the first to admit that this proposal is in its initial stages and may have to be tweaked a little by Congress in a bi-partisan effort. However, at least, unlike Jonathan Swift, it does not propose that our legislators eat our mothers and fathers.

* * * *

Corinne Copnick, M.A., is a noted writer and performer who immigrated

legally to the U.S. She also admits – gasp! – to being elderly.

Cass Brown, the world is going to miss you.

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 01:42:00 +0000

A great man, and my friend, Cass Brown, died earlier this week after a very long and challenging few years living with cancer. Cass started a blog several years ago, called Cancergiggles, shortly after surviving his EDD (Estimated Death Date) and went on to write one of the funniest, most joyful, authentic web diaries (blog) on the internet. He had over 675,000 visitors to his blog, self-published a book, and was set for republication by a respected publisher. His sharp British wit and compelling story caught the attention of BBC television and numerous publications.

But more than anything, he was a true heart. He had great love for his wife and children and stayed living as long as he could for his daughter.

He believed in finding the humor in everything and gave strength and courage to thousands and thousands of visitors over the course of his years of writing. I met Cass online and we forged a cyber-friendship and an instant connection. He gave me insight and a view of life that I had never really focused on before and we shared many laughs, including my one failed (very failed) attempt at a Skype phone call with him, but at least he brought me into the “age of blog”.

Cass, wherever you are, your dear, dear family, people the world over, your visitors from all of the seven continents, all of us, will miss you dearly. I hope you find a way to send a chuckle on back to us here. Thank you for bringing the heart of cancer to the forefront of so many people’s minds and conversations. And I’m so happy that you made it to 2007.

Wendy

Call for Participants

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 05:25:00 +0000

Kathy Caprino in Westport, Connecticut, has asked us to spread the word. If you are a 35 – 55 year old woman, in a professional transition and want to speak out, read on. Please contact Kathy directly with any questions on this study. Her coordinates are at the bottom of this post.

Announcing a New National In-Depth Research Study:

Women Amidst and After Professional Crisis:
Finding New Meaning in Life and Work

In association with The Esteemed Woman Foundation

Are you a 35 to 55 year-old woman currently in a professional transition? Or have you navigated through professional crisis or transition in successful ways? Do you know of any women who are/have? If so, I’d love to hear from you!
Kathy Caprino, M.A., marriage and family therapist, personal and professional coach, and co-founder of Living in Harmony—The Center for Emotional Health, in association with The Esteemed Woman Foundation, is conducting a national in-depth research study with professional women age 35 to 55 who are currently experiencing, or have successfully transitioned beyond, a professional crisis or major turning point in their careers.

This study looks at women who have spent at least 10 years developing their mid- to high-level careers that by all standards would be considered “successful;” yet they’ve awakened to a crisis of meaning regarding their work and its role in their lives. Mid-life women who are re-assessing their careers in relation to issues around: the contribution they are making, meaningfulness, satisfaction, fulfillment, balancing personal and professional lives, and integrating newly-emerging longings, priorities, values, and needs, are all invited to participate.

The study’s target audience will resonate with the statement:
“I am a professional woman who wishes to work, but how I am working, and what I am working on is no longer working for me.”

The goal of this study is to collect and disseminate data on a wide range of psychological, cultural, and social constructs that will expand our current understanding of what contributes to these types of crises, how these crises differ in various cultures, and new alternatives, options, and approaches to navigate through them successfully.

If you believe you fit the above criteria and are interested in participating in this study (anonymously if you wish), or for more information, please contact Kathy Caprino at 203-226-6210, ext 3 or email her at caprinocoaching@yahoo.com.

For more information, please contact:Kathy Caprino, M.A.
Living in Harmony – The Center for Emotional Health
164 Kings Highway North
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 226-6210, ext. 3
Email: caprinocoaching@yahoo.com
Websites:
http://www.kathycaprino.com/
http://www.livinginharmonycenter.com/

Phoenix

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 23:06:00 +0000

Blogger extraordinaire and Gen Plus guest writer, Cass Brown, of Cancergiggles repute pens some new thoughts on life. For those of you who have not yet met Cass, visit him at his compelling blog, Cancergiggles. Living with a challenging cancer, Cass’ methodology is to laugh his way through life. And so far he is beating the odds and has surpassed his due date by quite a bit…which has the medical community somewhat delighted and flummoxed at the same time. And best of all…he’s 50 plus. To purchase his book (limited edition and he’s working on the next one, so get it while still available) visit our Shop page at Gen Plus. We’re thrilled to offer what we believe will soon be a bestseller internationally.

You don’t have an excuse for having that “it’s all over” attitude just because you are 50. I could have had an excuse, because for me it looked like it really was all over (being dead is the only good excuse, and I was almost there) but for some reason it just seemed to be a waste.

Having taken a 3 year sabbatical from the world, due to some niggles with tumours, surgery and a legal dispute with the Grim Reaper, 9 days before I hit the magic five-oh I started to do something different. It had become increasingly clear that my talents as statesman, diplomat, media tycoon and brain surgeon were being ignored, so I decided that I needed to do something for the hell of it. I started to write.

As a career move, deciding to become a writer is just about as dumb as putting your name down for the next moon landing because I am told that statistically, you have a greater chance of being murdered than getting a book published. It would therefore, be very stupid indeed to waste your time following this sort of dream and you should buckle down and accept that you are of little or no value to society so should spend your time doing jigsaw puzzles until they put you in a retirement home. Unfortunately, this sort of incisive wisdom was not available to me so like an idiot, I went on TV last week to discuss the fact that my first book will be available in the shops here in the UK in a couple of weeks.

I would hate anyone to think that I am advocating that they should take up writing for a living; because the odds really are pretty poor and quite frankly I can really do without the competition. The point however, is that despite what you may tell yourself, the main barrier to achieving what you want, stares out at you from the mirror every morning.