"How in the world have I survived all the broken heart attacks, whacks and setbacks?" asks country music superstar Naomi Judd. Her answers are found in Naomi's Breakthrough Guide, a description of 20 choices that helped her overturn the "death sentence" of a diagnosis of hepatitis C. In a buoyant supportive voice, Judd interprets mind-body research about healing in her own terms. This creates a foundation for her two central ideas: Our predicaments are the result of our choices. The way we choose to react to what happens to us (whether a life-threatening illness, an addiction, or an unhealthy relationship) allows us to "find the sacred meaning of everything that happens to us." Judd's personal stories are, by turns, charming, feisty and insightful. But she has also done her homework to create a portrait of the "survivor personality." She uses birth-order studies to talk about family conflict and neurochemistry research to explain the role of emotions in building a healthy immune system. Judd explores goal setting, money managing, risk taking, healthy eating and loving relationships with her change-your-mind-to-change-your-world approach. The dark side of her optimism is the arguable contrast of victim/volunteer: implying that we are wholly responsible for our illness and recovery. In addition, few readers will have a superstar's resources (including access to physicians and the love and songs of thousands of fans). But Judd's generous gifts of knowledge and wise kindness offer many treasures. --Barbara Mackoff


From Publishers Weekly
Country singing superstar Judd overcame medical odds by recovering from hepatitis C and wants others to benefit from her health regimen. In this lively and inspirational book, she offers a mix of autobiography, medical advice and just plain homespun talk from one plucky Southerner. Judd is up-front about her mistakes-she got pregnant the first time she had sex and ended up divorced and supporting two children in her 20s. She put herself through college during her 30s, earning a nursing degree, and only began her singing career at age 37. During her 40s and 50s, Judd's health declined, and after traditional treatments failed, she turned to alternative therapies and focused on decreasing stress and obtaining greater personal satisfaction. Judd found strength in religion, exercising and developing goals for the future. Her advice for others is both accessible and convincing. She discusses women who are all too willing to please the people around them: "No matter your age, you must establish boundaries. As you learn more about what you like and don't like, you can better explain it to others. Establishing emotional boundaries allows you to prevent your self-respect and character from being intruded upon." The book is strongest when Judd talks about her beliefs and experiences with her family. For example, "[I]t was my intuition that led me a few years later to go into the music business with Wy. It was also my intuition that told me Ashley was strong enough to handle Wy's and my touring. It helped me know Larry was the man for me...." Less effective are Judd's frequent references to other authors such as Joan Borysenko and Dr. Mona Schulz, all of which detract from Judd's own convincing and engaging writing. Still, this guide is uplifting, and one of the more solid of the various "self-help" titles from celebrities. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
At first blush, one might think, Isn't it enough that Naomi Judd sings? Must she help people transform their lives as well? But she does a surprisingly good job of it, using her native intelligence and life experience (and advice from experts) to help readers take charge of their lives. Judd's personal journey has not been an easy one. A pregnant teenager who later became involved in an abusive relationship, Judd hit bottom as a single mother who couldn't support herself and her children, Wynonna and Ashley. Judd turned her life around, first by becoming a nurse, then by forging a singing career. In short, interactive chapters written with genuine down-home charm, Judd tells how she did it and offers advice and exercises for those who also want to start the hard work of changing. The book's most interesting (and perhaps most controversial) parts are those in which Judd discusses her life-threatening bout with hepatitis C and how she used the concept of mind/body/spirit connection to tame the disease. In almost every chapter, Judd offers books to read that extend the concepts she's discussing. Expect to see a lot of Judd in the media when this comes out. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
Andrew Weil, M.D. author, Spontaneous Healing and Eating Well for Optimum Health Naomi Judd is an inspiration. Combining native intelligence, the wisdom of experience, good humor, and the collected advice of a remarkable set of friends and colleagues, she explains what she has learned and gives sound and sensible advice about how to find health and happiness in life.


Book Description
Naomi Judd, affectionately known as the Star Next Door, is the mother of two talented daughters and an icon of the American heartland, but readers of her bestselling memoir, Love Can Build a Bridge, know that she's also a survivor. Her admirers always ask: How did a woman who missed her high school graduation to deliver her first child, who endured domestic abuse, lived on welfare, and overcame a life-threatening illness, find the inner strength to persevere? As Naomi puts it, "a dead end is just a good place to turn around." Now in Naomi's Breakthrough Guide she shares with readers the hard-won wisdom that helped her turn potential breakdowns into life-altering breakthroughs. Awareness and responsibility are the foundations of Naomi's approach to personal transformation. As she'll tell you, change is the true nature of the universe, but it is how we choose to respond to change that determines whether or not we lead healthy, happy lives. In these pages Naomi outlines the twenty most important life choices that will help us become aware of the control we have over our lives and achieve life's greatest reward: peace of mind. Informed by both personal experience and the latest mind/body research, Naomi's principles will help anyone looking to improve relationships, family life, career, health, or other areas of life. Naomi shows how to focus on your ultimate goal, know forgiveness, trust your intuition, embrace risk, free your body and mind from worry, and resign as the General Manager of the Universe. In her typically down-to-earth, practical style, Naomi reminds us that it's not until we decide to take responsibility for our own lives that we, like pebbles that make ripples as they hit the water, can affect the lives of others. Blending candid personal stories and practical exercises with anecdotes about well-known friends and family, Naomi's Breakthrough Guide will act as an essential companion and mentor for all those seeking to revolutionize their lives.


About the Author
Naomi Judd, a country music superstar as well as one of the most admired women in the entertainment industry, has sold more than twenty million albums and won six Grammys and American Music awards. Author of the bestselling autobiography Love Can Build a Bridge, Naomi has also written two children's books and Naomi's Home Companion, a collection of recipes and kitchen-table wisdom. She lives with her husband outside of Nashville, Tennessee, on a farm that adjoins the homes of her daughter Wynonna and her two grandkids, Elijah and Gracie, and daughter Ashley and her husband, Dario Franchitti.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Even though Naomi Judd's singing days are over, the country music star remains in the public eye as a television host; a lecturer on family values and health issues; and, of course, as a bestselling author. As readers of her popular autobiography know, her life has been strewn with daunting obstacles, including an incurable illness and clinical depression. Five Grammy Awards could not protect Judd from the sudden anguish of wheelchair confinement. In Naomi's Survival Guide, she uses her own hard-won lessons and insights from famed mind/body/spirit healers Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, and others.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Naomi Judd is affectionately called the Star Next Door, but she's also a survivor. In Naomi's Breakthrough Guide she shares her hard-won wisdom and outlines twenty important choices that will help readers improve their relationships, family life, career, and even their health. Blending candid personal stories, the science of happiness, and practical exercises with anecdotes about well-known friends and family, Naomi's Breakthrough Guide is an essential companion and guide for anyone seeking to turn potential breakdowns into life-altering breakthroughs.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Country singing superstar Judd overcame medical odds by recovering from hepatitis C and wants others to benefit from her health regimen. In this lively and inspirational book, she offers a mix of autobiography, medical advice and just plain homespun talk from one plucky Southerner. Judd is up-front about her mistakes-she got pregnant the first time she had sex and ended up divorced and supporting two children in her 20s. She put herself through college during her 30s, earning a nursing degree, and only began her singing career at age 37. During her 40s and 50s, Judd's health declined, and after traditional treatments failed, she turned to alternative therapies and focused on decreasing stress and obtaining greater personal satisfaction. Judd found strength in religion, exercising and developing goals for the future. Her advice for others is both accessible and convincing. She discusses women who are all too willing to please the people around them: "No matter your age, you must establish boundaries. As you learn more about what you like and don't like, you can better explain it to others. Establishing emotional boundaries allows you to prevent your self-respect and character from being intruded upon." The book is strongest when Judd talks about her beliefs and experiences with her family. For example, "[I]t was my intuition that led me a few years later to go into the music business with Wy. It was also my intuition that told me Ashley was strong enough to handle Wy's and my touring. It helped me know Larry was the man for me...." Less effective are Judd's frequent references to other authors such as Joan Borysenko and Dr. Mona Schulz, all of which detract from Judd's own convincing and engaging writing. Still, this guide is uplifting, and one of the more solid of the various "self-help" titles from celebrities. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Singer, songwriter, and Hepatitis C survivor Judd here writes about her journey of self-discovery, aiming to help people understand what is involved in living a fully engaged life. Judd shares her personal life experiences and gives exercises that allow readers to become aware of their own feelings. The techniques include using the "mirror of truth," wherein one looks in the mirror and states that one loves oneself; developing the eight characteristics of a survivor personality, whether or not a terminal illness is present; and cultivating an "open belief" system so that the universe will help one to heal or to grow. Judd fans will especially like her Judd Family Feud Rules. One downfall is the author's simplistic "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" theory-that digging deeply into your past and talking it out ("facing your issues") is all that is needed to improve your life. She forgets that some people's emotional trauma runs deeper than hers and cannot be shaken off by such efforts. Recommended for larger public libraries.-Lisa Liquori, MLS, Syracuse, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Larry Dossey

Naomi Judd has emerged as a Wise Woman in our culture. She is a true heroine-one who courageously ventures into challenging territory, gains wisdom, and returns to share it. The "20 Choices" in this book reflect not only Judd's personal wisdom, but good psychology and good science as well. Naomi Judd is a national treasure. — MD, author, Healing Beyond the Body, Reinventing Medicine, and Healing Words

Joan Borysenko

This book is a treasure-clear, accessible, wise, funny and transformative. Naomi delivers powerful truths with ease and humor, in a comforting style that makes you feel like you're sitting in your living room talking with your best friend. She helps you understand how you shape your world one choice at a time. — Ph.D. author, Inner Peace for Busy Women

"Powerful, transformative, and healing. If you read only one book this year, this is it." — M.D. , Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, author, Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease and Love & Survival

Christiane Northrup

Naomi Judd's remarkable life, including her recovery from hepatitis C, is living proof that she knows what she's talking about. Listen to her wisdom. She's been there. She can help you. — M.D., author, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause

Caroline Myss

Naomi's inspiring book is the result of living through her own life-threatening health crisis and discovering, through her passionate commitment to healing, a wisdom that deserves to be shared with others. Her rich contributions come from the depths of her wide-open, loving soul. She is a wondrous healer. — author, Sacred Contracts and Anatomy of the Spirit

Mona Lisa Schultz