Friday, March 5, 2010

ONE LIFE TO GIVE: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
ONE LIFE TO GIVE

A Path To Finding Yourself
By Helping Others
BY ANDREW BIENKOWSKI
AND MARY AKERS



ABOUT THE BOOK:


In the winter of 1939, five-year-old Andrew Bienkowski was banished to Siberia with his family. With virtually nothing to see them through their first winter, his grandfather chose to starve in order to give his family the chance to survive. The years that followed were harrowing and difficult, but Andrew's childhood in Siberia established his essential approach to life. With One Life to Give, Andrew Bienkowski underscores how the greatest fulfillment we can achieve as human beings lies in helping others.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Andrew Bienkowski
is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who served in the Korean War. He has worked as a psychologist for 40 years, designing and implementing mental-health programs and working directly with patients. This is his first book. He lives near Buffalo, New York.

Mary Akers'
fiction, poetry and non-fiction have appeared in many journals and anthologies. She also live near Buffalo.


REVIEW:

ONE LIFE TO GIVE is a small book with a big message. Author Andrew Bienkowski, with Mary Akers, writes about what he calls radical gratitude which uses psychology and philosophy along with past experiences to help build integrity and a good reputation. By learning to be grateful for all things, even it they are dreadful, we read how that results in being important to building one’s character. In this small book, you will learn how the author and his family were exiled from Poland to Siberia when he was a youngster in the 1940s. Bienkowski tells about the experience he spent with his family and his grandfather, watching his grandfather die, and the meaning he has taken away from this traumatic time. In the two years there, he learned and saw so much and yet has taken the lessons learned from that experience and turned them into good advice.

The book itself is divided into fourteen chapters with each serving up a life lesson from the author’s past. Even though he and his family had to tolerate unbelievable suffering , it served a greater purpose as it taught Bienkowski to never take things for granted and hold dear the things that we are blessed with in life. He also talks about Listening, Perseverance, Hope, Kindness, and Love. The authors collaborate to present what could be theoretical teachings and turns them into specific suggestions that help us live a more rewarding and productive life.

I found the book to be part memoir as well as an advice book. Using what Bienkowski learned in his life, he now passes it on to readers as ways to make a better and happier life. Parts of the book are sad and tough to read but there are also some humorous parts. I found the book an easy read and one that made me grateful for the life I have had.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO AUTHOR MARY AKERS,
I HAVE 3 COPIES OF THIS BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY TO SOME LUCKY WINNERS!

***U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY THIS TIME!
***NO P. O. BOXES
***INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
***ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU COULD DO TODAY TO HELP SOMEONE AND YOU WOULD FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT. REMEMBER, THIS CAN BE EVEN A MINOR ACT BUT WILL MEAN SO MUCH TO SOMEONE ELSE.

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY OF MINE THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG, TWEET, OR SHARE ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK AND GIVE A LINK. ONE TIME ONLY,PLEASE.

GIVEAWAY WILL END AT
6 PM, EST, ON MARCH 15

GOOD LUCK!