Bookreporter.com - Books For A Better Life Awards

On February 25, 2008, the New York Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society announced the winners of the 2007 Books for a Better Life Awards, which honor the best self-improvement titles of the past year. They were chosen by a panel of expert judges from over 400 entries in each of the nine categories. Since its inception 12 years ago, the Awards have recognized more than 350 authors, while raising over $1.4 million to support the New York chapter's support services and educational programs.

Pictured from left to right: Amy Silverstein, Sick Girl; Elyse Schein and Paula Berstein, Identical Strangers; Elyn Saks, The Center Cannot Hold; Nell Casey, An Uncertain Inheritance (editor); MP Dunleavy, Money Can Buy Happiness; Lis Wiehl, The 51% Minority; and, Susan Piver, How Not to be Afraid of Your Own Life.

The finalists for the 12th Annual Books For A Better Life Awards were announced recently by the New York Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The Awards recognize excellence in self-help, motivational, and self-improvement books in nine categories, and will be presented at a ceremony held in New York on February 25, 2008. All profits from the event will go towards funding national research and local chapter services for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Since its inception, the Awards have raised $1.2 million.

The shortlist for the 2007 Books For A Better Life Awards includes:

Childcare / Parenting
ALTERNADAD by Neal Pollack (Pantheon)
NO: Why Kids of All Ages Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It by
David Walsh (Free Press)
ON THEIR OWN by Anne Ford with John-Richard Thompson (Newmarket Press)
THE MAKING OF A MOTHER by Valerie Davis Raskin (Ballantine Books)
WAITING FOR DAISY by Peggy Orenstein (Bloomsbury)

First Book
FINAL EXAM by Pauline W. Chen (Knopf)
LOOK ME IN THE EYE by John Elder Robison (Crown)
SICK GIRL by Amy Silverstein (Grove/Atlantic Inc.)
THE WOMAN WHO RAISED ME by Victoria Rowell (William Morris)
WITHOUT A MAP by Meredith Hall (Beacon Press)

Inspirational / Memoir
HERE IF YOU NEED ME by Kate Braestrup (Little, Brown)
IN AN INSTANT by Lee & Bob Woodruff (Random House)
ONE DROP by Bliss Broyard (Little, Brown)
THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD by Elyn R. Saks (Hyperion)
THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY by A. J. Jacobs (Simon & Schuster)

Motivational
HERE'S THE BRIGHT SIDE by Betty Rollin (Random House)
ON MY OWN by Florence Falk (Harmony Books)
SHORT BUS by JOnathan Mooney (Henry Holt)
THE 51% MINORITY by Lis Wiehl (Ballantine)
YOU ARE YOUR CHOICES by Alexandra Stoddard (Collins)

Personal Finance
FINANCIAL BLISS by Bambi Holzer (AMACOM Books)
MAXED OUT by James D. Scurlock (Scribner)
MONEY CAN BUY HAPPINESS by MP Dunleavy (Broadway)
THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK by Timothy Ferriss (Crown Publishing)
THE BIG PAY-OFF by Sharon Epperson (HarperCollins)

Psychology
IDENTICAL STRANGERS by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein (Random House)
PERFECT GIRLS, STARVING DAUGHTERS by Courtney E. Martin (Free Press)
SATISFACTION by Anita H. Clayton, M. D. with Robin Cantor-Cooke (Ballantine Books)
STOLEN TOMORROWS by Steven Levenkron (Norton)
THE LUCIFER EFFECT by Philip Zimbardo (Random House)

Relationships
AN UNCERTAIN INHERITANCE edited by Nell Casey (William Morris)
AND BABY MAKES THREE by John M. Gottman, Ph.D & Julie Schwartz Gottman, Ph.D (Ballantine Books)
THE NEW RULES OF MARRIAGE by Terrence Real (Ballantine Books)
THE SISTER KNOT by Terri Apter (Norton)
UNHOOKED by Laura Sessions (Riverhead Books)

Spiritual
GRACE (EVENTUALLY): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Riverhead Books)
HOW NOT TO BE AFRAID OF YOUR OWN LIFE by Susan Piver (St. Martin's Press)
REPOSITION YOURSELF by T. D. Jakes (Atria Books)
SPIRITUAL PROGRESS: Becoming the Christian You Want To Be by Thomas D. Williams (FaithWords)
THE NOT SO BIG LIFE by Sarah Susanka (Random House)

Wellness
HOW DOCTORS THINK by Jerome Groopman, M. D. (Houghton Mifflin)
LYING IN WEIGHT by Trisha Gura (HarperCollins)
SELF MAGAZINE'S 15 MINUTES TO YOUR BEST SELF by Lucy S. Danziger & the Editors of Self (Penguin Group USA)
THE ART OF AGING by Sherwin B. Nuland (Random House)
YOU: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty by Mehmet C. Oz, M. D. & Michael Roizan, M. D. (Free Press)

To learn more about the Books For A Better Life Awards or the Multiple Sclerosis Society, please visit:
http://nyn.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?
pagename=NYN_events_bookforabetterlife

On February 27, 2007, the New York Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society announced the winners of the 2006 Books For A Better Life Awards, which honor titles and authors of the self-help, motivational, and self-improvement genres.

The Books For A Better Life Awards winners are:

Childcare/Parenting:
PACKAGING GIRLHOOD: RESCUING OUR DAUGHTERS FROM MARKETERS' SCHEMES by Sharon Lamb, Ed.D. and Lyn Miken Brown, Ed.D. (St. Martin's Press)

The Suze Orman First Book
A PIECE OF CAKE by Cupcake Brown (Crown Publishers)

Inspirational Memoir
A THREE DOG LIFE by Abigail Thomas (Harcourt)

Motivational
CRAZY BUSY: OVERSTRETCHED, OVERBOOKED AND ABOUT TO SNAP by Ned Hallowell, M.D. (Random House)

Personal Finance
THE NUMBER: A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY TO THINK ABOUT THE REST OF YOUR LIFE by Lee Eisenberg (Free Press)

Psychology
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE: THE NEW SCIENCE OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS by Daniel Goleman (Bantam Books)

Relationships
THE FAITH CLUB: THREE WOMEN SEARCH FOR UNDERSTANDING by Ranya Idilby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner (Free Press)

Spiritual
YEARNINGS: EMBRACING THE SACRED MESSINESS OF LIFE by Rabbi Irwin Kula & Linda Loewenthal (Hyperion)

Wellness
WHAT TO EAT by Marion Nestle (North Point Press)

To learn more about the Books For A Better Life Awards or the Multiple Sclerosis Society, please visit:
http://nyn.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer
?pagename=NYN_events_bookforabetterlife

This year's finalists for the 11th Annual Books For A Better Life Awards were announced recently by the New York Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The Awards recognize excellence in self-help, motivational, and self-improvement books in nine categories, and will be presented at a ceremony held in New York on February 26, 2007. All profits from the event will go towards funding national research and local chapter services for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Childcare/Parenting:
FRAGILE INNOCENCE: A FATHER'S MEMOIR OF HIS DAUGTHER'S COURAGEOUS JOURNEY by James Reston, Jr. (Harmony Books)
PACKAGING GIRLHOOD: RESCUING OUR DAUGHTERS FROM MARKETERS' SCHEMES by Sharon Lamb, Ed.D. and Lyn Miken Brown, Ed.D. (St. Martin's Press)
QUEEN BEE MOMS & KINGPIN DADS by Rosalind Wiseman (Crown Publishers)
WISDOM OF OUR FATHERS by Tim Russert (Random House)
YOU'RE WEARING THAT? by Deborah Tannen (Random House)

The Suze Orman First Book
THE BOY WHO FELL OUT OF THE SKY by Ken Dornstein (Random House)
FAT FREE: AMAZING ALL TRUE ADVENTURES OF SUPER-SIZE WOMAN by Jude Milner, illustrated by Mary Wilshire (Tarcher/Penguin)
LEFT TO TELL: DISCOVERING GOD AMIDST THE RWANDAN HOLOCAUST by Immaculee Iligabiza with Steve Irwin (Hay House)
MY PET VIRUS: THE TRUE STORY OF A REBEL WITHOUT A CURE by Shawn Decker (Tarcher/Penguin)
A PIECE OF CAKE by Cupcake Brown (Crown Publishers)

Inspirational Memoir
BROKEN by William Cope Moyers with Katherine Ketcham (Viking)
LESSONS IN BECOMING MYSELF by Ellen Burstyn (Riverhead Books)
AN ORDINARY MAN: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Paul Rusesabagina with Tom Zoellner (Viking)
SAVING GRACES by Elizabeth Edwards (Broadway Books)
A THREE DOG LIFE by Abigail Thomas (Harcourt)

Motivational
CRAZY BUSY: OVERSTRETCHED, OVERBOOKED AND ABOUT TO SNAP by Ned Hallowell, M.D. (Random House)
IMAGINING OURSELVES: GLOBAL VOICES FROM A NEW GENERATION OF WOMEN edited by Paula Goldman (New World Library)
LETTERS TO A YOUNG BROTHER by Hill Harper (Gotham Books)
ON BECOMING FEARLESS...IN LOVE, WORK, AND LIFE by Arianna Huffington (Little, Brown, and Company)
WHAT I KNOW NOW: LETTERS TO MY YOUNGER SELF edited by Ellyn Spragins (Broadway Books)

Personal Finance
MAKE MONEY, NOT EXCUSES by Jean Chatzky (Crown Publishers)
MONEY: A MEMOIR --- WOMEN, EMOTIONS, AND CASH by Liz Perle (Henry Holt)
THE NUMBER: A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY TO THINK ABOUT THE REST OF YOUR LIFE by Lee Eisenberg (Free Press)
SMART & SIMPLE FINANCIAL STRATEGIES FOR BUSY PEOPLE by Jane Bryant Quinn (Simon & Schuster)
YOUR MONEY & YOUR MAN: HOW YOU AND YOUR PRINCE CHARMING CAN SPEND WELL AND LIVE RICH by Michelle Singletary (Random House)

Psychology
FINDING FORGIVENESS: A 7-STEP PROGRAM FOR LETTING GO OF ANGER AND BITTERNESS by Eileen Borris-Dunchunstang, Ed.D. (McGraw Hill)
THE GHOST IN THE HOUSE: MOTHERHOOD, RAISING CHILDREN AND STRUGGLING WITH DEPRESSION by Tracey Thompson (HarperCollins Publishers)
MINDLESS EATING: WHY WE EAT MORE THAN WE THINK by Brian Wansink, Ph.D. (Bantam Books)
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE: THE NEW SCIENCE OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS by Daniel Goleman (Bantam Books)
STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS by Daniel Gilbert (Knopf)

Relationships
THE FAITH CLUB: THREE WOMEN SEARCH FOR UNDERSTANDING by Ranya Idilby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner (Free Press)
MATING IN CAPTIVITY: RECONCILING THE EROTIC & THE DOMESTIC by Esther Perel (HarperCollinsPublishers)
10 LESSONS TO TRANSFORM YOUR MARRIAGE by John M. Gothman, Ph.D. & Julie Schwartz Gothman, Ph.D. & Joan DeClaire (Crown Publishers)
WHAT I DID DO WRONG: WHEN WOMEN DON'T TELL EACH OTHER THE FRIENDSHIP IS OVER by Liz Pryor (Free Press)
THE YEAR OF YES by Maria Dahvana Headley (Hyperion)

Spiritual
INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR RECEIVING GOD by Jason Shulman (Sounds True)
OVERCOMING LIFE'S DISAPPOINTMENTS by Harold Kushner (Knopf)
THE POWER OF KINDNESS: THE UNEXPECTED BENEFITS OF LEADING A COMPASSIONATE LIFE by Piero Ferrucci (Tarcher Putnam)
WHAT JESUS MEANT by Garry Willis (Viking)
YEARNINGS: EMBRACING THE SACRED MESSINESS OF LIFE by Rabbi Irwin Kula & Linda Loewenthal (Hyperion)

Wellness
CANCER VIXEN by Marisa Acocella Marchetto (Knopf)
EAT, DRINK, & WEIGH LESS: A FLEXIBLE AND DELICIOUS WAY TO SHRINK YOUR WAIST WITHOUT GOING HUNGRY by Mollie Katzen & Walter Willett, M.D. (Hyperion)
SEX AND THE SEASONED WOMAN by Gail Sheehy (Random House)
THE SKIN TYPE SOLUTION: A REVOLUTIONARY GUIDE TO YOUR BEST SKIN EVER by Leslie Baumann, M.D. (Bantam Books)
WHAT TO EAT by Marion Nestle (North Point Press)

To learn more about the Books For A Better Life Awards or the Multiple Sclerosis Society, please visit:
http://nyn.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer
?pagename=NYN_events_bookforabetterlife