The Lady and the Tribe by Brenda Billings Ridgley

 

Strong friendships are important. I realize that more and more the older that I get. Author Brenda Billings Ridgley is teaching us how to create powerful friendships to be stronger versions of ourselves. Read an excerpt and then follow the tour for more. Be sure to also enter the great giveaway!

Wives, mothers, and career women—we have all fallen victim to the silent epidemic that is, literally . . . letting ourselves go. Not the makeup free, yoga pants, weight gain routine. Little by little, we have allowed our preferences, interests, and individuality to slip away until we no longer recognize ourselves outside of our role as wives, mothers, or professionals. Who we are has become what we do.

In the process, our friendships have become the casualty of a “busy life” and lack consistency and depth. We have a gaping hole inside us that longs to be filled. How do we reclaim who we really are and fill this empty space that seemed to appear from nowhere? The answer lies in our Tribe. Our best friends see us more clearly than we see ourselves and are representations and extensions of our individuality. They are our companions, cheerleaders, and counselors—always in our corner. They are the branches of our tree of life that lift and support us, so we can flourish. Our Tribe is the family with whom we choose to live our life . . . with no strings attached.

Lady and the Tribe is a blueprint for building deep connections. As you read, you’ll be swept away on a journey of friendship as the author shares her own personal stories and those of other women. In the process, you’ll discover how to find, nurture, and deepen friendships and create a Tribe culture that is unique to you.

We can become whole again through the power of connection.

When three or more gather, we are Tribe.

Read an excerpt:

The Tribe

Traditionally, a Tribe is a social division in society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties. Some Tribes have a common culture and dialect, and typically they have a recognized leader. A customary Tribe is a face-to-face community, relatively bound by kinship relations, reciprocal exchange, and strong ties to place.

The term Tribe should be utilized only with great respect and consideration of its origins. It is with the term’s heritage in mind that I aspire to create that culture with my closest friends. This social division, group, or pack are linked by common social patterns, interests, and sometimes, goals. As the group connects together over time, they establish the Tribe’s personality, lingo, patterns, and rituals.

Your Tribal space feels like home when you arrive. It is safe, encouraging and makes you feel relevant because you are truly seen. Your Tribe cares about your opinions and what you have to say. They are proud of your talents and strengths and are not threatened by your success. Your Tribe will promote rather than ignore or diminish your wins. Although these close friends can be a great influence for you to be better and do better, there is no contest; you do not feel competitive with one another. The experience of finding your Tribe can be life changing. It becomes a mirror reaffirming who you are and where you belong.

Buy on Amazon

(affiliate link included) 

BRENDA RIDGLEY is an author, speaker, and girlfriend guru who loves helping women connect, find success, and discover joy through friendship. Her mission is to start a movement: women coming together to build thousands of new Lady Tribes around the globe. Through her workshops, vlogs, blogs, and book clubs, Brenda helps women connect and communicate with respect, love, and trust. She holds an MA in human resources and has spent decades cultivating her own Tribe. A Colorado girl at heart, Brenda lives in the Carbon Valley area with her husband, Parker, two kids, Parker Jr. and Gillian, and pooch, Perry. She enjoys hiking and has conquered Longs Peak and several other 14’ers.

To connect with Brenda, visit her website at www.BrendaRidgley.com.

Invite Brenda to speak at your next event: mailto:brenda@brendaridgley.com.


Subscribe:

YouTube: @BrendaRidgley

Podcast: @TheConnectionConnoisseur - https://www.podserve.fm/series/website/the-connection-connoisseur,3341/

Blog: https://www.brendaridgley.com/blog

Follow:
Instagram: @BrendaRidgley -- https://www.instagram.com/brendaridgley/

Facebook: @BrendaRidgleyConnections - https://www.facebook.com/brendaridgleyconnections

Twitter: @BrendaRidgley

Brenda Billings Ridgley will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Divorce Bucket List by Jennifer Harris

 

Divorce is never a pleasant experience. Jennifer Harris is sharing how she made her way through her traumatic experience in the hopes of helping others to be able to do the same and come out so much better on the other side. Read an excerpt and then follow the tour for more. Best of luck in the giveaway!

Divorce Bucket List is a practical and heartfelt guide that effortlessly blends meaningful exercises and reflections with author Jennifer’s personal experiences through the trials and challenges of divorce. Written as a way to empower others to rebuild their lives as they work through the trauma of a divorce, this illuminating guide explores Jennifer’s harrowing journey through divorce, revealing her creation of her Divorce Bucket List – and how it helped her emerge into a happier, healthier, and more emotionally fulfilling chapter of her life.

Perfect for anyone who feels lost, alone, or broken as they struggle through divorce, Divorce Bucket List will help you rediscover yourself and your values, overcome your fear of the future, and learn to love again. With a blend of real-life anecdotes, reflections, and exercises to encourage you to apply a Divorce Bucket List to your unique situation, Jennifer’s story will inspire you to move past your divorce and make the most of this exciting new time in your life.

Read an excerpt:

Looking back on everything, it's clear to me that the process of going through a divorce is a complete journey. It can be a journey that ruins you, or it can be a journey that leads you to a brighter and stronger place in your life. For me, it started as a journey that almost ruined me. There were so many points where I found myself spiraling out of control. At times throughout my experiences in the divorce process, I couldn’t even recognize myself.

It’s important to give yourself grace, knowing that there may be a point in your journey where you go through downtimes and possibly even feel like things are spiraling out of control. Set an expectation for yourself that you know the divorce journey will not be easy and that at some point, you may even feel as if you are at rock bottom. Then know that you can rebuild from there. Your rock bottom might look different than mine. Your rock bottom might be one day crying in the bathtub with a glass of wine, or it might look like losing everything you've had—friends, family, finances, belongings, maybe even children for a little bit and having to start from scratch. But I need you to know that no matter where your spiral or rock bottom takes you, you are going to come back from it.

The only way a caterpillar turns into a butterfly is by becoming this disgusting, gooey mess inside of a cocoon. If a caterpillar can be completely broken down (literally, tissue is dissolved) and lose its entire identity—the only identity it knew all of its life—then go on to become this majestic, beautiful, flying creature, why can't you do the same? What happens to the caterpillar isn't as crazy as it sounds. It's the same thing that figuratively happens to us in our lives. There are often periods in life when we break down completely from the identity that we knew for ourselves … divorce is no exception.

Available on Amazon

(affiliate link)

Just $0.99 during the tour!

Jennifer Harris is an author, speaker, divorce coach, and the creator of the Divorce Bucket List. After experiencing her own traumatic marriage and divorce, she went on to become a highly trained and certified Confidence & Transformation Divorce Coach. With over ten years of coaching experience, she’s passionate about sharing her story of the grief and trauma she experienced and how she developed the Divorce Bucket List to help her move forward. Jennifer is dedicated to inspiring others to achieve their desired outcomes through divorce and rebuild their lives to emerge from their separations into happier, healthier chapters of their lives. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her two wonderful boys.

www.DivorceBucketList.com

For More Resources or To Work with Jenn: www.Divideguide.com

www.Facebook.com/DivideGuideJenn

Instagram: @DivideGuideJenn

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC5hAyDVsWpT91lMzDPq69w

https://www.tiktok.com/@divideguidejenn

Jennifer Harris will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Light Through the Pouring Rain by James Ruvalcaba

 

Cancer sucks, no matter how you cut it, and it can leave a path of destruction in its wake. The Light Through the Pouring Rain is one couple's story of this devastating diagnosis and their journey with love and faith. Take a peek inside with an excerpt and then read author James Ruvalcaba's thoughts on turning his story into a movie. Share your stories and ask questions in the comments section as you follow the tour. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

An emotional page turner that gives a first hand look into the lives of a young couple madly in love and eager to start their lives together, only to have it all halted by a cancer diagnosis. With no clear road map on how to navigate their new normal, James and Anabel proceed into uncharted territory, hand-in-hand, with the love of their families and their faith in God to guide them.

Read an excerpt:

At this time, I was working with special needs kids as an instructional aide. My work schedule was eight thirty a.m. to three p.m., typical school hours. Thanks to my mom, I was able to have some sort of income to take care of Anabel’s needs when she needed something. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Prior to leaving work, I gave her a speech: “Chemo ain’t got shit on you. It chose the wrong person to fuck with.” I felt like I was giving a speech in 300. She was amped, we kissed each other goodbye, and I was off to work. Later on at work, I got a text from my mom sending me a picture of Anabel during chemo, and she was all smiles with a thumbs-up. She looked way happier than anybody in that situation could possibly be, but she felt in her heart that chemo didn’t have shit on her. That was partially my fault for the speech I gave her in the morning, but it was funny to see somebody actually believe the words you say and run with it. I cracked a smile, thinking, This girl.

I arrived home at three thirty. “Bells!”

“Yes, Meez?”

“How did it go?”

“It was a breeze.”

My mom explained the doctor’s orders and the game plan. Eight weeks of chemo, five days a week, which would be re-evaluated as needed until her tumor was small enough to do radiation, then surgery to remove it. We were all excited. The plan has been laid out, and with a plan that has a time frame, you are able to envision the light at the end of the tunnel, because the next day brings you that much closer to back to your normal life. Anabel and I smiled at each other with our eyes tearing up. We must’ve both been imagining our lives going back to normal.

Buy on Amazon

(affiliate link) 

If my book was a movie it would be a dream as well as a nightmare, let me explain.

I know every Author believes their books can be made into a movie and that is one of the ultimate goals we all have in mind. Even me as well. My reason for my book to be made into a movie is to spread awareness of cancer and give a truly in-depth look into the horrors of it. I believe everybody has an understanding of the basics of what goes into cancer diagnosis ( balding, weight loss, chemotherapy ) but how about the emotions? How about maintaining relationships with the ones you love and being able for both partners in the relationship to feel loved? There are just so many layers to the book and the story that it can have an impact on so many. I know it impacts many and I know it will.

On the other hand, there is a major negative to making my book into a movie and it’s not what you may think it is. My negative reason would be to have to relive the horrors of the moments that hurt me most. I will not be excited to have to relive most of the moments over again. Every time I would see particular scenes it would be like ripping a bandage off a freshly open wound. It would hurt, but I understood the bigger picture of my book and story. I would suck it up because I would know the greater good of my story and how it can impact others to appreciate what you have and to appreciate the ones you love.

When my book gets made into a movie, I will look back at this post because this is one of the first public platforms where I have stated that my book will be a movie one day and one day soon.

Hello, I'm James Ruvalcaba. I am the author of “The Light Through the Pouring Rain.”

I am a family man and hold them near and dear to me. I am a down-to-earth person that loves creating conversations.I believe the more we communicate the more we see the beauty of God's previous workings. In pursuit of my God-given mission, I began writing because of a promise I made to my Fiance on her last day. I wanted to honor my fiance's legacy and to be a testimony of God's goodness. I continue to tell stories and hope to achieve telling stories that uplift others, give some perspective on life, and to walk away with a sense of inspiration. If they can take lessons and perspectives given in my words to their own lives then I feel I accomplished what I set out to do.

Website: https://thelightthroughthepouringrain.com

Social media: @JamesMRuvalcaba

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20998695.James_Ruvalcaba

James Ruvalcaba will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Majewski Curse by Lisa Dianne McInnes

 

Grief is a very tough thing to bear, especially when it feels like you're getting hit over and over again. In The Majewski Curse, author Lisa Dianne McInnes dives into her own story, hoping to help others. Read an exclusive excerpt and then follow the tour for even more. Let her know your thoughts along the way. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

In her debut novel, Lisa Dianne McInnes urges us to explore the meaning of loss, the evil side of human nature, and the infinite power of love and rising above it all.

Between the years 2012 and 2017, like a pile of dominos, Lisa Dianne McInnes watched her life collapse as one traumatic tragedy after another took away her loved ones, leaving her to learn just how quickly life can fall apart.

An extraordinary memoir full of depth, compassion, and unimaginable strength, The Majewski Curse is the harrowing true story of the separate yet intertwined tragedies of Brandon, Devon, and Derek Majewski's deaths and the multiple conspiracies surrounding their family's search for truth.

Read an exclusive excerpt:

We ran into the hospital, taken over by the rush of adrenaline, and frantically searched the waiting room. The woman behind the desk stood up, so I went over to her and explained what had happened.

She immediately asked for a name. “Brandon Majewski,” I said in a panic. Her eyes grew wider, and I instantly perceived a hint of sadness in them.

At that moment, Venetta ran through the sliding doors, sobbing and visibly shaken. “Where is he?” she exclaimed.

The nurse came forward, and we followed her down the corridor in a blind trance, desperately trying to process what had happened. When we reached the end of the hall, she ushered us into a small white room and told us she would take us to see Brandon shortly.

I looked over at Derek and noticed he had begun to cry uncontrollably. “I’ve been in one of these rooms before,” he finally said through sobs. “This is where they take you when someone has died.”

Just then, the nurse opened the door, and with a look of deep concern on her face, said, “I’m sorry,” then paused for a moment and continued, “whoever informed you that your son was on life support was mistaken. I don’t know how to say this, but the truth is, he broke his neck and didn’t make it to the hospital alive. I’m so sorry. He’s gone.”

Numbness spread over me, and I couldn’t process what was happening. My seventeen-year-old step-son was gone, and my husband and his ex-wife were in hysterics. Our collective sobs reverberated throughout the room as we unanimously groped for air. No words could express the sheer sadness we all felt at that moment.

Once we caught our breath, the nurse asked if we wanted to see Brandon but recommended against doing so. “He’s covered in bruises, and you will find him virtually unrecognizable,” she said, then explained it would be better to remember him as he was, and we all agreed.

After an indefinite amount of time, a police officer knocked on the door and came into the room. He introduced himself, then said, “I want to start by saying how very sorry I am for your loss.” He stood in silence for a moment. We thanked him for his condolences, then waited for him to proceed. He cleared his throat and began, “The woman who killed your son feels terrible about it.” We looked at him in shock. “She is beside herself and is practically inconsolable,” he added.

The room became deathly quiet. We could not believe what we were hearing. Had we misheard him? We looked around at each other, perplexed. Was he trying to elicit sympathy for our son’s killer? Wait, What?

It was one of those moments one can’t forget, a significant point that cannot be erased. Something didn’t feel right, and even though I didn’t understand it at the time, we later learned what the officer meant.

PURCHASE LINKS 

AMAZON.COM * AMAZON.CA * BOOKSHOP *  INDIGO CHAPTERS * BARNES & NOBLE * BOOK DEPOSITORY 

Lisa Dianne McInnes has always been fascinated with spirituality and the human experience. She prides herself on always being committed to the truth, even when it hurts, and believes in being reliable, trustworthy, honest, and loyal to those she loves.

However, in 2012, when tragedy struck and shattered her family, Lisa's beliefs were tested and she was forced to undergo a profound inner transformation. In doing so, she had to acknowledge the trauma of her past but chose only to remember the love her family shared. Her solid understanding and belief in the theory of mindfulness and living in the moment helped her rise from the ashes and move on with her life. She believes the past can be like a black hole: if you stand too close it will pull you in.

Today, small things like sunsets, staring out at the water, and kisses for no reason are the reasons she smiles. She believes it is the simple memories that define us, and the ones we hold close to our hearts. For Lisa, writing allows her to share her struggles and experiences with others, and by doing so she learns and grows both mentally and spiritually through the process. Therefore, with her work, she hopes to inspire her readers to join her on the journey to find inner peace and greater fulfillment in their lives.

Lisa completed her debut novel, The Majewski Curse, and is currently preparing to start writing her second non-fiction work. She currently resides in Northern Ontario with her spouse and their puppy Cooper.

Lisa Dianne McInnes will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway