New Reviews For Twenty Years: After “I Do” and Words We Carry – D.G. Kaye

New Reviews Are In     What a beautiful way to end a challenging year! Two new reviews for my newest book – Twenty Years: After “I Do” and another for Words We Carry. There is no better gift an author can ask for than to hope for a glowing review for her books. It’s always so gratifying to know the stories I share from my own life can offer some positive messages to my readers. Thank you.   Get this book on Amazon     MegaReader 5.0 out of 5 starsRecommended 5 Star Read December 22, 2017 Format: Kindle Edition D.G Kaye bares her innermost thoughts and feelings after 20 years of marriage to her soul mate Gordon, a man 20 years her senior.  Gordon is suffering the effects of ageing and the aftermath of prostate cancer treatment. The author writes with some candour in this short but informative self-help/memoir of several mindfulness strategies she employs to keep her marriage as fresh as the day she said “I do”.  These strategies can be used by any couple regardless of their ages, and indeed I aim to take a leaf out of this book to aid my own 37 year marriage! It is a treat to read of the author’s successful marriage, despite her initial doubts (due to Gordon’s age) at the start of the relationship plus many hardships and health scares of both parties along the way.  D.G Kaye and her husband laugh a lot, look after each other, and take heed of their marriage vows.  Many younger couples could learn from this recommended 5 star read. Marsha Ingrao 5.0 out of 5 starsShould You Marry a Man Twenty Years Older Than You Are? December 21, 2017 Format: Kindle Edition Are you thinking about getting married? Worried about the future? What happens twenty years later? Most women marry older men when they are younger. Twenty Years: After “I Do explains what you might expect twenty, thirty or forty years later. Debby G. Kaye writes what I would label as memoirs. Her editor calls this one a self-help book. Deb has a story so compelling that her memoirs work their way into being helpful. She inspires me, not to write my memoirs because I’m not as brave and forthright as she is. However, as an educational consultant, my gut reaction is that her book needs a study guide, and I’m just the person to write it. Are you married or thinking about getting married to an older man? Maybe not, but if you are married for very long, you will be married to an older man whether you set out to do that or not. D.G. Kaye points out some authentic problems in Twenty Years: After “I Do that you are going to encounter when your husband reaches his 60s or 70s. Probably if you thought about all of them in your 20s, it would paralyze you, and you would never get married. However, as she points out, you think you are invincible when you are that age, and you just jump in. Yet, many people jump into marriages in their later years. They will face these problems without as many years of understanding of their partner. If you read this book, you will learn how Debby managed to “navigate companionship challenges and show love and kindness to her partner, handling life together gracefully and in harmony.” Some of the hard challenges she shares must have been excruciating to write. What happens when or if wee willy wimps? How do you talk about death, burial, wills? Does your partner have grown children? They certainly play more of a part in your relationship than you might expect since they are out of the home. This is the perfect gift for the holidays. It’s an easy read with lots of good advice. Twenty Years: After “I Do”: Reflections on Love and Changes Through AgingTwenty Years: After “I Do”: Reflections on Love and Changes Through AgingTwenty Years: After “I Do”: Reflections on Love and Changes Through Aging And thank you so much to Marsha Ingrao for this in-depth book analysis report she wrote a post on for Twenty Years: After “I Do”     HOW TO LEARN WHAT TO EXPECT TWENTY YEARS: AFTER “I DO,” EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT A YOUNG NEWLYWED   SHOULD YOU MARRY A MAN TWENTY YEARS OLDER THAN YOU ARE? What happens twenty years after you marry an older man? Most women do marry older men when they are younger. Twenty Years: After “I Do”  tells you what you might expect twenty, thirty or forty years later. Are you thinking about getting married? Worried about the future? Read on.   MEMOIR OR SELF-HELP BOOK? OR BOTH? Debby G. Kaye writes what I would label as memoirs. Her editor calls this one a self-help book. Deb has a story so compelling that her memoirs work their way into being helpful. She inspires me, not to write my memoirs because I’m not as brave and forthright as she is. However, as an educational consultant, my gut reaction is that her book needs a study guide, and I’m just the person to write it. When you read Twenty Years: After “I Do” . you will learn how Debby managed to “navigate companionship challenges and show love and kindness to her partner, handling life together gracefully and in harmony.” Some of the hard challenges she shares must have been excruciating to write.   YOU MEAN THERE MIGHT BE PROBLEMS IN OUR MARRIAGE? Are you married or thinking about getting married to an older man? Maybe not, but if you are married for very long, you will be married to an older man whether you set out to do that or not. D.G. Kaye points out some authentic problems in Twenty Years: After “I Do”  that you are going to encounter when your husband reaches his 60s or 70s. Many people jump into marriages in their later years. They will face these problems more quickly than younger people. . . . Continue Reading     Get this book on Amazon     5 Stars Negative words thrown at us with disregard when young can linger for a lifetime. ByS. G. Croninon November 9, 2017 Format: Kindle Edition This book was gifted to me by the author without any expectation or recompense for reviewing. The views are entirely my own. Words We Carry is packed with the accumulated knowledge, wisdom, survival tips and strategies from someone who went through difficult and unhappy childhood and teen years. I think it is fair to say that most of us are less than confident about our body shape, and that is particularly tough when you can no longer use the excuse of puppy fat, and your friends are heading out in slinky black dresses and high-heeled shoes. Unfortunately, not all mothers are born with the nurturing gene and as soon as you become competition, there is an opportunity to reinforce your lack of self-esteem with carefully chosen and cutting words. I would like to think that the experiences that D.G. Kaye describes were rare, but I am afraid that after counselling women on their health and weight for twenty years, the story is very familiar. Those harmful words from those who are supposed to love us, are the ones we carry throughout our lifetime, unless we can find a way to dilute their power and replace them with affirmations of a much more positive nature. D.G. Kaye describes her strategies to claim her own identity, build her self-esteem and evolve from the ugly duckling that she had been made to feel she was, into a swan. This involved a makeover in a number of departments, including wearing high heels at all times and over every terrain, and standing out from the crowd with her now signature titian hair colour. She also developed a healthy, outgoing personality and independence that led her to discover groups of people who accepted and embraced her as a friend. In the second section of the book Kaye looks at the impact this early negative conditioning had on her relationships, including romances with older men whose different approach to dating and expectations provided a more secure environment. Unfortunately, having entered one serious and long-term relationship, echoes of the verbal abuse that she received as a child and teenager, threatened to undo all the hard work that she had accomplished. Thankfully she went on to find happiness and empowerment with someone who appreciates all that she has become. Kaye looks at issues such as the difference between Alone vs. Lonely, Negativity and Self-Worth, Forming Healthier Relationships, and importantly Exposing our Personality Through the Internet. All the chapters provide commonsense strategies to overcome a lack of self-confidence, and I do think that women and men in their 50s and 60s, will definitely be able to draw parallels to Kaye’s own experiences. Whilst I recommend this memoir/self-help book to men and women of my age, I also think that it should be read by all mothers whose daughters are heading into their teens and beyond. It might just remind them of how fragile their child is when about to face the outside world, and that there are enough external challenges to be overcome, without encountering them in the place they should feel safe. It is also a book for young women who are struggling with weight issues and those who feel that they are not as attractive as their friends, or who feel that they are somehow going through something never experienced before. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. By reading this they might take strength in knowing that this is an age old problem, and that they can change the narrative and write their own story.