TODAY'S   COUPLES AND THE CELEBRATIONS THEY CHOOSE COME IN MANY VARIETIES

“The Heart of Wedding reconnects the marriage ritual to our twenty-first century lives.  Gerald Fierst, celebrant, poet, and storyteller, fills chapter after chapter with examples of ceremonies showing that weddings need not be Victorian relics, but can be filled with a sense of fun and adventure, as well as common sense.  Acknowledging our multi-cultural nation where people of every race, Faith, and heritage meet and marry, this book celebrates the new America, respecting tradition while finding a contemporary voice to say ‘I do.’  Gerry brings to this book the same care, precision and artistry I have seen him bring to all of his projects. By connecting life’s passages with a larger vision of humanity – past, present and future – Gerry shows us a way to celebrate our families and ourselves.”                  --Susan O’Halloran, Director, RaceBridges, Chicago Illinois

This book was written for anyone who wants to be free from the tyranny of stress and burnout. Burnout can affect anyone, especially in today’s world, where “The American Dream” has been replaced by the realities of a faltering economy, breakdown of the family and societal distintegration. Burnout is not a natural state, and no one should have to live with its emotional pain. Dr. Fishkin explains how to readjust couterproductive thought processes and behaviors and learn new, healthy methods for coping. He details both self-help techniques and suggested resources to reach out to the community or the workplace for assistance.

Firefighter and Paramedic Burnout was the first comprehensive book dealing with the recognition and treatment of burnout among firefighter and paramedic personnel. Today, this standard still serves to provide readers with a system of identification of early warning signs of excessive stress, its personal and social consequences, and interventions that have been proven to assist firefighters and their family members to return to a state of health and productivity.

Police Burnout is the synthesis of Dr. Fishkin’s sixteen years experience as a police psychologist, and is a must read for all police officers, family members, police and public safety administrators, as well as mental health specialists who work in the area of law enforcement. It is a modern classic in the field of police psychology.

Shame is the ghost in the machine of the human mind.  It can implant itself in the psyche before the first word is spoken, even before the first thought has formed.  In his groundbreaking book, The Science of Shame and Its Treatment, psychotherapist and author Gerald Loren Fishkin, Ph.D., addresses the genesis of shame and self-talk from an empirical analysis of their core elements, its insidious ingress into conscious thought, and the havoc it inflicts on a person’s self-worth and behavior.

Through his empirical analysis and understanding of toxic shame, Dr. Fishkin has identified multiple effective clinical approaches for its treatment and addressing shame-based behaviors.  He clearly outlines why contemporary treatment approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy, do not treat core shame wounds and most often cause individuals to terminate the therapeutic process prematurely.
This book is a must-read for clinicians, addiction specialists, teachers, students of human behavior, counselors, social workers, patients in treatment.

Folktales from the African American Appalachian tradition. Told by Lyn Ford, one of America’s busiest touring storytellers. The power of Lyn's storytelling comes straight out of her family heritage, which is the content of this, her first book. Here she tells how she learned stories from her father and grandfather—and she includes many of the stories they told her.

Lyn Ford, an African-American storyteller honored by her peers nationally retells traditional stories and folkways from her cultural heritage. In addition, she provides readers with insights and historic perspective of these tales by including notes and references to extensive resources regarding the folktales she tells and the history that brought them to us.

Hot Wind Boiling Rain: Scary Stories for Strong Hearts is a collection of original creepy tales, contemporary folktale variants with source notes and creative writing ideas. 

 The attraction of scary stories begins very early in childhood, but the fortitude to be truly scared comes later. So where are the scary stories for young children? Educators and storytellers, Ford and Norfolk deliver a silly and gently spooky collection of jumps, laughs, interactive moments, and mostly happy endings to satisfy the curious-for-creepy Pre-K through Grade 4 set. Their weirdly funny and gently scary collection of adapted folktales, original stories, and verses will delight those who enjoy being surprised more than being scared. 

This book is for: 

Parents, grandparents, and other mentors who work with children developmentally aged 4 to 9 

Educators, librarians and others serving young listeners, who like silly and creepy stories, but may not like very scary material 

Audiences ages 4-9, who like creepy but not-too-scary stories. 

Twelve pen-and-ink drawings based on folktale motifs complement the fanciful tone of the book.

The authors and contributors—educators, storytellers, and peacemakers—discuss what each of us can do to promote a more peaceful community, country, and world.

Study of Gratitude, it's practice and impact are ideal for group discussion and personal study.