Thank you to everyone who participated in My Formerly Hot Life giveaway contest!

Although you’re going to find the cliched quips about aging sagging skin, slowing metabolisms, newly developed crows feet, and the trial and errors of clothing a middle-aged body, My Formerly Hot Life goes beyond skimming the superficial surface of growing older and explores the other side of young in much more in-depth way. Dolgoff tackles the important issues like parenting, marriage, “having it all,” and healthy vs. unhealthy friendships with a good dose of wisdom and wit.

As we age and take on other lifestyles and responsibilities we say goodbye to our old identities, hence we become what Dolgoff coins as a “Formerlie” – formerly hot, formerly wild, formerly single and childless, etc… But while many of us may look back at our former selves with bittersweet nostalgia and wonder what happened to our youth, Dolgoff reminds us that the best part of life is still to come. With age comes more confidence, more wisdom, and a more carefree attitude about the ridiculous things in life, like trying to mold ourselves to the ideal standards of our youth-obsessed culture. “Formerlies” are neither young nor old. Their priorities and values have shifted from their younger days and they have a much better sense of who they are and what kind of life they want to lead. They have discarded unhealthy relationships and have a close circle of beloved family and friends that brighten their days with love and laughter. Formerlies are women like me and probably like you, women trying to navigate our way through lives that are filled with countless responsibilities and pressures and just doing the best we can. You can longingly look back at the hot life you once had all you want. But, if you look back too often, you’ll likely miss out on the fabulous life you lead today.

Give-away time!

I have been offered to give-away TWO copies of My Formerly Hot Life to my readers. To enter this give-away, please leave a comment below. For additional comment entries, subscribe to AYMB, follow AYMB on Twitter, tweet this post, or post this review and give-away on Facebook and/or your blog. Make sure to leave an additional comment for each item. I will select two winners via www.random.org on Tuesday, August 17th.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was give a copy of My Formerly Hot Life and offered two copies for a give-away, courtesy of the publisher.

Congrats to Mother of Three and Alex aka Ma, What’s For Dinner! Please email me at aimee@aintyomamasblog.com with your mailing address.

Hope you both enjoy the book!

I have been offered TWO copies of this book for a give-away! To enter the It’s Not PMS, It’s You! give-away, please leave a comment below. You can also post an additional comment for each of the following: subscribe to AYMB, follow AYMB on Twitter, tweet about this give-away, and/or post about this give-away on your blog or Facebook page. This give-away is for U.S. and Canada residents only.

I will use www.random.org to select two winners for this giveaway on Tuesday, August 10, 2010.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was given one copy of It’s Not PMS, It’s You! and two additional copies for the purpose of a give-away, courtesy of Sterling Publishing Company.

Comment #3 – Keena!

Congrats, Keena! I’m sure you’ll enjoy the book as much as I did.

“….our potential is endless. Even when we’re tired and beaten down, drained and out of steam, frustrated and full of rage, or broke and without a dime, our God-given potential for greatness is intact and abundant. It’s an innate power that comes free with birth, but often gets ignored and forgotten as life takes hold.”

-Nadirah Angail

In our world today, it can be a challenge for young women to gain self-confidence and a healthy perspective and awareness on life, in general. From a much-too early age, we are inundated with negative images, words, and beliefs. Many young women are brought up to believe that there are limitations. We live in a society that often projects to girls and women that there is only one standard of beauty, one way to behave, one way to be treated, one way to love, and so forth. Blogger and author Nadirah Angail, who has a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, wrote this book to remind girls and women that the only *one* thing you need to do in life is to love and believe in yourself.

This book, composed of easy-to-read short blog-style essays, offers women of all ages advice and many words of wisdom. It’s a book that many older women may wish their younger selves had read. Angail address a number of topics that relate to women of all ages, from learning the signs of healthy love versus unhealthy love, red flags and deal breakers for relationships, on overcoming the end of the *honeymoon* phase in a relationship, dealing with negative friendships, self-doubt, self-acceptance, forgiveness, personal reflection, and being responsible for your own happiness.

Angail writes beautifully and simply, in a way that captures the reader’s attention and keeps it. It’s easy to relate to her perspective and thoughts on different issues and you will probably often find yourself nodding in agreement. On the same token, you may find yourself reflecting and checking in with yourself. Are you confident with who you are at this present time? Do you respect yourself and give yourself the freedom to make mistakes (and the time to learn from them)? The older and wiser a woman gets, the more confident and self-assure she usually becomes.  Yet every women will sometimes struggle with her self-esteem.  Every woman needs to affirm her self-worth regularly and make sure that she is focusing more on her positive qualities than her self-attributed negative qualities. Accepting yourself in the present, not who you were yesterday or who you want to be tomorrow, is one of the most important lessons a woman can learn in life. This is the flowing theme of Angail’s book, a theme that every woman needs to subscribe to for her own personal mantra.

Book Give-Away!

Nadirah Angail has generously donated a signed copy of On All the Things That Make Me Beautiful to give-away to one of my readers. Please leave a comment below for a chance to win. For extra entries, tweet about this book review and give-away, become a follower of @aintyomamasblog on Twitter, or a subscriber of this blog and then leave an additional comment.  I will draw a random winner using random. org on Thursday, July 22nd. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was given a signed copy of this book as compensation for the review. The opinions reflected in this book review are my own.