The challenges we face over the course of a lifetime, especially those that involve major personal loss, can seem devastating, as radio personality and self-help specialist Dr. Raeleen D'Agostino Mautner discovered when her husband suddenly and unexpectedly died of a heart attack. The Italian rituals and lifestyle habits she grew up with—and later began researching—were instrumental in helping her stay grounded, feel comforted, and be gently redirected to a new path of joy and the next level of her own personal transformation.

While organizing the lives of her many clients as an organizing expert and a frequent guest on A&E's Hoarders show, Dorothy Breininger learned to face her own clutter, and lost seventy-five pounds in the process. In this one-of-a-kind book, she tackles downsizing from the much-needed perspective of what lies underneath our clutter—metaphorically, physically, and emotionally. With some of the most extreme and memorable true stories from the Hoarders show, Breininger reveals what our clutter is trying to tell us and how it relates to our struggles to lose weight and keep it off

 Women of all ages want to make others happy—it's just in a woman's nature, isn't it? But what happens when that "need to please" goes wrong, and a woman keeps pushing herself harder while simultaneously ignoring her own needs? What happens when a woman begins to think self-sabotaging girly thoughts—thoughts like If only I was thinner . . . younger . . . prettier . . . was into kinkier sex . . . ? What happens when relationships sour and the trauma is carried into subsequent relationships?

Do you feel anxious, frazzled, or fatigued? Are you struggling with addiction, attention deficits, depression, or compulsive behaviors? Could your mind or memory be sharper? If so, these are tell-tale signs that your brain could use a tune-up.

Your old life has been turned upside down. Perhaps your partner has threatened to leave, you've discovered infidelity or your relationship has completely broken down and you're determined not to make the same mistakes again.

Felt uniquely describes the process of that growth and how each step feels in vivid detail, utilizing right-brain language and poetry that emphasizes experiential maturation in addition to left-brain comprehension.

Wegscheider-Cruse encourages readers to find their own personal path through a series of short stories, lessons learned and prudent quotes that validate each experience.