HCI Books and Authors in the News Archive

Had it with cubicles? Consider blue or green collar jobs.
Joe Lamacchia, founder of BlueCollarandProudofIt.com, says he hears often from people with scenarios like this: “I’m in my cubicle with a picture of the kids, and I can’t wait for the weekend to get into my flannel shirt and finish the porch I’m working on.”

Well, there may be golden days ahead for such workers, trapped in corporate America or being pink-slipped out of it, says Lamacchia, owner of a landscaping business in Newton, Mass., and author of a new book, “Blue Collar and Proud of It.”....Read Full Article

For their own good: a St. Petersburg Times special report on child abuse at the Florida School for Boys
The men remember the same things: blood on the walls, bits of lip or tongue on the pillow, the smell of urine and whiskey, the way the bed springs sang with each blow. The way they cried out for Jesus or mama. The grinding of the old fan that muffled their cries. The one-armed man who swung the strap....Read Full Article - Watch the Video

The Four F's Of Fast Weight Loss
Dr. Paul Rivas has discovered a secret: People who cheat on their diets lose weight the fastest... and keep it off the longest. "It's not whether you cheat on your diet -- because you will -- but how and when you do it," says Dr. Rivas, who has specialized in obesity for over a decade and has successfully treated more than 15,000 patients. "My Cheater's Diet not only encourages you, but requires you to indulge in delicious foods such as chocolate, wine, cinnamon buns, beer and pizza."....Read Full Article

Good for you, Good for the planet
What’s wrong with synthetic? How can you go green on a budget? Find the answers to these questions and so much more in The Green Beauty Guide. Registered nutrition specialist and beauty expert Julie Gabriel gives us the real deal on organic products in this comprehensive go-to resource....Read Full Article

Natural beauty - Care for yourself and Earth
Chemicals and synthetic ingredients abound in many beauty products. They lurk in hair dyes, self-tanners and even nail polish. But with some label reading, you can find products that work just as well and are made with more benign materials....Read Full Article

How to Stop Sibling Struggles
Having a baby and a toddler is only half the problem, though, I discovered a few years later: These kids are going to get older, and pretty soon you have a toddler and a kid to deal with. Here's how to handle both sibling stages...Read Full Article

Happy National Garden Month - get out your trowels!
It’s National Garden Month. Oh joy! Not as meaningful to those of us who are trying to keep our potted terrace plants from burning to death, but for those diggers of dirt on the ground, a festive time of year...Read Full Article

Mind Over Money
It’s a scary time: unemployment’s up, the economy’s down and almost everyone’s trying to bail out of debt. A third of us have lost sleep over financial stress and worry, according to a recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation...Read Full Article

Family Loans Can Raise More Problems Than They Solve
The critical question to ask before issuing a family loan: "Will the financial contribution help solve a problem or will it feed a destructive and motivation-stifling behavior," said Brad Klontz, financial psychologist and coauthor of "Wired for Wealth."...Read Full Article

Maybe Baby: An infertility Story
What happens when the ability to produce a child is thwarted? Matthew Miller recounts his own experience in the book, Maybe Baby: An infertility Story....Read Full Article

The Best New Pet Products
Are you looking for new toys, products and ideas to make your pet's life easier and more comfortable? Veterinarian Marty Becker hit the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Fla., last month, the industry's largest annual trade show, and discusses some of his favorite new products....Read Full Article

Tom Wilson II: Ziggy's Family Heritage
Tom Wilson II learned to appreciate what a gift his father gave him on Saturday mornings when he was young. They were special times between father and son. Tom, Sr., would make time in his busy schedule to take his son to the Bob’s Big Boy chain restaurant for breakfast....Read Full Article

A Fill-In on Cable News Is Thrust Into Host’s Chair
Jane Velez-Mitchell is a true-crime author, a television talking head, a lesbian, an animal activist, a recovering alcoholic and a vegan....Read Full Article

'Ziggy' cartoonist tells of depression
"Ziggy" cartoonist Tom Wilson II understands better than anyone that his character's phenomenal appeal lies in an indomitable optimism and unshakable daily resilience....Read Full Article

Gold Coast Cure
A five-week health and body makeover, The Gold Coast Cure was created to reverse 10 diseases: obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, asthma, arthritis, cancer, vascular dementia, osteoporosis and fibromylagia....Read Full Article

More African baby names than even an octuplet mom could use
There are more than 5,000 names in "The African Book of Names," compiled by Ashkhari Hodari, PhD. The names derive from 37 nations and more than 70 ethno-linguistic groups....Read Full Article

Jess McCann Teaches Readers How to Get the Guy They Want
When my friend Anne moved to San Francisco, she didn't know a soul. I admired her strength to pick up and move three thousand miles from home, but I also worried about how she would meet people and regain her social life....Read Full Article

Have a Pet Without Sneezing
The bad news has to be addressed first: There is no such thing as a dog that doesn’t shed and isn’t capable of producing wheezes and sneezes....Read Full Article

Zig-Zagging: A Ziggy Memoir
In his new memoir, Zig-Zagging: Losing Madly, Losing Badly... How Ziggy Saved My Life, Tom Wilson describes the game he would play as a boy with his father, Ziggy creator Tom Wilson Sr....Read Full Article

'Why did you cause me to turn out this way?'
What happened in a torture chamber at the Florida Industrial School for Boys in the 1950s has haunted three Jacksonville men for a lifetime....Read Full Article

When the going gets really tough, the tough write real estate books
The McKinney book, “Burst This!” (Health Communications, $24.95), is the real estate developer-showman’s lowdown on his bubble-proof strategies....Read Full Article

Keeping Your Pet's Pearly Whites Clean
Can't stand doggie breath? Fido's bad breath might be a bigger problem than you think....Read Full Article

President Barack Obama was the 2008 Martin Luther King Scholarship Banquet Keynote Speaker; Following in His Footsteps Dr. Farrah Gray is the 2009 Keynote Speaker
Award-winning author and social entrepreneur Dr. Farrah Gray representing the next generation following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and President Barack Obama...Read Full Article

Looking Good: Midlife Makeovers
Meet the winners of our 2008 Faces of 50+ Model Search, and see their head-to-toe transformations by The Makeover Guy, Christopher Hopkins...Read Full Article

The Green Beauty Guide
When I was first offered an opportunity to review The Green Beauty Guide, I’ve got to admit, I was initially skeptical...Read Full Article

Simplify New Year's resolutions
"In 2009, we'll have multiple demands put on us, probably more so than ever," Rego says. "If we set small, simple goals, we have a much better shot at success."...Read Full Article

Save Money On Pet Care
With gas and groceries taking an ever-bigger bite out of family budgets, we’re all looking for ways to economize. That means saving on pet care, too. You’ll want to buy smart, but most important, focus on prevention...Read Full Article

Mom’s experiences with residential programs for troubled teens chronicled in ``Wit’s End''
Sue Scheff was desperate. Her teenage daughter Ashlyn was out of control: skipping school, delving into witchcraft and running away from home. So Scheff ultimately sent Ashlyn to a residential treatment facility, but Scheff said the place did more harm than good. Her daughter was abused there, Scheff said, and Ashlyn emerged months later seriously depressed...Read Full Article

Long wait for a baby is over
Miller and his wife, Constance, headed toward parenthood, expecting to be expecting in a matter of months, only to discover after two years of trying that the word infertility would become part of their everyday lives...Read Full Article

How to Treat a ‘Money Disorder’ (nytimes.com)
THE country music star Wynonna Judd had essentially “won the lottery” at age 17, she said. But after amassing a fortune from her career, she squandered much of it, throwing money at her children out of guilt for missing hockey practices, and buying more cars than she could ever drive. Having grown up poor in Appalachia, Ms. Judd found herself with “everything and nothing at all,” she said....Read Full Article

An author must have a marketing plan (nydailynews.com)
Wanna-be authors have been told for years to "write about what you know." If that's a formula for publishing success, then writing about yourself is a pretty good place to start. Your Money spoke to three authors who called upon their personal experiences to write books. One stressed lowering expectations of getting rich quick, while another has authored 15 books. A third launched his book in print and as an e-book...Read Full Article

Are Hormones to Blame for Your Flabby Abs?
Ah, that lovely layer of abdominal fat that stays put despite endless stomach crunches and Lean Cuisine. Before you pawn your jewelry for liposuction, consider a new option: balancing your hormones. Plus, test your abs IQ with our quiz...Read Full Article

Buff Dad: 4-Week Fitness Plan For Real Guys
Hey guys, are you ready to go from Puffy Dad to Buff Daddy? I know I am. And the man to help us get there is Mike Levinson, a trainer of professional athletes who needed to follow his own advice after gaining 50 pounds when his first son was born...Read Full Article

New Book Helps Dads Lose The Sympathy Weight
Mike Levinson was amazed at how quickly he packed on the pounds after his wife became pregnant. "Before I had kids, I worked out all the time, I was a personal trainer then when we had our first son, five years ago, my time went away and I had no time, I ate very poorly. I ate what my wife ate, so I gained some sympathy weight."...Read Full Article

The over-45 revival : Here's how to change and recharge your look
Sure, it's great that Samantha turns 50 in the new "Sex and the City" movie, with nary a hint of her sex appeal diminishing. And yes, Madonna can hold her own (and then some) with Justin Timberlake on their new single, "4 Minutes."...Read Full Article

When Mommy Needs a Makeover-A Q&A with Christopher Hopkins The Makeover Guy
Christopher Hopkins, aka, the Makeover guy, doesn't see women for who they should be, rather, for who they can be...Read Full Article

2008

Uptown salon owner writes beauty manual for women over 45
Hopkins recently released his new book “Staging Your Comeback: A Complete Beauty Revival for Women over 45.” The book aims to help middle-aged women who may have lost touch with their good looks recapture their own sense of beauty, according to Hopkins...Read Full Article

Staging A Comeback: Women Find Best Self After 45
In our image-driven culture it's easy to understand why young women often focus on their appearance. But when ladies reach a certain age it's tempting to let that slide...Read Full Article

Ace Young and Idol Alums Offer Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul
There’s no doubt that competing on American Idol is a life-changing experience, and as the show’s seventh season gets ready to crown its champ, former contestants – including Ruben Studdard, Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken - have penned personal stories about their journey to Idol fame in the latest installment of Chicken Soup for the Soul books...Read Full Article

Still sexy after all these years
Somebody pass the lotion. Turns out, it's one of the celebrity secrets to staying sexy. When spilling her anti-aging tips with Allure magazine, actress Peggy Lipton, 61, swore by the stuff...Read Full Article

Prepare to Be a Millionaire (CBS)

Sanjaya on air with Ryan Seacrest, KISS-FM interview (Kiisfm.com)

Office Space
The book, Say Goodbye to Your PDI (Personality Disordered Individual), to hear him tell it, my coworkers were a problem, and I needed to address, adapt to, and either learn to live with them or move on — fast...Read Full Article

Belly Fat to Belly Flat (HealthNewsDigest.com)
Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waist and Subtracting Years from Your Life...Read Full Article

'Chicken Soup' series takes on 'American Idol' (L.A. Times)
Fans can dig for the "Chicken Soup" moral in tales of how Sanjaya Malakar dealt with the harsh criticism from the judges or how former champion and recent Grammy winner Carrie Underwood was moved when she met a South African boy diagnosed as HIV positive...Read Full Article

'The Harder They Fall': Fame and Addiction
In The Harder They Fall, a new collection of stories of addiction and recovery...Read Full Article

Rehab Isn't What It Used to Be
It's easy to see why celebs struggle with dependencies, says Gary Stromberg, author of The Harder They Fall...Read Full Article

For kids, divorce is tough but has advantages, too
So is there a bright side? There is, says young author Max Sindell, whose parents divorced when he was six...Read Full Article

2007

Quiet Your Inner Scrooge(Washingtonpost.com)
How do I stop viewing money as a ticking time bomb about to blow up in my face? The timing of this question gives me the chance to recommend again my selection for the Color of Money Book Club for December: "The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge."

Taking the Right Lesson From Scrooge (Washingtonpost.com)
As any therapist will tell you, conflicts about money are usually not about money. They're about you, or rather, "your issues."

"Chicken Soup" Author Talks About Working With the Idols(Americanidol.com)
As Debra explains, "I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Idols from watching the shows and reading magazines and blogs. When I started working with them and they started telling me their stories I spent half my time in tears.

Winners of the Crazy Aunt Purl Cats in Sweaters Contest (CrazyAuntPurl.com)
Cats in sweaters, cats in hats, dogs in pants. The winners are announced! Plus: A new Sweepstakes!

Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul (Americanidol.com)
Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul is the perfect marriage of the #1 show in television history and the #1 non-fiction book series in publishing history.

Preteens get help on defining their image
Mothers will wish that Jill S. Zimmerman Rutledge's book, "Picture Perfect", was published when they were young. It would've spared them plenty of angst.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Kids in the Kitchen
The recipes are very easy to follow, the photography is fantastic, and all of the little extra "stories" are very heartwarming. The book features information on nutrition and has a great Let's Get Started" section with need to know kitchen information (safety, math, vocabulary, utensils, etc).

Why Do Horses Sleep Standing Up?
A fun book addressing 101 perplexing questions related to equine enigmas, medical mysteries and befuddling behaviors.

One on One With Pat Williams (NBA.com)
The man who has spent more than four decades in the NBA as an executive just completed his 47th book, that’s right, No. 47, titled,"Read for Your Life".

Writer's appetizer: After warming up with publications, Missoula woman pens novel
Since taking a writers' workshop through the Christian Writers Guild, Rachel Neal's work has been published in “Chicken Soup for the Woman Golfer's Soul” and “Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause.”.

Hot flashes, memory loss, and more
Watch co-author Dahylnn McKowen, and contributing author Eileen Williams for the book "Chicken Soup For the Soul in Menopause" on ABC News.