How do I sign up to receive books and write reviews? I have been looking around on the website bit I can't find anything about it.....
I get my free books from Blogging for Books. It is a Waterbrook Multnomah program. Just go to the Blogging for Books website and click on the "Sign up Today" tab.
As a side note, if you notice that there are words highlighted on my posts, it means it is a link, so just click on the link and it will take you directly to the site I linked to.
I liked what you wrote about advocacy and I do think I'm still too emotional though waaay better than I was. How do you get past that?
I can only speak from personal experience. For me, time has made a difference. Also, some family and friends have shared with me that they were hesitant to say anything to me about Nichole or Down syndrome because they were afraid of how I would react towards them. I don't want that. I want to be open, to be understanding, and to be gracious. One gentle step at a time, nobody likes to be pushed in the deep end without a warning.
And that said, I know I still have room to grow!
I had commented on your post about advocacy too. (That probably puts this comment in more context).
ReplyDeletePersonally, once I *realized* and *acknowledged* that putting my emotions aside would make me infinitely more effective as an advocate, it wasn't all that difficult.
I found that being an advocate in *WRITING* first was the key for me. This enables you to really think about your words and your approach. Plus, if a bit of emotion seeps through, it's okay -- the reader can't tell (as long as you keep your words neutral in this regard!)
Plus, you can re-visit your words at a later time (before posting/publishing them), and you can re-assess them, and make edits if necessary.
I found that this helped me to put the emotions aside. It helped me to establish and practice my advocacy "script."
Once you feel comfortable advocating in writing, you can start speaking "in real life."
It's just a matter of practicing. And finding a "script" -- wording that conveys your message effectively, while avoiding "triggers" (you know, words/phrases/etc. that trigger extremely strong, and often uncontrollable emotions.)
Hope that helps!
-Truewell