With that being said, let’s look at this book. Christie Matheson puts together a collection of recipes that are well written, along with beautiful photography. Want a book that has a picture of every recipe? You want this book.

I like her primer on salt, for after all there is more than table salt that we all see in salt shakers everywhere. These different salts really do taste differently, and have different applications. For example, Fleur de Sel is hand harvested salt from France that goes well with fish. The recipes include many wonderful basic recipes where the use of salt is fantastic. Salted caramels, are heavenly, in fact, I can hardly think of them without salt any longer. Chocolate chip cookies with a light dusting of sea salt along with semi sweet chocolate chips should have been done years ago. The Decadent Hot Chocolate, was decadent. A criticism of this book may be that none of these recipes are completely new, but rather this is a collection of good recipes with salt sprinkled in, but it is sprinkled in brilliantly. If you are looking for a new way to do desserts I would definitely consider picking up this book and trying this one out.

ShareThis

This book covers a great range of alternative therapies. Relaxation, diet, nutritional suppliments, and exercise are just a few of the recommended activities that are mentioned in this book. All therapies that are covered in this book are well known therapies and if you want to learn more this is a great

ShareThis

So often in western medicine we are given cookie cutter diets that are perscribed to everyone, and this book really helps you develop a more customized approach. I like that this book will ask you questions and go over a variety of symptoms then explain why your body may behave like it does, and then the author will help you make changes that will help with these symptoms and help you heal your body. Generally none of the approaches are too extreme, but rather small choices you can make that will help make a difference.

My only complaint with this book is that it really advocates leaving out the dairy and meat out of your diet. Personally, for me, this isn’t a choice I want to make at this time. I do choose to limit red meat intake, and ensure that the quality of protien I get is high, and I sometimes eat vegetarian, but not always. If you are interested in a wholistic approach that teaches something other than low fat diet, check this book out. This is an amazing read and if it can help you with even one or two minor health issues this is worth the price of the book just on the fact you don’t have to reach into a medicine cabinet and try to cure yourself.

ShareThis

Epp suggests that we don’t get too involved too soon. He does this on a couple of different levels. Suggesting that 3 months is far too soon to make any serious kind of decision when it comes to where to go in a relationship meaning marriage, moving in together, or any other life changing decision. Within three months both parties are still on good behavior and not showing their true self. Within a year you will see patterns emerge, and by the end of two years the tone has been set for the relationship, and you will know how you two work together.

Another aspect of the relationship and moving too fast was his breakdown of trust, intimacy, and commitment. He clearly states not too move to far into one of these three areas, and leave the other two behind. This creates a warped relationship, and this will leave to many problems. If relationships become too intimate too quickly this may leave one partner thinking they have a serious commitment of the other person, and they do not have a serious commitment at all.

Another one of my favorite chapters of the book has to deal with how someone treats others; this could mean the waitress, their mother, their best friend. When you read advice sites everyone says this, but no one explains why this works. People tend to behave in certain patterns. Arguments, happy moments, we all tend to behave in certain ways. For example perhaps someone needs to sulk a bit before they will engage in an argument, or perhaps name calling is the norm for them. The person involved will have tough moments with you, and he will behave at his best and his worst with you. You need to be able to handle this person’s worst moments.

This information is in just a few of the book’s chapters. As you can see the book is packed with advice that is practical. Many dating advice books are often a couple of trite sayings here and there, and thrown together in a book. John Van Epp far exceeds dating book expectations and gives a book that you can pick up and read many times, gaining a new perspective.

ShareThis

My favorite part of the book is her short quiz on is the relationship harmful she asks:
1. Is your friend trustworthy
2. Does your friend return your phone calls?
3. Does your friend always keep appointments or meetings and promises?
4. Do other friends praise this friend?
5. Do you enjoy listening to your friend?
6. If you have an opposite-sex friend, and you’re both romantically involved with others or married, does your friend’s romantic partner know about your friendship?
7. Is your friend someone you’re proud of?
8. Is your friendship based on who you both are now, rather than on what you were when you first became friends?
9. After you see your friend, do you fiend yourself thinking, “Wow, I’m glad we’re friends?”
10. Does your friend respect your boundaries and your privacy?

She also describes different types of bad friendships and gives suggestions on what you can do to stay in them, or leave the relationship. She does have you ask yourself is the friendship healthy? Was it healthy? Are you up to investing enough into the friendship to make it work again? Most importantly, is the friendship worth saving?

I found her book helpful, and a good guideline on having healthy friendships with others. While this is not a complete book on friendships, it is a good starting point. This book will have you evaluate relationships that may have past their prime, and those relationships that should be salvaged. I would definately recommend this book to anyone that may have nagging questions about friendships that they may have.

ShareThis