Help Me Write You A Free Ebook You Will Really Love and Get Something From

It's 9 a.m. and I haven't been to bed yet.  I am too excited over the gold rivulet I found among the fools' gold on the Internet last night.  I have some real gifts for anyone who writes, wants to be an entrepreneur in a non-conformist way, wants to be a really good as well as successful blogger, is interested in traveling the world, wants to know more about the state of publishing in these digital times, and more.  Get your clickers out and clear your storage space--some of these are pretty big pdf's.


First off, as a result of all the freed up, wild, non-conformist, passionate writing I was reading all night, I am ready to write an ebook and give it away for free.  I have my book from "Plain Language At Work Newsletter," and i give up trying to get the web address right on that. Just Google it and it comes up right away. Then among the many interesting facts about writing in clear, easy to understand English, on the right side of the newsletter cover in the second box down you'll see "The Principles of Readability."  If you write much, download this free pdf file. It is like taking the gauzy film off your eyes when you see how simple it really is to make sure your writing is clear and understandable, and you are not talking down to your reader either.


If you are a writer who for most of their life has written for print mediums, do yourself a favor and order "The Yahoo Style Guide: The Ultimate Sourcebook for Writing, Editing, and Creating Content for the Digital World."  It has got everything you need to become digitalized and not turn readers off because you have dense, packed words with no empty white spaces that help the skimming digital reader feel he can quickly make short work of speed reading your content.  You also have to learn about navigation, coding, that "e-mail" is actually "email" and the old rules that no longer apply: (hold your hats on now).  The old "rules" that no longer apply in this cyber world of fast, loud music and most of your information in audio and video form, are:  1. Never split an infinitive.  2) Never end a sentence with a proposition. 3) Never start a sentence with a conjunction.  What a relief to step out of those chalk lines, especially since I frequently do all three.


But get this book, which if I have a criticism, and, of course, I do, it's that the generation digitalizers that wrote this book don't know how to write for print. In print there are no links to click on, but these writers don't let that stop them from giving you whiplash damn near as each sentence you read in the order that the book was supposedly written, the conventional order of page one to page 509, from front to back, sends you on a hike off to Chapter 11 or Chapter 14 or somewhere other than the next sentence.  It is maddening.  It's as if I am writing here to you and I tell you, wait, there's a better explanation and more examples of what I'm saying on page 295, and page 302.  Go check those out.  So you shuffle through the damn book, look at the measly little extra information or examples, come back to where you were and try to get your concentration back, and the very next section sends you scurrying to Chapter 14 and Chapter 16.  I tell you it's maddening.


Otherwise, I recommend you buy this book, but write and ask them if they plan to release it online anytime soon first.


I have been getting email from this guy for over two years I bet, and I have always meant to read one of his free ebooks, and finally last night something I read struck a chord in me, and I began to read in earnest. I'm talking about Chris Guillebeau, world traveler, writer, and guy who by his wits and non-conformity has never been anything but self-employed.  Go Chris.


I used to think he was sort of a wack job, but now that I want to do exactly what he's been doing these past years--writing for himself, making a little money but not selling out, and traveling around the world, he sounds like the first time I heard "I Am the Walrus."  I will be giving you some links to get his free books. If you've got money, maybe you'll buy some of his carefully selected products for sale that he lives off when he's not giving everything away.


He wrote this.  I like it's boldness. It's fresh.


Ways to Be Unremarkably Average


1.  Accept what people tell you at face value.

2.  Don't question authority.

3.  Go to college because you're supposed to, not because you want to learn something.

4. Go overseas once or twice in your life to some place safe like England.

5. Don't try to learn another language; everyone else will eventually learn English.

6. Think about starting your own business, but never do it.

7. Think about writing a book, but never do it.

8. Get the largest mortgage you qualify for, and spend the next 30 years paying it off.

9. Sit at a desk for 40 hours a week to do an average of 10 productive hours.

10. Don't stand out or draw attention to yourself.

11.  Jump through hoops.  Check off boxes.



If you haven't read what this free spirit has to say about ethically making a living by using your talents, and avoiding office cubicles like Tramp in Lady and the Tramp avoided the dog catchers, you get inspired like I did.  He also introduces you to some very interesting people who are characters in their own right.  Here is 279-Day Overnight Success.


I really think he is a visionary, and i respect what he's doing.  I hope to follow my dreams as courageously as  he.  I want to travel worldwide solo couchsurfing.  I want to support myself by doing photojournalism and travel writing.  I hope to soon learn how to write a grant proposal, and start a little home business writing grants. Then I'd like to choose a world problem that touches me like hunger, homelessness, untreated alcoholism and addiction, corruption of our food by Big Business, BigPharmaceutical pushing their poison on the innocent who don't know what's coming...  oh, there's so many.  Then I'd like to be like my hero, Scott, who went from whoring and partying his life away to starting a nonprofit charity called charity: water that has provided clean drinking water in so many countries and got contributors to give so much money for the cause.  

Until then I continue in my dream of recovering from alcoholism, addiction, ADD, depression, and bipolar disorder and feeling better and stronger every day.  I am sober two years this month.  I once was sober 15 years, and another time 5 years I think it was. I am not going back to hell this time.  The thing is you stupidly lie to yourself and say "I'll just have two beers," and you don't set that drink down for 5 - 7 or 12 years.  Time flies when you're busy leading a double life, retching, falling down, alienating your kids, and being a slug that just takes up room on the planet unnecessarily.


So I want to write an ebook and give it away.  I want to write about something  that I know well, that will benefit others and give them hope and maybe even joy.  Please help me choose a topic.  Again, here are the conditions and diseases I experienced, overcame and continue to heal from:

1. Bipolar disorder.  Diagnosed at 42. I am furious about the horrible drugs they give "crazy" people, even when they know like they did with those with dementia in the nursing homes that the drugs they were feeding these patients to keep them quiet and manageable were most likely going to kill them.  I call that murder.  I want to write about how a person with bipolar disease can get off the worst of the poisonous drugs.


2. Adult AD/HD (ADD).  I am thinking of writing a journal of recovering thoughts they can add their own insights to. I don't want to say too much because mine would be the first or one of the few.


3. Coping with depression.  I used to spend weeks and months just lying in bed too depressed to get up.  Today I don't go through depressions like that any more.  I want to help others who are told by friends and relatives to just "snap out of it" to find peace and some joy.  Healing is possible.  Snapping out of it isn't.


4. My heart aches for non-custodial mothers. I lost custody of my children when they were small because I had a bipolar breakdown and then I relapsed on alcohol and drugs.  My heart broke so badly I felt the rip and the hole.  One thing that helped me get through this dark, horrible, hell on earth period was the support of other non-custodial mothers in an email organization just for that issue.  I got help from so many women whose hearts were  also broken, but  who still could care about others.


5.  I know a lot about herbs and smart drugs.  I would like to put together some "recipes" for things like fatigue, lack of concentration, fogginess, distractibility like those of us with AD/HD suffer from, insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome, PMS, and other physical, mental and mood disorders.  It's a crime what we have to go through to get smart drugs known to be safe and effective but unavailable in the U.S., although some are but only by prescription.  I want to track them down all over the world and find safe, secure distributors.


6.  I know a lot about alternative, complementary and holistic health.  I would like to write a book of remedies and advice for various conditions and complaints.  The medical doctors don't let you in on information that is not traditional and standard, even if it's been used  in Europe for decades and proven to be safe and effective.  Also, I would list all  the various branches of these schools of medicine and outline what they are, how they work, what the pros and cons are, and how to find a practitioner. These would be things like energy medicine, chakra cleansing, meditation, the mind-body healing connection, Traditional Chinese Medicine, some of the many successful uses for acupuncture, and much more.  I can't get enough of healing and medicine and have been interested in it all my life.


7. I want to write some kind of book to help lonely people find a way out of their self-created prisons.  I want to give them some hope.  I would not tell them, like most of the books, to go volunteer, get out of themselves and give to others and get a pet.  Sure, that's all good advice, but you have to understand that a really lonely person suffers from such self-loathing, and lack of self-confidence in social situations, they are almost paralyzed by their own inner thoughts and feelings and cannot do things like reach out to others.  They are in too much pain. I have been there, and I was blessed to climb out of that pit.


8. I studied creative writing as my specialization in college.  I have written short stories, poetry and now novels for most of my life.   I also took classes that taught how to do it.  I could write about some aspect of writing.


What would you like to read about that couldebooks about:  SEO, keywords, entrepreneurship, start-ups, making money online.  Although I could write about how to get freelance writing jobs that pay enough to be worth doing and are about your niche  areas of interest.


Let me know.  Write me an email at msrefusenik@gmail.com or leave a comment.  Thanks a lot.

IS SOMETHING JUST PLAIN WRONG WITH YOUR LIFE?

You may not like to talk about it, you don't even like thinking about it anymore, but you know something is wrong with your life.  Your relationships are suffering, you're not happy, it's hard to focus on work when you do go in, and sometimes you feel like feel like you might be losing your mind. 

The worst time for me were the long periods when I knew something was terribly wrong with my life but it didn't know what it was.  If it didn't have a diagnosis, it couldn't be treated.  So I went without help in a mysterious limbo where everyday brought new things that I could not explain, identify or account for to myself. 

Perhaps your wife, husband, partner, friend, parent or someone else close to you has made remarks or asked you questions about the changes they see in you and your behavior.  This may have irritated you and caused you more anxiety since you didn't have any answers for them.

One day you wake up and think it was going to be like one of the good old days and everything was going to be normal for a change, and then like a jack-in-the-box popping out, you'd have what you had come to think of as your "episodes" and everything was off kilter or off into a maze of craziness once again.  

Do you look in the mirror and ask, "What's wrong with me?"

So what do you do to get help?  Are you ready to get help?  You may not be ready yet. 

You continue to see your therapist, but you don't really talk about what's bothering you.

You go to church.

You pray.

You throw yourself into volunteer or service work.

You change these around in your lifestyle, routines and behaviors like buying a new day planner in an effort to stop being chronically late.   Or you cut up your credit cards,  and stop carrying around more than ten dollars at a time.  You go back to trying to just smoke marijuana.  You only drink every other day.  You sign up for a group that will help you get out of yourself.  You take up a new hobby. You take up a new sport or exercise regimen.  But nothing changes the thing, the big thing that is terribly wrong with your life and won't just go away on its own.

Why doesn't it get better?  Maybe you did talk about it in therapy, at least parts of it.  You wrote about it in your journal.  You confided in a friend or family member.  You went to confession and started going to church.  You got up earlier and picked up breakfast on the way to work.  You promised the boss you would have that presentation done by Wednesday and you really made an effort, even giving up your night out and your lunch hours, but you missed the deadline again. 

You forgot to pick up the kids.  You suddenly quit your job or were terminated.  You had your first panic attack.  You bought a new car you know you can't afford.  You stole money from your own mother.  You haven't been out of bed except to go to the bathroom in three weeks.  You thought you saw your dead grandfather in your bedroom.  You hit your wife.   You got to the grocery store and couldn't remember a single thing you had come to buy.  You received over one hundred dollars in overdraft notices from the bank. Your mind is constantly racing and you can't focus.   You told your boss to f**k off.  You promised your husband you would come straight home from work,  but you didn't make it home until three in the morning.  The dishes in the sink haven't been washed in a week.   You lost your house keys again.   You forgot your anniversary.  You made a huge spectacle of yourself in public.  You made a pass at your boss's wife.  You fell down and badly injured yourself.  You haven't slept in three days.  You promised your son you would help him with his homework,  but then you got distracted by something else.  You took an overdose of sleeping pills.  You slit your wrists.  You had a heart attack, a stroke or some other serious medical crisis.

These are the type of things that go on happening when It doesn't have a name. It is the mystery ailment that sets you apart from others and wreaks havoc in your life without leaving its calling card.

True, we all know,  denial is not just a river in Egypt.  Denial can be a major or the largest factor in going without help for long periods.  Shame, feelings of self-hatred, low-self esteem, feelings of failure, dishonest thinking hiding out and covering up as a way of life can be factors.  Not being willing to even look into what it might be for fear you'll get an answer that will require a major lifestyle change is another.

What typically forces a person in this predicament to go looking for the answer?  Sometimes a separation or divorce will jar someone into taking action.  A death of a family member or friend can motivate a person to find out what exactly is wrong with their life.  A child expressing fear, disappointment or disrespect can get through the fog and trigger a reaction in a parent.  A major medical crisis or a suicide attempt is sometimes enough to send someone looking for real help.

Where Do You Go First?  What Do You Do?'

You begin with self-honesty.  You face the man the man or woman in the mirror and get as honest as you still know how to be.   It may be that you really don't know and you aren't in denial. Then if you go to a doctor, a psychiatrist or therapist, look up your symptoms on the Internet, call a crisis phone line, or just talk to somebody and be open about what has been going on with you. 

My Undiagnosed Years:  Sometimes we're the last to know.


I had know idea that my inability to get out of bed and take an interest in life was clinical depression.  I was waiting for it to go away on its own.  As if  I really was just in one long bad mood or having an attack of self-pity,  as the people around me seemed to suggest with their "snap out of it" themed remarks.

And I love the title of the self-help book You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Crazy or Stupid? because that was sure how I felt when I learned I had adult attention deficit disorder (A.D.D.).   I also learned I had not lived up to my potential since childhood because of A.D.D.

I really thought I had to be losing my mind when I had bipolar disorder and didn't know it.  (I wasn't though, thank God.  It's not a psychosis.)   I called that thing that was out off center in my life in a big way "severe, chronic and terminal PMS" to my friends and husband, and I sought help from gynecologists. 

When my drinking progressed to daily binges,  I got creative.  I knew I couldn't be an alcoholic.  My parents were alcoholics,  and I knew what they were like:  a couple of out of it drunks who staggered around and slurred when they spoke.   No, I was special.  I had a rare mental illness which might look for all the world  like alcoholism,  but was really a neurological illness of some kind that caused a person to have to drink every day.   They emotionally and mentally had to drink because  they were entirely too sensitive for the crassness of this world.  I was an artiste--a writer--and I was unique. Yeah, and then I got better and told people how "terminal uniquitis" almost killed me.  Because if no one has a diagnosis for you, that means help isn't forthcoming.  

Drugs?  I rationalized to any "straight" person that would listen that I "mostly" just smoked marijuana and everybody knew that should be legal because it was harmless.

The problem with my thinking, my denial,  was that I didn't include psychedelics, which everyone knew were a sacred consciousness-raising drug.  Nor did I feel like including all the bottles of codeine cough syrup I drank, the many, many bottles of barbiturates, amphetamines and  pain killers;  cocaine, hash, and many more,  including the odd pills I found on the ground and then later looked up in the Physician's Desk Reference to see if they were worth taking or not.

So that covers my mysterious thing that took control of my life at various ages and caused it to become something I didn't recognize as my own.

 How About You?  Are You Ready To Call It By Name?

How about you?  Are you ready to cut through the denial and admit what earthquake is causing the aftershocks that have altered your life for the worse?

Things You Can Do:

 Write out all the symptoms your experiencing and see how many are branches of a common tree.  Go talk to your minister, priest or rabbi; employee assistance program person, counselor, doctor, or spouse/significant other.  Listen to their feedback and let it in before you discount it.  Are a number of people close to you all telling you the same things?   You could try an open meeting of a self-help group where you don't have to be a member to attend.  You also don't have to participate, but you will be able to listen and see if you belong there.

To get you started I'm going to include links to some simple quizzes to check yourself for signs and symptoms of these conditions.   The rest is up to you.  How long do you want to stay miserable?  Isn't it time to make a break a break for wellness? 

Remember, you only need to make the change in your life for one day.  You can do anything for one day.  You can build a house all by yourself.  You just have to do it brick by brick.

I hope this is your first brick.

1.  Are You Bipolar?

2.  Are you an addict?

3. Are you an alcoholic?

4.  Do I have adult attention deficit disorder (A.D.D.)?

5.  Do you have depression?