Blog Archives
Strength Training for Seniors Over 60: Safe and Effective Exercises to Improve Balance, Increase Mobility, and Stay Independent in Just 20 Minutes a Day
After reading Strength Training for Seniors Over 60 by Adina Vitalis, I came away feeling both informed and inspired. This guide is packed with practical advice, engaging encouragement, and detailed instruction designed specifically for older adults looking to improve their strength, balance, and independence. The book breaks down the science of aging and how tailored exercise can combat common issues like muscle loss, joint stiffness, and fall risk. Structured workout plans, safety tips, and lifestyle insights, including nutrition, sleep, and mindset, are all covered in a clear, conversational tone. Best of all, it promises real change in just 20 minutes a day, which makes it feel both achievable and sustainable.
What I liked most was the way the author addresses fear and doubt head-on. Adina Vitalis has a knack for making you feel seen. She anticipates the common excuses or anxieties like “I’m too old,” or “I might fall,” or “I don’t have time,” and gently dismantles them with facts, compassion, and stories of real seniors who made it work. The voice is friendly, and she’s practical without being boring. The chapter on building a home workout space with stuff you already have really resonated with me personally. It reminded me that exercise doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Her analogies, like the one comparing our bodies to aging cars that need maintenance, are simple, relatable, and effective.
One thing I appreciated was how the book reinforced key ideas throughout. Topics like goal setting and the benefits of resistance bands come up more than once, which really helps the messages stick. This kind of repetition can be a great way to make sure the information sinks in, especially for readers who are new to exercise or returning after a long break. The writing stays focused and purposeful, consistently reminding you of what matters most. At times, it felt more like a knowledgeable coach guiding you step by step rather than rushing ahead, which makes the book feel steady, thoughtful, and built to support long-term success.
I’d recommend this book to anyone over 60 or even approaching it who wants to take control of their health and stay independent longer. It’s especially great for people who’ve never exercised or are coming back to it after a long break. If you’ve got aging parents or grandparents who could use a little nudge, this book is a gentle but firm push in the right direction. It’s not flashy or filled with gimmicks. It’s just solid advice, clearly laid out, with real heart behind it.
Pages: 144 | ISBN : 978-1069069900
Health Literacy
Nurse Florence®, What Are Platelets? follows a school nurse as she answers three students’ questions about platelets, explaining what they are, where they come from, what they do, and how we keep them healthy. How do you approach writing about medical topics to make the topic interesting for children?
I trust in my belief that kids can learn complicated things as long as we explain them thoroughly.
How did you develop the personalities for Jean, Condi, and Sonia, who are prominent characters throughout the series?
My niece, Sandra Islas, you illustrated the first book was the one who came up with the three characters. I loved the diversity of a Caucasian, Hispanic, and African American who were all friends so I just continued it with all the other books. It shows the collaboration I do with my illustrators that give them some guidelines and they create their own Nurse Florence® universe.
What do the words “literary success” mean to you? How do you picture it?
With all the great book reviews and many book awards the series has won, I do believe Nurse Florence® is already a literary success. I wish the series to become a global phenomenon so that health literacy levels around the world are drastically improved.
Tell us something about yourself that we likely don’t know? The more obscure the better.
I write the Nurse Florence® series at my kitchen table surrounded by many depictions of the Florence Nightingale Pledge. She was an amazing woman, and I truly hope my series honors her.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | LinkedIn | YouTube | Amazon
Fight the Battle with Faith
Welcome to My World offers a deeply personal exploration of the often-misunderstood condition of Dementia, drawing from your own journey to illuminate the path for others and offer practical insight and emotional support. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I have seen how families and even society treat Dementia as a disease and this prompted me to write this book, to think otherwise.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Important is family acceptance and treating the family member’s illness as normal, as by so doing the condition may be stable.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
The hardest part was that my father-in-law passed on not due to dementia, but multiple heart attacks, which I feel can be prevented. We were told to accept that breathlessness is due to the ageing process, which is WRONG. If only I didn’t believe.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from Welcome to My World?
You are not alone. Some may experience family members having advanced stages. We need ask ourselves if we want to give up hope or to fight the battle with faith.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Welcome to my WORLD – is DEMENTIA the END OF THE WORLD for the patient and family members?
Family members must accept and journey along with their loved ones and try to understand their “NEW WORLD”
Community should not categorize and brand people with DEMENTIA but attempt to understand their WORLD.
LOVE and COMPASSION is the “KEY” for us to understand and embrace this NEW WORLD,
ARE WE READY?
Health Procedures
Nurse Florence®, Why Do I Need My Wisdom Teeth Removed? follows three friends who ask the school nurse about wisdom teeth, and they learn what they are, why they need to be removed, and what the removal process involves. What was the inspiration for this story?
The Nurse Florence® series is dedicated to educating families about human physiology, disease processes, procedures, healthy living, and safety awareness. We publish a new book every 5-10 days and are planning on publishing 500 in the series. It was time to talk about wisdom teeth.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
I don’t want kids to feel scared with health procedures and I attempted to ease people’s fears about this procedure.
How do you approach explaining the procedure realistically, without overwhelming or scaring children?
I used medical documents to guide the writing, and I just discuss everything the medical researcher finds as important to the topic. I review the material and write it in a way that is understandable for the whole family. I try to keep one main idea to each page so that I don’t overwhelm people.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from Nurse Florence®, Why Do I Need My Wisdom Teeth Removed?
Wisdom teeth removal is a procedure that is required for many people and is safely done usually in an outpatient clinic. Trust your dentist if they are advising you to have the teeth removed.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | LinkedIn | YouTube | Amazon
Never Too Late
No Woman Left Behind is part personal memoir, global health crusade, and all heart, following your journey from an ad executive to an advocate for women suffering from obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury that is almost entirely preventable. Why was this an important book for you to write?
The day a woman gives birth is the day she is most likely to die or be seriously injured, particularly in the poorest parts of our world. It’s easy to forget that in a place as prosperous as the US where most women have safe childbirth experiences in hospitals. I believe that no woman should suffer a life of incontinent misery and isolation simply for trying to bring a child into the world. While fistula ruins the lives of too many women, it doesn’t have to. Most women can be cured with a single surgery. Our biggest obstacle to getting more of the one million women with the injury treated is lack of awareness of their plight. My goal in writing No Woman Left Behind was to create awareness and encourage more people to step up to help women they will likely never meet get their lives back.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
I wanted people to know that they have the power to help too often forgotten women get a new shot at a healthy and productive life. We all live in challenging times; the world is filled with many intractable problems, but fistula isn’t one of them. We know what works to help women.
Another idea that I wanted to share is that it is never too late to create a new professional path for yourself. In my 20s I was working on “Madison Avenue,” using wily strategies to get people to buy stuff they may neither want nor need. The work was draining and ultimately unfulfilling. I left that behind, to find work that spoke to my heart. I hope that others may see themself in my journey.
Can you share with readers more about the Fistula Foundation’s Love-a-Sister program?
Our Love-a-Sister program provides the opportunity for donors to sponsor a surgery for a woman, that on average costs just $633. They can give one donation of that amount or give monthly to eventually fund a surgery. Most of fistula patients are indigent so our donors big-hearted generosity provides surgery for women who would often otherwise go without.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
Our tagline is “Help Give a Woman a New Life.” I hope people will be motivated to help, and perhaps at the same time, gain increased gratitude for the many blessings those of us living in a developed country like the United States often take for granted, like safe hospital-based childbirth.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | No Woman Left Behind | Amazon
The day a woman gives birth is also the day she is most likely to die or suffer severe injury—a sobering reality that comes into sharp focus when Kate Grant visits the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia’s capital. There, she sees row after row of beds occupied by young women afflicted with obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury that leaves them incontinent and too often shunned by their communities, modern- day lepers. She soon learns that surgery is the only way to end their suffering.
In No Woman Left Behind, Grant recounts her decision to abandon a promising advertising career, and the ups and downs of building Silicon Valley– based Fistula Foundation from a modest start-up into the global leader in fistula treatment. Through vivid firsthand accounts of surgeons toiling in remote corners of Africa and Asia, we see inside the fight to restore hope to some of the world’s most vulnerable women.
A compassionate army of donors spanning nearly 70 countries makes such life-changing care possible. Grant demonstrates the profound power of individual action to change lives at scale, since Fistula Foundation takes no government money. No Woman Left Behind is a compelling personal journey and a how-to guide for anyone looking to make a lasting difference in the lives of others.
100% of the net proceeds from No Woman Left Behind will go to Fistula Foundation’s Love-a-Sister program to fund free surgeries for women with childbirth injuries.
Joint Pain Relief is Achievable
Pain-Free Joints offers readers an in-depth look at the origins of joint pain, personal anecdotes, and effective pain-management techniques. What inspired you to write this book?
I began feeling pain in my knees in my early 50’s. I was alarmed because of the discomfort and restrictions in my activities that ensued. I decided to do some research and was surprised at the information I found. I’m not particularly athletic or workout driven but figured I could definitely adjust my diet and use supplements and that’s how my journey began. I was amazed at the difference in my joints as I started using turmeric and adopting a more anti-inflammatory diet and so I decided to write this book to share my success as well as encourage others who may be struggling with debilitating joint pain.
How much and what type of research was required to put this book together?
The research did take some time but you’d be amazed (or maybe not) at the plethora of information available on the internet so I availed myself of that and selected what was relevant to my focus. I also spoke with medical professionals who were willing to share their insights and experience as well as point me in the right direction.
What is one misconception you believe many people have about joint health?
Many people think Joint Health is difficult or impossible to achieve, and therefore joint pain is inevitable, whether it’s because of genetics/heredity or old injuries, and something they have to “live with”.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your book?
I hope readers realize there is hope in achieving joint pain relief by making simple lifestyle changes.
Whether you’re dealing with arthritis, injuries or the wear and tear of daily activities, Pain-Free Joints: The Ultimate Guide to Modifying Your Lifestyle or Joint Health” is your essential companion on the journey to lasting relief and vitality.
Discover the transformative power of simple lifestyle changes that can help you manage and reduce joint pain.
From the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and the benefits of specific exercises to the role of nutrition and the impact of proper body mechanics, this comprehensive guide covers it all. Learn about the latest research, practical tips and lifestyle modifications that will inspire you to take control of your joint health.
Packed with actionable advice, this book will empower you to:
Understand the common causes and types of joint pain
Explore effective exercise and activities that support joint health
Make informed dietary choices to combat inflammation
Implement ergonomic strategies to protect your joints in daily life
Develop a personalized plan for long-term joint care
So, say goodbye to stiffness and discomfort, and hello to a more active, pain-free life.
Whether you’re taking your first steps toward joint health or looking for advanced strategies to enhance your current routine, this book offers valuable insights and guidance for everyone.
Take charge of your joint health today and embrace a future filled with movement, freedom and joy!
Embrace the Challenge
In Surviving the Stroke, you share your journey to recovery following a hemorrhagic stroke as well as actionable advice for those coping with the daily challenges of rehabilitation. Why was this an important book for you to share?
There is a saying ‘knowledge is power.’ While I was in the ICU for that first week and the rehabilitation hospital for three weeks, there was a lot of knowledge passed on, however, most of that knowledge was not about predicting the future as it related to recovery and rehabilitation. While I’m sure the information was available, but at the time I thought it would have been nice to have some of that information. After the rehab hospital, I was in outpatient therapy for 10 months. I met other stroke victims during that time and it was there that I decided to write the book because we all had shared experiences and agreed that there was not a good supply of resources to prepare us for the day-to-day future in being prepared for, and what to expect during recovery, rehabilitation, and later.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
This is a good question and in hindsight, I think the hardest part was probably in the beginning when I discussed the actual stroke experience and my conversation with God. I think that was because in the moment of the stroke occurring, there was uncertainty of what was happening and if I was dying, or what was happening, therefore I think that was probably the most difficult.
What is one misconception you believe many people may have about recovering from a stroke?
During interactions with other stroke victims at outpatient therapy, we discussed this subject and there are some misconceptions relating to the severity of a stroke. The term mini-stroke is used a lot and I think when people hear the word, stroke, they automatically associate it with mini-strokes and celebrities like Hailey Bieber who appeared to be fine afterward and returned to their activities. Although, there are other celebrities like Randy Travis who have severe strokes, paralysis, and other challenges, and they fade away from the public eye.
In outpatient therapy, there was a woman in her first week and she was similar to me in the severity of the stroke. Her employer called her twice in the previous week asking when she was returning to work, which was upsetting to her and demonstrated to us a lack of empathy, a lack of understanding, and the reality of what a stroke really is.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your experience?
There is a section in the book “I Quit,” that discusses quitting and dying. My hope is that when a stroke happens, it is not the end of the world. A positive attitude coupled with occasional humor can overcome life’s challenges. Do not give up, do not quit, and embrace the challenge ahead.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Surviving the Stroke | Amazon
Surviving the Stroke: A Minute with God: A Recovery and Rehabilitation Guide
Marty Martin’s Surviving the Stroke: A Minute with God is both a recovery memoir and a practical guide for those navigating the turbulent aftermath of a stroke. The book chronicles Martin’s harrowing experience with a hemorrhagic stroke and his extensive rehabilitation journey, weaving personal anecdotes with actionable advice. From the initial trauma to the daily realities of therapy and family dynamics, Martin lays bare his vulnerabilities, offering hope and camaraderie to readers facing similar struggles.
What struck me most was Martin’s ability to blend raw honesty with humor. Early in the book, his description of the initial moments of his stroke—his leg buckling and his puppy, Izzie, licking his hand as he struggled to reach his phone—is both heart-wrenching and oddly endearing. This balance of gravity and levity continues throughout, making the narrative compelling and relatable. Martin’s conversational tone, especially when recounting his struggles with spasticity and the quirks of therapy, makes you feel like you’re sitting across from a friend who’s baring their soul.
One of the standout sections is Martin’s emphasis on attitude as a critical factor in recovery. He doesn’t shy away from admitting his initial struggles with self-pity but quickly pivots to the importance of embracing his new reality. The book shines in its actionable advice for stroke survivors and caregivers. From navigating hospital protocols to understanding the “toddler effect” of relearning to walk, Martin’s insights are grounded in lived experience. I found his tips on overcoming spasticity and the benefits of speech-to-text technology particularly useful.
Surviving the Stroke is more than a memoir; it’s a lifeline for those grappling with the aftermath of a stroke. Martin’s candid storytelling, bolstered by his unwavering determination and faith, makes this book a valuable resource. I recommend this book to stroke survivors, caregivers, and even medical professionals seeking to understand the human side of recovery. If you’re looking for a guide that mixes practical advice with heartfelt storytelling, Marty Martin’s journey will leave you inspired and better prepared to face life’s toughest challenges.
Pages: 111 | ASIN : B0DQHT2658
LITERARY TITAN 