Lemons into Limoncello: From Loss to Personal Renaissance with the Zest of Italy - Softcover

Mautner, Raeleen D'Agostino

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0757317340 ISBN 13: 9780757317347

Publisher: Health Communications, 2013

Synopsis

The challenges we face over the course of a lifetime, especially those that involve major personal loss, can seem devastating, as radio personality and self-help specialist Dr. Raeleen D'Agostino Mautner discovered when her husband suddenly and unexpectedly died of a heart attack. The Italian rituals and lifestyle habits she grew up with—and later began researching—were instrumental in helping her stay grounded, feel comforted, and be gently redirected to a new path of joy and the next level of her own personal transformation.

Lemons Into Limoncello shows readers how to find self-acceptance, comfort, courage, and personal renewal on the heels of adversity—Italian style.

At some point in our lives, most of us will experience the kind of personal devastation that accompanies death of a loved one; or the loss of a job, a home, a pet, finances, health, a friendship; or even the loss of one's self-esteem. When in the throes of such challenges it is hard to believe that we will ever enjoy life again, let alone possibly come away with the courage to live the next phase of our lives with deeper appreciation and clarity. Lemons into Limoncello offers a front-row seat to the Italian ability to arrangiarsi (get by) through elevating ordinary events to the extraordinary, and is the first self-help book to prescribe a traditional Italian cultural approach as a pathway to one's own personal renaissance at a time when it is most needed.

About this title

Product Description

Lemons into Limoncello The challenges we face over the course of a lifetime, especially those that involve major personal loss, can seem devastating, as radio personality and self-help specialist Dr. Raeleen D'Agostino Mautner discovered when her husband suddenly and unexpectedly died of a heart attack. The Italian rituals and lifestyle habits she grew up withand later began researchingwere instrumental in helping her s Full description

Review

"An uplifting book--written with an Italian passion for life--that provides excellent guidance for those suffering the loss of a loved one or other personal crisis."
--Theodore Grippo, attorney and author of With Malice Aforethought

"Dr. Mautner has the education to back up her advice and I love her smooth soothing tone of voice. I feel as though she is a friend."
--Emily, Blogger, alovelyinconsequence.blogspot.com

"Italy's best is not just the material things that come from this great country, but the Italian lifestyle in general. Every single one of us will face life's challenges and personal losses, and I know of no one better suited than Dr. Raeleen D'Agostino Mautner for teaching how to incorporate the benefits and pleasures of the Italian lifestyle into our daily lives. Her own warm and heartfelt personal experiences and the knowledge she shares in this exceptional book will have you, too, enjoying the limoncello of life."

--Richard J. Michelli, founder and executive director of ItaliaLiving.com

"Dr. Mautner's poetic book not only helps shorten and heal grief, but also helps turn the healing into an opportunity to grow into a stronger, healthier, more vibrant, and more resilient person. The fresh intercultural perspective shows readers of any ethnicity how to move forward following hardship using the timeless Italian traditions of beauty, simplicity, and creativity. Self-renewal awaits those who turn the pages."

--Martin Kantor, MD, Harvard-trained psychiatrist and author of Now That He's Out: The Challenges and Joys of Having a Gay Son

"Dr. Mautner's writings convey a historical memory, without which man is like a tree without solid roots: weakly anchored to the ground. Her writing evokes and gives back a cultural belonging that unites us on earth in a holistic way. Only a forward-thinking mind like hers can combine aspects of the psyche with motions of the everyday aspects of life. In Lemons into Limoncello, she harmonizes all the components of the human personality, going deeper than just what is at the surface, never forgetting how much of life is due to poetry and art. One needs to have the strength of Atlas to support the entire world on their shoulders, to love everything, even the darkness, and then leave a beam of light. My dear cousin Rachelina (Raeleen) gives us this beam of light in a world of frequent suffering."

--Giuseppe De Filippo, internationally acclaimed artist and teacher in Calabria, Italy

"For centuries Italians have weathered every tragedy imaginable--foreign occupation and oppression, famines, devastating illnesses that carried away babies as well as adults, poverty, injustice, and terrible wars waged by other nations and fought on their own lands.

At the same time, Italians--both as a people and as individuals--have developed an enormous respect for life and an innate ability to appreciate even its smallest gifts: a sunny day; a cup of espresso; a family meal; or even a heartfelt love song. Adversity has taught them how to confront disasters and endure if not overcome them.

In her excellent study, Raeleen Mautner, Ph.D. captures the remarkable gift Italians share with the world about how to live through the inevitable reversals of fortune that life brings with it . . . and still smile."

--Dona De Sanctis, editor in chief, Italian America Magazine

"Perhaps life has knocked you down one too many times. Or maybe you've just gone 'stale.' Dr. Mautner is part philosopher, part psychologist, part life coach--but entirely Italian. She offers Italian-style therapy: food, family, friends, and fun--a recipe for your own, personal renaissance. What would Freud say if he was Italian? Here's your answer!"

--Steve Perillo, CEO, Perillo Tours

"I truly enjoyed reading Mautner's book 'Lemons into Limoncello'. Not only did it have recipes, but it also had some wisdom in how to move on after disaster strikes no matter what type. She was able to weave her own story of painful loss of her husband untimely death along with her helpful tips for allowing the healing process to enfold in her life. Read this book, it is amazing. You will get some great recipes and great wisdom from a woman who has had her own journey."

--Jamie Holloway, NetGalley

"A thoughtful, kind and generous book that would be of tremendous use for those who are grieving."

--Rosemary Smith, NetGalley

"The whole book is a thoughtful collection of excellent ideas which can be used as a self-help manual to deal with the aftermath of heartbreak, and I wish I had had a copy of this book when I was struggling to deal with the loss of my brother a few years ago. This one is definitely a keeper."

--Sian Williams, NetGalley

Edition details

• Publisher: Health Communications
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0757317340
• ISBN 13: 9780757317347
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288