BOOK REVIEWS: Be Yourself everyone else is taken!

‘’I thoroughly enjoyed your book Maurissa – your style is very engaging, natural and warm,

I felt I was in the room with you!

Great work sharing some of your lifetime of experiences, wisdom and knowledge so skilfully’’

Chris Patchett

Employee Assistance Program Manager
Sydney Local Health District

 

‘Maurissa’s ever present positivity, which can be both disarming and infectious, permeates every page of her book. Drawing from her vast personal and professional experience, she passionately advocates the need for self-care and provides a simple, pragmatic approach for both newcomers to the concept and those that need a gentle reminder of its importance.’

 Adrienne Gosling

IT Management Consultant

 

‘’When you need someone strong in your corner to advocate for you or when compassion is called for; Maurissa has the sensitivity and empathy to put herself into the trenches of human despair. I have seen her take distressed and broken lives and work towards self-esteem and healing.

Maurissa is an ideas’ person with an enormous ability to sell her ideas. Not only does she sell them she gets everyone enthusiastic about them too. Telling her it can’t be done is an invitation to prove you wrong. Her greatest gift is her compassion and caring of individuals. Nothing is too much trouble.

I highly recommend Maurissa’s book to you!’’

Denise Raybould, Social Worker  ,Spinal Cord Injury Unit, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre

 

I am currently reading your book “Be Yourself everyone else is taken”.  I have found that it has provided me with a range of useful strategies that I have found helpful as I plan my own goals for 2017.  I would recommend this book to all practitioners regardless of their level of experience.  It is never too early to start self-care.

Wendy Studholme

Social Worker 

 

“Most people would consider a self-help book useful if they found one idea that resonated with them.

With years of counselling and assistance to the grieving and those with defined mental health problems, being involved in crisis intervention-work related incidents and workplace stress, as well as supporting those with sexual identity issues; it is hard to imagine only taking away one useful concept from a book written by Maurissa Ailion.

Dr Margaret Turner,

Beulah Park SA

 

‘Self-knowledge/assurance (being sure of oneself, being resilient, recognising one’s strengths and not just one’s supposed failings) is not something that happens overnight.

It is something that happens in fits and starts, and even little things can upset one’s balance so that one’s self-esteem and confidence can rapidly slide and anxiety takes over. Questions such as: Am I good enough? Did I make an error? Are they talking about me? Will they find out that I’m a fraud? ’

Maurissa Ailion’s book helps intelligent and usually self-assured confident women recognise that they can look after themselves and have the capacity to change their inner conversation when something happens that makes them question their ability and confidence.

Most of all, this book encourages women to accept themselves as themselves and shows them the way to regain their self-assurance and self-appreciation when they hit a bump.’

Dr Ruth Marshall

Spinal Cord Injury and Rehabilitation Medicine

Follow the wise and humorous advice of our very own Maurissa Ailion whose book published in 2016 is available for $32. The book includes a three-minute mindfulness exercise. There’s also a useful reminder list of ‘Cognitive Distortions’ and another of treats to enjoy guilt-free, like sleeping in and saying No!

The ‘Bibliotherapy’ reading list is awesome and worth the investment of time. My takeaway from this friendly conversational book is a quote from M. Williamson ‘…you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what you think.’ This is a bit shocking when you ponder for a while, but Maurissa reminds us of the ‘enormous power of our thoughts’. She says: ‘we even take them seriously to the point that we actually think they’re facts, when in reality they are not.’(p49).

Christina Perrett