Sunday 29 January 2012

Dreams Do Come True authors make their first donation to St Marys Hospital

Trudie and Lloyd Thompson have made their first donation to the IVF fund at St Mary's Hospital, the IVF facility that made their own dream come true.

'Dreams Do Come True' documents their unconventional love story as they deal with a 12 year course of IVF that sees them lose two businesses and eventually file for bankruptcy before finally realising their dream of becoming parents. 

Lloyd, who is now a proud father to 12-year-old Jaja commented; "Writing the book was a great way for us to reflect on the whole journey that really made our world complete - even though we do talk about it nearly everyday. For me writing this book was a great way to show other men that it is ok to talk about IVF, you don't need to keep it locked in."

Trudie added: "I started writing my feelings down as over the years I came to realise that until I had my beautiful boy I was addicted to getting pregnant as it was all I wanted in the world. Throughout our IVF I experienced a range of emotions, so I really wanted this book to help others who might be experiencing the same. It is also very important to us as a family that with this book we are be able to give something back to the hospital that set us off on our journey – Saint Mary’s Hospital."


Still searching for a solution to life’s problems? Try Accepting the Radical

Accepting the Radical is the new book from experts Ronna Smithrim and Christopher Oliphant, and it contains surprising advice for anyone seeking support with their success in life. Rather than looking for a problem and trying to ‘fix’ it, the authors advocate accepting yourself fully as you are, as a route to achieving the life you want. If this approach seems radical, then it is – Radical Acceptance.

Oliphant explains, "Our journey began when we started out using the various ‘fix’ therapies – but soon found them to be limited. The more we explored, the more the idea of acceptance emerged. This led us to develop the Wheel, a tool we explore throughout the book. We carried on, developing the idea of acceptance until it emerged in its current form."

Oliphant and Smithrim continued to develop their new approach, continuing to achieve outstanding results with their clients until, one day, someone asked them what they did, what was this way of thinking and teaching called? Smithrim replied, "Acceptance, I suppose: Radical Acceptance." And so it was born.

The authors explain the principle of Radical Acceptance; "The basic premise of Radical Acceptance - what makes it so different - is that your ‘fixer’ is powerless: no matter how hard you try, you can never fix yourself. What’s so paradoxical about acceptance is that the more you accept a part of who you are, the less you need to act on it. Radical Acceptance has the power to give you a degree of control over your life that endless years of ‘fix’ therapy couldn’t touch. Its subversive teachings can help you to recognise and accept the powerlessness of the ‘fixer’ within you. From there, you can accept all of who you are."

Since the creation of Radical Acceptance, the authors have taught the simple yet powerful principles and techniques to groups around the world – and under constant pressure from the students in these groups have finally produced this book. What it contains won’t be for everyone: Radical Acceptance is a multi-faceted approach to personal growth work which can be both demanding and painful, opening up doors in readers’ lives that can be highly challenging yet ultimately liberating.

With the tools, exercises and case studies shared by Smithrim and Oliphant, readers will discover a new way of seeing life’s problems, both for themselves and for their clients, quickly discovering that the path to happiness, success and fulfilment really does lie in Accepting the Radical.

"Accepting the Radical: You Can Not Be Fixed", ISBN 978-1-9082931-0-7, is published by CGW Publishing and available now from all good book stores, priced at £15 or $25.