Friday, March 25, 2011

Changing Shoes by Tina Sloan Review

Changing Shoes: Getting Older--Not Old--with Style, Humor, and Grace

From Goodreads:  After twenty-six years starring as nurse Lillian Raines on the hit soap opera Guiding Light, Tina Sloan knows a thing or two about surviving the pitfalls of growing older in front of the world. From depleted storylines, to transitioning from sizzling screen diva to a mature grandmother Changing Shoes shows that even TV grandmothers can have style and flair. Drawing from the lessons she has learned in her own life, Tina candidly shares her endearing, sensitive, and often funny, story of crossing into her next phase of her life. And, in doing so, she offers important tips on how to embrace womanhood with ease.

My take:  I give almost every book I read at least one hundred pages to make me look forward to picking it up again after page 101.  This book belongs to the small handful of exceptions.  I would have to read 53 more pages to give it a fair shake.  Sorry, I can't even do that much.  In 47 pages I have had multiple episodes of eye rolling, sighing, and out-loud,  and "Oh, give me a break"s.  This is a shallow, unreadable book about how to change yourself and not change yourself. The author, aging former soap opera queen Tina Sloan, can't make clear, at least in 47 pages, which I should actually do.  I'm not even inspired to buy a new pair of shoes.  Sorry. 



12 Bits of Advice For a Rewarding Life
By Tina Sloan, author of Changing Shoes: Getting Older -Not Old- with Style, Humor, and Grace

1) Be True to Yourself. Always make sure that the shoes you wear are your own. That way your feet will know where to take you.

2) Never Compromise All of Yourself. The truly great thing about women dating at our age is that, unlike in their younger days, most are not willing to compromise.

3) Claim Your Feel Good Energy. I think, more than anything, feeling sexy and desirable is about energy. It's all about tapping that flirtatious instinct that all women have.

4) Live in Kindness and Generosity. We need to be generous with the women following in our footsteps in the hope that they will be generous with us.

5) Embrace Change.
 Change often leads us somewhere interesting, whether we've looked for it or not.

6) Expect Bitter-Sweet Moments. There is perhaps nothing more rewarding for a parent than watching your child grow up and spread his wings- and for many, nothing more heartbreaking at the same time.

7) Prepare to Reinvent Yourself. Kids bring so much energy into your life- different people and all sorts of new experiences and ideas. When you get older, you have to generate that energy yourself, and you have to work at it.

8) Give Back. Nothing quite prepares you for the unsettling feeling of being called upon to care for those who once cared for you.

9) Persevere. We do learn something about ourselves when we are up against the wall, and we do most certainly come out stronger.

10) Draw Your Own Map. Aging is like a marathon. The key is to stay in the race and continue putting one foot in front of the other until we cross the finish line on our own terms.

11) Choose to Live Rather than Exist.
 You have to learn to silence the voice that tries to cajole you with excuses and reasons why it would be better to just sit this one out.

12) Don't be Afraid of Falling.
 Whenever I wondered if I was brave enough to take another chance, or stretch beyond my normal range, or try something completely new I remind myself that I was an expert at the fine art of falling, and that most of the time, I landed on my feet.
Copyright © 2011 Tina Sloan, author of Changing Shoes: Getting Older -Not Old- with Style, Humor, and Grace
Author Bio

Tina Sloan, author of Changing Shoes: Getting Older - Not Old- with Style, Humor, and Graceplayed the role of Nurse Lillian Raines on Guiding Light, which aired its final episode in 2009 after a seventy-two year run on radio and television.  She has appeared on many other television shows, including Third Watch,and Law & Order: SVU, and in a variety of feature films, including The Brave One and Changing Lanes. She is currently shooting two feature films and touring nationally in her acclaimed one-woman show,Changing Shoes.  She lives in New York with her husband, Steve McPherson.  They have one son, Renny.

For more information please visit http://www.changingshoes.com/ and follow the author on Facebook andTwitter

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