What People Are Saying
“Intense … raw … feel like I’m reading my own thoughts … can only read a little at a time … a lot to digest.”

And my favorite, “My God, girl, reading your book was like passing a car wreck on the expressway. I didn’t want to look but – I couldn’t stop turning the pages.” (Thanks, Pam!)

Voyeurism Has Its Place
I do not doubt the guidance I received to publish my journal – intense as it is – as a journal. Fictionalizing the pages or converting them to a self-help book would have sacrificed the profound healing offered through their invitation to voyeurism; a voyeurism that connects our shared reactions to life’s gut-punch moments and allows us to consider the many ways we struggle to catch our breath. (The ones that work and the ones that don’t.)

But many ask questions that Bernadette’s Pages cannot answer directly because I did publish it ‘as is.’

I am writing this guide to answer some of those questions. To move beyond the drama (reflected in the comments above) and expand on the formulas for healing found within B’s Pages. Posting this guide in the Messy Room allows for a more ‘bite-size,’ casual sharing that I hope will reinforce the healing process initiated by the book. (Plus, if you don’t get what I am saying here, you can ask me to clarify.)

Everybody Likes Short Cuts
Tucked within B’s Pages is an extraordinary map for healing whatever stands between you and the life you were meant to live. I am highlighting the 10 key tools found within the book that, when applied, will save you time in getting to whatever your version of happily-ever-after is to look like. (No car wrecks along this stretch of the road, Pam.)

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

• Tools are numbered in the same order that I received them. (If you decide to skip around be mindful that some of them overlap to reinforce and accelerate the healing process.)
• Tools are posted in individual sections so you can ask questions or comment on that specific topic. (This makes it easier for those of us with memory challenges to follow.)
• At the end of each section is an index of page numbers from the book should you need examples of what a tool looks like used under fire. (FYI: 7 of the 10 tools are activated in March and April. Whew! No wonder your eyes glazed over, eh?)
• As I add new posts to this guide, I will list – and link – their headings at the end of this introduction. (So you can read them in order – rather than reverse. Or skip around according to your interest or where you are in Bernadette’s Pages.)

 

Don’t Waste The Miracle
I have to confess to just a little bit of foot-dragging here. (Okay, more than a little.) I am predominately an introvert and there are still moments when I think about my publishing Bernadette’s Pages and wonder, “What have I done? Have I lost my mind?”

Something usually happens, after one of those moments, that makes me so incredibly grateful for the wisdom and grace I carry with me from the days of those pages, that I can’t help but remember why I agreed to share this intimate writing in such a public way. It is a map. And now it’s yours.

So, this is the place for those of you who have questions to get answers – and those of you with experience, strength, and hope to jump in and share.

Your Map to This Guide
Tool #1. Writing Under Fire
Tool #2. Refrain and Reframe
Tool #3. The Urge to Purge: Anger and Forgiveness
Tool #4. Gratitude While Dodging Bullets

A Companion Guide for Bernadette’s Pages – Copyright 2008

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Tags: betrayal, forgiveness, relationships

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