A Giveaway, A Blogoversary, A Book Review

On May 21, 2008 my little blog was born, and in a few short days, it will be three years old! Hard to believe that I'm still blogging after all this time, or that I even still have anything left to say! But those of you that know me well, know that it will be a cold day in hell when I am left with nothing to say!


In January of this year, I was offered the opportunity by Sarah Reck, a Web Publicist with Faith Words at Hachette Book Group to review a book entitled Angel Harp. I loved the book so much that I did a giveaway so I could share the book with one of you. You can check out that book review here.  Now I have been sent another book to review and in honor of my blogoversary...I'll be giving away two copies of said book to two of YOU! Yay! You are gonna love this book! I know, cause I loved it!

The book is called Working It Out, A Journey of Love, Loss and Hope.

What immediately caught my attention when I read a description about the book was the fact that Abby was on the show The Biggest Loser and lost 100 pounds. Because I've recently been trying to lose weight myself I thought this would be the perfect book to read in order to get some tips and ideas on weight, food and exercise. But oh my gosh! Did I get way more than that!

Abby is one of the most inspirational women ever! And the most important thing to me is that she's just like us. Just a normal woman, living a normal life.

Abby was married and had two children, a little girl and a newborn son. But in 2006 her husband and children were involved in a car accident that immediately took the lives of all three. Abby who was not with them at the time was spared. She lived. Without her family.

Just sit for a moment and imagine that. You're just living life. Going on about your business and in one quick instance the life you knew and loved and at times took for granted is gone. Just like that. Can you even begin to imagine that? I know that I have a hard time with it.

The first thought in many of our minds is that there is no way we would be able to live through something like that right? But the hard part, the impossible part is that we HAVE to go on living. We don't have a choice, life goes on. Even now just imagining this I have tears running down my face...I just can't imagine how Abby felt. We don't have to imagine it; she shares it with us.

Abby has a website at abbyrike.com and I hope you will go and visit and listen to Abby, in her own words read Chapter One of her book, just click audio here

Abby struggled with her despair, sadness and loneliness. But Abby had the love and support of her parents, her many friends and coworkers and a relationship with God that helped her to fight through the darkness and find hope again. She refused to just get through life, she wanted to give meaning to her life and she did as a contestant on the show The Biggest Loser. She knew that in order to live a healthy life she had to have a healthy body. So many of us when we're sad, lonely, depressed, stressed turn to food for the answer. Abby did the same thing. And when you start eating and your body feels heavy and your heart is heavy...well that's just the kiss of death isn't it?

The story of healing and living that Abby shares is incredible. You can't close her book and not feel that your a better person for having read it. Even if you don't win one of the two copies that I'll be giving away, I hope that you go out and buy the book.

So how do you win it? Simple. Leave a comment and you're entered. If you are a follower of mine, leave another comment letting me know and you're entered again. If you aren't a follower...well c'mon then, just click the little follow button and become one...then leave me a comment. See, three easy ways to enter. Easy as 1...2...3 right? I will pick a winner randomly out of a hat, or a mixing bowl, or a box...some vessel or another, and announce the winner one week from today, Tuesday, March 24th. Good Luck and thanks for visiting my blog, for being a follower, for subscribing in email for just generally supporting me for the past three years, I love ya guys!