"Life is Tough" Book Tour

Welcome to one of the stops on the "Stayin' Alive with Stacy" virtual book tour for Stacy Gooch-Anderson’s new book, Life is Tough, I Doubt I’ll Make it Out Alive.

Stacy was a bit of "life saver" for me eight months ago, when I was several hundred miles from home and she--in the midst of kids' soccer games, a heavy book promotion schedule for her first book and other typical complexities of a busy mom's Saturday--took time to stop by the convention where I was, just to meet me and to say hello. She was just doing what she does, just being Stacy; and, yet, for me, her small act of kindness had much larger proportions--throwing my downward spiral into an instant u-turn that sent my spirits soaring.

Now, with her new book, Stacy again is doing "her thing" -- throwing out her simple, timely, and oh-so-significant life savers right and left. In fact, as part of this tour, Stacy is passing along a "Life Saver" at each stop, and then will expand each of those on her blog: Stayin’ Alive With Stacy. For this stop, here is Stacy's Life Saver:

"Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves
for they will never cease to be amused."

Oh, Stacy, you're brilliant! How could you have known I needed to hear THAT one today? For here I am, at 2:28 a.m., with post-tax-filing (more like extension-filing) papers still strewn around, but immersed in trying to figure out how to post a picture on a blog! Not only that, but on the couch next to me sits the recipe for healthy Balsamic Chicken that I typed up for a newsletter today, while on the other side, are the incriminating crumbs of a Paradise Bakery cookie...and, well, I think you get the idea. Sometimes--when life seems to be spinning momentarily out of control--you just have to laugh.

Stacy illustrates that so well in one of my favorite chapters in her book. In "Life Lesson Number Twenty-seven," she begins: "Remember, no matter how difficult your problems may be, someone will always have one that is a little harder."

I used to wear a Noah's ark watch to remind me of that fact--that no matter howbad things may have seemed in my life at the time, there was always someone who was getting rained on a little more than I was! And, besides, that rainbow always appears. In this chapter Stacy describes a time when quite a bit of rain was falling in her life. At the outset of the chapter, with her own brand of humor, she tells about taking one of son's to a doctor's visit. I won't spoil it by telling you what happened, but I guarantee it will make you smile, if not laugh out loud. She has a way of drawing you in that way. You'll be right with her, too, as within a few paragraphs the mood changes and Stacy describes the horror that set in for her and her family when, after that visit, "His urinalysis came back with significant traces of blood." You feel her concern, her worry, her sheer terror, but, also, you feel yourself learning right along with her as she ends with, "It was nice to finally know rather than to merely hope that prayers are answered and miracles still do happen in a very uncertain world."

Truly, that's exactly what Stacy's book will do for you over and over again as she shares her own life experiences, without pretense or "prettying up." It will give you a very good laugh; but, more than that, it will reach to your core, touch your heart, and help reground you. It will be a Life Saver...for sure.

Thank you, Stacy!

You can buy Stacy’s book at Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Deseret Book and Seagull books. And, don't forget to see what Stacy has to say on her blog at: Stayin’ Alive With Stacy.