Creative non-fiction books are a hybrid genre that pull in elements of fiction including literary techniques blended with the writer’s perspective and expertise on a subject as well as factual information. 

For instance, in Me Time Monday, I use the literary techniques of metaphors and storytelling:

• Metaphors in the book include: JOMO – the joy of missing out; 4 Hormones Against the Apocalypse; the Pajama Class
• Each section of my 7 Wellness Elements begins with an intriguing story to engage the reader in what they are about to learn in that section. I think my favorite story of the seven I write about is the one of the skeletons found in Italy that exemplify Social Wellness and our need to have love, trust and support in our lives – it is a symbol of our ancient need to bond with others.

I also provide my expert perspective on caregiving, aging and wellness:

• Gen C Continuum – caregiving, including self-care, is constant throughout our lives
• Wellness is a holistic practice that achieves balance in body, brain and soul and has little to do with the consumerism, hype and self-defeating practices you see everyday

Finally, as a gerontologist I have an expertise in aging across the lifecourse, caregiving and wellness but in the book I try to let the reader into the science of evidence-based research that back up my position on how wellness is defined and how it should be practiced:

• I read more than 450 peer-reviewed research articles, books, industry reports, news articles and watched numerous conference panel discussions and film documentaries as well as interviewed more than 20 worldwide experts in different areas of wellness to inform and validate my position on how to approach wellness and practice a lifestyle that brings more balance.

In Me Time Monday, I help the reader see that wellness is not about solving problems but about building strengths. This is an important distinction that is in opposition to a lot of the marketing messaging out there right now about wellness. Anyone who is in the wellness business or positions themselves as a wellness expert should be instructive not prescriptive because wellness is a personalized pursuit – it is not a one-size-fits-all lifestyle which is what a lot of the messaging I see out there today is peddling.

The other important part of wellness is that it is not about a new trendy diet or cleanse, a new version of yoga or just meditating more which is what most people think. It is about balance and ultimately how balance in life brings us more JOY. I write that 100 years ago when we experienced the Roaring ‘20s after a global pandemic, horrendous world war and economic uncertainty, we embraced music, dance, laughter, celebrations and the pursuit of happiness. We are in the Roaring ‘20s 2.0 which is why I call this an era of the new Joyconomy.  I want my readers to pursue life goals and dreams and invest in their happiness and joy. We cannot control most economies but we can take control of our own happiness which is our personalized Joyconomy.

Gerontological research can be looked at a lot of different ways such as longitudinal studies that track the same cohort over a period of time (Harvard Adult Development Study mentioned in the book) versus a cross-sectional research study that looks at various groups who experienced something simultaneously and what the impact was at that moment in time (e.g., COVID-19 studies on caregiver burnout and emotional distress during the pandemic). 

I believe a demographic approach to caregiving studies is important but it also overlooks the even more important psychographic data. Essentially, demographic research is based on age, gender, where you live or socioeconomic status to define why things are happening with a certain group like caregivers. Psychographics is an approach that comes from marketing analytics and focuses on behaviors, needs, attitudes. It is the psychographics that help get us closer to solutions and support.   

I choose to focus on psychographics in my Gen C (Generation Caregiver) Continuum because it is a longitudinal look at life – it is about our relationships which we know are a key to living healthier, happier and longer – and those relationships (which can be mutual or with a giver and a receiver) – create our caregiving roles which are a constant throughout life. But underlining all of it is SELF-CARE. From our earliest years to later years, the self-care is how you achieve balance in life and yet this is the “care” role we often neglect when we become caregivers. I want to show caregivers how important a balanced life is in being a caregiver and recognize it is not easy when life’s challenges hit us but self-care can still be practiced in small ways that have big rewards.

Also, I felt in my first book, A Cast of Caregivers, I was focused on the demographics and the “what” part of caregiving. With my second book, Me Time Monday, I expand on the self-care chapter from my first book and start to help readers understand the “why and how” part of caregiving, self-care and creating a life more in balance.

I have always been fascinated with how our brains work and how the brain is the driver for so much of our well-being. I feel it is one of the last great frontiers we are still exploring. Also, a lot of my work is in the Alzheimer’s and dementia community which is one of our most mysterious diseases dealing with the brain that we are trying to conquer.

When I was pursuing my master’s in gerontology I learned about the ancient part of our brain and how our stress responses and ability to feel calm and safe are often tied to our ancient beginnings on the African savanna 2-3 million years ago. This was fascinating to me because so much of science is about the “new” discoveries rather than going backwards in history to find the answers. And yet, again and again as I was delving into wellness research I was finding older science and methods may have been dusted off for modern audiences but are still the basis for what helps our well-being and pursuit of happiness today.

Also, it is critical to understand neuroscience which is how the brain functions but also our multisensory lives where sight, sound, smell, touch and taste play key roles in wellness. With so many reports before, during and since the pandemic about mental health and emotional health for caregivers, I felt this was an opportune time to educate readers more about brain health and how it is tied to these areas of well-being. Also, brain health is tied to nature so the twin themes of neuroscience + nature really became the basis for my book and the rationale for all the recommendations, tips and insights I provide to readers in Me Time Monday.

One of the reasons I used the older clock as my motif for time is because you will find
the wellness teachings of history are timeless – what wellness practices were important hundreds and thousands of years ago are still relevant and impactful today. My mission with the book and my Me Time Monday workshops is to get people back to the basics and away from tech tyranny that is hurting our well-being. It is not to say tech is bad, but our bodies and brains are still adapting to all the technology in our lives. Remember we only discovered electricity a little over a 100 years ago and human evolution doesn’t move that fast, it takes hundreds and thousands of years for our bodies to adapt. This means to achieve a life in balance means the more tech you use, you need to have more nature in your life. So instead of a modern digital clock, I chose the “old-fashioned” copper clock as a symbol of timeless well-being.

The other psychology behind the clock is when we are focused too much on numbers (weight, age, minutes exercised, calories eaten, how many friends on social media) we see how meaningless those numbers really are when it comes to long-term happiness. I also feel that clocks are often about a structured life but not a life in balance. Sometimes we have to free flow and let it go – just be in nature or just daydream or just enjoy life without boundaries of time.

The logo also reminds readers to be resolutionaries. Don’t be bound to New Year’s Resolutions or short-term goals for wellness. With true wellness there are no deadlines. Look at wellness as a lifestyle not an annual goal. By releasing yourself from the constraints of time, you become a wellness resolutionary.

And finally, the ocean inside the clock is about the beauty of nature and serenity of the multisensory experience of the beach. Some people may define their Me Time Monday scene as the mountains, desert, lake or gardens but for me – because I grew up at the beach and it makes me feel calm, connected and creative – I love the beach scene. And to reiterate, Me Time Monday is personalized to each of us. For me it is the beach, but others can take the clock and insert any nature or other scene that makes them feel joy.

A majority of the book is based on science and solid facts proven through research. But we know there is the scientific world and then there is the spiritual world. To have balance in life we have to embrace both worlds. Science is about the exploration and search for truth of our physical universe in all its diversity and complexity. Spirituality is about seeking answers for all the unknowns of science. If science awakens the mind, spirituality awakens the soul. It is one of the reasons Spiritual Wellness is one of my 7 elements of wellness. You cannot have a life in balance without a sense of your spiritual wellness.

In my research for the book, I found amazing science behind spirituality and the number 7 as an influence in our life balance. The numeral seven also aligns with the Monday starts of a Me Time Monday routine – every seven days you get a new lease on life. As for rainbows, and again the 7 colors of the rainbow, I am fascinated by the neuroscience in how our brains interpret color and how those colors influence our well-being. Again, ancient wellness practices used color psychology and chromatherapy which I explore through the research and expert interviews in the book.

I always start my books thinking about family caregivers. They are the massive volunteer army of millions of Americans that keeps the health care and long term care systems going. But often, they neglect their own needs so anything I can do to help them find just a few minutes for themselves is what I have focused on for more than 18 years.

However, in writing this book, I believe it will really resonate with anyone who is an adult because wellness, like happiness, is a lifelong pursuit for all of us. You can be 18 or 80 and get something from this book (trust me my 22-year-old nephew and 79-year-old Mom all found information in the book that related to them.)
I think the book will resonate with a large audience who is interested in wellness in general. And for the caregivers, who I realize have no time to read or add anything more into an overwhelmed schedule, maybe read a page a week or jump to a section you want to know more about like sleep science but don’t feel you have to read it front to back in any set limit of time. Again, Me Time Monday is about microflows (baby steps) and in practicing the kindness, gratitude and comfort we give to others for ourselves.
Happy Reading!