Wake Up Calls: Making the Most Out of Every Day (Regardless of What Life Throws You)

"We could all benefit from learning how to reduce our stresses, to let go of our emotional blocks, and to embrace life's joy," writes Joan Lunden, cohost of "Good Morning America" for almost 20 years. In Wake-Up Calls: Making the Most out of Every Day (Regardless of What Life Throws You), she shares the winning strategies that have worked for her.

Lunden offers tidbits and personal stories to give her spin on enthusiasm, goal-setting, self-esteem, change, stress, parenting, aging, and more. She includes sections by various others who contribute their wisdom: Tony Robbins, Ellen McGrath, Zig Ziglar, Brian Luke Seaward, Jonathan Kabat-Zinn, Deepak Chopra, and even Joan Rivers. Numerous quotes from folks as diverse as Saint Francis of Assisi, Sir Winston Churchill, Martha Washington, Charles Shultz, Lily Tomlin, and Irving Berlin pepper the book (a favorite: "Big deal! I'm used to dust!"--Erma Bombeck's requested gravestone epitaph). Dozens of photos of Lunden doing athletic activities and posing with loved ones illustrate the chapters.

This book is an improvement over Joan Lunden's A Bend in the Road Is Not the End of the Road: 10 Positive Principles for Dealing with Change because here she offers helpful lessons and tips. Readers might still feel that the lights shine too brightly on her as the central character, as in the earlier book. But if you like Lunden and miss seeing her on TV, you'll enjoy this book. --Joan Price