Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Oakdale Library | 177.7 WAL | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
At age thirty-five, Cami Walker was burdened by a battle with multiple sclerosis, a chronic neurological condition that made it difficult for her to walk, work, or enjoy her life. Seeking a remedy for her depression after being hospitalized, she received an uncommon prescription from an African medicine woman: Give to others for 29 days .
29 Gifts is the insightful story of the author's life change as she embraces and reflects on the naturally reciprocal process of giving and receiving. Many of Walker's gifts were simple --a phone call, spare change, a Kleenex. Yet the acts were transformative. By Day 29, not only had Walker's health and happiness improved, but she had created a worldwide giving movement.
The book also includes personal essays from others whose lives changed for the better by giving, plus pages for the reader to record their own journey. More than a memoir, 29 Gifts offers inspiring lessons on how a simple daily practice of altruism can dramatically alter your outlook on the world.
Author Notes
Cami Walker was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006 and created the online 29-Day Giving Challenge in April 2008. She has continued her own giving cycle every month since. Walker lives in Hollywood, California, with her husband, Mark.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Just a month after her wedding, 31-year-old Walker was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; two years later, she was bitter, isolated, and addicted to both pain medication and self-pity. In need of help beyond drug detox, Cami takes the advice of a South African healer: give away something every day, for 29 days. Walker soon learns that being mindful of giving also means being open to gifts from others, and that gratefulness and mutual generosity is the key to a better, more rewarding life. Glimpses into Walker's day-to-day difficulties-work, family life, constant therapeutic treatment and addiction recovery among them-crop up among the stories of her daily gifts, grounding the work (based on Walker's Web site) in personal details. But the meat, an admirable reworking of The Secret (in that it should actually help someone, at least gift recipients), speaks largely to those already initiated into the cult of positivity. (Oct.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal Review
Walker presents a story that gets to the core of the emotional pain and loneliness that people feel when suffering from a serious disease like multiple sclerosis (MS), which she was diagnosed with at age 35. Readers will instantly connect with this narrative of her journey to find an alternative to withering away in her apartment. Through the help of a spiritual leader, Walker begins to heal herself emotionally by giving away 29 gifts in 29 days. Her story unfolds nicely, and the reader is left with a good picture of what it's like to live with MS. Walker turns what could have been a book about self-pity into a great read about pain and a creative way to get on with life. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Prologue: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures | p. ix |
| I The Gifts | |
| Gift 1 The Call | p. 2 |
| Gift 2 Breakdancing Tip | p. 9 |
| Gift 3 More than One Way to Dance | p. 16 |
| Gift 4 Compassion and Cake | p. 22 |
| Gift 5 Giving It Together | p. 29 |
| Gift 6 A Simple Mantra | p. 40 |
| Gift 7 Small Offerings | p. 48 |
| Gift 8 The Clothes off My Back | p. 54 |
| Gift 9 Thanks, Mama, Thanks | p. 68 |
| Gift 10 Bright Ideas | p. 76 |
| Gift 11 Blooming Recommitment | p. 82 |
| Gift 12 Birthday Poem | p. 94 |
| Gift 13 Meter Maid | p. 102 |
| Gift 14 Dish and Dinner Duty | p. 106 |
| Gift 15 Cane and Able | p. 113 |
| Gift 16 Love Letter | p. 118 |
| Gift 17 $100 I'd Like to Keep | p. 123 |
| Gift 18 Grandma's Gift | p. 126 |
| Gift 19 Celebrating Steps | p. 131 |
| Gift 20 Thirty Extra Minutes | p. 135 |
| Gift 21 Pets for My Pet | p. 141 |
| Gift 22 Three Dollar Bills | p. 145 |
| Gift 23 Special Shell | p. 149 |
| Gift 24 Planting Thanks | p. 154 |
| Gift 25 Manly Movie | p. 157 |
| Gift 26 Sea Shells by the Seashore | p. 160 |
| Gift 27 British Blues | p. 164 |
| Gift 28 Little Giving Spree | p. 169 |
| Gift 29 Miracle Mile | p. 174 |
| Epilogue: One-Year Checkup | p. 180 |
| II Stories from the 29 Gifts Community | |
| Icing on the Cake | p. 186 |
| Giving Lesson | p. 189 |
| Reading Allowed | p. 192 |
| Mother's Milk | p. 194 |
| A Different Way to Keep Warm | p. 198 |
| Flipping the Bird | p. 200 |
| The Humble Teddy Bear | p. 202 |
| Them Apples | p. 205 |
| Giving Inspiration | p. 209 |
| A Letter from Mbali Creazzo | p. 214 |
| Join the 29 Gifts Movement | p. 222 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 223 |
| About Mbali Creazzo | p. 225 |
