Halloween may still be a few months away, but it's never too early to start building your family's collection of seasonal favorites. The Pumpkin and the Mouse Jinn is a magical story filled with humor, heart, and just the right amount of Halloween fun to enjoy year after year.

The Pumpkin and the Mouse Jinn by Wendy Spurlin is becoming a delightful Halloween tradition for families looking to add a little laughter to their autumn reading. Filled with colorful illustrations, magical mishaps, and an unforgettable pumpkin with a talent for making the wrong wishes, it's a story that children will love.

The adventure begins with a grumpy pumpkin who dreams of a better life. When a mischievous mouse jinn appears and grants him three magical wishes, everything seems possible. But each wish leads to another unexpected twist, carrying him from one hilarious situation to the next. Along the way, he discovers that the life he wanted may not have been better after all.

While children will love the silly adventure and charming characters, parents will appreciate the gentle lesson woven throughout the story. Without feeling preachy, the book encourages gratitude, contentment, and recognizing the value of what we already have.

Why It's a Perfect Halloween Read

• A lighthearted Halloween adventure without scary frights.
• Magical twists and humorous surprises on every page.
• Bright, colorful illustrations created by the author.
• A timeless message about gratitude and appreciating life's blessings.
• An ideal story for bedtime, classrooms, libraries, and family reading throughout the Halloween season.

Whether you're building a collection of favorite Halloween books or searching for a special seasonal gift, The Pumpkin and the Mouse Jinn is a story that belongs on the shelf alongside your family's annual Halloween traditions.

Curl up with your little readers, enjoy a few laughs, and follow one very determined pumpkin as he learns that happiness isn't always found through magic—it might have been waiting for him all along. Make The Pumpkin and the Mouse Jinn part of your Halloween tradition this year, and enjoy a magical story your family can revisit every autumn.

WHERE TO PURCHASE

Cover design, illustration, and story was created by Wendy Spurlin at ArmLin House Productions. Learn more about our professional book cover and illustration services for authors and publishers.

Some lessons don’t come from formal conversations. They come from comments. Reactions. The way someone looks at you. The way they correct you. The things they never explain—but you somehow carry anyway. In Catholic Daughters of Catholic Mothers, Dr. Martha Lucas digs into one of the most lasting—and complicated—topics passed from mother to daughter: modesty, appearance, and the quiet weight of shame.

• Did your mother preach modesty?
• Did she guide you gently… or enforce it without explanation?
• Or did she say nothing at all, leaving you to figure it out on your own?

However it showed up, it likely stayed with you longer than anyone expected.

Modesty, Shame, and the Stories We Tell Ourselves

Dr. Martha shares a deeply personal reflection on how her mother’s focus on modesty shaped her relationship with her own body—well into adulthood. What starts as a childhood impression becomes something much bigger:

• A belief that weight can spiral out of control overnight.
• A constant awareness of how the body looks, moves, and changes.
• An internal voice that doesn’t always match reality—but feels real anyway.

These aren’t lessons that come from a single conversation. They build slowly. Quietly. Over time. And once they’re there, they don’t just disappear.

The Moments That Stick

Sometimes it’s not the rules themselves that stay with us—it’s how they were enforced. A single moment can embed itself so deeply that it shapes how we think for decades. For Dr. Martha, one of those moments came as a teenager, during a time when “burning bras” was part of the cultural conversation. She went to work without one.

Her mother’s response? Not a lecture. Not a discussion. She made her stop what she was doing, ask her boss for a break, go buy a bra, and put it on before returning to work. No explanation. Just correction. And that moment didn’t stay in the past. It became a question that lingered:

• Why does this matter so much?
• What am I actually protecting—or being protected from?
• And who decided that in the first place?

What Did You Inherit—Without Realizing It?

This is where the conversation shifts from memory to reflection. Because whether we realize it or not, many of us carry forward the same unspoken rules we grew up with. We adjust them. Soften them. Maybe even reject them. But they’re still there in the way we think about our bodies, talk to our daughters, and we worry about what we can’t quite explain. And sometimes, in the quiet hope that we didn’t pass along the same discomfort we once felt.

A Different Kind of Mother’s Day Conversation

Mother’s Day isn’t just about celebrating the good. It’s also about understanding the full picture—the experiences, the beliefs, the generational patterns that shaped both mothers and daughters. Catholic Daughters of Catholic Mothers doesn’t shy away from those conversations. It opens them. Through memoir and guided journaling, Dr. Martha invites readers to explore their own experiences, question what they’ve carried, and decide what they want to keep—and what they’re ready to let go.

A Meaningful Gift for Mom (or Yourself)

This isn’t a surface-level read. It’s thoughtful. Honest. Sometimes uncomfortable in the way that real growth tends to be. And that’s exactly what makes it powerful. Whether you’re giving it to your mother or picking it up for yourself, it’s the kind of book that stays with you—and maybe even starts a conversation that’s been waiting for years.

Grab a Copy for Mom

Paper copies are 10% off through Mother’s Day, making this the perfect time to give something that goes beyond the usual. Because sometimes the most meaningful gift isn’t something that says, “Everything was perfect.” It’s something that says, “Let’s talk about it.”

Lisa Akers has spent more than three decades leading some of the most complex technical systems in existence—from military satellites to NASA’s Orion spacecraft. As Chief Engineer for NASA’s Orion Human Spaceflight program at Lockheed Martin, she leads 1,600-person teams across five locations, navigating not only technical risk, but the human systems that determine whether excellence is sustainable.

Her upcoming book, The Emotional Architect: Engineering Human Systems for Technical Excellence, (Available for Pre-sale and Releasing June 1st) grew out of hard-won experience, deep reflection, and a realization that many technical leaders quietly burn themselves out trying to “carry” organizations that were never designed to support human complexity.

We sat down with Lisa to talk about her career, her unexpected journey into writing, and what technical leaders need to understand about emotional architecture.

From Crisis Engineer to Emotional Architect

Lisa never set out to be a writer.

“I studied literature in college and always believed writing was for someone else,” she says. “This book started as notes and stories I used while mentoring—so I wouldn’t have to tell the same lessons over and over.”

Over time, those stories began forming a pattern. What emerged was a framework: emotional architecture—the idea that human systems deserve the same rigor, intentionality, and design thinking as technical systems.

The insight was forged during a pivotal moment in her career. A team widely labeled as “difficult” became the highest-performing group she had ever led—not because the technology changed, but because the human dynamics were finally treated as a system to be engineered rather than endured.

“That experience changed everything,” Lisa says. “It showed me that technical problems live inside human systems—and ignoring that reality is what breaks leaders.”

Leadership, Mentoring, and Letting Go

Much of The Emotional Architect focuses on leadership identity—specifically, the shift from being the indispensable problem-solver to becoming a multiplier of capability.

Lisa is candid about how difficult that transition was.

“I liked being the person everyone needed,” she admits. “It made me feel valuable. Mentoring others meant letting go of that identity—and that felt like loss.”

Through mentoring emerging leaders, including building the award-winning Orion Technical Leadership Pipeline, Lisa learned that sustainable excellence requires leaders to stop absorbing emotional labor that should be designed into systems.

“You can’t hero your way to a healthy organization,” she says. “At some point, the system has to work without you.”

A Whole-Systems View of Leadership

Outside of aerospace, Lisa brings an unusually holistic lens to leadership. One thing that often surprises readers? She’s a certified master herbalist.

“I went through that training while dealing with autoimmune health issues,” she explains. “It gave me a whole-systems view of how the human body and mind work together. That perspective shows up everywhere in my leadership now.”

That systems thinking underpins her work with the Human Variable Institute and her weekly Technical Leadership Thursdays writing, where she explores the human side of technical excellence with engineering precision.

Who This Book Is—and Isn’t—For

Lisa is clear about who will benefit most from The Emotional Architect.

“This book is for leaders and aspiring leaders who know the human element can be engineered alongside technical excellence,” she says. “It’s for people who care deeply about quality, about their teams, and about not losing themselves in the process.”

It’s not for those looking for shortcuts or five-step formulas. The work requires reflection, intention, and the willingness to redesign systems—not just behaviors.

Looking Ahead

Lisa’s first book launches in Spring 2026, but it won’t be her last. As she wrote, she realized the ideas had more depth than one volume could hold.

“The next three books started bubbling up while I was writing the first,” she says. “Apparently, once I started pulling on this thread, it wasn’t letting go.”

For now, her focus remains on helping technical leaders build organizations that don’t depend on burnout, heroics, or quiet self-sacrifice to function.

Because, as Lisa puts it: “Sustainable excellence isn’t about doing more. It’s about designing better systems—for humans.”

Learn more about Lisa Akers and her work at lisaakers.com

Mother’s Day is approaching, and while flowers fade and chocolates disappear, the most meaningful gifts are the ones that linger. The ones that spark memories, start conversations, and bring a deeper understanding of the women who raised us. For mothers and grandmothers who grew up Catholic in the 60s and 70s, Catholic Daughters of Catholic Mothers by Dr. Martha Lucas is more than a book—it’s a return to a world they know by heart.

A Walk Through a Very Familiar Past

This is a journey through baptism and naming ceremonies, confession and confirmation, marriage, divorce, and everything in between. It’s a vivid walk through a structured, rule-bound upbringing where faith shaped identity and obedience was expected at every turn. Dr. Martha recounts her childhood with honesty and clarity, beginning with the deeply symbolic act of being named after a saint. From there, readers are brought into Catholic grade school classrooms run by nuns, where discipline was strict, expectations were high, and questioning authority wasn’t part of the curriculum.

It was a world where:

• independent thinking was discouraged
• rules governed nearly every aspect of behavior
• sin was always close at hand
• and the fear of “going to hell” wasn’t abstract—it was taught

Girls were shaped into “proper” young women through uniforms, religious symbolism, and repeated ceremonies that reinforced their place in both family and faith.

The Weight and Complexity of Growing Up Catholic

Parents and elders were to be respected without question. Their expectations weren’t suggestions—they were standards. Children learned early to anticipate what was required of them, and to accept punishment as part of a moral and spiritual framework. Obedience wasn’t just encouraged. It was considered a gift. But beneath that structure lived something more complicated.

Dr. Martha explores the tension between faith and individuality, between devotion and doubt, between what was taught and what was felt. She brings forward the emotional reality of Catholic guilt, desire, anger, reverence, and the quiet rebellion that often followed. Her journey into adulthood reflects what many women experienced but rarely said out loud—questioning authority, redefining identity, and finding a personal version of belief that didn’t quite fit the mold. What she calls becoming an “ambiguous Catholic.”

The Questions That Stay With You

At the heart of the book are the questions that linger long after childhood:

• Who were Catholic Daughters, really?
• Why did so many try so hard to fit into the mold—even inventing sins just to have something to confess?
• What did it mean to grow up in a system where everything was monitored, judged, and remembered?

These questions aren’t just reflective—they’re deeply personal. And for many readers, they’ll feel uncomfortably familiar.

More Than a Memoir—A Guided Exploration

What makes this book especially powerful is that it doesn’t stop at storytelling. It invites the reader in. Through guided journal prompts, readers are encouraged to examine their own upbringing, beliefs, and emotional patterns. It creates space to reconnect with personal history, recognize long-held influences, and begin shaping a more authentic sense of self. Whether the reader shares the same religious background or not, the themes—family, identity, expectation, and self-discovery—are universal.

A Meaningful Gift for Mother’s Day

This isn’t just a book to read. It’s a book to experience. For mothers, it can feel like being seen. For daughters, it can offer understanding. For both, it can open conversations that might never have happened otherwise.

This Mother’s Day, consider giving something that honors not just who your mother is now—but the life she lived, the rules she followed, and the strength she carried through it all. Because sometimes the most powerful gift isn’t something new. It’s the chance to finally understand the past.

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There’s a version of motherhood we’re all sold. It’s calm. Organized. Meaningful. There are smiling babies, clean kitchens, and a mom who somehow has time to shower, exercise, and make thoughtful meals. And then there’s the real version. The one with crying babies, zero sleep, reheated coffee, and that quiet moment where you wonder if there’s a secret manual everyone else got… and you didn’t. If that sounds even remotely familiar, Family Magic by Michele Emmy might be the most relatable—and entertaining—Mother’s Day gift you could give.

Meet Family Magic

Tina is already overwhelmed. Life is chaotic, her baby won’t stop crying, and postpartum blues are hitting harder than expected. So when her best friend introduces her to a parenting class that promises something different—something easier—she’s willing to try it. This isn’t your average parenting class. This one teaches spells. At first, it seems harmless. Helpful, even. A little magic to smooth out the rough edges of motherhood? Honestly, who wouldn’t want that? But something isn’t right. There’s a strange pull toward a creepy building across the alley. Something darker is going on beneath the surface, and Tina can’t ignore it. What starts as a desperate attempt to survive motherhood turns into something far more unsettling.

Why This Book Hits So Hard (in the Best Way)

What makes Family Magic work isn’t just the fantasy—it’s how real everything feels underneath it. Michele Emmy taps into the raw, unfiltered side of motherhood. The exhaustion. The overwhelm. The moments where you’d honestly consider a spell or two if it meant getting through the day. And then she layers in humor, absurdity, and just enough darkness to keep things interesting. It’s funny without being fluffy, relatable without being heavy, and just unsettling enough to keep you turning pages.

About the Author

Michele Emmy is a Clarion graduate and Colorado Gold fantasy award winner who clearly enjoys putting her characters through a little chaos. She writes fantasy and science fiction with humor, strange twists, and just enough bite to keep things from getting too comfortable. When she’s not building imaginary worlds or wrangling diabolical creatures, she’s managing five Instant Pots and thinking—very seriously—about exercising. Her background in parenting and education adds a layer of authenticity to Family Magic that makes the story hit even harder.

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift (For the Mom Who Needs a Break)

Not every mom wants another candle. Some want to laugh. Some want to escape. Some want to feel seen without having to explain anything. Family Magic delivers all three. It’s the kind of book a mom can pick up at the end of a long day and think, “Okay… at least I’m not dealing with cursed parenting classes.” And honestly, that alone might be worth it.

Grab a Copy for Mom

Right now, paper copies are 10% off through Mother’s Day, making this the perfect time to give a gift that’s a little different—and a lot more memorable. Because sometimes the best Mother’s Day gift isn’t something pretty. It’s something that makes her laugh, nod, and maybe wonder… what if a spell would actually help?

Some books are meant to entertain. Others are meant to strengthen you. 52 Weeks of Victorious Aging does both—and that’s exactly what makes it such a meaningful Mother’s Day gift. Written by Dr. Martha Lucas, this book offers 52 practical, achievable actions designed to help readers create a healthier, happier life as the years advance. Each week focuses on one simple step—no overwhelm, no drastic overhauls—just consistent, sustainable choices rooted in real clinical experience and wisdom.

Simple Guidance That Actually Sticks

Let’s be honest—most wellness advice is either too complicated or too unrealistic to maintain. This book takes a different approach. One week. One idea. One small shift that builds into something bigger over time. It’s approachable, encouraging, and designed for real life—especially for women who have spent years taking care of everyone else and are finally ready to put some of that energy back into themselves.

Illustrations That Reinforce the Message

One of the most special parts of this project is the artwork woven throughout the book. I had the privilege of illustrating it, and the goal was simple: create visuals that feel warm, inviting, and easy to connect with. Two of my favorites capture the heart of the book beautifully.

Love Yourself (Yes, Really.)

The hugging heart illustration—also featured on the cover—represents one of the most important (and often ignored) ideas in the entire book: Yes, like yourself or how about this crazy idea—love yourself. Loving yourself means having regard for your own well-being and happiness. It means acting in ways that support your physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. It means knowing how to say no, taking care of your own needs, and not sacrificing your well-being in the process. It’s about focusing on what is good within you and building a relationship with yourself that is supportive, not critical. In other words—treat yourself like someone you actually care about.

Bake the Cookies

And then there’s the cookies. Simple. Familiar. A little nostalgic. This illustration taps into something just as important: joy. Not everything about health needs to be rigid or restrictive. Sometimes it’s about allowing yourself moments of comfort, creativity, and connection—whether that’s baking, sharing, or simply enjoying something small that makes you happy. Because a healthy life isn’t just about discipline. It’s also about living.

Why This Book Makes a Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

Mother’s Day gifts often land in the same category: flowers, candles, maybe a brunch reservation. Those are lovely—but temporary. This book offers something that continues long after the day is over:

• encouragement
• practical guidance
• weekly moments of reflection
• a gentle push toward better health and balance

It’s a gift that says, “I want you to feel good. Not just today—but all year.” Whether it’s for your mom, grandmother, aunt, or even yourself, 52 Weeks of Victorious Aging is a thoughtful, lasting choice.

Available Now

The book is available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover through your favorite retailers. It’s a beautiful addition to a bedside table or coffee table—and even better when it becomes part of a weekly routine. And yes—I’m especially proud to have illustrated it.

Available in the store of your choice in eBook, paperback, and hardcover.

A Different Way to Think About Aging

Many women have spent decades caring for others, often putting their own well-being last. As the years go on, the conversation around aging can start to feel limiting—focused on decline instead of possibility. Dr. Martha offers a different perspective. This isn’t about chasing youth or fixing what isn’t “perfect.” It’s about understanding the body, supporting it, and building a life that feels energized, balanced, and sustainable. It’s about aging with intention—and doing it well.

Practical Guidance That Actually Fits Real Life

One of the most powerful aspects of Victorious Aging is how approachable it is. There’s no overwhelming system, no unrealistic expectations—just clear, grounded guidance that can be applied immediately. Inside, readers will discover:

• simple ways to improve energy and vitality
• practical approaches to nutrition, sleep, and stress
• insight into how emotional health impacts physical well-being
• a deeper understanding of how the body changes over time
• tools for creating long-term balance and resilience

Dr. Martha combines decades of clinical experience with both modern science and Traditional Chinese Medicine, offering a perspective that feels both trustworthy and refreshingly realistic.

For Every Stage of Life

This book meets women exactly where they are. Whether she’s planning ahead, navigating changes, or already embracing later stages of life, the guidance inside supports her in feeling better—not just someday, but now. It’s especially meaningful for mothers who are ready to shift the focus back onto themselves—to rebuild energy, restore balance, and prioritize their own well-being after years of giving to others.

A Gift That Lasts Beyond Mother’s Day

Flowers are lovely. Dinner is appreciated. But a gift like this continues to give long after the day is over. Victorious Aging offers something deeper: encouragement. clarity, a path forward. It’s a way of saying, “Your health matters. Your energy matters. You matter.” This Mother’s Day, give a gift that supports her strength, her vitality, and the life she’s still building. Because aging isn’t something to fear. With the right tools, it’s something to do victoriously.

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For the Mom Who Wants to Feel Her Best

Victorious Aging: Tips for Your Best Health at Any Age by Dr. Martha Lucas

If your mom is the kind of person who’s always looking for ways to stay healthy, energized, and strong, this one hits right where it matters.

Dr. Martha Lucas takes the whole idea of “anti-aging” and throws it out the window. Instead, she focuses on something much more realistic—and honestly, much more empowering: living well at every stage of life.

This book is packed with practical, doable advice grounded in decades of real-world experience in Chinese medicine and holistic health. It’s not trendy fluff. It’s the kind of guidance your mom will actually use.

Perfect for moms who want to feel better, not just look younger.

Grab a Copy for Mom

For the Mom Who Likes Small, Doable Wins

Dr. Martha’s 52 Weeks of Victorious Aging by Dr. Martha Lucas

Some people don’t want a big life overhaul. They want something simple. Manageable. Real. This book delivers exactly that.

Instead of overwhelming your mom with a massive list of changes, Dr. Martha breaks things down into 52 small, weekly actions. One step at a time. One improvement at a time.

It’s the kind of book she can keep on her nightstand, revisit every week, and actually follow through on—without feeling like she’s signed up for a second job.

Perfect for moms who like structure, simplicity, and steady progress.

Grab a Copy for Mom

For the Mom Who Loves Reflection (and a Little Rebellion)

Catholic Daughters of Catholic Mothers: A Memoir & Guided Journal by Dr. Martha Lucas

This one hits differently. It’s part memoir, part guided journal, and part emotional excavation of what it meant to grow up in a strict Catholic environment in the 60s and 70s.

Dr. Martha Lucas doesn’t sugarcoat it. She walks through the rules, the guilt, the expectations—and what it takes to question them and figure out who you really are on the other side.

And then she hands that same exploration to the reader.

This isn’t just a book your mom reads. It’s one she interacts with. Perfect for moms who love storytelling, self-discovery, and asking the big questions.

Grab a Copy for Mom

For the Mom Who Needs a Break (and Maybe a Spell or Two)

Family Magic by Michele Emmy

Let’s be honest—motherhood is chaos on a good day. Now add a colicky baby, postpartum blues, and a suspiciously magical parenting class… and things get interesting fast.

Family Magic follows Tina, a mom just trying to survive, who stumbles into a world where spells might fix everything… or make it a whole lot worse.

It’s funny, a little dark, a little weird, and incredibly relatable in that “I love my kids but also please send help” kind of way.

Michele Emmy brings humor, absurd twists, and just enough danger to keep things moving.

Perfect for moms who want to laugh, escape, and maybe imagine a magical solution to real-life stress.

Grab a Copy for Mom

A Little Something Extra This Mother’s Day

Right now, all paper books are 10% off through Mother’s Day on Amazon, which makes this the perfect time to pick something thoughtful without overthinking it. Because at the end of the day, the best gifts aren’t the ones that get tossed aside. They’re the ones that get opened again. And again. And again.

Mother’s Day is often about the visible things—flowers, cards, brunch reservations—but the real story of motherhood lives in the quieter, more powerful moments. The ones filled with fear, hope, sacrifice, and decisions made in the middle of uncertainty.

Dr. Martha Lucas has one of those stories. She was named after Saint Martha—the patron saint of housewives, servants, and cooks. A woman known for her devotion to the practical, the everyday, the work that keeps life moving. In Catholic tradition, Martha is the one who keeps everyone fed, clothed, and cared for, while her sister Mary chooses “the good portion,” focusing on spiritual connection and reflection. It’s an old story, but one that echoes through generations of women—especially mothers—who carry both the visible and invisible work of holding a life together.

But Dr. Martha’s name wasn’t chosen casually. It was chosen during a moment when everything could have gone wrong. Her mother endured a long, difficult labor—so difficult that a priest was called to administer last rites. In that moment, her parents made a promise: if both mother and child survived, and the baby was a girl, she would be named Martha. A name born out of fear. Out of hope. Out of gratitude. And, ultimately, out of love.

That baby was Dr. Martha Lucas. It’s a name she has carried her entire life—through childhood, through change, through marriage (even with a husband who jokingly insists he doesn’t own her and never did). It’s a name rooted in survival, strength, and a mother’s quiet determination to bring her child into the world.

The Story Behind the Story

This moment is just one of many woven into Catholic Daughters of Catholic Mothers, a memoir and guided journal that explores what it meant to grow up as a Catholic woman in the 60s, 70s, and beyond. It’s a book filled with memory, humor, tension, and truth—the kind of truth that only comes with time and reflection. Dr. Martha shares not just what happened, but how those experiences shaped identity, belief, and the lifelong process of questioning, evolving, and understanding oneself. And that’s what makes it such a powerful Mother’s Day gift.

A Gift That Goes Deeper

For mothers, daughters, and anyone reflecting on the women who raised them, this book offers something more than a story. It offers recognition. Recognition of the rules they lived under. The expectations they carried. The strength they didn’t always get credit for. It opens the door for conversations—about faith, family, identity, and the ways we define ourselves beyond what we were taught.

This Mother’s Day, instead of another predictable gift, consider something that honors the complexity of motherhood itself. A story. A history. A chance to reflect—and maybe even to understand each other a little better. Because sometimes the most meaningful gift you can give your mother… is the space to see her story more clearly.

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Some books are meant to entertain. Others are meant to strengthen you. 52 Weeks of Victorious Aging does both.

Written by Dr. Martha Lucas, this book offers 52 practical, achievable actions designed to help readers create a healthier, happier life as the years advance. Each week focuses on one manageable step—no overwhelm, no extreme overhauls—just consistent, sustainable choices rooted in experience and wisdom.

I had the privilege of illustrating this book, bringing visual warmth and personality to Dr. Martha’s practical guidance. The illustrations are simple, approachable, and designed to reinforce the encouraging tone of the book.

Dr. Martha is a seasoned Chinese Medical Doctor and acupuncturist with decades of clinical experience. Her advice isn’t trendy internet wellness chatter—it’s grounded in real-world practice, long-term patient care, and a deep understanding of how the body changes with age.

Here are two examples from the book that readers especially love:

Week Spotlight: Vitamin D and Sunshine

Dr. Martha writes:

I can’t say enough about vitamin D. In my practice, I recommend taking 10,000IU a day. In fact, during flu season, when everyone seems to be sick with some sort of virus, I take 20,000IU a day.

Vitamin D boosts your immune system, increases muscle mass, and builds strong bones. Wait… isn’t that the saying for milk?

You get vitamin D from some foods: fish, dairy, and fortified food products.

The most common source of vitamin D is the sun. Being out in the sunshine for 15 - 30 minutes a few times a week gives you adequate vitamin D. But after 15 minutes, you need sunscreen.

You can ask your doctor for a blood test if you are unsure whether you are getting enough vitamin D.

Simple. Practical. Actionable.

Week Spotlight: Coffee Without Guilt

Good news for coffee lovers:

It’s okay to drink coffee.

Some research has found that coffee may even reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and heart disease.

Dr. Martha’s approach is realistic. She isn’t trying to remove every joy from your life—she’s helping readers make informed choices that support longevity and quality of life.

Why This Book Makes a Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

Mother’s Day gifts often focus on flowers or candles. Those are lovely—but this book offers something deeper: encouragement, empowerment, and weekly reminders that health is something we can actively nurture. Whether it’s for your mom, grandmother, aunt, or even yourself, 52 Weeks of Victorious Aging is a thoughtful, practical gift that keeps giving all year long.

Available in the store of your choice in eBook, paperback, and hardcover.

It’s a beautiful addition to any bedside table or coffee table—especially for women who value wisdom, health, and graceful strength as they move forward in life. If you’re looking for a meaningful Mother’s Day gift that blends medical expertise, encouragement, and approachable design, this one delivers.

And yes—I’m especially proud to have illustrated it.