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A Formula For Life: The First 12 Letters Volume 1 The Hughes Letter

by Carol Hughes-McLain

128 pages; ; catalogue #02-0664; ISBN 1-55369-851-7; US$17.95, C$28.00, EUR18.20, £12.70

A Formula for Life is the first volume in a five-part series of inspirational stories and poetry called "The Hughes Letter." Children, teens, adults, and seniors will love it. It is a book to read- for life.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or Table of Contents      catalogue info

About the Book A Formula for Life is the first volume in a five-part series of inspirational stories and poetry called "The Hughes Letter." Each story and poem contains a motivational theme and is written to help elevate the reader to a higher level of being. The stories will bring laughter, tears, energy, and joy to the reader. Whether it's the old woman feeling gratitude for the first time in "The Story for Iris Gratitude," Nairobi's anguish after hearing the fate of his family in "Your Time Will Come", or Pamela Thompson's journey to success in "The Color of Silence," each will touch the heart of the reader. A Formula for Life is written for everyone. Children, teens, adults, and seniors will love it. It's a book to read-for life.

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About the Author Carol Hughes-McLain has been working in health and wellness for over 30 years. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi University for Women at Columbus, her M.Ed. from the University of Arizona at Tucson and her Ph.D. from the University of Utah at Salt Lake City. She has been a competetive athlete and coach, and has spent the majority of her career teaching health and physical education. She is a native Alabamian with an accent to prove it.

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Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

Carla was an ordinary cat, lightly gray, with a white tip on her tail as if she had quickly dipped it in a bucket of paint. Being a stray wasn't easy, but she survived living beside the dumpster behind the Dairy Queen in Durango, Colorado.

What Carla wanted most in the world was a home, preferably with children and a warm fireplace where she could sleep the winters away. It sounded too good to be true and for a stray, it probably was.

As Carla sat beside the dumpster, dejected and lost, she saw Malachi Morrison, the moose, approaching "The Queen". Malachi lived in the foothills of La Platte County and each day around noon he ventured out in search of a good meal. Today he had a particular hankering for a peanut butter, almond parfait, chocolate dip cone and wanted to arrive early before all the waffle ones were gone.

"What's up, Carla, you look so sad?"

"Oh, Mal, I want a home so badly, but I don't know what to do. I doubt I'll ever find someone to want me."

"Don't be silly," said Malachi "you'll find a home, you've just got to hope. That's it - hope. Never lose hope and you'll find a home."

"Hope." said Carla. "I've got to hope."

So Carla sat and hoped.

"Oh, I hope someone comes to get me and take me home with them. I hope I have a warm room with a cozy fireplace and fluffy blankets to snuggle in."

But no one came. No one to take her home.

"What's happening, my friend?" Said Eduardo Estez, the elk. "You look so intense."

"I've been hoping all day trying to get a home," said Carla lying in the grass.

"Hoping?" said Eduardo "you've got to be crazy, girl. Hope's not going to get you a home. You've got to dream to get a home. Anyone who has ever gotten anything was a dreamer; don't you know that?" Looking puzzled and slightly disgusted at Carla.

"Dream." said Carla "I've got to dream."

So, Carla began to dream. She dreamed of her house. She dreamed of her family. She dreamed of the fireplace, but still no one came.

"Wake up, Carla, the garbage truck is coming," said Miss Bonnie Bomar, the beaver. "What are you doing dosing this time of day!"

"I'm not dosing, Miss Bonnie, I'm dreaming," said Carla. "I'm dreaming of a home."

"Dreaming's not going to get you a home, Carla. You've got to work! It's work that gets you places. Just work at it, Carla, and you'll get your home."

"Work." said Carla. "I have to work."

So, Carla worked all day long, cleaning under the dumpster, throwing away trash, and protecting the "The Q" from little four legged creatures - the unwanted kind, of course.

But still no one came. As hard as she worked, no one came to take her home.

"Hey, Carla, how are you? Asked Shirley Silverton, the squirrel. "You look so tired."

"Oh, Shirley, I've been working all day. Working to get my house, my family, and the fireplace."

"Working," said Shirley, "Working is not going to get you a home. You've got to know. You've got to know, Carla, that you are going to get that home, that family, that fireplace and sure enough it will happen."

"Know." said Carla "I've got to know."

So, Carla repeated over and over again, "I know I have my house, my family,

my fireplace. I know I have my house, my family, my fireplace," but still

no one came. No one even passed by.

Carla was so sad.

"I'll never get my home," she said as tears began to muster.

"Hello, Carla," said Dr. Olivia O'Connor, the owl. "Why the tears?"

"Dr. O'Connor, I've tried everything to find a home. I've hoped and dreamed, I've worked and I've known, but nothing has happened. I'm still alone. Nobody wants me."

"Carla," said the owl, "listen to me. Your friends were right. They just left out the most important step."

"What's that?" asked Carla, wiping back the tears.

"It's not enough to hope, You must dream.
It's not enough to dream,
You must work.
It's not enough to work,
You must know.
It's not enough to know,
You must be."

"Be what?"

"Be who you are, Carla, be who you Really are. When you are being You all hopes, dreams, actions, and knowledge fall into place. They take care of themselves. You see, a Real home is of the heart and being who you Really are is home.

"But, who am I?" Questioned Carla.

"Why, you're an Echo of the Great Meow." Responded Dr. O'Connor. "Just be who you Really are and you'll find your home, you'll see."

So, Carla took Dr.O'Connor's advice, trusting that being her Real self was enough. She slept most of the day, watched for dogs, frolicked on the lawn, and was happier than she'd ever been before. For the first time in her life, Carla felt at home.

One day as she was sleeping, she was awakened by a squeal.

"Daddy, Daddy, come see. Can we keep her? Can we keep her? I'll take care of her, I promise!"

A little ponytailed lassie picked up Carla and put her in the car. Arriving at the house, Carla wandered through the door and there it was, the biggest fireplace she'd ever seen and draped over one end of the sofa was a quilt just waiting for her curl. Carla had found her home, her Real home.

THE END

We are all Echoes of the Great Meow and it's time we accepted it. It doesn't matter if you are still living in the house where your great great grandfather was born or if you are wealthy enough to live in four homes. If you are not being YOU, you are not at home. Being who you Really are is the most important thing you can do with your life; in fact, you have no real life without it. Being someone other than your True self constitutes a fake existence no matter who you may please or how many accolades you receive. You still have ignored your most precious gift, the gift of YOUR life. We are all born with a purpose. By not being who you Really are you are ignoring that purpose and will never feel complete.

Somehow you must find the courage, like Carla, to be who you Really are. You will have to overcome seeking the approval of others and begin the journey toward self-reliance. You must have faith that life works for good, for until you do you will never truly live. The path is worth every step and like Carla, one day you will find your home, your Real home.

Be Who You Are,

Carol Hughes-McLain, Ph.D. Hughlebee 1
www.thehughesletter.com
(Copyright 2002)

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Catalogue Information

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