11 on My Own
COLUMBIA, Conn. — (May 12, 2010) Below is an abridged copy of a press-release to promote my book, 11 on My Own. This morning I received a phone call from the publisher claiming an email from my ex-husband threatening to sue them was going to halt publication on my book. They are not going to make it available for purchase until they can contact him on the phone and straighten out the situation. I was not served with papers, they were not served with papers, and a court of law has not ruled my book libelous. In fact, an attorney was consulted on my behalf before publication to ensure there were no issues of libel. I used my maiden name to publish, and I changed my ex-husband’s name, as well. There are no pictures of him included.
This book was doing extremely well in the three weeks since it had been released. It is factual and truthful, and the sole means of supporting the nine minor children I am still raising. One of the issues in the book was the fact that my ex-husband does not pay child support. Now I will not receive royalties, either.
In the world of reality television, producers and directors would have you believe that raising large families is one big, fun circus, perhaps laden with some pitfalls but somehow a fairytale nonetheless. Debut author Kristin Luscia candidly shares the realities of raising 11 children as a single, divorced mother in her new memoir, 11 on My Own (published by WestBow Press), a story that highlights her struggles, joys and journey towards renewal.
In 11 on My Own, Luscia provides a brief background about the choices she made in selecting men and chronicles the difficulties of enduring family court with her latest ex-husband, a controlling and manipulative man. In her memoir, she discusses her older children and how they contribute to the family. She tells of the trials she’s had in maintaining food, clothing and shelter without any support from her ex-husband or the court enforcing any orders. She also gives testament to her Catholic faith and how it has sustained her in the last 15 years.
Appealing to those who have witnessed a divorce and its trauma in their lives, 11 on My Own speaks to women who are in relationships with controlling, devious and selfish men, and it speaks to those women who see themselves as alone in the world. Luscia provides encouragement for women whose husbands have abandoned them with a larger than normal number of children.
About the Author
Kristin Luscia is a single, divorced, Catholic mother of 11 children who range in age from 4-years-old to 25. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and is pursuing a master’s degree in dogmatic theology. Luscia has been a practicing Catholic for almost 15 years. She enjoys reading and spending time with her children, and writes on her blog about raising children as a single Catholic mother. This is her debut book.
About WestBow Press
WestBow Press is an alliance of Thomas Nelson, the world's premier Christian publisher, and Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI) - the world leader in the fastest-growing segment of publishing. They can be reached at 866-928-1240.
Kristin
11onmyown.blogspot.com
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
13 Year Old to Attempt Everest
California 13-year-old to attempt to climb Everest
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON (AP) – 8 hours ago
LOS ANGELES — A 13-year-old California boy plans to try to climb Mount Everest in a quest to reach the summits of the highest peaks on all seven continents.
If Jordan Romero succeeds, he'll become the youngest person to conquer the world's highest mountain.
Jordan will attempt the ascent to 29,035 feet with his father and his father's girlfriend, both experienced outdoors people who have helped train the teenager for top-level mountaineering.
When Jordan was only 9, a school mural of the seven summits inspired his ambitious goal.
"I told my dad about it and he didn't say no. He just explained the difficulties and what I'd have to do. We started training right away," said Jordan, who was scheduled to depart for Nepal Monday night.
At age 10, he became the youngest American to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak. He's steadily checked off four of the tallest peaks since then, including Alaska's Mount McKinley, which many climbers consider to be a more technical climb than Everest.
Despite his penchant for tall mountains and thin air, friends and family describe Jordan as unusually grounded for a 13-year-old. He said he understands the risks of climbing Everest, which kills climbers almost every year.
"Mountain climbing requires a lot of mental training and making smart decisions. It's a metaphor for life," he said, sounding wiser than his years.
The teenager's planned Everest ascent is making the mountaineering community think hard about how young is too young to climb such a dangerous mountain.
Jordan's father, Paul Romero, said he wants nothing more than to make his son's dreams come true.
"It's his quest and we're just along for the ride," said Romero, a helicopter paramedic who lives in the San Bernardino Mountains ski town of Big Bear Lake. "We may or may not reach the summit this time. It might be a dress rehearsal."
Romero and girlfriend Karen Lundgren are adventure racers, competing in weeklong endurance races that combine biking, climbing, paddling and climbing through wilderness areas around the world.
Jordan's mother, Leigh Anne Drake, said she supports her son but she also sees her ex-husband's influence in the project.
"He went to his dad's for a weekend and came back with a new goal," to be the youngest to reach the top of Everest, she said. "If you're going to do it, you have to foot the bill. But if you set a record, you can get sponsorship."
The trio's Everest expedition is costing $150,000. Jordan, his father and Lundgren will be making the ascent with three sherpas.
Temperatures at the summit can plunge to 100 degrees below zero and hurricane-force winds blow much of the year. Atmospheric pressure at the peak is about a third that of sea-level, which can lead to breathing difficulties, mental sluggishness and other serious medical problems. Climbers usually use bottled oxygen.
The extreme cold, lack of oxygen, falls, exhaustion and avalanches have killed hundreds of climbers. Many of their bodies remain beside the trail.
Guides who have experience with Everest say Jordan will probably be safe, as long as he and his team pay close attention to how their bodies are reacting to the high altitude and low oxygen conditions near the peak.
"After doing five of those peaks — I've done them, it's hard — that means he's a tough kid," said Jason Edwards, a guide with the Seattle-based International Mountain Guides. The outfitter has a minimum age limit of 18 for Everest expeditions because of liability issues.
But Gordon Janow, a guide with Alpine Ascents International, also based in Seattle, said there's not a lot of research on the short- and long-term effects of high altitude on children, whose brains and bodies are still developing.
"We're in a day and age where parents are pushing kids to extremes so much. It's very hard to disentangle the parent from the kid these days," he said. "But with mountaineering, the kid can't just go through the motions. They have to do a lot of physical training and really want it."
Janow has turned down 14-year-olds who wanted to climb Kilimanjaro without their parents.
"Jordan's probably a better bet than some 68-year-old guy who's only done two mountains," he said. "These days it's moving so fast, it's a 10-year-old sailing around the world this year and an 8-year-old the next. What's reasonable anymore?"
During the frenzy of packing, Jordan's mother said she is bracing herself for two long months when the only news of her son will come from a blinking dot that represents his GPS device on a topographical map of Everest.
"I'm on a roller coaster," Drake said as her voice cracked with emotion. "From the second he leaves my arms until he's back, it's like I can't breathe and I can't cry. But at the same time, I'm so overjoyed that's he's getting the chance to do and see all of these amazing things."
She said her son is taking two months of homework to Nepal so he can keep up with school.
The current record holder for the youngest to climb the peak is Temba Tsheri of Nepal who was 16 and lost five fingers during his ascent due to frostbite.
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON (AP) – 8 hours ago
LOS ANGELES — A 13-year-old California boy plans to try to climb Mount Everest in a quest to reach the summits of the highest peaks on all seven continents.
If Jordan Romero succeeds, he'll become the youngest person to conquer the world's highest mountain.
Jordan will attempt the ascent to 29,035 feet with his father and his father's girlfriend, both experienced outdoors people who have helped train the teenager for top-level mountaineering.
When Jordan was only 9, a school mural of the seven summits inspired his ambitious goal.
"I told my dad about it and he didn't say no. He just explained the difficulties and what I'd have to do. We started training right away," said Jordan, who was scheduled to depart for Nepal Monday night.
At age 10, he became the youngest American to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak. He's steadily checked off four of the tallest peaks since then, including Alaska's Mount McKinley, which many climbers consider to be a more technical climb than Everest.
Despite his penchant for tall mountains and thin air, friends and family describe Jordan as unusually grounded for a 13-year-old. He said he understands the risks of climbing Everest, which kills climbers almost every year.
"Mountain climbing requires a lot of mental training and making smart decisions. It's a metaphor for life," he said, sounding wiser than his years.
The teenager's planned Everest ascent is making the mountaineering community think hard about how young is too young to climb such a dangerous mountain.
Jordan's father, Paul Romero, said he wants nothing more than to make his son's dreams come true.
"It's his quest and we're just along for the ride," said Romero, a helicopter paramedic who lives in the San Bernardino Mountains ski town of Big Bear Lake. "We may or may not reach the summit this time. It might be a dress rehearsal."
Romero and girlfriend Karen Lundgren are adventure racers, competing in weeklong endurance races that combine biking, climbing, paddling and climbing through wilderness areas around the world.
Jordan's mother, Leigh Anne Drake, said she supports her son but she also sees her ex-husband's influence in the project.
"He went to his dad's for a weekend and came back with a new goal," to be the youngest to reach the top of Everest, she said. "If you're going to do it, you have to foot the bill. But if you set a record, you can get sponsorship."
The trio's Everest expedition is costing $150,000. Jordan, his father and Lundgren will be making the ascent with three sherpas.
Temperatures at the summit can plunge to 100 degrees below zero and hurricane-force winds blow much of the year. Atmospheric pressure at the peak is about a third that of sea-level, which can lead to breathing difficulties, mental sluggishness and other serious medical problems. Climbers usually use bottled oxygen.
The extreme cold, lack of oxygen, falls, exhaustion and avalanches have killed hundreds of climbers. Many of their bodies remain beside the trail.
Guides who have experience with Everest say Jordan will probably be safe, as long as he and his team pay close attention to how their bodies are reacting to the high altitude and low oxygen conditions near the peak.
"After doing five of those peaks — I've done them, it's hard — that means he's a tough kid," said Jason Edwards, a guide with the Seattle-based International Mountain Guides. The outfitter has a minimum age limit of 18 for Everest expeditions because of liability issues.
But Gordon Janow, a guide with Alpine Ascents International, also based in Seattle, said there's not a lot of research on the short- and long-term effects of high altitude on children, whose brains and bodies are still developing.
"We're in a day and age where parents are pushing kids to extremes so much. It's very hard to disentangle the parent from the kid these days," he said. "But with mountaineering, the kid can't just go through the motions. They have to do a lot of physical training and really want it."
Janow has turned down 14-year-olds who wanted to climb Kilimanjaro without their parents.
"Jordan's probably a better bet than some 68-year-old guy who's only done two mountains," he said. "These days it's moving so fast, it's a 10-year-old sailing around the world this year and an 8-year-old the next. What's reasonable anymore?"
During the frenzy of packing, Jordan's mother said she is bracing herself for two long months when the only news of her son will come from a blinking dot that represents his GPS device on a topographical map of Everest.
"I'm on a roller coaster," Drake said as her voice cracked with emotion. "From the second he leaves my arms until he's back, it's like I can't breathe and I can't cry. But at the same time, I'm so overjoyed that's he's getting the chance to do and see all of these amazing things."
She said her son is taking two months of homework to Nepal so he can keep up with school.
The current record holder for the youngest to climb the peak is Temba Tsheri of Nepal who was 16 and lost five fingers during his ascent due to frostbite.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
A by-the-numbers Look at Obama's First Year
From Breitbart
7,949.09—Dow Jones Industrial Average close on Jan. 20, 2009.
10,609.65—Dow Jones Industrial Average close on Jan. 15, 2010.
13 million—Number of people 16 and older unemployed as of January 2009.
14.7 million—Number of people 16 and older unemployed as of December 2009.
7.7 percent—Unemployment rate January 2009
10.0 percent—Unemployment rate December 2009
$787 billion—Cost of economic stimulus approved by Congress.
$10.6 trillion—Outstanding public debt Jan. 20, 2009.
$12.3 trillion—Outstanding public debt Jan. 14, 2009.
$296.4 billion—Federal spending from the financial crisis bailout fund before Jan. 20, 2009.
$173 billion—Federal spending from the financial crisis bailout fund after Jan. 20, 2009.
$165 billion—Amount of bailout funds repaid by banks and automakers.
139—Bank failures between Jan. 20, 2009, and Jan. 14, 2010.
274,399—Number of properties that received foreclosure-related notices in January 2009.
349,519—Number of properties that received foreclosure-related notices in December 2009.
34,400—U.S. troops in Afghanistan in January 2009.
70,000—U.S. troops in Afghanistan as of Jan. 12, 2010.
319—U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan from January 2009 through Jan. 15, 2010.
139,500—U.S. troops in Iraq in January 2009.
111,000—U.S. troops in Iraq as of Jan. 12, 2010.
152—U.S. military deaths in Iraq from January 2009 through Jan. 15, 2010.
539—Appointments to top federal policy positions submitted to the Senate
352—Appointments confirmed by the Senate.
180—Appointments in top policy positions carried over from the Bush administration.
12—Formal news conferences.
21—Foreign countries visited.
29—States visited.
10—Visits to Camp David.
2—Vacations.
___
Sources:
AP reporting and analysis
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Treasury Department
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
RealtyTrac Inc.
Defense Department
White House Transition Project
7,949.09—Dow Jones Industrial Average close on Jan. 20, 2009.
10,609.65—Dow Jones Industrial Average close on Jan. 15, 2010.
13 million—Number of people 16 and older unemployed as of January 2009.
14.7 million—Number of people 16 and older unemployed as of December 2009.
7.7 percent—Unemployment rate January 2009
10.0 percent—Unemployment rate December 2009
$787 billion—Cost of economic stimulus approved by Congress.
$10.6 trillion—Outstanding public debt Jan. 20, 2009.
$12.3 trillion—Outstanding public debt Jan. 14, 2009.
$296.4 billion—Federal spending from the financial crisis bailout fund before Jan. 20, 2009.
$173 billion—Federal spending from the financial crisis bailout fund after Jan. 20, 2009.
$165 billion—Amount of bailout funds repaid by banks and automakers.
139—Bank failures between Jan. 20, 2009, and Jan. 14, 2010.
274,399—Number of properties that received foreclosure-related notices in January 2009.
349,519—Number of properties that received foreclosure-related notices in December 2009.
34,400—U.S. troops in Afghanistan in January 2009.
70,000—U.S. troops in Afghanistan as of Jan. 12, 2010.
319—U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan from January 2009 through Jan. 15, 2010.
139,500—U.S. troops in Iraq in January 2009.
111,000—U.S. troops in Iraq as of Jan. 12, 2010.
152—U.S. military deaths in Iraq from January 2009 through Jan. 15, 2010.
539—Appointments to top federal policy positions submitted to the Senate
352—Appointments confirmed by the Senate.
180—Appointments in top policy positions carried over from the Bush administration.
12—Formal news conferences.
21—Foreign countries visited.
29—States visited.
10—Visits to Camp David.
2—Vacations.
___
Sources:
AP reporting and analysis
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Treasury Department
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
RealtyTrac Inc.
Defense Department
White House Transition Project
Saturday, January 16, 2010
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