Hold On, But Don't Hold Still: Hope and Humor From My Seriously Flawed Life by K

Description: Hold On, But Don't Hold Still by Kristina Kuzmic "The inspiring and hilarious true story of how a single mother found the strength to transform her life and become the person--and parent--she could admire, revealing the tips and advice that empowered her"--Provided by publisher. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Delivering inspiration and "parenting comedy at its finest,"* here is one womans story of ditching her fairytale dreams and falling in love with her unpredictable, chaotic, imperfect lifeDelivering inspiration and "parenting comedy at its finest,"* here is one womans story of ditching her fairytale dreams and falling in love with her unpredictable, chaotic, imperfect life from the author of I Can Fix ThisKristina Kuzmic has made herself a household name, speaking directly to mothers from the trenches of parenthood via her viral videos and social media presence. She is now bringing her message of self-acceptance, resilience, and joy to book readers. With a refreshingly unpretentious, funny, and galvanizing voice, Kuzmic goes behind the scenes to reveal how she went from broke and defeated to unshakably grounded and brimming with thankfulness. Illuminating the hard-won wisdom from a life always spent one step behind--whether it was as a high school student new to America, a suddenly single mother to two kids, remarried and juggling two teens and a toddler, or the unexpected recipient of Oprahs attention and investment--Hold On, But Dont Hold Still is the book every mother needs to reassure her that shes not only fine just as she is, but that she already has more tools and support than she can possibly imagine. Sparkling with wit, this heartfelt memoir is like a long coffee date with a best friend, or the eleventh-hour text message that gives you just the boost you need to get through the night.*The Huffington Post Author Biography KristinaKuzmi was born in Croatia and is a world-renowned speaker known for her unique insight and humor on family-related topics. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband, where her most important, rewarding, and exhausting careers include being a sanitation engineer, chef, chauffer, and conflict-resolution guru for her three (mostly satisfied) clients-her children. Review Praise for Hold On, But Dont Hold Still"Tenacious and refreshingly candid."—Publishers Weekly (starred)"A generous guide through the bumpy terrain of parenting."—Kirkus Review Quote Praise for Hold On, But Dont Hold Still "Tenacious and refreshingly candid." --Publishers Weekly (starred) "A generous guide through the bumpy terrain of parenting." --Kirkus Promotional "Headline" Delivering inspiration and "parenting comedy at its finest,"* here is one womans story of ditching her fairytale dreams and falling in love with her unpredictable, chaotic, imperfect life Excerpt from Book One Wish Out Loud Theres a moment at most kids birthday parties, just after the "Happy Birthday" song has been sung, when the birthday kid takes a big breath and gets ready to blow out the candles on their cake. "Make a wish!" the parents say. "But dont tell anyone what it is. If you tell, it wont come true!" I hate this moment. Were supposed to have big dreams and wild ambitions-for family, career, success, recognition-yet were taught from birthday number one that saying what we want out loud is a bad idea. Its a jinx. Its embarrassing. No matter what your aspirations are, whether you want to write a bestselling novel, host a talk show, or run the country, theyll never happen if you dont try. But its hard to muster up the confidence to try without your loved ones cheering you on, and theyre not even going to get the chance to support you if you never let them know what your dreams are. Thats why I do the birthday cake thing a little differently with my kids. At candle time, I scream, "Make a wish! Say it out loud! Yell it at the top of your lungs!" And then we all cheer for each others biggest dreams and do what we can to make sure they come true for one another. My hope is to give my kids the confidence to dream out loud. I want to show them that ridiculously good things do happen, even if they seem completely unbelievable. I mean, thats exactly what happened to me. When my second husband, Philip, and I got married, we couldnt afford a honeymoon. I was still waiting tables, and he had decided to change careers and go back to school to become a CPA. (Because, apparently, there are people in this world who actually enjoy doing taxes. And math.) We were living in a small, run-down apartment in Alhambra, California, with my six-year-old son, Luka, and four-year-old daughter, Matea. To get to our front door, youd first have to walk by a rusting, claw-foot bathtub that our landlord, a sweet old man named Will who lived upstairs in the buildings only other unit, intended to turn into a fountain but never quite got around to finishing. (Honestly, I could see potential in his vision and would have loved a cheerful water fixture on my front lawn. Unfortunately, the reality is that it was just a tetanus hazard filled with what looked like poop water.) The first time I tried to open the oven door in our kitchen, the handle fell off. The washer and dryer were also crammed into the kitchen alongside the worn-out stove. But Philip and I were just so happy to have a washer and dryer at all. We were a very typical young family: we didnt have all the resources we dreamed of, but we had a surplus of love. A few days after our wedding, I was running around our apartment as usual, doing, doing, doing, knowing Id still probably finish the day asking myself, How did I get nothing done today when I did so many things? (answer: motherhood!), when Philip startled me with a question. "What do you want to do? I mean, besides being a mother?" "What do you mean?" "You have all this creativity and all this passion. Is there anything else youd want to do with it?" "Like get a job other than waiting tables?" "It doesnt have to be a new job. It can be a hobby. Or a job. Either one. Just something where you can use your gifts." I stared at him blankly for a few moments. Being a mother of young children means you spend a lot of your energy thinking about what other people need. Youre always wiping something for somebody or cutting something for somebody. When you finally make your way to the soothing blank bottom of an empty sink, its almost inevitable that youll blink and the sink will be full again. Its like some reverse Sorcerers Apprentice trick, only instead of having the soaring beauty of the Philadelphia Orchestra as backup, your soundtrack is provided by toddlers banging away with wooden spoons on pots and pans. Just a few years earlier, Id been going through a painful divorce while struggling to provide for my two young children as a broke single mom. I had been trying to keep my head above water for so long that survival mode was my default. I hadnt stopped to consider my dreams or desires, independent of my childrens well-being. Philips question genuinely caught me off guard. "I have no idea. I really dont know." This realization made me a bit emotional. I used to have dreams and creative ambitions. How was I suddenly this lost? Philip handed me his car keys. "Ill take care of dinner and get the kids to bed. You just go. Go somewhere where you can think. Get away from the distractions of parenting and think about what you would have wanted to do if life hadnt gotten so hard." I drove around the suburbs of Los Angeles-not really headed anywhere, just thinking. Sometimes you need to get away from the noise in order to hear your heart speak. A few hours later, I returned home with a gas tank on empty and my mind on full blast. "I want to do something with cooking!" I said as I charged back into the apartment, out of breath from excitement. "Philip, I think Ive got it! When I was at my lowest, cooking is what made me feel alive. Being able to feed people made me feel like I had something to offer when I had almost nothing. Im thinking maybe I could start a website where I post my recipes. And, I dont know how we could make this happen, but maybe we could figure out a way to film some cooking videos? Something really fun, different from whats out there. I want to make the people who are watching feel empowered. I want to make other moms laugh and maybe even give them a little hope that their life and their kitchen and their cooking skills dont have to be perfect. None of it has to be perfect to still be really good." "This is awesome! How can I help?" Philip pulled me in for a hug. See that response? Thats the response we all deserve when we articulate a new dream. We all need a Philip. I spent the next seven months revisiting all of my favorite recipes. I had learned to cook from my grandmother, who never measured anything, and so neither did I. But now I had to start measuring out every single thing in order to write down all of my recipes in a way anyone could follow. My goal was to launch my website on my birthday (April 26) with exactly seventy-nine recipes (because I was born in 1979). Philip saved up money and surprised me with a laptop so I could start building my site. He was juggling his grad school classes, helping with the kids, and running to the grocery store (sometimes four or five times in one day) so that I could keep refining my recipes. He was also solving the daily technical issues that kept popping up and also kicking my ass in the most loving way every time I thought about giving up. Jo, my best friend, who lives in Rhode Island, spent hours editing my recipes to make sure everything was grammatically correct. With four kids of her own, Im not sure how she found the time, but she was rooting for me and so excited to see my passion lit up in this way. As the end of April neared, I had to cook two or three meals at a time to hit my birthday deadline, and therefore completely misrepresented the culinary standards my husband and children should expect from me. Dont care for Thai? No problem, we also have Italian and French options on our menu this evening! I sent my children to school with warm lunches every day that spring like some kind of Martha Stewart protZgZ, and then disappointed them terribly when things eventually returned to normal PB&J fare. Thankfully, our friends were more than happy to come over to be our taste testers and help us chow down on the vast quantities of food coming out of my kitchen. Our landlord, who lived alone and was either 92 or 101, depending on which day you asked him, was the happy recipient of many of the meals I was working on, too. The recipes were coming together, but I still really wanted to make a few videos to accompany them and wasnt quite sure where to start. I didnt own a good camera, I didnt own a smartphone, and even if I had, I knew nothing about filming or editing. Philip made some phone calls, and through his brothers, I was introduced to a character named Brian Hardin. Brian is a tall, laid-back hippie who cares about health and nutrition the way I care about donuts and butter. Hes creative and eccentric and funny. He always has a big smile on his face and regularly serves his guests sugar-free chia cake in an apartment covered with wall tapestries, mandalas, and peace signs. Brian also has a lot of experience filming and editing, and had already worked on a few documentaries and music videos when I met him. We hit it off immediately. We mapped out six videos, which he charged me next to nothing for, because, as Brian said, "Philips brothers are like family to me, so youre family now, too!" I maintain that he was also secretly excited to be force-fed bites of all the cheesy, gooey, chocolatey, bacon-filled recipes wed be filming. Since we were ambitious, short on time, and completely nuts, we decided to shoot all six videos in one delicious, messy day. I spent the next few weeks going to Brians apartment, often with Details ISBN0525561862 Author Kristina Kuzmic Short Title Hold on, but Dont Hold Still Language English ISBN-10 0525561862 ISBN-13 9780525561866 Pages 272 UK Release Date 2021-02-09 Country of Publication United States US Release Date 2021-02-09 Format Paperback Year 2021 Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Publication Date 2021-02-09 Subtitle Hope and Humor From My Seriously Flawed Life DEWEY 158.1 Audience General NZ Release Date 2021-05-03 AU Release Date 2021-05-03 Imprint Viking Press Inc Place of Publication New York We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:131230642;

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