The Swiss Cheese Theory of Life Review and Giveaway

UPDATE: This contest has ended.  Click here for the winner.

We love cheese in my house.   My daughter and I have an inside joke where she always mentions cheese on the way home from one of her activities.  I'm always curious as to how she will work the subject of cheese into our conversation.  By the time I get home, I'm pretty hungry for some cheese!

But did you ever think of Swiss cheese as a metaphor for life?

The Swiss Cheese Theory of Life by Judith A. Belmont, MS, and Lora Shor, MSW, use Swiss cheese and its holes as a way to help you gain insight on a variety of life experiences - dealing with regret, enjoying successes, finding wellness, and achieving life balance, among other topics.

As they say in the introduction, "Swiss cheese needs holes to truly be Swiss...As in life, it is the holes or imperfections that give us character!" You might prefer to be a nice smooth cream cheese, but wouldn't that be boring?  And they also point out that the larger the holes, the sweeter the cheese.  So it is with our lives - our lives are better because of the imperfections.

Your journey through this extended metaphor is helped by three characters:

• The Stinky Cheese represents the destructive thoughts that we all have running through our minds;
• The Swiss Wiz is a mentor and coach who helps teach the lessons;
• and The Swiss Cheese Fairy of Life is positive, affirming, and helpful.

Belmont and Shor present ten cheese-laden lessons:

1. Fondue can never turn back into a block of cheese (regret)
2. There is no such thing as a perfect slice of cheese (transforming mistakes into successes)
3. No whine with the cheese, please! (healthy thinking)
4. If the cheese is ripe, dig in! (being proactive)
5. Living whole despite the holes (mindfulness)
6. Enjoy the wine and cheese party (making connections)
7. Cheese lite (wellness)
8. The cheese wheel of life - how do you slice it? (achieving life balance)
9. Mastering the cheese wheel of change (managing stress)
10. Smile and say cheese! (gratitude)

It's basically ten self-help books in one, and it has very cute and helpful cartoons throughout.  And all the cheese, too!

I wasn't blue when I read this book. It was very Gouda!  And it made me hungry for cheese!

Would you like to read The Swiss Cheese Theory of Life?  It's available for purchase via Amazon.com (you can use gift cards earned through Swagbucks to get it!).

Or, you can get it for free: Frugal Follies is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of the book!

This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and older.  It ends on Friday, February 10, 2012, at 12:01 am EST.

To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.  I am testing it out - let me know what you think!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Disclaimer: I received a copy of The Swiss Cheese Theory of Life for review. All opinions are 100% mine. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)