If you’ve ever felt overworked, overwhelmed, or just plain unlucky, this book is for you. Through this collection of stories, wisdom, and practical advice, readers will meet four ordinary women who have faced extraordinary life challenges. Together, they have a history of six marriages, ten children, four stepchildren, six dogs, two miscarriages, two cats, a failed adoption, widowhood, and foster parenthood. They have built companies, lost companies, and sold companies. One of them was shot and left for dead on a tarmac in South America, and two lived through the deaths of spouses. Raising babies and teenagers together, they have known celebrity and success along with loneliness and self-doubt. This book started simply with four friends getting together at the kitchen table to talk about their lives. Week by week and story by story, they realized their support of each other could help other women struggling with life’s myriad issues of work, family, and love, as well as the big questions of life and death. For over a decade, the power and strength of their collective friendship has enabled these women to not only survive but to thrive. The remarkable results are in this collection of lessons and stories and wisdom, which can help any woman turn any misfortunate event into a joy-filled opportunity. This Is Not the Life I Ordered is the culmination of weekly "kitchen table coaching" sessions that took place for more than a decade and were designed to support one another through life's ups and downs. The women realized their support of each other could help other women struggling with life’s myriad issues of work, family, and love, as well as the big questions of life and death. The power and strength of their collective friendship has enabled these women to not only survive but to thrive and the remarkable results are in this collection of lessons and stories and wisdom, which can help any woman turn any misfortunate event into a joy-filled opportunity. * Features practical "Wit Kit" tips - exercises and actions for readers to become their own life coach and start their own kitchen-table cabinets....

This Is Not the Life I Ordered is for anyone who has ever felt overworked, overwhelmed, or just plain unlucky (and, who hasn't?!). Through this collection of stories, wisdom, and practical advice, readers will meet four ordinary women who have faced extraordinary life challenges. Together, they have a history of six marriages, ten children, four stepchildren, six dogs, two miscarriages, two cats, a failed adoption, and foster parenthood. Two have lived through the death of their spouses and one was shot and left for dead on a tarmac in Guyana -- which is documented in "Jonestown" airing on PBS' American Experience

This book started simply with four friends getting together for "kitchen-table coaching sessions" to talk about their lives. Week by week and story by story, they realized their great advice to each other could help other women struggling with life's myriad issues of work, family, and love, as well as the big questions of life and death. For over a decade, the power and strength of their collective friendship enabled these women not only to survive but to thrive. They invite readers to join them to learn how they, too, can turn "misfortunate" events into joy-filled opportunities. Readers will want to share this book with every woman in their lives!

* Authors are best-selling business-book author, Deborah Collins Stephens; Emmy winner Jan Yanehiro; State Senator Jackie Speier; and entrepreneur Michealene Cristini Risley whose Flashcards was screened at last year's Cannes Film Festival.

* Authors' support circle includes Debbi Fields, Kristi Yamaguchi, Danielle Steele, Gerry Laybourne, and other power women.

* Features practical "Wit (Women in Transition) Kit" tips at the end of each chapter to help readers to be their own life coaches....