Soaring Through Setbacks: Rise Above Adversity, Reclaim Your Life
By Cheryl Perlitz, Peak Publications, $16.95, 215 pages, (May 2004), available for pre-order at www.cameopublications.com

We often learn the hard way that no one is immune to tragedy, especially when we aren't expecting it. Just when you start to feel secure in your life plans, your career, or your relationships, sudden changes can ruin everything. In her new self-help book, entitled Soaring Through Setbacks: Rise Above Adversity, Reclaim Your Life, author Cheryl Perlitz gives readers the insight to overcome the obstacles life has the tendency to toss in our path.
Using her own personal losses as background for the recovery process, Perlitz gives readers the knowledge and tools to survive, revive, and thrive after major life change. Asserting that change tests the human spirit in the same way mountain climbing tests endurance, the author parallels recovery with the preparation for, and execution of, a climbing adventure.
Soaring Through Setbacks is unique in its approach to emotional healing and recovery, because it uses allusions to the natural world as a basis for the process. She describes the four Chinese Seasons as a parallel to the human experience, and then uses mountain climbing, and all the mental and physical strength the sport requires, as a reflection of the strength required to endure life changes. With the confidence of experience, Perlitz captures the reader's attention by retelling her own story of loss and grief. Then she keeps interest peaked by incorporating her personal triumphs, memories, and wisdom with a step-by-step guide to rebalancing life after a major change.
Aside from explaining the grief and recovery process, Perlitz gives readers one hundred survival tips for moving past the changes in their own lives. By teaching readers how to reduce stress and appreciate the small moments, she starts with what to do when the change occurs (or when the mountain appears) and carries them through the climb to full emotional and spiritual recovery (or the summit of the mountain). Through inspirational quotes and ancient wisdom, she helps readers survive the pain of change, revive their true selves, and thrive with a greater wisdom and purpose.
Ultimately, Perlitz explains how lightening the load and embracing an adventure attitude can help readers renew their strength and spirit, meet the challenge, and climb out of their comfort zone, one step at a time. No matter what changes the readers are dealing with, they can come away from this book with a survival spirit and the confidence to hope for the future.
As change is an inevitable obstacle that everyone eventually faces, Perlitz's book answers back with the spirit of a true adventurer. Those with an appreciation for the power of the natural world will relate to the message conveyed in Soaring Through Setbacks. After reading the book, anyone feeling the weight of change in their life will truly experience the freedom and renewal it can also bring.

About the Author:
After the deaths of her first husband and parents, and the decision to give up her dogs, Cheryl Perlitz restructured her life and learned the true meaning of "climbing mountains." Perlitz is an experienced adventurer and professional speaker. She shares the lessons she has learned from the mountain to help others transform their own challenges at home and at work into opportunities for adventure and positive change.