Fully living up to its subtitle 'A Practical Guide for Living', Kita Markoff's "Mindfulness and Me" is a truly life-enhancing, life-changing, life celebrating 'how to' study that will have a particular and very special appeal to readers with an interest in meditation as a tool for building healthy self-esteem and improving emotional mental health in an inevitably stressful world. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Mindfulness and Me: A Practical Guide for Living" is inspired and inspiring -- and an ideal contribution to personal, professional, community, and academic library Self-Help/Self-Improvement and Meditation Studies collections. ~ Midwest Book Review, Review

Mindfulness and Me: A Practical Guide for Living, author Markoff offers an informal and approachable style of writing whilst at the same time never over complicates the messages she is trying to parlay. Always mindful of providing the reader with a clear understanding of why, and importantly how, to engage in activities that reduce stress and promote well-being, tranquillity, and contentment, this well-researched guide to bringing awareness to our forefront, thus enabling us to create a personal well-being guide to use throughout each day, will have you living a happier, and more fulfilling life in just eight weeks. In short, Mindfulness and Me will take you through the biology of stress, changing thought patterns, managing emotions, and having a better relationship with yourself and others. There’s nothing magical about it. It just makes sense! ~ Exclusive Magazine, Review

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. This is a good book it helps a person to feel like they have a little more control with their mind when emotional fears, stress or anxiety get to much. This is not a quick fix by any means and once practiced a person must keep using these very helpful tools to succeed from those negative feelings. The book will take you through 8 weeks of practices to help with mindfulness. I have found now that I have been doing them for awhile they are just coming to me more naturally and calming my mind down before the anxiety or depression would get to bad. ~ Roxanne Zubrod (Librarian), NetGalley

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. This book was absolutely FANTASTIC! It's really great and giving some background but not too much where you get bored. But more importantly, this book has a ton of practical skills and activities to try. There are so many ways to be mindful and this books does a great job of teaching many of them! ~ Amanda Gold (Educator) , NetGalley

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. I loved this book and think it would be great for anyone starting out on a mindfulness journey. I have had a mindfulness practice for some years but it was still good to read and reflect on some of the practices that I do less often. It's written in easy to understand language and I love how the author encourages you to dip into different sections if that's what you prefer rather than reading it straight. Definitely a book I will recommend to my students and friends. ~ Chris Maxwell (Reviewer), NetGalley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Have you ever wanted to learn more about mindfulness? Wanted to see if its’ practices could help you? If yes, this title provides a good guide and introduction. The book begins with some history of mindfulness and its wide usefulness across many religions and belief systems. Ms. Markoff then goes on to offer an 8 week introduction to aspects of this way of life. Chapters discuss Presence, Breathing Techniques, Body Related Practices, Working with Emotions, Traditional Mini-Meditations, Breathing Plus, Chakras and Creating Connections along with Where to Go From Here. There are many practices to try. Just one example is Thich Nhat Hahn’s Anger Mantra which is clearly explained. There is also a recommended reading list. The author invites readers to engage and see if mindfulness makes sense for them. She also suggests that readers can explore chapters in any order. Markoff notes that some readers may want to try out mindfulness with an in person guide in addition to with a book. There is a good exploration of concepts in here. Readers may well refer back to this title many times. ~ Joyce Laudon (Reviewer) , NetGalley

Rating: 4.5 Mindfulness and Me is a wonderful step-by-step guide for beginners of mindfulness practice. The format essentially is a brief theory of each lesson followed by a related practice, every day for 8 weeks. However, the author does stress that you do not need to be strict with the order of practice and you can read as you like, which I always appreciate. This book is extremely well researched with recommended reading and further resources also included at the end. I studied Psychology at university and my dissertation actually centred on mindfulness so I was very drawn to this book. My personal favourite week of the book was actually learning about chakras, and as a naturally sceptical person, I really found it interesting learning about these theories. There is also humour throughout the book which I thought worked really well so the book isn't overly serious and dull.... ~ Jemma Crosland (Reviewer), NetGalley

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. You often hear so much about mindfulness and being mindful in your day to day life, but I don’t think everyone is 100 percent clear on what that means or how to get there. Mindfulness and Me is a great guide to helping people create a plan for a better life. It is a great 8 week program that walks you through the steps to achieve being more mindful and finding inner peace and clarity. ~ Jill Speedman (Librarian) , NetGalley

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Mindfulness and Me provides relevant practices for emotional stability, concentration, insight, relaxation, self-control and mental fortitude. These tools provided are very helpful in assisting the reader to begin to live a happier and more fulfilling life in approximately eight weeks. In the lifestyle that most of us lead today, I found this book to be a blessing in disguise, and it came to me at just the perfect time. I will be using these methods for years to come! ~ Kitty Blocher (Reviewer), NetGalley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. This is a very accessible and concise guide to a variety of mindfulness skills. A great resource for people who are new to mindfulness practices or need a refresher! ~ Chelcy Warner (Reviewer), NetGalley

Certainly all can benefit from this eclectic arrangement of valuable techniques and practices. You’ve presented a simple and approachable range of options anyone can easily incorporate into their lives to know the presence, peace and joy of one's true nature. ~ Juliane Porter, yoga and meditation instructor and holistic lifestyle coach

Markoff’s informal and approachable style of writing de-mystifies mindfulness and provides readers with a clear understanding of why and how to engage in activities that reduce stress and promote well-being, tranquility, and contentment… I urge everyone to give Mindfulness - and Markoff’s handbook - a try. ~ Carolyn Knight, MSW, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Social Work University of Maryland Baltimore County; author of Introduction to working with adult survivors of childhood trauma: Strategies and techniques for helping professionals

The concept of mindfulness can be intimidating and overwhelming for some beginners, as well as difficult to grasp at times of chaos... Markoff’s Mindfulness and Me is an encouraging guide to self-care and provides inspiration for living a happier life with a calmer mind. ~ Amy West, LCPC, M.S; Psychotherapist treating mental health and substance use disorders since 2018