This book couldn't have come at a better time for my family. My husband and I have been married for almost 17 years and we have 3 active sons in junior high and high school. My husband was a successful bank manager in New York City and we built our dream home in a beautiful town nearby...

Two years ago my husband's company let him go after a round of downsizing. We were completely blindsided. The scariest part was wondering how we were going to pay the mortgage and send the kids to college - we didn't have much in the way of savings. Our only choice was to sell the house and while we were lucky to find a buyer we still lost money on the sale and had to move back to the house where I grew up. My husband felt humiliated and our sons were miserable leaving their school and friends. I remember feeling completely depressed and thinking our "good life" was over.

Fortunately a friend recently gave my husband Dr Johnson's book. We both read it and realized that we had actually helped to create our "valleys" because we didn't take advantage of the good times to prepare for the unexpected. We decided there was no way we were going to stay in this valley we had created and it was time to start making a plan to get back to our good life, even if it might not be exactly what we had before.

We have a lot of work to do, but like Ann Carr in the book I'm determined to be upbeat and positive in spite of everything we've been through. I can't wait to report on the progress we will have made by this time next year. See you then!