From The Bookshelf: Stephen J. Kristof’s Feeling Normal Again

FROM THE BOOKSHELF Feeling Normal Again . . . Local Author Tackles COVID Fallout

It may be hard to fathom, but for two years we’ve lived under a cloud of uncertainty and angst from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in March 2020 who would have imagined that we’d still be reeling from it? Since then, the world has changed a lot and we’ve changed along with it.

COVID has taken much more from us than we likely realize.

Global rates of emotional distress resulting from the pandemic have skyrocketed and people everywhere are longing to feel normal again.

While many people are feeling emotionally battered, they’re unable to articulate specifically what’s wrong or how to begin healing.

Many of us have reluctantly accepted that we’ve been sentenced to a “new normal” that’s just a shell of the robust and happy lives we once enjoyed.

Windsor based author Stephen J. Kristof’s new book — Feeling Normal Again — presents answers and strategies that will hopefully help heal the wounds and restore normality.

When asked about his inspiration to write the book Kristof replies: “In mid2021, I began to recognize a pattern during conversations with friends and colleagues. So many people from different backgrounds were talking about how they just wanted life to feel normal again. After doing some research, I found that this has become a global experience.”

Kristof went to work, conducting further in-depth research and interviews to get a handle on exactly how this seemingly endless pandemic has impacted people in emotional, social and even political ways.

Surprised at the extent to which our emotions have been battered, he found that the top impacts include anxiety, malaise, depression, social isolation, grief, sleep disorders, fatigue, broken relationships and loss of hope.

Feeling Normal Again is a timely guidebook that keeps its promise, providing over 50 easy-to-use strategies to promote healing, living life more fully and returning to normality.

So, what’s next?

In Kristof’s opinion: “Most epidemiologists believe the pandemic will finally end this year. We may already be seeing the beginning of the end as a huge swath of our population has its dance with Omicron, which appears to be a milder variant. However, as the disease loosens its grip, the emotional damage may not simply disappear; that’s where my book offers help and hope.”

The content also takes-on some weighty subjects, including the social and political divisiveness that have been further intensified by COVID, along with some sober advice about controlling its spread.

Readers will feel particularly uplifted and hopeful as the book ends with much-needed positivity.

“COVID will not have the last word,” states Kristof. “We owe it to ourselves to be resilient, to put a priority on our personal

Local Author Stephen Kristof has previously written articles and web content, but Feeling Normal Again is his first mass-market book. He is already working on a second book to be released in fall 2022. Photo courtesy of Kara Kristof Photography.

healing, to be stubbornly hopeful and to have faith in God.”

Feeling Normal Again is a must-read book for the times!

It’s available locally at: From The Heart (1356 Ottawa Street) and Storytellers Bookstore (1473 Ottawa Street) in Windsor and the River Bookshop (67 Richmond Street) in Amherstburg.

It is also available in paperback and e-book from Amazon.ca or Amazon.com by searching for “b09myr8fws”or “Feeling Normal Again Kristof”.

If you would like to connect with the author please visit: StephenKristof.com.