Sarasota Author Releases New Do-It-Yourself Written Legacy Book

​​Sarasota author Monica Murphy Dalide has just released her second work, “The Tao of Me – A Written Legacy for My Descendants.” The 8 ½ x 11 soft cover is available worldwide on book retailer websites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble for a suggested retail price of $38.99. 

​Dalide, a litigation paralegal turned author has spent the better part of the last thirty (30) years researching her own family tree. She’s run into a few roadblocks, but all in all, she has nailed down the details to who, when and where. “I’ve identified who my ancestors are, but the one thing that’s missing is insight into who they really were. I know their names, where they lived, how they earned a living, but beyond that, the people themselves are a mystery. That’s the frustrating aspect of personal history.” Dalide knew there wasn’t much she could do about her own predicament, but a light bulb went off. As parents, we spend so much time documenting and preserving for posterity the lives of our children. Why not employ a similar strategy in documenting and preserving for posterity our own lives for our descendants? A “baby book” for grown-ups,” she thought. Alas, “The Tao of Me” was born.

"Everyone has a story to tell, and we are all worthy of posterity and written legacy. But amazingly, so few people do it. 'The Tao of Me" hopes to change that in some measure by allowing you to readily share with future generations, in your own voice and hand that which cannot be shared through oral tradition or an ancestry database alone - a panoramic view of the living, breathing human you once were before the giant hand of fate wiped your hard drive clean. On top of all that, it's just plain fun."

Monica Murphy Dalide, Author

Cleverly crafted in 176 pages, “ ‘The Tao of Me’ makes leaving your written legacy easy, and except for some time and a little introspection, simple,” Dalide says. A family heirloom that you write yourself, in your own words and your own hand, the “Tao of Me” guides you through the process of telling your life story with prompts designed to make you reflect on who you really are. These prompts allow you to readily share in your own voice that which cannot be shared through oral tradition or a database alone – a panoramic view of the living, breathing human you once were before the giant hand of fate wiped your hard drive clean.

The usual “baby book” style information is there, to be sure, but Dalide has added several fun twists like “Screenshots From My Life,” a section featuring a range of topics like “A Day in the Life of Me Right Now,” “Moments of Angry Defiance [middle finger in the air], and “Moments When I Was So Afraid, I Nearly Destroyed My Autonomic Nervous System.” Additionally, in a section called “Gravitas: Assorted Opinions on a Vast Array of Subjects,” Dalide presents a wide range of hot-button subjects – some serious and some silly – written with the idea that personal opinions on important and not-so-important topics add a layer of your own unique personality and give humanity to the pages of your written legacy. Here is a taste:

·         Assisted Suicide and Right to Die Issues

·         Waiting 30 Minutes After Eating to Swim

·         Safeguarding Constitutional Freedoms: Keeps me awake, or I’m Good?

·         Doomsday: My Bug Out Plans

·         Reality Television and the Growing Idiocracy

·         Schadenfreude: Does Feeling it Make you a Bad Person?

·         The Rapture: My Plans for Everybody’s Stuff

·         Marriage Equality

·         Why has Civil Disobedience Become so Uncivil?

·         The Illuminati

·         Cloning: The Mirror Has Two Faces and Both of Them Are Yours,

and much more.

“Everybody has a story to tell, and we are all worthy of posterity and written legacy. You don’t need to be a writer to do it,” says Dalide. “However you ultimately decide to tell your own story, please just tell it, and don’t let anybody else hold the pen.”

“The Tao of Me” can be ordered by retailers or wholesalers for the maximum trade discount price set by the author in quantities of ten or more at CreateSpace through its CreateSpace Direct program.

ISBN: 9781517191641
Format: 8 ½ x 11 soft cover
SRP: $38.99

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