As I sit down to officially write my review of “Yell Less, Love More,” I look back over my own life since I found Sheila McCraith’s web-site and how it has changed not only me, but my family as well.
Two years ago, my children were in first grade and kindergarten, I was teaching at a local school and my husband was working for a restaurant chain that called for him to be “at work” at least 65-70 hours a week. We were doing great, or at least I thought, when we were given a huge hurdle to cross. My husband was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Tension was at an all time high and to say we were worried, well that was an understatement. Our family was in a downward spiral that I could not see us coming out of without many, many wounds. I stumbled across the Orange Rhino Challenge web site one day and was almost too afraid to read any, but knowing if I did not, my children would become just another statistic of having divorced parents. I did not want that happening. I began following Sheila’s blog and stayed up one sleepless night until 3am re-reading it all from the start. Yes, I had to re-start a few times and there have been days were I had to re-start more than once during the day, but The Orange Rhino Challenge has helped me by allowing my to be accountable to myself and not to make excuses as to why it’s OK to yell.
I stumbled across the Orange Rhino Challenge web site one day and was almost too afraid to read any, but knowing if I did not, my children would become just another statistic of having divorced parents
Fast forward two years and we are now cancer free, our children are blooming into amazing young people and we all have taken on a responsibility to one another to create a loving and caring home.
What will soon be available to you is an amazing book/study guide/diary/and mirror all rolled into one self help book. Even that sentence does not do this piece of writing justice. This challenge has been my lifesaver on more than once occasion.
I am a very visual person and when it comes to this book as a study guide, I would read the end of the chapter that is titled Revelations, Actions, and Tips first so I knew what I was going to strive for that day, even before my feet would hit the floor for the day. There is a section that shows how to handle the situation depending on in you are level-headed, annoyed, or ready to blow-it that to me was priceless. Using this book as a diary, I was able to use the Today’s Actions sections as a time to reflect on my day and if it was an Orange Rhino day or one that was more Grey Rhino. I also treated this area as a mirror, so I could go back and examine past days looking for ways to have great actions and not reactions. 
There is a Top 10 section as well as a FAQ that becomes a handy reference section allowing you jump to an answer during those moments when you think “Bed time better happen soon or I’m going to loose it!” Turn here or the Triggers/Solutions section and feel yourself deescalating. This book also has great reprint-ables that allow you to keep track of your own triggers and a rhino on the back cover that now graces quite a few places in our house.
Lastly and honestly, the part of this entire book/challenge that makes it completely doable is the fact that there are so many others out there creating a community of care ands support that can offer a helping hand. The Blog as well as the Facebook page offer you the reader a listening ear and moral support with out fear of judgment.
I want to thank Sheila for having the courage to put this all out into the open where others can benefit from her experiences.
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And I want to thank Christy for sharing her story with us!! Come join the wonderful Community that Christy is talking about by joining in the “Yell Less, Love More 30-Day Challenge Book Club” (read all about it here.) To pre-order the book, order from your favorite online book retailer here.
