How I Learned to Smile from the Inside

Book excerpt: The first book in a riveting new self-help trilogy, “How I Learned To Smile From The Inside,” first-time author, Seth Santoro, CEC, presents a clear, concise, and easy to read five-step approach to healing from trauma. It's a how-to-survive trauma manual written to help people find their smile again.In the book, Seth takes us through quite a journey into five intimate and harrowing stories. The first is his diagnosis of superficial spreading malignant melanoma. The second is his very scary two-year monogamous (or so he thought) relationship where someone is diagnosed as HIV+. The third account is an almost kidnap (hostage-type situation) in Mexico, where Seth was held at gunpoint, six semi-automatic weapons to be exact, for nearly an hour by the Zetas Cartel. The fourth story is Seth's first-hand account for the nasty and gnarly events of September 11th in New York City and the last is the unfortunate deaths of five of his dear friends in just under two years.Shock, Mock-cceptance, In Overwhelmdom, Learning, and Embrace are the five phases in this extraordinary technique intended for healing. Seth Santoro, CEC, identifies these and guides the reader toward a better understanding of our not-so-unique “healing” process. Santoro expands on these powerful concepts to show how more awareness is not only essential to overcoming trauma, but also the key to living a more balanced, more centered, and fuller life, referred to as the Smile From The Inside lifestyle choice.Within each chapter, Santoro shares one personal traumatic experience after another, gently and brilliantly interwoven, in order to enhance and further carry the concept home. In other words, as the individual phases develop, progress, and subside, so too do Seth's titillating stories.Key phrases to remember: Pain is Inevitable, but Suffering is Optional; Sometimes We Need to Give Time, Time; With Hope, Anything is Surmountable; Everything in Life Begins With a Choice; and The Best is Always Yet To Come.This book is designed to inspire each individual, literally, one step at a time, to Smile From The Inside.