CENTRAL RECOVERY PRESS

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      Central Recovery Press, Las Vegas, NV 89129

       © 2010 by Dawn Maslar

      All rights reserved. Published 2010.

      Printed in the United States of America.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

      Publisher: Central Recovery Press

       3371 N. Buffalo Drive

       Las Vegas, NV 89129

      16 15 14 13 12 11 10 1 2 3 4 5

      eISBN-10: 1-936290-43-X

      eISBN-13: 978-1-936290-43-7

       Cover design and interior by Sara Streifel, Think Creative Design

       Acknowledgments

      I want to thank my dad. Besides being my one and only

      stockholder, he loved and encouraged me every step of the way.

      Second, I want to thank my best friend, Ed. His love

       and support allowed me to pursue my dream

       (or, as he called it at times, my obsession).

      Thank you, Vivian, for your loving guidance.

      Thank you, Mom, for your love and support

      Thank you, Karen Hillman at KarenHillman.com, for the beautifully done author photo.

      Thank you, Granny, for your love and support.

      I want to thank the wonderful women who gave

       their time to read, edit, and make suggestions:

      Michelle, Michele, Paula, and Jana. A special thanks to Mary,

       who spent her weekend doing my final edits.

      Thank you, Hal Zina Bennett, my kind, diligent, and tactful editor.

      Special thanks to Donna, who helped show me the path.

      Thanks to Norbert, Jay, and the rest of the Davies writers’ group.

      Thank you, Helen O’Reilly, for your skillful editing.

      Thank you, God, for giving me this opportunity and blessing.

       Table of Contents

Introduction

1 What’s a Broken Picker, and What Does It Have to Do with My Broken Heart?

2 How Do You Break a Picker?

3 Healing Your Picker, Step by Step

4 Step One Personal Retreat

       5 Step Two Taking Care of Yourself

       6 Step Three Meditation: Getting Grounded

       7 Step Four Journaling: Gaining Self-Knowledge

       8 Step Five Positive Affirmations

       9 Step Six Pamper Yourself: Loving Yourself

       10 Step Seven Do Something New: Changing Your Beliefs

       11 Step Eight Doing Something Good for Someone Else: Joy

       12 Step Nine Review of You

       13 Step Ten Dreamweaving

       14 Step Eleven Plan-a-Man: Build Your Beau

       15 Step Twelve Making a Vision Board

       16 The Dating Guide

       Resources

Introduction

      Are you one of us women who gets her heart broken over and over again, unlike some others who seem to know how to attain their hearts’ desires? Have you ever been told that you’ve got “a broken picker”? If so, take heart—your broken picker is what keeps you choosing the partners most likely to break your heart; but healing your broken picker is what this book is all about.

      What’s a picker?

      Well, to begin with, it’s that part of us that chooses the men in our lives, and when it’s broken, that’s trouble! Having a broken picker can be a very painful thing. Take it from me. I know. I once had a man jump onto the hood of my car, clutching the torn-out distributor wires and screaming, “Hah, you can’t go anywhere now!” A person with a well-running picker might have leapt from the car, called the cops, or generally gotten away, fast. But no, not me. My broken picker took his actions as a sign that he must really love me—and I married him! That was husband number one, and the beginning of a string of disappointing relationships that were a sure sign