"Marian Volkman's Life Skills is a serious, impressive, and thoughtful work with one objective in mind: teaching how to reach one's full potential in practical, pragmatic, easy-to-follow steps that will literally change one's life. This masterpiece of a survival guide will benefit all who turn its pages. The chapter on the importance of relationships is worth the price of the book alone, as most problems in life are relationship-oriented." --James W. Clifton, M.S., Ph.D., LCSW

"If you liked the first edition of Life Skills, you will be delighted to know that in this edition, we find even more exercises to achieve the goals of each chapters, more context and explanations in each section to reach even deeper reflections and realizations." --Gina Michaud, B. Ed., OCT, Certified Traumatic Incident Reduction Facilitator

"This book is exactly as its title says, it's full of life skills, skills that can be known, understood, used and developed. Skills that if widely known and used, would make this Earth a much better place to live in. It's fresh and easy to read and understand. It's full of personal examples and challenges that you can undertake or just leave be and continue reading, but above all, it's fun to read." -- Branislav Chrenka, MD,Former National Crisis Intervention Team Director, Slovakia, Post-Traumatic Crisis Intervention Specialist

"Life Skills by Marian Volkman is a must-have in every personal development growth library. Each page of this delightful read is filled with techniques, awareness exercises and insightfully valuable life improvement reflections that can be done independently, with a friend or group and as often as you wish. If you're looking for a greater understanding of yourself and others, you will surely find the tools within these pages to assist you to look inward. I have gifted this dynamite book to many clients in my private practice and it warms my heart when they report back having helped themselves with something they've found in Life Skills. It's a toolbox in a book! Life Skills is a gift that when opened and utilized can be the gift that never stops giving." -- Amie Dekold Elias, Doors To Healing, Certified Traumatic Incident Reduction Facilitator and Trainer

"Life Skills is an incredible resource of easy-to-follow techniques to enhance the reader's ability to improve the domains of their life in a person-centered way. Based on the concepts of Applied Metapsychology, the tools and strategies guide the reader through the steps to make real change within their life. The exercises enable one to be present, achieve more awareness of oneself, and improve the domains of life, enabling the achievement of higher potential. I found the exercises for moving up on the emotional scale particularly enjoyable; these enable the reader to bring about positive changes within themselves and their relationships. The awareness enhancers and remedies are the cherry on top, outlining adaptable strategies for everyday upsets and stressors." -- Cami Tiska Caton, LCSW, Certified Senior Traumatic Incident Reduction Trainer, State Assessment Director, Chrysalis Health

"Life Skills doesn't try and change you, but encourages you to just first observe your life (and provides helpful hints on how to do that) and pay attention to what is working. The book is sprinkled with humor throughout to ease the reading along. Best of all, there is no wrong way to do the exercises in the book. All exercises are meant to help increase your own awareness about particular areas of your life. I found I got as much out of thinking about the exercises as I did writing them out. This really is a book that anyone, regardless of their current situation in life, can benefit from." -- Cherie Burbach for Reader Views

"Life Skills by Marian Volkman is not to be read once and then put away. It is a guide to living a full, satisfactory life, a philosophy, a challenge. If you take the trouble to do the exercises the way the author suggests, they will change your life. When I edit a book, I look at words, sentences, and the way ideas are expressed and related to each other. With this book, I continually found myself thinking about the meanings the author discussed, relating them to my own experience, applying them to my own life. I think this shows the book's power. As a psychotherapist, I know that my work will have been improved through my reading of Life Skills." -- Bob Rich, M.Sc., Ph.D., author of From Depression to Contentment

★WINNER - 2023 Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award (Silver Medalist)
★The essential reading as everyone’s "life development library", based on the theory of "metapsychology", scientifically and effectively helps us learn to "look inward"! Improve self-awareness, explore personal potential, expand habitual cognition, heal traumatic emotions, and improve interpersonal relationships.
★2022 new version! Every page of this delightful book is filled with insightful and valuable methodological techniques, awareness exercises, and life reflections. All readers can read and practice freely, independently, with a friend or group, or even at their own pace.

Metapsychology, as developed by Frank A. Gerbode, MD, is a subject rich in philosophy and practical application. Applied Metapsychology is the practical application of this subject to fulfill personal goals, from relieving past pain to living more fully to expanding consciousness. Life Skills expands on this and the reader will:

Learn handy brief remedies to assist another person after a shock, injury or other distress
Learn simple methods for expanding your awareness on a daily basis
Gain a deeper understanding of relationships and how to strengthen and nurture any relationship
Learn the components of successful communication, what causes communication to break down, and how to repair breakdowns
Gain vital keys to understanding those behaviors of other people that have previously been inexplicable to you
Learn an effective tool for making important life decisions
Explore human potential

Marian grew up in a family of seekers and has always been interested in the possibilities of human potential and of inter-species communication. In addition to conducting training in Traumatic Incident Reduction and the educational system of Applied Metapsychology in many countries, she maintains a private practice working with individuals using these methods.

After attending the University of Michigan for three years (it was the sixties), she dropped out to pursue a more eclectic education. Years of study and travel lead her to a meeting in the early 80's with Frank A Gerbode, M.D., the developer of Applied Metapsychology and they have worked together ever since.

She is married to author and publisher Victor R. Volkman and has a daughter, Stephanie. They live in Ann Arbor Michigan with, yes, it's true, many cats.

Marian contributed to the book Beyond Trauma: Conversations on Traumatic Incident Reduction, edited by Victor before completing her own book Life Skills, and her work of fiction, Turtle Dolphin Dreams.

She has three more nonfiction books in the works and another work of fiction.