You are not doomed to spend your life learning how to "manage your stress." In fact, Dr. Sheperd believes that "managing your stress" sounds like a course on how to be organized with your misery. Is that really the goal of your life? To just manage your miseries? Perhaps compartmentalize them? "Here's my work stress." "Here's my home stress." "Here's my driving home stress." That's it???

Finally here is a book that challenges the very underpinnings of how we look at stress, power and personal responsibility.

For example, how often do you hear that the holidays are always stressful? We just accept that gibberish. "Oh yeah. Those holidays are always stressful."

But the holidays aren't stressful. They're just the holidays. Just because you're screwed up, don't blame Christmas.

Don't misunderstand. This isn't one of those, "Just think positive thoughts and everything will be fine." That's dumb. Really dumb. And, if you're just waiting for things to get better and then you'll be fine, this book isn't for you.

This book attacks, with a good sense of humor, the common myths about stress. Myths that even the mental health community buys hook, line and sinker and then spreads to the general population. Myths like; stress is actually "out there" in the world - we're under a lot of stress, we're going into a stressful situation, people stress each other out. Wrong - Wrong - Wrong.

Myths like the idea that paper and pencil "stress tests" actually measure people's stress level by assigning stress levels to events and then seeing how many times they happen to people. As the book explores, that is really a stupid concept - and one that the mental health community passes on to the "common folk" all the time. Make sure you understand what I am saying - Things and events don't have stress in them. People can experience stress, but it doesn't happen "to them." Stress is something we generate within ourselves by our thinking processes.

And forget "good stress." Who talks like that? Have you ever had anyone say to you, " Boy, I'm really excited. I've got a lot of good stress coming in this afternoon." I doubt it.

"Who's In Charge?" is definitely not your typical stress book. It is funny in places, but it will make you think. Actually it will give you the opportunity to think. Nothing or nobody can make you think.