About The Author

I didn't set out to write At Home In the Real World, the need for it found me. My husband and I bought a handsome bungalow on a nice street in Pittsburgh in 2011. As a landscape architect, I was outside on our property most days–learning to garden and grow healthy food. That’s when I heard the gunfire. And soon learned that burglaries nearby ranked in the City’s top 10%. A year later, shocked by gunfire close to home, I decided to learn how to strengthen our home against break-ins, and defend our property and family if I had to.

This can-do, how-to manual is the result of five years of research, writing, practice and tough lessons from great mentors (including a U.S. Marines Major who trained elite military forces, and, a retired Law Enforcement Office of 26 years). It’s my roll-up-the-sleeves journey into the Willingness and Mindset each of us needs for home security and home / self defense. I'm a stronger person for it; more grounded, aware, and calmly prepared.

Life doesn’t come with manuals for the tough things we all face, so I wrote this one, because you want prevention more than defense.

Be ready for both.

Overview

Rattled by the world around you? Feeling vulnerable and wondering where to begin? That was me at the beginning of my journey when I started out as Queen of Denial and ended up a Domestic Badass! Here are the nuts & bolts of this how-to manual: First, learn to secure your home and have a plan for everyone living in it. Keep bad guys out by implementing these sound ideas, products and DIY projects. Second, learn to recognize the myths we live with, and correct them with basic American law. Third, learn to cultivate the mindset necessary to prevail in a self-defense moment. Through photographs and illustrations, Meyer covers techniques in unarmed self defense, improvised weapons, pepper spray, and firearms (emphasis on beginners). My promise: you will be inspired to make one or more changes, and, you will remember your personal power.

No matter your age, ability, or sex, you have options!

Description

With years of solid research, the author exposes the shocking extent of unreported crimes against people and property. She reveals 5 dangerous myths about police protection, restraining orders, and home security systems, and corrects these misperceptions with American case law. Role-playing exercises have you being the predator looking for an easy target–a home or person. She shows how to: detect unwanted persons outside, and keep bad guys out of your home or apartment. These lessons are based on three tenets of home security: Eliminate Surprise • Deter Access • Have a Plan!

Meyer reminds us of our primal instincts that dust off and reignite, both physically and mentally. She underscores the need to enhance one's intuition, an excellent tool inherited from your ancestors. We are here after all, because of the ancestors before us who made it through times of adversity.

Regarding home and self defense, she gives careful consideration to unarmed self defense, improvised weapons, pepper spray, and firearms. Whatever one chooses, proper mindset is crucial. Practice is a must. One important lesson: how adrenaline affects us, and why our responses must be simple and effective. Her treatment on guns for home and self defense is thoughtful, real, and articulate.

The combination of personal story, images, humor and encouragement make this book a compelling read that’s been called, "A manual to live by."