"Stress Relief for Busy People"

Rickwood Pens Escape The Pace Book

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by Sandra Steilo
Nanaimo Daily News
Used with permission 

These days almost everyone could do with a few moments out of each day to 'escape the pace.'

Lisa Rickwood was one of those people who didn't take that time. Four years ago, Rickwood and her husband opened Rickwood's Menswear downtown; she was working full time, she had two children and was balancing an art career. Basically, she was feeling overwhelmed.

"I thought, there must be something wrong with me because I can't keep up," Rickwood said.

"I think it's our dirty little secret. We run around with this, 'I'm so busy mentality' and I think most of us would love to just chuck everything and temporarily escape once in a while."

Instead, Rickwood found another project she could do - write a self-help book. She wrote: Escape The Pace:100 Fun And Easy Ways To Slow Down And Enjoy Your Life, after reading about 60 books on slowing down, talking to people about their problems relaxing, and researching for about four years.

A revised version of the book was released in February and is now in local stores, such as Falconer Books, Rickwood's Menswear, The Little Shop of Novels in Chemainus and The Mulberry Bush Bookstore in Parksville and Qualicum Beach.

"It was the biggest intellectual challenge of my life," Rickwood said of writing and publishing the book. "I just wanted to complete it to say I could do it."

The book gives examples of quick, inexpensive things people can do to get away from it all - even if it's only for a few minutes each day.

"Eventually, if you do something for yourself, even if you still lead a busy life, you feel like the focus is on you," Rickwood said. "The book is fun, simple to read and has little mini escapes that can help you feel refreshed."

Rickwood said the idea for the book came during the busy Christmas season. the Rickwoods had hired an employee to help at the store, but he ended up dying in the shop of a heart attack. Rickwood said the incident stressed her out and showed her she needed to slow down her life. But she didn't know how.

"I didn't know how to change things," she said. 

"I started reading lots of books, but I found they wanted you to do a lot of homework - making lists and that kind of thing. I didn't want to do any homework."

So she decided to write her own book. Rickwood used to carry around a small box she called her 'escape the pace box.'

It contained things which made her feel relaxed and happy. The name stuck and the idea for the book was there.

Rickwood was no stranger to writing; she was a monthly fashion columnist for about nine years and she found she was inspired to write the book to help others as well as herself.

Now that the book is complete, Rickwood is working on her next challenges - promoting and marketing the book, working at the store and she intends to start doing her art again. She said she handles it all by taking a little bit of advice from her books. To relax she takes her dog for walks and gets outside with her children when she can.