Author Donna Debs channels Erma Bombeck’s funny reflections on life In Debs’ collection of humorous essays, titled Wash Your Brain: Stories. Laughter. Yoga. Life. The former journalist, who once wrote a newspaper humor column, now shares her anecdotes with the world, inviting readers to lighten their loads, dissipate their stress, and cleanse their perspective by ‘washing their brains,’ something she accomplishes by hanging upside down in her yoga studio. Her book is organized in ‘layers’ rather than chapters, bundling up to a dozen essays in each. These layers have confessional titles: Blundering, Tolerating, Coping, Straying, Reconciling, Loving, and Knowing. Readers can expect to get their brains scrubbed and rinsed in fewer than 300 pages. A handful of black-and-white sketches illustrate yoga positions and add to the book’s charm.

Wash Your Brain eases readers into author Donna Debs’ world by getting them comfortable with her self-deprecating style of writing. Layer 1, the Blundering chapter, has Debs getting her embarrassing stories out of the way first. Readers will be emboldened to continue, thinking, “Well, at least I’ve never done that!” As the book progresses, Debs shares stories that readers will relate to, such as the questionable choices we sometimes make regarding jeans, makeup, shoes, tanning, and dancing. She motivates us to forgive ourselves, to wave at our reflection in the mirror and say, “Hi, honey!” Readers move through Wash Your Brain’s other Layers that recognize life’s challenges at home and while traveling, then strengthen our resolve to plow ahead. Debs’ essays are alternately mildly or wildly amusing, and exaggeration is a tool she wields enthusiastically. Wash Your Brain will give readers the break from life that they came for.

In Wash Your Brain: Stories. Laughter. Yoga. Life by Donna Debs, the author presents articles about situations and events in her life, weaving them together with entertaining details and yoga poses. From attempting to age gracefully to the struggle to find a suitable pair of jeans, from a handsome French dentist to finding a margarita that won't put her flat on her back, Debs shares her amusing adventures. She peels back her experiences and views in layers, revealing unique observations in seven sections and reminding you to "scrub" and "rinse" your mind. As she writes, Debs incorporates yoga into the episodes, describing poses that fit her moods and situations and one pose that helps her "wash her brain" when she's overwhelmed or needs inspiration.

Balancing her roles as a yoga teacher and writer, Donna Debs conveys her hilarious exploits with distinctive authenticity. Daily anecdotes have never been funnier as she takes simple ideas or occupances and shows a more cynical side. Her life may appear upside down - like the name of her column - but Debs merely shows her readers how to relax and look at inconveniences in a different way. Some of the material may help put you in a more positive or productive mindset with a renewed perspective as you laugh out loud and relate to some of the author's confessions. Debs's readers will get a very clear picture of her, making her idiosyncrasies endearing. Readers who enjoy a healthy dose of humor as they read will love Wash Your Brain.

Wash Your Brain: Stories. Laughter. Yoga. Life by Donna Debs is an amazing nonfiction collection of stories that will have you laughing out loud. Donna Debs is a successful writer, reporter, editor, and columnist, not to mention a certified yoga teacher. This is the story of how yoga helped her “wash her brain” of the mishaps that Donna has contended with throughout life, of the scrapes she got into, and the wisdom she’s learned while hanging upside down in her yoga studio. From snowblowers to Skinnygirl Margheritas to sexy dentists, a naked thief, and total drivel, Donna will have you in fits as she lays her life bare for all to read and teaches us how to wash our brains.

Wash Your Brain by Donna Debs is a laugh-out-loud collection of stories that will have you in stitches all the way through. I’m sure most of us can relate to a few of these stories and probably have tales of our own to tell but Donna has dared to tell everyone. This is a book about clearing the brain of everything that clutters it – if we don’t do it now and then, our brains are at risk of exploding – and how hanging upside down really can help you make sense of an awful lot. From a column called “Upside Down” to a wonderful book, Donna shows us that life is there for the living and that if we can’t laugh a lot, life will soon drag us down. This should be the kick we all need to hang upside down and empty everything out. A fantastic book; I highly recommend it for anyone who needs a good laugh.

There comes a time in all book reviewers’ lives when they really need a break from their favorite genres. After all, there are only so many psychological thrillers and rambling memoirs you can take. So when I was asked to review Wash Your Brain, a compilation of stories and life reflections by one of the funniest writers around, Donna Debs, I welcomed Debs’ suggestions to either practice yoga or read her hilarious short stories to release my pent-up frustrations. At 78 years of age and far from flexible, you can easily guess which option I chose to help me “wash out” my brain. So what does Donna Debs write about? Everything from the agony of having a bug crawling around in her ear…that happened to me when I was about 6…to agreeing with a friend to try to go a week without complaining, to not being able to declutter your home when you know you must, to feeling terrible when your husband can’t get himself out of a pair of men’s spanx (rather, Manx) that you talked him into trying on, to…well, you name it!

While the 80 stories in the collection bounce off the pages with humor, they also address many of our hidden insecurities, helping us accept our shortcomings with a smile. As we read and relate to so much of what Donna Debs shares, we feel our bodies and brains emptying themselves of tension. It’s a mini vacation from stress, and it’s wonderful! What makes this collection so enjoyable, apart from the almost zany takes Debs has on her ordinary, everyday encounters, is her incredible command of language. She’s a master of puns and a magician at twisting words intelligently. She keeps the chapters short and to the point, making Wash Your Brain the kind of book in which you can lose yourself for several hours, or that you can set aside for other days when your messed-up brain needs a break. Unless, of course, you’d prefer to do some yoga and hang like a bat.