Book excerpt: Incontinence is one of the biggest secrets of our time. More than 25 million Americans suffer from some form of incontinence. Incontinence affects all aspects of our life. It affects the location of the vacation, the job, the social gatherings, the finances, the color of our clothing, even our movements. It affects our food, our drink, sleep and rest, the time of laughter, and virtually all aspects of life. But still we do not hear anything about it in the media, not between people, not between doctors and patients, and not between husbands and wives. Everybody is so embarrassed about incontinence that they do not want to talk about it and usually neglect it, and by negligence, most of the time, it becomes worse and decreases the quality of life significantly. It causes men and women to isolate themselves and do behaviors that surprise others, and often loved ones resent them without knowing the real cause. People even cancel important social events of close friends because of incontinence such as weddings, anniversaries, trips, and more. Billions of dollars are spent; environment pollution is worsening, and the rate of depression and isolation increasing. People lose their independence and get transferred to nursing homes because of keeping this secret. It is time the big secret comes out. We want to talk about it loud and clear. I plead to the media, to all women advocates, to all health advocates, to human rights advocates, to environmentalists, to all elderly advocates—let’s break the silence many people suffered and are suffering still today. I plead to all women and men, at any age, to break the silence. Do appropriate exercises at any age. These exercises are illustrated in this book. The accompanying DVD illustrates the exercises and can help you significantly reduce the incidence of incontinence. I plead to all mothers and fathers to teach these exercises to your children. May the future generation be luckier and healthier than we are. There is help out there. Just ask for it; do your part. Talk to your doctor.