A Fifty-Year Silence: Love, War and a Ruined House in France

There were two potentially great pieces to this story, but the two pieces together felt a bit disjointed.   

The books description led me to believe that the story was to be about the mysterious end of the author's grandparents relationship.  That story could have been magnificent but both her grandmother and grandfather were pretty close lipped about that.  However, once you learn what the author's grandparents endured in the war it is very clear why they parted and I was actually surprised that it was surprising.  They lived through the terrors of the holocaust, the fear and trauma of war and then the horrors her Grandfather had to endure while acting as an interpreter during the Nuremberg trials.   I occasionally had a small glimpse that there may have been some passion or love between them at one point; but I felt that they had simply ended up together because it was expected.

The larger part of the story was that of the author Miranda deciding to write a book, and what she did after receiving funding to write that book.  It is a wonderful story of traveling to France, buying the old house her Grandparents had owned and recreating a beautiful life there for herself, including meeting and falling in love with the man of her dreams.  

I think that there are two books here and if separated and expanded on both could be really amazing.
I did not dislike the book but it is more accurately a memoir about writing a story about writing a memoir.  

You can get a copy here, I would love to hear what you think!

*I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion.

Freeing your Child from Anxiety, Revised and Updated Edition: Practical Strategies to Overcome Fears, Worries and Phobias and be Prepared for Life - - from Toddlers to Teens

Dr. Tamar Chansky, provided two very important things in this book that countless therapists and Doctors over the years have been unable to give me and my child.   The first is hope and the second and most important is a very clear and easy to understand guide on how to cope with, manage and possibly overcome anxiety.

The list of interventions we have tried with my child is VERY long, and nothing provided any sort of relief.  Because of this we were both pretty skeptical about the book but we were not even through the second chapter when I started to feel excited and hopeful and by chapter 4?  I was in tears.    As a mom, I want my child to feel comfortable exploring the world and his anxiety had not allowed for that and my pleas for someone to help him find a way to cope seemed to fall on many, many, well educated deaf ears.

My son and I have been working on the techniques in the book and the child who has been completely unable to keep it together in spaces that are too loud, too crowded, new or different recently sat through an entire Christmas play in a very crowded auditorium using what he has learned in this book, and he was completely ok!!  Simply amazing!!  

Not only do I HIGHLY recommend this book to every parent who has a child struggling with anxiety but I firmly believe that every teacher, pediatrician and mental health professional across the board that works with children should make it a point to read this book as soon as possible.

I received a free copy of the book from Blogging for books for my honest review, and for this particular opportunity I can not thank them enough!

If you love a child with anxiety, you can get a copy here, I would love to hear what you think!

Number of the Beast: Paladin Cycle, Book One

The foreword to this book warns the reader that this series extends the borders of multiple genres and that is certainly true.  

This story is one of unconditional love and the lengths that one will go to in order to protect and defend that love.  It is the story of a town, haunted by ghosts, real and imagined.  And it is the story of that town and the people in it being caught in the middle of a great cosmic battle that will potentially end the world as everyone knows it, leaving behind something far worse than anyone can imagine.

Unbeknownst to the residents of Buckeye, Texas the pond that lies in the middle of Sacred Oaks covers a cosmic portal to other worlds.   Also unbeknownst to them, the portal has recently served as the passageway for the Geminus Beast who has come as instructed by his mother Galmoria to find the “Beloved” and nothing will stop him in his quest.

Shane and Amy are building a good life together in Buckeye Texas. Shane works as a derrick hand in the oilfields and Amy is a waitress at the local diner and is helping raise Shane’s younger brother Scooter.  They are not perfect people and they have had their share of hard times. Amy spent several years in a psychiatric hospital and is very superstitious and even more so after a visit to a local fortune teller who not only refused to read for her during her last visit but also practically threw her out and told her to never come back.  Shane struggles with the guilt of a tragic accident and the responsibility of his brother when their father left and their mother became too unwell to care for him.  When Amy begins hearing a voice she is certain that she is once again losing her grip on reality, which unfortunately is not the case.  Reality is sadly going to be much scarier than anything she and everyone else could have ever imagined.

In the desert of New Mexico, a young man and his twin have been raised since infants in training for battle with the Beast.   It is their destiny to slay him together.  Or is it?

The author does a wonderful job pulling you into this mythical fantasy world and the descriptions of those worlds and the heinous beasts that inhabit them are so vivid you can clearly imagine them in your mind.    There are several sexually explicit scenes in the book that may be a little much for some readers, but nothing in my opinion that would make the book unreadable.

I am not typically a fan of this type of fantasy writing but after reading the first book of the series, I am very curious about what happens to the characters next.  Aside from that I am incredibly curious about a theme threaded throughout the story and I am definitely planning to read the remaining books so I can see if what I think is happening, really is.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys supernatural fantasy and those who enjoy a love story with something a little extra.

Want to check it out?  You can get it here.   I would love to hear what you think!   Happy reading!

The Underground Girls of Kabul

In her book "The Underground Girls of Kabul" Jenny Nordberg was able, in a mere 311 pages to educate me, inspire me and force me to reflect on the big and the small things that I take for granted far too often as a woman living in the West. 

The iron fist of the Taliban no longer rules Afghanistan but many of the laws implemented during their rule regarding women are still followed.   For many women, leaving home  without their husband or a male relative is still forbidden and when they are able to go out they are required to wear a burka so that they remain unseen.   Marriages continue to be forced, rape victims are punished harshly for “adultery” and many of these victims are forced to marry their rapists to avoid prison time for their crimes.  Domestic violence is a common occurrence and is always the fault of the victim, honor killings are also common and females are still used by their fathers as a way to pay off debt.   Even in the more progressive regions women are subjected to domestic violence, and forced marriage and while they are able to drive and move about in the community they must be covered at all times to hid the shape of their bodies and must not behave in any way that might be seen as flirtatious toward men.  Women are seated in separate areas in restaurants, they celebrate weddings in separate rooms and while they are allowed to drive it is usually safer for them not to as many times angry men will attempt to run them off the road.    All girls, even those who are lucky enough to receive an education are raised with the main goal of marriage and motherhood and if they are lucky their husbands will be kind.  

It is in an Afghan woman’s best interest to follow the rules, be a good wife and bear sons for her husband.   Even in this day and age, it is still believed that the woman is responsible for the sex of her children both biologically and by choice.   A woman who does not produce sons is seen as defective and it brings great shame to the family and invokes the anger of her husband whose violence is more than justified in the eyes of family and community since a man with no sons is one of the most shameful things to be in a patriarchal country where the male lineage is of utmost importance.   

While in Afghanistan doing research for a television documentary she was working on regarding Afgan women, the author met to interview a woman who serves as an elected member of Parliament.  Azita is a married mother of 4 children, and because her father (who was once a University Professor in Kabul) understands the importance and power of an education Azita is well educated and fluent in several languages.  In 1992 her family was forced to moved from Kabul to their family village to escape the worst of the war.   The rules of the Taliban then imprisoned her and other women indoors, only able to be outdoors with a male family member as an escort, and only if wearing a heavy burqa.

In spite of her education, and her many talents she is a woman.  Merely a woman.   Her father gave her the gift of education, but followed that gift with a forced marriage to her uneducated cousin.    When women marry in Afghanistan they become the property of their husband and their husbands family and she was no different.  She went from an elite family and a comfortable home to the role of the second wife in hut in a remote village.  The very same education that had opened her mind caused her to question situations occurring in the  home and earned her the physical abuse of both her husband and her mother in law. 

 Her father insists that his decision was made for her safety during civil war as being an unmarried women was a great danger.  He also acknowledges that her marriage was a means to solidify the reputation of the family and the feelings and desires of individual family members are not important at all in the larger picture.  The most important thing is the family as a whole and while he imagines a day could come in the very distant future where individuals can strive for their own personal happiness now is not that day.     His honest feeling is that while yes, her marriage was forced and yes, her husband is uneducated  he did what was best for the family and Azita should be grateful that her husband allows her to work as she has more freedom than many women in Afghanistan.   He admits he is aware of the abuse his daughter has suffered and will likely continue to suffer but justifies this as a societal norm, he is not happy that it happens to his daughter but feels it should be understood that it happens to so many women in Afghanistan including those in better positions in society than Azita.    It is simply the way it is and it is not possible to change society. 

It was during the author’s initial meeting with Azita in the home she shares with her husband and children, that the author learned the family’s youngest child, a 6-year-old rambunctious boy named Mehran is in fact, a daughter.   

This revelation opened the door to many other questions and then to a very common yet very well hidden practice.  Many families have daughters that they present as sons and not only is it relatively common, it has been happening for many generations.    When asked about this phenomenon, government officials, members of the United Nations and experts from other organizations who are all very concerned about the plight of women in Afghanistan declared it was unheard of and likely a rare incident.   All the experts agreed that if such a thing actually did happen it would be well known and since segregation of the sexes in Afghanistan is so strictly followed that the very idea of this is odd but also this practice would be incredibly unsafe for the girl and family in question.  Often, even experts have much to learn.

The practice of dressing girls as boys in Afghanistan is not new, in fact it has occurred for so long and is so common that there is a term for these girls,  bacha posh  “dressed as a boy.”

Many families do this because they believe that there is magic in it, an unwanted girl baby dressed and passed off as a boy is a sign to God that the family greatly desires a boy and it is believed that by doing this, future children will be sons.  It also serves to provide a sense of honor for families who have been shamed by only having daughters, for these families, it is a matter of protecting their reputation and maintaining their standing in the community and for families without naturally born sons, these girls provide much needed labor .

These girls are not only dressed as boys, but they are treated as such.  They are not made to do female chores in the home and they are able to leave the house freely and act as escorts for their mothers and sisters.  While their sisters and neighboring girls watch from the windows, the bacha posh run, ride bikes, climb trees and play happily enjoying the small freedoms of childhood taken for granted elsewhere in the world.

When these girls reach puberty and are of age to be married they are “switched back” into girls and are expected to marry, bear children and move on as though the days of freedom they had been allowed to experience never happened.

As is to be expected, the consequences and ramifications of this practice are many.  There are some girls who refuse to go quietly in the darkness of womanhood as expected and they are often dragged kicking and screaming there while others go along quietly and meet the same fate.  There are of course rare instances of these women being married to men who are better educated and more open minded than most who understand the difficulties their wives face and do the best they can to help them along but even those men understand the fundamental role of the woman is to care for the family and to produce sons.

I am haunted by the stories of these girls and women in the book. I have told so many people about the book and that has led to some deep and reflective conversations about this practice, the role of women in the world and how far we have still to go.  It is unacceptable that we live in a world where women need to be disguised as men to be allowed to feel the sun on their face.  

I not only highly recommend this book, I really do think it should be required reading.  You can get your copy here.  I am really interested to hear what you think!

I received a free copy of the book from Blogging for Books for my honest review.

Mother, Mother - Koren Zalickas

Wow!  This was a great read and Koren Zalickas does a wonderful job weaving the story together and pulling you in.

The Hurst family appears to have it all together, mom Josephine is a former educator who is now devoting herself to home schooling her youngest child Will who suffers from seizures and has recently been diagnosed with Asperger’s.    Her oldest daughter Rose ran away from home with a boyfriend that she did not approve of so from the outside looking in, it appears that her attempts to control Will and his sister Violet are possibly done out of fear of losing them.   Their father Douglas is a wiz at work but more or less non-responsive and checked out at home and is possibly having an affair.

Since he is home schooled, Will spends his days and his nights with his mother and it almost seems as his role in the family is that of stand in husband for the absent Douglas.   Will overhears his father whispering on the phone one night, confides to his mother that he fears his father is having an affair and then sets out to find out if this is true and if so, who the person is.

Violet hangs out with some of her friends one afternoon and tries some hallucinogenic seeds and has a bad reaction, that evening she is admitted to the psychiatric ward after allegedly attempting to stab her younger brother.     While in the hospital she receives a letter from her sister Rose who has run away from home and they begin a cautious rebuilding of their relationship and Rose offers Violet a safe place away from their abusive mother.

While Violet is in the hospital, Josephine is visited by two Children’s service workers, one of whom is clearly more passionate about his job and is able to see through the elaborate display of smoke and mirrors Josephine has used to control not only her family for so many years, but also to control others outside the family to make decisions that will have long term, serious consequences.   Really can’t say too much here without giving everything away!!

As the finely crafted web Josephine has skillfully put together begins to unravel you get a much clearer picture of what is actually happening in the Hurst family, and it is crazier and scarier than you imagined.

Koren Zalickas is a wonderfully creative writer with fantastic insight.    This book was certainly dark and disturbing but it was also wonderfully written and poignant.  She does a great job building her characters and you fully understand why they do what they do.  It also gives you pause, how many families deal with these sorts of issues and we have no idea because they all wear their masks firmly in place so the rest of world only sees what they want them too.   Really fascinating.

I highly recommend this book, you can get it here, happy reading!

I received a free copy of Mother, Mother from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

The Humanity of Justice

This is a wonderful and informative look into the justice system from the inside. Mr. Strunksy is a senior deputy district attorney who specializes in homicide cases and crimes against children, some of which have been featured on national television. Mr. Strunksy expertly weaves some of the cases he has prosecuted throughout the book as real world examples of how the justice system is set up to work and why and how that looks and plays out in real life.


I really enjoy crime shows on TV, like CSI, Law and Order etc and one of my guilty pleasures is the show Snapped.  I, like most people are very curious about why people do the terrible things they do.

Real life is often incredibly painful and traumatic and a real crime is not always wrapped up as neatly as one on TV. Some of the stories of cases in the book are very difficult to read. I had to pause multiple times while reading about a few cases because it was just too hard to continue and almost too hard to wrap my head around the heinous things human beings are capable of doing. The stories in the book however unsettling are important for their role in demonstrating the various aspects of the legal system. The stories also serve another, more critical purpose. They remind of most certainly of the evils in the world but they also remind us of the victims. The stories give the victims a name and a face, they introduce us to the human beings whose lives are forever altered and sometimes ended, far too often by the hands of those they trust to protect them. These stories also demonstrate the passion, compassion and tireless effort those who prosecute put in to ensure the offender is held accountable and to provide a sense of closure and justice for the family and loved ones of the victims.

The book did a wonderful job explaining concepts that I thought I knew and understood and made them much clearer, specifically how the legal system was formed and why, the reasoning for and importance of trials by jury and the critical role they play in the process. The power of words, their use, voice modulation and body language is also discussed and the power they wield is a very important point.

The thing that stood out to me most was the discussion on revenge and the desire for justice. Neuroscientists have discovered the desire for revenge is actually hard wired into our brains and interestingly is located in the same region that controls our appetite, and when we imagine enacting revenge on someone who has done us wrong our brain waves fire in the exact way that they do when we are craving our favorite foods! There is a quote that states “ A cry for Justice is always a cry for Revenge” and when one stops to ponder that statement? It is absolutely true.

I very much enjoyed the book and think that those interested in the workings of the criminal justice system would also enjoy this book. It is clear that Mr. Strunsky has many years of experience but more importantly he is able to explain the system in a way that makes it easy to understand and relate to. Very early into the book you feel the passion that he has for his job and his commitment to the victims that he works with, the fact that 100% of the proceeds of the book will be donated to The Humanity of Justice Foundation (a nonprofit organization that works to prevent child abuse and neglect) speaks volumes. I am left feeling better educated, a bit sad but incredibly thankful for the men and women who dedicate their lives shining their light into some very dark places.

Interested?  Check it out here and happy reading!

The Girl in the Road

I am very often disappointed after reading glowing reviews of a book as they often seem to be written about another book entirely or the review is based solely on a particularly well written paragraph or chapter of the book.

The reviews for The Girl in the Road were fantastic and I was thrilled to discover that they were also accurate!

There seem to be so few people anymore who have the ability to create something new and fresh but Monica Byrne is obviously one of those people and I certainly hope her writing career will evidence that.

The book tells the story of two girls, Meena and Mariama.   Both girls are on the run from tragic events and are seeking safety they are convinced they will find in Ethiopia.   Their journeys happen years apart but are woven together side by side in the book beautifully.

Meena's story takes place in a futuristic time and the majority of her journey occurs on a "bridge" that spans the ocean between India and Africa.   I am not typically a fan of sci-fi type books but I was so drawn in by the story and the creativity and was fascinated by the tools she used on her travels and could clearly imagine them in my mind.

When I read the front cover of the book I was hopeful but honestly doubtful that it would fulfill the promise of being "mysterious and shocking to the core."

It was!


I highly recommend this book and wish I could say even more about it but I fear I would give too much away!

Take a look here, and happy reading!



***I received a free copy of The Girl in the Road from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

YOU were made for this!

I have always believed that it is important to do good unto others, for many reasons one of them being I think that God has many angels here on earth who look just like us and they serve as a way of testing the many things we humans fall short on sometimes.  Like grace, forgiveness, faith, compassion etc.  

I have also always felt internal proddings that I would laugh about and jokingly call my nudges from God.  Depending on who I was speaking with they either laughed and understood or laughed and eyed me warily.  I often feel compelled to step in and talk to someone, or offer my assistance to someone even when I feel really awkward about it because I feel like I have to.  I have heard some heart wrenching stories but on the plus side I have been able to provide assistance in some way be it a shoulder to cry on, a meal or connections to resources for other kinds of help.

The premise of the book is that so often we pray to God to deliver us from a situation, or to help us with a problem and sometimes it feels as though He is not hearing us or if he is hearing, he is choosing not to help.  

But as the book states and as I fully believe, sometimes that is OUR job.  God grants us the ability to step in and serve as His hands and feet and when we get a nudge and do nothing?  Someone may have missed out on a blessing.  There are many wonderful examples in the book of the authors acting in that very capacity and doing some really wonderful things for people.  They suggest beginning each day by asking God to show you who needs a blessing and ask that if you are to be the one to provide that to assist you in doing so.   

Like I have mentioned, I have always believed this but after reading this book I am much more aware of the people that God steers onto my path and I am thankful that He trusts me to be the one to reach out to on of his children.  I have also been more aware of the people who God has sent to me to serve me in that way and I am extremely grateful.

Disclosure:  Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers

I loved this book. Wildly creative, and wonderfully written!! This book is narrated by a young boy named Grady who is traveling with a con man named Floyd. Floyd tells Grady that he found him during his travels and Floyd is all Grady has, but all Grady wants is to be loved and Floyd has no love to spare. As they travel they pretend that Grady is a "feechie" a rare breed of human found deep in the swamps that no one has ever seen before. They make a decent living for awhile with this scam until people start to wise up and they have to up the ante. They try several different ideas one of which is to have Grady be the "world's ugliest boy." The desire he feels to actually BE the world's ugliest boy so that he is the best at something comes off the page and just punches you in the stomach, his longing to belong and be loved is palpable. The story moves a great pace and keeps you fully engaged and the message is wonderful, we all want to be loved and belong and we do, we all belong, somewhere. The story did not end the way I expected, it was much better! This is a wonderful book for kids, but I also enjoyed it very much as an adult!! I think you will love it just as much, click here and enjoy! I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my review from WaterBrook Press, the opinions are entirely my own.

Finding Our Way Home - Charlene Ann Baumbich

What a great love story.

When I say love story, I don't just mean romantic love, although there is certainly a wonderful romantic love story in this book. The best part, is there is not just one. It is a love story of the love and a pride a mother feels for her daughter, a love that lifts her up and carries her through hard times and gives her the wings to fly and become a world famous ballet dancer.

It is a love story of a married couple whose marriage is forever altered after a terrible accident, forever altered, but not over. Their story is a story of faith, commitment and the hurdle that seemed perhaps insurmountable but when handled with love and prayer, wasn't.

It is a love story of young lovers who found something in each other that they were missing, who were able to see each other as they were and eventually realized that the feeling of love often doesn't fix everything. And that even when it is for the best, the end of a relationship is so very painful.

It is a love story of a family that acts as an umbrella when the storms come, a safe haven, even when someone is doing their best to push away. It is learning that you can grow up but the comfort of your parents and grandparents arms and unconditional love will be there waiting whenever you need it.

It is a love story of friendship. It is the story of feeling so broken and unlikable and then suddenly realizing that someone you never expected is there by your side, walking along a dark path with you, sharing their light.

It is also a love story of self, learning to stand on your own two feet while looking to heaven to keep you balanced.

I really loved this book, I think you will too! Click here and happy reading.


**I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, by WaterBrook Press. My opinions about this book are totally my own.**

Lazarus Awakening - Joanna Weaver

Books have played a huge part in my life; because of this I treat them reverently. It is difficult for me to even highlight in a textbook so most of the time I painstakingly rewrite whatever material I want to remember into a notebook. A notebook that always gets lost in the shuffle after the course ends.

When I received the book I was a little worried because I have not read Joanna’s previous book Having a Mary heart in a Martha World, and I thought I would miss something. I was wrong, so, so wrong. From the start I was hooked, and immediately had to smile and thank God for once again, sending me what I needed because I am often too stubborn to do the work on my own.
The book tells the story of Jesus and Lazarus, a story of love and friendship, faith and strength. It also tells the story of our importance, how much God loves us and why we are so important to Him.

What hooked me in the first chapter? It was actually in the second paragraph of the first chapter. Joanna tells the story of a woman who asked to speak to her after Bible study, the woman says “ I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I could go to the worst criminal or a drug addict living on the street, and I could look him in the eye and tell him “Jesus loves you!” and meant it from the bottom of my heart” “But, Joanna, she said, I can’t seem to look in the mirror and convince myself.”

That brief conversation brought me to tears, because I could be the person talking to her, and I am sure that there are a lot of other people who feel the same way.

The book includes a 10-week study guide and TONS of information that is so incredibly useful. I was not out of the first chapter before I went to find a highlighter to mark what I felt was important and what I needed to work on. I was highlighting like crazy and then it dawned on me, WHAT was I doing?!?! I was marking up a book, and in doing so I was feeling such a huge sense of peace, this is not information that is going in a notebook to be lost. I can refer to this information any time that I need to do so, and for that I am thankful.

Don't miss out, grab a highlighter, click here and happy reading!

I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah press in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Man Alive by Patrick Morley

I am going to be totally honest, I choose this book to review because it was the only one I could get in print.

I also know that God works in mysterious ways, and that this is actually the book I was meant to read. As a divorced woman I have had my share of bad relationships with the wrong men and I have been wondering lately if maybe I am just meant to be alone because maybe, there really are no more “good” men left. As a mom raising boys, I want more than anything to raise good men but I often feel like the odds are stacked against me, and them.

The media and society bombard us daily with images and idea’s of what a “good” man looks like, what a man wants, and needs and often those ideals are not in line with what I want or need.

This book is written by a man, not just for men, but to men. I felt sort of like I was doing something sneaky by reading it, that the information within was not for my knowledge, which of course made me even more curious!

I was hooked from the beginning “Over the last four decades, I’ve met one-on-one with thousands of men. Most of them know that Jesus promised a “rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). But most men are confused about what this looks lie. In fact, I’d estimate that 90% of Christian men lead lukewarm, stagnant, defeated lives – and they hate it.”

Then, he shared some interesting statistics:
80% of men are so emotionally impaired that not only are they unable to express their feelings, but they are unable to identify their feelings.
55% percent of marriages experience financial dishonesty and it's usually the husband.
50% of men who attend church actively seek out pornography.
40% of men get divorced, affecting one million children each year.
1/3 of America's 72 million children will go to bed in a home without their biological dad. My children are included in that statistic.

And then: "the greatest cost to the physical absence of father's is the practical absence of mother. Essentially, one person must now do the work of two..."

Wow. If that is not powerful, not sure what is. Another thing Patrick Morley pointed out was that “these inner aches and pains correspond to seven primal God-given needs that all men feel deeply”

I realized while reading this that there ARE still good men out there, maybe the problem is I have been looking based on the media’s interpretation of a good man, and not God’s. Patrick states that his first book The Man in the Mirror has helped well over 3,000,000 take a deeper look at their lives. Not to shabby! So, yes, there are good men out there and this book helps all men realize their potential and gives direction on how to lead a fully alive life, which is really all we want both women and men.

I recommend this book for both men and women! Click here and happy reading!


I was given a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, my opinion is totally my own.

To Be Perfectly Honest: One Man's Year of Almost Living Truthfully Could Change Your Life. No Lie by Phil Callaway

Would you be able to go a whole year being totally honest? Answering the "Do these jeans make my butt look big" honestly? Because, yes, they kinda do.

That was the challenge Phil Calloway accepted and the results are pretty darn funny. He writes the book as a journal letting us know how each day went but he doesn't just talk about how he told the truth, he just talks and he is funny and it is like getting a really great letter from a friend.

He has a wonderful, playful sense of humor which I really appreciated, and I will never look at a spam email requesting my help in large dollar amounts the same!

There were some serious topics broached in the book, infidelity, death to name a couple, but overall it was a pretty light, easy, and fun read.

The only thing I would say I didn't love about the book is that it seemed like the questions he was asked were pretty easy to answer without lying or even feeling the need to, I am not sure if he left some of that out or if he is just blessed with a pretty clean background!

Either way I would recommend this book, it made me wonder if I could take on that challenge and also think about all the little white lies we all tell from time to time.


Click here and happy reading, you will love it! HONEST!


I received this book free of charge from Waterbrook Multnomah publishers for my honest review.

Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search For Hope

I was not sure what to expect when I started reading this book, and quite honestly I was a little leery to get started. Why? Because I am well aware of all the stances on homosexuality most specifically in the conservative Christian churches and I was fully prepared for something different than what I got.

I am fairly new on my own walk in faith, my faith most days is shaky at best and I have a lot of questions one of which specifically deals with the love and forgiveness of God. I have had a very hard time wrapping my head around the fact that people who do far, far worse things than love someone of their own sex are forgiven and not put through the same emotional turmoil it seems that homosexuals are. I have several very close friends who are homosexual and the thought that they are not loved by God as fully as anyone else is heartbreaking. So, my expectation of this book was that Christopher came out to his family, everyone was angry but quickly rallied and they prayed him to straightness, because gay is not acceptable to God and they all lived happily ever after.

This book was REAL and honest and the pain that the family dealt with is laid out for all to see, I can only imagine the difficulty of that. The Yuan's marriage was shattered and I felt there was no possible way it could be repaired, Christopher was shattered and again, seemed without repair. The family did rally but it was not immediate and it was not pain free, the fact that they survived, not only intact but stronger is proof positive to me of God's love and patience. Seeing how the faith of each of them was transformed was in and of itself a sort of miracle, how the story ends and how the story begins are complete polar opposites, you can not read this and not also feel lighter and a little more transformed. This book was a labor of love and the honesty of Angela and Christopher Yuan is remarkable.

I don't want to get into a lot of detail because I really think that everyone would benefit from reading this book, but I will say again that often when things seem the most broken and bleak, God can and will step in if you ask Him too. Not only did He step in but He enabled the Yuan's to transform their lives, their relationships with one another and wrestle their demons. Christopher Yuan is gay, his parents love and support him and so does God and that makes me very, very happy.

Please go check it out here and let me know what you think!

* I received a free review copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah for my honest opinion. *

The Crossing - Serita Jakes

I love books that make me wonder what is going to happen next... during the day when I am not reading them! This is one of those books! This story is written around a High School teacher who was murdered on a school bus after a football game in front of her students. The impact of this is still haunting many of them after 10 years, not just because of the horror of it but because the murder has never been solved.

When the case is re opened by the husband of one of the women that was with her when she died, it creates more turmoil than he expected and shakes their family to the core.

I was impressed by how well the story was woven together and how much detail was given to each character in such a short amount of time, I was able to get a clear picture of who these people were and they were very real. The story deals with several difficult topics such as adultery, domestic violence and mental health struggles and does so in a very real way that enables you to see the root of the issues.

The thing I most loved about the story is that it was real, there was no pretense and no love conquers all and everyone lives happily ever after all wrapped in a pink bow. Sometimes in life things are hard, people make bad choices, people go astray and some people don't find their way back, and some don't even try. That is real life and this book captures that. I loved it!

I think there is something in this for everyone, and I think you will like it as well. Go check it out, and happy reading!

Waterbrook Multnomah press provided me with a free copy of this book, for my honest review.

A Sound Among the Trees / Susan Meissner

This story takes place in Virginia, in an antebellum mansion named Holly Oak that survived the Civil War and has been the home of generations of family. Holly Oak is also, according to folklore, haunted. It is currently the home of Adelaide who had raised her daughter Caroline in this home as well as her granddaughter Sara. Adelaide's daughter Caroline struggled with addiction she left home as a teen and didn't come back for years, and when she left again her daughter Sara was left behind. Sara was raised by her Grandmother at Holly Oak, it was there she fell in love, married Carson had two children, and lived the story of happily ever after in her childhood home with her Grandmother and her family.

The story opens with a wedding, a wedding on a perfect day in the garden of Holly Oak. The wedding of Carson to Marielle, a beautiful yet bittersweet day for the family. Four years prior, Sara had passed away, leaving Carson a widower and her children without a mother. Because the children were young and grieving the decision was made for them to remain at Holly Oak. At the wedding we learn that Marielle will also be living at Holly Oak which concerns her family and friends, rightfully so. There are also concerns about the ghost that if rumors are true, also resides at Holly Oak, the ghost of Adelaide's great-grandmother Susannah Page who was thought to be a Civil War spy for the North.

The story develops using multiple stories woven into one. I have read other books with this arrangement that become cumbersome and hard to follow, this was not one of them. The characters are very real and when I was not reading I often would catch myself wondering exactly how long Marielle was going to be ok living in a home belonging not just to another family, but the family of her husband's deceased first wife. I couldn't wait to find out exactly what was written in the letters given to Marielle by Caroline to read and better understand the history of Holly Oak, wondering why was Caroline back now after all of these years and where had she been and what does she want now? I also really wanted to know if Susannah was indeed the one haunting the house or was it another family member who in reality had more reason to do so?

I also wondered, how the story was going to play out, how all these stories would be tied up together. I can say, they were tied together wonderfully, there were still surprises up until the end which I greatly enjoyed and there was a content feeling of satisfaction when the story ended, no questions were left unanswered and what you thought you knew you never really knew at all.

And that, is the moral of the entire story, what you think you know often takes over everything and when you realize it isn't what you thought you knew it is often even better!

I highly recommend A Sound Among the Trees, check it out, and happy reading!


WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers provided this book to be at no cost in exchange for my honest review.

Enemies of the Heart - Andy Stanley

Have ever made a comment that immediately made you wince? Have you ever spent the evening with a friend catching up and smiling but on the inside secretly jealous? Have you ever known that you should donate that extra $50.00 you were not expecting, but convinced yourself that it was more important to buy something for yourself that you didn’t really need? This book immediately makes you think. The things we say that stun everyone, including ourselves, the secret jealousies, and simmering anger are not always exceptions often they are a reflection of what is really in our heart. Yikes!

Everyone at some point in their lives has had their heart damaged, by an unkind word or a thoughtless action. Others have had their hearts damaged by abuse, an out of the blue divorce, or other traumatic events. Often we think we move forward, but in reality as Stanley says we really carry around bits of shrapnel in our hearts from past wounds and they need to be recognized in order to be dealt with.

The four topics covered in this book are biggies, guilt, anger, greed and jealousy. Each subject is large enough for an entire book in and of itself, so when I saw the size of this book I was a little skeptical. I was curious how a mere 206 pages would be able to even begin to touch on these topics. And then I read it, and wow, was my heart touched.

Every human has been visited by one of these four emotions at one point or another. Each emotion is talked about and many times while reading I felt that he was speaking directly to me, directly to MY heart. It is an easy read in that it is very well written, he has a very engaging style and a wonderful sense of humor, the difficulty lies in what you may uncover in your own heart. Stanley acknowledges this by saying “Somewhere in the pages that made you wince and squirm and argue with me is a nugget or two of truth that your heavenly Father would like to gradually work deep into your soul” and that is so very true.

The great news is that reading this book enables you to look clearly at the shrapnel in your heart, and decide once and for all that it needs to go. Once decided, Stanley provides exercises and guidance in how to make this happen. And I can attest that it can happen quickly. As mentioned, there were several areas that made me stop and really look at my own heart. The result? Heart changing!

I can not recommend this book enough, I believe that this book is life changing and I plan to pass it along to all my friends and family, it is that important.

Go check it out and change your life! Enemies of the Heart - Andy Stanley / Amazon



I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The Chocolate Diaries - Karen Linamen

I once read that every woman needs several girlfriends, one that is the life of the party to help you have fun, one that is serious and calm and can be there in times of crisis to be a rock and a tell it like it is girlfriend who, true to her name, will say the things you need to hear even when you don’t want to hear it.

Karen Linamen is all of those girlfriends rolled up into one and sprinkled with chocolate!

Regardless of where you are on your journey, this book is a great road map to get you where you are going. You will laugh, cry, and shake your head in wonder that someone knows just what you are feeling.

And then the Chocolate. The Sweet Secrets at the end of each chapter give great advice from other women on their life’s journey and as a bonus there is a delicious recipe for sweet chocolate therapy!



It is impossible to walk away without being changed in some way by this book. Grab a little chocolate and settle in!

Want your own copy? Click here and happy reading!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.