Blog Archives
From Wounds to Purpose
Pain threads itself through every life. No one escapes it, yet our response to that ache becomes the defining choice. We can surrender to it and let it sculpt our identity, or we can press upward and reshape the narrative. From Wounds to Purpose embraces this truth and pushes deeply into its terrain. Readers carrying loss, heartbreak, or trauma will find a guide here, one that encourages honest reckoning, steady processing, and, ultimately, transformation. The book urges individuals to gather the fragments of their hurt and redirect them toward something constructive, even hopeful.
Sharon LaCombe Been’s work fits the self-help genre, but it doesn’t stay confined there. It stretches outward, functioning as a meditation on the human condition and a testament to what grit, intention, and inner resolve can accomplish in the face of what once felt immovable.
The author champions a courageous act: turning toward one’s wounds instead of burying them. Simple to articulate, difficult to live. Healing requires effort, and the author never pretends otherwise. Still, she offers practical pathways, approaches accessible to anyone, regardless of how deep or long-standing their suffering may be.
The book’s most striking strength lies in its universality. Heartbreak, bereavement, and sudden upheaval can halt a life in its tracks. Been writes with care and clarity, outlining ways to acknowledge these experiences without allowing them to dictate who we become or where we go next.
Not every reader will find the work easy to internalize, yet those willing to lean into its message may discover something transformative. Brimming with insight, resilience, and quiet encouragement, From Wounds to Purpose stands as a tribute to human courage and might be exactly the companion you need when life feels unbearably heavy.
Pages: 101 | ASIN : B0FR3P8SGQ
SHAMANESS – The Silent Seer
Shamaness: The Silent Seer is a spiritual coming-of-age fantasy that follows Kreya, a gifted but marginalized girl who grows into a powerful shamaness. The story moves between her sixtieth summer, when she is grieving her husband and preparing for a final journey, and her childhood at Sky Lake, where she faces cruelty, discovers her abilities, and learns the foundations of healing and mysticism. It feels part myth, part memoir, part adventure, all held together by a steady emotional core.
I found myself drawn in by Kreya’s honesty. Her voice is reflective and calm, even when she is recounting childhood humiliation or danger, like the moment she can’t warn a boy about the bobcat in clear speech or the time she senses Sholana’s peril before anyone else understands what is happening. Nothing feels rushed. I liked that she didn’t try to make Kreya flawless. Her frustration, her longing to communicate, and her flashes of humor make her feel real. The writing leans into sensory details in ways that feel earned; when Kreya describes Sky Lake or her grandmother’s “rainbow voice,” the images land gently instead of feeling decorative.
The deeper ideas of the book stayed with me. The fantasy elements feel rooted in emotional truth rather than spectacle. The shamanic teachings are presented slowly, almost like the author wants the reader to learn them alongside Kreya. I found myself curious and occasionally moved, especially by the repeated lesson that healing involves choice, not force. The scenes connecting past and present add a wistful tone. Watching Kreya train her great-grandson while carrying the weight of her promise to scatter her husband’s ashes, I kept thinking about how wisdom is passed forward and what it costs the person who carries it.
The tone of the book never turns grandiose; it stays grounded even when touching on visions, spirit companions, or the mysteries between worlds. This blend of accessibility and quiet wonder is what makes the fantasy genre work so well here. If you enjoy character-driven fantasy, spiritual journeys, or stories that move at the pace of memory rather than battle drums, this book will speak to you. Readers who like reflective narratives with a strong emotional core will probably appreciate it most.
Pages: 265 | ASIN : B0FZDB3RM9
NICK and CLANCY – A Tale of Nine Lives
NICK and CLANCY – A Tale of Nine Lives tells the story of Nick, a gentle and wounded man recovering from severe heart trauma, and Clancy, the sharp, funny, deeply devoted dog who enters his life at exactly the right moment. The narrative moves through years of shared life, illness, dreams, small victories, and fear, often told from Clancy’s point of view. At its core, the book is about survival, companionship, purpose, and the strange ways love shows up when life feels fragile and uncertain.
The writing feels intimate and conversational, almost like someone sitting across from you and telling you a story late at night. I laughed more than I expected. I also felt a quiet ache settle in as the pages went on. The dog’s perspective could have felt gimmicky, but it does not. It feels earnest and oddly wise. Clancy’s humor, guilt, loyalty, and protectiveness landed hard for me. I felt protective of Nick, too, even frustrated with him at times. The writing is messy in a relatable way. It rambles. It lingers. That worked for me. Life rarely moves in neat arcs, and this book does not pretend otherwise.
The theme of borrowed time runs through everything. Illness hangs over each chapter like background noise that never fully shuts off. I felt the anxiety of waiting for the next medical crisis. I also felt the stubborn hope that keeps Nick moving forward anyway. The story made me think about purpose in small terms. Not destiny. Not grand success. Just showing up for someone else. Just staying. There is a tenderness here that caught me off guard. Some sections felt repetitive, and a tighter edit could help in places, but I did not mind lingering with these characters. I cared about them. That matters more to me than polish.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy character-driven stories and emotional honesty. It is especially well-suited for animal lovers, people who have faced serious illness, or anyone who has felt unmoored and searching for meaning. This book is reflective and heartfelt and sometimes sad. If you like books that feel personal and lived in, and you do not mind getting a little misty-eyed along the way, this one is worth your time.
Pages: 288 | ASIN : B0FMTS6KZK
The Marvelous Adventures of Lucas Bard
In a world where the lines between reality and fantasy blur, an imaginative boy named Lucas faces more than the usual middle school dilemmas. His life takes a wild turn when he inherits his late grandfather’s enchanted monocle. The lens is capable of opening gateways to a fantastical realm. Thrust into a bizarre dimension with enigmatic automatons, Lucas discovers all kinds of mysterious happenings. Dive into a tale of adventure, friendship, and self-discovery, where every moment is a step into the unknown, and each moment a test of courage and wit.
Summer Fallout
Summer Fallout is a contemporary crime drama and family-centered thriller that follows a beach-town family still reeling from a violent hurricane season when their adult son is shot on his own front porch. The novel moves between moments of coastal calm and sudden brutality, focusing on the emotional fallout rather than just the crime itself. The book is about survival. Physical survival, yes, but more deeply the kind that happens in hospital waiting rooms, quiet kitchens, and the long stretch of time after trauma when life is supposed to go back to normal and refuses to cooperate.
Author Denise Ann Stock spends time letting scenes breathe. Long walks on the beach, family dinners, small conversations that feel ordinary. Those moments matter because when violence breaks in, it lands harder. The contrast is sharp but not flashy. The author clearly wants the reader to feel what it is like to live in a place that looks like paradise while carrying fear just under the surface. The point of view stays close to the mother, and that choice works. Her thoughts circle and spiral the way real fear does.
The book’s ideas are simple but heavy. Safety is fragile. Communities can look peaceful while hiding cracks. Trauma does not arrive once and leave politely. I appreciated that Stock does not rush healing or tie things up neatly. As a work of crime fiction, the mystery matters, but as a family drama, the emotional stakes matter more. The pacing leans toward reflective rather than propulsive, which may surprise readers expecting a fast thriller. For me, that slower rhythm felt honest.
By the end, I felt like I had spent time inside this family’s life rather than just watched a plot unfold. Summer Fallout will appeal most to readers who enjoy contemporary crime novels with a strong emotional core, especially those who like stories about resilience, family bonds, and the long shadow violence can cast over everyday life. If you like reflective crime fiction that lingers on aftermath and human cost, this book is worth your time.
Pages: 228 | ASIN : B0G4G349X2
The Life’s Theater, Book Two: Composed in Silk. Art and Essays.
Composed in Silk feels like a quiet walk through a gallery where each painting holds a story that unfolds in whispers. The book blends vivid portraits with short essays about stillness, grace, identity, and the long, slow work of becoming. It moves from the discipline of silence to the spark of inner fire and finally to a blooming calm that feels earned. The characters, imagined yet relatable, reveal themselves through color and mood as much as through words. The whole book reads like a meditation stitched together with art.
As I moved through the pages, I felt pulled into the softness and tension living inside these women. The writing struck me with its gentle insistence. I found myself slowing down, feeling the rhythm shift as each section invited me to pay closer attention. The author’s language is simple yet loaded, like he trusts the reader to sit with the quiet parts and actually feel them. It reminded me of moments in life when I’ve had to make sense of my own silence, and the book made that inner work feel less lonely. Sometimes I wanted a more direct explanation, but part of the charm is that nothing is overexplained.
The ideas in the essays caught me by surprise with how personal they felt. The portraits of women such as Deborah, Gabriela, and Goldie lingered with me long after I turned the page. Each figure holds a kind of truth about strength that doesn’t look like the usual loud version. The book treats softness as something powerful, and that hit me in a very real way. The writing about becoming, especially in Act II, made me pause and look at my own life, the ways I’ve tried to grow without losing myself. Some chapters stirred up sadness. Others felt warm and almost healing. I appreciated how the author never tried to tie everything up neatly. The ideas wander a bit, and honestly, that wandering felt human.
I think this book would be perfect for readers who love art that makes them feel instead of analyze. It’s also a good fit for anyone who has moved through quiet seasons in their own life and wants a book that understands that kind of journey. If you enjoy reflective writing, emotional honesty, and portraits that tell stories without shouting, this book will feel like a companion.
Pages: 85 | ASIN : B0G16921FG
The Accelerates: Forty Days to Dust
The Accelerates: Forty Days to Dust is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel about a world collapsing under the weight of a genetic disaster. It follows Ethan, a teenager trying to protect his rapidly aging baby brother Leo, whose accelerated growth is part of a larger outbreak created by GeneCorp. As society unravels, the story weaves through multiple characters and timelines to show how the world ended and what tiny, flickering pieces of hope might still remain.
The writing is intense, sometimes brutal, but always meant to push you deeper into the emotional core of the story. I kept feeling pulled along by Ethan’s quiet determination and the surreal horror of watching children become both victims and agents of destruction. The author leans hard into sensory detail, and while some moments feel almost overwhelming, they also give the story its heartbeat. Scenes like the hospital sequence with Clara and her daughter are vivid enough that I had to pause and breathe before moving on.
The shifting viewpoints create a mosaic of grief, fear, and stubborn love, and even though the world is crumbling, the relationships feel grounded. I was especially struck by how the book treats childhood. The accelerated children aren’t simple monsters. They’re mirrors held up to human ambition, or maybe human negligence, and that choice keeps the story from slipping into a standard “virus apocalypse” plot. There are moments that feel almost mythic, especially later in the book as characters begin to understand what Leo represents, and those moments give the bleakness a strange, luminous edge.
This is a heavy story, but it’s also a hopeful one in its own quiet way. I’d recommend The Accelerates: Forty Days to Dust to readers who enjoy emotionally driven science fiction with dystopian and horror elements. If you like stories that explore both the collapse of a world and the fierce love that refuses to disappear with it, this one will speak to you.
Pages: 325 | ASIN : B0F6HMC3SW
Finding YOU and Living Your Own Story: Little Essays on Big Thoughts about Female Identity
Finding YOU and Living Your Own Story is a collection of short essays that explores what it means for women to search for identity, push back against cultural expectations, and claim a life that feels truly their own. Author Carolyn Gregov Ph.D. blends personal stories, social critique, humor, and reflection as she moves through themes like authenticity, patriarchy, shame, relationships, agency, biology, and the complicated legacy of religion. Across chapters, she pulls readers through her own experiences, from convent life to marriage to academic study, and uses them to highlight how hard and how necessary it is for women to define themselves in a world that insists on defining them first.
I was pulled in by her voice. It’s direct and warm and sometimes almost mischievous, like she’s telling you the truth she wishes someone had told her decades ago. I found myself reacting emotionally to her stories, especially when she described the conflict between wanting to remain obedient to the structures that shaped her and wanting to honor the questions that arose inside her. I saw courage in her willingness to say she didn’t believe what she had been taught to accept. I also felt real frustration, because so much of what she recounts about patriarchal norms and expectations still echoes loudly today. There were moments when her honesty was very emotional, and other moments where her humor made me laugh, even though the subject was painful.
What struck me most was how she positions identity not as a fixed truth waiting to be uncovered, but as something alive and shifting. Her stories show how identity is shaped by culture, family, power, shame, and biology. They also show how identity breaks open when a woman finally says, “Enough.” Her writing made me think about my own assumptions and how much of what women are asked to carry isn’t really theirs at all. I loved how she challenges big systems without drowning the reader in theory. She stays grounded in real life. Her language is clear and relatable.
Carolyn Gregov doesn’t pretend the world has changed as much as we wish it had. But she still urges women to claim their agency, their story, and their voice. I would recommend this book to women who are wrestling with self-definition, to anyone questioning old beliefs, and to readers who appreciate memoir mixed with reflection. It’s also a meaningful read for men who want to understand the inner landscape women navigate every day. It’s honest, sharp, funny, and heartfelt, and it invites you to rethink what it really means to live your own life.
Pages: 113 | ASIN: B0FPNPHFPD
LITERARY TITAN 