Blog Archives
The Shift Worker’s Paradox
R.E. Hengsterman’s The Shift Worker’s Paradox lays out a clear and unsettling picture of how shift work breaks down human biology, piece by piece. The book moves through personal stories, science, and practical guidance, weaving together research on circadian disruption, metabolism, hormones, and the daily realities of working against the clock. It explains how sleep loss, mistimed eating, and chronic stress grind away at the body over time. The tone blends clinical insight with lived experience, and the message is steady and stark. Working nights or rotating shifts has a cost, and that cost shows up everywhere from cognitive performance to metabolic health to emotional stability.
The writing is plainspoken, almost blunt at times, and that worked for me. I never felt lectured at. Instead, I felt nudged, reminded, and sometimes warned. The book mixes biology with stories of real people in a way that hits harder than any abstract health advice. I could feel the frustration in the author’s voice when describing tragedies on the drive home, and I could feel the weight of his decades in healthcare shaping every paragraph. Some chapters made me pause, especially the parts explaining how the body’s internal clocks fall out of sync. I knew shift work was rough, but I didn’t fully grasp how many systems it drags down at once.
What surprised me most was how personal the book becomes. When the author admits to his own struggles, the tone shifts from educational to intimate. It felt like someone pulling up a chair and telling the truth that usually gets swallowed in break rooms and morning commutes. The mix of scientific detail and emotional honesty felt unique. Shift workers aren’t dealing with one problem. They’re dealing with an entire stack of them, and the writing mirrors that tangled reality. I found myself moved, sometimes unsettled, and sometimes hopeful when the author talked about small changes that can help realign a life that’s drifting.
This book is a lifeline for nurses, factory workers, first responders, warehouse workers, and anyone else who trades daylight for survival. It’s also helpful for families who want to understand what their loved ones go through. I would recommend it to anyone who works outside a typical schedule or cares for someone who does. The book is honest, practical, and quietly compassionate, and it might be the first time some readers feel truly seen.
Pages: 394 | ASIN : B0G2SK9QDM
New Life Provides Hope
Rooted: An Old Tree’s Journey is a picture book that follows an old oak tree named Dendro as he mentors a young sapling through the joys and heartbreaks of life in the forest. What inspired you to tell a story from the perspective of an old tree?
It’s important to show that Dendro prospers despite going through profound losses and challenges. Dendro models perseverance and the passing down of wisdom as a lifelong process.
How did you approach writing about trauma, like the fire, in a way that’s honest but still comforting for young readers?
Trauma can come unexpectedly (like the forest fire), or it can be a long process. Regardless, it is frightening and stressful. Any child who has gone through it can relate to Vince’s comment that weeks later, he could not get the crackling sound of the fire out of his mind. But when Vince notices green sprouts on the ground, it’s healing. New life provides hope for Vince and young readers.
Dendro feels so real and wise. Did you model him after someone in your life?
Those who know me well say that they see me in Dendro. It is true. I am my character. Through painful experiences, I have persevered and have found purpose in encouraging others.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
Rooted: A Wildlife Tree’s Journey is the fifth and final book in the “Rooted” series. It is currently available. It is an emotional account of a tree’s life that has come full circle.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Infidelity
There is no greater test of love than that which Chadwick and JaLana faced 11 years into their marriage. JaLana thought her marriage and life would be like any other couple attempting to live a life of faith in God. While they had met their fair share of troubles and setbacks in life, they were always united together. All of that was suddenly wiped away the morning JaLana saw her husband exiting the garage with another woman that had been living with them. The next day, Chadwick came forth about the affair he had been having for the past six months with the sister of a friend they both had allowed in their home. Stunned and shocked, JaLana had a choice to make. Her husband had made it clear that he didn’t want to be in a relationship with her anymore. He wanted a divorce.
Twelve years later, the couple remains together. How did they do it? Why didn’t JaLana give up and give her husband the divorce he wanted? Learn how the love of Christ was able to touch both JaLana and her husband Chadwick Walsh. Discover how God’s truth came into the marriage, moving them both to humility enough to feel the burning love He had, and will always have for each and every one of His children.
Chadwick and his wife have now teamed together to retell the story of one of the most vulnerable moments they have shared as a couple. They explain the steps they took to regain their marriage completely without any remaining residue. They have laid everything bare to bring the world their personal experience of adultery and how God led them through the fire to a marriage completely healed.
In a completely new take on a book about adultery, you will read from both perspectives of husband and wife, how adultery had broken them both. They discuss the common pitfalls man and wife can face on the road to recovery and offer practical guidance for grieving couples who might know the same pain they have faced.
LITERARY TITAN 