Blog Archives
Mark Victor Hansen – Relentless
Mark Victor Hansen – Relentless by Mitzi Perdue is a captivating biography about the life, successes and failures of the founder and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Mark Victor Hansen. Perdue’s careful study of the life of Mark Victor Hansen will help readers understand how they can also attain success at any stage of their life.
Though the book’s written about a famous inspirational and motivational speaker, Perdue spoke with Hansen himself and sixty-six individuals who have had personal encounters with Hansen at some point. Through the interviews with the sixty-six individuals, readers will understand Hansen’s personal principles and how they can also apply them to attain success in whatever they want to do.
This is an enlightening biography that provides readers with the truth of Hansen’s life. The book includes his ups and downs, making this a candid and interesting read. The author shares his intimate moments with readers and I enjoyed these moments because it brought a humanity to Mark Victor Hansen’s story and made him more relatable. Hansen also shows readers how one wrong choice can affect your dream in the long run.
Purdue takes a deep dive into Hansen’s life and by the end of the book I felt like I was well informed. There is a wealth of knowledge shared in this biography and I felt inspired after finishing the book. The author includes quotes from Hansen on different pages of the book and chapter summaries titled ‘Learn From Mark’ at the end of each chapter.
Mark Victor Hansen – Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul by Mitzi Perdue is a motivational and fascinating biography that educates readers about an interesting man that has affected so many people in life.
Pages: 237 | ASIN: B0B52MHYQH
I Am Woman
I Am Woman by author Mrs. Anthony is a powerful memoir that will take readers on an emotional journey. Readers follow Mrs. Anthony from her childhood to her coming of age years when she meets her husband, Tony. Falling in love, they vow to start a life and family together. Tony begins his career while Mrs. Anthony is still trying to start hers. In the early years of their marriage, she spent time taking care of the household while letting her own dreams and career fall to the wayside. She slowly puts off more things that make her who she is to support her husband and his career. She thought she had the perfect love with beautiful children until Tony’s battle with alcohol slowly ruined their marriage. Despite all of the disappointments Mrs. Anthony and her family endured to his disease, they continue to support and love Tony.
I Am Woman: Book One: My Journey, My Tony is an eye-opening read that I found hard to put down. I didn’t expect this book to impact me, but this is a true testament to the author’s ability to infuse emotion into her writing. I felt as though I was reading Mrs. Anthony’s private journal. I was able to experience a true sense of what she was feeling. The disappointment in her husband for not being present in their marriage due to alcohol abuse came through her writing clearly. Mrs. Anthony’s sense of loss for herself because she was focused on her husband and ignored her own dreams was heartbreaking at times.
The author’s life story is one that many women will be able to relate to. The constant need to put family and spouse ahead of themselves makes this memoir especially poignant. As women strive to support their husbands and their careers, like Mrs. Anothony, their own careers and dreams get put on hold. I felt sorry for the author because she felt bad for being angry at her husband for getting sick, and she had to be both a mother and father and take care of their household. The guilt women feel is real, and the author shows how deeply that guilt can run and control how they live their lives. The guilt often turns to anger when in situations like this, the woman is left with no partner and the additional task of caring for the one she vowed to share life with. It seemed her husband did not appreciate the sacrifices she made, and it consumed her in frustration and pain, all while trying to make it appear like things were okay for the outside world and her children.
The author’s writing immersed me into her world, and I could clearly imagine each scene, making this an impactful read. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy memoirs from women who share the personal journey of self-discovery and balancing an ever-complicated life.
Pages: 328 | ASIN : B09LHBQPWW
My Mom has Superpowers
Lillian is a young girl that has a big secret; her Mom is a superhero. Or at least that is what she thinks. Her Mom seems to help her ace her test and help a neighbor find his lost dog without even leaving the house, and a patient at the hospital where she works gets well enough to go home! Lillian thinks this is some supernatural ability, but her Mom confides in her about her superpower. Lillian’s Mom prays. The power of prayer is what brings about the amazing things that happen around her.
My Mom has Superpowers by author Vera Harris is an inspirational picture book for kids and families to recognize the fantastic power prayer can have when people believe. This children’s book explains in simple terms that kids will be able to understand that prayer plays a vital role in self-confidence and helping those in need. It also highlights the need to serve others; Lillian’s Mom does not pray for things for herself; instead, she prays to help the people around her, which, in turn, brings her joy. Lillian’s Mom shows a true servant’s heart that Christian readers will recognize and appreciate.
This heartwarming story is illustrated by Ishika Sharma, the artwork is bright and engaging, and children will love following along page by page. Each illustration has depth and details that bring them to life, especially the praying hands; you can just envision the angels in the clouds receiving the prayers from below.
An additional resource at the end of this book is the included pages to write your own prayers on. This is the only thing I did not love about the book. Not all children that read this will have a mom, dad, or siblings, and having pages dedicated to those titles may be off-putting to some kids. Nevertheless, I love the idea of having a place to write your prayers; I just wish it had been generic.
My Mom has Superpowers is a beautifully written story about learning to pray and passing that superpower on to the next generation. This would make an excellent book for families and religious education classrooms to have to show the power of prayer in a way that kids can understand and appreciate.
Pages: 40 | ASIN : B0B5BD1WCJ
Solitude Of Light
In Solitude of Light’s not-too-distant future, Tomás Estéban Chen-Diaz engages in a heartfelt attempt to save his brother’s soul by joining him on a remote island. Believing himself to be following God’s will, Tomás spends years training at a facility for Christians hoping to travel to Mars before being ordained. He faces challenges to his faith along the way but none more difficult than his brother Francisco’s strict and aggressive adherence to atheism and his disdain for religious practices of any kind. Francisco’s attitude makes attempted reconciliations for past wrongs difficult, and if Tomás is to succeed, he must prove faithful to what he believes is right and just.
S. Kirk Pierzchala’s Solitude of Light takes place in a creative near-future setting with much to recognize from our own time and with the added fictional elements complimenting our own technology rather than appearing too far advanced to be realistic. Because of this, the fictional future seems plausible, perhaps distressingly so given some of its darker elements, as scientific advancements continue along the same trends they follow today.
With the narrative split into two parts, the first often seems slightly removed to the extent that it appears to be a lengthy prologue to the second part, which is where the real heart of the narrative resides. Despite this, part one is essential for the context, which gives part two much of its emotional weight.
With only two characters alone on an isolated island, there is potential for the story to become repetitive or drawn out. Still, Pierzchala manages it admirably with an excellent and often emotional portrayal of two diametrically opposed brothers engaging in a battle of wills. Interspersed between these moments are excellent scenic descriptions which lend their backdrop to this narrative of fraternal compassion, arrogance, and self-superiority.
Solitude of Light is a thought-provoking dystopian novel that takes readers deep into the emotional battle between two brothers. The suspense builds as the brothers battle for moral ground and examines their complicated relationship.
Pages: 474 | ASIN : B09WG4VY3N
Maverick
Maverick, by Fernando Rover Jr., presents its purpose upfront in a crisp, cohesive, and certain manner—a moment of pre-contextual deliberation before readers are asked to take the plunge into this elaborate body of work.
Plain, generic titles served alongside poems constructed with intensity and intricacy serve as self-portraits of the complex human crushed beneath the burden of their role in corrupt society—the consequence of what occurs when a person is made to be seen as a laborer first and a human second.
The theoretical backdrop of this book, use of monochrome and modern design, and ability to blatantly state its arrival, presence, and pursuit is among the numerous elements that make Maverick worth reading. The specifics of its contents are powerful and thought-provoking. The stanzas and line breaks are phenomenal tools for allowing the breath of a poem to speak for itself.
Maverick isn’t a text of trickery, nor one of intellectual flexing and self-gratification. It isn’t written or compiled to impress the sea of nameless, faceless coffeeshop hipsters contemporary artists are pressured to indulge. Rather, it’s monochrome. It’s black, and it’s white. It’s text, and it’s art. It’s graphic design. It’s multimedia. Most of all, it is a calling out of capitalism, as well as all the ways in which we, as humans, are not only forced to survive under it but have actually become so accustomed to its vile lore that we have forgotten our own.
Maverick is an extraordinary work of poetry and art that gives the reader a chance to look into themselves and experience the message the author is presenting. In capitalistic fabrication, we lose our own authenticity — and that, in its most genuine essence, is what Maverick exists to call out and rebel against. I highly recommend this stimulating read for those who are looking for a creative outlet.
Pages: 100 | ISBN : 0578378868
The Intuitive Detective
From the title, you might think that Stacey Webb’s The Intuitive Detective is a 1950’s Hollywood B-movie. On the contrary, though, it’s a captivating memoir by successful police detective, Stacey Webb, that catalogues her life and times when she was guided by her intuition — whether she chose to listen to it or not.
The reliance on instinct by professional investigators has become legendary among fictional characters, from Sherlock Holmes tracking down murders to the alien-chasers Mulder and Scully. Webb unashamedly credits her intuition with leading her to answers she might otherwise have discounted. Something is certainly working for her, considering she has developed a successful career and has been promoted to the level of detective in spite of being a woman and raising her children at the same time.
The Intuitive Detective isn’t all about Webb’s police work, either. A kind of sixth sense guides her in her personal life, too. For example, she recounts a time when she was involved in a serious car accident. Thanks to the guidance of her inner voice, before crashing she manages to take some precautions that ensure she is easily found and even walks away from the battered car uninjured. Subsequently people told her that her dead father somehow protected her from harm on that occasion — a comforting belief that’s common when people survive difficult circumstances when it looks like they shouldn’t. But Webb doesn’t subscribe to that, saying, “Several people said my dad was looking out for me that day. But what I believe was that I was listening to my intuition.”
The Intuitive Detective is an engrossing memoir that Webb has conveniently structured to make it easy to dip in and out. This is an inspiring and intimate look into a fascinating person’s life that will appeal to readers who like their true crime with a spiritual twist.
Pages: 170 | ASIN: B09X9VYMVT
Living in the Gray
Living in the Grey by Katie Weber is an emotionally-resonant memoir that follows Katie Weber. She has everything going for her, a great upbringing and an excellent education, she is young and healthy, but all of that is shattered when she is diagnosed with cancer at 23. After a heroic battle and being cancer-free for five years, she starts putting the pieces of her life back together. But then she relapses. With her identity and dreams shattered, Katie allows readers to follow her emotional journey, struggles, and fight for life.
Katie Weber shares her experiences in a candid and unfiltered way that feels raw, emotional, approachable, and uplifting. We learn about her challenges, but we also see how she manages to move forward.
Reading about Katie’s life after battling cancer and now in remission is an eye-opening read. There are many things that the author tells readers that I would never have thought about. Things people with cancer face, ask themselves, and fear. I was especially moved by seeing how much it affects your emotions and will to live. I wasn’t aware that the author suffered from double vision, inability to stand on her own, having bad hearing, and terrible memory. Her home has been modified to help her get around with little assistance from her husband. These are the day-to-day things that people with cancer face. They seem prosaic, but all these small things add up to something that feels daunting, and I appreciated how those challenges are shared and explored in this memoir.
Throughout the author’s book, she mentions that it is hard not to sound upset with everything she is dealing with and she should be grateful to be alive, but if I were in her shoes, I would feel the exact same way. I give praise to Katie for finding an outlet through writing. I also enjoyed the pieces of her blog she shares with readers. Katie also brings to light how the pandemic affected her because she was out of contact with the world and felt even more lonely.
Living in the Grey is an insightful, touching, and encouraging memoir that I highly recommend to readers who might be battling cancer or anyone who wants to learn more about the fight and see firsthand what those with cancer face. Katie Weber shares her personal experience, and readers get an up close look into her life and thoughts.
Pages: 68 | ISBN: 1639883851
The Scary Snakes
Shelly is terrified of snakes, so much so she is unable to enjoy outings with her family for fear there is a snake everywhere. When out on a picnic with her family, she is afraid to even walk on the ground, and her dad has to carry her all over. She is worried that when she gets bigger and her dad can no longer carry her that she will not be able to go out with her family on these adventures. When she gets home, she calls her Grandma to tell her how upset she is, but Grandma has a plan to help her. The next day Grandma shows up with her yarn and knitting needles and together work out a plan to get past her fear of snakes.
The Scary Snakes by Tuula Pere and illustrated by Catty Flores is a creative picture book about one girl overcoming her fear of snakes. With her help of her, Grandma Shelly knits all sizes and colors of snakes to put all over her house. Seeing the harmless, fun snakes all over helps her overcome her fear.
What I love about this story is that no one makes fun of Shelly’s fear; it is taken seriously, and instead of making her feel bad, her family does things to help her overcome them. In addition, there is a strong bond between Shelly and her Grandma; it is heartwarming to see them connect over making snakes.
I loved how Catty Flores gave the characters so much energy. You can feel the excitement as Shelly gets over her fears and has fun with her Grandmother. The illustrations are colorful and have great details bringing the knitted snakes to life.
The Scary Snakes is a beautiful children’s book about overcoming fears and building confidence. This is an excellent story for kindergarten and young elementary students to learn how being afraid of things is normal.
Pages: 32 | ISBN : 9523572989
LITERARY TITAN 