Blog Archives
Divorcee Dish
Divorce is a challenging and emotionally tumultuous experience, further complicated by the involvement of children and extended families. In recent years, the pandemic and global economic strains have exacerbated these difficulties, causing a notable surge in divorce rates. Erin Dullaghan Jones, in her timely book, The Divorcee Dish, offers a thoughtful guide to help individuals, particularly women, navigate the intricate dynamics of divorce with grace and resilience.
Jones begins her narrative by recounting her personal story of meeting her ex-husband and their subsequent marriage within two years. Their journey was marred by the tragic loss of their first and third children through miscarriages, which, along with her ex-husband’s high-demand travel job, significantly strained their relationship.
Throughout the book, Jones enriches her storytelling with practical advice and introspective prompts designed to guide readers through each stage of the divorce process. She firmly believes in the therapeutic benefits of journaling and incorporates a section titled ‘Time to Dish,’ which offers engaging questions to prompt reflective writing.
Jones provides a comprehensive guide on how to communicate the news of divorce to children, drawing from her own experiences as both a child of divorce and a divorcee. She thoughtfully addresses the myriad of questions that may arise from children, regardless of their age. She also shines a light on the emotional rollercoaster that often accompanies divorce, offering insight into the stages of grief – Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance (DABDA).
But Jones’s book is not solely focused on the hardships. She also accentuates the importance of personal well-being and self-care, offering advice on how to date post-divorce, when to introduce new partners to children, and many other aspects of life after divorce. One of the notable sections details her experiences with dating, where she humorously recounts identifying red flags on a date.
The Divorcee Dish comes highly recommended not only for those currently navigating divorce but also for singles contemplating marriage. Jones’s advice on dating, journaling, and personal care earns a remarkable five-star rating. Beyond being an insightful read, this book serves as a valuable handbook to be revisited during both challenging and triumphant times.
Pages: 111 | ASIN : B0BPF2XCV9
The Fifth Wife
The Fifth Wife by Soua Lee is a compelling and inspirational tale that follows the journey of Mai Cee, a Hmong woman who faces numerous challenges in her pursuit of independence and self-improvement. Upon arriving in America as a child, Mai Cee grapples with language barriers and cultural differences while attending school. Despite these difficulties, she excels as a student, and her family recognizes her potential.
Throughout the narrative, Mai Cee’s steadfast determination to better herself and support her family is commendable. Despite growing up in a troubled household, she sought to understand the meaning of love and to feel worthy of it. However, when she meets James, her life takes a dramatic turn, as her relationship with him is met with prejudice from her family. Despite her desire to be with James, she is constantly tormented by unfounded opinions and the lies of the past, leading her to question her emotions. Mai Cee shares numerous life lessons learned through pain and struggle, providing readers with insight into the complexities of the human experience. The detailed narration is a testament to the fact that no one is entirely good or bad, and everyone does the best they can from their perspective. Despite the arguments and challenges Mai Cee faces, her parents always had her best interests at heart. Moreover, The Fifth Wife explores how social influences can impact one’s dreams and aspirations. However, it also emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and the ability to overcome obstacles to move forward.
The Fifth Wife is a remarkable story, and while some of the explanations may appear repetitive, they are essential to understanding the intricacies of Hmong culture. The book will resonate with readers who value the significance of family and love, regardless of their customs. Mai Cee’s journey serves as an inspiration for anyone struggling to find their true self in challenging times, demonstrating the importance of not letting the past dictate one’s future. This engaging and thought-provoking memoir encourages readers to strive for a better future.
Pages: 353 | ASIN : B0BNCJZBLY
You’re the Cake
You’re the Cake: The Guy’s the Frosting by Marcia Lite-Braus is a self-help book that emphasizes the need for you to love and care for yourself first before seeking love from others. With ten chapters telling of Marcia’s experience dating different men, this book had enough coverage to point out the psychological and emotional reasons that influenced her and many women’s choice of men.
An invaluable attribute of this book is how Marcia, in bullet form, highlighted the problem with each choice in each story, what could have been done to avert it, and the affirmations that will help you do better. Furthermore, Marcia’s ability to find streaks of humor in her mistakes buffers the painful and, sometimes, alarmingly shocking mishaps she had dating different kinds of men. For every type of person out there, Marcia shared her experience dating them. From the kleptomaniac to the criminal, Marcia’s writing style makes her stories memorable, along with the lessons gleaned from ‘not shopping the inside’ of these men.
As a single, divorced mother of one, Marcia demonstrated how many women are inclined to re-enter the dating pool with a lot of anxiety and low self-esteem, bruised from the end or failure of their last relationship or marriage. This book reassures single women how that should not be the case. It provides copious examples of how love has been misrepresented and how not loving yourself can only attract the wrong kind of people. It is even worse when you project your past trauma or lapses into your future engagements. In this book, Marcia has succeeded in describing, in simple terms, how to be less critical of self. In this breakdown of one of the most complex aspects of human relationships – finding the right partner, Marcia made her writing relatable and easy to read. The burden of building a relationship should not be on you alone. If anything, it should not be a burden at all.
You’re the Cake: The Guy’s the Frosting is a real page-turner. On the last page, you’d be left desiring more of the writing and knowing that you have learned all it takes to value yourself and be that cake that deserves the best frosting.
Pages: 66 | ASIN : B0B72HMVM2
LITERARY TITAN 