Blog Archives
Love’s Cauldron: Reclaim Your Wild Feminine
Love’s Cauldron is part memoir, part spiritual guide, and part poetic incantation. Author Jennifer J. Lehr traces her path from childhood wounds and self-doubt toward awakening her “witch self,” a reclamation of intuition, creativity, and the divine feminine. The book moves between personal stories, reflections, and poetry, exploring themes of trauma, healing, and empowerment. It invites readers to honor the unseen, the magical, and the deeply emotional parts of themselves. Lehr’s voice blends vulnerability with wisdom, and she treats her life as a sacred collage, each experience a fragment of becoming whole.
Reading it felt intimate and raw. Lehr’s honesty pulled me in, especially when she described her fear of revealing her spiritual identity and her journey through pain toward acceptance. The mix of memoir and mysticism gave the writing a pulse, alive with both sorrow and hope. Some sections read like prayers, others like confessions. Her reflections on trauma, how it hides in the body, how healing demands courage, resonated with me. At times, the writing stretched into abstraction, and I found myself pausing to catch up emotionally. Still, the beauty of her language and her conviction kept me turning the pages. It’s not a light read, but it’s one that lingers.
What I admired most was Lehr’s blend of psychological insight and spiritual wonder. As a therapist and a self-proclaimed witch, she stands between science and spirit and refuses to choose one over the other. That mix gave the book a grounded magic. Some might resist her talk of guides, past lives, and energy healing, but her sincerity makes it hard to dismiss. The poetry scattered throughout is rich and sensory. It slows the reader down, asking you to feel rather than analyze. I caught myself reading lines twice, just to savor them.
I’d recommend Love’s Cauldron to readers drawn to self-discovery, spirituality, and feminine wisdom. It’s for anyone who has ever felt “too sensitive” or out of step with the world and who wants to see that sensitivity as strength. It’s also a gentle call to those who’ve buried parts of themselves, to dig them up, dust them off, and let them breathe.
Pages: 346 | ASIN : B0FH5MC4ZV
The Criminalization of Addiction: The US vs Gary Scott Hancock Case
The Criminalization of Addiction tells the tragic and deeply personal story of a mother watching her son, Gary Scott Hancock, fall into opioid addiction and then be swallowed by a justice system that confuses illness with criminal intent. Written by Scott’s mother, Dr. G.D. Hancock, a retired professor of finance, the book traces her son’s descent from a normal, middle-class upbringing in St. Louis to a twenty-year federal prison sentence for sharing fentanyl with a friend who later overdosed. What begins as a story about one family’s heartbreak expands into an unflinching critique of how the U.S. legal system handles addiction. Hancock lays out how drug-induced homicide laws, mandatory minimums, and prosecutorial power punish the sick rather than heal them. Through a mix of biography, legal analysis, and raw emotion, the book asks a hard question: when did compassion become a crime?
Hancock’s writing doesn’t hide behind theory or legalese. I could feel her disbelief turning into fury as she realized her son wasn’t seen as a person at all but as a statistic to feed a broken system. The writing moves between moments of aching tenderness and pure outrage. It’s not polished in the literary sense, and that’s what makes it powerful; it’s the voice of a mother who’s seen too much. I found myself angry right alongside her, especially when she exposed how prosecutors twist facts and judges’ hands are tied by mandatory sentences. Her mix of love, guilt, and disbelief feels brutally honest. The tone is emotional but steady, and it carries the weight of lived experience rather than abstract policy talk.
This is a very emotional book. There were moments I had to set the book down to breathe. Still, that exhaustion mirrors what the author lived through. Her background as an academic gives the story structure and evidence, yet she never loses the personal edge. The sections on medical evidence and justice reform could have been dry, but her anger keeps them alive. It’s heartbreaking to see how easily an addict’s cry for help can turn into a life sentence, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how many families must be living this same nightmare without the words to tell it.
I would recommend The Criminalization of Addiction to anyone who believes justice should be fair, or who thinks it already is. It’s especially important for lawmakers, medical professionals, and families dealing with addiction. The book isn’t easy to read, but it shouldn’t be. It made me ache, it made me furious, and it made me want change. If you’ve ever looked at addiction and thought, “That could never touch my family,” this book will prove you wrong.
Pages: 54 | ASIN : B0FNLX2T2K
Connecting the Dots
Girl, Groomed is a raw and unflinching memoir that traces your childhood experiences of grooming and abuse at a horse stable, and the long, painful process of understanding how that past shaped your adult life and relationships. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I wanted to offer what I have learned personally and professionally about the importance of lining up with and healing from past trauma. I chose to use my own story to encourage readers that it is only through walking directly into the painful places that we can heal ourselves.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
The path towards reclaiming our lives is through an understanding of how trauma continues to impact ourselves and others. This shows up in many forms, but through an awareness of this, we gain the agency to decrease our reactivity and defensiveness that are constricting byproducts. This, in turn, gives us more choice and liberation over our lives going forward.
What was the most challenging part of writing your memoir, and what was the most rewarding?
Writing my memoir required me to delve back into memories that I had disconnected from. The process of re-experiencing what I had fractured off was both painful and healing. After all, we can only heal from what we can accurately name. Connecting the dots of my life helped me integrate and reclaim my story.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
One takeaway is that trauma informs our lives, but it doesn’t define who we are or who we are becoming.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Instagram | Amazon
Raw and riveting, Girl, Groomed is seasoned psychotherapist Carol Odell’s evolving story of deepening her understanding of how the crisis she blindly imposes on her marriage is rooted in her own history of sexual abuse and violence at the hands of a predatory horse trainer who, for far too much of her young life, held all the reins. Chapters toggle back and forth between scenes of her childhood growing up jumping horses on the show circuit in Virginia and the therapy sessions she later undergoes as an adult sitting in “the other chair.”
Using her own journey, Carol demonstrates in this insightful memoir how unintegrated trauma limits us and our connection with others—and how the work of uncovering and reintegrating “what we do with what happens to us” can become the very source of our liberation.
Manifesting the Impossible
In The Dressing Drink, you share both the memories and challenges of growing up with a mother born of high society and an absent father. Why was this an important book for you to write?
My mother passed away when I was 11, and I met my father at 14. He died when I was 15. Because I never really knew my parents, I felt it was important to explore their scrapbook, memorabilia, and the stories of personalities from show business and friends. This process was essential for me to create a mythology around them and to gain a better understanding of who they were for my mental health, especially at the age of 22.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
The most challenging perspective I faced was that of a lost child. I lived a wild life, mostly in boarding schools. It never felt like I was lost; I simply moved from one situation to another, either happy or high. It wasn’t until I entered rehab that I had a conversation with my inner child, who looked up at me and said, “You tried to kill me.”
Did you learn anything about yourself while planning and writing this book?
Everything I have done in my life feels like “manifesting the impossible.” Even the journey of writing and compiling this book seemed like an unrealistic goal from the outside. Therefore, it’s a significant accomplishment to document my mother’s life, my father’s life, my family’s life, and parts of my own life. The five books that emerged from this effort are just a small glimpse into the larger story of my life.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your experiences?
Certainly, the concept of being a survivor is about transcending survival to reach recovery. If we are honest, we are all in the process of recovery, whether we acknowledge it or not. I have been sober for 26 years and consider that borrowed time. Writing the book at 22 and publishing it at 68 is a lifelong compilation of my experiences.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
From the grand estates of old money to the memoir, which spans decades and explores themes of money, power, alcohol, deceit, death, war, and murder, Thomas King Flagg navigates a complex labyrinth while pulling up the roots of his family tree with all its glory and devastation.
Thomas King Flagg is the great-grandson of David Hazlitt King Jr., renowned for his significant contributions to the assembly of the Statue of Liberty. Flagg’s mother was a debutante and a radio personality who graced the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine. At the same time, his father was a dancer and comedian who starred in several theatrical productions and some movies. He also starred on Broadway with Ethel Merman in Hello Dolly. Unfortunately, Thomas did not reconnect with his father until shortly before his death, missing out on a connection that could have profoundly influenced his life.
Once you begin reading The Dressing Drink, you won’t be able to stop until you’ve savored every last drop!
From Foie Gras To Jello
From Foie Gras to Jello is the raw, funny, and sometimes bruising life story of a chef who never stopped fighting his way forward. Christopher Mihy takes us from his childhood in the idyllic French town of Dieulefit to the blistering kitchens of Las Vegas. He recounts a life that swings between triumph and chaos, love and betrayal, hard-earned success and the relentless grind of the culinary world. The book reads like a casual conversation. It’s sharp and full of vivid moments that make you wince and laugh in the same breath. Mihy’s voice is direct, his humor dark, and his honesty disarming.
This book hit me harder than I expected. It isn’t polished like a typical celebrity memoir. It’s gritty, loud, and relatable. Mihy writes like a man who’s lived through a hundred lives and doesn’t care to sugarcoat a single one. His storytelling shines when he describes the kitchen, the smells, the noise, the violence of it all. You can feel the steam, the sweat, the bruised egos. And then there’s the vulnerability. He talks about heartbreak, humiliation, and redemption with a kind of humility that sneaks up on you. I found myself rooting for him, even when he was at his lowest, because he never stopped showing up. His pain feels real, his humor feels earned, and his victories, small or large, feel like yours too.
The pacing slows sometimes, but Mihy’s voice never loses its grip. It’s like hearing an old chef telling stories after a long service, when the knives are down and the whiskey’s out. There’s grit, but also grace in how he reflects on his mistakes. It reminded me that success in life isn’t about perfection. It’s about persistence, humility, and a bit of madness. His journey from “Foie Gras to Jello” isn’t just a metaphor for his career; it’s a statement on how far we fall and how hard we climb to get back up.
By the end, I felt both exhausted and inspired. Mihy’s story is not just for food lovers or hospitality folks. It’s for anyone who’s ever chased a dream and been knocked flat by it. If you’ve ever burned out, started over, or found yourself wondering why you keep fighting for something you love, this book will resonate with you.
Pages: 158 | ASIN : B0FQFJRVBX
Seeking Yesterday
Seeking Yesterday tells the story of a family’s journey into the past, sparked by the discovery of a 1922 land claim in the California desert. Richardson traces the lives of her grandparents Ralph and Emma, who dared to homestead on 160 acres of harsh desert terrain, while weaving in broader history from the Homestead Act to World War I, the rise of Palm Desert, and the fading dreams of pioneers. The book unfolds as both a personal quest and a sweeping historical account, blending memoir, genealogy, and local history into one. It is at once intimate and expansive, grounded in dusty documents and vivid imagination, pulling the reader into the struggles and resilience of people who shaped not just one family but part of the American West.
I felt the writing had a quiet warmth. Author Lis Richardson doesn’t hide her own longing to connect with the people who came before her, and that vulnerability made the book feel human. At times, the detail was immense, but I appreciated the effort to bring texture to landscapes and lives that could otherwise slip away into silence. The desert, especially, comes alive here.
What struck me most was the honesty in confronting both pride and pain. The book doesn’t gloss over the failures, the heartbreak, or the reality that the “empty” land was once home to Indigenous peoples. I admired that acknowledgment, and it deepened the story beyond one family’s nostalgia. Some sections leaned heavily on research and read more like a history text than a personal reflection. The strongest passages were the ones where her personal yearning met the historical record.
I’d recommend Seeking Yesterday to readers who enjoy family memoirs, regional histories, or stories of resilience in unforgiving places. It’s a book for those who’ve wondered about the lives hidden behind old photographs or land deeds. If you like the mix of memory and history, with a bit of grit and dust clinging to the edges, this one is worth your time.
Pages: 351 | ASIN : B0FMJQV8GQ
The Dressing Drink
The Dressing Drink tells the story of family, privilege, and damage dressed up in elegance. Thomas King Flagg weaves a memoir that feels both intimate and theatrical. At its heart is Dorothy Mary Flagg, a woman of society who lived with glamour, wit, and excess, yet was haunted by control, loneliness, and the weight of expectations. The book drifts through memories and family stories, some imagined and some painfully real, all tied together by the strange ritual of the “dressing drink,” a symbol of escape, courage, and self-deception.
I found myself pulled in by the writing. It is vivid, almost cinematic, with scenes that sparkle and sting at the same time. At points, I felt like I was in the room, watching Dorothy Mary pin orchids to her dress or sip champagne in secret. The language is playful yet sharp, laced with irony, and it never shies away from showing the cruelty that lives under polished surfaces. The details are lush, but I admired the author’s willingness to let the prose wander because it made the book feel alive, unpredictable, and oddly intoxicating.
What hit me hardest was the emotional undercurrent. There’s a quiet sadness that runs beneath the sparkle, a sense of people trapped in roles they never chose. Dorothy Mary is magnetic, but also tragic. I felt frustrated by her choices and yet sympathetic to her hunger for freedom. The book stirred something raw in me. It made me think of how often family history gets polished into legend, while underneath lies pain and secrecy. I liked how Flagg leaned into that tension instead of smoothing it out.
The Dressing Drink is both a spectacle and a confession. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy memoirs that feel like novels, who want to be dazzled and unsettled at the same time. It’s layered, indulgent, and sometimes heavy with sorrow. But for those willing to step into its tent, it offers a haunting show that I’m sure you will think about for a while.
Pages: 382 | ASIN : B0FDBNJW8G
Quiet Pride
In A Long Cast, you share with readers your experiences with family and friends over five decades of surfcasting on Martha’s Vineyard. Why was this an important book for you to write?
The stories were starting to evaporate as time went on. I could feel them slipping away, and I wanted to capture them so years from now the kids would be able to simply share the book with someone they cared about and say, “It was like this.”
For the last several years, my adult daughter would keep prodding: “You should write these stories down, Dad.” And I kept deflecting it. Then, when I turned 70, I secretly decided to give it a try so I could maybe surprise them in the end. But I stalled. It was just dry, boring details at first. But when I asked my fishing friends if there was anything they would like to share for the book, it became clear that they, too, wanted documentation for their family and friends to have forever. I sensed their quiet pride and an unspoken hope, and this is what gave me the motivation I needed to get it across the finish line. I used the Dedication page to give the rationale for the book.
Is there anything else you now wish you had included in A Long Cast? A memory? An experience?
No. Not at all. But if there was a Prologue, it would contain the reactions after it came out. Everything from the successful construction company owner who said, “Only read one book my entire life. But I read this one in two days.” I gave each of the twenty-five featured fishermen a copy when it came out. One guy, looking at his copy, said to the other, “Geez. Didn’t know he (me) could write.” The other fishermen replied, “Didn’t know you could read.” The wife of a fisherman texted and explained that she always wished him well as he headed out the door for his annual fishing trip, but never figured out why he liked it so much. Now she knew, she said.
Right after the book came out, he got really ill and had to stop fishing. One day, she was reading the book outside his hospital room and started to laugh out loud. He asked her what was so funny. She read him the two paragraphs, and he laughed so hard and long that they had to settle him down. “It’s true.” He kept laughing. “It’s true. That’s Ed.” (The fisherman in the story.)
Different fishermen would reach out and tell me which story they liked best, and everyone has a different one. A younger fisherman said he bought a copy for his dad and told him it was because of the piece on The Partner. Another told me it was Retie. I think mine might be The Car. I still laugh out loud when I read it.
What advice would you give someone who is considering writing their own memoir?
Don’t make it about you. Make it about the encounters and conversations and actions of others that have been illuminating, convincing, affirming, paradoxically true, righteous, courageous, challenging, grace- filled, perplexing. Don’t report facts, and details, and accomplishments. Tell the stories of who and what has enriched the journey.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your book?
I hope the reader can also find one or two things in the book to be true.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
In 1971, a father and son ventured out of their apartment in New Jersey to the Island of Martha’s Vineyard to try their hand at surfcasting. That trip began a life of Spring trips to the waters’ edge in search of bluefish and striped bass. Fifty years later, Mike Carotta takes readers along for thirty straight nights and days of fishing.
This is not a How To book. It does not contain the secrets to a fantastic fishing career. Rather, hard fishing has a way of revealing lessons from the shore and the people who gather there-binding together strangers in conversations and gestures, failures and successes, new learnings, and, eventually, creating old friends.
Through it all, more than fish are caught-and shared. The result is a thoughtful collection of essays on life with some notes from the trade filtered in. Join Mike on his pilgrimage back to where the distance between heaven and earth gets a little thinner and the real “keepers” of the trip go far beyond the fish on the end of the line.
“I am not a good surf fisherman. There are no helpful fishing hints here. This is a collection of recollection: stories of saltwater characters, occurrences, and conversations. Like stars in the night sky, they are best enjoyed when you get some distance from the lights of other stuff.” – Excerpt from A Long Cast
LITERARY TITAN 