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Grandma’s Secret Blessings: A Memoir with a Twist
![Grandma's Secret Blessings: A Memoir with a Twist by [JohnEgreek]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51XBlcx%2BJ8L._SY346_.jpg)
A chance encounter in the park leads Yianni to develop a relationship with a family similar to the one in which he grew up and in need of the same love, unconditional support, and unfailing guidance provided him by his grandmother once upon a time. His recurring meetings with little Christina, her parents, grandmother, and brothers reveal more interesting and, sometimes, amazing coincidences between their family and his own. Eager to share the stories of his youth and finding more reasons all the time to reveal his most troubling and painful secrets, Yianni begins to save his newfound family while he saves himself in the process.
Right out of the gate, JohneEgreek strikes a powerful chord in Grandma’s Secret Blessings: A Memoir with a Twist with his emotional reaction to his first encounter with three-year-old Christina. Yianni is clearly missing a piece of his heart due to the strained relationship with his son. The fact that he has never met his young granddaughter, Aubrey Rose, eats away at his soul, and the warm reaction he feels from Christina’s mother and brothers begins to fill that tremendous void. It is difficult to read without becoming overwhelmed with emotion at Yianni’s thoughtful reflections upon each of their storytelling sessions.
There exists an entire demographic of readers who will relate to Yianni’s description of his childhood. The abuse and unrelenting savagery with which his father throws his way from a tender age is unbelievably horrific. To find that Yianni is able to grow, thrive, and find a way to cope with his past is truly amazing. His story gives readers hope and provides them with a virtual shoulder on which to lean as they battle their own childhood demons.
Yianni’s grandmother, the basis for his strength, is a phenomenal woman indeed. She provides young Yianni with all the love and protection he needs once he loses his grandfather, his idol. The advice flows freely from her day after day, and she builds Yianni’s self-esteem when his father has beaten him down. Her words alone are enough to heal Yianni’s spirit.
The regular meetings Yianni has with Christina’s family are fascinating to say the least. I was stunned at the coincidences he discovered week after week between his own lineage and theirs. I felt as though the story was leading to an aha moment in which a secret relationship was revealed–that’s how coincidental and numerous the connections are. Story after story, Yianni builds a life with Christina and her parents–even her reluctant father, Ray. I have to say, I was more than pleased to see the final turn of events involving Ray and Yianni.
I give Grandma’s Secret Blessings: A Memoir with a Twist by JohneEgreek 5 out of 5 stars. To have so freely opened his life to the eyes and ears of the world is an admirable thing indeed. The years he spent being abused by his father and the time he spent living as the one sibling his father refused to love shaped JohneEgreek into a man who can heal others with his own stories.
Pages: 316 | ASIN: B077PLR98B
The Philosophical Future: Man’s Psychic Journey: End or Beginning?
“There is no cure for birth or death, save to enjoy the interval”
This is easier said than done. How does one enjoy said interval? How is the enjoyment made possible in times of back breaking responsibility? The search for answers to the how-question has led to tedious inquiries into life’s meaning. It has led all individuals to try harder than they should to understand the age into which they are born. Whether it is an unconscious effort or intentional, seeking freedom and fulfillment is a human condition. Without proper knowledge of the field, the search will be futile and frustrating. Learn first; earn the tools to navigate through life efficiently.
This book is about expanding and maturing the view of the future, it is about understanding the role of the past in the future, it is about understanding the extent of social and psychological challenges that deter wholesome living in this century, it is about introducing the novices to a picture of how civilized thoughts and ideas develop, to introduce people to the quintessence of human thinking. To help people contend with the role of religion despite rampant secularism.
Charles Reid has come up with a roadmap unlike nothing that has even been suggested before. He is not just telling the reader to live fully. He is handing us the necessary tools to do exactly that. He is giving a guide to take advantage of every minute. He is ensuring that birth and death do not become regrettable events. His ideas are simple enough but intricate the more you think about them it. He goes further to break down his ideas of a philosophical future into little tidbits. The breakdown is effective as it allows a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
Enthusiasm and passion are paramount to the successful conveyance of a message. This book has those in loads. The author has great passion in the subject matter as is evident in his eloquent portrayal of a philosophical definition of happiness, freedom, and fulfillment. He does not rush over any knots. Everything is exhaustively explained and explored. The Philosophical Future is very well written. It is a suggestion rather than a lecture. It is an invitation to comprehend the true meaning of things. The author does not force his deas aggressively but rather places a bowl at the table to share. This is an important trait especially in a matter that is so subject to individual opinion.
This book is highly recommended to young people. They still have the time to entertain new ideas, to introduce new angles into their search for happiness, to develop a new dimension for their view of the future. The age-advanced should not be left behind either. It is never too late to tweak your thinking. You might use or you might pass it on. This book is well suited to either demographic.
Pages: 276 | ASIN: B079LH9GMH
The Butcher’s Daughter: A Memoir
![The Butcher's Daughter: A Memoir by [Grende, Florence]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51rD%2Bkt6PyL.jpg)
Florence Grende’s parents survived the Holocaust and managed to settle in New York City to provide a new life for their children. The horrors of their past, however, never leave them and infiltrate every aspect of their lives in the United States. Florence, their daughter, grows up watching her parents keep their demons at bay as she learns as much about her family’s haunting past as she learns about herself. Grende’s questions about her mother’s outbursts and her father’s deep, dark sadness lead her to answers she is afraid she already knows but is not willing to admit.
The Butcher’s Daughter is Florence Grende’s own recollection of her life in New York City and her struggle to come to terms with her parents’ own battle with the memories of their lives in Germany during the Holocaust. Grende’s memoir is written in a unique and gripping style. Her words flow from page to page in the most poetic fashion with emphasis placed on short, striking bits of text highlighting especially difficult memories.
Grende pulls her memoir together with short chapters, each focusing on specific situations, distinct memories, and her own analyses of events from her childhood and teenage years. I looked for the memoir style to follow a sequential order but, in Grende’s case, the random scattering of memories and the jumps she makes from one time period backwards and then forward again works well. Her own confusion and the turbulence dictating her life as a result of her family’s past is reflected effectively in the style of writing chosen by the author. Short bursts of memories are easy to read, engaging, and incite the reader’s curiosity.
It is not often readers are afforded a look into the author’s own experiences. Grende gives readers a particularly vivid picture of the trauma and the lasting impact the Holocaust had on the ensuing generations. Her father’s behavior and neediness are sad in a way I find it almost impossible to describe. She underscores the way he seems to emotionally cling to her in a markedly poetic chapter in the second of the book’s three sections. Never is her father’s tragic past more clearly defined than in his sadness and desperation at losing her to her new husband.
Closure being the goal for Florence Grende, I felt relief for her as she details her journey for answers and the meeting which brings her face to face with people on all sides of the Holocaust. Her writing experience begins with her trip to Berlin and the diary that starts it all. I felt the tension as I read of Grende’s meetings with fellow survivors and descendants of Nazis. The horror stories flow, and Grende, at last, shares her own with those who can, not only relate, but wish for the same closure as the author herself. Grende writes of these meetings with raw emotion and does more to help readers absorb the truth of history than is ever possible with any textbook.
Florence Grende has bared her soul and shown readers a perspective on history that most of us will never fully grasp. She walks readers eloquently through a minefield of emotions and tackles the savagery of the Holocaust with truth, directness, and poetic prose.
Pages: 148 | ASIN: B01M751TN4
In Search of Truth: A Course in Spiritual Psychology
In Search of Truth: A Course in Spiritual Psychology, by Glenville Ashby is a book of selected writings ranging from 2013 to 2018 which seeks to answer those questions that many of us struggle to comprehend. From death and the afterlife to the purpose of life itself, Glenville attempts to develop an insight into such matter using his knowledge. His hunger for awareness coupled with his Ph.D. skill set, make this an intelligent but thought-provoking read which is guaranteed to get the reader not just thinking but, hopefully, starting a conversation and sharing their thoughts on both Glenville’s writing and the subject at hand.
Admittedly, I was initially hesitant about reading this book just because I thought that Glenville was going to, like many others writing on such subjects, ignore those atheists and agnostics amongst us, myself included.
I respect all faiths and believe we are all entitled to develop our own concepts and ideas when it comes to the subject of spirituality. However, from reading similar books like this, atheists and agnostics are almost never included or referred to. Because of this, I tend to avoid such writing.
So, I could not have been happier when Glenville stated in his preface that he believed that all peoples views were equally important, regardless of their beliefs, or lack of.
I thoroughly recommend starting with Love is The Only True Religion. This collection can be referenced and dipped into as the reader deems it necessary, but this one is a tremendous eye-opening piece that should be read by everyone!
Glenville’s drive, passion, and dedication to his subjects allow him to objectively search for what lies behind the choices we make, the way we behave and how we approach such matters.
Each piece of writing is thought-provoking and comes at the subject from a neutral angle. Even though Glenville knows that some readers will not initially agree with his words, he works at posing a what if stance.
The book needs to be read with an open mind because that is precisely how I feel that Glenville has approached it. However, sadly I think this may be harder for some to do than others. Glenville has undoubtedly tackled those somewhat taboo subjects that many prefer to stay away from, with suicide, death and crucifixion controversy amongst them.
However, how Glenville takes on and expands on these subjects is commendable, and this is one of the reasons why I would urge for those uncomfortable about such books to read just one piece themselves before passing any such judgment. I can guarantee most will be pleasantly surprised.
This is a fascinating collection offering something different than your usual books on spiritual psychology. Fully accessible for those who may want to refer to it time and time again for spiritual guidance, if you are looking for an intellectual and stimulating read, with an openness to many different outcomes, then I can’t recommend In Search of Truth enough.
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website
Real Feelings and Emotions
Kim Nugent Author Interview
Did I Say Never is the emotional journey you took when you became a step mother to a special needs child. What was the inspiration that made you want to put your experiences into a book?
Truthfully when I began to reflect on our journey, I just kept thinking I wish there had been a book to help me. If we can help one family or a teacher or a caregiver by sharing what we learned, it was worth putting pen to paper.
I appreciated your candor and openness in the story, and it helped me fully understand your struggle. Was there anything that was difficult for you to write about?
Yes, any time I had to write about Brooks being injured or going back to the hospital was painful even at an older age of consuming nuts and bolts at the sheltered workshop. It literally makes me cry.
Do you find that there is a common misconception people have about special needs children?
Maybe not common misconception but as far as we have come in the area of disabilities, we have a long way to go. People feel uncomfortable around people who are different from them so they tend to avoid getting to know them. Special needs children have real feelings and emotions but they may express them differently.
I felt like this book was about family, devotion, and working through struggles. What do you hope readers take away from your book?
First, I truly want readers to use the book as a resource guide and ponder the questions for their family to consider what is best for them. Second, I hope they look at the milestones proactively and develop a plan for what they want as a family. Third, look for the angels in your life that can help. Finally, realize you are not alone even though there will be many days you think you are all alone.
Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook
![Did I Say Never?: A Stepparent's Emotional Journey with her Special Needs Son by [Nugent, Kim]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51dubB2UikL.jpg)
Dr. Kim Nugent is the best-selling author of Did I Say Never. Kim shares her personal 32 year spiritual journey, a true story, filled with sorrows and joys, challenges and tears that unfolded during her marriage and life as a step parent. The intention of the book is to provide ideas, questions, resources and heartfelt encouragement for parent’s to help their special needs child or adult so they achieve their full potential and improve the overall quality of their life.
Kim never thought she would marry again and for sure not to a man who had children.
Little did she know that her life would change –in unimaginable and dramatic ways, and this is where the story begins!
Did I Say Never is an emotional journey of love, frustration, and overwhelm. Kim step-by-step describes the details of each step she took on the path and talks about the Angels that appeared just at the right time to guide and uplift her.
While Kim does not have all the answers for you and your family, she knows the struggles, pains, joys and victories. Kim offers remarkable disability resources and questions for consideration for you, your family, teachers, and caregivers.
Have you ever felt completely lost, confused or extremely overwhelmed about what to do next with your disabled child or adult? Have you ever felt clueless as to what questions to ask next or what resources might be available to you? Then grab a copy and don’t let anyone stop you from “designing your life without limits”! Did I Say Never is a must read.
The Chakra System
Teresa McCallum Author Interview
In Finding Balance and Forgiveness Through Chakras and Art you discuss the seven Chakras, where they’re located, how to determine if they’re blocked and how to correct it . Why was this an important book for you to write?
I have been yearning to write a book about resilience for many years but I always got stalled as I tried to find the correct template. It was not until I had endured a near death experience and started looking more seriously at alternate methods of healing that my ideas started to gel. I had actually given up on writing the book and dedicated myself to healing my own issues and found that the use of the chakra system was perfect. After I had turned my own life around, I realized that the template for my book was right there: the Chakra system. The seven chakras provide the perfect road map: colour coded and simple to use. And the chakra system works well with other methods of healing (traditional and alternative) and is not discriminatory. Regardless of one’s race, gender, sexual identity, culture, or spiritual path, the chakra system can be used.
One of the different aspects of this book over others on Chakras is the incorporation of art in all stages. Why is this a vital aspect?
Well, first of all, I am an artist, so it is just part of the fabric of my being. And I truly believe we are all artists. Children have an innate ability to be creative and as we age, we tend to lose that freedom of creative expression. I have used art as a therapeutic tool with mental health patients for many years. Art is a natural healing method, but when art is used with the chakra system, magic happens…truly. I’ve seen people who are skeptical of using alternative healing methods, such as the chakra system, but when an artistic exercise is added to the experience, it seems to provide increased clarity and buy-in for the participant. I have found that art ties in well with explaining the different levels of the chakra system. And art makes the experience fun.
What do you find is one common misconception people have about Chakras?
I think there are a lot of misguided sexual identity beliefs about the chakra system:
- that the basic human needs, including sexuality, are not as important as the higher level chakras
- That there is a negative connotation to feminine traits and that masculine attributes are viewed in a more positive light
As I studied the system, I realized that balance in all areas is critical. And that all aspects of self: needs and enlightenment; masculine and feminine are necessary and desired.
I think this book is a great reference for people new or experienced to the study of Chakras and self-healing. What do you hope readers take away from your book?
My hope is that people find balance, while understanding that there are times we need the help of experts – and while knowing that we can also take an active role in our own health, self care, happiness, and ability to connect with ourselves, others, and a higher power. Balance is achieved when we are able to forgive… ourselves, others, circumstances. Yes, there is work to do, but it can be fun, manageable, and with a bit of artistic flair and pizzaz!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Using chakras and art is like having a template to achieve balance, forgiveness, and peace. Life is challenging; our world often seems chaotic and tumultuous. Learning to assess and treat your chakra imbalances helps you to cope with these challenges and to find inner peace.
Through the use of true stories, both her own and those of others, Teresa McCallum provides examples of balanced and imbalanced chakras. She offers simple activities, methods, and art suggestions to help others achieve personal growth and inner balance. Teresa’s background as a nurse working in mental health, as well as being a visual artist, lead her to develop a unique way of looking at spirituality, self-healing, and use of the ancient chakra system. Regardless of whether the chakra system is new to you or you are an experienced yogini (or yogi), Finding Balance and Forgiveness Through Chakras and Art will provide artistic insight and guidance.
How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure
![How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure by [Newton, Kaye]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41c1p6QkKeL.jpg)
How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure, written by Kaye Newton, will help you teach your children to find the joy in reading. We live in a digital age, and the art of reading is slowly fading away. Netflix, social media and the internet have taken over the entertainment sector, leaving teenagers and children disinterested with the magic of reading. Armed with exciting and informative facts, Kaye Newton will help all parents and caregivers find practical and engaging ways to help encourage your adolescents to read.
How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure is a valuable tool and learning resource for all parents who are trying to get their teens to read. With online distractions and the quick fix that screen time provides, this generation of children is sadly missing out on the benefits which reading a book provides.
The benefits of reading are far and wide and include how reading improves our concentration, memory, analytical skills and even help teens prepare for the workforce. And if you believe your child is just simply not a “born reader”, Newton also takes a look at how we all have the potential to read, and humans are innately drawn to storytelling and adventure. Sometimes it comes down to simply finding the right book for the right child.
How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure will also push you to question your own beliefs and interests in reading. One line that resonated with me was “I liked reading until I was forced to overthink every sentence”. As a child, we often read books to discover new worlds, uncover magical creatures and learn different cultures, but this changes when we become adolescents. At school we are often expected to look at the grammar and the concept of the story and then write hundreds and sometimes thousands of words about a plot line we may have not even enjoyed. Kaye Newton addresses this issue with some alarming statistics about how little we now read and the detrimental effects it can have when we take reading out of our lives.
Not only will How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure give you extensive and useful tools to help with supporting your teen to read, but the novel also provides lists of books that will suit your child and match their interests. For example, many parents often use the excuse that their child does not read due to being obsessed with video games. But there are books for even the most avid of gamers, and Newton will provide you with several examples to get you started. There is also a fantastic list of books ready for you to try that are sorted by ages and genres.
One segment of How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure also answers questions that parents may have, such as do graphic novels count as reading or what is considered “real reading”? These questions will help parents find out what type of reading will suit their teen and how reading can be found in places we least expect.
I would recommend this to anyone who is looking to encourage the children in their lives to discover the magic of reading!
Pages: 171 | ASIN: B0793MKDNP
Masks Book Trailer
Masks is a dark fictional tale, based on true-life events. It narrates the adventures of a young Armenian girl born in Lebanon in the seventies. She dreams of fame and power in Lebanon and the Arab world and shows resilience and motivation beyond her years. The novel delves into the world of the protagonist, Anna, who is surrounded by social, religious, and sexual taboos. She fiercely breaks the chains to enter the world she has strived to reach, in a seemingly conservative society barely emerging from a civil war. She builds her success on her remaining values, challenging her fate and sparing no way means to attain her goals.
As a disappointment to her parents, she walks the challenging paths alone, making her way toward fame and fortune despite lacking the support system to do so. Doors begin to open for her, and she enters the world of Arab celebrities. She is now a public figure in the Middle East, living an immoral married life in a materialistic world surrounded by influential business people and royal family members. She tries, in vain, to fill the void in her soul with sexual adventures and controversy by taking a wide variety of lovers. Her adventures invariably end in misery, doing nothing to awaken her from her numbness. Still, her vivid, out-of-control personality helps her move forward while simultaneously getting her in trouble. In the early stages of her life, she has suffered the unthinkable, being bullied and raped, with the civil war a constant backdrop throughout most of her childhood. The novel delves deep into Anna’s mind as she has flashbacks of the trauma she has suffered, offering the reader a hint of an explanation for her behavior.
In a society in which men dominate women, she is one of the few who realize that fashion, social status, plastic surgeries, and bright smiles are not the answer to happiness. She lives in a world where a girl is only worth as much as her virginity, where women do not dare to ask for a divorce, where the fear of retribution keeps them locked in a cage that is very rarely gilded.
As fame, money, and power slowly eat at her soul, the arrogant Anna falls in love with a total stranger—a young, single bachelor from Canada—after a night of secret passion. That is where the story begins to unravel as she returns home with a scandal in her back pocket, her eyes and ears and heart tuned to this man instead of her husband. Anna realizes that neither her marriage nor her achievements have ever made her happy, so she decides to throw it all away. The lies and deceit that fill the so-called glamorous life she has been leading are floating up to the surface, including her husband’s infidelity and the critical steps she has taken to reach the top.
Marriage, family, career—all destroyed to be united with the stranger. She starts a new battle, this time struggling to change her destiny for someone she barely knows, who lives oceans apart and offers her nothing except his heart.
She risks everything, turning her whole life upside down. Anna realizes that her happiness, inner peace, and love are found worlds away from her own, with someone she would never have expected to be her soul mate. Still, Anna’s sacrifices are not behind her, and the struggle has not yet ended, although she has found what she has needed all her life: redemption and unconditional love.
The stranger enigmatically hints at emotions in Anna that have been hidden for a long time behind the masks of her dark and shallow lifestyle.
The characters in the story are the voices of so many who do not dare to speak up in a world where social and religious standards openly chastise the very actions that behind closed doors have become the ultimate paradigmatic way of life.
LITERARY TITAN 