My Reviews

The Weigh of One Life by Cathryn Jung 7/09/11
A memoir of one women's life and endurance, told as a 3rd person story. This book has many interesting moments and memories, although the story format used does not provide a vehicle to intrigue the reader.    The author makes reference to sharing the story with others, who also shared their experiences with her, and the reader may wish those stories had been included to make this literary work more enthralling.
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While I Was Learning to Become God" by Roxana Jones 6/01/11

After reading "While I Was Waiting for God" and watching the book trailer, I was embraced in the calmness and peace surrounding the story. This is a book that readers will either love and take to heart or misunderstand and put aside. As with many paradoxical experiences, the heroine of the book, Sybil Vaughan, learns to embrace those things that are in the beginning most vile to her. Through this embrace, she heals and returns to herself, to the wholeness inside the soul.

However, the title is somewhat misleading, for ti is not about someone who decides she is God, but rather someone (who like many of us) have a transformation and comes to understand that God lives within each of us.

also posted on BN.COm

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Greater Than The Sum of My Parts, by Erin Lale

In “Greater Than the Sum of My Parts”, author Erin Lale describes a childhood and early adult life ensconced in the fractured existence of Disassociate Personality Disorder (DPD). Erin takes her readers on the journey with her as she uses her strong belief in Bersarkrs, A Viking religion, associated with the God, Odhinn, along with the guiding hand of her therapist, to identify and reintegrate her various alternate personalities.

It is a story about recovery and hope, amidst mental illness in a society that shuns and shames the mentally ill among us. Erin challenges these paradigms and the practices they support, as she becomes an outspoken (albeit often unwanted) ally for the rights of the mentally ill.

Although the mainstream reader might wish for more background information about the Bersarkrs religion and its beliefs and practices, it is a book that will challenge your understanding and acceptance of DPD, as it has been portrayed in recent media and movies.

This is not a book for everyone, but for those who seek to read books about the strength of one person to overcome significant hurdles in unconventional ways, readers will find themselves transported to a world previously unknown.

Also posted on Amazon. Com
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Heir To Power
Book One of The Healing Crystal Trilogy
Michele Poague

Heir To Power, Book One of “The Healing Crystal” Trilogy, is the debut novel from Michele Poague. Set in the colony of Survin, a hidden community, it is the story of a familiar struggle between the inhabitants of Survin and outsiders who wish to tell others of its treasures and gifts.

Kairma, heir to the crystal and its powers, discovers an ancient secret that can be used to strengthen her community or to destroy it. As she and her friends discover, things are often not what they appear to be.

Readers of this novel may wish that the beginning pages moved more quickly into the action and suspense elements of the story, but to those who read through the chapters of backstory, it is time well spent, as the richness of the story is further revealed in these details.

Michele provides a map of Survin, along with family trees for the primary characters. Some readers may wish for a dictionary to understand the unfamiliar terms, like “leggers” and “terrid”, but those who continue reading, will develop an understanding through the use of the words in the story. It is a travel through words, to another land, another life, but one that touches or own.

Michele is currently working on Book Two of the trilogy.
Deb Simpson 4/05/11
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New Book Review by Deb Simpson
For: Final Destination; Author: Ankur Choudhury

Although readers might wish that rhyme had been occasionally abandoned and replaced by stronger free verse poetry, those who continue to read Final Destination will feel its pain and sorrow lead them to the dark place inside our souls, the place that most of us try to escape. It is inside this darkness where the author, Ankur Choudhury descends and remains throughout the book, and one that accurately reflects that hopeless-hollow-horror that can so easily become our permanent home.

Although I applaud the author’s courage in allowing us inside his wounded soul, I would have preferred to find some hope or some tools-in this book- to aid others in escaping the torture chamber of depression. Also, like a previous reviewer, I found the many errors to be distracting, diminishing the impact of the strident verse.

Thanks you, Ankur, for allowing me to review your book. My wish for you is peace and smiles instead of pain and sorrow.

Deb 05/08/11

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Just read Marked by Kim Richardson-Great book-I gave it 4 stars on Amazon! Intriguing tale of a 16 year old girl who dies and becomes an angel, and then through a series of events, becomes an avenger angel.

05/24/11