Book Review: Overcoming the Hand You Were Dealt by Kisha Taylor

Overcoming the Hand You Were Dealt by Kisha Taylor

From time to time, we get a book that is just screaming, “Me next, me next.” Overcoming the Hand You Were Dealt by Kisha Taylor was one of those books. There are over 53,000 books in our to be read file, each with the hope that it will receive a review.

It is difficult to believe that this book is the first book out of the chute for this author. Taylor is a master storyteller who tells the story very well.

It does not matter that there are times this old Southern white male needed a hood-to-redneck dictionary. We speak the same language, Christian.

The author writes in such a way that you can feel the pain. You can feel the betrayal. Readers follow as one person after another in the main character’s life hurts her in one way or another.

Then, we read in this true story of how the main character overcame all odds. How she pulled herself up by the bootstraps she did not have and overcame.

We think Overcoming the Hand You Were Dealt would make a good book for a small group Bible Study. The author makes no excuses for her character and she admits to mistakes along the way.

We give this book all five stars. It is one of those books you won’t want to put down. One that you want to think everything is rosey in the end, but it is about real life. You will want to buy a copy for all those independent black women in your life and maybe a copy for that redneck man, too.

We were sent a complimentary copy of Overcoming the Hand You Were Dealt. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: Healing: Faith and Medicine: A Medical Professional’s Memoir of Healing and Dealing with Illness by Mark Davis

Healing: Faith and Medicine: A Medical Professional’s Memoir of Healing and Dealing with Illness by Mark Davis

Never before in our recollection have we read a book on faith that actually made cold chills run up and down our spines. Healing: Faith and Medicine: A Medical Professional’s Memoir of Healing and Dealing with Illness by Mark Davis actually gave us goosebumps.

Davis talks about how possibly the reason we don’t see as many miracles in the United States of America today as we see in third world countries is because here we have more resources to rely on. Perhaps he is right. However, here, families like us who are well below the poverty level, realize that miracles happen every day.

This book is incredibly well-written and difficult to put down. We give it all five stars. We know you will too.

If your faith needs a jump start, you owe it to yourself to read Healing: Faith and Medicine: A Medical Professional’s Memoir of Healing and Dealing with Illness by Mark Davis.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner by Richard A. Marin

Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner by Richard A. Marin

The category listed on the back of Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner by Richard A. Marin is fiction. I am not at all sure that is correct.

The back of the book states “In this book, the author recalls his career and explores how to afford retirement…” I am not sure all of that is entirely accurate either.

Readers really aren’t given any significant investing for retirement information. However, readers are treated to an inside look at the life of the author. This look does not appear to be fiction. Who could make this stuff up?

We live in a completely different world from the author. Marin does not see a $35 parking ticket as a significant expense, whereas we will drive out of our way to keep from having to pay a $1 toll on the toll road in Houston. For us, $35 is 3% of our monthly income.

We really would love to read more of Marin’s writing, especially a little more detailed look inside Bear Stearns and Bankers Trust.

We give Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner all five stars. It is an extremely well-written story that takes us through the author’s very interesting career. We follow Marin from his first day at work on his first job at Bankers Trust to his time as a teacher at a university, all the way through to his planned retirement.

One can learn a lot about the financial world. Marin does a better job at describing the financial meltdown at Bear Stearns than many of the books we have read that were written to specifically address that particular era in American history.

We would love to read a book that was a compilation of this author’s in-the-trenches stories of big business and big finance.

Yes, the back of this book is a little misleading. However, readers will not be disappointed. Readers will be entertained and they just might learn a little bit about preparing for retirement through the eyes of someone who has blazed a trail ahead of us. You should order your copy of Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner by Richard A. Marin today. Maybe give one to a friend.


We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

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Book Review: Cooking with Kip: A Cook's Memoir by Kip Meyerhoff

Cooking with Kip: A Cook's Memoir by Kip Meyerhoff

This truly is a different way to present a cookbook. Cooking with Kip: A Cook's Memoir by Kip Meyerhoff is the life story of a great chef who learned the cooking basics from his father, then studied under several other chefs.

We follow Kip from a little boy through the military and a career as a police officer. Kip tells his readers about meeting several celebrities and much more.

The recipes are great and easy-to-follow. The stories are very entertaining. We think Cooking with Kip: A Cook's Memoir by Kip Meyerhoff makes a great story and is an excellent cookbook, too.

We give Cooking with Kip: A Cook's Memoir all five stars and a pound of bacon.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: Confessions of a Bone Woman: Realizing Authentic Wildness in a Civilized World By Lucinda Bakken White

Confessions of a Bone Woman: Realizing Authentic Wildness in a Civilized World By Lucinda Bakken White 

Confessions of a Bone Woman: Realizing Authentic Wildness in a Civilized World was an interesting book as well as inspiring. At first, it struck me as a bit weird, but the more I read, the more I could relate to Mrs. White.

We all have a person that we are meant to be. Sometimes we are allowed to fully grow into that person. Other times, we are forced to swallow who we are in order to please those around us. This has been the case for Mrs. White, for myself, and for countless others.  

Confessions of a Bone Woman is the memoir of Lucinda Bakken White’s journey back to who she was meant to be. Some parts may seem a bit weird or “out there”, but some parts I understand completely. She thrives on nature and connects with it on a deeply spiritual level.

 If you enjoy reading about others’ journeys to find themselves, you will not be disappointed with Confessions of a Bone Woman. We give it 5 stars.  

Blog reader warning: There are mentions of things not in keeping with Christianity in this book. Some parts feel somewhat pagan in nature.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  


Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: Stranger No More: A Muslim Refugee’s Story of Harrowing Escape, Miraculous Rescue, and the Quiet Call of Jesus by Annahita Parsan and Craig Borlase

Stranger No More: A Muslim Refugee’s Story of Harrowing Escape, Miraculous Rescue, and the Quiet Call of Jesus by Annahita Parsan and Craig Borlase

If your heart needs a faith lift, Stranger No More may just well be what the doctor ordered.

This book takes us from a journey when the author was very young all the way past the loss of a loving husband, through a terrible second husband who was evil incarnate, and then on to becoming a Christian and later a pastor.

You need to hold onto your box of tissues while you read this book. You will hear of strangers who show wonderful kindness and those close to her show unspeakable horrors.

We follow her through life in prison, and so much more. You will see God shine through it all and perform many miracles. This is one of those books you will tell others, “You’ve got to read this!”

We give Stranger No More all five stars. It is well-written and exciting, in both a good and a bad way. You will hang on the edge of your seat and you will not want to put the book down.

Get two copies so you can share.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.


Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: Rising on the Wings of the Dawn by Simon R. Ninsiima

Rising on the Wings of the Dawn by Simon R. Ninsiima

If you need to have your faith revived, then Rising on the Winds of the Dawn by Simon R. Ninsiima will do it.

This is a very interesting and detailed story of a little boy in Uganda who gets polio and his family’s strong Christian faith.

We are painted a picture of the author’s early life, before polio, and then all of the struggles, hardship, and pain he and his family went through after polio.

We give Rising on the Wings of the Dawn all five stars. This is one book you just can’t put down.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.





Notice: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: Mockingbird Moments: A Memoir by Sharon Brown Keith

Mockingbird Moments: A Memoir by Sharon Brown Keith

Mockingbird Moments: A Memoir by Sharon Brown Keith was a trip down memory lane in a lot of ways.

The author reminisces about times with her father throughout her life. At the same time, she is working through the grief of losing him. It was easy to connect with this author as this is the stage of life in which I currently live.

Sharon’s emotions filled each page and brought out my own feelings of unresolved grief.

The big takeaway for me is that we all process grief differently, even those in the same family. The grief of losing a father is, in many ways, different for a daughter than for a son. No matter which we are, it impacts the rest of our lives.

I would recommend Mockingbird Moments to anyone that enjoys reading about the lives of others and learning just how much we all have in common. Whatever we’re dealing with, someone else is going through it, too.


We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.



Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: A Bridge Named Susan by Sharon Chase Hoseley

A Bridge Named Susan

By Sharon Chase Hoseley

Wow! I really don’t know what to say about such a wonderful book! A Bridge Named Susan is about the life of the author’s mother, who was named Susan.

Susan started out life with things against her, namely her own mother. She was a girl. They had a farm and farms needed boys, not girls, at least in Minnie’s opinion. Susan’s daddy, John, loved his little girl very much.

This book takes us from Susan’s early childhood through adulthood. Along the way, she faced many challenges and much heartache. There were some extremely tense and terrifying moments that got my heart racing as I read them.

Susan found strength in faith in our Heavenly Father and daily turned the struggles of her life over to Him. Things happened along the way to make her question her faith and if He had forsaken her, but in the end, her faith was rewarded.  

A Bridge Named Susan earns all five stars. It was a book that was hard to put down. I had to see how it ended!

Warning: Parts of this book may be a trigger for those who have suffered emotional or sexual abuse.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: To Hear the Forest Sing: Some Musings On The Divine By Margaret Dulaney

To Hear the Forest Sing: Some Musings On The Divine

By Margaret Dulaney

To Hear the Forest Sing is a collection of different essays or musings, most of which came to Margaret Dulaney’s mind while walking through the forest with her dogs.

The essays touch on different aspects of the author’s life and most have an upbeat tone.  Many of these are spiritual in nature, but not espousing any one religion over the other.

There are several interesting stories that touch on connections to the hereafter.

If your taste in literature leans towards the more creative side of life, you will love To Hear the Forest Sing.  If you are searching for an answer to some of life’s questions, you just might find it in these pages.

We give To Hear the Forest Sing all five stars.  We think it is well-written and inspired. It might be a nice gift to that poet inside of you or the one on your Christmas shopping list.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: How I Got Here: A Memoir By Ceil Lucas

How I Got Here: A Memoir

By Ceil Lucas

 

How I Got Here: A Memoir is a memoir of the life of Ceil Lucas, an Arizona native who spent most of her childhood in countries other than the United States. It gives us a glimpse into her childhood in Guatemala and Italy, but also the depths of her family’s history here in the United States.

Though I have never left the United States, I could connect to Ceil on several occasions. Like my own family, Ceil’s family was living in what would become the US long before it became the US. Her people lived out their dashes in the same areas as our people did.

She talks of things that were going on in the world at the time, and specifically the US, of which the school children were not aware. She shares snippets of moments with her parents, interactions with others, going between countries and languages, and some of the confusing and funny moments that occurred due to her multicultural upbringing. She expresses her lack of motivation in the realm of religion as well.

Though it started off slowly for me, I ended up enjoying the book very much. I especially enjoyed the apricot tree story. In my life, it was a forsythia bush. You’ll have to read it to understand why this made me smile and wince at the same time.

There are minimal uses of profanity and no graphic intimacy scenes. It is a very well-written and interesting story. I give How I Got Here: A Memoir 5 stars.

I think that, if you love history and learning the stories of other families as I do, you will enjoy this book, too.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: Keep Climbing: A Millennial’$ Guide to Financial Planning By David Rosell

Keep Climbing: A Millennial’$ Guide to Financial Planning

By David Rosell

We live in a very different financial world than our parents did. Millennials have different hopes and dreams for their lives than generations past did.

Keep Climbing: A Millennial'$ Guide to FInancial Planning by David Rosell addresses this different financial world in a way that would be appealing to many Millennials.

Face it, most books on personal finance are about as entertaining as watching paint dry.  Rosell uses stories from his past adventures to illustrate the lessons he teaches in Keep Climbing

This book is entertaining while at the same time being educating. We live in a world where most young people look at text and respond with “TLDR”.  They do this because saying “Too long, didn’t read” is just too time consuming for this instant gratification generation.

We give Keep Climbing all five stars.  We think that the target audience will find it very helpful to them as they plan their financial futures.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Book Review: Breaking Free: A Journey for Survival By Henry Radoff

Breaking Free: A Journey for Survival

By Henry Radoff

If you like excitement, you will love Breaking Free: A Journey for Survival by Henry Radoff. It is set in Nazi Germany just after Hitler took power.

This is a story based upon a true event.  It is well-written and about as exciting as it gets.  You will follow the main characters as they attempt to escape from the Germans.  Will they make it?

You might not like Holocaust stories; this one is different.  It is one where you sit on the edge of your seat the whole time.  If someone doesn’t make Breaking Free into a movie, we would be surprised.  

We give Breaking Free all five stars. We think this is an exciting story that we are glad we read. We would be very surprised it you did not have happy tears in your eyes as the book ends.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: Passages By Anne Hamre

Passages

By Anne Hamre

Passages by Anne Hamre is a fictionalized account of a true family story. It is the story of the grandparents of the author.   The big picture is true.  But, as we all know, we can’t possibly know every word or deed in the lives of our grandparents. Creative license comes into play to get the story from one point to the other.   This author uses this license well.

The first thing that came to my mind as I was pondering this review was the description many years ago of the movie Miracle on 34th Street.  There is something in Passages for everyone. If you love history, it is in here. If you love drama, it is in here. This book will make you laugh and smile, but it will also make you cry.  There are very happy times and extremely sad times as well.

It is a book about choices and how those choices have played out in the lives of the author’s grandparents. It is a book of the hopes and dreams of a young couple in love and realities that seem to fight them every step of the way. We can all relate to life sometimes getting in the way of living.

It is about stepping forward into your dreams and not looking back, shedding tears as you reach for the smiles life may offer you. It is about going all in and holding fast to your convictions.

It is about the power of love and the love of family. It is one family’s story, but the story of so many.

Read Passages and ponder what it says to you. What is your family’s story?  

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.
I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
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