Editorial Reviews

Reframing a common biochemical variation of the brain, Unleash Your ADHD Warrior: A Clinical Hypnotherapist Reveals How to Harness Your Gifts, Release the Shame and Thrive by Deborah McKenna is an empowering guide for the growing number of people diagnosed with this condition. Breaking down the history and unfounded stereotypes surrounding ADHD, the book backs up powerful personal experience with strict neuroscientific research into strategies for managing stress and mitigating crises, offering a range of tools, frameworks, and practical advice to overcome the most unruly aspects and symptoms. Well-organized and easy to digest, the book upends the common perspective that ADHD is a detrimental disorder, reimagining it as a potential superpower, which feels both inspiring and plausible, given McKenna’s clear-eyed and thorough examination.

An unwavering memoir of youthful solidarity and the peculiar pains of fighting losing battles, We Are Not Made of Sugar: A Childhood Memoir from Colombia by Andrei Gómez-Suárez is the affecting story of growing up through Colombia’s bloody struggle for identity. A child born to left-wing political activists and exposed early to the horrors of political repression in the 1980s, the author painstakingly recounts his life among the campesinos and communists fighting doggedly for a better world. Gradually, he discovers his own path and beliefs, while living on the front lines of a battle for his nation’s soul. Gritty, raw, and heavy with emotional weight beneath each word, this is an inspiring and thought-provoking reflection for our current age of troubled times.

A psychological sojourn that transcends reality, loss, and mortality itself, Mournglass: The Shadow Beneath the Mask by L.R. Saint welcomes readers into an unseen world beneath the surface of corporeal existence. When Morgan loses her twin sister and soulmate to cancer, she embarks on a mind-bending quest through the proverbial looking glass into the perilous realms of memory – desperate to reconnect with Claire and find a way to keep living with only half a heart. Hypnotic, haunting, and heavily laden with emotion, this allegorical journey through grief is both fantastical and deeply human, which will resonate with readers who have faced their own dark night of the soul.

A savage and shadowy vision of our class-divided future, Deadly Going Dark by J.M. Erickson is a gritty sci-fi drama offering a dire but vital warning about tech-fueled oligarchies and the resurgence of supremacy in all its forms. David Strong is the black sheep of his privileged patrician family, so when a memory-wipe drug eliminates his fear, rather than forcing him to forget a traumatic wound, he chooses an escape to the Dark Zone over his instinct for vengeful violence. David finds new purpose and community in the marauder-filled wasteland, but the legacy of his privileged past haunts his path to a liberated future. Somewhat heavy-handed in pushing the novel’s thematic undercurrents, but unflinching in its social critique, this dystopian thriller is steeped in timely, uncomfortable questions that feel less like science fiction by the day.

A smirking collection of cringeworthy but genuinely entertaining one-liners from a seasoned comedic curator, The Little Black Book of Dad Jokes: Corny Jokes, Clever Puns, & Funny Quotes for Grown-Ups by Mike Kowis, Esq. is replete with punny confidence that dares you not to crack a smile. Divided into twenty-six eclectic sections, from money and music to wives and world travel, this latest offering runs the gamut of taste, style, subject matter, and political correctness. From groan-inducing to knee-slapping, these 500+ dad jokes will frequently make you roll your eyes with begrudging respect for the wordplay, delivered with Kowis’ signature creativity and authentic desire to entertain.