Review: Despair to Deliverance by Sharon DeVinney, Ph.D. & Robin Personette
Despair to Deliverance: A True Story of Triumph Over Severe Mental Illness by Sharon DeVinney, Ph.D. and Robin Personette is a fascinating book dually written by a therapist and her client. Robin – a mental health care worker herself – had a breakdown, where she considered suicide. Dr. DeVinney was considering writing a book about the case, but was concerned about breaching the doctor-patient divide, until Personette herself expressed interest in writing about her story. The result is this collaboration, which covers the path out of depression from the perspective of both doctor and patient in a way that should […]
Ronnie Lake is a fifty-something divorcee, starting out as a private investigator. When she’s invited to her wealthy friends’ party, a thief is murdered. The mystery then begins: not only who killed him, but what he was trying to steal. This leads Ronnie deep into the world of antique book collecting, where there’s a lot of money involved, and a lot of potential suspects, in this fun cozy mystery.
I’ll Be Looking at the Moon: A novel about finding Home by Lucia Barrett is a delicately poignant novel about finding yourself, and love, even if it takes decades to achieve.
Beato Goes to Israel by Sucheta Rawal is the second in the series of “Beat Goes to” books – the other books taking him to Greenland and Indonesia – featuring a globetrotting cat and his adventures. Here Beato travels throughout Israel with a girl named Helena who teaches Beato about the country’s history, culture, religion, food, and more.
In the Fullness of Time by Katherine P. Stillerman is an inspiring work of historical fiction, and the sequel to Stillerman’s eloquent first novel, Hattie’s Place. In the first novel, Hattie tries to make her way through early 1900s South Carolina, dealing with sexism, and especially children’s rights, or lack thereof in the early century. In this novel, the concentration is again on rights: specifically, the suffrage movement, and the right to vote.
Princess Martina lives in the kingdom of Brightalia where magic is forbidden, yet she’s gifted with magical abilities. Her secret might be safe, except her brother has it out for her. When tragedy befalls the royal palace, the princess might need to reconcile with her brother in order to save the kingdom, only he has sinister intentions of his own. Teaming up with a newfound friend, a peasant boy named Enzo, they set out to save the kingdom before it falls to ruin.
Dad@Home: Fully Domesticated by Gregory J. Tysowski is a kind of “Mr. Mom” for the current generation, a time when stay-at-home fathers are becoming more and more common. Tysowski’s wife was working as a high-powered, and well-paid, lawyer, so it was decided when their first child was born that Tysowski would stay at home. The purpose of Dad@Home is not only to share his own experience, but to also show how stay-at-home fatherhood is completely normal. It’s difficult, to be sure, but so is parenting for anyone.