Memoir Book Reviews

Review: The High Price I Had To Pay by Jamila Davis

★★★★★ The High Price I Had To Pay

If you are not already privy to the race/class imbalance of the USA, this amazing story will make your eyes pop out of your head in disbelief – if you are, like most of us, this tale is just about the seal on the deal. A 25-year-old woman without a college degree at the time, gets accused of bringing down Lehman Bank for millions of dollars. Yes, actually breaking a huge investment bank. Her male, white bosses get paltry sentences while she gets 12.5 years in jail.

Jamila Davis, an African American from New York, was seen all over […]

2016-03-04T02:40:51+02:00January 29th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Pardon Me While I Close The Door by Marjan Sierhuis ★★★★

Pardon Me While I Close The Door by Marjan SierhuisPardon Me While I Close the Door, by Marjan Sierhuis, is a frank memoir about loss and a toxic relationship.

The author goes for a walk to clear her head and to contemplate the deaths of her father and mother, her relationships, including the memory of a toxic relationship, and the ups and downs in her life. The journey to overcome grief can take time, but it is possible for one to move on.

Opening up one’s heart and soul and pouring words on pages for all to read takes courage. Even more so when an author is penning […]

2016-02-05T06:43:41+02:00January 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: My Father’s Son: A Memoir by John Davis

★★★★½ My Father's Son: A Memoir by John Davis

My Father’s Son: A Memoir by John Davis is the harrowing yet riveting story Davis’ tumultuous and abusive childhood at the hands of his father, who was a high-powered cocaine dealer in Brooklyn, and a complete tyrant with Davis at home. Even after his father left the house, he gets replaced with a series of other tyrants, so Davis never had it easy, but still managed to come out ahead with an amazing strength and warmth of spirit. My Father’s Son is at once heartbreaking and uplifting with a dramatic climax that you’ll never see coming.

What makes the […]

2016-03-04T03:53:18+02:00December 30th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Art on the Human Heart by Paul C. Ho, M.D. ★★★★

Art on the Human Heart by Paul C. HoArt on the Human Heart by Paul C. Ho is the story of a cardiologist who has a heart attack, which makes him re-evaluate his life. It also makes him re-evaluate the medical profession, as he attempts to understand what affects the human heart well beyond medical science. Going through his life as a young immigrant, a failed relationship, a stint being a doctor in the Alaskan wilderness, his personal mysticism, and more, the doctor comes to a greater understanding of the human heart than he had before his illness.

The blurb for this novel, and the title, suggest that […]

2017-03-24T06:29:40+02:00December 24th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: Candlelight in a Storm by Naveen Sridhar

Candlelight in a Storm by Naveen Sridhar

Candlelight in a Storm by Naveen Sridhar is the historical biography of his wife. Born during World War II and fleeing the violence there, later fleeing communist regimes as a teenager, and traveling the world, meeting her husband in Berlin, her story is at once colorful and harrowing. John F. Kennedy came to Germany and said “Ich bin ein Berliner,” signifying that Germany did not need to be forever tarnished with the legacy of the Nazi party, and there was a generation of Germans looking to establish peace and freedom in the country. Candlelight in a Storm is the ode […]

2021-09-07T07:49:44+02:00October 29th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: Cold Beer and a Hot Dart by Brandon Wolfe

★★★★½ Cold Beer and a Hot Dart by Brandon Wolfe

Cold Beer and a Hot Dart is the inspirational memoir by Brandon Wolfe as he travels from his comfortable home in Washington to the wilds of Australia, Polynesia and beyond, battling disease, cannibals, prostitutes, drug use, and other nefarious problems, as well as having the time of his life. A restless soul at heart, Brandon Wolfe is also a spirited storyteller, making Cold Beer at once a page turner and a moving meditation on finding your place in life.

Wolfe’s own summary of the novel is a very good indication of what you’ll find in the book:

Over a

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2016-03-04T04:19:55+02:00October 6th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: L.A.’s Lost Soul by Dominic Ryan

Review: L.A.'s Lost Soul by Dominic Ryan

L.A.’s Lost Soul is the engaging and spirited story about Dominic Ryan’s stay in Los Angeles from the U.K., while he spends seven months learning the ropes at an acting school. It’s an entertaining fish-out-of-water story exploring what it’s like to land in Hollywood with relatively little money, no contacts, and without even a place to live. It’s a pretty harrowing prospect, but Ryan faces it all with cheerfulness and optimism.

First, the title is a bit of a misnomer. “Lost Soul” suggests someone forsaken and unhappy, but that’s absolutely not the case for Ryan. He had his share of […]

2019-02-11T09:54:59+02:00October 5th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: Living Fulfilled by Lisa Thomas-McMillan ★★★★★

Living Fulfilled by Lisa Thomas-McMillanLiving Fulfilled: The Infectious Joy of Serving Others is Lisa Thomas-McMillan’s inspirational memoir about helping the plight of America’s hungry that is equal parts harrowing and uplifting. With a decidedly spiritual message, she tells of her life growing up impoverished in Alabama, settling down in Los Angeles, then traveling back to her hometown to help the plight of the poor. She is also a fierce advocate against the death penalty.

What makes Lisa Thomas-McMillan such an effective narrator is that she literally walks the walk. The book is punctuated by two long walks – one in Alabama, and a 900-miled […]

2019-01-22T15:43:56+02:00September 4th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |
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