Memoir Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Lady Garland Tames Her Dragons and Brings Peace to the Kingdom by Jane Garland

Author Jane Garland welcomes readers into the messy realm of her life in Lady Garland Tames Her Dragons and Brings Peace to the Kingdom, a clever, heartfelt, and deeply revealing memoir. Though pitched as a fairy tale for adults, this metaphor-laden memoir is playful and nakedly honest, but also academically appealing and philosophically rich. Garland can recount a painful anecdote in one breath, and then impartially dissect her relevant reactions and emotions in the next.

As the title implies, Garland has had a great many battles in her past, and now having found something akin to peace, she has […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-12T11:18:16+02:00September 19th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Suspected Hippie in Transit by Martin Frumkin

Detailing two months-long journeys across the Middle East and Asia, Suspected Hippie in Transit: Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Search for Higher Consciousness on the International Trail, 1971-1977 (Vol 1) by Martin Frumkin is an eye-opening wander through exotic ideas, people, and experiences in beautiful corners of the world.

Beginning in India and moving west through Nepal and northern Afghanistan, some of the most riveting scenes (and images) come from Frumkin’s time in Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat, though these sections are rather brief, in comparison to his second journey, which began in 1975. In that more extended part […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-03T12:42:10+02:00September 14th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Travel Book Reviews|

Review: The Reject Bench by James H. Morgan

James H. Morgan pulls back the curtain on his own high school experiences during the early 1960s in his The Reject Bench, a sensitive, authentic, and eye-opening look back. Celebrating the uncertainty of youth, and acknowledging the weight of adulthood, this is a nostalgic and vulnerable read.

Setting the internal tensions of normal teenagers against the external stress of the early 1960s, this six-year memoir is an impressive glimpse into the past, imbued with the honesty of autobiography. From playing catch with his friends and chauffeuring the family to church to SoCal free thinking and the assassination of JFK, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-15T11:31:44+02:00August 15th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Millie! The Last Chapters by Louis David Lavalle & Roseanne Lavalle

Audiences will be inspired to hold their precious pets tight while reading Millie! The Last Chapters, the adorable true story of a cherished, special pooch by Louis David Lavalle and Roseanne Lavalle.

Louis and his wife Roseanne don’t call Millie a dog: they view her as a person and a special member of the family. Roseanne first spots the spunky Yorkshire Terrier in the window of a NYC pet store on a rainy Spring evening, the runt of a litter bred in St. Louis. With her big ears, left eye freckle, and resplendent gold and blue-gray coat, Millie soon […]

Michelle Hogmire2022-07-07T02:54:49+02:00July 7th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Pets Book Reviews|

Review: Letters to Sis by CW3 Cesare Giannetti

A stirring memoir in an unusual form, Letters to Sis by CW3 Cesare Giannetti is an intimate look into the everyday lives of ordinary servicemen, and a peek behind the curtain at the lives they leave behind.

A blend of non-fiction epistolary writing and narrative confession, this book is deeply personal and revealing about the author’s lived experiences, during his years before, during, and after serving in the US Army. Telling the story via letters gives the book genuine emotion and honesty in these scribbled snapshots of prose, while Giannetti’s dramatic accounts of his service fill in the blanks, providing […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-08T07:20:52+02:00June 17th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Military Book Reviews|

Awkward Stumbles and Fuzzy Memories by Kathy Ivchenko

A detailed recollection of the author’s formative journey in the Peace Corps, Awkward Stumbles and Fuzzy Memories: Memoir of a Peace Corps Volunteer by Kathy Ivchenko is a heartfelt and vividly told memoir of self-discovery.

Beginning with her uncertain arrival in Ukraine and months of training on the other side of the world, this intense exploration of cultural immersion will be eye-opening to readers who have never upended their lives for an international adventure. Her work as a teacher trainer is fascinating and complex, including the challenge of having students only a few years younger than herself. Between language gaps, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-04-25T06:26:59+02:00April 24th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: The Satisfied Introvert by Benjamin Plumb

Author Benjamin Plumb presents his own remarkable life as a case study in finding happiness and purpose in The Satisfied Introvert: A Life-Changing Story About Finding Safety in an Extroverted World.

Recognizing his introversion from a young age, and actively choosing a strategy to manage it, this book is a wildly honest and detailed recounting of the author’s lifelong journey towards self-acceptance and ultimate success. By looking back at his own experiences through a keenly analytical lens, Plumb examines common themes of friendship, family, morality, and relationships, as well as more nuanced dissections of power dynamics, educational systems, geopolitics, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-04-22T07:38:07+02:00March 25th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|

Bohunk’s Redemption by Bohunk

Part memoir, part medical documentary, Bohunk’s Redemption: From Blacking Out to Showing Up by Bohunk is a wholly unique and compelling memoir about a medical professional who struggled with a variety of addictions and rose above each to become a crusader for change in both the medical and legal world.

The anonymously-named Bohunk was at the lowest stage of his life, viewing suicide as the only option. Using his knowledge of medicine he gathered while being a resident physician, he took a concoction of pills one night to end his own life. A fortunate intervention by his wife saved him […]

SPR2022-03-10T04:05:48+02:00March 8th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Addiction Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|