5 stars without a doubt!  In this book, Erica discusses her experience being married to someone with PTSD.  In addition, she discusses her own issues with PTSD.  This book is very well written by a layman with layman’s terms that make it easy for the reader to understand.  Erica discusses how PTSD affects not only the person suffering from it but the spouse and the children.  She covers secondary PTSD, boundary setting, and a safety plan when violence is an issue.

As a psychotherapist I endorse this book wholeheartedly. In my practice I have often lamented that therapists do a great job of educating the client or patient on their illness, but the families often get overlooked.  The family might receive some education about the patient’s illness and will be encouraged to be helpful and understanding, but how it is affecting them is often overlooked and it is common for the family members to suffer secondary symptoms and caregiver burnout. It is clear that the author did her research well.  She addressed this issue very well.  The knowledge, wisdom, and strength exude from the pages and the personality of the author is evident and warming to the heart.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 < http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Pulling Your Own Life out of a Hat

Most suicides begin like a magic trick--
preparation, a few props, the intent to impress.

All a friend of mine needed was a rifle,
some beer and an audience of trees.

When the show was over, there was no applause
because he had only made himself disappear

into the ground, which isn’t much of an illusion.
since anyone can do it.

The real magic is in making yourself reappear
before the act is done.

 - Richard King Perkins

"Come Sit By Me" is a YA book about a school shooting In Hamilton, PA told from the point of view of a student who moved to the area after the shootings simply because his dad saw an opportunity to get a house for cheap due to the shooting. 

The book is a good read from a psychological point of view and is very well written. The author shows real talent.

  My reasons for giving it three stars is because nowhere in the book that I could see was there a mention of this being a fictional story, a non-fiction accurate telling of real events, or a fictional retelling of real events.  I looked it over cover to cover to see but I couldn't find anything, so I am left confused as to whether this is a purely made up fictional piece or if it is an accounting of real events. 

There is also some mild cussing and sexual content, but let's be honest, this is most likely the norm for high school teenagers.  I am more concerned with the content being attractive in the wrong way to a teen who might empathize with the shooter as it does seem to sensationalize the act a bit.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of the ebook in exchange for giving a review on the book.

Gardening with Less Water by David Bainbridge is going to appeal to everyone trying to do things the “green” way! By green I don’t mean gardening; I mean protecting the environment.  The book starts out with statistics on droughts and water shortages in the U.S.  I like this, because it shows the author has done his homework and has taken the time to show readers that he knows what he is talking about. 

The author has included pictures throughout the book so that the reader gets a visual of what he is describing.  I like this and think that in a how-to book pictures are vital.  Chapter topics include irrigation using clay pots, porous capsules, deep pipes, wick irrigation, porous hose irrigation, buried clay pipes, and tree shelter irrigation, Bainbridge discusses irrigation from small container gardens to large commercial growers ad provides step-by-step how-to instructions.  Finally, gardening tips to help you make the most of collecting rainwater are given, as well as landscaping advice.  At the end of the book the author has thoughtfully provided the reader with a list of suppliers for the products mentioned in the book.

As an avid gardener and grower on a large scale myself, I find the tips and advice in this book invaluable for not only helping the grower use less water, but saving time and money in the process.  Very nicely done!


I give this book 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I reviewed this book in exchange for a free ebook download copy of the book.

Willie Out West is a cute children’s story about an imaginative little boy walrus who appears bored and has a big imagination.  While waiting for supper, Willie imagines (or is it real?) that he goes on a Wild West adventure and saves a town, becoming their hero.  He makes it back home in time for supper and thinks it was all a fun dream but then finds a sheriff’s star on the floor. If you like anthropomorphizing animals in human roles, you will like this book!  If you don’t, you might not like it. This is a common theme in children’s books and some will say that it is overdone, but I say if it’s popular and it is what kids want, why not make more like it? I saw a few editing errors such as overuse of commas but nothing that put me off too much. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 < http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

In "Happy Birthday Davy!" Davy is a little rabbit who is anxiously awaiting his birthday.  He apparently has been asking his mother how many days were left until his birthday so many times that she got frustrated with him because the first thing his mother says to him in the book is something along the lines of "you have asked that question 100 times already."

When Davy's father reads him a story later, it is a story about someone who asked for three wishes.  Davy asks his dad to read it again and his dad says no because he has a lot to do..

Finally, on his birthday, his present is that his grandparents are coming to stay and they get to do everything he wants to do.  Read him stories when he wants, teach him to play games, and generally make him the focus of all their attention.

The overall impression I got of this book is that Davy is spoiled and demands to be the center of attention, and his family is bending over backwards to give him the attention he demands.  Davy is not happy with getting a story read just once at bedtime, for example, and pouts when he doesn't get his way.  His family even brings his grandparents in to cater to his every whim.

My overall impression is that this book teaches children to beg and whine and that they are supposed to be the center of attention.  I'm sure that is not how it is meant, but that is the tone that came across when I read it.

Disclaimer:  I received a free download ebook in exchange for giving a review of this book.

"Five Little Ducklings Go to School" is about a mama duck getting her five little ducklings ready for their first day of school.  One of them is sad about it and starts to cry and that sets the others to crying as well.  Mama Duck dries the tears and sends them off to school where they have lots of fun! 

The illustrations are fantastic.  I think the physical copy of this book is going to be wonderful.  On an ereader, the words are kind of small and I had to squint to read, but maybe it won't be like that for all ereaders.

I think the book does a good job of validating a child's feelings of being sad or scared to part from their mother.  A lot of people don't do that and they just shoo the kids away and say something like "no reason to cry, this will be fun!" which I believe invalidates the child's real feelings.  This book does a good job of validating the feelings that some children may have of going back to school while also showing them all of the fun they will have while they are at school.

Disclaimer:  I received a free ebook download from Net Galley in exchange for giving a review for this book.

In "Foster Learns a Law,"  A very bright little boy asks a lot of questions.  The usual answer from his parents is an exasperated "nobody knows that!"  One night foster has a dream that Nobody came to visit him.  He learns the Law of Levity from Nobody and gets answers to some of his questions he has had. 

As a mother, I am both pleased with and a bit put off by this book.  I think it is an absolutely fantastic idea, and I'm sure every parent and every young child can relate to.  The parts that put me off and makes me hesitate to recommend it is that the child asks his mother if they can go naked on a hot day, which wasn't so bad, but when Nobody shows up and Foster asks him if he is naked, that creeped me out.  One other line that bothered me was when he "had a long pee."  I didn't think that was necessary for moving the plot forward.   Otherwise, if a parent can handle the disturbing image of a mysterious naked visitor visiting their child in the middle of the night without their knowledge, the book is good.

Disclaimer:  I received a free ebook download from Net Galley in exchange for reviewing this book.

In this book, Lisa and her 17-year-old son Blake traveled to Africa on a mission trip.  Lisa starts the book with a snapshot of where she is in life.  "Empty Nest" syndrome kicking in due to her oldest son leaving for college, and her youngest son soon to be leaving.  She feels the need to go on an adventure.

I love the fact that all proceeds of the book go to further help the children in Africa.  The heart of the author shows through very clearly throughout the book. 

My editor senses were irked a bit at some of the editing that needed to be done throughout the book, which did lessen by enjoyment of reading.  For example, there are punctuation marks outside of the parentheses, and there is overuse of dashes and ellipses throughout the book.  Also, the parts that are included by other people are in italics which are hard to read.  In fact, I skipped over those parts because the italics font hurt my eyes.  The story read more like a journal entry instead of a book narrative.  It could have been made better by professional editing.

Despite these issues, the words managed to bring a tear to my eye at places due to the descriptions of the children in Uganda.  The suffering and the abject poverty is strong.  It is easy to see how this touched the author and inspired her to write a book on her adventures there. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 < http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The phone call came almost a year ago and Homer remembers it well. He had been out in the fields plowing and his wife came out and waved him into the house. His daughter was calling from the city. She had a good job there but she was calling with bad news. A doctor had confirmed she had stomach cancer. He said she should begin chemotherapy and radiation immediately but Laura wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do.

“After all, Dad, my medical intuitive said if I went on the Mediterranean diet, my condition could clear up and my hair wouldn’t fall out. It wouldn’t look good at work if my hair fell out.”

“Laura, what’s a medical intuitive? Is that a doctor of some kind?”

"No, Dad, a medical intuitive can tell just by talking to a sick person what’s the best thing to do. Sometimes they do it by phone, sometimes in person. They’re able to tune into your condition. Vibrations of some kind. They cost a lot but they're worth it. I’ve been talking to mine ever since I came to the city. She was right when I had a bad cough. I still have my tonsils. I hope she’s right again. I bought a book on the diet and I’m going to start on it immediately. Some good recipes if you like vegetables.”

Homer was not happy about the cancer or about the medical intuitive and he could tell that Laura had explained everything to his wife before she had called him in to talk to Laura. His wife was sitting at the kitchen table sobbing in her apron. She had been canning strawberry jam for the winter.

“Laura, this doesn’t sound too good to me,” Homer said.” I think it would be smarter to follow the doctor’s advice and maybe pray a little as well. Or eat the Mediterranean diet and follow the doctor’s advice at the same time. With cancer, chemotherapy and radiation are standard treatments. Your hair will grow back in. You can come back home and let it grow in down here. You’ve been working there long enough to get medical leave. Please think about it. There’s too much at stake here.”

Laura, however, didn’t want anything to do with chemotherapy or radiation. She was going to go on the diet and see if it worked. If not, maybe then she would try chemotherapy and radiation even if her hair fell out. And she promised her father if it did, she would come home to let her hair grow back.

Homer never forgot that phone call. A year later, almost to the day, he repeated every word of it silently to himself on the ride from the church to the cemetery. His wife sat next to him crying. When they buried Laura, she still had all of her brilliant red hair.

By: Donal Mahoney

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Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri. He writes poetry and fiction. Some of his earliest work can be found at http://booksonblog12.blogspot.com