Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA by Richard Hill

Release Date: August 17, 2012
Publisher: Createspace, Inc.
Author Website: http://www.dna-testing-adviser.com/

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
When Richard Hill discovered he'd been adopted, it was an accidental slip by an outsider that started his mind wondering about his roots and biological family. When he began his research, there was no internet to aid his search with the click of a button. Being adopted in Michigan also meant that his true identity and biological information was harder to obtain through the usual channels.

As he began to find bits and pieces to his life's puzzle, he also found people who helped him discover more than he could imagine about his roots. Richard discovered much of the truth about his biological parents, but also found more than one man in a particular family could be his father. With humor and dedication he continued to work through the puzzle until all the pieces fit. This book was his journey to the truth.


Review:
Scrolling through the Nonfiction section at NetGalley, I saw the title of this book and it grabbed my attention. I was curious about the author's journey in finding his truths because I too wondered about my own ancestors. While my own discoveries were interesting, the author's road was a lot bumpier and filled with many twists and turns. Finding one's roots was more difficult in decades prior than today. Sites like Ancestry and Familysearch didn't exist, leaving millions of people in the dark about their ancestors. Many state laws concerning adoption created more hurdles for researchers like the author.

Using a mixture of honesty and comedy, the author related the discovery of his own adoption before high school graduation. Though the admission created thousands of questions in his mind, he respected his adoptive parents' decision not to tell him and explained the reasons why within the memoir. Many family members, biological or not, appeared throughout the book and directed the author's search with their revelations. Sometimes he found out a name or a place. Not every tidbit of information brought the right answers, but they helped to shape the picture of his ancestry. Finding his mother's side of the family wasn't very difficult once he began to look. She stayed with his adopted parents while she was pregnant. Getting the answers to his father's identity was a longer, more difficult journey.

Before the onset of the internet, the only way to find out genealogical information was to contact the county clerks in the city or county and fill out petitions, in person or through the mail, for birth certificates, death certificates or other such public information. These petitions often required some proof of relationship in order to be approved. An adoptee looking for such information would have to go above and beyond for such petitions to be granted. Wait times could be anywhere from a few days to months before an answer came in the mail. The author struggled with rejections on several occasions along the way. Once more and more information became available online, the author was able to find more connections at a better pace. Through the DNA testing offered at Ancestry's website, he narrowed down the number of men who could be his father. Of course, that answer also proved to be tricky until advanced DNA testing came out years later.

Throughout the entire story and all its ups and downs, I felt as though I was walking alongside the author. Each discovery, no matter good or bad, brought hope that he would get the answers he longed to know from the moment he knew of his adoption. The author's writing style made it very easy to feel like I knew him for years, and all the people he had contact with became my friends as well. I really liked how he stayed positive and held onto the hope of answers during the darkest moments. It was an eye-opener to realize that not every adoptee's story could end so well. That made me sad, because I feel like everyone should know their roots. Not only was the memoir an enjoyable read, the author used his work to help others in the same situation by providing a section of links and agencies that will help people with their own searches. So, if you're a lover of nonfiction memoirs tinged with comedy or a fellow searcher of roots, this book will make you smile, laugh and sometimes cry, but definitely worth the read.

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA by Richard Hill is now available online at various retailers in either digital (Kindle) or paperback formats. Below is the book's page at Amazon for your buying convenience.
Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA: by Richard Hill

Ravensbrück: Life and Death in Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women by Sarah Helm

Release Date: March 31, 2015
Publisher: Nan A. Talese (Doubleday Books)

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
Before the beginning of World War II, Heinrich Himmler created a concentration camp 50 miles north of Berlin to house female prisoners. Once the war was over, it came to light that more than 100,000 women passed through the gates of Ravensbruck - each of them from one of over twenty different nations. Much of the history of this camp was suppressed or erased all together because of the atrocities which took place behind its wired walls. However, many heroic women told the story of their lives inside the camp once they were freed.

Compiled from salvaged letters, mountains of declassified papers and interviews from the remaining survivors or their families, Sarah Helm has created a comprehensive history of the camp from the first brick laid until the last prisoner left the grounds. She explored the various methods used to keep the prisoners 'in line' as well as the many protests, large and small, that the prisoners attempted to better their living conditions. Giving a voice to the thousands of voiceless, the book granted a lasting memory of those who were lost behind the gates of Ravensbruck.

Review:
I stumbled upon this book while searching through the Nonfiction section at NetGalley. Something about the book caught my eye and I decided to give it a read. What I found between the covers was one of the hardest yet profound books that I have read to date. Remembering the history lessons covered by years in school in no way compared to the information that the author compiled into this book. This particular concentration camp wasn't as well known or talked about like Auschwitz or Dachau, but the same atrocities occurred within its walls to the thousands of women prisoners brought from all over Europe. Maybe the press didn't put as high a value on the female lives as on the males. Maybe because the Jewish prisoners made up a small percentage of the total camp population. There could be many reasons as to why it's taken so long to have an in-depth account of the events at Ravensbruck.

From the camp's creation, Himmler wanted a place where he could contain the women which he consider inferior - political protestors, prostitutes, and Jews as well as many other nationalities deemed a poison to the German population at that time. The book not only presented the accounts of the prisoners with details and thorough fact-checking, but it also examined many of the SS guards which controlled the camp in the beginning up to the final year before liberation happened. In the beginning it was easy to tell which side was which as the prisoners had their uniforms and the guards had a distinctive look to their own as well. By the end of the war, there was such a shortage of officers and guards in the ranks of the SS that many of the prisoners were assigned jobs such as running each barrack or a particular area of the camp. Because of this intermingling, it was difficult to determine who was and wasn't trustworthy. In truth some of the prisoners acting as guards, or blockovas, were more ruthless than the SS guards - a fact that even disturbed Himmler at times. Rules were strictly followed as the camp accepted its first prisoners. Near the end of the war, thousands upon thousands of women streamed into the camp and made it difficult to enforce any of the rules all of the time.

The author gathered information from living survivors as well as the families of some who were now gone. Declassified documents from several governments and letters smuggled out of the camp helped to shape the manuscript into a comprehensive history of the camp and its inhabitants. It was written in such a manner that the events of each chapter flowed almost seamlessly into the next without a lot of backtracking when new people were prominent in the writing. The author's writing style would've made this book a quick, interesting read. However, the details of the horrific abuse and heartbreaking realities that these women endured made it difficult to wade through. There was so much in each sentence of the book that I could not skim the paragraph or chapter without losing vital information about the camp, a particular prisoner or even a significant change within a guard. The author's style of writing also gave dimension to the people involved in each of the situations. Everything about them came through in the narrative, creating a running movie in my mind and giving them the respect of being actual people who lived and breathed instead of merely characters in a story.

This book was truly a hard one to read because of the abuse and neglectful conditions that the women lived through. It occurred at any of the camps that they were sent after being processed at Ravensbruck, but the first taste of hell for many was the moments they stepped off the trains onto the grounds of Ravensbruck. What struck me first was the fact that a large portion of the women sent to the camp in the beginning weren't Jewish. They were mainly political prisoners, dissenters or even Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to help Hitler's cause. Once the war was under way, the women of each town the Germans conquered were sent to the camp until there were over 21 different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds among the women. This included Americans or the spouses/relatives of Americans such as Virginia Lake, the sister of Mayor La Guardia of New York at the time. Many of the women showed strength and determination in the face of such horrors and death itself in order to ensure what was happening to them got to the world outside the camp. This book gave a voice to the voiceless and allowed a light to shine on one of the few remaining unknowns of Hitler's reign of terror during the war. If you are a lover of nonfiction or are emboldened by people who find strength and determination when all hope is supposedly lost, this book is a must read.

Ravensbruck: Life and Death in Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women by Sarah Helm is currently available at several online retailers and local bookstores. It can be purchased in either hardcover or digital (Kindle) formats at the book's Amazon page. The link is provided below.
Ravensbruck: Life and Death in Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women by Sarah Helm

Too Close To Me by Dave Pelzer

Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Rosettabooks
Author Website:  http://www.davepelzer.com/

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Decades after being rescued from an abusive home, Dave Pelzer bravely came forward with the shocking truth about the most horrific accounts of child abuse that California was ever made to face. Time, patience and determination helped him fight many battles of his teen years to become a well-functioning member of society as an adult. But he was from the fairy tale ending that many believed him to possess. Though he worked hard, was married and had children, issues from his past began haunting him whenever doubt or problems arose within his relationships.

Now that his second marriage ended badly, Dave struggled to free himself from the remaining chains originating from his past. Pushing his body and mind to the brink of exhaustion failed to do anything other than make troubles appear worse. That all proved to him where the answers were all along. In order for him to move forward, he must relinquish the hold his past had on him. To do so would mean facing the decisions he made along the way.

Review:
Having read the first two books written by the author, I was excited to receive this book as a prize from a giveaway at Goodreads. Though I was familiar with the author's childhood through his previous works, this book also presented the history of his family and the abuse without reliving the entirety of what he went through as a child. It was revisited in certain sections of the author's story when necessary, but the book wasn't so much about all the details of what he went through. Instead it was about how coming forward and dealing with what happened affected his life, relationships and health as an adult in this world. The author opened the book with his thoughts and feelings about his second marriage failing. By doing things the opposite way he'd done them in his first marriage, his hope was to have a better relationship with his second wife. Unfortunately, the near-ceaseless drive that carried him through most of his life began to wear on him and his marriage.

As the demise of his marriage allowed him the protection of being alone, it also gave him more time than he wanted to explore all the avenues where he'd failed and the dark recesses of his mind where the grip of the past was still very tight. The author was very open and honest about everything that occurred in his life to date, including the failings of himself and others as he viewed them. It was hard to read through the parts of the book where he delved into the past, remembering all the horrible things he endured at the hands of his mother, but they were necessary to understanding how he still had the need to impress and the desire to appease everyone. This also included both his parents, even though each were long gone and each had hurt him in different ways. The weight of all his obligations, both real and imagined, took a toll on his mind and body after so many years. They left him with panic attacks, severe nausea and tremors that frightened him more than anything because he feared that was turning into her.

While the book maintained a fairly steady pace from the opening chapter, there were a few places where I felt it slowed almost to a crawl, but picked up again within a few scenes. Life can often be like that, so it didn't surprise me that the book would follow suit since it was about the author's own life. Though the book as a whole had an impact on me, two scenes really got to me. The first came in the middle of his dealing with the divorce of his second wife. Mr. Pelzer was asked to spend some time with wounded Marines. As he spent time with each one, he had a revelation about himself which allowed him to break some of the bonds the past had on him. The interactions between he and the soldiers were poignant and heart-breaking at the same time. The second moment which stuck out in my mind was near the end of the book when he finally understood what he'd needed to change in order to move forward with his life. It was a major part in his letting go of the past and therefore, somewhat of a spoiler. You'll have to read it to see what happened.

Overall, this book hit home in a few areas. Some of present day issues mirrored my own - the overwhelming need to appease everyone, the fear of being alone though I want to be alone, and the constant need for approval. To see how they weighed on him and drove him from one extreme to another opened my eyes to what could happen in my own life if I kept on the same path. Though our pasts were different, the author and I still needed to resolve similar issues. In a way it was good to see how he went about fixing some of those issues in himself. The book gave off a sense of hope and optimism in the later chapters, making me feel like anyone could break the chains of their childhood, whether similar to the author's or not. This book should be on your TBR list if you have followed Dave Pelzer's life story and want to see another stretch of it or if you need an inspirational book where the author took a real, hard, honest look at his own self to make changes.

Too Close to Me by Dave Pelzer is currently available at several retailers, both online and in local stores. It can be purchased in either hardcover or digital (Kindle) versions. Below is the book's page at Amazon.
Too Close to Me by Dave Pelzer

Girl in the Dark: A Memoir by Anna Lyndsey

Release Date: March 3, 2015
Publisher: Doubleday

Rating: 4 out 5 stars.


Synopsis:
Hard-working and fun-loving Anna Lyndsey spent her days working at a fast-paces, high-stressed job, but she loved every moment of it. That was until the moment she began to feel a fire simmering beneath her skin as she worked in front of her computer. As the burning intensified, it also spread from her face to her entire body, causing her to finally confine herself to a blackened room in the house of her boyfriend, Pete.

In her own words Anna recounted the downward spiral as light of any kind became her enemy. The various games, books and mental exercises used to keep her mind sharp fill the long hours when she was trapped inside her dark room during the long periods of time when the slightest bit of light set her entire body aflame. She explored various doctors, natural medicines and even outlandish advice to help ease her illness. Follow her journey through the darkness that has become her world.


Review:
I requested to read this book from the Nonfiction section at NetGalley for a couple of reasons. I was intrigued by the sudden onset of the author's symptoms and the radical changes she and those she loved had to make in order to accommodate her. However, the most important reason I felt intrigued was the simple fact that I felt I could relate with her adaptation to her chronic illness as I also have a chronic illness. Though the illness of the author was (and currently still is) much more extreme than my own, I was still able to empathize with the despair, the darkness inside the soul and the feeling of being a burden upon loved ones and friends.

The book was written in first person point-of-view so that the reader experienced the world through Anna's eyes. Her thoughts, feelings, and desires were written in honest, sometimes harsh, passages as she detailed being in different stages of her illness. A small group of people stayed at her side from the beginning of the illness to present day. Her mother and brother provided whatever was needed from groceries to moral support through spending time with her in the dark room. The main provider of all types of support was her boyfriend, Pete. These people didn't seem like one dimensional caricatures of real people in the author's life. Instead they were well-rounded, flawed and as human on the page as they truly are in person.

Each portion of the book was written in a vignette style. Almost like passages in a diary, the author chronicled her life before the illness, the progression of the illness and the impact that the illness had on her life up to date. Included in these passages are mental games and exercises that the author found which kept her mind from turning to mush, as she called it. Her adventures with Pete were both enduring and comical as they sought to take advantage of each moment in the least amount of life before the darkness needed to swallow her whole once again. Not a very large book, there seemed to be a lot packed into the short passages whether it was emotion, desire, fantasy or simply relaying how the darkness played with one's head.

Overall, I really liked this book. Not only did it seem like someone else out there understood how it felt to be limited in what you can and cannot do, but the people who made up her small circle rallied around her, adapting their lives to hers. Though the book didn't end the way I thought it would, I felt there was still a door or two left open. When dealing with a strange, chronic illness, one never knows exactly what the future holds. Sometimes, it's not the exact future of which one has always dreamed. More often than not, it's the best future possible under the strain of terrible circumstances. This book should be on your to-read list if you're intrigued by rare, interesting illnesses or admire those who persevere despite overwhelming odds.

Girl in the Dark: A Memoir by Anna Lyndsey is currently available online and some local retailers. It can be purchased in hardcover, Kindle and audio-book editions. The following link will take you to the book's page at Amazon.
Girl in the Dark: A Memoir by Anna Lyndsey      
 

She's Not Herself by Linda Appleman Shapiro

Release Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Dream of Things
Author Website: www.applemanshapiro.com/index.html

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
From the outside Linda Appleman Shapiro's life looked like the typical happy, loving childhood that many experienced after the end of WWII. Together with her parents and older brother, they lived in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn where a child could play on the beach for hours in the summer and never grow tired. Her father worked hard to provide everything they needed as her mother tended to the home and children. Simmering under the surface of their happy facade was a dark secret that no one spoke about in the home or otherwise.

Life during WWII was far more difficult for Linda's mother, Miriam, than she was able to reveal. Pushing her worries, feelings and disappointments deep down in order to keep the family running smoothly, Miriam held herself together until her strength faltered. Thus began her spiral into a deep depression which unleashed a number of hidden demons and other elements of mental illnesses. As Linda grew older and discovered her own road to healing, she sought to understand why her mother wasn't herself.

Review:
Every so often I go through the Nonfiction titles at NetGalley and discover a book or two which catch my eye. What I read in the description that made me download the book was the author's honesty about the good and bad she experienced as a child. The author didn't use this as an opportunity to besmirch her mother's memory or present the situation in biased light. I felt that she tried to give as much insight into the internal war that her mother was fighting while living through decades in which depression and mental illnesses weren't openly discussed or treated as they are now.

The book was told through Linda's experiences and recollections of her childhood, but other family members and friends added more information and possible reasons behind more than a few of the events that took place throughout the years. Her father and brother had a system in place to deal with Miriam's "episodes" before Linda was born. During this particular decade there wasn't much advancement in the area of mental illness and treatments. It was suggested by her own doctor that Miriam having another baby would help fill her days with enough tasks to keep her from not feeling well, their particular familial code for those times when the depression overwhelmed her. When seeking to alleviate the worst of the episodes, Linda would be sent to her friend's house until her father returned to tell her that Miriam was in the hospital. There the protocol for such illnesses included different medications and electroshock therapy. For awhile these things would work, but ultimately the cycle of good days giving away to bad would begin anew.

As Linda graduated high school and enrolled in college, she enacted strict rules for herself to keep from becoming like her mother. Much of her college years eased the heavy weight she'd felt as a child while living at home until her last year of college when she fell in love with someone who brought out the fears she'd buried. With encouragement from her brother and his wife, Linda sought treatment from several therapists until she found one that helped her to understand what she had been through in her life as well as the various episodes her mother endured. Understanding people was the driving force in Linda going back to school and making a positive mark on the world as well as being open about the stigma that mental illness left on people who endured them or the caretakers who attempted to ease the bad times.

Overall, this memoir was very eye-opening about how the author and her family cared for her mother during some of the worst episodes she remembered from her childhood. With both love and honesty, the author recounted both wonderful memories of her mother and the safe, loving environment that shaped her life and the uneasiness that seeped into their home when the restless nights and mumblings would signal another episode of her mother not feeling well. For a family dealing with these issues in decades and a part of society where talking about depression or mental illness wasn't well received, Linda, her brother and her father did as well as they could to keep their family unit together. It was interesting to see how Linda chose to fight her own depression after coming to terms with the help of therapists and newer, more effective types of treatments. It was easy to feel close to the author and her family while reading the highs and lows of their life, cheering them on during the good times and wanting to comfort them during the rougher moments. If you're an adult child of a parent with mental illness or simply want to know more about the topic, this is definitely a book to be on your need-to-read list.

She's Not Herself by Linda Appleman Shapiro is currently available at many online retailers and various local bookstores. It can be bought in either paperback or Kindle (digital) formats. The following link will provide you with the book's Amazon page.
She's Not Herself by Linda Appleman Shapiro
   

Dragonholder: The Life and Dreams (So Far) of Anne McCaffrey by Todd McCaffrey

Release Date: December 23, 2014
Publisher: Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Author Website: http://pernhome.com/tjm/

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Anne McCaffrey thrilled thousands with her tales of adventure and dragons through her many stories and novels. Many of them award-winning, they were her world away from the trappings of normal life - although many times her life wasn't the type of normal everyone expected. From her precocious childhood to the first book sold, the book followed her rise to fame and the thought process behind bringing her dragons to life.

Included in the book were introductions from both Anne and Todd, the most recent written in 2014. Along with highlights from the many stories and books written by Anne, her son related special moments that helped to shape the worlds and characters in her writing. 

Review:
Having grown up reading many of Anne McCaffrey's works, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read this novel when offered at NetGalley. Nowadays there are a lot of books which delve into the world of dragons and magic, but back when Anne first began to create the world of Pern and its many inhabitants, there weren't many. Very few Science Fiction writers who created such worlds were women, putting Anne ahead of the game in many respects. This book chronicled much of Anne's life from her parents' beginnings to her childhood to nearly the end of her many mortal years.

While a great deal of the novel's focus was on Anne and her written works, there were moments when her family, friends and even pets shared the spotlight with her. It was easy to forget how small the Science Fiction community was when it first began to gain traction. Many of the big names such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, David Gerrold, and others became a family of sorts as they met at various conventions over the years. This second family helped sustain Anne during some of the rough years when the words refused to be put on the pages. Anne's marriage and children were ever present in the book, shaping and molding many of the characters or storylines within her books.

From the first paragraph of the introduction, it was made clear that this book was more of a scrapbook of Anne's life than a cut-and-dry type of biography or memoir. There wasn't a lot of pages in the book, but each page was filled with intimate insights into her life. Pictures helped to put faces to names that were mentioned throughout the entire book. I didn't find a rise or fall to the pacing of the book because it was clear that this was one to have a steady pace from the very beginning of the book. In fact the anecdotes and revealing looks into her home life helped to keep the story moving, whether they were about Anne, her children or a number of different pets they had throughout their lives.

Throughout the entire book, it was plain to see that much of Anne's life could have mirrored that of many struggling writers in the beginning of their careers. To see her go through much of the same ups and downs made her easier to relate to in my eyes. It was also very interesting to see how the Science Fiction community grew on both sides of the pond, especially once Anne moved to Ireland. I liked the little inside jokes and special memories that were also shared in this book. No matter how much or little you know about her written books, this memoir helped to explain the origins and the journey to complete the world of Pern as it's known today. If you're a fan of Anne McCaffrey or a curious fan of Science Fiction writers, this is a delightful memoir that should be on your reading list.

Dragonholder: The Life and Dreams (So Far) of Anne McCaffrey by Todd McCaffrey is currently available at many online retailers and local bookstores. It can be purchased in hardcover, paperwork and Kindle editions. The following link is for the book's page at Amazon.
Dragonholder: The Life and Dreams (So Far) of Anne McCaffrey by Todd McCaffrey

The Search for Anne Perry: The Hidden Life of a Bestselling Crime Writer by Joanne Drayton

Release Date: June 3, 2014
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
  
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
From the beginning of the book, the journey of Anne Perry's publishing career was chronicled from the rocky start which left her destitute at times to the peak of her success. Everything in between was also examined, including the plots to her various series of books and the intimate friendships which grew out of her advance in the publishing world. What no one expected was that an incident from Anne's past would put everything into jeopardy once again.

In her youth Anne was known as Juliet Hulme, one half of a teenage duo that was involved in a scandalous murder in New Zealand during the 1950s. As this part of her history came under scrutiny, everything she'd worked so hard to attain and change within herself threatened to fall apart once again. The book examined the aftermath of this revelation as well as Anne's reaction to her darkest secret being laid out for everyone to see.

Review:
This book was another good find from OHFB and kept me entertained through another round of the flu. I honestly didn't know anything about the author, Anne Perry, or her various crime novels before I began this book. However, I did know some basic facts of the murder case which took place in New Zealand decades prior. It was a little hard at first to reconcile the fact that the crime writer was the same young girl who committed such a crime. The author not only attempted to show the stark differences between the adult Anne and the teenage Juliet, but she also explored the years shortly after the murder took place and the imprisonment of both girls. For most people, the case usually ended with the verdict and little thought was given to what comes after it.

Though the book began with the bombshell revelation about her past to her publisher, the central figure in the book was definitely Anne Perry. From her quiet second beginning and finding herself among the Mormon faith to the rocky start of her writing career, it was apparent that she was very much removed from the teenager who had made a grievous mistake. She safeguarded that dark secret as much as possible, more to protect those she loved than to protect herself. It was stated in several places that the anxiety about her past drove her to delve deeper into her comfort zones and explore things through her writing whenever possible. Mixed with the examinations of both past and present were the various plots of her books. Though they obviously were included to show a correlation between Anne's thoughts and feelings of her past with those of her future, there were quite a few times when I became lost reading about the plot of her books and distracted from the life of Anne herself!

For me the book had moments where the pacing was steady and I was always ready to keep turning those pages. However, there were also bits of the chapters were I felt like a lot of time had been given to the characters in her books instead of Anne, her colleagues, friends or family. I was glad to see that when the author wrote about the crime, the trial which followed and the imprisonment of both girls, she didn't sensationalize any of the events which took place. In fact, the author offered views from both sides of the aisle as well as the girls' own thoughts about what was taking place. It was quite clear that the author spent a lot of time researching and going through the various documents as she investigated the life and times of Anne Perry.

Overall, I quite liked the book. There was a message of hope and redemption through much of the trials and tribulations that Anne often wrote about in her own novels. She truly tried to be a person deserving of the second chance that she'd been granted after her release from prison. She also didn't try to invalidate the gravity of murder and the harm it caused for many people after the fact. She accepted responsibility for her actions time and again over the years. By the end of the book, one was left with a sense that the girl who found herself involved with something that escaped her grasp and comprehension wasn't the woman who began writing novels as a way to right social wrongs and spread a message of hope.

The Search for Anne Perry: The Hidden Life of a Bestselling Crime Writer by Joanne Drayton is currently available at many retailers. Copies can be purchased in various formats including hardcover, paperback, audio-book and Kindle. The following link will take you to the book's page at Amazon.
The Search for Anne Perry: The Hidden Life of a Bestselling Crime Writer by Joanne Drayton

Serial Killers True Crime Anthology 2014 (True Crime Library RJPP #1) by R.J. Parker

Release Date: December 11, 2013
Publisher: RJ Parker Publishing
Series: True Crime Library RJPP, Book 1
Authors Included: R.J. Parker, Peter Vronsky, Dane Ladwig, Sylvia Perrini, Michael Newton  

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Those who step outside the bounds set by society captivated the masses for as long as the tales of their deeds were told to the next generation. Real evil began to infiltrate the usual bedtime stories about scary boogeymen, vampires or werewolves. Men and women who became obsessed, or some say possessed, by the desire to take the lives of others roamed the streets and blended in with average folk as they went through their everyday routines.

In this volume of the True Crime Anthology, several serial killers were explored from their birth and early childhood through their crimes and the aftermath. The novel included both men and women from both ends of the financial spectrum and from various parts of the world. Exploring the cases through police reports, court documents and even through the words of the killers themselves, the authors shine a light on the dark deeds without neglecting to remember the victims.


Review:
*Graphic Warning* - This novel explored subject matter that might be disturbing to some readers. It included pictures of crime scene evidence as well as statements made by the killers in written or vocal interviews.

This book was among one of the great deals that I found on OHFB - a site that I love for keeping my Kindle stocked with lots of different books. Since I was always interested in crime and crime-related stories, I knew the included photographs or statements wouldn't bother me. However, I must say that there was little, if any, censoring of either items in their related stories, but there weren't a lot of the photographs throughout the book either. Each of the authors covered a particular serial killer, or killers in a few cases.

They delved into the earliest known information about the serial killer involved and follow him or her through the years, the murders and the repercussions of their actions. Written and taped interviews were used alongside police evidence and court documents to try and find the answers to questions that plagued investigators and society alike over the years. Some of the killers in this volume of the anthology include people from hundreds of years ago to the early part of the 2000s. Some were rich, killing with impunity because of their station in life such as Erzsebet (Elizabeth) Bathory. Others weren't so lucky to come from wealth and made due with what they were given, including the Bloody Benders and Robert Pickton.

For me there wasn't much in the way of pacing for this book. Each of the chapters laid out the timeline for each of the killers without leading into the next. It was much like the chapter was its own case file. That made it easy to set the book down if I needed to take care of something else and come back to it later without feeling lost or confused about where I am in the book. The victims weren't forgotten in the midst of all the coverage of the crimes. Their names, faces and voices gave them more weight than much of the media did during their coverage. Not a lot of detail about the actual crimes filled the pages even though they weren't hidden either.

While I knew of a few of the killers listed, there were a few that I hadn't heard of before, making it an interesting read. Overall, I liked the book and found it interesting to see the evolution of many included killers as well as possible explanations for their methods of madness. I was also glad to see that very little speculation appeared in the various chapters. When it did, the author was sure to note what was speculation and what wasn't. If you're looking for a fairly comprehensive look at a small section of serial killers and what may have led them to do what they did, then this anthology is definitely one to consider!

Serial Killers True Crime Anthology 2014 (True Crime Library RJPP #1) by R.J. Parker is currently available at various online retailers in paperback, Kindle and audio-book versions. Clicking the link below will bring up the book's page at Amazon.
Serial Killers True Crime Anthology 2014 (True Crime Library RJPP #1) by R.J. Parker

Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores and Libraries by Mark Leslie

Release Date: September 27, 2014
Publisher: Dundurn Group

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Libraries and bookstores are much-loved places among those who treasure the written word. As with any place that makes a huge impact on one's life, some chose not to leave once their time on earth is done. This book is filled with tales of those who stay for one reason or another, whether it be the company or a specific and beloved tome.

Mark Leslie combines his love of books with his love of the supernatural to give this listing of places that would delight ghost hunters and bookworms alike. Filled with history and tales of things that go bump in the night, this books gives its readers a taste of local legends from across Canada and the United States. Who knows? You might just find your beloved bookstore or childhood library among them!

Review:
While searching through the titles available for review at NetGalley, I found this gem of a book and had to request it. Not only did the book cover the supernatural, but it also visited a wide variety of both bookstores and libraries. Those places have always held a special place in my heart and probably will continue to do so for as long as I'm alive. After reading through this book, there's hope for my love of books to continue even after my physical years are through.

Whether your love extended to either books, the paranormal, or both, this book explored many places within Canada and the United States which have plenty to offer patrons. Each library or bookstore received its own section or chapter, filled with details such as the building's history as well as some of the ghostly occurrences that were reported by owners and patrons alike. One difference between this particular book and others like it was the author's inclusion of more recent information. I could tell that the author did a lot of research into the histories of the libraries or the bookstores and included the changes in management or location and whether the store is still operating. Many of the chapters ended with the library or bookstore's present contact information.

I liked how the author gave enough information about the paranormal experiences to spark my curiosity, but not enough that it overwhelmed the history or legacy of the area. The reader can visit these places for themselves with some foreknowledge, but their experiences can still be their own. There seemed to be a more personal, conversational feel to the mini-biographies. While I knew that many of the places mentioned in the book, there were a lot that were surprises. It brought to mind that saying I've heard a number of times about walking in the footsteps of another wherever we go on this earth. Bob's Beach Books in Oregon was one of my favorite stories because it's not necessarily a ghost story, but it's still on the creepy side. Of course, the Willard Library in Indiana was one of the stories that I've known about for years. Each time I see the story, it brings back wonderful memories for me. Odd for a ghost story, of course, but I've had some good times looking into the supernatural.

Overall, I liked this book because it did combine two of my favorite things. I also liked it because I could tell the author put his heart into the work. That made a big difference in the style of writing for me, making it much more than just a collection of dry facts and already known legends or myths. The author's enthusiasm came through in the chapters, especially those in which he personally had visited a place that was mentioned. Pictures of the libraries or bookstores helped to frame the information in reality for me, making it seem as though anything could be possible. I have added quite a few of these places on my list to visit one of these days. If you're a lover of either the supernatural or literary treats, this book is the perfect combination.  

Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores and Libraries by Mark Leslie is currently available at many online retailers and local bookstores. It can be purchased in either paperback or digital formats including Kindle. The link provided below will bring up the book's page Amazon.
Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores and Libraries by Mark Leslie

If Only I Could Sleep: A Survivor's Memoir by Stephanie Henry

Release Date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Emerald Book Company

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.


Synopsis:
Stephanie Henry was born into the world as a child who was always searching for something to make her feel complete. After a series of nightmares layered trauma upon trauma, she took what little control she had and forced herself to survive. She made a promise to herself that she would be a better mother to her future children than the parenting she received during her younger years.

But as the tragedies and traumas piled up, Stephanie began to lose faith in herself. Slowly her power slipped away from her and cost her the one thing she swore she'd never lose - her daughter. With grit and determination, she fought back at the demons and monsters that were reluctant to release their hold on her until she was able to finally stand on her own. Writing her story to give a voice to the voiceless, Stephanie Henry has shown that one cannot outrun his or her past. How you deal with it shapes your future.

Review:
I found this book at NetGalley while looking through the Non-Fiction section. Ever curious about the lives of other people, I submitted my request to read and review the title. I knew from the book's description that the book would cover subject matter some might find triggering. To those of my readers who need to turn away, please do so. The book covers a wide range of topics that the author encountered during her younger years including molestation, rape, abuse, neglect and the consequences of her own bad choices as an adult.

Because this book was a memoir, the main character centered around the author herself. As she recounted the memories of her early years, it was apparent that she grew up in a time that was much different than we know today. It's easy to forget that it wasn't so long ago that things like computers and cellphones weren't common. Children were raised in a different fashion than they are today. Subjects that are no longer as taboo such as mental illness and addiction were not openly discussed during the time in which the author was a young child or a young adult. That doesn't excuse the crimes done to the child, but it helped to explain the environment in which such activity was overlooked or outright ignored. No doubt that this type of environment played a huge part in the downward spiral the author experienced in her later years.

The book wasn't very graphic when it came to the traumas inflicted upon her. That helped to keep the focus on the author's survival and recovery from the circumstances instead of shining a spotlight on the monsters that inhabited her life. It also allowed the book to flow from one period of her life to the next. I found the pace of the book to be fairly steady from the beginning until it began to near the end. There was a bit of repetition in some areas that had me skipping ahead a bit. Overall, the message of the book wasn't simply one thing, but several including survival, hope, redemption and acceptance.

I did enjoy this book because the author was refreshingly honest within its pages. She held nothing back when writing about her own bad choices and the thought-process, or lack thereof, when making those choices. I have to give her a lot of respect for putting everything out on the table, good or bad. Her stance and work as a missionary and voice to those who cannot speak out for themselves is admirable. I wish her all the best in her future work. This book should be on your TBR list if you are a lover of nonfiction or simply like to read stories about real people overcoming real obstacles and making the world their own.

If Only I Could Sleep: A Survivor's Memoir by Stephanie Henry is currently available at mainly online retailers and local bookstores. It can be purchased in either hardcover or Kindle formats. Clicking the link below will take you to the book's Amazon page.
If Only I Could Sleep: A Survivor's Memoir by Stephanie Henry

The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark by Meryl Gordon

Release Date: May 27, 2014
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Being the youngest child of a copper magnate and living to be over 100 years-old,
Huguette Clark grew up in a world surrounded by glitz, glamor, and everything else high society that the 20th century had to offer. Once century drew to a close, the once vivacious socialite had withdrawn from society and enshrined herself in memories with only the most trusted people surrounding her. Life continued this way until the other descendents called her life into question.

Following a reunion of William Andrews Clark's many descendents, relatives began to worry about Huguette and the way she was living. As they started looking into her world, secrets and scandals found their way from the depths they were buried. But what was the reason a promising, young artist full of life would turn away from the world and keep to herself?

Review:
I stumbled across this biography while looking through NetGalley's book listings. Curious about the lifestyles of the wealthy as the next person, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book wasn't the usual privilege-filled story about Huguette Clark's life.The author used mountains of documents, personal interviews and Huguette's own words to form the biography. As I read through the pages, it was akin to getting to know a new friend rather than read a starched-stiff novel about someone who lived long ago. Seeing how debilitating immense wealth can become made me feel sad for Huguette.

Because she outlived a majority of her family, it was easy to forget that the names reflected people who actually lived and loved Huguette. They weren't complex characters in a story, moving at the whim of the author's pen. Each had a real life filled with all the difficulties and experiences that you or I might have to endure. That's not to say everyone was your everyday sort with a routine of work, family, home. There were lots of interesting, eccentric people in her family. Living through an entire century also ensured that Huguette had a front row seat to the vast changes that spanned the country and the globe. The living descendents of William Andrews Clark were, and are, as varied as their ancestors and continue to keep his legacy of art, culture and wealth alive.

The book started a little slow for me because it centered around the Clarks living today and the reasons how and why they became concerned about their Tante Huguette. However, the pace picked up rather quickly as revelations about the family and those who worked for them came to light. Once I reached the point where the history of the Clarks was explored, I was intrigued by the man who made something of himself and interested in what happened to those who came after him. With each turn of the page, I felt myself drawn more and more into Huguette's world, wondering just how many people cared for her rather than the bank she became in their eyes. It made me sad to see someone with a very generous heart who simply wanted to create while being loved be taken advantage of as Huguette was in the last decades of her life.

I would have to say that this biography was eye-opening for me in several ways. Often times inherited wealth is seen as something everyone dreams of and others feel entitled to have. Unfortunately, the traps of such wealth bring many dangerous, problems and perils with it. While there are always more than one side to a story, I thought this biography did a good job of laying out the history of the family while trying to explore the reasons behind Huguette's behavior in her later years. It's much more than simply the life and times of a wealthy, eccentric elderly woman. If you love reading about lives from long ago or curious about the unusually private life of one of the wealthiest women in the US, I would pick up a copy of this book!

The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark by Meryl Gordon is currently available for purchase at several online retailers in hardcover, Kindle and audio-book forms. The link below will bring up the book's Amazon page.
The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark by Meryl Gordon

Acting My Face: A Memoir by Anthony James

Release Date: March 14, 2014
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
After retiring from acting in 1994, Anthony James toyed with the idea of writing a memoir and finally set pen to paper in this unusual, revealing book. It spans his life from before his career began in 1967 with a part in the movie, "In the Heat of the Night" and ended nearly three decades later. He gives the reader glimpses into his thoughts, dreams and worries during the entire length of his career as well as the life he lead after acting.

Filled with memories and anecdotes, Anthony James introduces his mother to the world and shares the knowledge, love and strength that she imparted to him throughout his life. The memoir reveals much about the kind, gentle person behind some of film and television's most psychotic and insane characters. Come and enjoy the world of Hollywood through his eyes.

Review:
Looking for something out of my mystery/thriller box, I stumbled across this offering at NetGalley. Nonfiction has always been a second favorite of mine, no matter what subject it covered. Now I must admit, I have seen many of the films and television shows in which Mr. James has appeared. I shared those times with beloved family members. Now they're precious memories for me. From the outset of the memoir, it was clear that the book wasn't going to cover the acting career alone.

The memoir covered not only Anthony's life but the life of his mother as well. Both their lives were so intertwined from his birth, it wasn't unexpected to see her beginning included in the book. The story of their lives was more of a rich to rags to rich type of story. Marika, his mother, met his father, George, in Greece when she was a young girl. George waited for more than a decade for her family to give their blessing for them to marry. After their marriage was complete, he whisked her away to South Carolina and showered her with all that being a successful businessman could offer. The addition of James a few years later helped to complete the picture until George's untimely death. Years after being left penniless and without security, both James and his mother took a gamble on his dream to become an actor and moved to Los Angeles in order to make it happen.

Filled with stories from both the happy and sad ends of the spectrum, this memoir gave me a glimpse into how Hollywood worked through Anthony's eyes. It was a quick read, peppered with his experiences with all types of celebrities whether on-set or off. Honestly, this memoir was refreshing for a couple of reasons. It wasn't a scandalous, tell-all filled with tabloid fodder. The pages were filled with his honest reflections and experiences while maintaining a level of positivity. His approach to telling his story was also very easy to relate to, even if the reader wasn't a fellow actor. A blue-collar, hardworking mentality helped him to achieve his dreams in each avenue of art that he chose to pursue including film, television and paintings.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this memoir because it was different than some of the other celebrity memoirs I read in the past. It was nice to have him start off the book by saying that he respected the people in his personal life enough to not include the details of their relationships with him. The tone of the memoir never strayed from that standard, even when it covered instances where he believed that he failed others or himself. Peeking behind the curtain of Hollywood and seeing hints of life backstage was a true treat for me. If you're a lover of memoir or simply enjoy an authentic true life story, this book is one that you must put on your TBR list.

Acting My Face: A Memoir by Anthony James is currently available at all online retailers and local bookstores. It can be purchased in either hardcover or Kindle versions. Below is a link to the book's page at Amazon.
Acting My Face: A Memoir by Anthony James

American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things by Bob Dotson

Release Date: March 26, 2013
Publisher: Viking Adult (newest editions by Plume)


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Becoming a TV journalist was something that Bob Dotson knew he wanted to do, but what type of journalist was harder to figure out. During his time working for several stations, he tried several ways of making himself stand out. It wasn't until he land a job for the Today Show that he found an avenue to pursue.

Millions would watch his American Story segments over the next few decades. He captured the heart and soul of ordinary Americans who might have gone unrecognized for the work. After leaving the world of television behind, Bob chronicled the countless other small stories of positivity and American spirit that make up the fabric of our nation.

Review:
This book was among the first few that I won from a giveaway at Goodreads. I was really interested in the real life, non-fiction aspect of the books. With the media presenting the darker side of the news every newscast, I wanted something more uplifting and positive. This book definitely fulfilled that wish and more. What I thought was going to be a simple, good read turned out to be a great book that warmed my heart.

In the beginning, Bob chronicled his journey to discover what kind of journalist he truly wanted to be. These early chapters helped me to see his thought process and added weight to his decision to begin the American Story segments. I enjoyed watching those stories during my younger years. Reading the history behind them was an added delight.

Many of the stories Bob covered in this centered around average everyday American people who put love and kindness into everything they do. The various stories took place across the country, in big cities where many people are forgotten and in small towns where everyone is family. I was touched by a lot of the stories but a couple of them stood out for me. The first one covered a group of teenagers in a small Alaskan town who became the town's sole EMT providers. They stepped up because of the need and surpassed the expectations of others while earning respect along the way. The second story showed how a business can be so much more than a simple money-making venture. A businessman sold his company to start a new business and staffed it with former employees as well as other who weren't able to find jobs in their area.

Overall, the book was uplifting and heart-warming. I liked how the author was able to weave his thoughts and feelings into the stories without overshadowing the people involved. He put the spotlight on those who put their heart and soul into their work as it should be. We can learn so much by following in their determined footsteps. If you're looking for an inspiring book to lift you up, I would very much recommend this book.

American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things by Bob Dotson is currently available at most retailers. It can be purchased online in several formats which include, hardcover, paperback, audiobook, and Kindle. The link below will take you to the book's Amazon page.
American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things by Bob Dotson

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock

Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Atria Books

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Janet Mock spent much of her life hiding who she truly was. A girl trapped within a boy's body, she tried to free her spirit on several occasions but was shoved back into the box society placed her at birth. The moment she realized her authentic self was the moment when she dared to live her life her way.

Through the obstacles and hard choices, Janet forged a path of her own according to her vision of her true self. She presented her life for all to see, good or bad, in the hopes that her words might inspire another person to see their own true value and live their own authentic life.

Review:
I was always a lover of personal stories, especially when those stories vary from my own path. When I saw this particular book available upon request from NetGalley, I wanted to read it so that I could better understand Janet's journey. I don't think I was really prepared for the level of truth or how deeply Janet had come to terms with herself.

What I found in the pages was a mixture of courage, honesty and a true love for one's self that many aren't able to achieve in their lifetimes. No matter what path a person takes in life, many hide the differences that make them unique, lovable and human because they're outside the box society wants to place everyone. In truth, I had done that a number of times myself because I was uncomfortable about my illness or other things I felt set me apart. Instead of letting society demand obedience, Janet placed herself at the forefront of change, alongside a handful of others who advocate people accepting themselves as they are instead of contorting to fight society's image.

Janet put forth her story from her beginning to her present day. She gave voice to the struggles she faced within herself as she grew up, a girl born into the body of a boy and the social expectations that came with it. Add to that being a child of mixed race in poor living conditions, and she had the perfect storm for bad, desperate decision-making. Yet, she didn't shy away from the parts of her story which she admitted were unwise decisions. In order to give a true story, she wrote them anyway and I was thankful she did.

Knowing her reasons behind some of the paths she chose helped me to understand her better. It also helped to shine a light on the fact that we as a society still have a long way to go in talking the talk and walking the walk. When people who aren't the "norm" are left with little or no alternative to a dangerous path, we need to step up and say enough. People should be allowed to be themselves in this day and age. Overall, this book was truly enlightening for me. I'm very glad to have read it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Janet's path to womanhood.

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock is currently available in hardback and Kindle forms. It can be bought at Amazon by clicking the link below.
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womahood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock

Pigs Can't Swim: A Memoir by Helen Peppe

Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Writing about one's life can be eventful - especially if you grew up in rural Maine on a farm filled with animals, unruly children and two worn-out parents. Helen Peppe spends her childhood trying to find her place among a brood of nine children, many of whom are years ahead of her. Her inquisitive mind rattles the patience of everyone around her and sets a course for her that she could never have imagined.

Written with honesty and wonder, Helen explores her childhood years in order to better understand what her future may hold. She presents the good, the bad and sometimes the very bad to the reader, bringing her life story to greater clarity. Filled with humor as well as heartache, she shows a side of rural life that many in her generation experienced but few truly understood.

Review:
I found many interesting books available on NetGalley, but few touched my heart with a sense of real honesty. This book was one of those, presenting the many different angles of the author's childhood way of life. From her early years to those confusing teenage years, the author relived the memories that provided life lessons, motivation and sometimes grief to the education she received at school.

There were a number of times that I felt for the author. Her older siblings considered her life to be much easier than the ones they had but the author also acknowledged how hard they and their parents had to work in order to make ends meet. Not only did she write about the darker side of growing up in the country, she also gave the reader a glimpse of how innocent children were back in her generation. In many of her anecdotes, I could see some of my own family members. It made the people within the memoir seem more familiar to me than simple characters within a book.

I cringed when the bad times came into the author's life, wanting more for her to be more than a simple housewife or farmer's wife. When she was placed into a position beyond her understanding, I wanted someone to stand up for her - to protect her innocence. It made me angry that she became the one to blame instead of the perpetrator. Further into the book, I cheered when she realized her worth and was glad that she fought to keep a hold on the one person who could see it as well.

This memoir ran the gamut of emotions, taking me right along with each page I read. The ease in which the author told her story helped to keep the pages turning and made me want to know what was going to happen next. Even if it was something I dreaded to learn, I wanted to read the next page, next chapter. The author didn't try to make herself better than the truth. She wrote about her mistakes as readily as her accomplishments and I believe this made the difference for me. If you're looking for an uplifting, honest and down-to-earth type of memoir, I would put this one at the top of your list.

Pigs Can't Swim: A Memoir by Helen Peppe will be available for purchase in February 2014. You can pre-order a copy in either hardcover or audio-book format from several online retailers. A link to Amazon is provided below.
Pigs Can't Swim: A Memoir by Helen Peppe

Funeral in a Feminine Dress: Depravity Reborn as Virtue by M.J. Burke Sr.

Release Date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Mj Burke Sr

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
During his younger years, M.J. Burke was sure of three things; alcohol and depravity flowed freely, his mother was always punished, and they were poor. From the vantage point of youth, Burke grew up in a world where a child could be left to his own devices below the age of ten and accompanying his parents to bars was routine. He knew something was wrong with the way his mother was treated but felt helpless to intervene.

After interviewing countless family members, friends, business associates and bar buddies, Burke compiled the information into a memoir. He included the obstacles, the triumphs, the bonds and the abandonment that the family endured throughout his parents' lives. Both inspiring and disturbing, the memoir gives a glimpse into one man's beginning, middle and hope for the end.

Review:
This book was a weirdly pleasant surprise. Another book won from a Goodreads giveaway, I was expecting something darker and nothing like the well-rounded book I received. From the start I realized that the author had done more than write his life story and publish it. He talked to as many people as possible about his parents, his brothers, and himself. It became clear that he intended to show the many sides of his parents as he possibly could and not only the darker side.

Not only did the author include his own misdeeds and mistakes, he owned them as well as the consequences. I really enjoyed this level of honesty. The pictures he painted of his life at home were a far cry from the idyllic middle class life shown on television shows of that generation, but for him they were his world. The soft side of his father toward other people and animals made a sharp contrast to the punishing meanness showed toward his mother. Her own duality was presented in the book as well through examples of her sharp wit and inquisitive mind being dulled by the alcohol and various forms of abuse.

At times I forgot that I was reading a memoir. I was glad for the different sections of family photographs throughout the book because they served as reminders that I wasn't reading a work of fiction. The natural progression of the story and the pacing of the writing style allowed for easy reading. I kept telling myself to stop at the end of the chapter but nearly always found my finger turning the next page. My emotions were sent on a roller coaster ride as I kept hoping something would change and the outcome would be different.

A poignant reminder that not everyone lived a charmed, happy American dream life, the author was still able to extract the good times from the rubble of the darker, chaotic times. Coming to terms with his family's legacy was difficult but I was glad to see progress toward the end of the book. Always intrigued by the lives of others, I did enjoy reading the author's story and happy to see him break the mold. There was a lot of wisdom imparted by his mother and others within the pages of the book - hope in the midst of despair, hard work pays off more than having things handed to you. It was the same wisdom I learned from my parents and grandmother. If you're looking for an interesting and uplifting despite the darkness type of memoir, I sincerely recommend this book.

Funeral in a Feminine Dress: Depravity Reborn as Virtue by M.J. Burke Sr. is currently available at various retailers in either paperback or Kindle formats. You can purchase a copy from Amazon by clicking the link provided below.
Funeral in a Feminine Dress: Depravity Reborn as Virtue by M.J. Burke Sr.

What's Left Behind - Poetry Collection by Michal Mahgerefteh

Release Date: October 1, 2013 (First published March 2012)
Publisher: Poetica Publishing Company

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
In an attempt to come to terms with the passing of her mother, Michal Mahgerefteh pours her heart and soul into the poetry which makes up What's Left Behind. As her grieving process continued, the depth of her pain is felt within each of the lines. The poems also reflect the level of devotion and love that both the author and her father felt as the dark days overtook them. Touching upon a subject that many can relate to, Michal Mahgerefteh allows the reader into the emotional, spiritual and sometimes physical journey that she and her family underwent.

Review:
I won this collection of poems from a free giveaway at Goodreads.com and grew somewhat anxious waiting for it to arrive. The subject matter of the book hits fairly close to home for me. Whereas the author lost her mother while witnessing her father's struggle, my family went through a similar situation with the passing of my brother. So in a way, I was excited to read these poems and at the same time, I was dreading it.

There is an intense level of raw emotion within the lines of each poem. Though they vary in length, the power is still apparent to the reader. With honesty and real emotion, the author allows us, the readers, a glimpse into her grieving process without a thought to whether we find it messy or painful. It's an interesting blend of honoring her mother's memory and dealing with the stray threads of life that remain for her father and the author herself.

I was quite taken with a few of the poems. They mirrored the emotions that I felt when watching my brother slip from this world into the next. In Things She Left Behind, the words paint the images vividly and without closing my eyes, I could picture the items that my parents packed to take home. Each item symbolizing something precious and sacred in an everyday kind of way to my brother as the items in the poem were to the author's mother. My heart grew heavy as I read By Her Resting Place. Everything I felt at my brother's graveside was summed up in these few lines.

This collection of poems has the ability to reach into the reader and touch their soul with the longing and love carried by their words. Since nearly everyone experiences the loss of a loved one at some point in their lives, they will be able to feel the author's words, not just read them. I truly loved these poems. They say the things that we sometimes cannot. If you're looking for a deeply meaningful and loving collection, I would buy this in a heartbeat.

What's Left Behind - Poetry Collection by Michal Mahgerefteh is currently available in Kindle form at Amazon.com. It is soon to be released in paperback as well. You can purchase the e-book from the following link.
What's Left Behind - Poetry Collection by Michal Mahgerefteh

Writers Between the Covers: The Scandalous Romantic Lives of Legendary Literary Casanovas, Coquettes, and Cads by Joni Rendon, Shannon McKenna Schmidt

Release Date: October 29, 2013
Publisher: Plume

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Before reality television and social media created a demand for gossip and paparazzi, the lives of many beloved and famous writers were made into legend through speculation and rumor. Violent fights, suicide attempts, drunken brawls and tempestuous lovers both fueled some the greatest written works and tormented those who created them.

Within the covers of this book, the lives of literary greats are examined. Included within are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Lord Byron, Virginia Woolf, Norman Mailer and many, many more. Sometimes what happens off the page is much more scandalous and bizarre than anything that was written.

Review:
When NetGalley offered this book to review, I jumped at the chance to read it. I've always been fascinated by writing and the lives of those who felt called to do it. Let's just say that I wasn't disappointed with the book in the least bit. While I know some of the tidbits for a few of the authors, most of what was written came as a surprise to me. Therefore, I really enjoyed the book.

In a time before TMZ and gossip/reality shows, the antics that many of the authors did would have put even Miley to shame. Many believed in being as free with their love as they were with their words, leading to many affairs and secret liaisons. I do think that if the gossip columns were around during those times, they would have had a field day with the information!

Despite revealing a scandalous side of the artistic endeavors, I think the book serves as a reminder of how human the authors, both male and female, within truly were during their lifetimes. They loved, fought, felt and made bad choices - as any one of us have or might have when placed in their position. Their stories were told in a way that brought them to life in way that the reader could easily empathize with the authors.

All in all, this book was a great read. Full of information and yet not overwhelmingly so, the book wets the reader's imagination about the various lives of fellow writers. If you love nonfiction or any of the various authors listed with the book's own covers, I would suggest taking a chance with this book. You never know what you might learn.

Writers Between the Covers: The Scandalous Romantic Lives of Legendary Literary Casanovas, Coquettes and Cads by Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon is now available through various online retailers. The book is available in paperback, Kindle and Audiobook format at Amazon. You can purchase a copy by clicking the link below.
Writers Between the Covers: The Scandalous Romantic Lives of Legendary Literary Casanovas, Coquettes and Cads by Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon

Mama Rose's Turn: The True Story of America's Notorious Stage Mother by Carolyn Quinn

Release Date: November 1, 2013
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Sometimes in life, truth is much stranger than fiction. After biographies from both her daughters, the life of Rose Thompson is distorted, mixed with fiction and the truth is hard to uncover from any single source. This book serves to set the record straight and provide an accurate telling of her life's story as possible through a variety of sources.

Despite having aspects of her life immortalized in film, Rose was never destined to do much upon the stage herself. Through documents saved by family members, newspaper accounts and other supporting works, the author weaves a life filled with ups and downs that is more fascinating that what Hollywood could have written.

Review:
I love reading nonfiction, especially biographies and memoirs, so I was excited to see this listed on NetGalley. This book reads like fiction but has enough supporting data to prove much of the events written within. I had seen the movie, Gypsy, as a young girl. I knew the bare bones of the story surrounding the famous women but this book was a more in-depth view, allowing for a better understanding of their actions.

Needless to say, the book starts before Rose's birth and examines the world in which she will be living. It's plain to see that Rose was never going to be a conventional lady given the things her family found agreeable. Despite breaking societal taboos, many of her family members maintained a sense of resilience that proved to be valuable time and again within Rose's own life and the lives of her daughters, June and Louise.

The reader is treated to the delights of living the vaudevillian lifestyle through the various accounts presented in the novel. Both the rise and the fall of vaudeville is featured in the story of Rose as well as the effects that it has upon her life, her daughters and many of the well-known actors of the day. There is a section of photographs within the book which allows the reader to put faces to the names within and see some of their ordinary, everyday world.

I was glad to see that the author was able to maintain a balance in putting together the pieces of Rose Thompson's life puzzle. There didn't seem to be a bias one way or the other in regards to the decisions or actions that were taken. The author was able to present plausible reasons as to why things may have turned out the way they did or what may have been going through Rose's head at the time of some rash decisions. The tone of the novel was very much sympathetic yet realistic in its approach.

The only complaint I have with the novel is the presence of unfinished sentences in some of the chapters. There are only a handful that seem to be lacking a word, but it threw me off while I was reading. It left me wondering what was trying to be said at that moment. Other than that, I think the novel is a solid piece of work.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this glimpse into the lives of Rose, June, Gypsy and their extended family members. It was an informative work and read like a letter between friends at times. Fascinating to see the down-to-earth, human side of those we deem as celebrities. If you are looking for a well-written biography or enjoy reading behind-the-scenes accounts of famous people, this is definitely one that you should put on your TBR list.

Mama Rose's Turn: The True Story of America's Notorious Stage Mother by Carolyn Quinn is currently available in either hardback or Kindle formats. It can be bought at Amazon.com by clicking the link below.
Mama Rose's Turn: The True Story of America's Notorious Stage Mother by Carolyn Quinn

Angels in the Fire: The Dramatic True Story of an Impossible Rescue by Dann Stadler

Release Date: July 1, 2013
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
On an early September night in 1989, what should have been a night of celebration became a night of terror for Dann and Tracey Stadler. After leaving dinner with family, they made their way to the home of Tracey's parents. That's where they were staying during their anniversary vacation. A split second later, they were fighting for their lives.

A drunk driver hit their vehicle head-on, going nearly 70 mph and leaving little chance for anyone to survive. It would take a miracle, and one was given. Not only did the couple survive the crash, but they were left with questions of life, faith and forgiveness. Follow both Dan and Tracey as they make their journey from the events of that night to all the experiences that awaited them during their healing.

Review:
I'll be honest. When I entered the Goodreads giveaway for this book, I thought it was going to be about firefighters and their jobs as community servants because I didn't read the descriptive blurb closely. After winning and receiving the book, I quickly found the real story to be just as intriguing and quite a journey. I was glad that I was given a chance to read and review this book.

Right from the beginning, the reader is made aware of two things. One, a horrific accident took place on that September evening in 1989. Two, the couple's faith in God is a major driving force in both their rescue and recovery journey that followed. Their faith is exemplified from the first paragraph where they give the other driver a false name in order to spare his family anymore grief or hurt. That takes a large amount of compassion and forgiveness and isn't often seen in the world today.

This book draws information from many sources including news media, eye witness accounts and the accounts of both Dann and Tracey as well as their family members. If you are a tender-hearted person, I would recommend having a box of tissues nearby as the story of their recovery will give plenty of awe inspiring and praiseworthy moments.

Because the book is written by Dann, one of the survivors of the crash, we're given a lot of glimpses of their lives. I think the open and honest way in which everything is presented allows the reader to feel as though they are there alongside the couple and experiencing everything at the same time. The way the journey is arranged is straightforward, beginning directly before the accident and continuing through their immediate recovery before finishing to present day. While the not stymied in medial jargon or filled with every detail, the record Dann has crafted moves along at a comfortable pace that really allows the reader to absorb everything. From the desperation felt during the frightful moments just after the crash to the triumph of overcoming the adversities through strong wills, gritty determination and a fire-hardened faith, everything is laid out for the reader in a way that is easy to understand.

In the end, I truly enjoyed reading this book. Dann and Tracey Stadler's faith goes beyond words. They live it, breathe it and practice it without hesitation. It was so before the accident and was reaffirmed through their trials and tribulations. Yes, many parts were difficult to read through but I imagine the difficulty was many times worse for those who lived through it. If you are looking for an uplifting, inspiring read, then I suggest you pick up this book.

Angels in the Fire: The Dramatic True Story of an Impossible Rescue by Dann Stadler is currently available at many online retailers in both paperback and Kindle forms. It can be purchased at Amazon by following the link below.
Angels in the Fire: The Dramatic True Story of an Impossible Rescue by Dann Stadler