Sorry, I read it on my Kindle so I have no cover picture.
Another memoir that is interesting, unusual the way it’s laid out: her life up against major attention-getting, earth shattering events since the ‘60s. RANDOM EVENTS TEND TO CLUSTER by Judy Wieder is a Lisa Hagen Literary book that kept me riveted, opened me to lifestyles different from my own and struggles far from my own. Which means I learned a lot of new information about life from a writer who lived her life very different from my own.
I’d not heard of Judy Wieder but was intrigued by the title and I do love memoirs. So I jumped in and was rewarded by good writing, a deep pull on my emotions, a re-visit to major events I remember reading about, and a reminder of some personal struggles I survived, too.
This memoir is all about being a writer and the path it took her on. I loved it and recommend it to anyone who likes reading the adventures of others. It brought a lot of memories back to me, to
Category Archives: book review
SYNCHRONICITY & REINCARNATION?
Synchronicity pops up often in my life, as it did a few days ago. A friend handed me a book, Portrait of a Past Life Skeptic by Robert L. Snow that her daughter told her to give to me. I was pleasantly surprised as I recognized the title and author’s name. In 2012 he spoke at the A.R.E. in Virginia Beach, VA where I was attending a past-life regression seminar. I was impressed with his story but had limited funds for buying books, so I didn’t get his that day.
As I read his story it brought his appearance back to me. He was a police captain for 30 years in Indianapolis, IN who, on a dare, experienced a past life regression with Dr. Griffith. As his career must suggest, he believed in facts, only facts; the here and now, certainly no New-Age stuff, even after his session.
It was difficult for him to accept that he once lived in the 1800s as an extremely successful artist, J. Carroll Beckwith. Yet the experience rolled around in the back of his mind until he started doing some research to disprove what happened to him once and for all. Except that it didn’t disprove it. Instead it proved that he once lived as the artist.
Being an artist, I had been impressed by his story enough to do some research of my own and found a few of his paintings online. His most famous portrait of The Lady in Red was featured in one of my art books. Even though I had learned some bits about reincarnation when I heard him speak, I learned even more by reading his full story in the book. I especially enjoyed his wrap-up at the end where he says how the experience has opened his mind to learn so much more about life and the afterlife.
I loved his book! Taking the day off from a computer who was sassing back at me in the way of not doing what I wanted it to do, I finished reading the book in one day. When I emailed Lisa, thanking her, not knowing why she chose to send it to me, but happy that she did.
Well, she didn’t. She sent it to my friend Arlene and it got to me by mistake! Or by synchronicity!
Filed under book review, books, Memoir, psychic phenomena
HAVE I TOLD YOU? Ellie Newbauer
have i told youHAVE I TOLD YOU? . . .Ellie Newbauer
Book Signing . . .January 24, Rosemont Winery 1 – 3 pm. Light refreshment served. Wines available for purchase. 1050 Blackridge Rd, La Crosse, VA 23950 A book to be read slowly to savor all the sage comments that are what Ellie does best. Her words zero in on exactly what you want and need to hear. It’s a bedside book and one to slip into your pocket to take with you. Let her thoughts sink into your heart, mind, and soul. I highly recommend this for yourself and as a gift for a dear friend.
Filed under book review, books, booksigning, winery
THE MUNICH GIRL BY PHYLLIS EDGERLY RING –REVISITED
It’s been more than a year since I first read The Munich Girl and loved it so much that I waited a whole year to have my book discussion group share in the experience. A list of books set in place was to be read first. It was worth the wait. We particularly discussed the many relationships in the book. The intricacies of a friendship, even one that is only renewed every four years and holds secrets, can be a delicate situation. It certainly was with Peggy and Eva. We recognized that the story was well researched with Eva coming across clearly, bringing out Hitler’s intimate relationship in the process.
The discussion also spread to our political situation today with many comparisons made about what we, as Americans, are facing today. We talked about the effect the leader of a country has on certain people that apply his damaged way of thinking to allow them to bully and brutalize others.
We talked about how the women of today have so much more power and the avenue to use it than in the 30s and 40s. Hopefully, more women will go into the political arena and truly change our country for the better. We spoke of how the brave women of today will no longer tolerate sexual coercion from powerful men and put shame on the shoulders of those who have taken advantage of their power.
The story brought us into ‘what if’ speculations. What if Peggy had known earlier of who Eva’s secret ‘man’ was or what if Peggy had made a different choice about staying in Germany or moving to America.
Finally we listened to Ellie who was a newly married 17 years old, soon-to-be-a-mother whose husband left to fight in WWII. She stated that communication was not what it is today. Much of the events happening at the time were not known to the general public in our country. What she had to deal with was daily existence and keeping a household together until her husband came home.
Many thanks to Phyllis Edgerly Ring for flushing out this story of the people who did not support Hitler, of relationships, recovery after a war, sacrifices made, and for revealing the life of Eva Braun.
Filed under American History, book review, fiction, women, women's stories, WWII
I LIKED MY LIFE BY by Abby Fabiaschi a book review
FICTION: Maddy chose to be a stay-at-home mom instead of having a business career. She’s good at it and is revered for her wisdom, positive thinking, and generosity. At times she feels as though her husband and daughter take her efforts for granted. When she leaps off the roof of the library where she volunteers, the town is shocked. Her husband Brady and daughter Eve wonder what they have done to make Maddy do such a thing. Maddy doesn’t quite leave them. She watches from above and tries to guide them toward happiness by choosing Rory to fill her place. This is a riveting story full of wisdom about life, death, and love. Highly recommend it!
Filed under book review, fiction
TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY by Patricia H-F Moore- BOOK REVIEW
This memoir of a young girl, surviving the blitz of London during WWII, the death of her father, Illness, and poverty gives insight to another time and another life. She gets a chance to convalesce in the beautiful Alps of Switzerland. She faces people she has never met in a country she’s never been to, and doesn’t have a clue about the language they are speaking. This gentle and touching story gives the reader a something a bit different from the usual WW II memoirs. Her life is redirected, opening vast opportunities to her in later life by a couple whose generosity is very welcome. It’s wonderful to read about good people doing good things in life that benefit others.
Filed under book review, Memoir, women's stories
GET A GRIP ON YOUR GRAMMAR by Kris Spisak, a book review
Who would have thought! Or how did Spisak ever think of writing a book on grammar and making it so entertaining that I carry it with me! It’s a pick up and read when I get a chance, great to read in a waiting room and have everyone else in the room looking at me while my laughter overflows! This book is an absolute must read for any writer or editor or teacher or anyone who ever picks up a pen -to fill out a form or sign your name or write a note/letter. In other words, this is a book for everyone to love as I do.
Spisak gives us tips on the difference in using bear or bare, doing good or doing well. She also leads us into where to put a comma in greetings. Sounds simple, right? You may be surprised! How about cutting out unnecessary words that drag on you and don’t move your thoughts along?
All these tips are told in a breezy way that pulls your attention in, mingled with stories and examples that help you to remember the reason why or why not to use a word or a phrase, etc. I LOVE THIS BOOK! And (Is that correct?) I never, ever, believed before that I could love a book on grammar!
PS: Attention school teachers and those who order books for students.
PS #2: More to come on this one.
Filed under book review, grammar, New book release, wormen writing, writing, writing in English
Miles in My Shoes, Years at My Side by Patrick James Smith; Book Review
“I am suddenly aware that I am alone in a timeless and vast pitch black void in which there are no stars, sun, or moon.” This is the opening sentence in Miles in My Shoes, Years at My Side, the memoir of Patrick James Smith in which his strange and sometimes eerie experiences with life are enough to keep you awake at night.
He writes in journal form, accented by bible verses, chronicling moments beginning with his birth. His remarkable memory records events that will be impossible to forget after reading them. He was born in Oklahoma, but grows up criss-crossing the country. Prophetic dreams come to him as warnings to prepare him for what is ahead. As a child he plays with poisonous snakes but doesn’t get bit, amazing his siblings. An electric shock convulses his young body while he sits in a bathtub full of water, yet he survives. And these are only a few, tiny incidents. There are so much more.
Smith holds nothing back. He reveals all that he has seen, heard, and lived to tell his readers. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the unusual, the shocking, the exhilarating. You won’t fall asleep reading it. You can find it on CreateSpace or Amazon.com.
Filed under book review, hauntings, Memoir, paranormal, psychic phenomena
