Reviewed by Maria Victoria Beltran for Readers' Favorite

I Know What You Need to Succeed is an inspiring autobiography by Ukrainian immigrant Kateryna Armenta. The book comprises four chapters corresponding to the author’s journey to success. Kateryna’s birthplace was Kazakhstan but she grew up in Ukraine. After emigrating to the US, the only job she could find was being a waitress in Florida. However, she did not stop looking for better opportunities. Always wanting to improve herself, she became a receptionist and a property manager and was able to hone her skills. Then she realized there was more to life than a career and started seeking something deeper. This is her journey.

Kateryna Armenta’s I Know What You Need to Succeed is a thought-provoking autobiography that urges readers, especially women, to embrace their true calling and change their lives for the better. There is a conclusion and key takeaways after every chapter which I found helpful. Beautiful and captivating, the author’s writing style makes it easy for readers to empathize with her as she embarks on her journey. The story is well structured and her struggles while starting a new life in a foreign country are authentic. This book should inspire career women who are still trying to find their place in life. Her story should encourage us to find our inner strength and discover our true purpose in life. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Essien Asian for Readers' Favorite

Raised in a home filled with love, Luis Trivino never understood why his father’s mood would often change suddenly and violently. His mother did her best to cushion the effects of his behavior on the children but as they grew older it became increasingly evident that all was not well with him since he returned from the war. Years later and then a man in his prime, Luis followed his father’s path of service in the military, braving adversity. When he started following the same dark path of mental illness as his father, he knew there had to be a change. A Notebook of Love: My Story on Mental Health is the account of his journey into the depths of mental illness and how he not only clambered out but managed to raise a near-perfect family despite the odds.

They say that when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. This is exactly what Luis Trivino demonstrates as he gives us an exclusive insider’s view of living with mental illness. He is direct as he leads us through the early stages of his life while he grows up from being a child to an adult. It is interesting to note how he distances himself from his affliction, giving it the persona of a completely different entity, adopting an unusual but notably effective approach. His input on the symptoms of some mental disorders and the accompanying statistics, coupled with details of the helplines available in the event of an emergency, are evidence of his thorough research. A Notebook of Love carries an upbeat message of hope and is a must-read for everyone with loved ones who are struggling with mental illness. The nuggets of wisdom in this book are priceless.

Reviewed by Joe Wisinski for Readers' Favorite

The Adventures of a Southern (Baptist) Buddhist is the real-life story of a woman who was raised in a fundamentalist evangelical Christian environment but later became a Buddhist. Author Pamela McConnell, MSW, LCSW, holds a master’s degree in social work and is a licensed clinical social worker. She experienced traumatic events, including being molested by her grandfather and going through several divorces. One husband beat her, while another turned out to have a felony conviction and a problem with illegal drugs. She also had a relationship with a man who didn’t tell her for seven years that he was still married to another woman. The book also contains accounts of McConnell’s remarkable travels, including hiking much of the Appalachian Trail and a pilgrimage to India and Nepal. She also lived in other places that most people can only read about, such as South Korea. The book contains some graphic content, including child sexual abuse, domestic violence, and sexual scenes. There are also frank descriptions of religious intolerance.

The Adventures of a Southern (Baptist) Buddhist is a fascinating book. Pamela McConnell writes openly and candidly. Because of her education and background, she has unique insight into the human condition and in particular her own life. I appreciated her frankness as she doesn’t hide any of her experiences, terrible as some were. Many readers will find her religious quest to be captivating. One doesn’t have to have any particular religious convictions to identify with her struggle to find a faith that worked for her. Everyone can learn from McConnell’s experiences and her honesty in telling her own life story. Anyone who reads with an open mind and wants to live vicariously through both the best and worst life offers should read this book. They will rejoice with McConnell that she was able to overcome her past and become a happy and fulfilled woman.

Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite

It all began with a black-and-white Border Collie and the desire to work with sheep. This is a unique memoir about the meaningful canine-human relationship between Luke and Naomi in Away To Me, My Love: A Sheepdog’s Tale of Two Lives by Naomi McDonald. A horse trainer by trade, Naomi takes on a shy puppy named Luke to become her teammate in sheepherding. How can she call him a herding dog when he hasn’t been trained? Her husband is cynical about her plans because Naomi is going blindly into something that she feels is important. Naomi takes a leap of faith in her ardent desire to enter the exciting world of herding. But herding might just be an unreachable dream with an untrained dog that also lacks the instinct for the task. Naomi will discover something far deeper, and in the end, Luke will have a say in everything.

Away To Me, My Love is oozing with canine-human bonding, but Naomi McDonald didn’t forget to throw in the proper tribute to the men and women instrumental in helping her find profound meaning in her relationship with her dog. There is so much canine psychology involved in this account, and it also illustrates people’s differing attitudes to their relationship with these four-legged creatures that share our lives. There is a strong spiritual element in this tale that McDonald credits with helping her to find the reasons behind key events in her life - and part of it is meeting Luke. You can also think of it as a dog story where the master learns from the dog, and those of us who enjoy watching movies or reading stories where the dog is a star will find all the trimmings of love, joy, pain, and sorrow in this heartwarming memoir.

Reviewed by Frances Deborah Kerr-Phillips for Readers' Favorite

How to be Happy on Mondays by Bruce McCombs is an intriguingly curious mix of the ordinary and the extraordinary which is what makes it so enjoyable. Whilst on the one hand McCombs traces his life’s journey in an autobiographical style, on the other, he punctuates his life account with powerful thoughts and ideas which make a significant impact on the reader. Blighted from his early years by constantly being told by his grandmother that he’d never amount to anything, just like his father, McCombs had very low self-esteem as a youngster. Often, inadvertently, he got entangled in trouble, whilst the exuberance of youth led him inexorably closer to going off the rails. But McCombs’ mother’s drive and commitment inspired him to push onward and upward.

The very title of McCombs’ book, How to be Happy on Mondays, was what drew me to pick it up. I was not disappointed. McCombs is disarmingly frank, and he has no qualms with being honest about himself. His style is personal as if he is chatting to the reader which leads to an authentic reading experience. The short punchy chapter titles arouse the reader’s interest, whilst the intermittent quotations give a pause for thought. McCombs’ dogged determination, inspired by his never-complaining mother and other powerful influencers in his life, led him from self-centered indulgence to living completely for others. This makes the book ultimately one of inspiration and upliftment. McCombs’ book will motivate, encourage, and renew your passion for life.

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Hold, Please is Richard Hester's story of Stage Managing A Pandemic. It's March 2020, and the Coronavirus Pandemic is starting to take hold. At last, the President has acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, and panic begins to set in. Broadway shuts down, and Richard Hester, Broadway stage manager, spends his evenings watching TV, waiting for news. The weeks turned to months, and everyone changed. Millions died, and people were separated from their families and friends. George Floyd's death shocked the world and made us all aware of how we treated others. World economies shut down, and many people's jobs changed, not always for the better. If all this weren't enough, America was torn apart by the Presidential election and the Capitol Hill attacks. This book takes you on a wondrous journey in an attempt to make sense of it all and try to gain some perspective. The pandemic changed us all, and it changed the world, but some managed better than others.

Hold, Please by Richard Hester is an amazing book written by a clearly talented writer. Written almost like a diary, it chronicles events from the writer's perspective. It is, in many ways, a humorous yet bittersweet look at what are undoubtedly some of the worst years of many of our lives. But this isn't just about what we've been through; it's about where we are going, the direction we should take, and the attitude we should adopt to get through whatever life throws at us. Richard Hester has a gift; like you listen when a master storyteller begins to speak, so you feel compelled to read what Richard writes. And just to make things seem so much brighter than they were, his detailed stories of life under Covid intertwine with tidbits about his life in the theater. If you doubt what the world is now coming out of, I urge you to pick up this book and read it – you'll know exactly what it was all about, and you may even understand more about who you are as a person.

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

In Seeing Eye Girl: A Memoir of Madness, Resilience, and Hope by Beverly J. Armento, the author remembers the time when she was the eyes and ears of her blind mother. Beverly’s Italian father abandoned her, her sister Sharon, and her mother. While her mother got married to Ron Radzai and gave birth to two boys (who had the same eye disease), Beverly was the only one who bore the brunt of her mother’s anger and wrath. Taking charge of the house and braving the physical and verbal abuse of her mother, Beverly was a good daughter. Beverly dreamed of a release from the prison that was policed by her abusive mother. However, the promise of a better future, with a college education and a good career were all Beverly needed to break the shackles and stand up for herself.

Seeing Eye Girl is a collection of memories and hardships Beverly Armento went through. The person who was supposed to love her unconditionally was the one who made Beverly’s life miserable. The narrative was powerful. I was surprised by how 'silent' the story was. After a couple of chapters, I realized that was because Beverly didn’t want to draw attention to herself. Every sound needed to be heard with utmost focus and that showed how scared Beverly was at home. The hardships of growing up in a home where the abusive mother needed no excuse to torture Beverly were almost too much at times. I loved the “Strong Beverly,” who was intelligent and had friends. The author took us through the years of her life as she learned to live only for herself, asked questions even though she didn’t have any answers, and gave an opening for readers to look for answers. This unforgettable personal journey will make you tear up but feel absolutely proud of her at the same time. Heartbreaking yet so empowering!

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Chasing bin Laden: My Hunt for the World's Most Notorious Terrorist by Barbara K. Janik is a memoir with an alternative story pertaining to the capture of arguably one of the most dangerous humans on the planet. More than that, Janik's first-person telling and account is really a look into the passion and life of a real home sleuth, the daily impact that her investigations online and from her home had on herself, her partner, and her loved ones, and the transparent, honest, human element Janik shares about herself, both good and not-so-flattering. Janik details her deep-dive into online forums, her phone calls and emails to and from the FBI and other government bodies, and her extensive searches through many online vehicles, including on the mid-2000 site du jour, MySpace. All of these pieces are what she presents as evidence that Osama bin Laden had actually been in Brooklyn, New York. As she puts the pieces together, Janik is faced with a puzzle few are willing to listen to her about and even fewer are willing to consider. The initial hope and acknowledgment she is given as she calls in tips, and the framework of a hunt ultimately sends her into hiding with feelings of failure and without the promised $25-million dollar reward. “Saving people, hunting things, the family business.” Dean Winchester [Supernatural] as quoted in the book.

Regardless of whether or not a reader will believe that what Barbara K. Janik describes—and many do not believe her, but a great many also do—it is undeniable that Chasing bin Laden is a fascinating book. Janik has a real talent as a writer and the book is written to such a high standard that, should she choose to go in the direction of a true-crime or fiction novelist, her success as an author is not difficult to imagine. This book does read with the intensity of good fiction even though Janik is unequivocal in her determination to be taken seriously and for her words to be read as truth. She is clear on motive and the risk she assumes forces her to take on pseudonyms and relocate her identity online, all while making contact with conspiracy-theorist communities such as the likes of Alex Jones' followers and The Truth Movement, both of which are well-known now but certainly were not back in those days. I like that Janik shares her side of the communication with the FBI, and while responses in verifiable writing from government agencies are not provided, when the files on OBL are declassified in the decades to come, Janik might be vindicated. Until then, we are given her story in a compelling piece of literature that is articulate and well-written.

Reviewed by Melanie Kennedy for Readers' Favorite

Holocaust Memories: Annihilation and Survival in Slovakia by Paul Davidovits is one in the Series Holocaust Survivor Memoirs World War II. Paul starts his memoir by explaining that he and his mother had to flee their home in Slovakia in 1944. The only item his mother could keep was a small suitcase and of all their belongings she chose to keep an album of family photographs. With this album and the few memories he had of when he was young, he lovingly describes the family members who appear in these photographs. Paul recalls their life and their fate in World War II. He then goes on to recount his grandfather's, father's, and especially his mother’s heroic efforts and journey to escape persecution and deportation, eventually surviving until World War II ended on the 2nd of September 1945.

I was very moved by Paul Davidovits’ retelling of his days as a young boy during the last few years of World War II. Even though he was only eight when he and his parents had to flee their hometown, he has quite vivid memories of his childhood and his family. As he described his relatives, I was left either with a smile on my face or tears welling up in my eyes as he outlined their fate at the end of the war. Paul brings the human aspect of the war to the fore in Holocaust Memories: Annihilation and Survival in Slovakia. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and am grateful that Paul decided to write his extraordinary story for us to share.

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Matzah Balls to Communion Wafers: How a not so Kosher Jewish Girl Fell in Love with Jesus by Gail Baker is the author's memoir of her life and journey on the path toward finding answers to questions surrounding her personal faith. At first, she is almost militantly defensive when propositioned by well-meaning evangelicals, and they seem to pop up everywhere, including on a date. It isn't until a family crisis throws her religious views into question that Baker begins to dig deeper to find meaning in it all. With her identity as firmly grounded in Judaism as nearly every other facet of her life, Baker is forced to confront both internal resistance and fierce opposition from her family, community, and the ties that bind her to faith. Ultimately, she finds a balance between the two that is as individual as it is inspirational.

Matzah Balls to Communion Wafers by Gail Baker is a wonderful book that will resonate with readers of all faiths, particularly those who have converted from one firm belief to another. There is a very human and authentic tone to Baker's writing, which feels so much like a friend sitting on the sofa with you, telling the story from the beginning of how she managed to make it there. The narrative is light and humorous when it's appropriate, without detracting from the heavyweight of her experience, and she's definitely a woman that's easy to connect with from the first page. I'd absolutely recommend this moving autobiography to anyone interested in real-life interfaith coming-of-age stories, even when it occurs in their late 30's.