Reviewed by Amy Raines for Readers' Favorite

Losing Dad, Paranoid Schizophrenia: A Family’s Search for Hope is written by Amanda LaPera. LaPera’s father was diagnosed with cancer. After going through the surgery, he left his family in search of a more divine purpose. He sends postcards from some of the places he visits and agrees to baptize Amanda and her son at her home. But he cancels, as if sensing that she had planned to get him the help he needed. Her father was suffering from a late onset of Schizophrenia that drew him away from the family and to other countries, behaving in ways that were not in his normal character, including his callous comments about the deaths of his parents. Still, the family held out hope that he would come home and get the help he needed for his mental illness.

Losing Dad, Paranoid Schizophrenia is a sad journey that explains how the onset of mental illness is not always during the earlier years of life. Amanda LaPera has shown a great amount of bravery in sharing the ordeal she and her family faced while trying to find a way to help her father through his mental illness. The astounding patience, compassion, love, commitment to family, and willpower LaPera has shown while coping with such an issue is remarkable. I recommend Losing Dad, Paranoid Schizophrenia to anyone who faces mental illness or knows someone who does. This book will inspire and encourage loved ones not to give up hope even when getting help seems all but impossible.

Reviewed by Grace Masso for Readers' Favorite

In The Typhoon's Eye: A Story of Childhood and Leaving Home by Bles Chavez-Bernstein is a childhood memoir that covers the author’s growing years in the Philippines through her coming-of-age, to leaving her family in pursuit of a dream. The author introduces readers to a family that has survived through moving from place to place and that has stuck together in spite of the odds. Her father is an ambitious man who wants to have a house for his family and the mother is a loyal wife with strong family values, a woman who stays with her husband even when he is caught cheating with his cousin, Ela. Bles takes readers on a ride through her childhood, exploring the exciting experiences and the climate in her family, allowing compelling images of locales she lived in and the lifestyle of the people to come out strongly in the writing. It is a story of family and love, and one that captures the theme of separation in a poignant manner, with the author forced by circumstances to leave her fiancé and children to seek greener pastures, hoping to keep her promise of freedom for herself, financial assistance for her family, and fidelity to Andy.

In The Typhoon's Eye is a unique memoir that those who have lived in the Philippines will adore. Bles Chavez-Bernstein has a unique voice and it is compelling. The descriptive nature of the writing pulled me in and some passages had me laughing, especially the way the author captures scenes from her childhood. One of the things I loved about this book is that it captures a reality that kids growing up in rural areas experience, such as feeling a kinship with nature and the woods. Her conversation with her mother about who owns the hills and the mountains is very revealing of the mind of a child. The family life is brilliantly written and the reader gets a clear idea of family values and what is most important for each member of this family. Locales where the protagonist has lived — from San Jose to the barrio of Guinaban, to Ocampo, and Sandig, carefully nestled in Mt Isarog, a dormant volcano — are well written. The narrative voice is lively and gripping, the prose crisp and the characters fully developed. In The Typhoon's Eye: A Story of Childhood and Leaving Home is engaging, emotionally rich, and depicts provincial life in the Philippines with compelling and colorful images. A wonderful memoir that reads like fiction.

Reviewed by Emma Megan for Readers' Favorite

A Hard Silence is a profoundly moving, personal, and informative account of the challenges of dealing with AIDS from a daughter's perspective. In 1985, Melanie Brooks's life was deeply affected by tragedy when her father contracted HIV from a blood transfusion during open-heart surgery. This memoir is about her father, how he was before and during his illness, and how the illness affected every family member, especially Melanie. Melanie was only thirteen years old when her beloved father, a surgeon, became a patient bearing the burden of HIV/AIDS. Melanie says that for many years she couldn't voice her pain and agony as her family decided not to tell anyone about her father's devastating illness. They wanted to avoid facing discrimination and the stigma that people infected with HIV faced during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. But remaining silent and living in isolation and secrecy affected her in ways she wasn't prepared for.

What this book teaches the reader more than anything else is that not talking about your tragedy, pain, sadness, and loneliness can lead to more severe problems later in life. Melanie Brooks's story of dealing with uncertainty, judgment, fear, faith crises, grief, and loss is essential reading. Her courage to finally lift the veil of secrecy and expose her trauma is impressive. This heart-wrenching and page-turning memoir describes what it was like to feel useless when someone you deeply love fights against an illness with no cure. It inspires those suffering from separation, loneliness, and loss who need compassion and support to speak about their struggles and pain and not feel alone anymore. I highly recommend A Hard Silence.

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

Incurable Optimist: Living with Illness and Chronic Hope by Jennifer Cramer-Miller is a memoir as the author retells her battle with kidney failure and its consequences. Twenty-two-year-old Jennifer had a great job, an excellent life in Seattle, and a loving boyfriend. However, everything changed when her kidneys were damaged beyond repair. It all started with puffy eyes and ended with her struggling to survive. The pain and strangeness of her circumstances were enough to throw anyone off track, but Jennifer became more resilient. She went through many tests and doctors, but that didn’t stop Jennifer from fighting back and reclaiming her life.

Jennifer Cramer-Miller proved that fate will bend to your will if you want to survive. I was blown away by her courage and her tenacity to live. I cannot imagine what it felt like to lose organs, but I can imagine her pain. Incurable Optimist remained true to its title. Jennifer was an optimist until the very end. After the initial shock, she composed herself and handled everything with grace. After four kidney transplants, countless hospital visits, and many growing opportunities, Jennifer became an incredible human being who was a walking-talking motivational example. I loved how this was not a sob story to make readers feel sorry for Jennifer but to take courage from her journey. The narrative style was perfect. Divided into five parts, each revealed the intricacies of the disease and every step of how she battled with her body to live. The tone was cheerful and infinitely bright. I loved the vivid descriptions and how gentle yet open Jennifer became after the long battle. I highly recommend this memoir.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Those Darn Stripes is a work of non-fiction in the memoir genre. It is suitable for the general reading audience and was penned by Tyrel Nelson. The book is a reflection on the author’s life during a period of intense turbulence and change, in which they return home from teaching abroad only to find themselves unemployed and ending a long-term relationship. Consoled through this period by his father, the author begins to recover only for his father to pass away, leaving him without his closest friend and confidant. Now in the world without his main source of emotional support, the author reflects on the connection with his father as well as older parts of his life.

This book is a beautiful depiction of the bond between father and son, and Tyrel Nelson’s loving description of his time with his father Jay never failed to be deeply moving as their bond carried the author through one of the most difficult periods of his life. One of the things that are so difficult to articulate about grief is that when you share a close relationship with someone, in particular a parent, their influence extends into almost every aspect of your life. With the person at the center suddenly gone, it’s almost alien to experience the things you used to share without them. This feeling was captured perfectly in Those Darn Stripes as the reflections on the past see the author use the memories of his father to continue finding joy in the things that they once shared. An emotional and thoughtful read, I recommend this book to all.

Reviewed by Essien Asian for Readers' Favorite

The loss of a loved one is always a painful episode for anyone but the death of a parent is a completely different kind of feeling. Words cannot fully define the cascade of emotions the individual passes through. This was the case for Malia Arries and her siblings who had to stand together as a family and support themselves through the final days of not just one parent, but two. Malia did the last thing most people would consider doing at the time of her father's passing on; she created a journal and with the cooperation of her siblings recorded the final days of her father and then those of her mother when she too passed on a couple of years later. Dad Died, Then Mom is her story.

Dad Died, Then Mom is an emotional true account of events. The attention to detail is quite impressive. Credit must go to Malia Arries for having the presence of mind to scribble every single detail down, even the supposedly mindless ones. She tells her story in an immersive manner so that I felt like I was with this unique family, experiencing their painful countdown. When they shared their father's coins among themselves, it moved me personally for its symbolism with the passing of the torch of life. The unusual supernatural events that she was astute enough to record as they happened are worthy of further investigation. Dad Died, Then Mom is a unique memoir filled with information that would aid a discerning reader in dealing with the pain of loss. This is one book everyone should read.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Available As Is: A Midlife Widow’s Search for Love is a work of non-fiction in the memoir subgenre. It is suitable for the general reading audience and was penned by author Debbie Weiss. The book follows the author’s journey in the aftermath of her husband’s death as she began a new chapter without the only man she’d loved since high school. As she enters a maelstrom of men, each with enough baggage to stun an ox, the author realizes that the politics of dating has become an exercise in compromise for women. Making the decision to step away from the scene, she finds herself alone with nothing but her grief.

It’s impossible to fully imagine the experience of being left alone after a lifetime of having a devoted partner. The sudden absence of that one person for whom you were a top priority isn’t something easily understood by those fortunate enough not to have lived the experience. Fortunately, the beautiful prose of author Debbie Weiss articulates the experience in an authentic and heart-breaking way that delivers both the large moments of devastation and the smaller cuts that slowly build up over time. Her quest to seek out something to fill the void in her life that she struggled to understand is beautifully told in an emotionally honest way that lays bare some honest truths about middle-aged dating in the modern world and the current state of gender politics. Overall, Available As Is sets out a stunning and bittersweet journey of self-discovery that is elevated above your average memoir by a rare breed of emotional honesty and the magic of a gifted wordsmith laying out the lessons learned along the way.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

On Sunny Days We Sang: A Holocaust Story of Survival and Resilience (Holocaust Survivor True Stories WWII) is a work of non-fiction in the historical and memoir subgenres. It is best suited to the general adult reading audience and was penned by Jeannette Grunhaus de Gelman. As the title suggests, the work follows the events in the life of Second World War Holocaust survivors Hil and Alexandra, who were the parents of the author. As they travel from ghettos to secret hiding places and try to escape Nazi oppression and persecution, the chances of survival for this young couple seem bleak, and every decision counts toward fighting for a brighter tomorrow.

This was a highly moving and inspirational story that I found incredibly poignant and well-paced in terms of its emotional journey. Although the tale is shocking and sad, and rightfully so, the tone and atmosphere are much less gloomy, and the story is focused on love, survival, and mutual support amongst those who want to help Hil, Alexandra, and thousands like them, and fight against the Nazi regime. Jeannette Grunhaus de Gelman delivers a heartfelt and culturally sharp narrative that highlights all the wrongs done to Polish Jewry as a whole, and her dialogue and passionate narrative parallel modern-day persecution and discrimination just as poignantly as she covers the heinous and unspeakable judgments made during the Second World War. I would highly recommend On Sunny Days We Sang to fans of WWII memoirs that resonate deeply in one’s heart.

Reviewed by Edith Wairimu for Readers' Favorite

Find a Place for Me: Embracing Love and Life in the Face of Death by Deirdre Fagan is a beautiful portrayal of love against the backdrop of a terminal illness. It is a chronicle of a marriage and family that refuses to let amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) take over and dictate their lives. Following Fagan’s husband’s devastating diagnosis, the family has to adjust to an unfamiliar order while remaining focused on making each day count. They live to their fullest, allowing humor to guide them even on the worst of days. The couple’s love grows deeper as they confront the challenges introduced into their lives by ALS. The work is a celebration and a tribute to Bob’s courage and selflessness even in his final days. It is a poignant and moving portrait of a love that eclipses illness and death.

The memoir candidly explores the impact a terminal illness has on the family but also reveals the strong bonds of love that exist between them. The work is enhanced by its conversational language, compelling imagery, and concise chapters. Fagan writes with vulnerability, evoking powerful emotions at every stage of Bob’s journey. I appreciated that the book is also an intimate, touching picture of the role caregivers take on while balancing other roles such as motherhood. The conversations included are similarly raw, funny, and heartbreaking. Find a Place for Me by Deirdre Fagan remarkably captures the painful effects of terminal illness on a family. It is an image of bravery and resilience in the face of death.

Reviewed by Stacie Haas for Readers' Favorite

Untethered: Faith, Failure, and Finding Solid Ground is a poignant memoir of the life of the author, Laura Whitfield. At the tender age of 14, Laura lost her older brother, Lawrence, to a tragic accident. His loss changed everything in Laura’s life, setting her on a path to find meaning and to make every moment count. After his death, Laura gave her life to the Lord and sought happiness in the comfort of friends, but temptation was ever-present, especially as memories of abuse she suffered as a child rose to the surface. What followed was a promiscuous life in which Laura sought validation and comfort in the arms of exciting men wherever she found herself—whether at the beach on the Outer Banks where she discovered beer and bravado or in New York City where she sought success in the high-pressure world of modeling. The call of God was never too far from Laura’s life, although she succeeded in muting it as she persisted in her pursuit of happiness and an enduring reprieve from painful memories. After encounters with infidelity, a troubled marriage, and an unplanned pregnancy, Laura eventually met a man who accepted her for who she was—past and present—and became her partner as she navigated the uncharted territory of caring for her elderly and ill parents, a new career, and struggles with infertility. Ultimately, Laura found her way and the story of how she did is even more fascinating and enthralling than fiction.

Untethered by Laura Whitfield was absolutely engrossing. Expertly written, Untethered is a memoir written like a high-paced action thriller. The reader feels Laura’s struggles—her hurts, her heart, and her humanity. It is an incredibly open and honest look at the past and pulls back the curtain on a life scarred by tragedy. It’s not an apology, but an acceptance and an acknowledgment of a life that included repeated failures and mistakes. It is also proof that failures—even devastating ones—can be overcome with faith and persistence. As a reader, I was proud that Laura was able to find solid ground and I thank her for her courage in sharing her personal story with the world. An unbelievable memoir that will stay with you long after the final page. Highly recommended.