Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

I Am Cancer Free by Mrs. Brenda C. Mohammed is the poignant memoir of the author’s personal battle with cancer. Her faith in God and proving that ovarian cancer need not be a death sentence are what make this memoir a heartrending read. The author’s 'never say die' attitude, the decision not to give up in life, and finally being cancer-free will encourage everyone who has been diagnosed with the disease or who has suffered from cancer. The memoir recounts from the time of diagnosis the experiences the author went through during the treatment, her emotions, fears, finances, until the successful treatment of the disease. It is a courageous story of survival, faith, and strength.

The author chronicles every step of her journey methodically, without leaving anything out, making the narration very personal, honest, and palpable to readers. The presence of God in everyone’s life, a positive attitude, and the power of prayers run through the memoir. The author reiterates the fact that faith in God removes all obstacles in life. The conversational style of writing connects well with readers, making it easy for them to understand her journey. The author has also shared the poems she wrote during that phase in her life, where she again speaks about her story, faith in the Lord, and a Higher Power. For all those who are suffering from cancer and are battling the disease, this book is a must-read as it will give them hope, strength, and courage to fight the disease.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

How healthy is your diet? Do you eat a balanced selection of meats, poultry, fish, grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables? Is your nutrient and vitamin intake sufficient to maintain a healthy body? Perhaps you’ve been misinformed. For decades, health experts have argued one way or another, only to reverse their arguments a decade later. Butter was bad, then it was good. Meat guaranteed a strong body, but fish might be better. Poultry is a good meat alternative, but is it really genuine, un-genetically and un-medicated healthy? So what is healthy? When the adverts promote meat as the food that made our ancestors, the cavemen, so strong and healthy, and milk is promoted as something to guarantee strong bones, and the health experts agree with the adverts, then who are we to argue?

Well, perhaps we all should take another look at what we eat. Here’s another expert’s point of view. Dr. David Friedman’s very thorough study of the food industry as it affects our diet is a real eye-opener and it will certainly challenge the many preconceived notions of healthy eating ingrained in our mindset, predominately promoted by the power of advertising. Food Sanity: How to Eat in a World of Fads and Fiction explores the myths and falsehoods promoted by society. He supports his discussion with resources and from personal experience as a physician, citing specific patient cases with diet-infused issues. He begins his discourse with a humorous anecdote from childhood, when his mother quoted, “You are what you eat.” He asked her to buy Jolly Green Giant vegetables in the hopes it would make him taller. Advertising at its best, but not always in the best interests of the consumer. The bottom line is that most of what we’re being told is healthy food is really not so healthy after all. This is a very thorough and well presented resource to help all of us understand what we eat and what is really healthy and beneficial in our diet.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Kicking the Bear Out of the Bedroom: Snoring & Sleep Apnea, the Not-So-Silent Killers is a non-fiction health and wellness book written by Steve Wick. Wick never thought of himself as having sleep apnea or even being much of a snorer, that is, until his wife started elbowing him in the ribs to wake him up repeatedly throughout the night. He still didn’t think it was that big a problem. What was bothering him was his Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). He had always suffered with that, and he blamed the less than optimal quality of his sleeping on that problem. When he saw a commercial touting a prescription drug for RLS, he went to his doctor and asked for a prescription. She refused him at first, stating her belief that he had sleep issues. At her orders, he went to see a sleep specialist who scheduled him for a sleep study. To Wick’s surprise, he had severe sleep apnea and was prescribed a CPAP machine. Like many other patients who’ve been fitted with a CPAP, Wick soon found the device was too intrusive and restricting. It was when his wife announced her pregnancy, and his insurance agent refused to write a life insurance policy based on his sleep apnea, that Wick decided to explore the other remedies available to sufferers of this condition.

Steve Wick’s non-fiction health and wellness book, Kicking the Bear Out of the Bedroom: Snoring & Sleep Apnea, the Not-So-Silent Killers, presents the startlingly serious facts and figures about the perils snoring and sleep apnea pose to your health. He writes in a conversational manner, using his own story as illustrative in showing what the disease is, how it can impact your health, and what you can do about it. While I had heard of the CPAP machines and wondered how anyone could actually get used to using one, I was not familiar with the specialized custom mouth guards and surgical options that are available for those with this mostly chronic condition. Wick’s own story details his improved health after having been fitted with a custom device. He also includes a glossary of terms and resources for those readers who would like more information, as well as two tests that can help you determine if you might be at risk for sleep apnea. Kicking the Bear Out of the Bedroom: Snoring & Sleep Apnea, the Not-So-Silent Killers is one of those books you should seriously consider giving to a loved one who snores or has mentioned his/her problems using a CPAP machine. It’s highly recommended.

Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Readers' Favorite

Functional Emotional Fitness™ (The Mechanism of Emotion and The Gut-Brain Influence) by Kelly Burris is a nonfiction health and fitness book that would appeal most to a mixed audience of adults and young adults who are looking to improve themselves through increasing the level of emotional fitness in their lives. This book offers the tools needed to overcome both mental and physical conditions and disorders through enabling a person to control how they feel each day. The tools, methods, and techniques do not require medication, medical history, and labels. These methods are designed to help you improve health without putting more harmful chemicals into the body. Are you ready to better yourself without medicine?

As a psychology student, I was very impressed by Functional Emotional Fitness™ (The Mechanism of Emotion and The Gut-Brain Influence) by Kelly Burris. The fact that the book had such a large grounding in the same psychology I was learning in college, yet lacked the dry textbook style of writing, made it an interesting read. I feel that I learned more about the psychology of health from this book than I did from my health psychology textbook because this material made sense, was backed up by evidence, and was easy to understand. I personally found many of the techniques to be easy enough to apply to my own life, so I plan to do this as soon as I finish my current semester. I liked how Kelly Burris used a writing style that was based on clear facts and evidence, yet also made the material seem like something that could be easily applicable in everyone's life!

Reviewed by Ryan Jordan for Readers' Favorite

Healing Without Hurting: Treating ADHD, Apraxia, and Autism Spectrum Disorders Naturally & Effectively Without Harmful Medication by LPC Kozek is a non-fiction work about healing children without them feeling like a number on a sheet of paper that a doctor references, and treating them like they are real people. It discusses the process of determining that Evan was on the autism spectrum, and then the journey that the family went through in trying to help him overcome and live a full life without getting lost in the system or overloaded with medications. It is written as a story, covering landmarks in Evan's life and the decisions that were made, as well as the treatments.

The story is truly touching, and the author does an amazing job of explaining all of the presented treatment methods in a clear and concise fashion, and all within the context of this one young boy and the journey he and his family went through. This makes it personal and adds extra depth and humanity that really brings everything to life. Parents of children with similar conditions could easily find this work to be a life saver, making their own journey through this healthcare system with its nightmarish pitfalls and traps considerably easier and more rewarding.

Healing Without Hurting by LPC Kozek is a real winner, one of the best books I've ever read of its kind, and is sure to offer aid and succor for those struggling with the exact situation that this book addresses. A fantastic and moving read.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

WTF Am I Supposed to Eat? A Dieter's Manifesto by C.J. English is an engaging book that will encourage readers on their journey of pursuing health. The book throws light on what it really takes to lose weight, what it really takes to keep weight off, the truth about what is really healthy, and what will actually kill us. The author encourages readers to first find out what works out for them, which is actually the key to weight loss, and then work on that to build the foundation for lasting weight-loss results. Filled with some lip-smacking recipes, the book guides readers to follow a healthy diet plan and make losing weight enjoyable.

The book is informative and does not make weight loss seem to be a hard task as the author asks readers only to make small changes so that they can produce small results over a long period of time. Diet books are usually all about changing overnight or changing habits more than one can handle, but this book has good suggestions and tips to put a stop to weight gain. The recipes look delicious and they focus on maintaining healthy eating habits. The book is refreshing and fun to read and makes weight loss look easy and fun. The author makes readers look at dieting in a different way and gives good information on how to make a vegetarian diet tasty. It is definitely a must-have and a must-read for all those who want practical, healthy, and easy guidelines for better living.

Reviewed by Ann Neville for Readers' Favorite

The Tao of Sudoku - Volume 1, written by Cristina Smith, is a compilation of philosophy and Sudoku puzzles. The puzzles themselves (100) are graded easy to medium in difficulty, but this is not just a puzzle book. Smith encourages readers to consider the art of Sudoku as yoga for the brain. And to promote whole brain health, along with the puzzles, there are uplifting and thought-provoking quotes and facts about how Sudoku originated and its benefits. Think you can't do Sudoku because you're hopeless at maths? Think again. As Smith suggests, solving a Sudoku puzzle doesn't take any maths ability at all - it's all about patterns, not adding, subtracting or calculus. But it does give that satisfying buzz of piecing together the why and how of the particular pattern involved .

I love Sudoku, especially the hard puzzles that challenge me. And I loved The Tao of Sudoku, compiled by Cristina Smith. Not because the puzzles themselves were particularly challenging (being rated as easy to medium they are not very difficult), but because this book challenged me in other ways. It challenged me to consider Sudoku not just as a fun hobby, but to use Sudoku as a meditative tool, too. I now see Sudoku as yoga for the brain. It increases my mental skills and boosts my creativity and is a personal growth tool. The fact that it reduces the risk of early dementia and Alzheimer's can't be dismissed either! At the bottom of every page is a quote, each one of which could be applied to just the Sudoku puzzles. But they also relate to life in general and are food for the soul. Interspersed throughout the puzzles are also snapshots of interesting facts, for example: where Sudoku originated. So I found The Tao of Sudoku is not just another Sudoku book - if you are looking for something that stretches your mind, nourishes your soul, and is entertaining and fun, this is the book for you. I recommend it unreservedly.

Reviewed by Sarah Stuart for Readers' Favorite

The Four Secrets Your Dentist Never Told You: White Teeth, Pink Gums, Fresh Breath For Life by Dr Garry Bonsall sets out to debunk the myths that have developed over the generations about the best way to care for your teeth. It is an attempt to treat thousands, if not millions, more patients than he could ever hope to see personally in his consulting room, and annoy other dentists who will no longer be able to charge a fortune for doing dental work that patients who follow this advice will not require. Finally, he aims to end the most widespread disease in the world, which is, shockingly, gum disease. This results in the loss of teeth and the reduction in both physical and mental health of every individual sufferer.

Dr Garry Bonsall opens The Four Secrets Your Dentist Never Told You: White Teeth, Pink Gums, Fresh Breath For Life with the background to his passionate desire to prevent gum disease: the distress of his own father who, at the age of only fifty, was advised to have all his teeth removed. A dental student at the time, Dr Bonsall became determined to find an answer: the result was the four secrets. My initial reaction was to feel a trifle smug. I had already implemented secret number one on the advice of a new dentist. Oh yes? There was nothing wrong with the advice: it simply didn’t go far enough, and after reading secret number two I went shopping, dated my purchases, and placed the items where Dr Bonsall instructed. Reading secret number three had me back to smug, but not for long! Secret number four has caused a revolution in our household: a bloodless revolution.

Reviewed by Faridah Nassozi for Readers' Favorite

Ever wondered how it would feel to travel across America on a bicycle? Well, wonder no more. Neil Hanson gives you a chance to enjoy this incredible experience through his eyes and soul. Pilgrim Spokes (Cycling East Across America) is the second and final installment of his bicycle pilgrimage across America in just over 30 days. But his is no ordinary narration. It goes beyond merely telling a story of the places he visited and the people he met along the way, to give you his thoughts and feelings as he threw his heart into the journey and the profound way the experience touched his soul. This second part of his tale is a seventeen-day ride through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Maryland, and he takes you beyond the surface of the journey into life itself.

Pilgrim Spokes (Cycling East Across America) is more than just a physical journey. Neil Hanson gives you more than the usual "sights and sounds" narration and takes you into his mind and soul. This is not just a recounting of how he got from city A to city B and who/what he may or may not have seen there. It is a journey of reflection and realization. The beautiful style and visual descriptions bring forth the essence of his whole being as he savors the magic of it all. For me, it was especially inspiring when he mentioned that work interrupted the journey. Right there and then I realized that he did not wait to retire or use any of those excuses many of us usually give to put off things that we desire to do outside our everyday routines. This was a optimistic reminder that, as long as you are passionate enough about something, you can make time for it without necessarily putting the rest of your life on permanent hold. A blissful and captivating read.

Reviewed by Roy T. James for Readers' Favorite

Weight Training Without Injury by Fred Stellabotte and Rachel Straub takes the reader through the fundamental movements of weight training with over 350 step-by-step photographs, which show the correct methods to adopt and the common injury-promoting pitfalls to avoid. The book shows you what works and what doesn’t, and explains why. The content is based on the training methods developed by Fred Stellabotte over the past 50 years and is complemented by extensive scientific research, so whether you are just beginning or are well established you can easily learn proper form and prevent any mishaps. To help you really understand the basics, each chapter begins with the Key Points for a Safe and Effective Exercise.

Weight Training Without Injury by Fred Stellabotte and Rachel Straub is a comprehensive guide for weight training. Completely illustrated with high quality photos, this book leaves nothing to wonder about with regard to weight training. In addition to all this, there are professional tips to make the workout program conducive to one's goals, whether it be to enhance safety or exercise selection, making this book a Bible for those involved in weight-training practice. This is an excellent companion for all athletes to achieve a thorough understanding of how to weight train—especially without injuries.

The comprehensive notes accompanying each illustration and the index at the end elevate the status of this book to that of a reference manual, which is useful equally for the novice, professional, or trainer.