Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

More by Mariah McKenzie may well be more than what readers expect or are prepared to handle. I certainly wasn’t ready for it, but, along the way, I learned a great deal I didn’t previously know about early childhood trauma. It’s no secret that children who are sexually abused suffer long term psychological damage. Therapy has been very helpful for many when it comes to dealing with the mental breakdowns that sometimes last a lifetime. But while studies and first hand reports show that childhood sexual abuse can also interfere in future adult sexual relationships, the full extent of that interference, the hows and whys, may be unknown to many readers.

This is where the value of More by Mariah McKenzie lies. More tells readers so much more about these other elements. It gets to the roots of the physical and sexual problems so many experience. Most importantly, More offers those who have an open mind, and are receptive to trying out different ways of healing, a means to do so. This healing is on a much deeper level, both physically and spiritually. Through combinations of Meditation, Ascension, and M.O.R.E (multi-orgasmic response), just to name a few approaches Mariah and her husband Jeff studied, they were able to repair sexual and relationship problems in their marriage to a degree neither could have dreamed. What they learned along the way was how much these issues were tied to early childhood sexual abuse. That was eye-opening.

Mariah McKenzie is very honest in her delivery throughout More. She holds nothing back. Sexual detail is specific, but not for titillation purposes: it’s absolutely necessary to enhance an understanding of the events and people in More. McKenzie invites readers deep inside her marriage and the lives of her family. As a memoir, it’s a good read. But this memoir also teaches, explains, and enlightens those looking for answers to problematic issues in their own married lives. More offers possible solutions most wouldn’t be aware of. To read More is to learn so much more!

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Spirituality 103 The Forgiveness Code: Finding The Light in Our Shadows by Ivan Figueroa-Otero is a spiritual masterpiece, a self-help book that will help readers to descend to the very core, to the center, and beginning of their being. When I picked this book up, I felt that I would be reading some tips on how to bring ourselves to forgive people who have hurt us in life, but the core of the book is something else. It is about forgiveness, but forgiveness as an essential element in the spiritual journey that restores, heals, and situates us on the right path towards the mission of our life. In language that is very powerful, lyrical, and suffused with symbolism, the author offers compelling and insightful advice on self-discovery and the path towards compassion and reconciliation with ourselves.

There are very beautiful passages in this book and some undeniable facts. I read this book twice and went back to underline some key passages. One of the expressions that hit home was: “Living, if we go about it with selfishness and lack of awareness of our interdependence with the universal laws and other people, turns into a nightmare of suffering, with brief moments of happiness.” But we can change that and re-invent our happiness by walking the path of forgiveness, by understanding how our emotions hurt ourselves. In fact, most of the suffering people experience does not come from outside. It comes from within, when their mind mirrors the hurts and pain they have suffered. But they can set themselves free by choosing to bathe in the light of forgiveness. After reading this book, you’ll never look at yourself in the same way and the world, including those around you, will have a new significance in your life. Spirituality 103 The Forgiveness Code: Finding The Light in Our Shadows was the perfect gift I needed.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Confessions of a Bone Woman: Realizing Authentic Wildness in a Civilized World is a work of new age non-fiction by author Lucinda Bakken White. Born and raised in the 1960s, this self-confessed wild child struggles to maintain her identity as life and modernity attempt to shape her into something else. Despite exterior success that some only dream of, she is unfulfilled inside, and the connection to the bones of animals is the breaking point where the dam of her true self breaks free again. Told in the style of a poetic biography, this is the story of a woman returning to nature and the wild to heal herself despite the trappings of the modern world around her.

This is one of those books you might not think you would enjoy from the outset, but I’d strongly encourage anyone to give it a try. Lucinda Bakken White writes with refreshing clarity about the various phases of her past, including her time in Silicon Valley where she had the lifestyle that many of us dream of, only to discover its true emptiness and move beyond it to other things. The ‘authentic wildness’ of which she speaks is realized through her exploration of nature and the behavior of animals as she seeks a balance between the so-called civilized world and the natural one from which we all originate. Overall, Confessions of a Bone Woman is an uplifting and eye-opening take on the falseness of modern life, with an intriguing revelation about what really matters at the end of the day.