Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Disappeared: How A People Who Once Lived in a Small Caribbean Village Vanished Without a Historical Trace to Humankind is a work of non-fiction in the cultural and historical subgenres. It is suitable for the general reading audience and was penned by Dr. Martin Matthew on a subject very close to his heart. The work covers the history, development, and eventual demise of a utopic society based in the Caribbean basin, where life was built on values that appreciated nature and one another. In this detailed treatise, Dr. Matthew discusses what a great loss it is to the wider world for such a respectable, cultured, and enlightened way of living to be lost, and allows readers into his world to understand this unique society more and take its intrinsic values with them into the future.

It is always fascinating when I get to read about other cultures and their ways of life, and especially thrilling to discover places and people that I’ve never heard of or thought about. Dr. Martin Matthew pens this incredible book with a loving and nostalgic hand, and I’m certain it will create vivid memories for those who have been lucky enough to experience similar cultural backgrounds in their lives. The work is well organized and highly informative, but it also has the atmospheric and cinematic narrative quality of an immersive novel, bringing you into a warm and loving atmosphere in vivid color. Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend Disappeared to any reader interested in human values, nature, sociology, and preserving culture. It is a love letter to morals, ideas, and beliefs that we sorely need in today’s world.

Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite

Not So Black and White: An Invitation to Honest Conversations about Race and Faith by Reggie Dabbs and John Driver is a book on social issues that doesn’t mince words to get to the core of the message it imparts. Jumping instantly into a talk about racism can prove awkward, and there seems to be no comfortable way to engage with people about this issue. But it is the touchy subjects that always clamor to be addressed. Thankfully, this is what the book aims to do—to make your conversations about race and faith relevant without the trappings of misinterpreted context. A caveat: some chapters will trigger your feelings, and this is fine. This signals the beginning of your conditioning of reinterpreting terms and how to respond to given stimuli.

Not So Black and White is, by far, the most eye-opening book I have ever read on the issue of race and faith. If you still feel offended by the authors’ brutal honesty after reading the book, that’s on you. It is clear that Reggie Dabbs and John Driver didn’t write this book to feed anyone’s ego but to simply help create a better understanding of race and faith as topics that have proven to be too contentious in a time of self-entitled and easy-to-offend snowflakes. Dabbs and Driver try to help you gain knowledge of the racialized contexts in our society, and at the same time, stir you to create and nurture that much-needed connection when racial realities and faith come together. I recommend this book to anyone to help expand their awareness and make their conversations about race and faith more meaningful.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

The Weight of Air: A Story of the Lies about Addiction and the Truth about Recovery is a work of non-fiction in the memoir subgenre, and was penned by author David Poses. Owing to the use of explicit language throughout and some sexual content, the work is best suited to the mature adult reading audience. In this stark and emotionally raw work of autobiographical writing, David Poses explains his lifelong struggle with addiction and mental health issues, relating to serious topics such as drug abuse, depression, and suicide attempts. What results is a fascinating and harrowing journey over three decades of life during the American opioid crisis that has a lot to say about the way we approach mental health care in the world today.

Author David Poses has crafted a work that will literally blow you away, whether you have any experience in the world of drug addiction or not. The honesty with which he writes is second to none, but there’s a wise command of language that always prevents the work from becoming too dreary or self-absorbed. I really appreciated the focus of the work and the raw detail that the author is able to go into, particularly about his feelings of guilt and shame, which are so hard to admit even in private. There is a wonderful sense of activism that underpins even the darkest messages of the work, and this always makes a reader feel that they are being guided through these experiences by someone who is now securely able to help others climb out of the same hole. Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend The Weight of Air as a superb and eye-opening read for those who have not yet explored the realities of addiction, and also as a comfort to those who already bear these struggles themselves.

Reviewed by Tom Gauthier for Readers' Favorite

Don't Expect Me To Cry is a powerful autobiography by Janet Bentley, relating the horrors of mental, physical, and sexual abuse she endured from infancy. In an amazing piece of writing, Janet tells her story, reflecting her thoughts and experiences at critical stages of her life from age four until today. Janet describes the struggles to deal with the pain and fear she experiences as she begins to share her deeply held secret. With the constant thought of ending it all, she fights to hold on. The highs are high, the lows are beyond belief as she learns that it is possible to heal from the depths of the darkest shame and trauma and achieve a life of peace and contentment. Janet Bentley has shared an inspiring life story, cathartic to some, shocking to all, eliciting emotions at once raw and real.

Janet Bentley is an amazing writer. If Don't Expect Me To Cry was a novel it would receive high praise for its drama, raw descriptions of violent assault, and glimpses of hope from skilled therapists which end up dashed time and again. Dramatic arcs in masterful presentation. But it is not a novel. It is Janet’s own autobiography written honestly and directly, with a unique ability to show the evil done to her without becoming maudlin, alongside her learning of the science behind her lifelong struggles. Janet writes with fragility and strength as the victim, and as a unique form of therapist that only one who has experienced the trauma can provide. Her detailed highlights of the professional therapists who began her healing, and the contra events of dependency and transference that her fragility led her to, are true clinical insights and of value to all who read it.

While Janet’s work is obviously a view of catharsis, it is also therapeutic to readers who have shared her experience on any level. Beyond that, it educates us all about the horrific reality of sexual abuse. It will engender anger over the abject failure of society, family, teachers, neighbors, and friends to act on behalf of a toddler, a human being in the deepest distress. Janet Bentley deserves the highest praise for her writing, and for her amazing tenacity to hang on to life and see it through to the goodness and caring that actually exist in the world. I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Bold, sizzling, and candidly narrated, My Whorizontal Life is the first book in An Escort’s Tale series by Sephe Haven, a memoir that covers the author's first six months as an escort. Readers are pulled into the author's search for love through the most unlikely path: prostitution. The story starts with the setting and the timeline of New York City in the late 1980s. Sephe is an idealistic, empathic young woman blinded by her desire for fantasy and romance, fearful of the “real world,” who dreams of true love and being an actress extraordinaire. But just after her Juilliard graduation, poverty and debt overwhelm her and she takes what she thinks will be a very limited leap into the underground world of escorting. But she finds it’s not so easy to get out of it. And maybe she doesn’t want to?

Thus begins a memoir that is told in a compelling, humorous voice, each line calculated, well written and packed with wit. The humor greets the reader right from the start with the failed waitressing job and the meanness the author thinks the world reserves for her, for she can't understand that after having spent a good time with a man and shared laughter, then he dumps her. That is what sucks more than the meanness...it's the dumping. The levity, the lightness and the humor with which the story is told had me reading on. She makes readers buy into her worldview, sit at her feet and listen to her story. With candor and honesty, Sephe Haven leads readers into the dilemmas of her life along with the difficult choice of taking the path of an escort. The prose is awesome, alluring and infused with sexiness. It is interesting how the author transforms a painful journey into something that is fun and entertaining and, at times, the reader wonders if this is a real-life narrative or fiction. My Whorizontal Life made me want to meet this author. She is so genuine, so honest, and so funny that even a saint would want to listen to her story.

Reviewed by Lois Henderson for Readers' Favorite

How to Rob a Bank in Drag: A True Story of ODD LGBT Issues by Dawn Lawson is the tale of one woman’s progression from being a 14-year-old runaway from an emotionally battered childhood to where, at the age of 53, as a recovering drug addict and alcoholic, she is able to reflect on and recount the saga of her journey through life. With a father who was, thankfully, consistently supportive of her, and with the growing realization of her own nature as a gay young woman with an addictive personality, who was more prone than not to land up in the wrong relationship at the wrong time and in the wrong place, Lawson triumphs, at least on the personal front, despite it all. Her love for animals and her appreciation for the basic good in humankind is a tribute to the generosity of her spirit throughout.

As a dog lover myself, I especially appreciated Dawn Lawson’s developing awareness of the importance of those of the canine breed expressed in How to Rob a Bank in Drag—as she states, the multifarious mutts rescued her more than she rescued them. Her time spent in prison for bank robbery to feed her drug habit was also of much interest to me, as I have a close friend who went the same route after one too many DUIs. Her descriptions of the highs and lows of her involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous, ranging from close companionship and affection for her fellow attendees to her debunking of the so-called “professional expertise” of an out-and-out fraudulent psychologist, who was more on a personal power trip than a worthy facilitator of healing, were also close to my heart, as they should be to anyone who has befriended those with a somewhat risqué background.

The audiobook of Dawn Lawson’s How to Rob a Bank in Drag, voiced by Lynne Perry, warmed me to the soul and had me so enthralled that the moment I had finished listening to the entire book, I listened to it again (which, I’m sure, can’t be said for many audiobooks)! The whole journey of a fellow suffering spirit is totally riveting, and Perry does it full justice, with her full-scaled empathy with the author’s travails and traumas. I also enjoyed the American Indian chanting between chapters, as it lent a sonorous quality to the text. In short, an audiobook not to be missed.

Reviewed by Tammy Ruggles for Readers' Favorite

Crying, Learning, and Laughing: Why Students Visit the Teen Center by Tamika M. Murray is an award-winning parenting guide focusing on teens. The author is a social worker and writer, using both skills to understand and help teenagers and the professionals who work with them. Murray does a great, empathetic job of relaying the anecdotes of her time in a teen center as a case manager, with real names changed to numbers to protect identities. Some schools have a youth services center, some don't, and adolescents visit it for different reasons. Some go because they are depressed, or are bullied, abused, or neglected, doing self-harm, or are battling mental health problems. Murray pulls back the curtain on the daily lives of teenagers, which encourages readers to understand and seek to help the teens in their own lives.

Being a social worker turned writer myself, I relate to Murray's motivations in writing a helpful guide for struggling teens and their parents and to let the world know that there are people who care, and services and professionals who can help, no matter what the circumstance. In this book, you will cry, learn, and laugh with the author and the teenagers she writes about. Yes, times can be dark, but they don't have to stay dark, and Murray's words act as a guiding hand to lead you into the light. If you don't have a teen center in your school, or even if you do, this book will make a fantastic resource. I like that Murray says she doesn't have all the answers and encourages readers to seek professional help in time of need.

The book begins with an overview of services and devotes a chapter to each social issue it addresses, like dating, violence, pregnancy, grief, bullying, suicide, etc., but it doesn't end there. It provides information that a teen can use after school, like further education, scholarships, job hunting, and more, and it wraps up with a collection of valuable resources. This isn't a dry book about case management, and you'll get to know the author in her role and as a real person. If you're looking for a well-rounded and thoughtful book on teen advocacy and parenting, complete with discussion questions, look no further than Crying, Learning, and Laughing: Why Students Visit the Teen Center by Tamika M. Murray.

Reviewed by Lorraine Cobcroft for Readers' Favorite

Karen Gedney's 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor is the true story of a female doctor’s thirty years of service to the United States Corrections System, serving as the prison doctor in a male prison. That she accepted the challenge in the first place, as a young graduate, is surprising. That she continued after being the victim of a violent crime is astonishing. That she remained in the post for thirty years is nothing short of awesome. Her story is one of the most inspiring and thought-provoking tales I have read in a very long time. Karen Gedney poses some challenging questions in 30 Years Behind Bars. If you are among those who, like me, have been tempted to say that we should lock up criminals and throw away the key, she might make you uncomfortable with that belief. She might even change your view entirely. Gedney tells in one chapter of a program that involved bringing aggressive dogs into the prison for the prisoners to train. She asks the question if we can believe that an aggressive animal can be tamed with love and guidance, why not humans? She points out that punishment isn’t working to stop recidivism, and asks if maybe a different approach would be more successful. One can’t help but wonder!

Gedney speaks with great empathy and understanding of the prisoners she treated, many of whom were lifers who committed horrendous crimes. And yet she sees goodness in them. She sees hope. She sees that helping them to find a purpose in life and a reason to want to change can drive real change. And she tells with justifiable pride of the projects she instigated and ran in her spare time to teach prisoners how to change and to motivate them to want to. This is not a book you read for entertainment. It’s a very serious study that will, at times, cause great discomfort. But it’s a book that should be compulsory reading for everyone involved in the criminal justice system or correctional system. It’s a book that will hopefully inspire many to volunteer their time, energy, and skills to work on projects that give prisoners hope and to lobby for reform of a flawed system. I congratulate Karen Gedney MD both for her amazing work and for writing her inspiring story. It does what I believe all good writing should do. It nudges the world a little. It shines a light in dark corners and prompts us to think about how to make the world a better place. Well done, Dr. G. Thank you for your service.

Reviewed by Tom Gauthier for Readers' Favorite

Don't Expect Me To Cry is a powerful autobiography by Janet Bentley, relating the horrors of mental, physical, and sexual abuse she endured from infancy. In an amazing piece of writing, Janet tells her story, reflecting her thoughts and experiences at critical stages of her life from age four until today. Janet describes the struggles to deal with the pain and fear she experiences as she begins to share her deeply held secret. With the constant thought of ending it all, she fights to hold on. The highs are high, the lows are beyond belief as she learns that it is possible to heal from the depths of the darkest shame and trauma and achieve a life of peace and contentment. Janet Bentley has shared an inspiring life story, cathartic to some, shocking to all, eliciting emotions at once raw and real.

Janet Bentley is an amazing writer. If Don't Expect Me To Cry was a novel it would receive high praise for its drama, raw descriptions of violent assault, and glimpses of hope from skilled therapists which end up dashed time and again. Dramatic arcs in masterful presentation. But it is not a novel. It is Janet’s own autobiography written honestly and directly, with a unique ability to show the evil done to her without becoming maudlin, alongside her learning of the science behind her lifelong struggles. Janet writes with fragility and strength as the victim, and as a unique form of therapist that only one who has experienced the trauma can provide. Her detailed highlights of the professional therapists who began her healing, and the contra events of dependency and transference that her fragility led her to, are true clinical insights and of value to all who read it.

While Janet’s work is obviously a view of catharsis, it is also therapeutic to readers who have shared her experience on any level. Beyond that, it educates us all about the horrific reality of sexual abuse. It will engender anger over the abject failure of society, family, teachers, neighbors, and friends to act on behalf of a toddler, a human being in the deepest distress. Janet Bentley deserves the highest praise for her writing, and for her amazing tenacity to hang on to life and see it through to the goodness and caring that actually exist in the world. I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

All the Silent Spaces: A Memoir by Christine Ristaino is the author's story after being attacked in the parking lot and her road to self-recovery. She speaks about the immediate aftermath of the attack; how her children were witness to the attack and watched her bleeding on the pavement, how her son could no longer sleep at night, and how her daughter had cried every night before bed for a month. The bruises on her face, the muscles in the arms, the bubble in her eye, and her jaw all required care and fixing, and Christine hoped one day she would be able to take her children to a store where they all felt comfortable without worrying about being attacked. Her story is extraordinary, a woman going on with life after a brutal attack on her; working at the university, and taking care of a family.

All the Silent Spaces is a story of recovery - mentally, physically, and emotionally - and of courage and survival. The author's immense honesty will move readers and will make them ponder about the very fabric of their existence and their safety. Christine Ristaino's story helps to look beyond and tackle the issues of race, color, bias, prejudice, and ignorance rampant in society, and which have not been addressed. The memoir will also make readers realize how the trauma of violence and sexual abuse can change people and their perception about the society they live in. The author's honesty in sharing her story in detail is brave and her journey to healing and recovery is comforting and inspiring. Though her story is painful and traumatic, it also gives courage and hope to many readers out there who find themselves in similar situations and are looking to heal.