Reviewed by Tiffany Ferrell for Readers' Favorite

The year is 1971 and sixteen-year-old Sharon is sick and tired of the life she is living. With parents that control her every move in life and deny her the choice to attend college because she’s a female, she decides to run away with her older sister to sunny California. In California, Sharon becomes totally engrossed in the hippie, free love lifestyle and feels liberated for the first time in her life. Introduced to drugs and sex, her sheltered life in Connecticut is soon a thing of the past. With her sister, the two meet a slew of new friends that share the same love of freedom as they do. California, though, wasn’t Sharon’s first and only stop. Like a gypsy, the teenager wanders from one place to another in an attempt to truly find herself. This journey leads her from California to Chicago to Montreal and back home again, in each place picking up friends and a better understanding of herself along the way.

I think Sharon Dukett has done an amazing job putting her teenager life on paper in No Rules: A Memoir. When you read it, you can almost feel the author sitting next to you, telling her story as an aunt or grandmother would. The hippie culture had been widely popularized and glamorized for the people who either weren’t alive during this period or were way too young to remember. It was interesting to find out why the culture appealed to Sharon and what it taught her. It was very easy to relate to Sharon Dukett in this book on so many levels. It gives you a firsthand account of life during the Nixon administration and the Vietnam war. No Rules is definitely a book I would recommend to others.

Reviewed by Lesley Jones for Readers' Favorite

Everyone seems to have an opinion on what the term 'a good mother' means, but what is the true definition? For many working mothers, juggling motherhood with their chosen career can be a demanding balancing act filled with guilt as they try to live up to unrealistic expectations. Throughout The Art of Good Enough by Ivy Gee, you will discover techniques that, if practiced, will help you make sense of all those negative emotions you are experiencing. Learn how to uncover your hidden strengths, develop healthy, nurturing relationships with your children and partner, and understand the root cause of your negative self-image. As you work through the exercises, you will gain insights that will give your mind and body a complete overhaul so you can become the best version of yourself and begin the journey towards self-acceptance and happiness.

The Art of Good Enough by Ivy Ge is unlike any other guide I have ever read because it deals with the negative emotions every working mother can relate to. I loved the personal stories, especially Helen's, which I immediately related to. The author clearly has experience of being a working mother herself as her insights were so profound. I liked the way she gave you realistic techniques that you could try straight away. There are many golden nuggets of information throughout. I particularly enjoyed the section on pain and pleasure; that was a huge 'aha' moment for me. The statement that it is more important to enhance our strengths than improve our weaknesses was quite powerful. This guide gives every woman permission to live authentically and not feel obliged to live up to others' expectations.

I feel there is something in this book for everyone, from dealing with negative emotions, anxiety, and jealousy to overcoming fear, setting goals that matter to you, and nurturing your children according to their unique needs so they are fully prepared for the outside world. The most valuable part of this book for me, if I had to choose, would be the section on reverse engineering; this was such a lightbulb moment for me. I cannot recommend this guide highly enough. Thank you for creating such an uplifting and encouraging book.

Reviewed by Gobi Jane for Readers' Favorite

The King and the Quirky: A Memoir of Love, Marriage, Domesticity, Feminism, and Self by Heather Siegel is one hell of a memoir, one of the best I have read about marriage and what it takes to make it work, and also about the journey towards personal transformation. When the reader meets thirty-four-year-old Heather Siegel, she is an outgoing kind of person who enjoys what she’s been doing for 10 years, a confident and independent woman who is free-spirited. She doesn’t believe in romantic relationships. But all of that changes when she meets Jon, a man who is as ordered as he is logical. They have two opposite personalities and they defy everything one can think of when it comes to compatibility. Heather, the feminist, finds herself packing up and moving out to Long Island to embrace a life of marriage. What makes it work is the subject matter of this engrossing memoir.

The first thing that struck me as I started reading this memoir is Heather Siegel’s beautiful voice and unique writing style. Her highly descriptive prose is littered with wit and insight, and the humor spices up the writing, giving the reader a fun experience. While Heather shares her story from being a happy and independent woman and feminist to becoming a married woman and stay-at-home mom, she challenges readers through her experience and personal transformation to rethink their take on compatibility and chemistry in relationships. There is more than that for a relationship to work. I enjoyed her creativity in staying true to who she is and the way she uses tolerance, understanding, and acceptance to bring life and strength to her marriage and her home. The King and the Quirky is both inspiring and entertaining, filled with lessons and wisdom. You can’t put it down, and while you laugh through some of the passages, you’ve got to think about your own relationship.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

To Mend a Broken Heart is a work of non fiction in the form of a personal and traumatic narrative, and was penned by author Myunique C. Green. Named after an emotive and popular song about restarting one’s life after feelings of total devastation, Green takes her readers along on a heartfelt personal journey which begins with a horrifying childhood event. After witnessing her own mother beaten to a bloody pulp, she is cast away and slowly develops an emotionless approach to life in order to mask the trauma. In this book, the raw emotion of past and present is all unveiled and unpacked with the hope of moving forward.

Any sufferer of childhood trauma will certainly be able to relate to the way that witnessing extreme abuse affects a person, especially when they are trying to live a peaceful life of their own as a functioning adult. Author Myunique C. Green is unafraid to fully vent the truth of her horrifying past, and in the catharsis of her writing, other readers are sure to find solace and an understanding of how they can unpack their own pain, and what it takes to really face and assess the damage done to us in childhood. What results is a superb narrative which is hard to read without a lump in your throat, but totally compelling for its emotional authenticity, and the fervent hope that a better tomorrow is around the corner. Overall, To Mend a Broken Heart is an important and compelling work of non-fiction.

Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite

The Mompowerment Guide to Work-Life Balance: Insights from Working Moms on Balancing Career and Family by Suzanne Brown is a book that every working mom has to read, one that offers expert advice on navigating motherhood and professional life in a way that is efficient and that leaves the reader with more time for self-care and less stress. In this book, the author shares insights and expert advice on time management, work-life balance and staying in control. Readers will understand if their employer hurts their work-life balance, find tips that will enable them to make the shift from being people who feel weighed down by cares they think they have no control over to those who are more intentional and who take control, insights into the challenges that working moms face and how to face them.

Suzanne Brown brings her own experiences into the writing and shares tips and wisdom from other professionals. The book is written in a very compassionate and engaging tone and in a conversational style that connects directly and strongly with the reader. In this book, the examples are taken from the ordinary lives of working mothers and delivered in a style that makes the reader feel as though it is a heart-to-heart conversation with the author. The prose is excellent and makes for an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the author’s ability to excite the reader’s mind, inviting them to reflect on their personal and professional experience while offering suggestions on how to create a healthy balance. The Mompowerment Guide to Work-Life Balance: Insights from Working Moms on Balancing Career and Family will help readers determine how to handle work, their significant other and their family without feeling overwhelmed. A very well-written book that is packed with valuable information and tips.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Do you have a deep need for friendship? Connection? Then it is time to plug in. The Friendship Upgrade: Trade Clickable Connections for Friendships that Matter by Heather Dugan demonstrates the reality of life as it exists now. The author speaks about her loneliness and search for friendship in times when it is easier to find an online friend than a real one. Friendships matter and the author speaks about how friend-finding had become her new treasure hunt post-divorce. Dugan gives tips and advice on how to find real friendships, healthy connections, and how these genuine connections make an impact on life. The book is divided into three sections: Easy Avenues to Isolation, Focus on Friendship, and Keys to Connection.

There are many women living in their lonely bubble and in disconnected spaces where no one reaches out to anyone. Facebook friends are easy to collect and they are maintenance-free, yet they do help for entertainment purpose. The author will make readers look at the way they are dealing with their isolation and loneliness. The Friendship Upgrade will encourage readers to choose friendships, activities, and connections that will enhance their lives. The author tackles the topics in each section extensively, along with speaking about her personal stories and the personal experiences of many others to guide readers to look at their connections and wonder how connected they feel. The benefits of a good friendship shared between women are tangible in the chapter My Cabernet Coaches and will help readers realize the joys of real connection. The Friendship Upgrade is a good book for all those looking for respect, kindness, acceptance, inclusion, and a better life.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Dare to be the Change by Annella Metoyer is an inspiring memoir with powerful lessons, a book that explores one of the most important realities we will always encounter — change. What happens when we meet with adversity, when we face challenges, when life seems to stand against us? We can either become reactive or we can take control and full responsibility for what happens to us. In this book, Annella Metoyer shares her journey with readers and shows what set her on a journey of utter transformation. The author shares how being black and female was enough cause for discrimination, but instead of becoming discouraged by the reality in her world, she chose to become the architect of the change she wanted to see around her, challenging the status quo and focusing on staying positive. The results of her choice to become the change she wanted to see around her are astounding — she became the first colored girl to be a cheerleader, the first colored woman to gain employment in a local bank, and the first colored woman to become City President for a major bank.

I loved this book — it is insightful, delightful, and filled with wisdom. We encounter a woman who chose to see opportunities for growth in every adversity instead of becoming discouraged and spiteful. The book strongly conveys the influence we can have in the world and on others once we choose to face life with a positive attitude. The author's attitude towards change becomes one of the biggest lessons of this book and it conveys the message that we can change our world by changing our perspective and by choosing not to act the way others will expect us to act in trying circumstances. It is a book filled with lessons on taking the lead in life, for how can we influence and inspire change in others if we can't lead ourselves effectively? Dare to be the Change is a great achievement, a motivational book that is enriched by anecdotes and real life experiences of the author. Written in a style that is friendly and accessible, this book is deeply moving, surprisingly engaging, and filled with life-changing lessons. There is a hidden gem in it for every reader.

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 Lesley Jones for Readers' Favorite

Change Your Name and Disappear by Rosie Malezer is a truly horrifying account of domestic violence. Tammy had it all - a fantastic family life, friends and career - until she walked into a martial arts studio and met the instructor, Steve. Following a whirlwind romance, Tammy moved in and, from the first night, her life would never be the same again. Follow this brutal account of mental, emotional and physical torture as Tammy tries to hold down a career and keep her sanity while Steve slowly takes it away with every attack. She battles through miscarriages until she finally gives birth to her son, and that is the catalyst to make her leave Steve and try to rebuild her life once more. Steve tries to win her back with promises and when this doesn’t work, he sinks to the lowest depths of depravity. Tammy is constantly let down by the police and even the church. The final attack by Steve left Tammy deaf and blind, and in hiding. This is a story you will never forget reading, and it is an inspirational account of a woman who has faced constant pain, torment and anguish, but has emerged on the other side.

This book is a very realistic account of the mind games played by an abuser. The building of suspense and the accounts of the violence were very cleverly written from the perspective of the victim. The feelings of helplessness and hatred for her attacker are vivid, and especially including her thoughts as a form of dialogue was a great idea. This allowed the reader into Tammy's mindset; she was saying one thing to appease her attacker but thinking something completely different. Tammy didn’t come across as a helpless victim, but rather a young woman who was trapped and couldn’t find a way out. When she left, and throughout the barrage of tragedies, Tammy stayed strong and determined for the most part. I feel her story is one that will inspire strength in women and her story humbled me. An excellent book, highly recommended.

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

While not everything’s perfect in Alex Roslin’s approach to presenting this eye-opening, factual look into police domestic violence, Police Wife, to give it anything less than 5 stars would be unfair. What Roslin reveals in Police Wife could save a person’s life, especially if that person is a woman engaged to, in a relationship with, or married to a policeman…and even if that person is herself a member of the force! What a bitter irony that those who are trained to protect the general public are, as you will learn in Police Wife, often the ones who do so much harm to those who love and trust them: their partners and their own children. The statistics and true stories Alex Roslin shares of domestic abuse by police in countries worldwide are shocking and always so very sad. Brace yourself for violence that isn’t the product of a fiction writer’s imagination. You will find yourself shaking your head in disbelief more than once, not just because of what happened, but because of what didn’t happen after a report of police domestic violence was filed!

For instance, consider these facts: “In Florida, those accused of domestic violence had four times more chance of keeping their jobs than cops accused of theft and 28 times more than cops who failed a marijuana test.” Or how about this one: “Citing FBI crime data, the study found that US police officers committed over two times more sexual assault per capita than the general population. The rate was 68 sexual assaults for every 100,000 cops versus 29 per 100,000 for the public.” What is going on here? If you’re thinking “cover up” or internal, rather than open and fully disclosed investigations, you’d be right. The male police brotherhood is alive and well; you don’t rat on a brother even when you know he’s guilty. It’s easy to dismiss the little woman’s complaints as being neurotic, especially when the accused cop is a decorated member of the force with an impeccable record of performance in serving and protecting the public. So where, for that matter, does a battered policeman’s wife turn for help…to the batterer’s buddies and bosses on the force? If everyday female victims of abuse are afraid to tell or have trouble being believed, as Alex Roslin shows time and again, it’s many times harder for a policeman’s wife to get help of any kind.

What’s behind the male police violence? “The epidemic of police domestic abuse appears to have three main causes: power and control, derogatory attitudes toward women and impunity—a de facto licence to abuse.” Once you read Roslin’s explanation of that last statement, like it or not, it all makes sense. But it doesn’t make any of the widespread and hidden police violence, and the secrets surrounding it right or acceptable. Nor does it even come close to fixing the horrible statistics and even deaths that have resulted from police domestic violence. As one of the additional contributors to this informative and enlightening book pointed out: “The situation will not change until an outside agency becomes accessible to the survivors of police spousal abuse. Right now, these women have no place to turn.” Such agencies cannot be formed soon enough, only too late for yet another Police Wife.