Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

The Full Catastrophe: A Memoir by Karen Elizabeth Lee is an engaging memoir about a professional woman who finally gets her life back on track after going through an abusive marriage. The author begins her story with the funeral of Duncan, to whom she was married for fourteen years. He was a controlling bully, diagnosed with cancer ten months after she asked for a divorce. After he dies, Karen realizes that she has other issues in her life to face and handle. The memoir chronicles her emotional and mental journey, her life, and how she manages to stay sane and happy during that roller-coaster phase of her life. It is a story of healing, resurrection, and self-discovery, and how the author uses Jungian analysis to resurrect her life.

The memoir is direct and honest, and it captures the emotional angst of a woman who had undergone domestic and emotional abuse. Her healing phase tells us how the pain and trauma of emotional abuse lingered on, even after Duncan’s death, and how her will to not give up gave her the courage to make positive changes in her life. The author opens her heart and soul to readers, which is not always an easy thing to do, especially when it comes to one’s personal life. It is not always easy to rise above struggles and difficulties in life and emerge a stronger person. Karen Elizabeth Lee’s journey is relatable and palpable to many readers, and her courage in making a noticeable change in her life is commendable.

Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

No one can hurt you unless you give them the power to hurt you. This seems to be the core message of I AM: Kicking Down the Walls of Silence about Sexual and Mental Abuse by Brenda Hammon. The book is a memoir that is written with a clear and compelling voice, a story of one woman’s growth through multiple abuses. Brenda’s childhood hasn’t been easy and she’d known all forms of abuses. Such experiences took a huge toll on her life and she suffered psychologically. But when she gives birth to twins, it dawns on her that her life has changed; she knows she has something to live for; it’s a call to restart and to create the life she’d always wanted. She refuses to be determined by her past. It’s a story of redemption, a tale of hope that we can choose what our lives should look like.

I AM: Kicking Down the Walls of Silence about Sexual and Mental Abuse will help many readers understand that in spite of their hurts, in spite of what has happened to them, in spite of what others think about them and how they treat them, they have the power to rise up and take control of their lives, that their dignity comes from the choices they make, those choices that allow them to embrace life and to give life generously. Brenda Hammon articulates brilliantly on a variety of themes, including sexual abuse, the traumas of childhood, self-identity, and womanhood. She tells her story with clarity and unwonted honesty, and many readers will undoubtedly find themselves in the story. Her journey towards healing and success will inspire a million lives.

Reviewed by Maria Beltran for Readers' Favorite

The Last Faith: A Book by An Atheist Believer by Karmak Bagisbayev asks a lot of difficult questions about life and its elusive meaning. Why are the social and behavioral distinctions between men and women being rapidly erased? Can a world without violence exist? If not, under what circumstances and to what kind of violence does man have a right? Wherein lies the origin of this right? These are just some of the questions that the author poses to his readers. Divided into three parts namely, The Law of Gene Preservation, The Law of Freedom of Choice, and The Last Faith, this 192-page book is all encompassing and provocative and it sure will make readers think again about their beliefs in life.

The Last Faith: A Book by An Atheist Believer, however, not only asks all these questions, author Karmak Bagisbayev also provides a convincing answer to all these questions that have literally and figuratively plagued the human race from generation to generation. Bravely going against many of the established moral principles of popular world religions, this book is definitely an intriguing read. It will perhaps raise some eyebrows but on the other hand, anyone with a critical mind will be drawn to The Last Faith. Surprisingly an easy read, it comes out as one curious man's conversation with God Himself. Karmak Bagisbayev has a PhD in Physics and Mathematics, so he also presents explanations and evidence to support all his ideas, just like scientists do. And he is definitely very convincing!

Reviewed by Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite

Religion, faith and belief are all topics of a controversial nature. It's controversial because it depends upon who you're talking to and their interpretation of what they're reading. The King James Bible, the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) are some of the books that hold spiritual values, scriptures and actions of God that formulate a connection with the reader. The Qur'an: A Chronological Modern English Interpretation by Jason Criss Howk is a modern day English interpretation of the Qur’an. Jason Criss Howk began this journey because he wanted to improve the collective interaction between religions and faiths. He also wanted to provide others with clarity on what Islam and the Qur’an stand for and to dispel the myth that all Muslims are terrorists and that the Qur’an teaches hate.

If you really want to learn about the Qur’an, there is a wealth of information in this book. While this is a comprehensive, detailed resource of information just like the King James and Hebrew Bible, Jason Criss Howk had to manipulate some of the order of the words to create a platform for reading and understanding of the passages for the English interpretation. If you are new to the Qur’an, understand that the format is different than the Bible. If you are familiar with the King James Bible or the Hebrew Bible, be prepared to make a paradigm shift as you begin to study the Qur’an.

I'm a researcher on many things because I desire to be educated on a subject instead of reacting to what I hear or what I'm told, especially via traditional media. Through studying, I discovered that the Hebrew Bible and the Qur’an were both created from the main concept, scriptures and messages of the Bible and then massaged according to the needs of the religion, faith or belief embracing the change. It's not these various materials causing the attacks within the world in the name of (______ you fill in the blank), it's the reader and their interpretation coupled with the elements of their heart, soul and spirit. If water is poured into a leaking bucket, then no matter how much you pour into it, it will never retain the water. Only when the bucket is either repaired or replaced can the task of filling it be accomplished; such it is with man. If you want to gain knowledge and understanding about the world around you, begin here.

Reviewed by Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers' Favorite

In his stimulating work The Obelisk and the Cross, Tony Sunderland undertakes the academic’s most daunting challenge: to convey without ponderous explications or brittle simplifications the entire history of a subject – in this case, the evolution of religious thought – as it pertains to a rather focused primary objective – to bring insight to the fundamental trilogy of religious inquiry: Where did we come from? Why are we here? What happens when we die? Beginning with the oldest of religious symbols – the obelisk – and its strange appearance in the center of the world’s most enduring religious location – the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square – something that should denote a kind of sacrilege has been appropriated from antiquity and made a center-piece for modern theological supremacy. This prompts the author to ask a natural question: Why?

Tony Sunderland’s attempt in The Obelisk and the Cross to bring some clarity to a subject rife with diametrically opposed beliefs, opinions, conjectures, and unwavering, documented certainties as provided by almost every genre of inquiry known to man is nothing less than extraordinary. The writing is perfectly concise, incredibly inclusive yet relentlessly focused, and unerringly directed. There are so many ways this book could have jumped the track. That Mr. Sunderland takes the reader from here to there without a single extraneous side trip or excessive plodding, and yet manages to include every historical detail necessary to his purpose, makes for a fast and highly satisfying read. The reader realizes he is missing massive amounts of information, but never that this book suffers for the omission. Instead, as with any stimulating work, one feels impelled to search for further knowledge elsewhere. In turn, Mr. Sunderland meets his challenge here superbly. He gives the reader exactly what he promises at the start. And that is an amazing accomplishment.

Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite

For those seeking greater understanding of their lives from a spiritual perspective, this book is invaluable. Born and raised in Taiwan, Jiayuh Chyan came to the US in 1988 for graduate school. After a marriage of 17 years, and a divorce, the author embarked on a healing journey. Beginning with energy medicine modalities, she was drawn to work with the Akashic Records. In her book, Your Key to the Akashic Records: Access Your Spiritual Advisor 24/7 to Fulfill Your Soul’s Highest Potential, author Jiayuh Chyan gives this definition of the Records: “The Akashic Records is an energetic or vibrational recording of all thoughts, events, and experiences of our soul through all lifetimes, including past, present, and all future possibilities.” The book is a combination of her personal journey to discover her true life mission, and a primer on how to access your own records.

Ms. Chyan writes with unmatched sincerity and clarity. Her personal story is both honest and inspiring. Disclosing her own doubts along the process will resonate for anyone who seeks healing. She articulates the steps of accessing the Records, through the use of a special prayer and practical exercises. Additionally, there are links to free videos the reader can watch. All the teaching sections are well-written and can be easily followed. Real-life examples provide encouragement and hope to the reader. This is a book to be worked with and savored, guiding the reader to find her/his path to spiritual healing.

Reviewed by Claudia Coffey for Readers' Favorite

On The Road With Abraham: Master Manifestation and Create a Kick Ass Life is written by Sandra Phillips Meyler. In the late 1990s, Sandi Phillips was ‘tooling around in an old clunker somewhere on the back roads of Vermont,’ and, except for her beautiful daughter, found little comfort with her life. She wasn’t yet sure of what she wanted, but she was sure of what was not working – her job, the visitations of her daughter’s father and his drinking, and the problems of the world in general. All this combined to make for an unhappy life. Around that time, Sandi Phillips came across the materials “known in the cultural vernacular as “Abraham-Hicks,” and she writes that “immediately I felt that the words and ideas of those materials were reminding me of something that I had always known, but had somehow forgotten.” Sandi attended a seminar in Boston and from that time on her life changed for the better. This book is about Sandi’s journey into finding the life she wanted. The seminars were led by Jerry and Esther Hicks, and in these seminars Esther channels a non-physical energy known as Abraham. The message sounds very ‘new-age’ with references to reincarnation, vibrational alignment, meditation, and channeling, but Sandi stresses that Jerry and Esther were business people who wanted to bring the message of Abraham to people exactly like Sandi. Jerry was the business manager and Esther was the perfect channel for Abraham’s message of freedom, growth and joy. Sandi fulfilled her wish to take good care of herself and her daughter, she began to travel around the world working with cruises and seminars of Abraham-Hicks, and she met Scotty Meyler, her soul-mate and now partner.

The theory behind Abraham-Hicks is that you create your world by sending out vibrations for good or for bad. Call it the Source, the Universe or God; we were given free will to choose our lives. The Abraham-Hicks theory of the law of attraction is behind the book and movie The Secret and featured in The Celestine Prophecy and The Tenth Insight. Sandi Phillips Meyler advises that “Abraham teaches us that everybody is a powerful creator. The only question is whether you are creating by intention or by default. Even science is coming to accept the idea that we are the creators of our own realities. There are lots and lots of schools of thought in the "new thought" or "new age" movement, and all of them express different forms of truth. The more ways you find to love your life the more will appear.” The book and website give us a list of points, beginning with visualizing our perfect life/job/day; keeping our thoughts in a journal and each morning aligning ourselves before we begin our day asking: “Are we giving our energy to what we want (ease) or what we don’t want (struggle)”? Beyond the new-age reference, this book is a great guide on how to live our best life and thus I recommend this guidebook to a better life to all readers.

Reviewed by Susan Sewell for Readers' Favorite

The Boy Who Knew Too Much (An Astounding True Story of A Young Boy's Past-life Memories) by Cathy Byrd is the fascinating account of a toddler who remembers being Lou Gehrig in another lifetime. The two-year-old toddler is totally captivated and immersed in baseball. As a matter of fact, he is totally obsessed with it. He lives in his miniature Dodger's baseball clothes and cleats and refuses to wear anything else. He plays with his small bat and ball from morning until night. When the toddler surprises his mother with the outrageous statement that he is Lou Gehrig, she is stunned. He describes things from the era in which Lou Gehrig lived and gives her personal information about the legendary man of which he nor any small child his age has access. Needing to know if her son is correct, she begins the search into baseball's early history. What she discovers is phenomenal.

The Boy Who Knew Too Much (An Astounding True Story of A Young Boy's Past-life Memories) by Cathy Byrd is an extraordinary memoir about a mother's journey into her young son's past-life memories and the amazing discoveries that she makes along the way. Despite the implications and far-fetched nature of her toddler's claims and the fact they were outside of her religious belief system, she was willing to go beyond the accepted standard to get answers. Her dogged determination in seeking and sometimes ferreting out the information needed to validate her son's claim to his former identity is admirable. Her loving concern enabled him to accept who he is and helped him ease into this lifetime. This is an amazing story of how far a mother will go to protect and support her child's mental and spiritual well-being. This is a fabulous memoir, and I highly recommend it to those who have had similar experiences, and most especially to those who love incidents that are not conventional, but of a reality beyond our perceived rationality. This book is a winner!

Reviewed by Carla Trueheart for Readers' Favorite

I could tell right away that The Word Search Oracle: Yoga for the Brain was going to be a fun and unique book. Never before have I seen such a book, with word search puzzles, secret messages, and even more for the reader to enjoy! This fun and inspirational book begins with an introduction about the authors and the book, then discusses some of the aspects, including oracles -- what is an oracle? -- and how to use the book. The word search puzzles are set up in a pleasing way, and these puzzles gradually get harder as the reader progresses. Basically, you are not only doing a regular word search puzzle, but are looking for a secret message that goes along with a theme. Some of the many themes included are ambition, courage, imagination, trust, faith, and happiness. There are so many! Authors Cristina Smith, Rick Smith, and Darity Wesley did a superb job with layout and the overall positive vibe of the book.

What I enjoyed most was that The Word Search Oracle: Yoga for the Brain was not just a word search puzzle book, but also packed with facts and information. There were write-ups about the human brain, fearlessness, trusting intuition, and much more. Sitting down with the book is a great way to relax and stretch those brain muscles. I can see why the puzzles are considered “yoga for the brain!” The themes held my attention. I was pleased that there was an answer key at the back of the book, and I enjoyed my time highlighting the words throughout. This book is highly recommended for those looking for puzzles, relaxation, inspiration, and enjoyment!

Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite

Wow! Where do I begin? First let me say that this is a good book. It is a snapshot of a time and a place and a life. To me it is fascinating. The Man Called Red by N.B. "Red" Sorensen takes place in another country (Canada). It is a different era than the one I grew up in. The environment, the weather, the climate, everything is different when compared to Alabama…and yet this life feels familiar. The people in it feel familiar and this style of jumping into life head on seems very much like something I would do. Red Sorensen is a unique individual and he writes about his life in a style that is fresh, interesting, and very easy and pleasant to read about. This is not the autobiography of someone at the center of world shattering events, but it is a very moving story about an interesting man.

From the incident where a runaway milk wagon causes the porch roof to come down on his baby carriage, to the terrible time of his wife’s illness, Red Sorensen tells the story of his life in a warm and very approachable manner. In this day and age, we are fond of saying that everyone is beautiful and that all lives are interesting. It seems to me that this devalues the life of someone like Red who has taken the road less traveled for most of his life. I highly recommend this autobiography. You don’t have to be famous to have had a powerful and meaningful life. Great writing and a great story.