Laugh Cry Reflect 2 from Amy Laundrie

 

Laugh, Cry, Reflect, Book 2
Amy Laundrie
Henschel Haus publisher, 200 pp
April 19, 2023

Print $16.95
Ebook $8.99
 
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About the Book: 

This compilation of heartfelt vignettes, capturing the joys and sorrows of life, invites readers to share the author's experiences. Each has an underlying message, providing a chance for reflection.

My Review

Laundrie’s second collection of favorite newspaper columns continue to shine a positive and wholesome light on community and family. The stories about animals in her life, siblings, health, and faith are often thought-provoking, highly entertaining, and guaranteed to provide a chuckle or a challenge to readers of any age.

Divided into distinctive sections, Feathered and Furry Friends, Home Fires, Memories, Wanderlust, Nature, Wanderlust, and Grab Bag, Laundrie’s unmistakably enthusiastic style shines through. Tales of Gertie the duck are some of my favorites, invoking memories of childhood pets. I think of Cousin Vic often when I visit cemeteries, and relive the awe of splendor of natural sites such as Mammoth Cave with Laundrie. Walking with her through a health crisis is an educational experience.

Laugh, Cry, Reflect 2 is more than a collection of stories. Introducing the set is a list and a reason of some of her favorite influential books. Rounding out the collection is advice for a long, happy life. Have a purpose and forgive yourself are expanded upon with lovingkindness.

Enjoyable, delightful. Highly recommended little bites of adventures from a gifted storyteller.

 About the Author:

A retired fourth-grade teacher, Amy Laundrie began writing personal essays because of a desire to share some of her favorite stories and connect with others. Readers have called her stories poignant, humorous, and heartfelt testimonials to a woman’s life. They have universal truths and emotions that speak to a wide reading audience.

She enjoys playing tennis, pickleball, and having adventures with family, friends, and her dog Josie.

Amy also loves conducting workshops, presenting, and hearing from her readers. Contact her at laundrie@live.com or visit her online at www.Laundrie.com.

The Hope Raisers by Nihar Suthar

 

The Hope Raisers: How a Group of Young Kenyans Fought to Transform Their Slum and Inspire a Community

Nihar Suthar 

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, November 15, 2022

Nonfiction, Cultural and Heritage Biographies, 174 pp.

Ebook $26.50, hardcover $28

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About the Book

The poignant and inspiring true story of three young Kenyans who fought to transform their slum and improve the lives of those around them.

Korogocho is one of Kenya’s darkest slums, plagued by gang violence, food and water shortages, and rampant pollution. Most children have no future except for scavenging through trash piles or resorting to lives of crime. One day, a boy named Daniel Onyango decided to do more, creating a band called the Hope Raisers to inspire the kids of Korogocho. His friend, Mutura Kuria, quickly joined in.

In The Hope Raisers: How a Group of Young Kenyans Fought to Transform Their Slum and Inspire a Community, Nihar Suthar tells the amazing story of how Daniel and Mutura turned the band into a platform for change. They started teaching children on the streets how to express themselves through art and established a skating team after finding a pair of rollerblades in the dump. Suthar closely follows the story of one rebellious girl, Lucy Achieng, who refused to get married off at a young age and instead used competitive rollerblading to reach for her dreams. Lucy continues to inspire girls to stand up for themselves and challenge the longstanding practices in Korogocho of early marriage and prostitution.

The Hope Raisers is an eye-opening look into a world of poverty and violence where children receive only a basic education and are left with little to no means to get out. Yet it also reveals the remarkable impact that a few determined individuals can have on their community, even in the most challenging of conditions.

Part of the proceeds from all book sales will be donated to the Hope Raisers and toward improving the slum of Korogocho.

My Review

Fourteen short chapters and an Epilogue are barely enough to contain the story of a little community that could. The book rose from an intriguing article about a group of skaters in Kenya, and proceeds will help support Hope Raisers initiatives.

It’s always a challenge to read about other cultures from our American standpoint, but at least we have a chance to learn. Too many other people around the world do not.

The author describes life in an African neighborhood slum where gang wars over garbage dumping rights at a place that also provides means for the lucky who find food and things to sell. It is a life of so little that treating others viciously is their main method of coping. Depravity is the law of the land, and I cannot help but wonder how that could possibly change in a culture so dry of dignity and respect across gender and class.

Readers follow Mama Bonie and her family as she makes the best of life and raises her children in a faith-based community for the first few chapters. At church, son Mutura meets a friend, Daniel, who makes music and learns about world government. They form a group, Hope Raisers, with a goal to encourage awareness of the poverty and violence and find help to renovate the area and maybe even build a school. They learn of opportunities to get involved in movements that could offer a chance to rise from abject lack. Their music video raises attention to their plight and gets them funding, but unfortunately gang and tribal violence in 2008 set back their efforts. Beset with a lack of understanding and connectivity between greater government and their Slum Upgrading Programme, efforts to improve life for those in the slums moved forward and back in herky-jerky pace.

When Daniel and Mutura learned about roller-blading, they brought the sport back to their neighborhood, and along with their friend Lucy, a star soccer player, form competitive skating leagues. Who would have thought that team skating provides a great change than a pile of money to fund ineffective programs?

Using dialog in this work of creative nonfiction, Suthar shares this unique story of raising hopes for children of the slums. Included is a discussion guide and extensive bibliography. Recommended for readers who want to learn of other cultures and are looking for involvement opportunities.

About the Author

Nihar Suthar is an award-winning writer living in Tampa, Florida, covering inspirational stories around the world. Learn more about him, his work, and his mission at www.niharsuthar.com.

 

New encouragement for writers

 

Writers on Writing: Interviews with writers of faith
Kymberley Payne, editor
 
Non-fiction
Writing encouragement
c. August, 2021
 
134 pp.
Buy on Amazon or BN
Ebook $5.99, or print: $9.99
 
About the Book:
Writers on Writing is a compilation of 35 interviews from writers of faith exploring where they get their ideas, what they like best about writing, and what inspires them. The writers offer insight into who influenced them to write and how their faith is reflected in their writing. They give a little snapshot into their personal lives and share writing advice. Writers on Writing is a must-read for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to be a writer who is Christian and how we may write differently but come together for the glory of God.
 
Whatever your background, you will be inspired by these incredible interviews that contain a unique look into the world of a faith writer.
 
My Review:
Writers on Writing is a nifty, sweet little book. For those writers who need a bit of a pick-me-up, a word of encouragement or even challenge, these interviews might just be a big help.
 
Compiler of this book, Kymberley Payne, interviewed several authors of inspirational fiction. Each gave a brief biography and responded to a series of ten questions. These authors approach and respond to the work and ministry of writing in unique ways. They come from diverse backgrounds and write mostly articles and stories and publish on a platform called Medium.com. They are pastors, teachers, journalists, veterans, tech experts, nurses and much more, from all over the world.
 
Some of the questions include where their ideas come from, influencers, writing goals, how their faith influences the work, and things they’ve learned. One of my favorites is about balancing professional and personal time for these authors. Regarding balancing time, some mentioned “negotiating” with partners or family for time; others set word count or number of hours for a weekly goal. All good advice. Their story ideas come from the news, people-watching, history, and Scripture.
 
Everyone has a different method, reason, and hope for their work. These stories in Writers on Writing: Interviews with writers of faith will offer writers at any stage solid guidance to meet their needs.
 
About Kymberley Payne:
Kimberley Payne is an award-winning author and writer on spiritual and physical health topics. Her devotional writings relate raising a family, pursuing a healthy lifestyle, and everyday experiences to building a relationship with God. Through her work, Kimberley hopes to inspire people to live healthier lives that glorify God. She combines her teaching experience and love of writing to create educational materials for children about family, fitness, science, and faith. You can visit her website at www.kimberleypayne.com
 

Write Now Lit tour with James Ruvalcaba and remarkable love

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-month book tour and $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway for 

The Light Through the Pouring Rain by James Ruvalcaba 

The book tour will run August 2- Sept 30, 2021.  

 Genre: Nonfiction 

 ISBN-13: 979-8575160397 

Before he started writing romance stories, James worked with the special need’s population for 10 Years. He devoted his life giving back to the population. From school's to agencies and everything in between James has worked almost every job within the community. After that, during the pandemic James decided to start writing to pass the time, but to come through on his promise he made years earlier. He devoted his life to giving back, now he devotes his life to telling his stories.  

      

A remarkable love story that pulls on your heartstrings and leaves you inspired. A page turner that gives a first-hand look into the lives of a young couple madly in love and eager to start their lives together, only to have it all halted by a cancer diagnosis. With no clear road map on how to navigate their new normal, James and Anabel proceed into uncharted territory, hand-in-hand, with the love of their families and their faith in God to guide them.  

 

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1. Why do you write the kind of books you do? 

I write romance, love & loss, and inspirational books.

2. Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life? 

My happiest day was the day my book got published because it meant I came through on the promise I made to my Fiancé.

3. How has being published changed your life? 

It gave me the confidence to know that I was meant to write.

 
4. What are you reading right now? 

I am currently reading Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

 
5. What is your current work in progress? 

I am writing my next installment in my book series.
 
6. What would be your dream vacation? 

I don’t have a particular area, but somewhere by the water so I can hear the waves at night and enjoy the over atmosphere of peace being around. 
 
7. How do you choose your settings for each book? 

I only write non-fiction books, so I pick locations within the stories, but as far as the timelines go , I think of the moments that should be relieved.

8. If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why? 

I’d say Tyler Perry. I’d love to pick his brain about why he continued to push forward to overcome the obstacles that were placed in his life. 

 

9. What three things about you would surprise readers?

I'm not very much into materialistic items

I have a phobia of holes

I enjoy listening to all types of music.. For example, I listened to Katy Perry's “ Teenage Dream” for most of my high school tenure. 
 
10. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading? 

I enjoy going to the Gym before and after writing and I enjoy being by the beach. 
 

 

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Tour organized by Write Now Literary Book Tours 

 

The 10 Win Commandments by Derrick Gray

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-month book tour and “free e-book giveaway” for The 10 Win Commandments with by Derrick Gray. The book tour will run July 1-August 31, 2021. 

Genre: Christian Nonfiction 

ISBN-10: 1737398907 

ISBN-13: 978-1737398905

    

Derrick Gray is a Christian Minister, business owner, filmmaker and author of The 10 Win Commandments. A Long Island native and purveyor of all things hip-hop, he knows God’s not through with him yet. Derrick lives in York, Pa with his wife and family.

 

    

Author Derrick Gray has written this debut masterwork that touches the soul with reliable guidance and masterful prose. The author guides us through worldly experiences as a quintessential mentor if life. Students, administrators, CEO's and ministry leaders will find his advice nothing less than masterful. This book profoundly dives into guidance that enables you to go through life at the level in which God intended. The execution of these words of wisdom lays out how victory is achievable for anyone. It's all about self-appraisal, self-reflection, God's direction and personal growth. Everyone has a designed path and achievement is within anyone's grasp. All it takes is the correct compass, and no book maps it out better than Derrick Gray's 10 Win Commandments. 

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Tour hosted by WNL Book Tours

Shut em Down: Black Women, Racism and Corp America

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour for Shut’em Down: Black Women, Racism & Corporate America by Co-author Dr. Tara Hines-McCoy. The book tour will run February 22- March 5,  2021.
            
Genre: Nonfiction/Anthology
ISBN-13: 978-0985031640

 

Dr. Tara Hines-McCoy, a native of Little Rock, AR is a compelling communicator who uses her gifts, her experiences and her faith to inspire women to take control and move forward in life. Dr. Tara has been a rising thought leader in corporate America for over 15 years specializing in Human Resources. She has worked for Fortune 500 and multinational companies with multi-state and regional leadership roles. Her professional approach equips leaders with the tools needed to improve business performance and increase employee engagement. 

As a divorced mother of one daughter she has a vibrant personality that aids in her ability to connect with people on all levels. Dr. Tara has overcome life changing experiences throughout her personal and professional career. She has found a way to connect with women by encouraging them to move past their failures, by defining their own character in order to turn uncertainty to passion. An avid walker, lover of all thing’s basketball, football, and tennis. She is a self-proclaimed popcorn connoisseur. Of her many accomplishments, Dr. Tara is most proud to be a mother. 

 

 Shut’em Down is the battle cry of Black women who have suffered abuse and trauma at the hands of corporate America. Composed of the stories of 20 Black women who have been impacted by racism in the workplace, this anthology not only offers us conversation starters on how to combat racism on the job, but also transformative ideas to create safer work spaces for Black professionals.

 

Chapter Title: Black Roadblocks

Racism is an interesting creature as it can be presented in such an unobscured manner that it slides right over your head. As you trek along in life, the smallest or biggest milestones and accomplishments will somehow take you back to that day and time you were faced with roadblocks. That is when you know for sure that you, too, have come face to face with some form of unacceptance, micro-aggression, racial hostility, double consciousness or colorism. If you are like me, you have told yourself that you are not bothered by these biases.  However, together over time, they can create doubt, lack of confidence, and uneasiness for no logical reason besides the fact that, deep down, you are always trying to ensure you are as good or better than the white athlete, student, or colleague. 

 

 

 

                                        TWITTER                         FACEBOOK

 

 

 

                                AMAZON             AUTHOR WEBSITE
 

 

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Jody Robinson and Money Messages

Money Messages: Get Out of the Red and into the Green, Emotional and Financial Freedom to Transform Your Life

Jody Robinson

non-fiction, self help, adult and continuing education

Robinson Publications, January 13, 2020

212 pp

$14.99 Print

$5.99 Ebook

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About the Book

This isn’t just a book about money, it’s a book about the emotional side of how we choose to live in relationship with our past stories and money messages we’ve internalized.

With Karen Putz (best selling author of Unwrapping Your Passion), Jody Robinson weaves stories, interviews, and practical exercises to reflect deep to understand your relationship with money and how it is present in your life today.

Stop listening to that voice in your head that says you’ll never make it. It’s time to transform your Money Messages to live your financial dreams.

Filled with Jody’s personal stories, her interviews with everyday people like you who have found financial freedom and happiness, and practical exercises to help you reflect on your finances and set financial goals, Money Messages is the book you should have been given in school. Once you open it, you will be standing on the brink of your new financial future. Get ready to dive in!

My Review

“Money is a sensitive topic,” Jody Robinson says. A self-described humanitarian and financial counselor, Robinson is a fiduciary, certified Accredited Wealth Management Advisor, former public school educator and librarian. Experience matters. Robinson shares from her heart and her past situations in a well-laid out interactive workbook to encourage her readers “to move to a better lifestyle and mindset with money.”

I found myself copying quotes every few pages. Robinson talks the reader through a series of lessons geared to encourage a positive and healthy, happy outlook on personal finance. Each chapter includes a section called Reflection and Soul search with a place to jot answers. Money Messages has three sections: Understanding Your Money Messages, Rewriting Your Money Messages, and Investing in You. The introduction defines money message as the perceptions about money that we’ve absorbed and developed throughout our lives. The reader is encouraged to not only ponder but write down how we view fulfillment, success, using money, and mistakes in money management. The goal is to think of our lives, our money, and our time “in terms of purpose.” While pegged as a financial management book, Robinson shows the reader how to understand our motives and take control of our actions.

Making use of lessons she has learned from other professionals both money managers, life coaches, clients, and even TV reality stars, Robinson says her happiest clients are those who can save and spend as they wish, are not jealous or lustful of others’ possessions or lifestyle, and are not in deep credit card debt. Little quotes pegged on the pages create pleasant visual callouts. A bonus section at the end includes advice when seeking a financial advisor, and includes other practical tips for making the most of what we buy.

Robinson’s friendly, folksy voice makes me trust her. From the first inkling of money awareness to planning our last days, she shares her own ups and downs, down-to-earth interviews, and client stories to get her message across. About debt, Robinson says “pay it off.” A simple set of charts help the reader visualize income and spending. If our expenses exceed our income…the message is clear but too often ignored: Find a way to make more money, or spend less. A few examples and exercises help the reader sort needs and wants.

Personally, I learned that I didn’t feel deserving of professional fees, even though I am proud of my work and do a good job. My clients are generally happy, but I will obsess over the one person who looks for a problem, or the one who doesn’t come back. I need to work on challenging my message of worth, and allowing myself to shift my happiness quotient. I feel confirmed in an earlier decision to begin scaling back and move on. Plus, plus, plus!

Money Messages is a great, readable book on developing positive life habits which encompass our financial habits. Highly recommended for everyone, high school and up, although parents who mind should be aware there is minor cussing and some sections more suitable to adults with established careers.

About the Author

An English teacher by training, Jody Robinson bumped around after quitting teaching, including janitorial work. She snagged a job at a top financial software company in the Silicon Valley during the tech bubble and bust. After moving to Chicago, the twists and turns in life led her to over a decade of financial advising in her own practice.  As a fiduciary, Jody addresses Money Messages (perceptions of money) so people can live their best lives.

Jody enjoys cooking, gardening, swimming, and enjoying audiobooks. You can also find her out walking her dog or singing like a crazy woman while driving.

Great gift book for your nature nut

Walking Home Ground book review

By Robert Root

Hardcover: $22.95

Paperback: $22.95

224 pages

ISBN: 978-0-87020-786-0

E-book: $9.99

Buy on WisconsinHistory

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About the book

A lyrical mix of memoir, travel writing, and environmental history When longtime author Robert Root moves to a small town in southeast Wisconsin, he gets to know his new home by walking the same terrain traveled by three Wisconsin luminaries who were deeply rooted in place—John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and August Derleth. Root walks with Muir at John Muir State Natural Area, with Leopold at the Shack, and with Derleth in Sac Prairie; closer to home, he traverses the Ice Age Trail, often guided by such figures as pioneering scientist Increase Lapham. Along the way, Root investigates the changes to the natural landscape over nearly two centuries, and he chronicles his own transition from someone on unfamiliar terrain to someone secure on his home ground.

In prose that is at turns introspective and haunting, Walking Home Ground inspires us to see history’s echo all around us: the parking lot that once was forest; the city that once was glacier.” Perhaps this book is an invitation to walk home ground,” Root tells us. “Perhaps, too, it’s a time capsule, a message in a bottle from someone given to looking over his shoulder even as he tries to examine the ground beneath his feet.”

My review

Root begins his story by admitting he’s a non-native Wisconsinite, though claims home territory along the Great Lakes. A naturalist, an observer, teacher, and one endowed with curiosity, Root endeavored to discover and begin to learn all he could about his final home in a way few even bother to consider. Having just relocated from one side of the state to another to settle on a farm we’ve owned for over twenty years, I was enamored by Root’s introspection and tenacity to uncover secrets of the land, and perhaps, portend the future. He kept a detailed journal of his hikes, research, and thoughts for several years.

As mentioned in the blurb, Root follows three of our more known historical naturalist homeboys on his tour after becoming familiar with his immediate new neighborhood west of Milwaukee. He visits John Muir’s boyhood territory in Marquette County, as well as August Derleth’s Prairie du Sac/Wisconsin River, and Aldo Leopold’s sand country. These three lived and wrote about south central Wisconsin. Root spent hours with maps and literature from Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources and the Ice Age Trail Alliance, as well as dozens of resources about the authors, nature, topography, geography, history, and so forth about the area. The book is filled with generous details of the types of land, the differences between fen, bog, and marsh, the type of flora during the different seasons, underground, soil, native and invasive species. His knowledge of bird and animal life leaves me envious.

A somewhat saddened note sounds toward the end of the book in the section “The Land Itself.” “Settlement eliminated a great deal of Wisconsin life,” Root writes. Early pioneers describe a wondrous mix of topography and its supporting flora and fauna. “The last bison was killed in 1832,” he says, with a litany of now missing creatures. In his epilogue, Root invites us to “see the land as a community to which” we belong, and urges us to consider our lifestyle’s impact on the environment. He’s encouraged me to get to know my little piece of Wisconsin better.

Detailed and thought-provoking, Walking Home Ground is for those who love Wisconsin and enjoy nature and environmental reading. It’s a subtle call to action, and a request to remember where and who we are.

Any quibbles I had are the lack of maps, though I understand the reader is encouraged to get out his own map, or better yet, go. The book is detailed as mentioned above; once or twice I almost expected a test at the end of the segment. Included is an Index and a Resource list.

About the author

Bob Root (Robert L. Root Jr.) believes he has been a writer since he was around eight years old, when he came home with a friend from a showing of Superman and the Mole Men, pried open the lock on his mother’s typewriter, and created a series of very short adventures about Tiger Boy. 

A frequent presenter on creative nonfiction and composition at national, international, and regional conferences, his scholarship and teaching led to many articles and books. 

From 2008 until 2017 Bob was a visiting faculty member in creative nonfiction in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Ashland University in Ohio. He is currently a teaching artist at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and a freelance editor of essays, memoirs, and literary nonfiction. He lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin.