SPR | Self-Publishing Review

Becoming a Whisper by Joe Odey

Becoming a Whisper by Joe Odey Nigeria-based poet Joe Odey presents 100 poems touching on human hopes, connections and failings in Becoming a Whisper.

These short works occupy one page each, most examining what Odey calls “flawed human experience.” The five-part “Letters to Ada” laments that after a beginning in which “the whole world felt like a fairytale,” it becomes clear that “Fate had dealt us the worst of the deck.” “Our Guardian Angel” poignantly recalls an infant brother’s passing. In “That We May Live Again” a woman scorned turns to “a bottle in hand and a strange man for company.”

Odey uses language deftly […]

SPR2019-01-28T13:07:35+02:00January 25th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Poetry Book Reviews|

Accepting Life on Life’s Terms: Taoist Psychology for Uncertain Times by Chris L. McClish

Accepting Life on Life’s Terms: Taoist Psychology for Uncertain Times by Chris L. McClish Basing his advice on the Eastern philosophy of the Tao Te Ching, counselor Chris L. McClish presents an appealing guide to self-help psychology in Accepting Life on Life’s Terms: Taoist Psychology for Uncertain Times.

An explanation of Taoism winds through the narrative, with an emphasis on accepting what is and what isn’t doing harm. McClish declares that it may be relatively easy to accept that we can’t control circumstances, but it is harder to control ourselves. Always exploring the roads less traveled, McClish has established a list of self-limiting factors he calls ACE: Avoiding, Controlling, and Escaping. He counters […]

SPR2019-01-23T12:06:30+02:00January 22nd, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Psychology Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews, Spirituality Book Reviews|

Review: Love, Time is Gone by Joseph Bartley Haltom III

Love, Time is Gone by Joseph Barley Haltom III

In Love, Time is Gone, a new collection of poetry by Joseph Bartley Haltom III, loneliness and heartbreak are encapsulated in raw and powerful verse. Written for a long-lost love, April, a woman whom he has not encountered for many years, this book is weighted down by pain and regret, yet there are also some moments of hope that sporadically push through.

Saudade is a Portuguese word, commonly used in Brazil, that represents the feeling of nostalgia, longing, or desire for something that has been lost. There is no direct translation of this word in English, nor does it appear […]

SPR2019-03-11T12:28:13+02:00January 15th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Poetry Book Reviews|

Review: Creating Christianity: A Weapon of Ancient Rome by Henry Davis

Creating Christianity: A Weapon of Ancient Rome by Henry Davis

Since there is very little historical evidence of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, many researchers, including author Henry Davis, assert that not only his person, but also the religion founded around him, were invented after his passing. Such is the case the Creating Christianity: A Weapon of Ancient Rome, a fascinating and thoroughly researched examination of this contentious topic.

Davis’s main thesis is that the gospels and other New Testament books were written not by Jewish/Christian scholars such as Matthew, Luke or Paul, but were fabricated by an aristocratic Roman family with the name Piso, notably Arrius Flavius […]

SPR2019-02-25T13:17:13+02:00January 10th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religious Book Reviews|

Review: Unlocking the Natural-Born Leader’s Abilities by Salar A. Khan, MD, MBA

Unlocking the Natural-Born Leader’s Abilities by Salar A. Khan, MD, MBA

A successful example of what he wishes to convey, award-winning author Salar Khan uses his own life as an illustration of what constitutes leadership in Unlocking the Natural-Born Leader’s Abilities: An Autobiographical Exposé. Carefully presenting an objective picture, Khan shares his own memories to demonstrate the sorts of qualities a natural-born leader (NBL) would have, both innately and from training and experience.

Khan’s early life was rigorous: His parents were forced to migrate from India to Pakistan a few years before he was born, and six of his eleven siblings died by the age of four. When he was […]

SPR2019-01-22T10:28:25+02:00January 8th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Business Book Reviews, Leadership Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

An Interview with Salar A. Khan, MD, MBA: Author of Unlocking the Natural-Born Leader’s Abilities

Salar A. Khan Salar Ahmed Khan, MD, MBA, FACA, FCCP, DTCD, MCPS, worked as an internist and pulmonologist at Karachi, Pakistan, from 1985 to 1987; as the chief of medicine, the acting director of medical services, and acting hospital director at Al-Midhnab General Hospital under the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia from 1988 to 1993; as an associate professor of medicine at Baqai Medical College and Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, from 1993 to 1994; as a surgical assistant, material management, and acting central processing supervisor at Edgewater Medical Center in Chicago from 1996 to 2000.

From 2000 to 2009, he was research […]

SPR2019-01-14T11:08:32+02:00January 4th, 2019|Categories: Interviews|

An Interview with Dele Babalola: Author of The Bible in a Nutshell

Dele Babalola Born in 1961, in northern Nigeria, of parents from south-western Nigeria, I spent my primary school years in Ibadan and secondary school was completed in the famous Dr. Tai Solarin’s Mayflower School, Ikenne. Both towns/cities are located in western Nigeria.

I discovered reading very early and was artistically inclined as well. I loved to draw and paint before I was attracted to writing. I started to write seriously from my late secondary school years. My passion is very strong for writing. I know a lot of my patients and friends will disagree because they think I have a natural love […]

SPR2018-12-21T09:56:35+02:00December 21st, 2018|Categories: Interviews|

Review: Practicing Mindful Living by Dr. Debra Webb

Practicing Mindful Living by Dr. Debra Webb

In Practicing Mindful Living: A 365-Day Workbook for Mindfulness Practitioners, Dr. Debra Webb offers poetry, meditations and consultation to foster awareness each day of the calendar year.

A blend of self study and sage advice, Webb’s book presents a special, intentional guide to activities and concepts that can aid the thoughtful reader determining the overall tenor of his or her day. The entries begin with a short, directed poem. Here is an example, the entry for February 19th: