Memoir Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness by Keri Mangis

Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness by Keri Mangis

Author Keri Mangis has created an intriguing memoir interweaving the facts of her earthly life with visits to various spiritual realms with beings that offer not only guidance, but preparation and prediction in Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness: A Memoir of New Beginnings.

Mangis first describes the events of her current incarnation. She was born into a generally normal family, her parents loving but distant. In school she learned to deal with fears and insecurities while showing a great love of books and proving herself to be a prize-winning competitive runner.

With vague plans for college near home, […]

Review: In Spite of Us by Deb & Sandy Palmer

In Spite of Us by Deb & Sandy Palmer

In Spite of Us by Deb and Sandy Palmer truly exemplifies its subtitle, “A Love Story about Second Chances,” offering a moving story of love, faith, and renewal in the face of addiction.

Deb is a divorced mother of two and part-time student who shares custody of her kids with her ex-husband. When not in mother-mode preparing lunches for her kids, she’s recovering from her last bender. An affair with her boss only fills a void but when she’s in a room lit with vodka and delusion, Deb believes theirs to be a grand love affair.

Coming from a Scotch-Irish […]

Marta Cheng2020-01-03T07:58:56+02:00November 6th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Addiction Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews, Religious Book Reviews|

Review: Corporate Undertaker by Domenic Aversa

Corporate Undertaker by Domenic Aversa

For those readers seeking an inside look at the downfall of business giants, as well as the slow fizzle of smaller companies, Corporate Undertaker: Business Lessons from the Dead and Dying by author and crisis manager Domenic Aversa offers a savage peek behind the corporate curtain.

With big business taking such center stage in the power dynamics of politics and the daily news, it is easy to forget that the majority of businesses still fail, a point that the author makes early on in the book. More than 50% of businesses fail in the first five years, while 70% are […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-03-06T09:56:54+02:00November 3rd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Business Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: My Ugandan Hill by C.H. Colman

My Ugandan Hill by C.H. Colman

C.H. Colman has written a heartwarming memoir in My Ugandan Hill, providing middle-grade readers with a glimpse into the author’s unique early childhood growing up in Uganda.

Colman left Britain with his parents at the age of two, spending his early to middle years in the British Protectorate of Uganda during the twilight of British Imperial rule. His father, a former air force pilot, was a teacher who got a job at the British college in Uganda. His mother, also a teacher, opted to stay at home and devote her time to raising the author with the help of […]

Marta Cheng2019-10-23T14:00:20+02:00September 25th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Africa Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: We Fly Away by J.V. Whittenburg

We Fly Away by J.V. Whittenburg

In We Fly Away, the striking new memoir by J.V. Whittenburg, the author recounts his own incredible story and family history with savagely honest clarity. The third son to a mother of nine, a woman whose sweat and blood and love for her children sits upon every page, the book is told from the unique perspective of a child raised among sharecroppers, a child who was forced to grow up too fast.

Whittenburg writes in the first person, detailing a streaming narrative of his life captured in stunning detail. From his youngest years, dealing with the terror of nearly […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-10-01T10:12:15+02:00September 4th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

This Ain’t My Life by Bilal Alaji

This Ain't My Life by Bilal Alaji

The American immigrant experience, particularly for those of Muslim descent, has become a front-page topic in recent years, giving This Ain’t My Life by author Bilal Alaji a true sense of import, for a timely and poignant read.

Recounting his life from childhood to the present, this is a brutally honest and precisely recorded story, one that feels very naturally told, but also framed within larger social issues and beliefs the author wants to highlight. The author’s youthful success and whimsy were dampened by brutal familial expectations, run-ins with the law, and self-professed mistakes in judgment. Despite repeated stumbles and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-08-20T14:27:36+02:00August 20th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Chasing a Flawed Sun by Daniel McGhee

Chasing a Flawed Sun by Daniel McGhee

In Chasing a Flawed Sun, author Daniel McGhee courageously exposes his experiences with addiction from his younger years in raw detail. Anyone who has ever felt addiction touch their lives, either directly or indirectly, will find comfort and understanding in this addiction memoir, which is in turns beautiful and brutal.

Daniel McGhee was what most would consider an average kid, from a suburban background on the East Coast, where most of his immediate needs were taken care of, at least those that are most easily measurable. However, as his story unfolds, and he begins to lose his footing on […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-07-11T05:58:43+02:00July 11th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Addiction Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Silent Spring: Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War by Patrick Hogan

Silent Spring: Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War by Patrick Hogan

There are those non-fiction books and memoirs that transport readers back in time, and then there are books like Silent Spring Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War, which change one’s view of both the past and present in one fell swoop. Detailing the personal experience of the author, Patrick Hogan, a Staff Sergeant who served in Vietnam for three years, and the decades of his life that followed, this book is a shocking and eye-opening account of American military tactics and blatant disregard for human rights.

Most readers may already be aware of the stories of napalm and Agent […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-21T06:17:33+02:00June 19th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: History Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews, Military Book Reviews|