Memoir Book Reviews

Review: L.A.’s Lost Soul by Dominic Ryan

Review: L.A.'s Lost Soul by Dominic Ryan

L.A.’s Lost Soul is the engaging and spirited story about Dominic Ryan’s stay in Los Angeles from the U.K., while he spends seven months learning the ropes at an acting school. It’s an entertaining fish-out-of-water story exploring what it’s like to land in Hollywood with relatively little money, no contacts, and without even a place to live. It’s a pretty harrowing prospect, but Ryan faces it all with cheerfulness and optimism.

First, the title is a bit of a misnomer. “Lost Soul” suggests someone forsaken and unhappy, but that’s absolutely not the case for Ryan. He had his share of […]

2019-02-11T09:54:59+02:00October 5th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: Living Fulfilled by Lisa Thomas-McMillan ★★★★★

Living Fulfilled by Lisa Thomas-McMillanLiving Fulfilled: The Infectious Joy of Serving Others is Lisa Thomas-McMillan’s inspirational memoir about helping the plight of America’s hungry that is equal parts harrowing and uplifting. With a decidedly spiritual message, she tells of her life growing up impoverished in Alabama, settling down in Los Angeles, then traveling back to her hometown to help the plight of the poor. She is also a fierce advocate against the death penalty.

What makes Lisa Thomas-McMillan such an effective narrator is that she literally walks the walk. The book is punctuated by two long walks – one in Alabama, and a 900-miled […]

2019-01-22T15:43:56+02:00September 4th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: With New Eyes by Heidi Siefkas ★★★★

With New Eyes by Heidi SiefkasWith New Eyes is the moving sequel to Heidi Siefkas’s memoir When All Balls Drop, about Siefkas’s accident: taking out the trash one day in upstate New York, a thousand-pound tree branch fell on her from out of nowhere, breaking her neck. That wasn’t the only thing that broke: her marriage (already difficult) dissolved, and she lost her high-powered job in the travel industry. With New Eyes picks up where the first book left off: Siefkas is healed up, for the most part, but now has eyes on putting her life back together.

In clear and eloquent prose, Siefkas […]

2015-12-04T09:42:15+02:00August 20th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: She’s All Caught Up by Jamila T. Davis ★★★★★

JamilaThis memoir of a childhood and young-adult life spent advancing inexorably toward disaster was written from federal prison. Jamila Davis is currently serving a 151-month sentence for bank fraud. This memoir serves as both cautionary tale (for young people as well as their parents) and sociological profile. The cautionary tale is powerful, the sociological profile perplexing.

After an exciting opening that shows what is to come, the book is an extended flashback of Davis’s childhood, even giving some background on her parents’ origins. The book is well-written and engaging. Davis is a spunky and charming child, and her family is […]

2019-01-22T18:25:10+02:00July 30th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Beyond the Horizon: A Memoir by Marvin Wilmes ★★★★

Beyond the Horizon: A Memoir by Marvin WilmesBeyond the Horizon is Marvin Wilmes’ moving memoir about growing up in the turbulent sixties and trying to maintain his Catholic face amid family tragedy. It can be said that every life is worthy of a memoir. Every life is dramatic – every family likely faces illness and certainly faces deaths of loved ones. Wilmes certainly had a storied life and he has crafted an uplifting tome that should help readers navigate through their own troubled times.

Overall, Wilmes’ memoir is a pleasant and comforting read. What’s relaxing about the book, and should help bring readers solace, is that it’s […]

2017-03-24T10:42:40+02:00May 8th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: The Power of Courage by Charol Messenger

★★★★½ The Power of Courage by Charol Messenger

In The Power of Courage: An Uplifting Saga of Moving Beyond  Abuse by Charol Messenger, a memoir of an abusive relationship, Messenger takes us day by day through the twists and turns of an affair that turns very bad very quickly, becoming emotionally, psychologically, and physically dangerous. In fact, and this is one of the strangest things about this story, it doesn’t really turn bad. It starts out that way.

I have been told that during performances of Shakespeare’s Othello, audiences often shout and leap from their seats in an attempt to stop Othello from killing Desdemona. I […]

2016-03-04T04:34:18+02:00May 8th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: An Animal Life: A Chance to Cut by Howard Krum ★★★★

An Animal Life: A Chance to Cut by Howard KrumAn Animal Life: A Chance to Cut is the second book in Howard Krum’s award-winning series about life as a vet. Part 2 follows a group of veterinary students in their second semester, focusing on Mike London, a cocky vet school senior who nearly ends a dog’s life and tries to rebuild his life. The phrase “A chance to cut” is a surgeon’s motto: “A chance to cut is a chance to heal,” so London tries to mend his life through medicine, humor and romance.

This is a book for vets, aspiring vets, and pet owners alike. I only count […]

2019-01-22T15:48:05+02:00May 1st, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , , |

Review: Icarus Falling by Christopher Paul Meyer ★★★★

Icarus FallingIcarus Falling: The True Story of a Nightclub Bouncer Who Wanted to Be a F*cking Movie Star But Settled for Being a F*cking Man is the raucous, often hilarious, memoir of Christopher Paul Meyer’s time working as a bouncer in what was then the “most popular nightclub in Los Angeles.” Given the number of bars in L.A. that’s really saying something, so Meyer comes toe to toe, and fist to fist, with an entertaining assortment of drunks, celebrities, homeless people and everything else L.A. has to offer.

There’s an addictive quality to Meyer’s writing. He really knows how to turn […]

2017-03-24T11:06:03+02:00March 18th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |
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