Book Review: Remedies if Sorrow

 

Remedies for Sorrow

An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother's Pursuit of the Truth

by Megan Nix

Pub Date 18 Apr 2023 

 Doubleday Books,  Doubleday

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  Health, Mind & Body  |  Nonfiction (Adult)

 Doubleday Books and Netgalley have provided me with a copy of Remedies for Sorrow for review:

Despite a seemingly uneventful pregnancy, Megan Nix's second child, Anna, was born very small and profoundly deaf. During Megan's pregnancy, she unwittingly contracted cytomegalovirus from her toddler, which may cause lifelong delays for Anna, due to an infection caused by a virus she had never heard of: cytomegalovirus, or CMV.

Astonished by this knowledge, Megan was electrified. While pregnant, she had been warned of the risks associated with saunas, sushi, unpasteurized cheese, a lack of folic acid, and an excess of kitty litter. It was clear to her that there were a number of genetic syndromes she could do little to prevent. However, she was not informed that CMV is contagious in the saliva of one out of every three toddlers, and can be spread through a kiss, a shared cup, or an unfinished bite of toast. She was not informed that the stakes were high, that congenital CMV causes more birth defects and childhood disabilities than any other infectious disease, including blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism. Others may appear suddenly at age two or three and cannot be traced back to congenital CMV, while others are evident at birth.

In Remedies for Sorrow, Luke makes his living as a salmon fisherman in Sitka, Alaska. Despite the staggering cost of this silence to families and children like Anna, Megan struggles to meet Anna's needs and delves deeper into the mystery of why no one has mentioned CMV to her OBGYN or the pediatrician of her toddler. This rugged and beautiful place has given rise to a memoir about the boundless capacity of mothers, the extraordinary child that is Anna, and the lifesaving power of the truth.

I give Remedies For Sorrow five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: God's First Light

 

God's First Light

by Brian Dale Nelson

Pub Date 10 Nov 2022 

 Independently Published 

 Christian  |  Mystery & Thrillers

Netgalley and Brian Dale Nelson have provided me with a copy of God's First Light for review:

We are inextricably bound to what we believe to be true, even to our very lives. God's First Light is a faith-based thriller about a young prophet who must convince a brilliant physicist to unleash a primordial light that has not been seen since the beginning of time. There was a light that had the power to disarm a rogue dictator who had threatened the United States with a nuclear strike if sanctions were not lifted within seven days. The threat was not taken seriously by anyone, not even the president. 

In the face of ridicule and rejection, Rachel plunged into the teeth of a deadly storm in an attempt to save us from ourselves. The story is one of courage and conviction, of purpose and identity, and will inspire and uplift those who read it.

I give God's First Light five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

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Book Review: Our Georgia

 

Our Georgia

The devastating murder of my daughter by a killer who should have been stopped

by Robin Eveleigh; Lynnette Williams

Pub Date 12 Sep 2023 

 Ad Lib Publishers,  Mardle Books

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  True Crime 

Ad Lib Publishers, Mardle Books, and Netgalley provided me with a copy of Our Georgia for review:

Georgia Williams was murdered at the hands of her college friend Jamie Reynolds in a crime that shocked the nation. The murder was chillingly executed and horrific in its sexual depravity. When Georgia's mother, Lynnette, and father, Steve, questioned the events leading to her death, they discovered that it could have been prevented. In the years leading up to Georgia's disappearance, Steve was - ironically - a highly-respected murder squad detective serving with the West Mercia Police. As Steve and Lynnette discovered, Reynolds had been in the sights of the same force for several years prior to Georgia's murder, but he had escaped capture. 

Through Steve's inside knowledge of the police, the couple was able to uncover the multitude of failures that allowed Reynolds to infiltrate the life of their daughter and kill her.

I give Our Georgia five out of five stars! 

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Fields of Bounty

 

Fields of Bounty

by Lauraine Snelling

Pub Date 21 Mar 2023 

 Bethany House,  Bethany House Publishers

 Christian  |  Historical Fiction  |  Romance 

In conjunction with Bethany House and Netgalley, I have been given a copy of Fields of Bounty for review:

To realize their true destiny, they must put aside their own plans and rely on their faith.

Lilac Nielsen has finally realized her dream: handsome young Reverend Ethan Pritchard has taken notice of her. In spite of this, she must balance this new courtship with the pursuit of another dream--the publication of her artwork in a New York newspaper. Under a pen name, she has secretly submitted a series of drawings. If anyone traces these drawings back to her and discovers where Lilac and her sisters settled, the entire Nielsen family is at risk.

The expansion of their family farm and Lilac's relationship with the reverend mark a period of new beginnings. However, when a family crisis in Ohio shakes the Nielsen sisters, can they continue to build the new life they have begun in Nebraska? Is Lilac prepared for what God has in store for her in the future?  

I give Fields of Bounty five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Words We Lost

 

The Words We Lost

by Nicole Deese

Pub Date 11 Apr 2023

 Bethany House,  Bethany House Publishers

 Romance 

Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley have provided me with a copy of The Words We Lost for review:

There are three friends. There have been two broken promises. There is one manuscript that is missing. 

A senior acquisitions editor at Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many manuscripts because of a lack of defined conflict and dramatic irony--two elements she has in abundance in her current life. After the death of her childhood best friend and internationally bestselling author Cecelia Campbell, Ingrid has not only been unable to escape into fiction due to a rare trauma response, but she is also desperate to find closure through Cecelia's missing final manuscript, which she believes will bring closure to her life.

Ingrid fears her future will remain irrevocably damaged after she jeopardizes her career. Nevertheless, Joel Campbell--the man who wrecked her belief in happily-ever-afters--offers her an envelope from his late cousin, Cecelia, asking them to put aside their differences and retrieve a mysterious package in their coastal hometown.

Will Ingrid and Joel be courageous enough to uncover a once-in-a-lifetime love as a result of honoring Cecelia's last request?

I give The Words We Lost five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review:Benjamin Banneker and Us

Benjamin Banneker and Us

Eleven Generations of an American Family

by Rachel Jamison Webster

Pub Date 21 Mar 2023 

 Henry Holt & Company,  Henry Holt and Co.

 Biographies & Memoirs 

I have been provided with a copy of Benjamin Banneker and Us by Henry Holt and Co and Netgalley for review:

As relatives reconnect across lines of color, culture, and time at a family reunion, the past and present engage in an unforgettable genealogical journey.

Benjamin Banneker was a Black mathematician, a writer of almanacs, and one of the greatest astronomers of his generation hired by Thomas Jefferson to help survey Washington, DC in 1791. He then wrote what would become a famous letter, imploring Jefferson to examine his hypocrisy, as someone who claimed to love liberty yet was an enslaver. Rachel Jamison Webster, an ostensibly white woman, discovers that her distant relative is this groundbreaking Black forefather.

By drawing on oral history and conversations with her DNA cousins, Webster tells the story of the lives of their shared ancestors over a period of eleven generations, including Banneker’s grandparents, an interracial couple who married when America was still a conglomerate of colonies under British rule. A number of these stories shed light on the legal construction of race and demonstrate the brilliance and resistance of early African Americans in the face of increasingly unjust laws, some of which are still in force today.

I give Benjamin Banneker and Us five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!