Word Refiner
  • Start Here
  • Word Refining
  • Learn More
  • Books I Have Refined
  • Promote Your Book
  • Acclaim from Authors
  • Book Reviews
  • Previous Book Reviews
  • Blog: Words For Thought
  • Highly Regarded Blogs
  • Guest Blogs
  • Contact
  • Hyper-Speller Humor
  • The Hyper-Speller interviewed
  • In memory of Grizz
  • Start Here
  • Word Refining
  • Learn More
  • Books I Have Refined
  • Promote Your Book
  • Acclaim from Authors
  • Book Reviews
  • Previous Book Reviews
  • Blog: Words For Thought
  • Highly Regarded Blogs
  • Guest Blogs
  • Contact
  • Hyper-Speller Humor
  • The Hyper-Speller interviewed
  • In memory of Grizz

​book reviews

Please Believe Me by Shirley Aumack

5/8/2021

51 Comments

 

Finding My Voice and Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse

Debut author, Shirley Aumack introduces us to her memoir about healing from child sex abuse:
All She Ever Wanted Was to Believe She Was Loved When she quietly confronted her father asking him to stop sexually abusing her as a little girl, she got this tirade from her father: "No one cares what I do to you. I don't love you, no one loves you, and no one will EVER love you." How does a little girl ever heal from this? Compounding the pain of this horrific, inhumane message and the sexual abuse starting when she was eight years old was having a mother who was emotionally vacant. Shirley Aumack never received any affection from her, never heard the words, "I love you" or any such affirming messages. She never attempted to tell her mother about the abuse and never found anyone to confide in who would believe her. It is common for people who have endured such hellish abuse to overcompensate their feelings of low self-worth by excelling at everything they do. And Shirley is no exception. Throughout her life, she has excelled at everything--academically, professionally, personally as a mother, wife, friend, and in every role she has impressively had love as her guiding force. Lois Einhorn, PhD, author of Forgiveness and Child Abuse: Would YOU Forgive? writes about PLEASE BELIEVE ME: "Shirley is a gifted storyteller making the book a quick read. But her messages will stay with me for a very long time. She covers unflinchingly details of her life including her despair and devastation. But her book is not only of surviving but also of thriving. In addition to horrifying images, she includes laugh-out-loud stories. Ultimately this book is inspiring and empowering, hopeful and healing. Shirley's life serves as a testament to the preciousness of all life, the transformative power of love, the triumph of the human spirit, and the need for humor."

Picture
It is an astonishing and well-written story. As difficult as the subject may be, the author does not hesitate to share the devastating experience of being raped by her father and the lifelong effects. These effects were made worse by her empty, egocentric mother. The pastor of her church failed her also for reasons we will never know.
Her writing is very clear and the good and the bad are shared with appropriate humor. Her children are a testimony to her efforts to care for them much better than she was cared for by her own parents.
I award 4.8 stars to “Please Believe Me”. 
Picture
You can buy this book:
https://rdrpublishers.com/please-believe-me-finding-my-voice-and-surviving-childhood-sexual-abuse
https://www.amazon.com/Please-Believe-Me-Surviving-Childhood
https://www.goodreads.com/please-believe-me
 
You can follow the author:
https://www.pleasebelieveme610.com
https://www.facebook.com/shirley.aumack
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirley-aumack
 
Tags: child sexual abuse, emotional abuse, PTSD, healing, recovery, panic attacks, adult survivor, memoir
 
Copyright © 2021 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction 

51 Comments

Togwotee Passage by L. G. Cullens

5/1/2021

39 Comments

 
Multivolume, multi-genre author Leighton G. Cullens introduces us to his eco-fiction adventure “Togwotee Passage”:
An impassioned, thought kindling journey on a wilder side of life, from youth to passing, with a breadth of charged life experiences.

In 1940s Wyoming, a seven-year-old under the yoke of a dysfunctional family is beginning his life journey with stumbling steps. When an intervention whisks him reluctantly away, he faces new challenges in a sweeping wilderness setting, where a sustaining influence is the friendship of a Shoshone youth with differing cultural values. On into the treacherous terrain of life's chaotic landscape, with his mettle tested time and again he is increasingly rankled with civilization's Janus-faced ways and ill-conceived progress. Mitigating his irritation, is a distracting fascination with the wonderment and paradoxes of the natural world. That is, until he considers where humankind's varying proclivities stem from.

--------------------------------------

Togwotee (toe'-ga-tee) is the name of a challenging mountain pass in the Absaroka Mountains of northwest Wyoming. As used in the title of this fictive tale, it's an apt metaphor for the protagonist's life path.

The story is character driven, contains Native American mythology, has an entwined thread of natural world interconnectedness, and is complemented with expressive illustrations.

Picture
I really enjoyed this story. While I didn’t grow up in 1940s Wyoming, I grew up on small farms in Oregon and Washington in the 1960s. I was reminded of the many wonderful hours I spent in the woods, it was my sanctuary.
The scene-setting was excellent, I could plainly see what the author was describing. The dialogues were good also, downright funny at times. The action was very satisfactory, though it wasn’t extensive.
I really enjoyed the relationship Cullen had with Derek, his Shoshone friend. A lot of good-natured bantering surrounded by a secure relationship. Each man walked his own path and respected the path of his friend.
I award 4.7 stars to “Togwotee Passage”. 
Picture
You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Togwotee-Passage-L-G-Cullens-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/-togwotee-passage
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/togwotee-passage-l-g-cullens
 
You can connect with the author:
https://lgcullens.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/L_G_Cullens
 
The author is giving away a limited number of copies of this book during the month of May, 2021. The details for obtaining a copy can be found at https://lgcullens.com/tpigiveaway

​Tags: ecology, environment, environmental, balance, nature, fiction
Copyright © 2021 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction
39 Comments

    Who am I?

    An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller.  I am a husband, father, and grandfather.

    Contact

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

"I'm very pleased with all your efforts. Twitter promotion and proofreading were beyond what I expected with a book review. Your suggestions throughout the process of refining both books helped me immensely. I look forward to working with you again."   A.E.H Veenman “Dial QR for Murder” and “Prepped for the Kill”