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book reviews |
Debut author, Aimee Cabo Nikolov, introduces us to her memoir of growing up in the midst of severe dysfunction: “Love is the Answer, God is the Cure” is the story of Aimee Cabo, who was in the Miami news for almost five years from 1989 to 1994 in a case the media named “The Case from Hell.” This sexual abuse case pitted her and her sister against her parents who denied all culpability. As she fought court battles, poverty, abuse, and addiction, Aimee always turned to love and to God. Another near tragedy struck when her daughter was almost murdered by a tenant she found in Craig's list. This is the story of a woman who had all the odds against her and how she persevered to find true love and form a family that could withstand anything. While reading this book, I was quite astonished by the abuse Aimee suffered at the hands of the people she should have been able to trust the most. When Aimee gained her independence, she went down the all-too-familiar deadly spiral of involvement in the sex trade and drug addiction. The story of how she found her way out is nothing less than a miracle. The reading is riveting at times and expresses great tenderness of the heart at other moments in the story. You will have a hard time laying this book down until you finish reading. I give “Love is the Answer, God is the Cure” 4.9 stars. You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Answer-God-Cure-Unconditional-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-love-is-the-answer-god-is-the-cure You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/godisthecure1 http://www.godisthecure.com http://www.facebook.com/godisthecure1 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAyZyt-QXskkzEKGnSc_YqQ Tags: child abuse, sex abuse, dysfunctional family, love and romance Copyright © 2019 Mark Schultz except for the author's introduction
48 Comments
1/26/2019 08:45:30 pm
Thank you for the review! Thank you for acknowledging that miracles do happen, I credit my success to the love of God and the love of my family. I hope that I can set a good example for others that one can endure horrific events and yet succeed in life in the sense that her life is filled with love and peace.
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Mark
1/26/2019 08:51:54 pm
You are very welcome, I really enjoyed the book. I think your faith in God had a lot to do with your survival.
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1/28/2019 05:29:39 pm
I wrote my book honesty, everything is a fact, including names. I heard that the people that hate me are aware of the book, though I haven't been in contact with them at all and have not been since I was 18. I know Brent is quite upset about it because he convinced our daughter, who has a brain injury, to hate me. Now my daughter Danielle sounds like my mother when it comes to my past life. I knew that writing this book would not come without consequences but this book was not only about me, it was more important to help others.
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Mark
1/28/2019 06:25:21 pm
That is honest and open, just like your book. The abuse you suffered made reading your book difficult for me at times. I have two daughters and four granddaughters, no one should be treated like you and so many others have been.
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1/30/2019 10:32:24 am
The first edition of this book has an original picture of a very ancient tree from my back yard, that had what appeared to be the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus waving hi, carved on it. I began to see this after many times of staring at the same spot on the tree while praying a rosary, hence not everyone sees it. I read reviews that referenced this cover as scary or confusing. In the hopes of expressing hope and a positive impression considering it has plenty of dark moments already, I created another cover, where I asked a designer to create an image of a girl with open arms stretched up to the skies, dressed in white, on the beach, where both elements of dark and light surround her as the sun rises. this would imply a new beginning, where light overcomes darkness as the sun rises and the glory is given to God. This new cover was supposed to replace the old simple cover with a tree which is the only difference between the 2 books. I kept the old cover for those that might appreciate the picture of something that no longer exists, as this portion of the tree took on a tornado from hurricane Irma which would have devastated our house. for the moment, both editions are available in amazon.
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Mark
1/30/2019 11:08:02 am
That is interesting. I don't see that on the tree trunk, sometimes it takes a lot of looking to see what others see. I do like that second cover, it portrays your story quite well.
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1/30/2019 06:48:17 pm
I was told to write a book when I was hospitalized in a psych hospital during the trials but the pivotal point came when I was praying 1 year ago and looking at that tree. starting writing things down, waking every morning at 4 am at going to the computer and typing and correcting. finally became a book, gave it to an editor to see her opinion and then redid a couple of chapters. The first publisher that accepted to publish it asked to take "God" out of title. Another one asked to change the names of the people , I declined and ultimately we self-published it through our small publishing house.
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Mark
1/30/2019 06:56:51 pm
That is interesting. I suppose writing a book could be therapeutic. Is that common advice in that situation? Why do you think that is?
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1/30/2019 09:30:01 pm
Writing a book can be therapeutic, yes, or writing in a journal, writing notes, just expressing your thoughts on paper or speaking about them. Probably writing the book is a little bit more, especially for a private person like myself. It was not easy for me to present all these things about my life to the world. When you hear yourself admit what happened to you outloud, write it to yourself or others, the healing process begins.
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Mark
1/30/2019 09:58:06 pm
I can see that, putting anything down on paper requires a certain amount of understanding and patience. It could bring clarity to a situation, or at least expose some of the confusion.
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1/31/2019 07:49:14 pm
no, I don't write anything now. I concentrate on my radio show - The Cure, live every Friday at 2 PM, trying to be there for people that might need help. I invite professionals and they give suggestions on how to deal with certain things like depression, stress, PTSD after abuse.
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Mark
1/31/2019 08:13:12 pm
The radio show sounds cool. Is it an internet radio show, is it syndicated? How do people find it? You should be tweeting about it and other social media also.
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2/1/2019 05:49:29 am
I wrote my book from my bed at 3:00 in the morning when it was most quiet and it seemed like it was just the laptop and I. I naturally woke up on my own at around exactly 3:00 am to type until the rest of us woke up every day for about 6 months, Music is what helped me through the process. When I wrote my memoir, it was complete silence but my days were filled with my favorite songs from hits 1 which plays plenty of uplifting songs. I find music so important that I strategically choose certain songs from this sirius radio station to play on my show, which is usually 3 songs.
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Mark
2/1/2019 11:24:17 am
You were a night writer. That makes a lot of sense, you were dealing with a lot of extremely difficult issues. You had an amazing amount of support! It's beautiful to see.
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2/1/2019 01:04:53 pm
It took about 8-9 drafts before publishing. Going back to my grade school years I was an average student academically. Science and mathematics were my favorite subjects. Never imagined myself as a writer, but God does work in mysterious ways.
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Mark
2/1/2019 01:17:37 pm
All those drafts paid off, you wrote a good book.
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2/1/2019 01:37:56 pm
Thanks Mark, that’s very sweet. I don’t know about softwares to write with or even how to publish a book. My agent Boris Nikolov took care of all that. I simply put my whole life down on paper in word format. The rest I owe to my loving husband. I know that he sent the manuscript for editing several times before publishing the final result. I am a novice to the writing world and have yet to discover critique or support writing groups.
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Mark
2/1/2019 02:06:47 pm
I have no doubt there are a lot of writers in Miami. Check in bookstores or libraries, you might be able to find a group you can join. Social media can be a source also, writer groups on Facebook or Twitter. Search for writers that live in the Miami area.
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2/1/2019 04:12:41 pm
Great idea about meeting authors, I will look around.
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Mark
2/1/2019 04:40:07 pm
I think you are right, although it feels like putting the cart before the horse, getting the word out well before the book is written is critical to the success of a book launch. If there weren't so many books on the market, it would be much easier. The fact that Amazon made publishing so easy is a two-edged sword.
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2/1/2019 05:45:27 pm
The funny thing is that I have always chosen to be a private person, and put my entire life out there. 2/1/2019 05:31:43 pm
I stopped believing in luck a long time ago. I now realize it was blessings all along. Devine intervention must have had a hand in this because I never got writers block. I wrote endlessly, none stop for about 3 hours daily. I was so driven I did not experience obstacles. It was almost as if it must be, as is God’s will. All the efforts out of pure faith have succeeded as my memoir has already received 3 book awards and numerous positive reviews. I feel so honored to be able to help others in this way, it makes it all worthwhile.
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Mark
2/1/2019 05:44:34 pm
I think almost every writer would agree, not experiencing writers block is a miracle.
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2/1/2019 06:05:47 pm
First award:
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2/1/2019 10:40:21 pm
Thank you Amy, for the kind words and God bless, Aimee :)
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Mark
2/2/2019 09:29:23 pm
Thank you, Amy, for dropping in. It is an incredible read.
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Mark
2/3/2019 05:36:01 pm
Those are wonderful awards, no question. I loved the comments of the judges. That kind of validation must feel really good on many levels, especially your talent as a writer.
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2/3/2019 06:16:45 pm
Thanks, Mark
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Mark
2/3/2019 06:35:51 pm
We are surrounded by stories, each and every day, as you have aptly described. With such wide selection and great depth in each genre, it's not hard to find something relatable and encouraging. The loving support system is so very important. I think you know it better than many others.
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2/3/2019 07:37:53 pm
I knew my dysfunctional family would not be happy, but nothing prepared for what facing the reality of my past would be like. I am quite good at staying disconnected or as some say that it is feeling numb, so going through the memories of my past didn’t seem to bother me. What was difficult was the recurring nightmares I would get where Iam always a child but cannot remember much. The few nightmares I do remember were scenes from the past that I was writing about. I became so engulfed in my writing and focused on its purpose that I stopped working out at 5:00 am. I also noticed that I felt quite depressed and at the same time relieved, even proud of myself. At one point I had daily severe stomach pains that would last 30-60 minutes. The physical pain could not be diagnosed or medicated because the doctors couldn’t figure out what it was and medication would not work. Around this time my husband felt desperate and gave me suggestions that I should drop the whole thing. It was then that I explained it’s ok to hurt if it leads to healing.
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Mark
2/3/2019 07:51:53 pm
When you say that you are a work in progress, you are not kidding in the least. Your husband certainly seems Heaven-sent for you. I believe I am that man for my wife. We have been married for over 42 years.
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2/3/2019 08:19:38 pm
Every chapter was somewhat difficult but the chapter that made me cry is the one in which I explain the circumstances for which I felt forced to abort my 4 month old unborn child. Even though I fought the would be father for 4 months hoping it would be too late, I caved when survival seemed impossible. I always felt there was something more I could have done. All that happened to me I couldn’t help, it wasn’t my fault, but this abortion, I felt was. Just recently I learned to forgive myself.
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2/3/2019 08:52:10 pm
I also realized that to achieve what I was most passionate about, I had to start with myself. To my surprise, by helping others, I helped myself.
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Mark
2/3/2019 09:09:53 pm
I could feel your anguish in that chapter, it was palpable. The contrast of your joy in the relationship with Bobby was just as evident.
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2/3/2019 09:49:04 pm
I was disillusioned by traditional publishing when they told me I had to change all the real names and descriptions of the characters in my book, which I refused. I haven’t seen much advantages in self publishing, certainly not financially, though I’ve had the freedom to publish the book in its original content. Any interested agents out there are welcome to contact me.
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Mark
2/3/2019 10:09:30 pm
While self-publishing gives an author lots of freedom, there is also all the responsibility to go along with it. Promoting a book is a daily grind. There are a couple of good guest blog posts about book promoting and finding readers on my website.
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2/4/2019 11:36:05 am
An independent author should be certain that he or she has ample time to advertise and promote the book. this includes considering having enough funds to hire someone if necessary. also it is important to edit the book before it is published as many time as necessary. A novice independent author needs to understand that a book deal is not a guarantee and should determine whether or not the benefits outweigh the risks.
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Mark
2/4/2019 12:41:54 pm
You are well up on the marketing program. Unfortunately, it's not a set-and-forget type of thing. Promoting and marketing seems to be a daily chore. Everyday, new books come out, and to keep your book top-of-mind is not easy.
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2/4/2019 01:49:14 pm
I tell my readers to leave a review if they liked my book. Lol, just joking.😂
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Mark
2/4/2019 02:12:46 pm
There is nothing wrong with asking for a review. I think it's a fair trade.
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2/4/2019 03:35:36 pm
I have never really been interested in meeting anyone. Although, I always felt there was something special about our late Pope John Paul II. When I had active labor pains with our first child, Sean, I asked that the television be turned on to distract me from my severe labor pains.
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Mark
2/4/2019 03:49:37 pm
That's interesting about Sean's name. I understand what you mean, we think of saints as having lived a long time ago.
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2/4/2019 04:10:48 pm
Thank you so much for given me the opportunity to further spread my message. It is true that anything is possible with God. Otherwise I wouldn’t have done half of the things I never imagined I could do. I wouldn’t write a memoir. I am a private person by nature. I wouldn’t host a radio show. I am usually not the one that does the talking. Trust me, I am going on pure faith.
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Marseleeno mokhles
7/29/2019 02:04:29 am
You are a super woman
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7/30/2019 06:40:29 am
Thanks Marseleeno. I credit all that I am to God, for I am a great example of his unconditional love just as we all are. God bless 𗀨❤️🙏🏼
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Marseleeno
8/3/2019 12:30:56 am
But sometimes I don't listen for the sound of God and become very sad
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8/3/2019 03:08:27 pm
When you feel God is not there, it’s the deceit of the Devil. If I feel sad, first I pray and I almost always feel him in certain songs. You would be surprised how God uses people, nature and music, you will hear God through them. God bless you dearly I 🙏🏼𗀨❤️
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Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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