Reviews
Snakeroot & Cohosh
Cathy Schieffelin (Atmosphere Press)
Set in 1950s Appalachian Kentucky, Snakeroot and Cohosh by Cathy Schieffelin follows Eva Morgan, who has suffered abuse at the hands of her husband, Luther. She is a gifted herbalist who relies on her healing skills, and she disguises herself as a man named “Enos” in her quest for a new start. She lands a job, leading botanical tours in Helton, armed with knowledge passed down from her late mother. But Luther hasn’t given up on her. He tracks her down, but she asserts her independence. While he promises that he has changed, it is hard for Eva t...
Rabbi, Your Cleavage is Showing
Michal Mendelsohn (Atmosphere Press)
Rabbi, Your Cleavage Is Showing chronicles Michal Mendelsohn’s extraordinary journey from a lonely childhood in Manhattan to becoming one of the first women ordained as a rabbi by Hebrew Union College in 1975. She details her struggles as a child raised in hotel apartments by parents who were emotionally detached. The memoir narrates her strained relationship with her father after the death of her mother and her unexpected belonging experience in Israel during the Six-Day War, where she lived on a kibbutz, served in the IDF entertainment corps,...
Adjusted Reality: Supercharge Your Whole-Being for Optimal Living and Longevity
Sherry McAllister (Forbes Books)
Adjusted Reality by Dr. Sherry McAllister is a groundbreaking work that offers a transformative vision of health, grounded in chiropractic philosophy and the concept of “whole-being” care, which views humans as integrated systems rather than collections of isolated symptoms. Structured around seven foundational pillars (Investment, Replenishment, Nourishment, Movement, Adjustment, Contentment, and Revitalizement), the book critiques the profit-driven practices of conventional medicine and the healing techniques that focus on symptoms and draws...
The Art and Science of Well-Being: Unlocking the 9 Dimensions for Freedom in Mind, Body, and Spirit
Rob Douk (Forbes Books)
Dr. Rob Douk’s The Art and Science of Well-Being presents a transformative holistic framework called “neurobiotheology”, which integrates neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and spiritual intelligence to redefine wellness as wholeness rather than perfection. Organized around nine dimensions across three realms (mind: intellectual, creative, financial; body: occupational, physical, environmental; spirit: spiritual, emotional, social), the book refines Douk's extraordinary personal journey, from infant refugee fleeing Cambodia’s killing fields t...
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Recruiting to Retain: A Principle-Centered Strategy to Win the War for Talent
John William Wright II (Forbes Books)
Recruiting to Retain by John William Wright II presents a counterintuitive and utterly refreshing methodology for talent acquisition in the financial services industry. As managing partner of Northwestern Mutual, Wright challenged the industry’s high-turnover culture by advocating for deliberate, relationship-based selection over volume-driven recruiting. The book details his firm's meticulous process, from initial in-depth interviews exploring the personal histories of the candidates to reverse interviews, scientific assessments, and offer din...
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EXIT TICKETS: A NOVEL
Kenneth Chanko (Luminare Press)
Exit Tickets by Kenneth Chanko offers a raw, multi-perspective portrait of a tumultuous year at P.S. 961, a District 75 special education school on Manhattan's Upper East Side during 2007-2008. The story of Martin “Mr. J” Jordanowski, a first-year white teacher from Indiana who joins NYC's Teaching Fellows program following his sister Cassie's overdose death. His well-intentioned but boundary-crossing relationship with Kandra, a vulnerable 15-year-old student processing maternal loss and family instability, spirals when she writes a disturbing...
DOUBLE
Gerry Burke (iUniverse)
Gerry Burke’s Double is a tongue-in-cheek espionage thriller that combines two novellas to deliver a rollicking ride for fans of the genre. Sunbeams from Siberia begins with the brutal murder of Delia Deschamps in the quaint English village of Omelette. What appears to be a simple countryside homicide unravels into an elaborate Russian plot to detonate a dirty bomb at Oxford University. Delia, it turns out, was an MI5 operative planted in the village post office to monitor suspicious mail. Her murder connects to a conspiracy involving smuggled...
Mind Odyssey: A Doctor's Guide to Training Your Brain for Purpose, Balance, and Fulfillment
Spyros Papapetropoulos (Advantage Books)
Mind Odyssey by neurologist and biopharmaceutical executive Spyros Papapetropoulos presents a neuroscience-grounded framework for navigating professional life through three interconnected principles: purpose, balance, and fulfillment. Drawing on Homer’s Odyssey as an extended metaphor, Papapetropoulos argues that like Odysseus sailing toward Ithaca, professionals need a clear “why,” understood as purpose, the emotional equilibrium to weather storms (balance), and a sustainable sense of contentment (fulfillment) rather than chasing fleeting happ...
Curiosity Redefines the Limits Advantages Gained from Life, the Workplace, and the Boardroom
Rodney C. Adkins (Forbes Books)
In Curiosity Redefines the Limits, Rodney C. Adkins chronicles his remarkable journey from a premature birth in 1950s Miami to becoming IBM's senior vice president overseeing global systems and technology. Structured in six thematic sections, the memoir traces his evolution through childhood curiosity and martial arts discipline, his formative college years at Rollins and Georgia Tech, including founding a Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity chapter, his thirty-three-year IBM career navigating PCs, UNIX systems, and corporate transformation, and his int...
The Fearless Socialpreneur: Making It Your Business to Serve a World in Need
Rob Douk (Forbes Books)
Dr. Rob Douk's The Fearless Socialpreneur tells the story of his remarkable journey from being born in a Cambodian labor camp during the Khmer Rouge genocide to becoming a successful entrepreneur who builds businesses with social purpose as the driving force. The book presents a dual framework for meaningful success: five foundational “F’s” for balanced living (Faith, Family, Firm Commitment, Fitness, and Fellowship) followed by five business “P’s” (Passion, Purpose, Plan of Action, PRIME status, and Paying it Forward). Douk writes about his fa...