Reviews

Adjusted Reality: Supercharge Your Whole-Being for Optimal Living and Longevity

Sherry McAllister (Forbes Books)

| Reviewed by Christian Fernandez

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)

| Reviewed by Jayne Anne Rooney

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...

Recruiting to Retain: A Principle-Centered Strategy to Win the War for Talent

John William Wright II (Forbes Books)

| Reviewed by Louise Garten

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 office, Wright challenges 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...

EXIT TICKETS: A NOVEL

Kenneth Chanko (Luminare Press)

| Reviewed by Elena Enger

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)

| Reviewed by Meg McKinnon

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)

| Reviewed by Sarah Harkness

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)

| Reviewed by George Buehlman

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)

| Reviewed by Jeff Klune

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...

Rapid City Summer

Connie Richardson (Black Rose Writing)

| Reviewed by Brenda Baiocchi

In Rapid City Summer by Connie Richardson, fifteen-year-old Natalie reluctantly leaves her life in a Chicago suburb behind when her mother accepts a dream job in Rapid City, South Dakota. Uprooted from her cross-country team and best friend, Syd, just after freshman year, Natalie dreads the move. That is, until she meets Adam, her fly-fishing-obsessed neighbor, who introduces her to South Dakota's natural beauty. As Natalie learns to cast a fly rod on Rapid Creek and to hike rugged trails in the Black Hills, she also learns to deal with family...

Field of Memories: A Tapestry of Heartwarming Short Stories

D. L. Norris (Spring River Press)

| Reviewed by Elena Enger

Field of Memories: A Tapestry of Heartwarming Short Stories by D. L. Norris is a tender autobiographical collection that unfolds as a mosaic of the author's life, spanning childhood innocence to mature reflections. D. L. Norris structures her memoir not as a linear chronicle but as vignettes—each a self-contained memory that captures formative moments, family rituals, and encounters with historical currents that shape her worldview. From early recollections of kitchen-table conversations to coming-of-age milestones punctuated by loss, the narra...