Nonfiction

ROADS TO MEANING AND RESILIENCE WITH CANCER: Forty Stories of Coping, Finding Meaning, and Building Resilience While Living with Incurable Lung Cancerby Morhaf Al Achkar

The book tells the stories of 39 patients with incurable lung cancer. It aims to help patients, families, and healthcare providers understand the experience of living with cancer. It also invites reflections on the essential questions of meaning, resilience, and coping with adversity in life. The author is a family doctor, teacher, and researcher who is also a stage 4 lung cancer patient himself. He is patient #40.
Patients with cancer often have an urgency to find meaning in life. They struggle with the illness, its emotional impact, and the consequences of treatments. However, with time, reflection, and support from others, they develop resilience. Cancer patients often are not passive. Instead, they choose different strategies to maintain and restore their health. They also leverage a variety of approaches to cope better with their struggle.
The book is for cancer patients who are tarrying at the limits of time. It is also for those who live around patients with cancer: caregivers, families and friends, and health care providers. People who struggle with other illnesses will also find aspects of their story reflected here. Also, the ones who have experienced a crisis of identity will discover elements of their story here as well. By sharing the experiences of the forty authentic individuals, the book opens the space for them to teach others. This book is about the essence of the human experience at its limits. It is for every reader.

Being Authentic: A Memoirby Morhaf Al Achkar

Our existence is fragile. I learned that in many intricate ways, so I do not take today for granted. I do not know what tomorrow will bring. I do not even know if tomorrow will come.

On the eve of Thanksgiving 2016, I received the diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer. Next to dying, I fear the spread of cancer to my brain and losing my ability to think, speak, or write. This loss would be devastating to me.

The fragility of our life made me want to be authentic. Therefore, I am writing this memoir to be authentic–we become our true selves when we author who we are.

I am afraid of being forgotten. Death does frighten me. But more than dying, I am scared of having no one remember me or, even worse, of being recognized differently from who I was. At the same time, I have never thought that I was entitled to ask others not to forget me. But, not to be forgotten is precisely what I yearn for.

While I am writing for the other, I am simultaneously writing for myself. I am one of the readers and will test the subject as it gets written. My criteria are stricter. I want to say, “This is my narrative.”

I need to be able to say, “This is my narrative.”

GORGEby Katherine Carlson

A litany of confessions.

A maze of tribulations.

A test of endurance.

Dangerously obese Marty Clawson persuades her cheating husband to dump her in the woods where she hopes to be scared skinny. 

But her fantasies about heroic outdoor survival flop as hard as her marriage. Dejected beyond measure, she takes a bus to Montana to visit an old high school suitor–someone she once suspected too sinister to pursue. 

Turns out her initial suspicions about him were spot-on. She soon finds herself in the exact predicament she’d so long imagined. Only now she must outwit a vast wilderness … and sheer evil.

Marty Clawson’s got a big problem: 264 pounds’ worth. Doc warns of dire consequences if something doesn’t change, but Marty’s already tried every diet on the market plus an endless list of her own concoctions. Still, she devises a NEW PLAN–and unlike the others–this one is terrifying: a rendezvous with the state park, a place she considers the very heart of darkness (and snack-free) where she won’t emerge again until she is thin. Hubby Raymond believes the method too dangerous–abandoning his super-sized wife like a broken dresser–and refuses to help with her scheme; his crap attitude, along with everything else, changes when she catches him in bed with an aging porn star.  

Surviving the backwoods alone is challenging for a seasoned outdoorsman but unthinkable for a woman nearing red-alert obesity; yet, she believes it’s her last chance to avoid eating herself to death. Despite Ray’s newfound assistance, Marty fails at her plan. Desperate and depressed, she contacts Logan Myers, a peculiar boy from her past. Her hopelessness prompts her to accept his offer of bus fare north into the unforgiving Montana bush where he hunts and traps wild animals.

Logan soon reveals himself to be far worse than she remembered. So bad that he tosses her to the elements as punishment for rejecting him. In a wicked and ironic twist, her once farfetched idea morphs into an epic webof repetitious terrain and pure malevolence.  

Now she needs to make it back to the Greyhound station before nightfall, without getting mauled by a random grizzly or discovered by a roaming psychopath determined to hunt her down.

THE CHASE IS ON.

Natural Born Exorcist by Hadena James

Soleil Burns works for the Bureau of Exorcism. Paired up with a US Marshals Fugitive Recovery Team they will try to bring back an escaped convict possessed by a demon and hiding in the slums of Chicago.

It immediately becomes apparent that there is more going on than a simple case of a possessed escaped convict. The entire Division of Magic in Chicago has also been possessed. It’s a feat that could only have been accomplished by a very powerful witch or wizard.

As Soleil digs deeper into the mass possession of a critical part of the police department, she will need all her skills as an exorcist and an investigator. It will also require an open heart and some sage advice from friends and family, to help her face down some of the most powerful beings she has ever dealt with. Both human and demonic.

Love Your Movesby Weston Parker

From executive assistant for a billionaire to a candy dancer.

Those are just the breaks, right? Wrong.

Not when the sexy-as-sin boss that fired you decides he’s a little more than interested after he’s already taken your job.

If he thinks for one minute he’s getting into these candy panties, he’s wrong.

But I’ll give him a run for his money. This girl’s going down with a fight.

The drunk video that was made with me calling him out for being the villain he is went viral. I’m both impressed and appalled.

He’s far too smooth for his own good, and way too hot for mine.

All is fair in love and war until one night we both lay down our weapons and concede.

For one night. Besides, one night of passion has never hurt anyone, right?

From enemy to lover.

But it’s all a little too fishy. Maybe I’m being juked too?

An extravagant date? Check.

Steaming-hot guy who might not be the jerk I thought he was? Check.

Gorgeous ex-wife with a shiny new rock from him on her finger? Check and check.

And all of that on Valentine’s Day.

Like cupid got drunk and stumbled around laughing himself into a tizzy while he jacked up lives.

Like mine. But it’s my fault. I never should have dropped the enemy defense.

Unfortunately, I gave my heart to a guy who happens to be missing his.

Every good girl deserves a bad boy. ~ Weston

Looking Real Goodby C. Morgan

I’m the guy every woman wants to go home with at the end of the night.

One problem though. I don’t have time for romance.

Hell, I can barely squeeze in a one-night stand here and there.

As a self-made billionaire in the tech space, my work is my life.

Unfortunately, my reputation as a rich jerk precedes me and isn’t entirely off.

Thankfully, my sister is a successful public-relations consultant and has an idea, a way to soften my image a little.

Her best friend is the answer.

But the woman that shows up to help me with philanthropy looks nothing like the girl I remember.

She’s rocking her jeans and T-shirt in ways that leave me wanting far more than I should.

Pretty soon, the lines are blurred between me wanting to help my company and me wanting to help myself to another serving of her.

I’m all for looking like a good guy to help my profits soar, but I’ve got bad boy things on my mind.

This woman is stealing my attention. She’s looking real good.

God help us both.

A Journey to Mouseling Hollow: Book 1: The Fabled Twoby Robert C. Feol

KING TEEGAN IS LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MICE…

While his subjects in The Far Collective love and admire the good King Teegan, only a trusted few are privy to the King’s greatest secret: that highly intelligent, talking mice exist…and 20 seasons ago, they saved the Kingdom of Feldenspar in its darkest hour! When the Mouselings first discovered the mysterious Decoding Stones, they learned the secret of communication between humans and animals, and formed a bond with the royal line of Teegan that has elevated both Mouselings and humans alike. That alliance proved pivotal when the nefarious Rat King, a dark sorcerer able to bend humans to his will, invaded the land of Feldenspar with his terrible, fell legions…yet, against all odds, was narrowly defeated through the heroism of two fabled Mouseling warriors whose names have since been lost to time and legend.

20 seasons later, on a quiet autumn day, the Mouseling Innkeeper Robert Teague, owner and proprietor of The Sleeping Cat Inn and Tavern nestled in the peaceful hamlet of Mouseling Hollow, has his life turned upside down when a strange hooded figure strolls into his tavern and hands him a mysterious summons—a summons which will thrust him involuntarily back into the crucible of combat he thought he’d sworn off forever…while forcing him to unravel a mystery which just may hold the key to the future of the entire Far Collective. With a new menace rising, threatening to taint and overrun The Western Lands, the hearts and paws of a few tiny Mouselings may be all that stand between the forces of darkness and the total subjugation of The Far Collective.

‘The finest piece of high fantasy writing I’ve ever had the privilege to edit.’

Matthew Ross, PhD, Editor, A Journey to Mouseling Hollow

PAIN IS A LANGUAGE: The Human Body User Guideby Jean-Pierre Perreault

FOREWORD (excerpts)
Mr. Perreault developed his biomechanical model throughout his personal path and health training. His vision is insightful, outside of the box, and revolutionary, providing a simple approach which connects the dots of the pain mechanisms. His approach uses simple but logical analogies and images to explain pain to his patients, thereby empowering them to understand their problem in a new, innovative way. His work reaches far beyond conventional muscular and tendinous disorders, helping also with many chronic abdominal pains, recurrent lumbar pain, migraines, and many more discomforts. …
For athletes, Mr. PERREAULT’s bio-mechanical teachings can empower them to surpass their limits. For everyone, it is a road map to longstanding well-being and prevention.
I’m looking forward to attending his 2021 workshop.
Sophie Stavrinidis,
MD, FRCP, IMFCP
YOUR HUMAN BODY MAINTENANCE GUIDE
Two 20-year-old cars. Same year, model, brand, options; built the same day, in the same factory. Car A is in mint condition. Car B is going to the wrecking yard. What made the difference in the destiny of these two cars? Which one got regular maintenance, diligent driving, and got its little noises fixed before they turned into trouble?
Do you do dental care? What for? To prevent your teeth from deterio rating, right? Consequence: your stomach is doing better, your pride as well. Teeth: 0.01% of your body mass. Muscles: 45%. Add bones and joints, here’s 70% of you. Did you know that when muscles are healthy, there is no reason for your bones and joints to hurt? When muscles are fine, everything else works better: digestion, kidneys, mindset, performance, relationships, intimacy, focus, etc. In pain? Your muscles are guilty. Any idea what goes wrong when in pain? Not your fault. Nobody instructed you on the simplest way to take care of your physical self.
The regular maintenance we perform on our teeth, our houses and our vehicles are anti-aging actions. What about the rest of the body? Most of the aging of the human vehicle could be easily prevented. Bad driving and no maintenance causes pain, aging, and even worse, potentially leads to other health problems.
Otherwise, did you know that your breathing mechanics affect your nervous system, which calibrates your hormones and immune system? Did you know that muscles have more power over blood flow than your heart? Breathing and blood are at the forefront of your health. Muscles activate both.
Do you live in a human body? Would you like to have a pain-free life, to age less quickly, and to enjoy your favorite sports and activities for decades to come, with a smile on your face? Read on.
Are you a therapist, a bodyworker, an athlete or a physician? Beware, this self maintenance and quick-relief perspective could transform your life; and/or your career!
Let Bio-Mechanical Muscular Hygiene and the ANTI PAIN K.I.S.S. METHOD be your anti-aging, anti-pain, and better-health formula.
Enjoy discovering your Human Body User’s Guide!