5/5 ⭐ | Unsettled: A Memoir by Laurie Woodford

Forty-eight years old, divorced and living in New York, author Laurie Woodford was having what some might call a mid-life crisis.  Hungry for adventure, tired of the same old, or in fact a mid-life crisis, whatever you call it, it was the catalyst to what became a laugh out loud hilarious memoir, “Unsettled.”

Prepare to cry from laughing, live vicariously, and gain perspective of the world through the travels laid across these pages.  With dating encounters that will have you belly laughing, like a gentleman with a wandering eye to the smooth, hairless complexion of someone entirely outside of Laurie’s self-described attraction to very hairy men.  To travel adventures like caring for a seventeen-year-old dog in exchange for a free place to lay your head, or to coming home early from work to construction workers using your fridge and unit as their own personal lunchroom, the stories within are truly entertaining.

Asia to South America, Mexico to Arkansas and Oklahoma, “Unsettled” packs the true realities of adventuring, dating in your fifties, and working in foreign countries.  Organized successively as a collection of experiences and events, author Laurie Woodford keeps readers coming back for more of her encounters and adventures.  Detailing the lonely, the learning, the challenges with time differences, and moving on, this memoir provides the good, the bad, and the hilarious of Woodford’s unsettled adventures.

Aptly named, and expertly presented, “Unsettled” is quite the memorable collection of travelling escapades.  Laurie’s hysterical antics and sidesplitting experiences made for an amusing and quick read.   

Click HERE to get your copy today!

Sex/Life: 44 Chapters About 4 Men by B.B. Easton

Publication Date: May 21^st, 2020

Rating: 5 Stars

I am still laughing about the absolute absurdity that is B.B. Easton’s sex life.   Not afraid to make fun of herself, and never one to shy away from, well anything, Sex/Life: 44 Chapters About 4 Men is an absolutely hilarious read.  Peppered with text conversations, real relationships and very, very steamy, open-door romance.

Easton’s Sex/Life memoir is the catalyst behind Netflix’s new series, aptly titled Sex/Life, and while there are some similarities and snippets of word-for-word phrasing from Easton’s book, the outright tears in the eye humor is missing from Netflix’s serious take on this read.  And that’s okay, because the book is ALWAYS better anyway! But seriously, I haven’t read something this funny, yet steamy, in well…forever. 

Just in case this read isn’t enough, Easton has written each of her four men a book of their own with her 44 Chapters series.

*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided; all opinions are my own.

Two Reviews: The Cranky Mom Fix: Get a Happier, More Peaceful Home by Slaying the “momster” in All of Us by Becky Kopitzke & Called to Forgive: The Charleston Church Shooting, a Victim’s Husband, and the Path to Healing and Peace by Anthony B. Thompson

The Cranky Mom Fix: Get a Happier, More Peaceful Home by Slaying the “momster” in All of Us by Becky Kopitzke

Publication Date: June 4^th, 2019

Rating: 3 Stars

I may not have kids, but I live with another person and a dog so I definitely have my moments of crankiness. During the reading of this book, I really focused on embracing the message, so much so that at one point my husband asked me why I was being so “chill” about an otherwise home catastrophe, I happily explained to him the teaching within this book.

While this book leaned HEAVILY on scripture and felt more like a bible study at times than a read, there were many benefits I gleaned:

1. Know your triggers – is it a messy house, exhaustion or something else that sets you off, acknowledge these triggers, take a break and ask for forgiveness.
2. Relating to those around you, “are you protecting them from harsh weather, or are you sometimes causing the tornado” (p.38). This was mind blowing to me as I think of my own impact on my household.
3. Kopitzke’s idea of family meetings, while more formal in nature, took me back to my own childhood filled with weekly (or even more often) family dinners. These had such a profound impact on me.
4. I loved the three all encompassing household rules beginning with obey the first time, ending with no hurting someone on purpose, and squeezed in there was no disrespectful talk (p.153-158).

If you can get beyond the bible study feeling and heavy reference to scripture, sometimes taking away from the overall message, then there are strong lessons to be learned from this book. However, it involved MUCH wading through the bible to come out the other end of this one.

*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Called to Forgive: The Charleston Church Shooting, a Victim’s Husband, and the Path to Healing and Peace by Anthony B. Thompson

Publication Date: June 4^th, 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

A chilling story of Myra Thompson, one of the victims of Dylann Roof’s senseless killings in Charleston, SC at the predominately black Emanuel AME Church in June 2015. This is Rev. Anthony Thompson’s story of forgiveness as he recounts the day of his wife’s murder and the milestones since it occurred.

Each chapter opens with a truthful retelling of Dylann, his family or the other families impacted by loss, whether that impact arises from Dylann, the Rwandan Genocides or other senseless murders that have occurred. Rev. Thompson describes his biblical and unconditional forgiveness, different from reconciliation or the need for an apology, in a way that opens your heart to the horrors of the world. Rev. Thompson, his family and many of Dylann’s victims’ families forgave the murders, lifting them of the burden of carrying hatred for Roof’s acts. As recounted in this memoir, the reader encounters the love of a community, brought together in love and forgiveness, rather than hatred and fear. At the back of the book the author provides bonus bible study resources and materials, allowing the reader to participate in activities such as the one Myra so lovely facilitated at the time of her death.

*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

ECW New Releases

Sea Trial: Sailing After My Father by Brian Harvey

Publication Date: May 7^th, 2019

Rating: 3 Stars

Sea Trial is a poetic riff between sailing and the life of the author’s father. This memoir is a last love story to the author’s father and all his faults, as he finally lets him go through the understanding of the malpractice trial that ripped his father’s good name; an event his father never got over.

While I am not a sailor or lover of water, but I felt the author balanced his love for Vancouver Island, his work as a biologist, his childhood and his current adulthood into a cohesive memoir that was poetic, adventurous and at times a bit sad. He was so convincing in fact that my EXTREMELY sea sickness prone self even thought for a moment about how fun it might be to go sailing.

As Harvey closes the chapter of his father’s life, he invites us in to his renewed passion for sailing, and his grasp in understanding his father’s obsession with the malpractice trial. Sea Trail is a very intimate look at Harvey’s life, his father’s success and failures, and life in a sail boat.

*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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One Thing – Then Another by Claire Kelly

Publication Date: April 16^th, 2019

Rating: 3 ½ Stars

This was my first book of poems. Like many, I typically steer away from poetic reads and the genre as a whole. I always fell for the stereotype that poems take a creative eye and require a deeper level of understanding that I can’t even pretend to possess. However, I was pleasantly stunned by the richness of my experience with this collection.

While the author wrote these poems for separate, individual publications, she creates a cohesive story by tying them together as she did in One Thing – Then Another. The back-cover flap does a great job of aiding the reader in understanding the layout of this book: “East” being the constraints of living in poverty, “And” being the move to “West” which ultimately enraptures the richer demographic. With this description I was able to follow along and enjoy the journey through Kelly’s words.

*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Mahoney’s Camaro: A Crime Novel by Michael J. Clark

Publication Date: May 28^th, 2019

Rating: 3 Stars

Steve Mahoney is the driver of Unit 36, a tow truck owned by Hook Me Up Towing. Steve, along with is gang of car aficionados and mechanics take on a suicide cover up, but will their own investigation derail his plans to open his own auto shop? This entertaining read is filled with colorful commentary, car humor and A LOT of car love.

This attempt at suspense makes for an otherwise disturbing, yet entertaining, ghost story as the reader falls into step with Mahoney’s quirks and passions. From the smell of the plant next door, to the odd car dealership employees, author Michael J. Clark paints a hilarious picture in this unconventional crime solving group of car lovers.

*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Self Help: Life Lessons from the Bizarre Wrestling Career of Al Snow

Publication Date: May 7^th, 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

I have never watched WWE wrestling in my life, but I know some pretty hardcore fans, so when the opportunity to read this book presented itself, I jumped on board. I had NO idea what I was in store for when I picked this book up. I laughed at the crazy “male” antics and chuckled at the “life lessons” Al prescribes (not because they aren’t real but because the story behind the learning of the lessons are always obnoxious). I won’t pretend this book made me a hardcore fan, like many I know, but I certainly gained some respect for the sport. Hats off to a great and entertaining read. You will not be disappointed by the level of entertainment within this book, but you will need to prepare for gut wrenching laughs. I am actually looking forward to reading more WWE themed books after so thoroughly enjoying this one.

*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.