Review: Life in Spite of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.



About the Book

She wanted to die. God had other plans.

Why does my life have to be so painful?
What’s wrong with me?
It’s not going to get better.
It could all be over soon, and then I won’t hurt anymore.

Kristen Anderson thought she had the picture-perfect life until strokes of gray dimmed her outlook: three friends and her grandmother died within two years. Still reeling from these losses, she was raped by a friend she thought she could trust. She soon spiraled into a seemingly bottomless depression.

One January night, the seventeen-year-old decided she no longer wanted to deal with the emotional pain that smothered her. She lay down on a set of cold railroad tracks and waited for a freight train to send her to heaven…and peace.

But Kristen's story doesn’t end there.

In Life, In Spite of Me this remarkably joyful young woman shares the miracle of her survival, the agonizing aftermath of her failed suicide attempt, and the hope that has completely transformed her life, giving her a powerful purpose for living.

Her gripping story of finding joy against all odds provides a vivid and unforgettable reminder that life is a gift to be treasured.

Includes notes of encouragement Kristen wishes she had received when she was struggling most.

“Life, In Spite of Me is a remarkable story of life beyond despair and hope that triumphs over tragedy.”
—Louie Giglio, pastor, Passion City Church/The Passion Movement

“Suicide is a liar and a thief. It promises peace to those who are escaping but delivers unimaginable pain and rejection to those left behind. Kristen Jane Anderson’s riveting story unmasks the thief and gives hope a face.”
—Dr. Dennis Rainey, president, FamilyLife Ministries

“When I first met Kristen, I was overwhelmed with her smile, and then I saw her wheelchair. It was a defining moment for me. I had not heard her story or why she’d ended up at Moody. But it was her smile—and it is still her smile—that dismantles me. Kristen has something. It is something otherworldly. She had every reason to die, but now she has every reason to live. I hope you’ll read her story, see her smile, and know why she lives.”
—Michael Easley, former president, Moody Bible Institute

To learn more about Life in Spite of me please visit WaterBrook's website.

Read the first chapter here.



My Review

This was an amazing book. It was so scary, touching, inspirational, and a million other things that aren't coming to mind right now. It was so full of raw emotion that I cried on many occasions while reading this one. I've never contemplated suicide, I've never been raped and yet I connected with everything Kristen was talking about. The way she tells her story I couldn't help but get pulled into it.

I can't imagine having to deal with what she was going through at such a young age. While she didn't have the coping mechanisms to deal with everything it was clearly apparent that there was a reason for her to go through what she did. As she deals with the aftermath of her suicide attempt she seemed to learn what the purpose of her life is.

The writing was pretty good. Again, the raw emotions that came through from the telling of this story were so real. The coauthor is Tricia Goyer, and while there were a few parts that "felt" like her writing for the most part I don't think Tricia's influence in the book really changed the story. That wouldn't have been a bad thing, as I like Tricia's writing style, but given that the story was Kristen's to tell I'm glad the outside influences on her writing were minimal.

I don't know if Kristen will write another book or not, as her life is taking her down a much different path, but given the chance I would read her writing again.

This is a must read. It's such a touching and inspirational story. I'm glad she lived to share her story with the world!

Life, In Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice

Guest Blog Post: Author Caroline Shearer

Today is a follow-up guest post from author Caroline Shearer. Last week we asked you to pass along some questions for her to answer. So this week Caroline has given us her answers.



Caroline A. Shearer, author of “Adventures of a Lightworker: Dead End Date” answers YOUR questions!!

Q: How would you do research for a paranormal novel? Do you have any paranormal experience to draw from?

Caroline Shearer: First, I’d like to take a little bit of issue with the word “paranormal” – even though I use it myself. I use it because people understand the term, but saying something is “para” implies it is beyond the realm of normal, when actually everything in my book is quite “normal,” from my perspective. I believe that the reality we experience is a fragment of our actual reality. Just because many people are unfamiliar with it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. In fact, I often wonder which is more real – this transitory human life we have created or the infinite life of our soul? I’m voting for the soul.
As far as research for the Adventures of a Lightworker series, I write what I know. Whether the character of Faith is talking to angels or receiving messages in dreams or giving herself a “psychic” shield, I have done it all. Part of the reason I am writing this series is because too often these activities are sensationalized, and I want to portray them in a realistic way. I want to show people that they, too, have access to these skills, and I want to provide examples to help them know what to expect and to know what some of the possibilities are.
As far as how I’ve experienced this – I explore. I have always recognized my natural abilities and been curious about them. I’ve read books, tried meditations, attended a broad range of events, searched online, taken classes, talked with friends – anything I can think of to learn and try. It’s fun - I feel like I’m on an uncharted adventure!

Q: What was your inspiration to write the Adventures of a Lightworker series? Are you yourself an empath?

CS: Yes, I am an empath. I’ve always been highly sensitive to energies, and it is one of my strongest and most natural abilities. I was finely sensing and helping others through the use of energy before I even realized what I was doing.

It does present its share of problems, though. I have to remember to shield myself in potentially negative situations or environments – and that is a learning curve I’m still traveling.

Bonus answer: Visualize yourself sending love to everyone who crosses your path one day, swirls of love that spin faster and faster, and notice how amazing you feel at the end of the day! As we are all one, what you send out comes back to you!

Q: I've heard some say that you can re-align chakras, and others have told me that your chakras are never really out of alignment, that we just don't always acknowledge them, therefore they may appear to be mis-aligned. Which of these schools of thought do you belong to?

CS: I’ve never heard it phrased that way so I simply will give you my perspective. I believe we are inherently aligned with God, but I believe we create the illusion of being out of alignment through our thoughts and actions so, therefore, that “reality” is what we often choose to work on. One method is to fix perceived imbalances or darkness/cloudiness in our chakras; another way is to focus on their perfection. Generally speaking, I believe in focusing on the positive, as where we put our energy grows, but sometimes it can be helpful to actually work on the perceived “problem.” It will depend on the person and stage of growth. We have to trust that we will experience it in the way that is the best for us.

Q: Is everyone born with these abilities? If we don’t use them, do we lose them?

CS Yes, I believe everyone has these abilities! And we don’t ever lose them; they are always there if we put our attention on them. I liken it to any other talent. Some people are born with a talent for playing piano or baseball; some people have a natural talent for using their spiritual gifts. But – with enough practice, anyone can become good at piano or baseball or seeing auras or communicating with their angels or …

I also want to point out that I approach all of this from a spiritual standpoint, as opposed to a more earthy view. For example, some people like tarot cards; I like angel cards. Some people go to spirits for advice; I’d rather go to an angel or God. Generally speaking, my philosophy is - why communicate with a soul, whose perspective would be so similar to mine, when I can go higher up? To take God out of it would be removing, well, everything!

Thank you Caroline, that was very interesting. I've always been interested in people's spirituality and how their beliefs play into their lives. I really can not wait to get my hands on this one!!!



If you are interested in Caroline's book Adventures of a Lightworker: Dead End Date please visit Amazon.

And don't forget to fan Caroline Shearer on GoodReads.

Or you can "like" Adventures of a Lightworker on Facebook.

Review: Audiobook Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Thanks to Anna at Hachette books for letting me review this one.



About the Book

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

For more information on Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter please visit Hachette's website.

My Review

This story was very interesting. I liked the way Grahame-Smith took real events and tweaked them, leaving them as historical fact just adding a different side to them. I think that was the most appealing part of this story. I liked thinking of these historical facts in a new way. I could almost imagine that was the truth.

The writing was a bit humorous at times, and given what was going on in the story the slight humor was able to lighten the mood of what would have been a very dark novel. I for one liked the humor.

The characters, both fictional and real, were well developed. While there are characters that we are already familiar with Grahame-Smith was able to add a new dimension to them that lent itself very well to the story. The fictional characters were also a great addition to the story, again tweaking history to make it so interesting.

While this one was a bit gory it wasn't so gory that it made it difficult to read (or listen to). There were a few scenes that did make me cringe.

My only complaint was the narrator was a bit dry in my opinion. I've never listened to an audio book before, so I don't know if all audio books are like this, or if I just happened upon a fluke. When I'm reading a book I have a whole cast of characters in my head and they each have a different voice and attitude, and that was kind of what I was expecting, to an extent. So this criticism may just well be due to my lack of comfort with an audio book.

Other than that I really liked this one. After I read Pride and Prejudice I plan on picking up Grahame-Smith's other novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Closed: Giveaway: Audiobook Men and Dogs by Katie Crouch

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 12 different entrants and a total of 22 entries!

Here are the three winners:
1) Darcie k
2) monapete
3) grannyvon

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

Thanks to Anna at Hachette I can giveaway 3 copies of this one.



About the Book

In April of 1985, Buzz Legare went fishing. The next day all that was found was his boat and his waiting, faithful dog.

Twenty years later, his daughter Hannah still finds hope in believing, alone among her family, that he's still alive somewhere. She has a smart husband, a thriving business, a beautiful home in San Francisco-and a huge hole in her troubled heart. True to her trademark talent for self-sabotage, she finds herself one starry night climbing up the fire escape in a desperate (and drunken) attempt to win back her own husband--and failing disastrously.

Slightly worse for the wear, Hannah returns to Charleston to salve her wounds. There, old loves, unrepented crimes, and family legends are stirred up from the dust. Hannah's brother Palmer, the stoic with a secret of his own, cannot dissuade her from a manic search to uncover clues to the past, and they will both face shocking discoveries that lead them to reconcile their very different notions of loyalty and blind faith.

As she did so memorably in her bestselling debut, Girls in Trucks, Katie Crouch has created another great voice--spiky, tender, and hilarious--in the screwball heroine Hannah Legare. Much like Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding, Hannah follows the misguided impulses of a heart that's in the right place.

For more information please visit Hachette's Website.

Giveaway Info

The giveaway will end 6/16/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Closed: Giveaway: Audibook The Language God Talks by Herman Wouk

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 5 different entrants and a total of 8 entries!

Here are the three winners:
1) karenk
2) Darcie K
3) misusedinnocence

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

Thanks to Anna at Hachette I can giveaway 3 copies of this one.



About the Book

"More years ago than I care to reckon up, I met Richard Feynman." So begins THE LANGUAGE GOD TALKS, Herman Wouk's gem on navigating the divide between science and religion. In one rich, compact volume, Wouk draws on stories from his life as well as on key events from the 20th century to address the eternal questions of why we are here, what purpose faith serves, and how scientific fact fits into the picture. He relates wonderful conversations he's had with scientists such as Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Freeman Dyson, and Steven Weinberg, and brings to life such pivotal moments as the 1969 moon landing and the Challenger disaster.

For More information about this book please visit Hachette's website.

Giveaway Info

The giveaway will end 6/16/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Closed: Giveaway: The Knight Life by Keith Knight

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 8 different entrants and a total of 12 entries!

Here are the two winners:
1) Jane
2) traveler

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

Thanks to Anna at Hachette I can giveaway 2 copies of this one.



About the Book

The Knight Life is a hilariously twisted view of life through the eyes and pen of its creator, community-oriented urban hipster and award-winning cartoonist Keith Knight. The Knight Life deftly blends political insight and neurotic humor in a uniquely fluid and dynamic style, offering a comic strip that's fresh, sharp, topical and funny. Designed for daily newspapers, The Knight Life follows Knight's long-running, 2007 Harvey Award-winning weekly comic strip "The K Chronicles," which appears on salon.com.

An unabashedly provocative political and social satire, The Knight Life tackles contemporary issues like consumer culture, bacon, the media, race, family and everything else, gently mocking the minutiae of daily life with self-deprecating humor, honesty and goofiness-a combination that's perfect for the comics. And The Knight Life's energetic style reminds readers that comics can look funny as well as read funny. The result is accessible yet edgy, compassionate and political-and never preachy. Cartoonist and comic historian R.C. Harvey said, "The Knight Life is undeniably the best new laugh- and thought-provoker on the comics page. Not since Calvin and Hobbes has there been so novel an entertainment in the funnies."

For more information about this book please visit Hachette's website.

Giveaway Info

The giveaway will end 6/16/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Closed: Giveaway: Audiobook Get Rid of the Performance Review by Samuel A. Culbert & Lawrence Rout

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 10 different entrants and a total of 15 entries!

Here are the three winners:
1) Darcie K
2) Simply Stacie
3) Renee G

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

Thanks to Anna at Hachette I can giveaway 3 copies of this one.



About the Book

The performance review. It is one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities. We all hate it. And yet nobody does anything about it.

Until now...

Straight-talking Sam Culbert, management guru and UCLA professor, minces no words as he puts managers on notice that -- with the performance review as their weapon of choice -- they have built a corporate culture based on intimidation and fear. Teaming up with Wall Street Journal Senior Editor Lawrence Rout, he shows us why performance reviews are bogus and how they undermine both creativity and productivity. And he puts a good deal of the blame squarely on human resources professionals, who perpetuate the very practice that they should be trying to eliminate.

But Culbert does more than merely tear down. He also offers a substitute -- the performance preview -- that will actually accomplish the tasks that performance reviews were supposed to, but never will: holding people accountable for their actions and their results, and giving managers and their employees the kind of feedback they need for improving their skills and to give the company more of what it needs.

With passion, humor, and a rare insight into what motivates all of us to do our best, Culbert offers all of us a chance to be better managers, better employees and, indeed, better people. Culbert has long said his goal is to make the world of work fit for human consumption. "Get Rid of the Performance Review!" shows us how to do just that.

For more information about this book please visit Hachette's website.

Giveaway Info

The giveaway will end 6/16/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Closed: Giveaway: Audiobook The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 10 different entrants and a total of 20 entries!

Here are the three winners:
1) karenk
2) DCMetroreader
3) Jane

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

Thanks to Anna at Hachette I can giveaway 3 copies of this one.



About the Book

FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellbeing and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.

It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target.

The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it's too late?

For more information about this book please visit Hachette's website.

Giveaway Info

The giveaway will end 6/16/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Closed: Giveaway: Babushka's Beauty Secrets by Raya Ruder & Susan Campos

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 18 different entrants and a total of 31 entries!

Here are the three winners:
1) monapete
2) Benita
3) Misusedinnocence

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

Thanks to Anna at Hachette I can giveaway 3 copies of this one.



About the Book

DON'T SPEND A FORTUNE TO LOOK FLAWLESS Esthetician to the stars Raisa Ruder learned her time-tested beauty techniques from her Ukrainian grandmother (or babushka, as they say in the old country). Now everyone can discover the all-natural, better-than-botox secrets the Hollywood stars use to shine on the red carpet! Ruder reveals her sought-after beauty recipes that can fight wrinkles, plump lips, and eliminate crow's feet and acne, using inexpensive, everyday grocery items like eggs, honey, vegetable oil and strawberries (and a splash of vodka for freshness!).

For more information about this book please visit Hachette's website.

Giveaway Info

The giveaway will end 6/16/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!