Review: Winning Without a Lawyer: How I Fought My Unfair Dismissal for Six Years — and Won by Ryan Lee

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“What really happens when you take on a system — without a lawyer?

Fired by text message.

No warning. No explanation. No way back.

At 46, Ryan Lee watched his career end in a single moment. No severance. No support. No legal representation.

Most people don’t fight the system.

They don’t know how.

Or they can’t afford to.

He had neither option.

What followed was a six-year battle across three courts—facing a system few individuals truly understand, and even fewer dare to challenge alone.

No legal training.

No deep pockets.

Just relentless persistence—and a refusal to let the official record stand.”

Author:

“A former sales professional, he now writes about resilience, justice, and the power of refusing to quit.”

For more, follow him on Facebook.

Appraisal:

I frequently joke that I’m not an attorney, but I sometimes play one on the internet. Ryan Lee, the author of this book, did the equivalent of responding to that with “hold my beer,” acting as his own attorney after being fired from his job in what I’ll describe as a very non-professional way that I don’t think any normal person would see as a reasonable approach, even if the firing was justifiable which in this case it doesn’t appear to be. How Ryan fought back is an interesting read, at least for an internet lawyer like myself. His disclaimer makes it clear that while he tried his best to cover the story fully, that it is based largely on memory and he might have missed something in his version here. (Yeah, disclaimers are good in this situation.) He also avoids getting too deep into the weeds where only an actual attorney or someone doing their best to be their own would understand the fine points, instead talking about things from a higher level that an average person can follow while still getting a sense of what this battle was like for him. If you’re interested in this kind of thing like I am and find yourself playing attorney on the internet, odds are reasonable that you’ll enjoy this story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 15-20,000 words

Review: Trail Creek by Daniel G. Block

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“In 1946, fresh from the battlefields of World War II, a 26-year-old Dan Block, fancying himself a knight in shining armor, sets off for the wilds of northwest Montana with his young bride, a truck full of mink cages, and a dream carved from the bones of wilderness.

What follows is a breathtaking and heartfelt chronicle of life on the last American frontier: a place where snow falls six feet deep, bears roam the woods, and where only the night sky is crowded. Through freezing temperatures, dangerous animal encounters, wild neighbors, and trout-filled streams, Dan and GeRayne carve a life from scratch outside the boundaries of Glacier National Park near Trail Creek - fifty miles from town and a thousand miles from comfort.

Told with wit, wisdom, and an unflinching eye for detail, Trail Creek is more than a survival memoir - it's a love story, a coming-of-age tale, and a tribute to the forgotten art of making do, holding fast, and finding joy in the hardest places.”

Author:

“A gifted writer, educator and natural storyteller, Dan later became a professor sharing his passion for biology, literature, wilderness conservation and self-reliance with generations of students. Trail Creek: A North Fork Saga is his vivid memoir of those early, hard, unforgettable years - a tribute to adventure, his marriage, a one-of-a-kind life and the last true frontier.”

Appraisal:

One of the things I like most about memoirs and biographical books is comparing the life of the person in the story to that of myself, my family, and my friends. Daniel Block, the author whose experiences moving from a midwestern city to a homestead in an extremely rural and rugged area of Montana well before I was even born is definitely not something I experienced, but I found myself comparing his life to my father’s, a rural western farm boy who eventually became a forester, as Dan Block eventually also does. While I’ve never lived in an area as rural as Block’s homestead, I’ve definitely spent time in and experienced to a small degree what those areas are like, even if a whole lot later in the world’s timeline, but I found I could both relate at times to his experience and enjoyed getting new perspectives and a glimpse of someone else’s experiences that were different from the people I know. Definitely an enjoyable and enlightening read. Adding to it are a few sections with pictures of the people who play the biggest part in the story from the same time frame being chronicled, making picturing them that much easier.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 115-120,000 words

Review: Unbroken: Life Outside The Lines by Adriene Caldwell

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“Born into a military family bound by loyalty and silence, Adriene grows up beneath the shadow of her mother's untreated schizophrenia and violent instability. Her early years in Houston are marked by physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as deep poverty and neglect. Through a child's eyes, the world becomes a labyrinth of danger and yearning - a place where love and terror are indistinguishable and where survival depends on invisibility.

As her mother's delusions intensify, Adriene and her younger brother are swept into a cycle of instability: temporary relatives' homes, decrepit apartments, shelters, and the bureaucratic indifference of Child Protective Services. Her life becomes a study in adaptation. Teachers, social workers, and therapists appear as both saviors and spectators, their well-meaning interventions undercut by a system that cannot see the full truth.

Amid this chaos, Adriene discovers a sanctuary in learning. Books become her escape and her mirror, a means of constructing identity from fragments. Her intelligence and resilience earn her entry into gifted programs and, later, a transformative scholarship through the Duke University Talent Identification Program's ADVANCE Camp - a rare space of belonging and recognition. Yet even moments of promise are shadowed by trauma's lingering grasp; her mind remains both brilliant and haunted.

Foster care, meant to save her, instead subjects Adriene to new forms of cruelty. The ‘Bitch from Hell,’ her abusive foster mother, wields authority with sadism cloaked in righteousness. Still, Adriene's intellect and adaptability allow her to navigate this world - and, in small acts of defiance, reclaim pieces of her agency.

College becomes both a milestone and a reckoning. Having survived the unimaginable, Adriene graduates with honors in International Business, only to find herself unprepared for the invisible toll of trauma in adulthood. Depression, self-sabotage, and a string of hollow relationships bring her to the brink of despair once more. The memoir crescendos with a raw confrontation of suicidality - and the awakening that follows.

In one of the book's most powerful sections, Adriene revisits her own CPS case files, psychiatric evaluations, and therapy notes. Reading herself through the cold lens of institutional language, she confronts the staggering disconnect between documented ‘stability’ and lived abuse. This duality - the official record versus the inner truth - forms the heart of Unbroken. The narrative closes with a reclamation: survival not as triumph over pain, but as the deliberate act of continuing to live and love despite it.”

Author:

“While her childhood and early adult life might have been tumultuous, Adriene is now happily married to a wonderful man and living a life she could only dream of when she was young. Adriene’s daughter, currently at university, was, is, and will always be a handful and Adriene wouldn’t have it any other way. She is blessed to now live a rather bland life filled with family and friends and is a firm believer in the idea that ‘boring is underrated.’”

Appraisal:

My normal take on memoirs is that they can work two ways. Some probably have aspects of both. One is to recognize aspects of myself or my own life experience in the story. Comparing, contrasting, and sometimes seeing your comparable experiences in a different light are some of the appeal of those that fall in this category. The other way it can go is for the life being chronicled to be nothing like yours. Sometimes that is too bad (like that person becoming a millionaire which you’re still shy of making) and sometimes you’re incredibly grateful that you haven’t gone through anything close to what this person has. For me this book is solidly in that last category and hopefully that’s the case for most of you.

I think understanding the kind of situations that some kids find themselves in, the difficulty they have and the ways government entities that are supposed to help when the issue is discovered can sometimes fall short are all things that are valuable for all of us to understand.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Quoting from the book:

“Trigger Warnings: Emotional and physical abuse, the sexual assault of a child, the drowning death of a child, extreme poverty, mental illness, homelessness, abusive foster care, pedophilia, graphic sexual descriptions, violence, bulimia, incest, death, and suicide.

Please proceed with caution.”

Format/Typo Issues:

The review is based on an ARC version (advance reviewer copy) and I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low by Rob Miller

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“Rob Miller arrived in Chicago wanting to escape the music industry. In short order, he co-founded a trailblazing record label revered for its artist-first approach and punk take on country, roots, and so much else. Miller’s gonzo memoir follows a music fan’s odyssey through a singular account of Bloodshot Records, the Chicago scene, and thirty years as part of a community sustaining independent artists and businesses. Hilarious and hundred-proof, The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low delivers a warm-hearted yet clear-eyed account of loving and living music on the edge, in the trenches, and without apologies.”

Author:

Born and raised in the Detroit metro, Rob Miller eventually fled to Chicago, he thought to escape the music business he was involved with in Michigan. That didn’t exactly work out as he landed in Chicago and eventually got convinced to partner with a couple others to form Bloodshot Records, an independent record label.

Appraisal:

If you’re into music and the music business in any way, you’re likely to enjoy this book. If you’re a fan of Americana music (or if you prefer to call it “alternative country” or “insurgent country” as Bloodshot Records, the label cofounded by the author of this book, called it) that’s even more likely. I enjoyed this not only for the insight it gave me into the music business done with a love of music rather than a love of money being the primary motivation, but the author’s sense of humor kept me engaged even more. A great read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: Stray: Breaking Free, Falling Hard, Growing Stronger by Shannon O’Brien

Genre: Memoir/Narrative Nonfiction

Description:

“What happens when the path you choose leads far from everything you thought you knew?

Shannon O’Brien leaves behind a life of routine to chase adventure across South America and Asia. With only a backpack and a restless heart, she dives into landscapes as beautiful as they are unpredictable. But what begins as a journey to explore the world soon becomes a deeper quest to explore herself.

She finds herself lost and dehydrated in Peru’s Colca Canyon, nursing an injured spider monkey in the Bolivian jungle, and inside a high-altitude jail. A crude hospital in Cambodia tests her limits, while encounters with a shaman in Vietnam and a dangerous brush with Moroccan drug lords challenge everything she thought she knew about trust and survival.”

Author:

“For over 15 years, Shannon O’Brien has made the world her classroom—immersing herself in cultures and discovering how every journey transforms the traveler. A writer, educator, and lifelong adventurer, she crafts vivid, character-driven stories that explore identity, change, and the emotional landscapes of travel. Her debut travel memoir, Stray: Breaking Free, Falling Hard and Growing Stronger, blends raw honesty with rich cultural detail, capturing both the external journey and the inner one. Originally from California but now based in Malta, Shannon teaches at an international school and continues to write.”

For more visit the author’s website.

Appraisal:

I’m an avid traveler although the vast majority of that travel has been in the US rather than to places all over the world like the author, Shannon O’Brien, chronicles in this book. I also love travel memoirs. Since I can’t be on the road all the time reading these gives me the chance to experience places I’ve never been vicariously as well as seeing places I have been and travel experiences in general through someone else’s eyes, giving me a chance to compare. This book was incredible. I enjoyed reading it as much as some of the classics of the genre I’ve read over the years. If you like travel memoirs, giving this one a try is a no brainer.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advance reviewer copy) and thus I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Horny: Sex Without Scruples by Brad Deep

 

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

Description:

“Brad Deep didn’t just peek into the male sexual psyche—he lived in it, banked it, and sold the tickets.

One day, a young Brad heard Francis Ford Coppola say in a documentary, “If an aspiring filmmaker wants to make a movie, he must do whatever it takes.”

Brad took that literally. He hired a few girls, opened an erotic massage parlor, and planned to use the profits to fund his movie.

What he didn’t plan for was front-row seats to the raw, unfiltered reality of male sexuality—the desires, the lies, the awkward kinks, and the desperate confessions men never make sober… or to their wives.

Horny: Sex Without Scruples is a savage, brutally honest, and laugh-out-loud demolition of dating myths, gender games, and the absurd mating dance we call relationships.

Written by a man who saw it all—the office bosses, the preachers, the boyfriends, the husbands—this isn’t therapy; it’s a strip search of the male libido… with sarcasm as the lube.

With stories you’d never tell your priest, real data that proves just how far the depravity runs, and chapter titles that slap harder than your ex’s mood swings, Horny is the book men pray women never read… and the one women can’t resist picking up.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what men are really like when nobody’s watching—this is your backstage pass.

Just don’t read it at church.”

Author:

“Brad Deep doesn’t write to make friends. He writes like he’s swinging a sledgehammer in a library—loud, unapologetic, and bound to piss someone off. His pages drip with the kind of truth most people choke on, served with enough filthy laughs to make a nun sweat.

He lives clean—no booze, no smokes, no drugs—running instead on cycling, weight training, and five-finger solos that would make a drummer jealous.

When it comes to women, he’s old school: natural beauty or nothing. No dye jobs, no Botox, no filler, no bolt-on boobs. Ask if he’d live with a woman again, and he’ll tell you yes—but only if she’s easy on the eyes, smart, and he’s lost his damn mind.”

Appraisal:

Along with the copyright, dedication, and other content before the book actually begins is a notice that says the author will be donating a dollar from each copy of this book that is sold to an organization supporting survivors of sexual assault and adds that “if some men had an ounce of self-control, I wouldn’t have had to write this book.”

The author talks about some things you’re probably aware of and in some cases most of you have probably participated in them to some degree. If you’re enough of an adult to be reading this I doubt many won’t recognize themselves in the things discussed here at some point, regardless of your gender. Hopefully lots more your reaction will be “I didn’t realize that happened” or “I knew that kind of stuff went on, but I sure haven’t been involved in it.” Ultimately this book will get you thinking about a lot of things, maybe inspire those who need to do better to do so. But even if it doesn’t, it’s a fun read in spite of the deep subject. The author injects humor in lots of different ways. In fact, at one point the author says that if it “made you laugh, gasp, or squirm uncomfortably in public” that this was a good thing and the point of the book. It sure did for me. All three of those things at different times.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Adult language and adult content. Lots of adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advanced reader copy) and thus I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: Behind Closed Doors by E. S. Silversmith

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“Young, broke, in college.

What’s a girl to do?

Dive into this deliciously absurd and darkly humorous peek inside the world's oldest profession.

Told through a series of encounters with real clients, this unhinged nonfiction recounts the misadventures of a socially awkward college student as she fumbles her way through the salacious world of escorting.

While recalling unforgettable stories, Silversmith shares her unique insight into the business practices of call girl agencies and the everyday lives of American sex workers.

At times tragic, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, this is a book you won't be able to put down.”

Author:

The author has written just this book under this name, but has several short erotic short stories published under a different, but similar pen name, Essis Silversmith.

Appraisal:

Were it not for the need this book has for a through proofread, I’d have given it a four star, possibly even five star ranking. But the proofreading issues I had to trip over or reword in my mind as I read it far exceeded what I can ignore. The interesting contents is all that saved me from going with a two star ranking instead.

The story here when you get past the poor proofreading is interesting in many ways. The various experiences the author chronicles from her time spent working in what is often called “the world’s oldest profession” was interesting. It gives a different perspective on it from the standpoint of the worker. But it also gives some insight into her customers, both good and bad aspects. The book is arranged as a set of stories although following a rough chronological order so that as the author’s experiences and approach changed over time it was reflected in the stories. If you can get past the atrocious proofreading, there is a good read and lots of thought-provoking story here.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

It should be obvious, but this contains lots of adult content and language.

Format/Typo Issues:

While the story is well put together if this book received any significant proofreading, it fell extremely short. The issues I spotted were numerous, ranging from missing a word, having an extra word, using one name for a person in one place and another name a few paragraphs later, incorrect verb tense, and many others.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 115-120,000 words

Review: Raised by Wolves, Possibly Monsters by Michael Swerdloff

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“This is a story about a boy who wanted to be kind and loving but was raised by wolves and monsters who taught him to choose violence and aggression. As the boy grew to be a man, he wanted to be a protector of women but ended up being what girls and women needed protection from. He lied, cheated, and scammed his way through life until he couldn't.

This memoir is his moving account of discovering healthy masculinity from the inside out. His journey has been sensational at times and unbelievable at others, but for many readers, it has been absolutely inspiring. Will the hungry wolves outlast the desire to be loving and beautiful? Can men truly change?

There is hope in witnessing the depth and commitment of a person willing to try to be better without knowing exactly how. This memoir captures one man’s struggle to transcend his past and imagine an entirely new future for himself premised on compassion, care, and advocacy.”

Author:

“Michael Swerdloff is an Ordained Minister of Natural Healing from The Seminary Training Program and a Reiki Master. His work is Brief Holistic Counseling/Coaching. Michael has received training from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The Gottman Institute, and other revered teachers and healers. He has been a counselor, coach, social worker, community organizer, educator, writer, and DJ for more than twenty-five years. Along with his private practice, Michael is the Program Manager at Dance New England, a volunteer-centered non-profit that hosts dance events that cultivate a vibrant multi-generational community. Michael facilitates retreats in New England and globally. He lives by the water in Rhode Island, which is not an island.”

Appraisal:

For a decent portion of this book, especially in the beginning, it’s hard to see how Michael is going to end up a decent person. That’s in spite of knowing from the book description that this is going to happen. To say he’s not a good person in his younger years would be an extreme understatement. Issues with misogyny, lots of criminal actions, and extreme drug use all figure into the story. Needless to say, the change takes a long time and doesn’t happen all at once.

Although he mentions in the introduction things he did to keep the story shorter than it might have been, the result is still a book that is much longer than you might expect (almost double the length of an average novel). That length is the one tweak I’d like to see, but I suspect that the parts I’d suggest might be cut are those that other will find the most inspirational, so I see why it didn’t happen. I can see this as a good and inspirational read for both men and women, but for different reasons.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 150-155,000 words

Review: Black On Madison Avenue by Mark S. Robinson

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“Advertising decides what America wants. And yet, for an industry that professes to be the vanguard of creativity, popular culture and forward thinking, advertising is one of the most un-diverse white-collar professions in America. Surprisingly, despite all of its public gestures of ‘wokeness’, Madison Avenue would like to keep it that way.

Black on Madison Avenue explains how – and why – the author landed on Madison Avenue, and shares some of his incredible adventures over the past 40+ years. Yes, adventures. Have you ever gotten into a shouting match with a Venezuelan Army general in the middle of a military coup? He has. He kidnapped advertising legend Jim Jordan, insulted high-ranking Chinese government officials at a formal dinner and launched the first multicultural marketing holding company.

Mark Robinson was the co-founder of Spike/DDB, along with filmmaker Spike Lee and has stories no one else could tell. Robinson’s stories include Bill Cosby, Mike Tyson, Vanessa Williams, Usher, Oprah, Zsa Zsa Gabor, James Brown and Notorious B.I.G.”

Author:

Mark S. Robinson is a longtime employee, manager, and founder of various New York based advertising agencies. He lives with his wife in Connecticut.

Appraisal:

I often say that many books, but especially memoirs, often have one of two effects when you read them, depending on your situation and that of the protagonist or subject of the memoir. If they’re like you, it gives a chance to compare experiences and can sometimes give you a different perspective on your own life. But if the author’s life is much different than yours, it can help you better understand others which is a positive for all concerned.

This book definitely fits that second option for me as my career couldn’t have been much different from Mark Robinson’s work in advertising, not to mention my pale skin that would help me blend in on Madison Avenue. Surprisingly I also spotted some things where our experiences were the same. For example how if you do good work the connections at one job will often help lead to other opportunities at different companies.

This book is structured as a series of stories, with each chapter containing a story that could stand alone, but what happens in one will often relate to things that happened in another in such a way that you’ll see the patterns and how things evolved over time in some ways and not in others for Robinson and other blacks in the advertising business which is, as he says, “one of the whitest white-collar professions in America.” You’ll also see plenty of proof, not just anecdotal, but some data to back it up. In the end I found this to be an enlightening and interesting read for me about an industry I’d have said I wasn’t that interested in, and yet it effects all of us and I found seeing how it functioned from an insiders perspective to be interesting.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Takes More Than Love by Jenna Winters

 Genre: Memoir

Description:

“If Jenn had known her husband's family before they'd gotten married, there might never have been a wedding at all.

Now she has to confront the reality that her new family holds ignorant—and, at times, racist—views, and that spending time around them triggers her ingrained trauma of growing up Black in the U.S.

Why is it so hard for her to speak out against their prejudice? And, more importantly, what does it mean that her husband is silent in the face of all this?

This transformative memoir follows Jenn as she confronts the past, helps her husband on his own journey to racial awareness, and finds the inner strength to be an advocate for others.

Both harrowing and uplifting, this book is for anyone who has ever been othered, as well as those in close relationships with those from different walks of life. It challenges us all to confront our unconscious bias and seek true reconciliation.”

Author:

According to the publisher’s website Jenna Winters “lives with her husband and four children in Omaha, ​Nebraska. Whenever she has a spare moment, she can be ​found enjoying a book (she carries one with her everywhere ​she goes). The only thing she loves more than reading is ​traveling. She believes that leaving the comfort zone of one’s ​own community is one of the greatest ways to build empathy ​for other people.”

Appraisal:

One of the many great things about reading books is how they can help us understand other people who are in situations much different than our own, which is what this book did for me. The opposite of that, seeing how someone struggling with the same things you struggle with and potentially getting ideas of how they deal with comparable struggles is another area where some books are very valuable, and for other readers out there, this book could well do that. Some might even find themselves on both sides in different ways, for example you might not understand the struggles of being a minority race in the US who has to cope with racism, but you might find yourself having to help a spouse understand why something is difficult for you because they have never experienced those situations (maybe helping a man understand issues that a woman encounters that he never would).

The point, of course, is that better understanding people from all walks of life, both how their lives are different and how they’re the same helps everyone. I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a better person and improve their understanding of the world and those around them.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: One Man's Journey by J.R. Wheeless

 Genre: Memoir

Description:

“One Man’s Journey is a short trip down the path on the fight against prostate cancer. This is the author’s story about his battle against a cancer that afflicts thousands of men each year. It is a down-to-earth telling of a, hopefully, successful skirmish he has fought in his war against a cancer every man fears, but few understand. He has months, most likely years, before he can be declared cured, but he lives with hope. Take the journey with him along the early part of his fight.

This is not a medical journal, nor is it a technical manual. In easy to understand language the author hopes to acquaint the reader with what occurs when a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, and what that diagnosis means in his life.

All proceeds from the sale of this book is being donated to the fight against prostate cancer. It is hoped that eventually medical science will find a simple cure to this dreadful disease.”

Author:

A writer all his life, J.R. Wheeless was writing a weekly column for his local newspaper as a high school senior. His writing was more personal for a lot of years, journals he kept for himself and such, but in 2015 he published his first book and he has had several since then, some fiction, some non-fiction, some novels, some short story collections.

Appraisal:

An interesting read that most middle age or older adult males could benefit from reading. (The women in their lives could benefit as well.) While it doesn’t get the attention that other forms of cancer do, the author points out that roughly the same percentage of men get prostate cancer as the percentage of women who get breast cancer. Making sure your doctor is doing the appropriate blood tests as part of your annual checkups and addressing any potential issues early can make a big difference. While a quick read the author does a lot in giving a feel for the experience he’s gone through, his less than perfect (according to him) interpretations of some of the medical issues and at the end lots of sources if you’d like to dig deeper into the subject.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Review: You Wanna Put What Where? by Brian Fasterling

 Genre: Humor/Memoir

Description:

“Hold on to your gurney and embark on a hilarious, side-splitting, comedy adventure through the often daunting world of medical procedures, where laughter truly becomes the best medicine.

In this uproarious tale told from the often-overlooked perspective of the patient, Brian Fasterling masterfully weaves together humor and everyday life experiences in a comedic and clever medical memoir, creating a literary gem that will leave you in stitches. From relatable anecdotes to unexpected twists, each page is infused with Brian's signature wit and charm.

Packed with funny, laugh-out-loud scenarios and poignant insights, You Wanna Put What, Where? is a doctor-ordered dose of comic relief. Whether you've braved the medical system or simply crave a good belly laugh, this book guarantees an unforgettable journey.”

Author:

“Brian Fasterling was born and raised in New Orleans and now lives with his wife, Kelly, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the wind is so strong some days it could blow out the sun. Though he has finally achieved ‘published author’ status whose work lives on in perpetuity simply because it's on the Internet, in past professional lives he drew street maps by hand, became a commercial pilot and flight instructor, managed production of auto parts catalogs, wrote software to publish telephone books, developed code for iOS devices and was a sysadmin for engineering systems (all at different times, of course). He has climbed an active volcano, scaled 14,000-foot peaks, been to 46 U.S. states, likes to travel internationally, totally digs vintage stereos, plays numerous musical instruments kinda sorta well, enjoys camping/biking/skiing/jogging, and just chillin' with a cold beer while pondering the magnificent miracle that is life.”

Appraisal:

This book chronicles the author’s experience as a patient as he concludes he has a health issue, has it checked out by medical professionals, and eventually has a medical procedure to hopefully fix things. While it doesn’t go into the kind of detail you might expect from your doctor if you were experiencing this yourself, it does give some sense of the experience, which is why I describe this as a memoir as well as the books primary genre, humor. And boy, it is definitely funny. Near the end the author mentions the old saying that “laughter is the best medicine” and he was certainly self-medicating when he wrote this. If you aren’t laughing at least once on every page I believe you’re in need of a medical procedure yourself. Probably a sense of humor transplant.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: Voices Carry: A Story of Teaching, Transitions, & Truths by Raven Oak

 Genre: Memoir/LGBTQ

Description:

Rules of Teaching:

1.   Clone thyself

2.   Learn teleportation. The sooner the better.

3.   Trust no one.

These are the rules I learned as a middle school teacher, though it was the last one that drove me from the classroom forever. Like many educators, I couldn’t survive the politics. After thirteen years, I bailed. How did I, an abuse-surviving queer, end up teaching in the middle of the Bible Belt? Better yet, how did I survive?

New Rule of Life:

1. Neither my silence nor my identity is for sale at any price.

My former vice principal said it best (though I wasn’t supposed to see that email) when he asked, “Why does she always have to write a damn novel?”

So here I am. Writing a damn novel. As to the why…because I believe in changing the world, one word at a time.

Navigating discrimination, whether it’s from employers, medical professionals, colleagues, or family, is often fraught with uncertainty. Join Raven Oak on their journey of transition and self-discovery in a world built on silence.

Author:

An award-winning author of numerous speculative fiction books as well as a contributor to several short story anthologies, Raven Oak is a former teacher, queer, and disabled. She fled the south for Seattle where she now lives with her wife and is a fulltime author.

Appraisal:

Countless times in reviews of memoirs I’ve said that one of the things I like about memoirs, at least those that are well done, is if the author is different than me in some way that it helps me to better understand people who are different. That might be different in experiences, in upbringing, gender, or many other things. This book delivered for me in this regard as there are numerous differences between Raven Oak and me. I haven’t had the struggles that she has had (yes, we could describe it as me having privilege, relative to her). I think me understanding those struggles she has gone through is helpful for me to understand others, but I also couldn’t help but notice that in spite of the differences that we’re not entirely different. I could relate to many of her thoughts and opinions, goals, etc. I suspect most people who gave this a read could both learn from and be inspired by it.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: The Customer is Always Wrong by StJohn Lennox-Kerr

 

Genre: Humor/Memoir

Description:

“Working with the general public can be a nightmare, especially in the world of computer repair. In The Customer is Always Wrong, StJohn Lennox-Kerr exposes the true horrors of customer service with a collection of painfully hilarious, and sometimes downright infuriating, stories from his time at a small computer repair shop.

Just don't lose your faith in humanity!”

Author:

I was unable to find any information about the author other than what the book says, that he is an IT professional who spent a few years about 20 years ago working in a computer repair shop.

Appraisal:

This book consists of short tales of experiences the author had working at a computer repair shop. Each section is a paragraph or two, roughly a hundred words or a bit less. Around the size of this review. (Okay, maybe more like between half to a third the size of this review.) It chronicles everything from people using the parking lot in front of the strip mall the shop was located in as a bathroom to multiple unsuccessful attempts to get something for nothing from the store to how clueless people often are about their computer or life in general. While the author eventually makes it clear that the vast majority of the customers he dealt with were reasonably nice and no problem to take care of, by the time you reach that point you can’t help but wonder how any town can have as many idiots as the one he worked in apparently does.

Most of the stories managed to get a laugh or chuckle out of me or in some cases a shake of the head, struggling to believe how the customer thought anyone would believe them or go for what they proposed. Sometimes I questioned the truth of the story as well. For example one claimed that a woman came into the store carrying a fire hydrant, set it down, said “it’s yours now,” and walked out. A fire hydrant? Really? Maybe it really happened. I’m not sure how much a fire hydrant weighs, but suppose there are people tough enough to carry one out there, assuming they came across one that wasn’t connected to the water pipe. It just seems unlikely. Or maybe he didn’t mean fire hydrant, but got the term wrong. Maybe fire extinguisher. Still strange, but more believable. I’m not sure, but my alternative possibility seems possible since this book had a ton of proofreading errors (missing words, wrong words, words that should be two words made into compound words like onetime). At times a fun read, but the proofreading issues and a ton of short repetitive stories offset much of the fun.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Way, way, way too many issues with proofreading misses. It surpassed what I would find acceptable in a book twice as long.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words