The Heart’s Journey Home by Natalie Ducey

From the author found on Amazon: Poetry for the soul. 

The potential of the human spirit has always amazed me. Through poetry, I try to capture the essence of the fragility and the resiliency of our hearts – the brilliant beauty of life’s journey.

I believe we are connected by similar and relatable experiences. We all love/loved deeply and most likely have been on both sides of goodbye. We know the exquisite and profound beauty of love. We know the immobilizing force of grief and the anguish between letting go and holding on. We know the acute distinction between second chances and new beginnings.

Life… It’s majestic and mystifying, and every day we are granted the opportunity to begin again. Let’s enjoy the Journey!

The collection includes 23 poems titled: Reckless Words, Borrowed Angel, Nobody’s Fool, Silence of the Heart, Love’s Illusion, Fallen Angel, Let’s Dance, Where Does the Love Go, Young Love, Small Town Girl, Winter’s Gift, Destined to Fly, Eternal Love, The War Within, To my Sister on our 40th Birthday, Goodbye without Warning, Old Oak Tree, Names in the Sand, Can’t Let Go, Memories Linger, Caged Bird Sings, Surrender, and Heart’s Journey Home.

“I found this short collection of poems sentimental and meaningful. Ducey has a true talent for writing poems.

Heads Up: When reading on my phone, I found two word errors and one error of two words together without a space, the second word with a capital first letter. However, when reading on my PC no errors are found.” 

Thursday, July 4, 2002

A Stranger There!
by LaSalle aka Denny Lancaster

Each of us in a moment of care,
has seen ‘a stranger’ there;
Whose ears heard every word,
and just listened and heard.

Spilling our hearts grief,
and much to our hearts relief;
Did not offer advice, just care,
a contrite heart he did bare.

On an occasion for us to also show,
to our friends side we too did go;
There like ‘a stranger’ before,
just listened and their pain we bore.

We reflect upon those events now,
not burdened with cow, nor a plow;
Content to just listen with our mind,
for in ‘HIS’ countenance comfort we find.

We talk, just like in our youthful days,
and each listens to what the other says;
Now we know ‘a stranger’ is always here,
in our Cherub family, their face is clear.

Our Lady of Victory: The Saga Of An African-American Catholic Community

By Shirley Harris Slaughter

My review follows the book blurb found on Amazon

“One act set in motion a chain of events that threatened one Catholic community’s ability to thrive.

It happened between 1945 and 1946 at the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Detroit in the Chancellor’s office. Msgr. John C. Ryan called an emergency meeting with the cardinal…

And so the stage was set for the years of turmoil that followed and the subsequent demise of this once vibrant church. Here comes the author who gives the reader an intimate look at her church, the township she grew up in, and its historical significance to World War II, Henry Ford’s auto plant, migration from the south, and the housing crisis that was unfolding. 

The reader is introduced to the pioneers of this West Eight Mile Community who helped shape and establish this community that shaped her. But the book takes a different turn as the research uncovers forgotten secrets…

Today (2014) this little church is in danger of closing its physical doors forever!! Stay tuned as this story continues to unfold.”

I found Our Lady of Victory: The Saga of an African-American Catholic Community by Shirley Harris Slaughter an interesting historical book. The amount of racial prejudice is horrible and shocking! Slaughter compiled an enormous amount of historical content and this content comprises most of this novel. The pieces in which she wove in her own memories created a look at her humanity from a different perspective than most. This isn’t meant to degrade the author; rather, I simply want others to take notice of her struggles, those of her relatives, her community and her church. Slaughter is rich in her own humanity. I feel this book is more fitting as a historical piece rather than a memoir. I highly recommend this book.

M. Schmidt aka S. Jackson, Author, When Angels Fly

Review: Fat Girl, Skinny by Amye Archer

My review of this book follows the authors’ blurb found on Amazon.

“After her husband leaves her for a skinnier, blonder, younger woman, Amye is forced to confront the food addiction that has been holding her back for most of her life and has left her weighing two hundred and sixty-five pounds. With the help of the gang of girls of Weight Watchers, and their fearless leader —former fatty and community college dropout—Pantsuit Pam, Amye spends the next year losing weight and learning to live in a skinny (er) woman’s body. Only being skinny is not as easy as it looks, especially when inside, she will always be a fat girl. Fat Girl, Skinny is Amye’s story, but it’s also the story of anyone who has ever been told: “You’d be pretty…if”.”

Not only has Archer written a book dealing with issues of obesity, she has woven a book encompassing her own inner thoughts and feelings, and leads the reader into the feelings of others in similar situations. Food addiction is real in the western world, and with it comes extreme self-loathing and food disorders, such as bulimia, and starvation. Archer bares her soul on her journey to rebuild her life, to believe in herself once again, to lay open her bullied younger self, along with coping mechanisms of alcohol and boys. Food addiction is a vicious cycle in trying to attain metabolic sobriety, and it undermines attempts at gaining this sobriety. For memoir lovers, this is a great memoir full of honesty and deep with humanity. Heads up: this memoir contains sexually explicit scenes.