The Perfect Match

The Perfect Match by T. Wayne Bloodworth

Book reviewed by Lisa Brown-Gilbert

A narrative, both sincere and touching, The Perfect Match by author T. Wayne Bloodworth focuses on the complex and emotion ridden journey of Dr. Zack Folsom, a man living life so mired in doubt, sorrow and guilt, that it takes twisted fate for him to let go and start living life as he should.  Purchase Here.

Central character, Doctor Zack Folsom, a talented cardiac surgeon, loving husband and father, becomes a man preoccupied, after suddenly losing his wife Emily in a fatal car accident. To avoid the pain of his loss, he throws himself into his work dedicating the majority of his time and energy to his medical practice gaining him the reputation of being “all business” while he constantly wields an irascible and crudely sarcastic disposition.

Although he experiences great success as a competent surgeon, he also deeply feels the emptiness of the void left by his wife’s death. Meanwhile, his only son Brody who is very much in need of a loving relationship with his father especially after the loss of his mother is now raised and cared for by Emily’s family. Consequently, the relationship between father and son eventually festers into a dysfunctional and emotionally fractured relationship as Brody feels ignored and essentially parent-less, and in turn grows to hold onto a deep and resounding resentment against his father.

However, a turning point occurs when things change as a twist of fate brings a lucrative offer to purchase Zack’s start up, a surgical robotics company. The offer not only bears opportunities that would allow Zack freedom from a now disenchanting career, but also brings a beautiful and intelligent lawyer, Gabriella Bennett into his life. As a mutual attraction develops, she helps to bring closure to some of the complexities and emptiness in his life.

Overall a satisfying read, The Perfect Match lives up to its name on multiple levels especially with the theme of the perfect match, being well executed by author T. Wayne Bloodworth. He artfully employs a nicely honed knack for evenly paced, detailed storytelling mainly when it comes to his ability to portray vivid images, the medical field and scenes of touching emotion. Additionally, I found the characters to be well thought out. I particularly enjoyed the character of Doctor Folsom. He was a sympathetic character whose emotions were tangibly realistic. I recommend putting this book on your “to be read” list. It definitely would make a good end of summer, feel good read.

 

A Tempered Faith

A Tempered Faith: Rediscovering Hope in the Ashes of Loss by Jennifer Sands

Book reviewed by Nancy Eaton

There are so many stories regarding the events of September 11, 2001. Some are told by the family members who lost loved ones on this day and others are told by the survivors. The stories are very sad; but, at the same time, they are all unique and very intriguing. It’s difficult to imagine what the relatives and friends of people who were killed on September 11 went through at the time and for the years that followed this terrible assault on America. Purchase Here.

Jennifer Sands tells us her personal story. She met her soul mate, Jim, through a dating service. The two were surprised that they went to the same school, lived in the same town, etc. but never met each other. They got married. Jennifer worked as a pharmacist and Jim worked for Cantor Fitzgerald at the World Trade Center. They enjoyed a few short, wonderful years together. They both had a love for Scuba diving in the Cayman Islands.

On the night of September 10, 2001, Jim and Jennifer watched their favorite team, the New York Giants, play on Monday Night Football. Their dinner turned out to be a disaster (pasta made with a jar of sauce.) Since Jennifer was Italian this was really a no-no. Jim decided to make some popcorn. The popcorn burned but Jim ate it anyway. As a result, Jim’s stomach did not feel well during the night. As I was reading this section of the book, I wondered – if only Jim had called in sick the next morning…Jennifer also had the same thought.

Jennifer, a Catholic, always prayed for Jim’s safety. He had a long commute to work between the drive and the ferry. She thought that praying is all she needed to do because she had a contract with God. However, after losing Jim in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center she grew more and more angry with God. She wondered how God could let something like this happen.

Jennifer’s nephew, Kevin, gave her a special Christmas gift, a journal called Grace for the Moment Journal, Max Lucado’s daily devotional prayer journal. On each page there was scripture and a writing prompt. Jennifer wrote daily in the journal during 2002. This journal played a major role in helping Jennifer to heal.

Jennifer writes this story with honesty and raw emotion. You can feel her anger toward God. As time passed, you can see how she started to accept what had happened and the changes that took place in her feelings toward God. As readers go through the journal, they will clearly see how God was there for Jennifer and how he helped to answer many of her questions.

A Tempered Faith is an emotional, gripping and spiritual story of a young widow who questions God and heals in the process. I would recommend this book to everyone but especially to someone who has lost a loved one.

I had the opportunity to meet Jennifer Sands. She was a speaker at an event I attended at America’s Keswick in Whiting, NJ. After listening to her speech, I had to purchase a copy of her book, Tempered Faith, to read more details about the loss of her husband.

Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your story with us.

On a personal note, one of the items on my “list of things to do” is to visit the 9/11 Memorial. I know this will be a very emotional and difficult trip to make but I just feel it is the least I can do to pay respect to the people who lost their lives that day. After all, these were innocent people who happened to go to work that day to earn a living. My cousin’s wife was working at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 but she was one of the lucky ones who made it safely out of the building.

Note Update: I did visit the 9/11 Memorial and as expected, it was a very somber day. Just to look at all of the photos of the people who lost their lives that day is heartbreaking. I did see the photo of Jennifer Sands’ husband. The one thing that did give me some joy that day was to see the Survivor Tree. If you are not familiar with the Survivor Tree, you can Google it and read the amazing story about this tree and what it means to the 9/11 Memorial.

View from the Edge

View from the Edge by Michael Kasenow

Book reviewed by Teri Takle

“When you get up in the morning–duck.”

How many of us have often wondered at the end of the day if we would have been better off to just stay in bed?

After being treated for a mental breakdown, Dr. Joshua Feenics is returning to his regular life after his leave of absence.  Purchase Here.

Joshua Feenics often feels that way now. He is a college professor who happens to be the head of his department. Basically he is bombarded with the complaints from students and faculty with the expectation of his mediation with each particular situation. Some days this proves to be extremely challenging especially when both seem to just lack common sense.

Josh is well aware of the professors in his department, especially their weaknesses and their prejudices. Another student concern is that there seems to be a possible religious cult on campus involving some of his students.

This small university is also being strongly considered as the site for the future display center for some newly discovered archeological wonders, possibly part of the Ten Commandments written by God. The authenticity seems to collaborate with the time period. However to Josh, something just doesn’t feel right.

With his personal life, Josh is fairly certain that his wife is having an affair. Her moods yo-yo and her excessive drinking makes their relationship definitely questionable. Now she wants them to sell their dream house on a lake so that they can start over since Josh had a mental breakdown. So why does she want to build a gazebo and a new dock? It seems the only solid relationship he has is his only son, Blake.

View from the Edge has a slow beginning as this introductory section centers around Josh and his daily life as well revealing the baggage of his abusive childhood. The few uplifting areas in his life usually revolve around his son and his friendships at the university. However, the development of the characters is amazingly strong and revealing to each of their personal character in this part.

Quickly though, View from the Edge becomes a page-turner. Although not technically a mystery since this is really Josh’s narrative, there are many crimes and mysteries which develop and are discovered throughout this finely interwoven tale. With each aspect unfolding, Josh discovers his strengths and involvement in each mystery.

Michael Kasenow is a geology professor at Eastern Michigan University. He is the author of many science books, won numerous awards for his poetry, and the well-received novel The Last Paradise.

The lessons learned in reading View from the Edge advises each of us to keep going each day, no matter what our problems or challenges are along the way. Why? “We do what we can to feel good about it. But it takes you, you don’t take it.” Think about that when your life seems overwhelming and read View from the Edge.

 

The Dawn of Saudi

The Dawn of Saudi by Homa Pourasgari

Book reviewed by Chris Phillips

Homa Pourasgari has written a romance novel. The girl is in trouble, hiding from pursuers and truly running for her life. The guy is rich, haughty without realizing it, and handsome. This makes for a good romance novel. Purchase Here.

However, Pourasgari takes this common story line and twists it. She keeps surprises popping up throughout the story. Sometimes there are as many as two or three turns in each chapter. Sahar is the main character in the first six chapters. She is a Saudi princess, daughter of a wealthy businessman. She is raised as the pampered princess she is portrayed to be. When the story starts it is her wedding night, and she has apparently committed suicide. The next five chapters recount what led up to that suicide. Several characters are introduced in this section, namely Dawn Parnell and Jason Crawford. In chapter seven, their romance story begins.

Dawn is doing everything she can to be plain and not stand out. She is obviously hiding from the past and doesn’t really want anyone to know. She is not looking for love and just trying to get by. When she goes to work at Jason’s parents’ estate as a housekeeper, the twists begin to come. Dawn was young and foolish once. She married a Saudi businessman believing that she would have a special marriage in a protected compound and still travel all over the world. She didn’t, and now she is hiding from him and the Saudi government.

Jason Crawford is a handsome wealthy businessman. He lives at his parents’ home, but in his own suite, and maintains a healthy social life. He is noted a playboy and not above having an affair with the domestic help of the estate. He is wealthy, handsome, and very unavailable.

How they learn to love each other and deal with Dawn’s problems makes up the plot of the story.  This plot wavers throughout the book. The pace of the book is set with the first chapter, but chapters one through six, Pourasgari, explains the terms and customs of Saudi life as well as trying to move the story along. This technique is very distracting to the point of annoying. Without those details there would only be two chapters instead of six. Instead of defining and explaining as much Pourasgari should have included a glossary in the back.

The story development is very good with solid characters and a good pace. The reader can be glued to their seat compelled to finish a chapter because of such talent. But Pourasgari has an agenda with this book, expressed throughout the book, but concisely explained in the Author’s Notes at the end. There Pourasgari explains the tragic life of Saudi women and children within that kingdom. She advocates political and social pressure on the Arab world to stop violating basic human rights. Pourasgari has some very strong views about religion and government being as intertwined as it is in Saudi Arabia.

These views would be better expressed in another medium since they distract from the book.  She advocates intervention to prevent more abuse of women and children within the Middle Eastern Arab World and everywhere those countries have political power. She lambasts the mediocre and often nonexistent protests and policies of the United States and British governments.

Finally, there is a “Reader’s Guide” following the “Author’s Notes” section giving the book a pedagogical feel. The questions are relevant and searching for comprehension; however, will probably be ignored by most Western readers.

This book exposes the terrible conditions many people within Saudi Arabia live under. Anyone that is politically active and concerned about human rights should read the book. It is a worthwhile read for anyone. This reviewer highly recommends it for any private reading list.