Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: Barbara Bamberger Scott

The DEVIL’s BOOKKEEPERS: Book 1: The Noose by Mark H. Newhouse – Jewish Historical Fiction, Jewish Holocaust Fiction, Jewish Literature

Mark H. Newhouse has created an intense, harrowing, story of love and loyalty surrounding life within the Lodz Ghetto in Poland, established to control a sizeable portion of the Jewish population under Nazi domination in the first book in the series, The Devil’s Bookkeepers: The Noose.

The author’s viewpoint is focused through the lens of Bernard Ostrowski, an engineer who will join three other men chosen for their related skills to report on daily happenings in the ghetto while secretly codifying incidents that the Nazis would not have wished to have recorded. Ostrowski and his cohort – the distinguished but embittered Oskar Rosenfeld, a noted Zionist, Julian Cukier, a journalist, and Oscar Singer, the youngest of the crew and the most impulsive. As Ostrowski opines privately, “Two Jews are a debate. Three, an argument. Four? A war.” Yet the four will co-exist, all trying in their separate ways to fulfill their assignment and please their highly controversial boss, Chaim Rumkowski.

Rumkowski was the real overseer of the Lodz Ghetto.

Some hated him since the people under his sway were starving and dying in disproportionately high numbers even as he commanded them to work for the German cause in German-run industries. Others, like Ostrowski and his companions, did their best to obey him despite many strong reservations, seeing him as the only hope, if faint, for their people’s survival. In their workday, the four men would learn of ever-increasing horrors taking place in the home where they’d been consigned. From very young people shot by German police or Jewish police under Nazi dominance to more people brought in by the thousand when all within the ghetto barely survived, strange, disturbing rumors arose about urns of Jewish ashes being sent to relatives in the ghetto from the concentration camp at Buchenwald.

Ostrowski has other palpable worries as the story evolves in the chaos around him.

His young wife Miriam wants a baby, and her pregnancy makes their deprivations even more distressing. Though they love one another, she is suspicious, as are many in the ghetto, of Rumkowski and his motivations. As her husband willingly works for and accedes to Rumkowski’s wishes, a line between them grows. In his role as “the engineer,” Ostrowski believes he is helping to keep his co-workers more concentrated on hard realities from an objective, constructive viewpoint. Miriam’s criticism torments him. Singer secretly suggests to Ostrowski that he take Miriam, their new daughter Regina and flee the ghetto. As the “noose” tightens, this begins to seem like the only realistic plan. But carrying it out would risk their three lives.

An award-winning writer and educator, Newhouse was born in Germany, the child of Holocaust survivors.

Gifted by his mother with a considerable narration entitled The Chronicle of the Lodz Ghetto (translated and edited by Lucjan Dobroszycki, Yale University Press, 1984) and seeing that his parents had had a personal attachment to the account, he read it, and within a short time, he had begun this trilogy, of which The Noose is Part One.

Much of the Chronicle was composed by unknown scribes. Newhouse decided on a fictional treatment speaking for its many authors and encompassing its vital, often horrific, truths. His wide-reaching story of conditions in and feelings about the Lodz Ghetto is educated and realistic. Newhouse deftly combines historical fact with a vibrant portrait of high-minded human beings caught in the trap of being “chosen” – but for what? – and trying their best to fulfill religious and family expectations while suspecting their efforts will all be in vain.

The Devil’s Bookkeeper series won the CIBA 2020 Grand Prize for Series.

December 8, 2021
MATAMOROS: Civil War Adventure, Romance and Espionage in an Old West Border Town by James Kahn – Action/Adventure Romance, Westerns, Western Romance

With the American Civil War as a grisly backdrop, James Kahn shines a light onto the real old West in his latest novel, Matamoros: Civil War Adventure, Romance and Espionage in an Old West Border Town.

The tiny Mexican town of Matamoros becomes a haven for traders, traitors, ex-slaves, and card sharks. Bring the war into the mix with Northern and Southern agents, both self-appointed and official, and the result is perfect for plenty to go wrong.

Clayton Wilkes owns the Brave River Gambling Emporium and can smile and shoot almost in the same breath.

One day he demonstrates his wit and daring for all to see as he confronts a man suspected of cheating at a high-stakes card game. In so doing, he draws the attention of a Northern operative.

Enter Isaac, an ex-slave and Clay’s closest confidant. Isaac’s talented and educated, able to speak the King’s English when called upon, or revert to slave jargon when necessary. After all, southern slavers and rebel spies lurk about in Matamoros and its Texas counterpart, Brownsville – and freed slaves can never be too careful.

There are fortunes to be made at the large shipping port. Those aligned with the rebel cause trade raw cotton to Europe and receive payment in much-needed weaponry. But they’re not the only ones making money. Clay’s riches stand to be boosted by the conflict flaring around him, including Napoleon III’s interest in conquering and controlling Mexico.

In the middle of it all, Clay’s personal life transforms with the unexpected return of his erstwhile partner in scams.

The alluring Allie, a self-made woman with whom Clay shares romantic but somehow inexpressible feelings, arrives on the scene. Allie employs her fascination with the art and science of photography, séances, and other con artistry as she and Clay try to get a handle on what’s going on in Matamoros.

In his varied roles as author, medical advisor, TV and film producer, and novelizer of iconic films like “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” Kahn comes well qualified to identify and explore the dichotomy that makes the best stories even better.

The action in this broad panorama of love, crime, and war rises to a cinematic fever pitch as plot streams swirl and splash. Matamoros brings some real people to life, notably John Wilkes Booth, styled as Clay’s distant cousin. In the end, Kahn’s deftly drawn “postscript” begs for a sequel.

There’s nothing quite like a shady border town to spark larger-than-life characters onto new adventures. The ever-evolving goings-on in Brownsville on the American side and Matamoros across the river, in such tight sequence at such a significant time and so masterfully arrayed by Kahn, will excite and engage all fans of Americana, Westerns, and Romances. What can we say? It’s a thrill a minute set for success – and one book we can highly recommend. Matamoros won 1^st Place in the CIBAs, Laramie Awards for Americana Fiction.

One more thing, for a multimedia experience, Kahn has produced a Matamoros CD of original Americana music, each track about one of the characters in the novel. Click here to find out more.

August 2, 2021
SEVEN APRILS (American Civil War Brides Book 1) by Eileen Charbonneau – U.S. Military Romance, American Civil War Brides, Historical Romance

Disguised gender identities, warfare, and thwarted romance all play a role in this many-layered novel, Seven Aprils, by award-winning fiction author Eileen Charbonneau.

When Tess Barton, a hardscrabble farm girl, saves the life of a man attacked by a panther, she and he little realize how fated this encounter will prove. Ryder Cole, the man she saved, moves on, pursuing a medical career just as the United States seems destined for war. Intrepid Tess will move on, too, when she learns that her widower father sells her in matrimony to an old, brutish shopkeeper. A wise crone cuts Tess’s hair and garbs her in men’s attire. Reborn as Tom Boyde, who will soon, strangely, meet up with Ryder and become one of his “men,” conscripted into Lincoln’s armies. Tess/Tom shows promise as a medical assistant with some undeniable cooking skills, and together with two other conscripts, they make the team in the Union’s army hospital units.

Things change again for Tess when she and the others visit a brothel in Washington, DC.

The madam spies a young woman in Tess/Tom right away. She dresses and perfumes Tess and sends her to Ryder. As for Ryder, he’s not stopped fantasizing about the huntress “Diana,” who saved him from the panther. As this strange link develops, Tom helps Ryder write to his “sister” Tess since Ryder has feelings – for Tom – that can only be assuaged by the hope of meeting the young man’s female twin someday. Meanwhile, their sexual affair blooms. Diana/Tess will meet Ryder only in darkness, though, and Tom/Tess serves mysteriously as their go-between. When the war ends, Ryder, assuming Tom to have been killed, feels compelled to seek out Tess, who has meanwhile met the Underground Railroad founder, Harriet Tubman, and has more than one surprise for her former lover and comrade-in-arms.

Seven Aprils feels a lot like the mistaken identities and disguises found in a romping romantic Shakespeare comedy.

The plot, undeniably complicated, appears in seven phases – beginning in 1860 with Tess and Ryder’s first encounter and concluding in 1866. When done with subterfuge, the two can finally see each other in complete honesty. The novel abounds with what is clearly the author’s deep commitment to historical fact. Many women disguised their physic to serve in the war. The scenes of army medical care, savage as it had to be under the harrowing circumstances, are founded on real accounts. And the background of noted battles and locations is drawn from the annals of recorded history.

If the tale seems a bit too fanciful, how could Ryder not see that Tom was a female at some point in their mixing? Held together by the reader’s own wish to have it so, readers have a chance to sit back and enjoy the show. So long as Tess/Tom can sustain her/his deception, there will be a gripping war chronicle and a sensual love story on the boil. And in the end, Charbonneau deftly ties up all the threads, leaving an opening (this being Book 1) for more such dramas to play out in the future. Seven Aprils took home the CIBA Laramie Grand Prize for the Best Western Romance novel in 2019.

July 23, 2021
I, TARZAN: AGAINST ALL ODDS by Jean-Philippe Soulé – Adventure Memoir, Overcoming Obstacles, Inspirational Memoir

In his adventure-infused memoir, I, Tarzan: Against All Odds, Jean-Philippe Soulé recalls a difficult childhood, fractured and sometimes anger-laced teen years, and remarkable adult accomplishments that continue to the present day.

A child of the 1960s, born in France, Jean-Philippe learned many of life’s lessons through the early medium of television, watching the real-life exploits of Jacques Cousteau and the fantasy heroism of Tarzan. While Cousteau became a life-long role model for Soulé the man, the boy set up ropes to swing from in the backyard – much to his mother’s horror. Both role models, however, influenced Soulé to embrace the outdoors. His acerbic father took him on sailing excursions from time to time, increasing the boy’s sense of the challenges of nature.

Challenges helped Soulé discover his resources and strengths.

At a young age, the introverted Soulé wore glasses and became targeted by bullies, making his life at school hell. Nevertheless, he excelled at sports, proving himself the best runner in the school. Facing inevitable draft induction by age 18, Soulé longed for the opportunity to join the elite French Mountain Commandos, a small Special Forces unit of the 27 BCA. However, his chances were very slim as he had only a few weeks of experience in mountain climbing, and the highly lauded unit was at the time — and remains — a very exclusive military branch. Soulé put his incredible willpower to the test. Once allowed to compete, he so impressed his superiors with physical feats that he not only made the selection but also received rare promotions, participating in harrowing rescue and recovery missions in life-threatening conditions.

The 27 BCA offered Soulé a long-term contract.

Soulé debated about whether to accept the contract. At the end of the day, he refused the position. With scant funding, he decided to embark on the life of world exploration that he’d dreamed of as a child. Making his way to the US by various means, he joined the Microsoft team in its heyday. Outside of work, he met other intrepid men like himself. He learned diving and became an instructor — and even earned his recreational pilot’s license, something he’d been told he’d never be able to do because of poor eyesight in his right eye. At the age of twenty-six, Soulé resigned from Microsoft, ready to travel the world in earnest.

I, Tarzan: Against All Odds, a truly inspirational and powerful memoir, conveys an invaluable message: if one determines a goal and pursues it without compromise, one will succeed. Soulé transports readers onto the scene of his many adventures. We feel what he feels, experience what he does in the truest sense, and delight in the ultimate reward of witnessing his personal growth in self-esteem and accomplishment. I, Tarzan, simply put, is the most inspirational memoir of the year. A final wrap-up includes color photographs of the author with the Indigenous peoples he’s met in the various countries he’s explored. In a brief Epilogue, he offers this hard-acquired wisdom: “If we choose to live our true life, no matter the odds, we can all be Tarzan.”

June 18, 2021
BEYOND the HUMAN REALM by Gene Helfman – Killer Whale Fiction, Family and Friendship Fiction, Action/Adventure Fiction

Author Gene Helfman, noted academic expert on aquatic biodiversity, delivers a fictional tale about an orphaned orca (killer whale) named Sam and the humans who seek to change his life in Beyond the Human Realm.

The book opens from Sam’s viewpoint. On display for humans, whom he calls “split-tails” or “logriders,” Sam relies on the humans now for food in his too-small habitat. In exchange, he must perform tricks such as carrying balls and leaping about, actions he performs reluctantly if at all. There’s one split-tail that he likes, though, a female who speaks to him gently. Sam allows her to ride on his back as one of his tricks. When a female companion arrives in his habitat Sam falls in love and the pair produces a baby. All seems blissful until the split-tails take his baby, and his partner dies of grief.

Sam can’t know, but some split-tails rally to his side, plotting to release him in the wild, to join wild orcas.

Rudy Laguna, a college professor and renegade whale behaviorist, is recruited by billionaire J. B. Alexander, who wishes to rescue the orca they call “Makai”, a highly costly venture, to make amends for his principal source of income – the manufacture of toilet paper and its decimation and contamination of forests and seas.

Rudy leads the effort to sequester “Makai,” re-accustom him to catching live fish, repair his broken dorsal fin, acquaint him with an orca tribe, and finally, set him free. Rudy enlists the help of Cassie Flanagan, an aspiring academic whose love of aquatic creatures and former acquaintance with the whale brought them close – but not too close; Cassie wears a gold ring and Rudy lost a previous job for consorting with a female student. The humans’ collaboration will result in “Makai’s” return to wild waters, allowing the embittered orca a chance at happiness – and revenge.

The action in Helfman’s multi-layered tale switches between dry ground and the depths of the sea, floating between the viewpoints of Sam/Makai and the split-tails.

Helfman, Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Ecology and the Program in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development at the University of Georgia, Athens, weaves scientific details into the narrative reflecting his extensive knowledge of the aquatic realm. Heretofore most known for his non-fiction titles focusing on fishes, Helfman gifts readers with lively dialogue, an intriguing storyline, and delightful characters. Readers will enjoy the possibilities of non-verbal communication between land dwellers and sea beings and no doubt wish for more fiction releases from this author. As the story unfolds, a series of remarkable coincidences tie the tale of the humans and that of Sam together, including the presence of one of the book’s more mysterious characters, a friendly canine whose name may be Genius, Cheez Whiz…or Jesus.

Helfman’s cinematic, wide-ranging novel is a rewarding must-read for anyone who loves seafaring adventure, respects nature in all its aspects, enjoys a ribald romantic rivalry, and most of all those who find whales fascinating as friends and teachers to humankind. In other words, here’s a novel we highly recommend.

June 2, 2021
Beyond Balancing the Books: Sheer Mindfulness for Professionals in Work and Life by George Marino, CPA/CFP – Mindfulness, Healthy Lifestyles, Positive Transformation

George Marino, a practicing CPA and Mindfulness Coach, explores the possibilities for sustainable positivity in one’s work-life through mindfulness principles and practices in his new book, Beyond Balancing the Books: Sheer Mindfulness for Professionals in Work and Life.

It would be difficult to find a profession more fraught with detail, deadlines, and distress than a typical CPA. Applying to that particular realm the idea of mindful meditation is a challenge that author Marino has taken on because it is a process he has lived. He opens his book by comparing two CPAs and their approaches to life and work-life.

Larry wakes up early, already stressed by the problems facing him at the office. Whenever he’s alone, he reaches for the nearest device to fill the silence; he is a Type A personality, driven and competitive. However, work increases his inner anxieties, fears, and self-doubts. Amy, by contrast, wakes at her usual time, feeling rested, starting the day with a positive mantra, enjoying breakfast with her family, and looking forward to the possibilities of helping others through her work skills, focusing on the client’s needs and feelings. Through these examples and many others, Marino illustrates basic tenets and techniques of mindfulness, a practice that, among other benefits, can reduce physical symptoms of stress.

Marino has designed his mindfulness-based template around the phrase “beyond balancing the books,” or the three B’s.

“Beyond” signifies the stillness and peacefulness that result from reining in the thought process by simply becoming aware of one’s surroundings. “Balancing” refers to the blending of “human” and “being,” that is, of one’s typical human physical state and the possibilities of a mental or spiritual realm that exists and can intermingle with, and enhance, one’s physical existence. “The books” represents our “accounting for what really counts” – finding higher purpose. Simple exercises, such as three minutes of deep breathing, provide a start in the right direction. Marino expands the practices to help readers examine their true feelings about troublesome situations. Doing so helps his clients to accept and allow their feelings to meld into larger, positive goals.

Marino has a second career as a life coach, where he counsels those in his own profession and those outside of the accounting world. At One Heart Coaching, LLC, he employs images of the accountant’s crucially essential work tasks of preparing taxes and assisting in business management. His book is filled with a wide variety of wisdom, from the classical – Sufi poet Hafiz, Shakespeare, modern writer Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now). Discovering and practicing mindfulness changed Marino’s life, and he desires to help as many individuals as possible.

Readers will benefit from the many supplemental resources such as a “Mindfulness at Work Questionnaire for Professionals” and a reading list for further study. Marino’s guidebook is a rich mine of helpful advice for anyone seeking a calmer, more spiritually focused approach to life’s dilemmas. Highly Recommended!

May 18, 2021
WELFARE CHEESE to FINE CAVIAR: How to Achieve Your Dreams Despite Your Upbringing by Thomas Wideman, MBA, PMP – Self-Help Manual, Personal Transformation, Goal Setting

Thomas Wideman, the author of this dynamic self-help manual, Welfare Cheese to Fine Caviar: How to Achieve Your Dreams Despite Your Upbringing, rose from poverty and dismay to a life of security and personal achievement through techniques he shares with readers who can incorporate them into their own life plans.

Wideman came from an impoverished African American family wracked by confusion, chaos, and, at times, criminality. His mother had three sons by three fathers, and he would come to know his own father only peripherally, eventually learning that the man murdered people and subsequently died in prison. The boy grew up in tough neighborhoods and ate “welfare cheese” (a block of pre-sliced heavy American cheese that supposedly melted well). Every month, making ends meet became more and more difficult. In an early chapter of this finely woven chronology, we see him taking food from trains parked along the railroad tracks and running from the authorities. In this, as in each new chapter, he speaks of confronting severe issues and finding ways to resolve them. In the case of the theft and other childhood incidents of fighting, experiencing bullies, and battling racism, he speaks of making up his mind that “my circumstances need not be my limitation.”

A math whiz, Wideman found his strengths through schoolwork, striving for A’s instead of merely accepting B’s.

He excelled academically and attained many honors by the time he graduated from high school. After joining the military, Wideman realized that if the military machine could not break him, nothing could. He met and cautiously courted his sweetheart, and with her and their two sons, established a happy home life, a sensible financial plan, and new dreams for the future. He can afford to eat caviar now – though he doesn’t choose to.

Each section of his book comprises a personal recollection, frank and realistically drawn, followed by a “Reflection” to help the reader examine feelings and reactions related to their own, comparable experiences. Wideman helps his readers by following up with an “Application” section. Wisdom gleaned by experience seems to stick the best. Wideman ends with a section cleverly termed “Caviar Time,” in which readers talk to themselves in a mirror, giving creative, inspiring advice and encouragement based on the guidance contained in the segment. Wideman’s well-organized, intelligent parables cover a wide range of issues: family stresses, drug and alcohol abuse, racial divisiveness, financial planning, and complex situations faced in the workplace.

Wideman’s Welfare Cheese to Fine Caviar offers hope and realistic, replicable strategies to anyone who, like himself at earlier phases of his life, faces what seems like insurmountable barriers. His general message focuses on positives: do your best, and keep meaningful goals for success always in sight. Highly recommended.

Welfare Cheese to Fine Caviar won First Place in the 2021 Harvey Chute Book Awards.

April 21, 2021
The JOY of SEARCHING, BUYING and SELLING ANTIQUES and HOME DECOR from FRANCE and ENGLAND by Dennis J. Kotchmar – Traveler and Explorer Biographies, Europe Travel Guide, Antiques and Collectibles

If ever a love letter could be written in the context of a solid how-to guide in the antique business, Dennis Kotchmar has done a marvelous job in The Joy of Searching, Buying and Selling Antiques and Home Décor from France and England.

Dennis recalls his beloved wife Laura and the remarkable life they shared as they traveled the world locating, buying, selling, and displaying household treasures from candles to couches to credenzas.

Dennis met Laura (now passed away) in 1971 when he was in the military, and she was an assistant elementary school principal in the Virginia Beach school system in Virginia. They shared a love for sporty cars and soon, for each other. Laura had already begun to demonstrate a zeal for collecting and selling interesting objects. With Dennis at her side, she grew this interest into a full-scale business, Chelsea Antiques. It began close to home, going to local auction sales seeking items of unusual interest. With no business experience, they took advantage of the development of Brightleaf Square, a former tobacco warehouse district converted into a charming marketplace in downtown Durham. The Kotchmars secured a space there and began building inventory.

Laura had an eye for décor and arrangement, and before long became a display artist with a fine instinct for desirable products that seemed to come naturally to her.

Her enthusiasm soon led the couple farther afield; noting that antiques and art objects from the English countryside were enjoying popularity, they made reliable contacts there and traveled to and from London where they resided at the time several times a year. From there, they began to buy and sell, remotely at first and then by on-site visits, in France. The work was a continually growing success and, as Kotchmar notes, a continual surprise. Travel could be a joy – or a problem. Laura was once stuck on a plane whose engines were attacked by a flock of birds; there were unavoidable delays for such things as airline strikes; and perhaps most memorable, ten days spent trapped in France and England, just after 9-11.

Kotchmar’s vivid color photos grace the narrative, with a stand-out being views of Monet’s garden including the famous lily pond; he and Laura were touched and amazed that ordinary folk can still visit such storied sites. His book also contains nitty-gritty details of the business, including the contacts made and lost, back roads explored, and the truly spectacular range of items to be discovered, marketed, and enhanced.

Kotchmar composed this memoir as a paean to Laura.

In doing so, he has come to appreciate her intelligence and intuition all the more. He concludes that Laura did what she loved, and working together, they created an aura of romance and adventure that few couples can even dream of. His book will be of interest to fans of antiques and the antique business, as well as to North Carolinians, who will admire the ambition and artistry of Laura Kotchmar, one of their own.

March 31, 2021
The SATISFIED WORKBOOK: A Spiritual Guide to Recovery and Food Freedom by Dr. Rhona Epstein, PsyD, CAC – Food Addiction Recovery, 12 Step Recovery, Weight Management and Weight Loss

Dr. Rhona Epstein, PsyD, CAC is the leading expert on Food Addiction Recovery.

She is a therapist who has recovered from the problems she now focuses on, seeking to help those who suffer from food addiction to recognize their problem and solve it with spiritual guidance.

Epstein has based this manual around the 12 Steps, a program originally geared to alcoholism and based on Christian principles, but gradually secularized to facilitate outreach to a broader group. The 12 Steps take the addict, of whatever sort, through a series of deepening inner questions and resolutions. Initially, the addict must admit he or she has an addiction – in this case, to food and overeating, resulting in bingeing and other disorders such as bulimia. From that point, there will be a diligent search for relief, aided by faith in God’s care, and concluding with the possibility of helping others with the same problems.

Epstein has organized her book extremely carefully, each chapter considering one of the steps.

The chapters contain an initial Overview followed by Real Talk by Dr. Rhona, who speaks with two voices. As a psychologist, she recounts case studies concerning people whose problems illustrate the need for the steps. As a former food addict, she recalls her ways of dealing with, or dodging, the issues. It took her several years to conquer her overeating and related compulsions, and, as she reminds her readers, the need for diligence, or what she calls “daily housekeeping,” is a constant. For each step, she offers Recovery Questions, makes challenges, and sometimes presents multiple pages of Scriptural Meditations since her work and wisdom are heavily steeped in a Christian viewpoint. Throughout the book, she will urge her readers to give their burdens to God while also suggesting some secular solutions such as meditation and music, attendance in group therapy, and individual counseling, both professional and friend-and-family based.

The author, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology and many years of experience counseling in the field of food-related addiction, references food as both a physical poison that can lead to and perpetuate addiction and as a symbolic spiritual satisfaction when it comes, as healing, from the grace of God.

As a recovered addict, Dr. Rhona is frank about the work it may take at times to acknowledge and overcome food obsessions fully. It is precisely this perspective that gives her strategies credibility. Anyone experiencing food or other addiction problem may benefit from reading Epstein’s highly relevant work. The questions and exercises contained within the book would make an excellent tool for therapeutic workshops.

March 25, 2021
OVERCOMING The IMPOSTOR: Silence Your Inner Critic and Lead with Confidence by Kris Kelso – Motivational Business Management, Business Motivation and Self Improvement, Business Leadership

Author and entrepreneur Kris Kelso made a discovery about himself that he shares with others in his book, Overcoming The Impostor: Silence Your Inner Critique and Lead with Confidence.

The author was surprised in a first meeting at a new job to be referred to as an “expert.” It raised doubts in his mind about whether he had earned such a title, but it also forced him to do things he’d never done before and succeed in the process. But the voices in his head persisted, even as he went from accomplishment to accomplishment. His shadow, The Impostor, told him he didn’t know how to do a certain thing; moreover, he was making it up. The Impostor relentlessly mocked him, saying that just been lucky, he wasn’t a “real” businessman at all. When he learned about “Impostor Syndrome” – “a psychological pattern in which people doubt their accomplishments” – he realized that we all have an “Inner Impostor” that needs to be recognized, dealt with, and banished.

Kelso often faced “figure-it-out moments” for problems he’d never encountered before. That’s when The Impostor would creep in. But gradually, Kelso began to see that in those critical moments, hidden abilities came to light. Analyzing his past business history, he soon realized that those moments where The Impostor spoke the loudest were the most pivotal, positive steps in his career.

Soon, it became clear, challenges are often the pathways to growth.

At a meeting with new work colleagues, Kelso introduced himself and then gave a brief picture of the syndrome, and others quickly chimed in, expressing their own experience of it. He studied other people’s approaches to their Impostors, learning that even high achievers may be quite susceptible to The Impostor’s negative voice. Entrepreneurs are often beset by The Impostor’s negative messages. Instead of feeling proud of their unique abilities that lead to their successes, they often categorized their accomplishments as an anomaly.

In addition to numerous examples of the syndrome from his cohort of businesspeople, Kelso offers a ten-step process for dealing with and silencing The Impostor. First, Identify its presence; Remember that failure is part of success; Recognize that learning on the job is a strength; Avoid the trap of comparing yourself to others; Trust those who believe in you. Then act: Accept compliments, Say “I don’t know,” when appropriate, Find mentors, Be open and vulnerable, and, Share your own story. He advises focusing on one step at a time until your success becomes a habit.

Kelso’s dynamic, well-thought-out methods to revise and revitalize one’s inner self-confidence will undoubtedly be a wellspring of hope and encouragement, not just in the business world but to anyone seeking a fresh, creative approach to new projects and lifelong aspirations. Recommended!

March 24, 2021