Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: robert-a-duke

  • Spotlight on the 2021 Nellie Bly Book Awards for Journalistic Non-Fiction

    Spotlight on the 2021 Nellie Bly Book Awards for Journalistic Non-Fiction

    Your Report is coming due…

    You can hear the clicking of keys as you type up your next report, desperate to make tomorrow’s press.

    You know what’s coming. It’s the Nellie Bly Awards deadline at the end of November, and you have a book that will stop the presses! The Nellie Bly Book Awards for Investigative, Long-form Journalism, and Biographies. 

    Nellie Bly Awards
    Enter Today!

    Who is Nellie Bly?

    The Nellie Bly Awards are named for an American investigative journalist. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran, Bly launched her career into the spotlight by posing as a mental patient to enter the insane asylum on Blackwell’s island. Writing her exposé on the abuses being committed there cemented her role as a leading name in investigative journalism.

    A charcoal-like drawing of a many leveled institute labeled "Charity Hospital"
    Illustration of Blackwell’s Asylum

    Her work had an immediate effect:

    Approximately one month after her articles ran in print, many of the most glaring problems she reported had improved: better living and sanitary conditions were instituted, more nourishing meals were provided, translators were hired for the foreign born who were not necessarily mentally ill but simply could not understand their keepers, and the most abusive nurses and physicians were fired and replaced (PBS.org).

    Nellie Bly – Early Life and Legacy

    Before that, she began writing under the name Nellie Bly after being invited to write a regular for the Pittsburgh Dispatch. WomensHistory.org lays more of her life out here. One thing noted in several articles is that Nellie Bly chose her name from a song by Stephen Foster. You can listen to the song and see the lyrics here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOcVjq67CsA

    Bly “became renowned for her investigative and undercover reporting, including posing as a sweatshop worker to expose poor working conditions faced by women” (Biography.com). In addition to her excellent reporting and support for civil rights, Bly was also a bit of an adventurer. Inspired by the book Around the World in Eighty Days, her newspaper, the New York World sent her to see if she could break the fictional record. She succeeded, making the journey in only 72 days! A record that would last until 1890.

    Nellie By wrapping a string around the ruler
    Around the World in 72 Days by Nellie Bly

    Dr. Janice Ellis on The Importance of Journalism

    We’ll link to the review of her book soon, but we thought we would let Janice Ellis, PhD and Nellie Bly Grand Prize winner, talk about the importance of journalism. Here’s what she has to say:

    A Black woman wearing a jacket and a necklace
    Dr. Janice Ellis

    With all of the divisive and false information being communicated, the public needs Real Advocacy Journalism  today more than ever. There is a growing, if not urgent, need to understand the difference between the advocacy journalism being practiced today and Real Advocacy Journalism™. More importantly, we all need to readily recognize when one or the other is at play in trying to influence public opinion, or urge a hopeful, trusting public to take a particular action.

    What is the difference between advocacy journalism as it is practiced today and Real Advocacy Journalism™? Much of the advocacy journalism occurring is partisan, biased, and often blurs the lines between truth and lies, facts and fiction, and often presents fake news as real news. The purpose and objectives of this advocacy journalism constitute propaganda to gain public support for the interest and agenda of a few, a special interest group, or a small constituency rather than for the good of the majority. The public needs Real Advocacy Journalism today to put America back on the right course.

    Read more from her website here

    With all that in mind, let’s dive into some of the best Journalism books reviewed by Chanticleer!

    SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should be Practiced
    By Janice Ellis, Ph.D.
    Grand Prize in Nellie Bly Awards

    Shaping Public Opinion Book Cover Image

    Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D., introduces the journalistic theories of Walter Lippmann in her new non-fiction work, Shaping Public Opinion: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should be Practiced.

    Walter Lippmann, considered one of the foremost journalists in the field over the last 100 years, was a mentor in absentia of Dr. Ellis in the art of advocacy journalism. During Lippmann’s 40+ year career, his columns were syndicated in over 250 newspapers nationwide and over 25 other international news and information outlets. Lippman focused on the ethical dissemination of information, especially about communities, society, and the world. A theory, which Dr. Ellis calls Real Advocacy Journalism™.

    Continue reading here…

    WAKING up DYING
    By Robert A. Duke

    An intensely personal and compelling narrative, Waking Up Dying offers an insider’s perspective of the passage through cancer beginning with Duke’s wife’s diagnosis of stage IV glioblastoma brain cancer—typically a fatal condition.

    Duke found the entire caregiving experience an agonizing, non-stop emotional rollercoaster: unbelievably frustrating, emotionally searing and increasingly chaotic.

    The author’s story of his dedicated and loving role as caregiver entails four phases of this tortuous journey: the couple’s daily coping with the disease; the author’s struggle through the health care system; the emotional reality of caregiving his dying wife; and the carefully documented material put forward as a basis for reforming the care system.

    Continue reading here…

    THE WINTER OLYMPICS: An Insider’s Guide to the Legends, Lore, and the Games
    By Ron C. Judd

    Flashbacks, gruesome accounts, victories relived, analysis, and competitors’ profiles of the Winter Olympics are revealed in Ron C. Judd’s captivating compendium titled The Winter Olympics: An Insider’s Guide to the Legends, Lore, and the Games.

    Judd doesn’t just report the scores, the times, the winners and the losers. He relays the human drama that unfolds during the Games—the glorious victories and, yes, the gut-wrenching agonies—the very stuff that becomes tomorrow’s lore and legends.

    Ron C. Judd is like a Joseph Campbell of the Olympic Games. He writes of transcendent experiences, of impossible feats, and, he says, “of moments that are beyond description.”  But describing these moments is exactly what he does. Judd deftly captures and vividly relates the escalation of emotions, the split-second moments that separate the winners from the losers after decades of day-in and day-out grueling training, the sweaty reality of the Olympics along with the heady glory and magic he has witnessed and experienced first-hand.

    Continue reading here…

    FIRE CALL! Sounding the Alarm to Save Our Vanishing Volunteers
    By George DeVault

    In his first job as a newspaper reporter, DeVault attended many emergencies – and firefighters were always on the scene. Gradually he discovered that the vast majority of America’s firefighters are volunteers, often leaving their regular jobs by prearrangement or rushing out from home in the middle of the night to respond to every conceivable crisis, from a simple kitchen fire to a multi-car crash to the cataclysmic events of 9-11-01.

    With the encouragement of empathetic wife Melanie, also a reporter, De Vault joined the firefighting ranks as a volunteer in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, while fully immersed in his journalistic career with Rodale Inc. He answered every call, about 5,000 over a thirty year period, no matter what else was going on in his life – even on a day when Melanie was in the hospital dealing with her own emergency.

    Continue reading here…

    Have a journalistic exploration that needs to be read? Submit by the end of November for the 2021 CIBAs! 

    Nellie Bly Awards

    See the 2020 Nellie Bly Award Winners here!

    Blue and Gold Badge for the Nellie Bly Grand Prize Prison from the Inside Out by William 'Mecca' Elmore & Susan Simone

    Looking to submit to our other Non-Fiction Divisions? See them all here!

    When you’re ready, did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services? We do and have been doing so since 2011.

    Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).

    If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.

    We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis. Contact us today!

    Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.

    • A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service, with more information available here.
    • And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn more here.
    • If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Review here or to one of our Chanticleer International Awards here.

    And remember! Our 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22) will be April 7-10, 2022, where our 2021 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up, so sign up today!  CAC22 and the CIBA Ceremonies will be hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Sign up and see the latest updates here!

    CAC22 will feature Cathy Ace, Robert Dugoni, Scott Steindorff and more! We are excited!

    Writer’s Toolbox

    Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Spotlight article.

    Helpful Writer Links: 

    How Nellie Bly went undercover to expose abuse of the mentally ill

    Nellie Bly (1864-1922)

    “Nellie Bly” by STEPHEN FOSTER

    Nellie Bly Biography

    Public Needs Real Advocacy Journalism Today

    The traditional publishing tool that indie authors can use to propel their writing careers to new levels?  The Seven Must-Haves for Authors – Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Publishing Series by Kiffer Brown

  • An Editorial Review of “Waking Up Dying: Caregiving When There is No Tomorrow” by Robert A. Duke

    An Editorial Review of “Waking Up Dying: Caregiving When There is No Tomorrow” by Robert A. Duke

    An intensely personal and compelling narrative, Waking Up Dying offers an insider’s perspective of the passage through cancer beginning with Duke’s wife’s diagnosis of stage IV glioblastoma brain cancer—typically a fatal condition.

    Duke found the entire caregiving experience an agonizing, non-stop emotional rollercoaster: unbelievably frustrating, emotionally searing and increasingly chaotic.

    The author’s story of his dedicated and loving role as caregiver entails four phases of this tortuous journey: the couple’s daily coping with the disease; the author’s struggle through the health care system; the emotional reality of caregiving his dying wife; and the carefully documented material put forward as a basis for reforming the care system.

    Duke took on the mantle of caregiver for his wife, Shearlean, with no practical experience, no history of what it is like to take care of a loved one with an acute health condition, or little knowledge of what was involved or to be expected from the U.S. healthcare system, nor from him as her advocate and caregiver.  Nevertheless, Duke immediately committed to her treatment and care. His goal appeared simple:

    She would remain at home throughout the course of her illness and would die at home in her own bed with me beside her when it was time.

    But life in the cancer ward was never about simple. While Shearlean confronted a regimen of powerful medications, facing the effects of radiation and chemotherapy, and piecing together a quality of life, Duke had his own challenges. Over an 18-month period, Duke chronicles his caregiver’s routine:  managing medications, diet, medical bills, schedules, and fights with a never-ending bureaucracy that undermined his every effort to facilitate care. The physical, psychological and financial burdens that he shares with his readers are beyond comprehension.

    Help and encouragement from friends and hired help weren’t all the support the couple needed. Shearlean suffered the effects of aphasia, affecting the brain’s language center, seriously affecting her academic livelihood as a journalist and teacher.  She believed that working with a speech therapist could help repair the damage of cancer and surgery, including a serious loss of skills in reading, writing, speaking, typing and listening.

    There was nothing that the speech therapist could do for her. Her recommendation was only that Shearlean stay out of groups, where language would be more difficult to manage, even for a highly educated person. Over the course of her disease, Shearlean’s language abilities remained, allowing her to continue teaching, although speaking intelligibly was highly dependent on her overall emotional condition and physical strength.

    The author summarizes their life together with terminal cancer. He deemed it…

    A death sentence—[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][which] should have obliterated any semblance of normal life. There were days when this was true, like when Shearlean had great pain, but mostly it wasn’t. A balm to our souls was how ordinary life remained… although things were hard, confusing and frustrating; we were also okay in many respects.

     The health care system was another, even more horrendous story, characterized by “bad medicine and underwhelming care” was what Duke said he experienced. Physicians could be inaccessible, indifferent and/or negligent; prescription snafus commonplace occurrences; medication lists impossible to decipher. And, he found insurance companies to be arrogant corporate entities, with a single goal: the bottom line of profit, regardless of patient need. Assertive caregivers felt that they were not welcome, even actively rebuffed, from participating in their loved one’s care or for advocating for their patients’ rights, Duke posits.

    When pursuing essential help, Duke stated that he was often dismissed by doctors and nurses alike: “We have other patients.”  How unbelievably heartless and inhumane.

    Duke is adamant about  how medical personnel should interact with cancer patients:

    “Reception and administration should be limited, efficient, personal, knowledgeable and considerate. They should never preempt the patient’s tranquility, equilibrium, peace of mind or personhood.”

    The author could have written a simpler book, just the story of the final months of his 40-year love affair with Shearlean, his intelligent, accomplished wife. Instead, he took on far more: the intimacy of caregiving and the battle to understand and document why the system was failing him and his loved one.

    Waking Up Dying is a blockbuster; a hit between the eyes. Duke challenges the reader to take those tortuous steps he has—feel his sorrow, elation and pain, walk his walk through the everyday rituals of care, and talk the talk of his analysis of much-needed system reform.

    As a doctor of sociology, a professional caregiver consultant, educator and researcher of caregivers and their patients, I know of no other book on caregiving that details the precise obstacles that caregivers may encounter and must contend with because of a disorganized, broken system. This book is a must-read for caregivers. Be prepared for a mind-blowing, ultimately, illuminating and educational experience.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]