Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Follow your dreams

THE COLLEGE GUIDEBOOK: Biological and Biomedical Engineering by Rachel A. Winston, PhD – Education, Guidebook, Inspirational

The College Guidebook: Biological & Biomedical Engineering by Rachel A. Winston, Ph.D., is a unique and useful college admissions guidebook with invaluable information on internships, testing, interviews, and scholarships, along with research and profiles of 56 universities that offer programs in biological and biomedical engineering.

Dr. Winston wrote this book to give her engineering students, and aspiring biomedical engineers like them, the tools to pursue their interests. This work will give curious students insight and inspiration to achieve their goals, such as various methods by which to present their abilities and talents to admissions committees. The author, an educator for nearly forty years, has been a chemist, research scientist, mathematician, college professor, and more, and has the know-how and expertise to guide students through the labyrinth of academia. All the while, Winston peppers the work with inspirational quotations, such as “Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them.” —James A. Michener

Young people must ask themselves what they want to do with their life, and a handy reference book like this one is a rare, valuable boon in helping help them find the answers.

The College Guidebook provides a remarkably comprehensive view of its chosen fields: a broad explanation of biomedical engineering and its past, present, and future; the expectations and training for the field (such as high-tech healthcare, nanotechnology, informatics, prosthetics, and mimetics); how to prepare academically; the summer programs and internships for high school and undergraduate students; university options and which programs are best suited for those interested; college admissions, tests, essays, resumé, and recommendations; how to pay for the education; the employment outlook; a list of the accredited biological, biomedical, and chemical engineering programs; the top programs in adjacent engineering fields; and more. This guidebook offers everything those students may find useful.

This book offers encouragement to those students with questions, and comfort to those who have concerns about which schools offer the subjects they need and with which companies they can find employment post-graduation.

“The future is yours. Choose a path that makes sense for your life goal. The information contained in this book will lead you on your way and, hopefully, inspire you as a leader who empowers others along their educational pathway,” Winston reminds the reader.

Dr. Rachel Winston’s deep understanding of biological and biomedical engineering allows her to guide prospective students through all the possibilities in these fields.

August 11, 2023
THE BLACK FOSTER YOUTH HANDBOOK: 50+ Lessons I Learned to Successfully Age-Out of Foster Care and Holistically Heal by Angela Quijada-Banks – Overcoming Trauma, Inspirational Non-Fiction, Foster Youth

The Black Foster Youth Handbook: 50+ Lessons I Learned to successfully Age-Out of Foster Care and Holistically Heal is a distinguished compilation of award-winning author Ángela Quijada-Banks’ insights, seeking to assist those in foster care to stay optimistic and triumph over traumatic experiences.

The text features the author’s candid revelations regarding the disarray she encountered in foster care and the overwhelming emotional roller coaster she underwent through family upheavals and a heart-breaking rift between her siblings.

Foster care had seen her forget her goals and aspirations, as traumas and emotional misfortunes spread their venom in her soul. Banks had found herself misplaced, perplexed, wounded, irate, and unloved. Her background, past wounds, and pessimistic beliefs ruled over her. In a painful recap, she reveals how she became accustomed to constant alarming incidents, creating in her a perpetual state of survival.

But a deep longing for conquest in life kept burning in her heart.

Achieving that conquest would prove trickier with time, as she struggled to figure out her path. Readers will find Banks’s R.E.A.L Success Model a gem that will help them understand the basics of foster care, the implications of having healthy relationships, the kind of people one should reach out to in case of a problem, and how to attain a stable life of success.

This resourceful read has ably uncovered what numerous children experience in unfamiliar foster care settings, such as mistrust and fear of encountering a trauma they have already gone through.

Banks explains how adopting such cynical sentiments blocked her from certain blessings and people who were willing to help her into a quicker recovery. Her open confessions are bound to leave readers more open-minded, honest, and ready to come out of complicated matters, regardless of their years, gender, ethnicity, or religion. This book meticulously uncovers little-spoken traps that numerous people have fallen into, such as seeking guidance and counsel from relatives or friends who don’t have truthful insight to offer.

The Black Foster Youth Handbook’s substantial content will inspire readers to check whether their thoughts, actions, and beliefs are being powered by love or by fear. Its lessons will benefit many readers, primarily those who have gone through young childhood traumas and torment. Thought-provoking illustrations from Banks’ life journal deepen the impact of these lessons, highlighting the importance of each personal choice on the road to healing and restoration. This powerful handbook will guide its audience to aim for progression, rather than perfection.

The Black Foster Youth Handbook by Angela Quijada-Banks won Grand Prize in the 2021 CIBA I&I Awards for Instruction & Insight Non-Fiction.

June 19, 2023
The MAGICAL GUIDE To BLISS by Meg Nocero – Personal Transformation, Self-Discovery, Follow-Your-Dreams

The Magical Guide to Bliss is the first book in Meg Nocero’s creative and empowering Butterflies & Bliss Trilogy, an authentic series that nurtures readers along their paths of self-discovery.

With heartfelt intention, Nocero openly shares daily lessons and reflections that helped her find happiness, and will hopefully help others to move beyond their comfort zones and view life as an adventure. The Magical Guide to Bliss invites the reader to recognize the value in simple things like faith, hope, love, and joy. These facets of life help in an effort to transport ourselves and those around us from a realm of sorrow and defeat to uplifting enlightenment.

This unique motivational journey has 366 entries, each representing a day of the year. In the calendar-like set up, each month focuses on a specific concept and features Nocero’s reflections on it. From February’s theme of love, to the “Attitude of Gratitude” welcomed in November, all 12 chapters highlight a distinct transformative idea. Readers can explore the book from beginning to end, or as a leisurely daily practice either according to the calendar, or at random.

Each reflection opens with a related quote from a wide range of writers, artists, and celebrities.

Whether the sound advice of actress and comedian Lucille Ball to “Love yourself first and everything falls into line,” or British novelist C.S. Lewis’ affirming words “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream,” the messages reveal that each day offers new opportunities and a chance to step into bliss. Prayers of gratitude from the renowned Dalai Lama to thoughts of the French artist Henri Matisse about searching for a balanced life and peaceful existence all prove to be well-chosen phrases to compliment the overall purpose of this guide.

Nocero’s own glorious revelations offer insight on a variety of efforts like letting go of the past and overcoming fears, using your imagination, breathing in life’s blessings while breathing out the hardships, and staying optimistic.

These valuable insights come along with magical keys and mantras intended to open the locked doors encountered on the road to bliss. The keys come in the form of simple actions to take, such as writing out a vision statement, watching an inspiring movie, repeating positive influencing words, or performing deep breathing exercises to clear your mind and connect with your spirit.

A small photo journal along with bibliography and suggested readings at the end of the book adds a personal touch. These recommended works served Nocero along her own blissful path, and she hopes they will prove equally beneficial to others.

Reeling from the loss of her mother, Mary Jo, the creation of this guide clearly served as a catalyst for Nocero to move beyond the darkness of a devastating time in her life. The Magical Guide to Bliss is dedicated to the loving memory of her mom.

This motivating work is a simple road map that’s easy to follow. While there is some repetition along this soul-stirring route to bliss, it reinforces the powerful messages and affirmative insights being shared.

“Your past is over, your present is waiting, and your future holds much possibility.” Nocero’s ardent and passionate writing proves a worthy guide for that future.

July 4, 2022
WINDS of SKILAK: A Tale of True Grit, True Love and Survival in the Alaskan Wilderness by Bonnie Rose Ward

In this day and age of omnipresent cell phones and electronics, is it not the quintessential dream to quit one’s day job to seek the peace and quiet of the last frontier and live off the land?

It wasn’t necessarily Bonnie Rose Ward’s dream, but her husband Sam’s to move to Alaska for a pure existence. However, her deep love and admiration for her mate led her to check out library books on how to live in the wilderness and finally make the difficult decision to leave their home in Ohio for a tiny island on Skilak Lake on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska.

In her beautifully written memoir, Winds of Skilak: A Tale of True Grit, True Love and Survival in the Alaskan Wilderness, Bonnie invites us into a routine that began in 1980 when she was 25 and Sam, 36. It’s an engaging and inspiring story ripe for anyone who has merely dreamed of a new life or for those similarly courageous enough to take the leap to remote living.

Through Bonnie’s intimate excerpts, we learn how the couple, and their friend Bob who tags along, lived on Caribou Island in self-built cabins without running water, electricity or a phone. They deal with isolation and sub-freezing temperatures along with making new wildlife friends like a milk goat named Esther. Bonnie steps out of her comfort zone and learns how to shoot a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum.

If you are wondering what a grocery list would look like for such an adventure, you’re not alone. The following passage is labeled a ‘Popular Highlight’ in the Kindle edition:

“We bought what we figured to be a year’s supply of dry goods,” Bonnie writes. “These staples included two hundred pounds of flour, a hundred-pound burlap bag of pinto beans, fifty pounds of sugar, thirty pounds of cornmeal, fifty pounds of rice, twenty pounds of noodles, several gallons of cooking oil, honey, powdered milk, salt, pepper, spices, baking powder, yeast, tea, several cases of three-pound cans of coffee, and powdered creamer. Anything else we needed must come from the land—must be what we could hunt, fish or grow.”

In one episode amid their remote homestead, we learn what most likely influenced the book’s title of “true grit” and “true love,” both of which were prerequisites for the trio to survive the ensuing frost. A devastating logging accident puts Sam in the hospital and sidelines him as he accepts a painful recuperation. Meantime, the misfortune tests Bonnie’s faith in God (and in Sam), as she tells us with heartbreaking honesty:

“A brisk cold wind greeted us as we stepped out of the doctor’s office that day— a stark reminder that summers are short in Alaska,” she writes. “We had forty dollars left. It was all the money we had in the world, with nothing else coming. It couldn’t get worse. We were broke and living in a pup tent with winter on the way.”

Fortunately, with the determination that got them out there in the first place, the couple sees the sun shine again. Through astute observations and crisp writing, Bonnie takes us on their 15-year wilderness journey treating us along the way to the Alaskan landscapes:

“After that first day, the clouds vanished from the mountains, and all remnants of foul weather fled from a sun-drenched sky. Skilak Lake calmed and grew at peace with itself. I stood at the water’s edge struck by the pristine beauty all around me. The color of the lake changed like a giant mood ring from a milky green to a brilliant peacock blue.”

According to Bonnie’s website, which she maintains to promote the book, the couple has since moved to West Virginia to live a self-sufficient lifestyle on a farm where they enjoy raising goats and chickens and gardening and canning vegetables. Despite their exodus to the lower 48 to live closer to family and friends, Skilak Lake will always be in their hearts as it “has left its imprint deep within us and no matter where we go or what we do, neither time nor distance will ever change that.”

November 23, 2016
INSIDE: One Woman’s Journey Through the Inside Passage by Susan Marie Conrad – an adventure of mind and body

Nonfiction at its finest as one woman faces her inner fears and the outward challenges of paddling solo up the Inside Passage.

While many of us dream of setting off on an adventure, few of us ever do. But in mid-life, Susan Marie Conrad was determined to stop running from fear and sadness and start paddling toward something positive. Leaving behind a confusing and frequently cruel childhood, a failed relationship, and the cloak of anxiety that often held her in its grip, Conrad embarked on a quest to live her dream of kayaking the Inside Passage from Washington State to Alaska.

Unlike some celebrated explorers, Conrad was well prepared with expert paddling skills, modern safety equipment, and charts notated by her cherished friend and mentor. But no amount of careful planning could prepare her for weeks of traveling alone.

During her journey, she experienced the astounding power and beauty of Nature. She paddled in drenching rains, fierce winds, and violent seas. Extreme high tides forced her to rise in the darkness and stand in frigid saltwater holding her gear out of the water until the sea receded and she could sleep again. Grizzly bears prevented her from landing in choice camping spots. Black flies tormented her. Creepy men studied her from boats offshore. Every night she slept with her VHF radio, flare gun, knife, bear spray, cell phone, and SPOT satellite device in her tent, reasoning that if man or beast attacked, she would spray the intruder and fire her flare gun, cut an escape hole, call for help, and then press the 911 button on the SPOT so someone could locate her body.

Inside brings the reader along on the adventure as Conrad battles her way up the Inside Passage, learning to cope with ever-changing moods of weather and sea, wildlife both friendly and fierce, and the mixed messages of her own mind. Within these pages of eloquent writing and striking photos, readers will sleep to songs of humpback whales, thrill to spectacular scenery, delight in the generosity of strangers, and share in the author’s joy as she discovers the courage and the deep gratitude that comes from experiencing the best and the worst of Nature and humanity. This is a book we highly recommend.

Inside: One Woman’s Journey Through the Inside Passage won the 2017 GRAND PRIZE in the JOURNEY AWARDS.

November 23, 2016
AMEERA, UNVEILED by Kathleen Varn – Chick Lit

Ameera, Unveiled is inspirational story of how, with courage to chase her dreams, Kat transforms herself to become Ameera, the exotic belly dancer of the Palmetto Oasis Middle Eastern Dance Troupe. This is a story about of how exhilarating and frightening it feels to take yourself out of your comfort zone and chase your dreams, and the amazing experiences you can have just by trying.

Kat spent most of her life doubting herself and her abilities–especially her ability to learn how to dance. Now at the age of 48, she finally feels comfortable enough in her life to finally pursue her dream of dancing by enrolling in a belly dancing class taught through the local high school. Through each lesson she timidly works up the courage not only to learn to dance, but to discard the self-doubt that she had burdened herself with for too long.

Kat finds herself having to battle with her inner-critic’s heavy doses of self-doubt, and anxiety. The story reflects on how some women allow their inner critic to dictate their lives for far too long.

Kat’s journey is about how hard it is to overcome years of believing you aren’t good enough to do something, but how what happens when you go ignore your inner self critic and follow your dreams. Kat realizes it’s not about a lack of talent that is holding her back, but her own self-doubt.

The author, Kathleen Varn, skillfully weaves scenes of everyday women transforming into exotic belly dancers. She vividly portrays, with detailed descriptions of their well-practiced routines and dance moves, and how through their diligence they are able to wow their audiences.

The dancers develop such a strong sense of individualism and self worth as they learn to move in exotic ways. The delightful interactions between each of the dancers is inspirational as they bond as a troupe.The camaraderie developed within the troupe is one of friendship and support that only a sisterhood of girlfriends could create.

And the troupe will need all the support and confidence that they can muster when they are surprised by one of their dance gigs when it turns out to be held at a clothing optional resort in Jamaica. Kat finds herself out of comfort zone in more ways than one as do several others of the sisterhood. But with each other for friendship and motivation, they are all empowered to explore, take chances, and believe in themselves.

Ameera, Unveiled by Kathleen Varn, is a coming of age story of a diverse group of middle-aged woman supporting each other to follow their dreams and to go outside their comfort zones and routines. Reading Kat’s journey made me want to put on a shimmery scarf, an exotic flowing skirt, and learn to move in a fashion beyond my own comfort zone. It is an inspiring and fun story that reminds us that it is never too late to pursue your dreams and unlock your inner goddess.

July 1, 2015