Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Narrative Non-Fiction

The 2021 JOURNEY Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction – CIBAs Long List 2021
The Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Journey Non-Fiction entries to the 2021 Journey Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Journey Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Journey Book Awards novel competition for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction!

If you have entered your works into the 2021 Journey Book Awards and do not see them in the list below, please visit the other Non-Fiction Book Awards listings: Nellie Bly, Hearten, Mind & Spirit, Instruction and Insight, or perhaps Harvey Chute Book Awards. The Journey Book Awards have morphed into extreme stories of adversity – some of which were overcome; some that were not. Most of these accounts are intense and some should come with trigger warnings. We have moved some entries into the other non-fiction divisions based on the recommendations of the non-fiction judges.

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
- Sherry Chapman – How Much Big Is the Sky: A Memoir of a Mother’s Love and Unfathomable Loss
- Tracie White with Ronald W. Davis – The Puzzle Solver: A Scientist’s Desperate Quest to Cure the Illness that Stole His Son
- Lisa Lynn Veith – Gold Medal
- Rosie McMahan – Fortunate Daughter: A Memoir of Reconciliation
- Marilyn Mascaro – When the Rivers Flowed
- Marcie Maxfield – Em’s Awful Good Fortune
- William Johnson – Snow Blind: Recovering After the Random Shooting
- Frederick Douglass Reynolds – Black, White, and Gray All Over; a Black Man’s Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement
- Nikki West – The Odyssey of the Chameleon
- Kathleen Lockyer – The Broken Wing Dance — Love, loss, trauma and how nature led me back to my wild self
- Dr Kate Dolan – Beating Drug Addiction in Tehran: a Women’s clinic
- George Farag – Unbecoming My Father’s Son: A Memoire
- Bruce Rowe, MD – Everything Under the Sun: A Family Doctor’s Reflections on Life, Love, Loss and Renewed Hope in Medicine
- Renee K. Nicholson – Fierce and Delicate: Essays on Dance and Illness
- Margaret Thomson – The World Looks Different Now
- Sylvie Heyman – Beyond the Holocaust: An Immigrant’s Search for Identity
- Kawan Glover – Favor: How Stroke Struggle and Surgery Helped Me Find My Life’s Purpose
- Faith Fuller Wilcox – Hope Is a Bright Star: A Mother’s Memoir of Love, Loss, and Learning to Live Again
- George Farag – Unbecoming My Father’s Son: A Memoir
- Azim H. Jiwani, MD – Humanizing Medicine: Making Health Tangible
- Rosemary Keevil – The Art of Losing It: A Memoir of Grief and Addiction
- Andrea Wilson Woods – Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days
- Krista Nerestant – Indestructible:The Hidden Gifts of Trauma
- Jean-Philippe Soule – I, Tarzan: Against All Odds
- Mark Allen – Based on a True (Traumatic) Brain History: a Short Memoir
- Meghan Caughey – Mud Flower
- C.L. Olsen – The Home for Friendless Children
- Heather Haldeman – Kids and Cocktails Don’t Mix: A Memoir
- Jim Enderle – Fight, Flight, or Freeze: A Love Story
- Richard Jespers – That I Do Not Lose You: One Man’s Family Roots
- Anna Casamento Arrigo – Weeds Beneath the Open Meadows
- Rick Avery with Tom Bleecker – A Life at Risk
- Julie Ryan McGue – Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging
- Tammy Green – Living Without Skin: Everything I Never Knew About Fierce Vulnerability
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Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the 2020 JOURNEY Awards is Karen Keilt for The Parrot’s Perch: A Memoir of Torture and Corrupti0n in Brazil

Click here to see the 2020 Journey Book Award Winners for Narrative Non-Fiction

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Journey Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction & Memoir. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.

Please click here for more information.

See our Full List of Non-Fiction Divisions here!

Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

VIRTUAL and IN-Person – June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
January 10, 2022
JOURNEY Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction 2020 CIBA Award Winners
The Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books for our Journey Awards featuring true stories about life events, unique experiences, personal journeys, overcoming adversity, and more. These books have advanced to the Premier Level of Achievement in the 2020 CIBAs.

We also are now offering the following CIBA Non-Fiction Divisions:
- The Journey Awards for Narrative Nonfiction
- The Mind & Spirit Book Awards for Mindfulness and Well-being
- The Nellie Bly Book Awards for Investigative and Long-Form Journalism
- The I & I Book Awards for Insight and Instruction for How-To, Guide Books, Self-Help, Cook Books, etc.
- The Harvey Chute Book Awards for Business, Finance, and Enterprise
- The Hearten Book Awards for Uplifting and Inspiring
New in 2021 will be the Military Veterans and First Responders Non-Fiction works.

The 2020 JOURNEY Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the JOURNEY Grand Prize Winner were announced by Janet Oakley on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at the Hotel Bellwether and broadcast via ZOOM webinar and Facebook Live.

It is our privilege and profound honor to announce the 1st in Category winners of the 2020 JOURNEY Awards, a division of the 2020 CIBAs.

This is the OFFICIAL 2020 LIST of the JOURNEY BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the JOURNEY Grand Prize Winner.

Congratulations to all!
- Karen Keilt – The Parrot’s Perch: A Memoir of Torture and Corrupti0n in Brazil
- Susan E Casey – Rock On: Mining for Joy in the Deep River of Sibling Grief
- Laila Tarraf – Strong Like Water: How I Found the Courage to Lead with Love in Business and in Life
- Steve Mariotti – Goodbye Homeboy
- Steve Rochinski – A Man of His Time: Secrets from a Halfway World
- Susan E. Greisen – In Search of Pink Flamingos: A Woman’s Quest for Forgiveness & Unconditional Love
- Renee Hodges – Saving Bobby: Heroes and Heroin in One Small Community
- Barbara Clarke – The Red Kitchen
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 JOURNEY Awards is:

Karen Keilt for

The Parrot’s Perch:
A Memoir of Torture and Corrupti0n in Brazil

The 2021 JOURNEY Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC22 on April 10, 2022. Save the date for CAC22, scheduled April 7-10, 2022, our 10 year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2022 JOURNEY Book Awards are open until the end of August. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in July. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
June 18, 2021
The 2020 Finalists for the 2020 JOURNEY Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction CIBAs
The Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books for our Journey Awards featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2020 SHORT LIST to the SEMI-FINALIST POSITION and have now progressed to the Premier FINALIST Level of Achievement in the 2020 CIBAs.

The following works have advanced in the 2020 Journey Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction.
- Karen Keilt – The Parrot’s Perch
- Susan E Casey – Rock On: Mining for Joy in the Deep River of Sibling Grief
- Laila Tarraf – Strong Like Water: How I Found the Courage to Lead with Love in Business and in Life
- Patricia Eagle – Being Mean–A Memoir of Sexual Abuse and Survival
- Susan E. Greisen – In Search of Pink Flamingos: A Woman’s Quest for Forgiveness & Unconditional Love
- Janice Morgan – Suspended Sentence
- Sharon Dukett – No Rules
- David Crow – The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story
- Christine Nicolette-Gonzalez – My Mother’s Curse: A Journey Beyond Childhood Trauma
- Ilene English – Hippie Chick
- Barbara Clarke – The Red Kitchen
- Amy Byer Shainman – Resurrection Lily: The BRCA Gene, Hereditary Cancer & Lifesaving Whispers from the Grandmother I Never Knew
- Steve Mariotti – Goodbye Homeboy
- Steve Rochinski – A Man of His Time: Secrets from a Halfway World
- Tiffani Goff – Loving Tiara
- Isaac Alexis M.D. – The Seductive Pink Crystal
- Renee Hodges – Saving Bobby: Heroes and Heroin in One Small Community
- Deborah Burns – Saturday’s Child
- Lydia Ola Taiwo – A Broken Childhood: How To Overcome Abuse: A Recovery Guide
These titles are in the running for the First Place Winners of the 2020 Journey Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction.

Which of these works will move forward in the judging rounds for the 2020 Journey Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction?

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 23 CIBA divisions Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category Winners and Grand Prize Division Winners the CIBAs Ceremonies June 5th, 2021 virtually (Free) and LIVE at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

Register today!
We are now accepting submissions into the 2021 Journey Book Awards. The deadline for submissions is April 30th, 2021. The winners will be announced in April 2022.

Please click here for more information.

Don’t Delay! Enter Today!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.
May 11, 2021
The 2020 JOURNEY Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction Long List – The CIBAs
The Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2020 JOURNEY entries to the 2020 Journey Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for 2020 Journey Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Semi-Finalists will be announced and recognized at the CAC21 banquet and ceremony. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 17 CIBA divisions Semi-Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2021 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. at the 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2020 JOURNEY Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction

Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.
- Terry A. Repak – What You Learn By Living Elsewhere
- Marilea C. Rabasa – Stepping Stones: A Memoir of Addiction, Loss, and Transformation
- Ashley Conner and Cierra Camper – Memoirs of Michael: The Hurricane Project
- Christine Ristaino – All the Silent Spaces
- Linda Bledsoe – Rhea and Jeremiah Zeus: An Appalachian Family’s Story of Drugs and Abuse
- Leslie Bains – Let’s Take A Hike: 7 Family-Friendly Trails of Nantucket
- Susan E Casey – Rock On: Mining for Joy in the Deep River of Sibling Grief
- Patricia Eagle – Being Mean–A Memoir of Sexual Abuse and Survival
- Annerose D. Watts – Blue Plate Journey
- Susan E. Greisen – In Search of Pink Flamingos: A Woman’s Quest for Forgiveness & Unconditional Love
- Carole Bumpus – Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, Book One, Savoring the Olde Ways Series
- Janice Morgan – Suspended Sentence
- Esta G. Bernstein – Changing Horses
- Mendek Rubin & Myra Goodman – Quest for Eternal Sunshine
- Katherine Snow Smith – Rules for the Southern Rulebreaker, Missteps and Lessons Learned
- Marianne Ingheim – Out of Love: Finding Your Way Back to Self-Compassion
- Cerridwen Fallingstar – Broth from the Cauldron; A Wisdom Journey through Everyday Magic
- Sharon Dukett – No Rules
- Judy Gaman – Love, Life, and Lucille
- Laila Tarraf – Strong Like Water: Lessons Learned from Leading with Love
- Keturah Kendrick – No Thanks: Black, Female, And Living in the Martyr-Free Zone
- Patricia Martin Holt – EMPOWER A REFUGEE, Peace of Thread and the Background Humanity Movement
- David Crow – The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story
- Evelyn Kohl LaTorre – Between Inca Walls
- Cindy Rasicot – Finding Venerable Mother: A Daughter’s Spiritual Quest to Thailand
- Christine Nicolette-Gonzalez – My Mother’s Curse: A Journey Beyond Childhood Trauma
- Nan Sanders Pokerwinski – Mango Rash: Coming of Age in the Land of Frangipani and Fanta
- Scott Hunter – And the Monkey Lets Go: Memoirs Through Illusion and Doubt
- Mary Charity Kruger Stein – Fatherless, Fearless, Female: A Memoir
- Ilene English – Hippie Chick
- Barbara Clarke – The Red Kitchen
- Bill Pullen – It Started at The Savoy
- Deborah Tobola – Hummingbird in Underworld: Teaching in a Men’s Prison
- Amy Byer Shainman – Resurrection Lily: The BRCA Gene, Hereditary Cancer & Lifesaving Whispers from the Grandmother I Never Knew
- Tamra McAnally Bolton – A Blessed Life: One World War II Seabee’s Story
- Suzanne Kamata – Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair
- T.D. Arkenberg – Trials & Truffles: Expats in Brussels
- Steve Mariotti – Goodbye Homeboy
- Steve Rochinski – A Man of His Time: Secrets from a Halfway World
- Barbara Clarke – The Red Kitchen
- Tiffani Goff – Loving Tiara
- Frank Ball – Ball of Yarns
- Kathleen Pooler – Just the Way He Walked: A Mother’s Story of Healing and Hope
- Julie Tate Libby – The Good Way, a Himalayan Journey
- Isaac Alexis M.D. – The Seductive Pink Crystal
- Michael M. Van Ness – General In Command: The Life of Major General John B. Anderson, World War II
- Lilly A Gwilliam – Generations of Motherhood: A Changing Story
- Renee Hodges – Saving Bobby: Heroes and Heroin in One Small Community
- Ted Neill – Two Years of Wonder
- Jennifer B. Monahan – Where To? How I Shed My Baggage and Learned to Live Free
- Karen Keilt – The Parrot’s Perch
- Brant Vickers – Chucky’s in Tucson
- Deborah Burns – Saturday’s Child
- Betty Theiler – Beyond Borders
- Stefanie Naumann – How Languages Saved Me: A Polish Story of Survival
- Jules Hannaford – Fool Me Twice
- Lydia Ola Taiwo – A Broken Childhood: How To Overcome Abuse: A Recovery Guide
- Miguel A. Aguilo – Pencils in the Hand of God: Two Heavenly Adoption Stories
Who will be awarded the 2020 Journey Book Awards Grand Prize? Stay tuned!

Congratulations to John Hoyte whose work Persistence of Light took home the Grand Prize for the 2019 JOURNEY Book Awards

John Hoyte author of The Persistence of Light, 2019 Journey Grand Prize Winner

“When Gandalf said to Frodo, ‘All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” (J.R.R. Tolkien), surely John Hoyte was listening. Starting early and without choice, he and his siblings are interned in a Japanese prison camp, afterwards, he follows along Hannibal’s elephant trail over the French Alps. .” – Chanticleer Reviews

Here is the link to the 2019 Journey Book Award Winners!

Our next Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremonies will be held April 21 – 25, 2021, for the 2020 CIBA winners. Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

We are now accepting entries into the 2021 Journey Book Awards, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
November 19, 2020
The DRUIDS: An Informal Read by Ilene Birkwood – Paganism/Neo-Paganism, Druidism, Religious Studies – Science & Religion

The Druids are not just a fictional group of magic wielders in funny hats, but a people of ancient Celtic cultures that prosper to this day. If you are looking for a short, accessible guide to the history and way of life of the Druid people, Ilene Birkwood offers an easy to understand introduction to Druidry in The Druids: An Informal Read. Druidry is not a religion like some may think, but a way of life through peace and preservation of nature.

Druids have seen a surge in numbers in recent years as a result of people around the globe feeling dissatisfied in a world continually damaged by pollution, greed, and war. These people wish to promote a more peaceful and simpler way of life. Birkwood’s guide touches on different areas of the culture throughout the long history of the druids, such as their education system, various sacred sites, history of persecution, and, yes, their roles as witches. Birkwood even shows us how Druidry is practiced today.

Indeed, the group has a rich history and culture, and this short book only brushes the surface of these fascinating people. Birkwood wrote the book because she intended to create an introduction to the subject that was quick and easy to read—and she’s succeeded. Her passion for the topic leads her on a two-year journey of researching and traveling to various druid sites. After setting the book down, readers will yearn to learn more. Thankfully, the index is an excellent resource and can be used as a jumping-off point for those whose curiosity is piqued by Birkwood’s endeavor.

Especially in the chapter on the Druid education system, Birkwood’s research is well developed and an intriguing read. The overview of famous druid sites, including the most famous, Stonehenge, will inspire wanderlust in all readers. Though Stonehenge is a breathtaking and mysterious landmark, the other druid sites described are even more exciting because they are mostly unknown to the general public and will encourage further research and perhaps exploration for those so inclined.

Ilene Birkwood is also the author of her New Zealand Mystery series, including What to do About Emma and Deadly Deception, and a memoir, The Second Torpedo, concerning her time in WWII. Birkwood, a U.K. native, has worked in Silicon Valley and lived in New Zealand for fourteen years. Her work has been translated into many languages as well.

If you are looking to dive into the infinite and diverse world of history, a study of the rich archives and dynamic culture of Druids is the perfect place to start. Ilene Birkwood’s The Druids: An Informal Read is just the right hook for history lovers and those who may be interested in dipping their toes into the subject. When all is said and done, every reader is sure to want more from Ilene Birkwood – and her druids!

April 29, 2020
A HOME on the SOUTH FORK – An Early History of ACME – A Northwest Washington Community by Margaret A. Hellyer – Pacific Northwest History, Narrative Non-Fiction, Small Town Histories

For untold millennia, the region that would come to be known as Whatcom was occupied by the indigenous conglomerate of tribes known as the Salish, who were peaceful and civilized. The Nooksack, who are a part of the Coast Salish, spent their time fishing, building canoes, weaving, and farming. In the 1850s, that began to change as the native peoples had to learn to co-exist with a new incursion of settlers—hardy people from the Eastern states and as far away as Europe.

They came to the region with the lure of inexpensive land ownership that had been made possible by the Homestead Act. A few had drifted in earlier when false rumors of gold were sounded, those early explorations revealing arable land and an abundance of natural resources.

Early homesteaders found the resources both sustaining and at times, daunting. For example, the trees themselves were so enormous that felling them was perilous, and logjams were frequent, cutting off the river’s flow. The winters were harsh and the summers, bug-infested. But families like the Galbraiths (the author’s ancestors) were hardy and determined. By the early 1900s, a thriving town had been established.

Readers who think of the early 20th century as ancient times will be surprised by Hellyer’s lively account of how an organized and industrious outpost developed out of a nearly uninhabited wilderness. Not long after the first settlers arrived, cabins and then houses soon bloomed into handsome estates, some of which still stand today in Acme and elsewhere. Along with the settlers came schools and school districts. Roads changed from dirt trails to cement highways, while railroads transported logs and shingles out and new visitors in. Modern conveniences such as a town water system, churches, electricity, and the postal service arrived to make life easier. Readers will be amused by the telephones, with party lines that allowed everyone in the community to know everyone else’s business.

People of Acme had to travel to a dentist, and, for a while, the town had a doctor who dealt with a variety of contagious diseases, delivered babies, and reattached severed fingers. At one time, citizens also had access to a local pharmacy to help with their aches and pains. Acme’s General Merchandise store sold everything from dry goods to salt meats, run by the Zobrist family, original settlers of the South Fork region. Recreation for the fully established town included hiking trips, concerts, and dances open to “woodmen and the general public.”

Hellyer was born in Whatcom County and has remained, pursuing a career in graphic design while enjoying a personal interest in photography and writing about local history. Her family photos and recollections are a small but significant part of this story. Illustrated with black and white images on nearly every page, Hellyer’s historical account of the settling of the South Fork will enthrall both a regional audience and those curious about American pioneering in the Great Pacific Northwest.

November 15, 2019
A QUEST for TEARS: Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury by Seán Dwyer – Memoir, Traumatic Brain Injury, Inspirational

A Quest for Tears by Sean Dwyer is a captivating memoir written four years after the author suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as the result of a rear-end car collision.

While such casualties often foster long-term, unpredictable damage and seem a medical mystery, here Dwyer’s goal is to share his unique roadmap of struggles and experiences, while also advocating for fellow TBI survivors.

At age fifty-four, Dwyer was a college educator, fluent in Spanish, and a creative writer who had authored two novels and a work of nonfiction. A prolific songwriter, he was also blessed with an excellent memory, supportive of the talent of colleagues, and was always able to display his emotions easily. But in the aftermath of his January 29, 2015 accident, life changed.

Initially diagnosed with whiplash, back sprains, a leg wound, and soft-tissue damage to his arm, subsequent tests revealed a concussion and TBI. Now, in addition to dealing with the expected discomfort of his outer physical injuries, Dwyer was forced to navigate the arduous, mired path of debilitations faced by those dealing with head trauma. From a first-person perspective showcasing determination and resilience, Dwyer journeys through a slow, laborious labyrinth towards recovery. With a touch of wit, he applies the moniker

“Sean 2.0” to his injured self, and like a software upgrade, he begins to explore the new cognitive alterations of his brain.

Dwyer now faces life with an extreme sensitivity to light. Also, there is the absence of the familiar “earworm” that once inspired music and stories. His now quiet brain struggles for words has difficulty reading and lost the sense of musical enjoyment. Minimal laughter and a noticeable inability to shed tears lead him to wonder, “Am I going to be an emotional zombie for the rest of my days?”

Dwyer went from being a man with high regard for hygiene and fashion standards to an individual preferring comfortable attire and choosing vibrant novelty socks that delighted his injured brain. Painful head movements during a simple haircut caused him to eliminate the grooming event for two years. This was the new Dwyer.

Dwyer seeks numerous treatments over several months, from physical therapy and acupuncture to neuropsychologists and craniosacral practitioners. During a visit with a priest, he looked for help from the sacrament of healing. Attending conferences with fellow TBI survivors proves an essential part of his recovery, as he learns progress can still occur well beyond the one-year mark of the initial injury. Lightening the intensity of this autobiographical account, Dwyer distinguishes the one-year “smashiversary” of his accident with a celebration at a local Mexican restaurant. Along with a cathartic, hanging car pinata, a gifted plaque featuring the accident photo Dwyer was always quick to produce in conversation, is humorously preserved with the fitting caption “stronger than steel.”

The importance of the much-needed understanding and support he received from his wife and family, the medical community, and a vast tribe of friends, students, and colleagues continues to be imperative in Dwyer’s recovery.

Mock classroom set-ups helped him acclimate to possibilities for teaching, while fellow writers proved compassionate in fueling his need to find new pathways for creative expression. Dwyer weaves poignant moments throughout his story, including an unexpected conversation with a wheelchair-bound boy who inspired him to push through his newfound obstacles. He also highlights the guiding force of his beloved elder feline companion, Sophie, who proved the utmost source of comfort throughout his ordeal.

Written primarily as a resource for TBI survivors, their caregivers, and members of the medical community who often fail to distinguish the difference between intelligence and brain health, Dwyer’s A Quest For Tears is a remarkable achievement. Ultimately it proves a positive affirmation of the human spirit, focusing on the ability to learn and adapt when faced with the unique challenges brought on by sudden brain injury — a powerful and inspiring read.

A Quest for Tears won First Place in the CIBA 2018 Journey Awards for Memoir/Biographical works.

November 2, 2019
The JOURNEY Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction Shortlist for the 2019 CIBAs
The Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2019 JOURNEY Book Awards LONG LIST and have advanced to the 2019 JOURNEY Shortlist. The Short Listers will for the Semi-Finalists positions. The SemiFinalists will compete for the limited First Place Category Winners in the final rounds of judging. All Semi-Finalists will be recognized and CAC20. The First Place Category Winners, along with the division grand prize winners, will be announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2019 JOURNEY Book Awards LONG LIST and have advanced to the 2019 JOURNEY Shortlist. The Short Listers will for the Semi-Finalists positions. The SemiFinalists will compete for the limited First Place Category Winners in the final rounds of judging. All Semi-Finalists will be recognized and CAC20. The First Place Category Winners, along with the division grand prize winners, will be announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

The following works have advanced to the 2019 Journey Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction
- T.S. Lewis – The Why of War: An Unorthodox Soldier’s Memoirs
- Susan Murphy – Toppled World
- Anna Carner – Blossom ~ The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury
- Rebecca Faye Smith Galli – Rethinking Possible: A Memoir of Resilience
- Maya Castro – The Bubble: Everything I Learned as a Target of the Political, and Often Corrupt, World of Youth Sports
- Donna Hill – Yes, The World Is Round
- Linda Gartz – Redlined: A Memoir of Race, Change, and Fractured Community in 1960s Chicago
- John Hoyte – Persistence of Light
- Nikki West – The Odyssey of the Chameleon
- Chris Register – Conversations With US – Great Lakes States
- J. Bronson Haley – The Depth of Grace: Finding Hope at Rock Bottom
- Julie MacNeil – The 50-Year Secret
- Whitney Elleby – Autism Uncensored: Pulling Back the Curtain
- Judy Bebelaar and Ron Cabral – And Then They Were Gone: Teenagers of Peoples Temple from High School to Jonestown
- Ted Neill – Two Years of Wonder
- Anthony Suarez – Politically Indicted: The Real Story Behind the Jersey Sting
- Dena Moes – The Buddha Sat Right Here: A Family Odyssey Through India and Nepal
- Laureen Pittman – The Lies That Bind: An Adoptee’s Journey Through Rejection, Redirection, DNA, and Discovery
- Nancy Canyon – STRUCK: A Memoir
- Carol E. Anderson – You Can’t Buy Love Like That: Growing Up Gay in the Sixties
- Steffanie Strathdee and Thomas Patterson – The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug
- Barbara Clarke – The Opposite of Hate
- Juliet Cutler – Among the Maasai
- Andy Chaleff – The Last Letter
- John Egenes – Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America
- David Wienir – Amsterdam Exposed
- Rod Baker – I Need my Yacht by Friday – True Tales from the Boat Repair Yard
- Lance Brewer – Back Story Alaska
- Lisa Dailey – Square Up
- Julie L. Seely – Skinny House -A Memoir of Family
- J. Bronson Haley – The Depth of Grace: Finding Hope at Rock Bottom
- Patrick Hogan – Silent Spring – Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War
These titles will compete for the 2019 Journey Semi-Finalists positions.

Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

Our next Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 18th, 2020, for the 2019 CIBA winners. Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

Chanticleer Authors Conference 2020

We are now accepting entries into the 2020 Journey Book Awards, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.
September 27, 2019
GOING THROUGH HELL to get to HEAVEN by Dr. Scot Hodkiewicz – Christian Personal Growth, Spiritual Growth, Christian Self-Help

Scot Hodkiewicz thought he had his life planned out to the last detail, but a few seconds of horror on the highway would change everything.

Award-winning author Hodkiewicz was a veterinarian with a beautiful wife, Mona, who participated in his practice, three children, two dogs, and a vacation cottage. They were all returning from some seasonal maintenance to that cottage one Sunday morning when a drunk driver crossed the median and rammed into their car.

Hodkiewicz passed out almost instantly from the pain of the impact. His wife Mona was also knocked unconscious, leaving their oldest child, ten-year-old Alexa, to help the EMT team gain entry to the car. The children were miraculously the least inured; they and their mother were rushed to the nearest hospital while Scot had to be extracted with the “Jaws of Life” and air-lifted by one of the many “angels” the family encountered in this time of life-threatening peril.

The author sustained the worst injuries from the accident, with a crushed leg that would eventually lead to dependence, for a time, on painkilling meds. As he notes: “Within a few seconds, we had gone from a normal, healthy family traveling with hundreds of other cars down the highway to a mangled mess of broken and battered bodies.” Little did they know at the time, worse was to come.

In the ensuing weeks and months, the family became more attached to their church and spiritual practice. This link to God, in Scot’s case, almost a conversational connection, would become even more vital when they found that there was more trouble ahead.

Their struggle with the various diagnoses, hopes, false hopes, and deceptive despair remarkably brought a new kind of shared strength. When Mona learned that the crash injuries were just the start of her struggles, she took to heart what her husband had been telling her. She began to personalize the idea that everything that happened was part of God’s plan. The accident itself, world-shattering as it was at the time, was a blessing in disguise and how God chose to reveal His true plan for them; a plan that was so much better than their own.

Now Hodkiewicz avows that he has become more diligent in watching after sick animals and is, in general, more charitable toward his fellow humans. After their church gifted the family food until they were able to take care of their own needs, he followed their example, giving money and other assistance to those he encountered in need. Even Alexa, now in her teens, felt this impulse, involving the family in mission trips.

Hodkiewicz writes with singular conviction and self-abnegating humor that gradually reveals his faith in God’s plans for true happiness in place of his own schemes for worldly success. His medical acumen provides the reader with a wealth of detailed information about the injuries that he and his wife sustained, and his sense of justice allows him to acknowledge that the person from whom he learned most in all this terrible trauma was the man who so carelessly drank, got behind the wheel, and nearly destroyed five lives.

Going Through Hell to Get to Heaven is a memoir about love that moves from one person to another in the form of grace, and about a family that came to see the actions of ordinary people as angelic and divinely purposed. The ordeal and subsequent blessings that Scot and Mona have experienced can, hopefully, inspire others.

Going Through Hell to Get to Heaven by Dr. Scot Hodkiewicz won 1st Place in the CIBA 2017 Journey Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction.

August 19, 2019
GOODBYE to MAIN STREET: A Family Memoir & Sequel to Prairie Son by Dennis Clausen – Memoir, Family Relationships / Saga, Multi-Generational Memoir

Growing up in an estranged family atmosphere brings questions that beg for answers in this complex multigenerational memoir.

Author Dennis M. Clausen recalls his early years growing up in the latter half of the last century with a detached, mostly absent father and a disabled, emotionally conflicted mother. In his tribute to small-town America, the author eloquently sketches the Minnesota village where he spent most of his youth, a place where the awnings on Main Street were opened and shut at the same time each day, and family secrets were hinted at but never discussed. Among the secrets was the enigma surrounding Clausen’s father, Lloyd, a wanderer who could never settle in one place, keep one job or stay with one woman for very long.

There are many idyllic elements to Dennis’s upbringing. Though poor and often struggling for basic necessities, his mother and siblings got by, sometimes helped by the largesse of the community. On occasion, a visitor might sleep on the couch, and tuck nickels or dimes strategically into the sofa’s cushions, leaving Dennis and his brother, Derl, the means to go to the local movie theater. The boys also managed a paper route together.

Reaching college age, there was no money, so Dennis stayed in his hometown at a newly created branch of the university. There he was fortunate to have as a mentor a legendary professor of American literature who recognized what the town’s librarian had noticed years before: that Dennis had great zeal for reading.

As Clausen matured and closely observed the clan he was born into, certain flaws appeared in the pleasant but rather fuzzy picture that had been painted for him. He felt increasingly guided by hints – and finally by some handwritten memoirs from his father – to explore their shared past. In the years of Clausen’s youth, polio was a killer stalking the country and then was miraculously eliminated, but the psychological concept of “attachment disorder,” which undoubtedly afflicted Lloyd, was unheard of. In sifting through his father’s memorabilia, Clausen learned that Lloyd’s adoptive parents always regarded their charge more as free labor than loved one. In Prairie Son, Clausen has written vividly of Lloyd’s life as a mistreated orphan. The many remarkable results of that investigative work comprise the second portion of Goodbye to Main Street, complete with documentation and photographs in what can be seen as Clausen’s second vocation as the family detective.

Clausen’s work has garnered a following among family both here and abroad who have contributed to his diligent search for his ancestry and among orphans and children of orphans who sense his empathy. There are many poignant moments in his coming-of-age account that will resonate with the experiences of an earlier generation of Americans. Perhaps this is the pull of Clausen’s memoir, the story of how one boy grew to manhood and overcame the odds, to become something other than what he was born into: from grinding poverty to successful academic.

Now, after making numerous nostalgic visits to the old hometown and to various gravesites as part of his delving into family lore, he has come to see life as “a journey” and to respect its mysteries.

Goodbye to Main Street won 1st Place in the CIBAs 2018 Journey Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction.

August 2, 2019