Tag: Book Review

Book review: ‘Communicate with Courage’ by Michelle D. Gladieux

‘Communicate with Courage’ is the new book by communication coach Michelle D. Gladieux. Photo: Amazon

Michelle Gladieux is an author and President of Gladieux Consulting, a Midwest-based team known for top-notch design and presentation of seminars in communication and leadership topics around the U.S. She provides executive coaching and facilitates strategic planning for clients in diverse industries, in governments, at non-profits, and in academia. She has 18 years of collegiate teaching experience at three universities in her home state of Indiana, accepting her first adjunct faculty position at age 23. She has worked as a Human Resources and Training Director in the cold storage, robotics, and construction industries and enjoys visiting conferences as a keynote speaker and workshop presenter. In her new book “Communicate with Courage: Taking Risks to Overcome the Four Hidden Challenges,” she teaches readers how to become fearless and peerless communicators by confronting the psychological blocks holding them back. (Michelle Gladieux, 2023)

“Communicate with Courage” – Being a good communicator is one of the best ways to make a difference in the world, but it takes courage to open up to others and invite others to open up to you. In the Preface, Michelle D. Gladieux explains that the purpose of the book is to help with communication skills not only in the workplace, but in daily interactions with family in friends right now and in the future. As a lifelong communication coach, she has discovered four obstacles that can keep you from becoming the best communicator you can be 1) Hiding—Fear of exposing your supposed weaknesses, 2) Defining—Putting too much stock into assumptions and being quick to judge, 3) Rationalizing—Using “being realistic” to shield yourself from taking chances, engaging in conflict, or doing other  but potentially rewarding actions, and 4) Settling—Stopping at “good enough” instead of aiming for something better in your interactions. Overcoming these challenges requires taking risks—to reveal yourself, question your beliefs, take a leap of faith, or move out of your comfort zone. This book is divided into ten chapters, including one for each of these hidden challenges as well as Risks Not Worth Taking, and The Most Important Conversations to Have. Each chapter includes a real-world practice called a Pro Move and an exercise, both designed to help you overcome hang-ups and take more joy in communicating.

Being an effective communicator is an important skill yet one of the hardest to improve. It requires knowing your strengths and weaknesses, constant practice, and most of all, a genuine desire to grow. According to the author, becoming a brave communicator is “achieved by looking at potential payoffs rather than focusing on what can go wrong, and pushing past mediocre.” This is a small and easy to read book, mostly because the language is simple and down to earth. With the suggested Pro Moves and exercises, readers can practice their communication skills and put them to work in their lives. The subject matter makes this a reference guide worth circling back to re-read portions that might need refreshing over time. Highlights include Chapter 8 Risks Not Worth Taking where even though she encourages taking risks, she emphasizes that you should not risk your sanity by “engaging with manipulative or unethical people” and Chapter 7 Hidden Challenge #4: Settling for ‘Good Enough’ where she states the importance of outsmarting the urge to settle; in this case, raising your hand and letting people know what you have to say, diplomatically of course – voicing your opinion and experiences. “Communicate with Courage” is an effective guide to improving communications skills to become a braver and more effective communicator. It is recommended for readers who enjoy books on business management and personal enrichment focusing on communication and social skills.

“…there’s something waiting on the other side of courageous risk-taking for you, something good, illuminating, and life-giving. Whatever it is, it won’t come fully into view until you deviate from the safe route as a communicator.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Book review: ‘Cast No Shadow’ by Nancy Leonard

‘Cast No Shadow’ is the new psychological thriller by ‘Nancy Leonard.’ Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Nancy Leonard is an award-winning novelist who retired from a career as a physical therapist and rehabilitation clinic manager to pursue writing full time. Her focus is on psychological suspense thrillers, her specialty is in-depth character development with extensive research into Blackfeet Native American culture, wildland firefighting, and modern Middle Eastern culture and politics. She is the author of the Relentless River Series that consists of eight interconnected novels. While battling evil influences and life and death situations, characters cope with events in their pasts that have molded them while wrestling with their own morality. The series includes “Headwaters,” “Becomes A Horseman,” and “The Earth’s Backbone.” Her new novel “Cast No Shadow” involves the destructive collision between a psychopathic patriarch, Frederick Weingarten, and the two sons he dominates. (Amazon, 2022)

“Cast No Shadow” – The story begins as Bruce Weingarten and Alec Cummings are called into their father’s office. They are foster brothers who over the years have been manipulated to battle each other, especially for leadership of the family business. A woman, Eleanor, has been disrupting the father’s business interests and he wants her rattled into backing off. Fearing an innocent woman could be killed if he does not comply with Frederick’s instructions, Alec assaults her as instructed and is almost beaten to death in retribution when his identity is discovered. Tormented and in a rage of total despair and failure, his brother Bruce attempts to run two women off the road during a blizzard. They avoid serious harm but the horror of what he has become enables him to begin rebuilding his life. The young men’s attempts to free themselves from their father’s malevolent domination unleashes Frederick’s unrestrained rage at their betrayal. Alice Sanders and Tashi Long, two Blackfeet women who love and support Bruce and Alec, are caught in the crossfire as they become targets of Frederick’s quest for vengeance. They will ultimately battle for their souls and physical survival in the mountainous region and plains of northern Montana.

Psychological manipulation within the family unit has been proven to have lasting harmful effects affecting relationships for years. Such is the case between brothers Bruce and Alec. Although Alec is taken in by the family as a boy due to his abusive father and absent mother, they grow up together. What starts out as friendship develops into a cold and distant relationship brought on by the father’s caustic personality. Told in the first person point of view alternating between Bruce and Alec, readers witness their internal conflicts and their eventual redemption. The excellent character development makes them relatable, especially when Bruce and Alec’s new friends in Montana eventually welcome them as their own. With descriptive language ranging from describing a beating: “Blood is caked on the side of my face and my left eye is almost swollen shut. I have a deep crease of torn tissue under my left ear,” to the beautiful outdoor scenery: “The sapphire sky contrasts with aqua caverns, shimmering up from the glacial ice,” the reader is drawn into the story. The action is fast paced and naturally flows through the pages. Highlights include Chapter 3 which foreshadows Bruce’s change of heart, when he realizes that he is turning into his father, and not in a good way: “Suddenly I stop in horror. This has to stop. I’m becoming my father” and the action on Chapters 34 through 35 when Tashi falls in the ice while trying to rescue a little boy. “Cast No Shadow” is a fascinating story of two brothers who despite their volatile upbringing find ways to liberate themselves. It is a must read psychological thriller recommended for fans of the genre who also appreciate learning about Native American culture.

“I’m as far from all right as it’s possible to be and still be alive. I feel like I’m continually shrinking. Soon I’ll be so small I won’t even cast a shadow.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘Dissection’ by Cristina LePort, MD

‘Dissection’ is the debut suspense thriller by Cristina LePort, MD. Photo: Amazon

Dr. Cristina LePort was born in Bologna, Italy, where she attended medical school before emigrating to the USA to complete her Internal Medicine residency at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn and her Cardiology fellowship at West Los Angeles VA/UCLA. She has been practicing medicine for more than 30 years as Dr. Cristina Rizza. “Dissection: A Medical and Political Thriller” is her first published novel and a tense thriller with complex characters that combines cutting-edge medical technology with horrific yet still believable terrorist plots.

“Dissection” – DC heart surgeon Dr. Steven Leeds is suddenly overwhelmed by a handful of extremely complicated heart attack and stroke cases, all caused by a rare arterial injury―a dissection. The victims all have one thing in common: they receive harmless-looking cards announcing, “Your heart attack/stroke will arrive within one hour!” It all starts with Dr. Nirula receiving a card warning him of an impending fatal heart attack. At first he dismisses it because he knows his personal odds of such an episode are slim, but then he remembers that 25% of people who have heart attacks have no known risks. His heart starts pounding as his life flashes through his mind, but eventually he moves on. He is the first of many such cases but unfortunately some do not make it. When private detective Kirk Miner and FBI agent Jack Mulville start investigating, they immediately suspect Leeds’ former lover, Dr. Silvana Moretti, a brilliant research scientist who harbors a grudge against all the victims. When important people in the U.S. government begin to receive these same threatening cards and experience similar cardiac emergencies, it falls to the unlikely team of three―the headstrong FBI agent, the gifted private investigator, and the brilliant but conflicted heart surgeon―to find the actual perpetrators and to snuff out a catastrophic plot that only the medically astute can divine.

Dr. Cristina LePort has written an impressive debut novel. Her experience as a medical professional gives it an authentic voice, for example, when she describes a heart attack: “a heavy sickening pressure rose from the center of his chest and spread like an oil spill to reach his jaw.” When doctors themselves get sick, the experience tends to give them a reality check, such as when Dr. Nirula admits that it is not fun being on the other side, being the patient instead of the doctor. The thorough character development makes them relatable, flawed, but overall courageous. With her descriptive language, the author makes the story come alive: “Fear receded like a wave from the shore and crashed into anger.” The political thriller subplot gives it an extra thrill ride during the rush to find the designated survivor to avoid a catastrophe and in case the president does not make it. The chapters are short and the action is mostly dialogue driven. Highlights include Chapter 3: Dissection where Dr. LePort describes Dr. Steven Leeds preparing to perform surgery: he “slid a cap over his thinning black hair, reached for a sponge, and stepped on the pedal to switch on the water” and Chapter 31: Choices when all hell breaks loose and Kirk Miner and Jack Mulville relentlessly pursue the terrorists even though they have both been injured. “Dissection” is a must read suspenseful page turner that combines a fast paced medical thriller with white knuckle political action. It is recommended for readers who appreciate the best of Tom Clancy and Robin Cook.

“She stared at her husband for a long moment as if deciding how to best handle the possible emergency. The man flapped his hand, hurrying her to get ready. A few minutes later, man and wife sat buckled up in their car on their way to Capitol Hospital. The man’s headache and neck pain escalated with the car’s bouncing and swerving. To him, the city street lights appeared blurred. Panic set in.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.