Tag: books

Healing the Past to Manifest Your Future: A Review of ‘What’s True About You’

‘What’s True About You’ is the new book by Katherine Woodward Thomas. Photo: Amazon

What’s True About You by Katherine Woodward Thomas

Book Review & Overview

Katherine Woodward Thomas’ new book, What’s True About You: 7 Steps to Move Beyond Your Painful Past and Manifest Your Brightest Future, represents the leading edge of personal development, bridging the gap between trauma recovery and consciously creating a life you love.

Overview

In What’s True About You, licensed therapist and New York Times bestselling author Katherine Woodward Thomas reveals a revolutionary way to leave a painful past behind and grow into the abundant and fulfilling future you desire. (FSB Associates, 2026)

Through a radically effective, life-altering seven-step process, Thomas helps readers identify and release the false beliefs formed through past pain. These beliefs often operate beneath the surface, shaping how we see ourselves, our relationships, and what we believe is possible. By dismantling them, we are empowered to live and love as our true selves—the version we’ve always sensed we could, and should, be.

Rather than allowing the past to define or limit us, Thomas offers a refreshingly inspiring protocol for changing who we are today, opening the door to a brighter and more expansive future.

What’s Inside

The Seven Steps:

  1. Claim a Positive, Possible Future
  2. Name Your Source Fracture Story
  3. Wake Up to the True You
  4. See Yourself as Source
  5. Identify New Ways of Relating
  6. Embrace a Growth Mindset
  7. Make New Choices, Take New Actions

Part Two: The True You Breakthrough Blueprint
This section includes 22 core belief breakdowns designed to help readers pinpoint their specific fracture story, along with clear steps to finally break free from it.

Highlights

True You Premises

Premise #4: You Are the Source of Your Own Experience
Thomas emphasizes that while past experiences may not be our fault, we are fully responsible for the choices we make in the present. True healing begins when we stop blaming others and take ownership of our inner world:

“The breakthrough happens when you become willing to take 100 percent responsibility for yourself as the source of your experience.”

Step 6: Embrace a Growth Mindset

This step focuses on developing skills that support emotional and relational growth, such as communicating needs, expressing feelings honestly, and setting healthy boundaries.

Review

Katherine Woodward Thomas offers a compassionate yet practical roadmap for anyone ready to stop letting their past define their future. Her seven-step process helps readers identify and release deeply ingrained beliefs shaped by trauma, disappointment, and emotional pain.

The book balances emotional depth with actionable guidance. Thomas doesn’t rush readers toward positivity or manifestation without first inviting them to do the necessary inner healing. Through reflective exercises, real-life examples, and gentle but direct language, she shows how awareness can become a powerful gateway to transformation.

One of its greatest strengths is its emphasis on identity. Instead of focusing solely on changing circumstances, Thomas encourages readers to change who they are being in the present moment. As false narratives fall away, a more authentic and expansive self emerges, capable of deeper love, clarity, and fulfillment.

Ultimately, What’s True About You is both a healing guide and a hopeful invitation to reclaim your authentic self and consciously create a future rooted in truth, possibility, and self-compassion. It is highly recommended for fans of motivational and personal growth books, as well as anyone seeking meaningful inner transformation.

“Yet recognizing the impact that past trauma has had on us is just one leg of the journey. It’s not the destination itself. The destination we’re aspiring to is the ability to create our lives outside of the story we made up about ourselves in response to whatever happened to us.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

About the Author

Katherine Woodward Thomas, M.A., MFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, New York Times bestselling author, and a pioneer in transformational psychology. For over two decades, she has developed groundbreaking methods that help people move beyond healing the past and into consciously creating the future they desire.

Her books, Calling in “The One” and Conscious Uncoupling, have sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and sparked cultural conversations around love, relationships, and conscious endings. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Today Show, reaching millions across the globe.

*Thank you to FSB Associates for the gifted copy for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Don Winslow’s ‘Broken’ and the Movie Adaptation of Crime 101

Crime 101 is one of the short stories in Don Winslow’s Broken. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Broken by Don Winslow: From Gritty Crime Fiction to the Big Screen

“No matter how you come into this world, you come out broken…”

Don Winslow’s Broken is a blistering collection of crime stories that showcases why he’s long been considered one of the most powerful voices in contemporary crime fiction. Now, one of its standout stories—“Crime 101”—has made the leap from the page to a major motion picture, bringing Winslow’s razor-sharp storytelling to an even wider audience.

About the Book: Broken

Hailed by Stephen King as “one of America’s greatest storytellers,” #1 international bestselling author Don Winslow returns in Broken with six intense short novels. Some feature familiar characters, others introduce new ones, but all are connected by Winslow’s signature themes: crime, vengeance, guilt, and redemption.

With his trademark blend of insight, humanity, dark humor, and propulsive action, Winslow delivers stories that feel both immediate and timeless. These are tales of people living by codes, moral, criminal, or personal, and the devastating consequences when those codes are tested or broken.

Spotlight on “Crime 101”

At the heart of Broken is “Crime 101,” a tightly wound crime story that reads like a perfect noir film waiting to happen.

A series of high-level jewel heists along California’s Pacific Coast Highway has baffled law enforcement for years. The crimes are initially attributed to Colombian cartels, but Detective Lou Lubesnick suspects something else entirely: a lone thief operating under a strict personal philosophy known as Crime 101.

The jewel thief has followed his rules flawlessly, until now. As he plans one final, legendary score, Lou decides to do the unthinkable: break every rule of Crime 101 to stop him.

It’s a story about obsession, intuition, and the thin line between hunter and hunted, and it’s no surprise Hollywood came calling.

About the Movie: Crime 101

The film adaptation of Crime 101 brings Winslow’s story to life with an all-star cast and sleek, tension-filled direction.

Plot Overview

A jewel thief named Mike Davis has executed a series of daring heists along the 101 freeway, leaving police completely stumped. When he sets his sights on the ultimate score, his plans intersect with those of insurance broker Sharon Colvin. Meanwhile, Detective Lou Lubesnick believes he’s finally cracked the thief’s pattern and is determined to bring him down before the next job.

Film Details

  • Written and Directed by: Bart Layton
  • Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, and Halle Berry

Crime 101 premiered on January 28, 2026, in London and is scheduled for U.S. release on February 13, 2026.

About the Author: Don Winslow

Don Winslow is the author of twenty-six acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including eight New York Times bestsellers such as Savages, The Cartel, The Force, The Border, and his epic City trilogy (City on Fire, City of Dreams, City in Ruins).

A former investigator, anti-terrorism trainer, and trial consultant, Winslow brings lived experience to his fiction, lending it an authenticity that sets his work apart. He has also written award-winning short stories for Audible, narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris. Winslow currently lives in California and Rhode Island.

Final Thoughts

With Broken, Don Winslow once again proves his mastery of crime fiction, and Crime 101’s transition from short novel to feature film feels both natural and inevitable. Whether you encounter this story first on the page or on the screen, one thing is certain: Winslow’s world is gripping, morally complex, and impossible to forget.

Photo: Google

‘AI and I’: A Blueprint for Human Leadership in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

AI and I is the new book by Eduardo M. Arroyo. Photo: Amazon

📘 New Book Spotlight

AI and I: Merging the Horizon of Human Ingenuity and Artificial Intelligence

by Eduardo M. Arroyo

When intelligence becomes abundant, the human mind becomes the point of differentiation. (Amazon, 2026)

Are you using AI—or is AI using you?

We are standing at the edge of the greatest technological shift since the steam engine. The cost of intelligence – writing, coding, reasoning – has dropped to near zero. For many, this is terrifying. If the machine can do the work, what is left for us?

In AI and I, systems engineer and strategic consultant Eduardo M. Arroyo offers a provocative answer:

Everything.

This is not a technical manual for prompt engineering. It is a manifesto for human sovereignty.

A guide for leaders, creatives, and professionals who refuse to be replaced by an algorithm and instead choose to become the Architects of the new era.

Move Beyond the “Oracle Trap”

Too many users treat AI like a magic 8-ball, asking it for answers and outsourcing their judgment. The result? Intellectual atrophy.

Arroyo introduces Co-Engineering: a method where you stop leaning back (abdicating thought) and start leaning on, using AI as a cognitive exoskeleton, not a crutch.

What’s Inside the Book

  • The FIRRST Mindset
    A battle-tested framework—Foresight, Innovation, Reasonable Resilience, Strategy, and Teamwork, designed to navigate the VUCA world without burning out.
  • The “Decision Engine” vs. the Chatbot
    How to stop treating AI as a conversation partner and start treating it as a high-velocity motor for your intent.
  • The Copyright Victory (Case Study TX 9-455-371)
    The true story of how Arroyo secured a copyright registration for an AI-assisted work using the “Limitation of Claim” strategy, proving that you own the structure, even if the machine lays the bricks.
  • The Neurobiology of Flow
    How to use AI to bypass low-value struggle and trigger high-performance states where creativity and productivity soar.
  • The Ecosystem of 2026
    Why the future isn’t just about chatbots but about managing a digital workforce of Agents, Sensors, and Robots.

The Evolution of the “I”

Arroyo argues that we are witnessing the birth of Homo Sapiens Technologicus.

By engaging in High-Value Struggle with these systems, we aren’t just getting faster, we are expanding our cognitive capacity.

The machine has data, but it lacks scars.
It has speed, but it lacks context.
It has intelligence, but it lacks Intent.

That remains yours.

A Blueprint for the Next Decade

AI and I is your roadmap for what comes next.

Stop worrying about the robot taking your job.
Start building the future where you lead the robot.

AI does not define who you are.
It reveals it.

About the Author

Eduardo M. Arroyo is a trailblazing strategist, consultant, and innovator in strategic planning and execution. His extensive professional background provides a rigorous foundation for the methodologies and principles explored in AI and I.

Arroyo’s academic journey reflects excellence and discipline. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Management, with a minor in Industrial Psychology, followed by a Master of Business Administration in Strategic Planning—completed within four calendar years—at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Book Review: ‘The Dark Art of Life Mastery’ and Why It’s a Wake-Up Call for Personal Growth

The Dark Art of Life Mastery is a a powerful guide to living fearlessly. Photo: Barnes & Noble

The Dark Art of Life Mastery: Your Life, Your Way, Right Here, Right Now

by Hussein Hallak

Overview

Life doesn’t slow down just because you want it to. It’s complicated and messy. It tests you and shapes your experiences, especially if you don’t shape your own. Sometimes it demands more than we feel able to give.

But you can’t wait for an opportunity to spark change. You have to create it.

In The Dark Art of Life Mastery, Hussein Hallak helps unleash your potential by offering a guide for living fearlessly, second-guessing less, and embracing your true purpose.

The first chapter makes one thing clear: this book won’t tell you anything entirely new. Instead, it compares his writing to putting on sunglasses:

“Sunglasses aren’t right or wrong; they just allow you to see things differently based upon the environment surrounding you.”

What’s Inside

  • Rewind
  • (Untitled)
  • Time Is the Key
  • Then You Die
  • Let Go
  • Captain On Deck
  • Master
  • At the Helm
  • Take It In

Highlights

Captain On Deck
Sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself. We pretend to be kings of our lives when in reality, we can’t control everything. All you can do is step on deck, take the wheel, and hope for the best.

Scanning
We’ve evolved to prioritize survival. That’s why criticism feels like a threat, triggering defensiveness and pushing us into fight-or-flight mode.

Review

The Dark Art of Life Mastery is a reflective and motivating guide for anyone who feels like life is happening to them rather than being shaped by them. Hallak begins with a question that quietly lingers throughout the book: If it’s your life, who’s really in control? From there, he explores the uncomfortable truth that life doesn’t pause when we feel overwhelmed, it keeps moving, demanding intention, courage, and self-awareness.

Hallak blends personal stories with poetic insight, creating a tone that feels grounding and quietly empowering. He doesn’t offer rigid formulas for success. Instead, he focuses on mindset: learning to sit with discomfort, questioning self-doubt, and taking responsibility for the choices that define our path. The “dark art” isn’t about manipulation or secrecy, but about mastering unseen inner battles, fear, hesitation, and the stories we tell ourselves.

The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter are beautiful and thoughtfully reflect each chapter’s theme. It’s a short read and serves as a reminder that transformation doesn’t come from waiting for the right moment, it comes from creating it.

“You may have to pause, think hard, and go deep inside to bring out the one thing that matters most. It’s likely buried under all those meaningless someday goals.”

This book is recommended for readers who enjoy inspirational and introspective personal development reads.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

About the Author

Hussein Hallak is a founder, entrepreneur, and strategist dedicated to helping people and organizations find clarity in complexity and build lasting impact. As CEO of Next Decentrum, he guides leaders and teams worldwide through digital transformation, innovation, and values-driven growth.

He is the author of The Dark Art of Life Mastery, a blunt and honest invitation to confront illusions, reclaim personal agency, and stop waiting for permission to live. His work challenges easy answers and rewards those willing to choose meaning over comfort.

*Thank you to Next Decentrum for the gifted copy for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

From Page to Screen: People We Meet On Vacation Is Now Streaming on Netflix

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry. Photo: Barnes & Noble

People We Meet On Vacation: From Beloved Novel to Netflix Movie

The New York Times bestselling romance novel People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry has officially made its leap from page to screen. The long-awaited Netflix adaptation stars Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, and Sarah Catherine Hook, and is now available to stream.

For fans of the book, and for anyone who loves a slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance, this adaptation brings one of Emily Henry’s most cherished stories to life.

About the Book: People We Meet On Vacation

Two best friends.
Ten summer trips.
One last chance to fall in love.

Poppy and Alex couldn’t be more different.

She’s a wild child with insatiable wanderlust.
He wears khakis and prefers staying home with a good book.

After a chance car share home from college, the two form an unlikely friendship that becomes the most important relationship in their lives. For a decade, despite living far apart, Poppy in New York City and Alex in their small Ohio hometown, they spend one glorious week each summer traveling together.

Until two years ago, when everything fell apart.

They haven’t spoken since.

The Story at Its Heart

On the surface, Poppy has everything she’s supposed to want. But she’s stuck in a rut. When she’s asked when she was last truly happy, the answer comes easily: that final, ill-fated vacation with Alex. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)

Determined to fix what they broke, Poppy convinces Alex to take one last trip together—to lay everything on the table and make things right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has one week to fix everything… if she can finally face the truth that has always hovered between them.

What could possibly go wrong?

The Netflix Adaptation

Directed by Brett Haley, People We Meet On Vacation was released this month and has received generally positive reviews. The film captures the charm of Emily Henry’s original story, following Poppy and Alex’s decade-long tradition of shared summer vacations and the deeper connection that slowly unfolds between them.

At its core, the movie remains a story about timing, vulnerability, and the quiet, life-changing power of friendship turning into love.

Have you watched the Netflix adaptation yet, or are you still loyal to the book? 📚🎬

Photo: IMDb

Jan-Philipp Sendker Returns with ‘Akiko’s Quiet Happiness’

‘Akikos’ Quiet Happiness’ is a moving new Japan trilogy novel. Photo: Other Press

Akiko’s Quiet Happiness

The Japan Trilogy, Vol. 1
by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Translated by Daniel Bowles

The first book in a new series by the beloved author of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats trilogy is now out. Jan-Philipp Sendker returns with Akiko’s Quiet Happiness, the opening novel in The Japan Trilogy, a tender, introspective story about grief, identity, and the courage it takes to love. (Other Press, 2025)

About the Novel

Still grieving the death of her mother, 29-year-old Akiko lives alone in Tokyo, withdrawn and emotionally isolated. Her quiet, carefully contained life is interrupted one evening when she unexpectedly runs into Kento, her first love from school.

Kento now lives as a hikikomori, leading a reclusive life and only venturing outside at night. As the two former classmates reconnect, their fragile bond begins to open doors neither of them expected.

At the same time, Akiko uncovers unsettling evidence that her mother had been lying to her about their family. The discovery shakes her sense of self and forces her to confront a painful truth: she doesn’t really know who she is.

With Kento’s support, Akiko embarks on a journey into her own past, one that leads her in surprising directions and toward questions she has never dared to ask before:

  • How do I want to live?
  • And do I have the courage to love?

Perfect for fans of Satoshi Yagisawa’s Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, Akiko’s Quiet Happiness is a poignant story of family, identity, and belonging.

About the Author

Jan-Philipp Sendker, born in Hamburg in 1960, was the American correspondent for Stern from 1990 to 1995 and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. In 2000, he published Cracks in the Wall, a nonfiction book about China.

His first novel, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, became an international bestseller. Sendker now lives in Potsdam with his family.

About the Translator

Daniel Bowles is Associate Professor of German Studies at Boston College. His translation of Imperium won the Goethe-Institut’s Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize in 2016.

‘Whispers of Mayhem’ Is a Must-Read Dark Romantasy for Fans of Fierce Female Leads

Whispers of Mayhem is Aurora Ramsden’s latest romantasy novel. Photo: Amazon

Whispers of Mayhem (Guardians of Death)

by Aurora Ramsden

Overview

Whispers of Mayhem is a dark romantasy packed with savage creatures, deadly magic, unhinged humor, and a heroine who absolutely will take your head.

Nyx Blackwood has always suspected she isn’t human. She’s immune to fire and plagued by visions ripped straight from a horror movie. Loud, unapologetic, and fiercely independent, Nyx is done pretending to be normal and she has no intention of softening herself for anyone.

Alongside her sisters, triplets Opal and Rue, Nyx owns The Triad, a tattoo and piercing studio. Opal serves as the rational backbone of the business, balancing Nyx’s explosive temper and Rue’s take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Together, the Blackwood sisters take life by the horns, and heaven help anyone who gets in their way.

Everything changes when a mysterious stranger named Ryker walks into the shop, tosses Nyx a gold coin, and promises he’ll see them soon.

Not long after, the sisters are transported to another realm and enrolled in Death University. Surrounded by chaos and danger, they learn they are powerful creatures who need intense training, because the world’s evil isn’t waiting for them to catch up.

Review

Whispers of Mayhem is a fast-paced plunge into dark romantasy that revels in chaos, blood, and biting humor. Aurora Ramsden introduces Nyx as a vision-seeing tattoo artist whose sharp wit is matched only by her sharper instincts. Alongside her sisters, she is violently ripped from everything familiar and thrown into a brutal new world crawling with savage creatures, deadly magic, and truths that refuse to stay buried.

The tone is unapologetic and the humor delightfully unhinged. Fight scenes are vivid and immersive, pulling the reader straight into the action:

“I pull the vine tighter around his throat, standing to the side of him, reveling in his rising panic…”

Told in first person through both Nyx and Ryker’s perspectives, the danger feels constant and deeply personal.

Nyx is not a passive heroine waiting to be saved, she is rage, survival, and teeth. Ramsden writes her with an itchy trigger finger and zero hesitation to turn violent when pushed, making it impossible not to root for her. The bond between the sisters adds emotional weight, grounding the carnage in loyalty and love. Together, they are an unstoppable trio.

As they uncover who and what they truly are, the tension escalates toward a chilling truth: self-discovery isn’t optional, and time is not on their side.

Dark, violent, and wickedly entertaining, Whispers of Mayhem is a must-read for fans of gritty fantasy with heart and humor buried beneath the bloodshed. This being the first book in the Guardians of Death series, prepare yourself for the Blackwood sisters, they’re just getting warmed up. If you love strong female leads, this book is for you.

“The shadow figure-faceless and void-moves with predatory grace, slicing at her with a malevolent glee, leaving trails of darkness swirling in the aftermath of each cruel blow.”

Content Warning

Intended for mature audiences. Contains:

  • Violence and gore
  • Dark humor
  • Strong language
  • Explicit sex scenes

About the Author

Aurora Ramsden’s love for fantasy romance is rooted in memories of her mother and strengthened by the bond she shares with her closest girlfriends, trading smutty recommendations, laughing over morally gray men, and celebrating heroines who bite back.

Her stories are messy, blunt, sexy, a little unhinged, and unapologetically raw, packed with chaos, sarcasm, and enough spice to keep your Kindle sweating.

Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (4.5 out of 5)

Whispers of Mayhem delivers a ferocious blend of dark fantasy, sisterhood, violence, and unhinged humor. The worldbuilding is immersive, the pacing relentless, and Nyx Blackwood is the kind of heroine who refuses to be forgotten. The sister dynamic adds emotional depth, while the action and spice keep the pages turning.

A few moments feel intentionally chaotic, which largely works in the book’s favor, but readers who prefer slower worldbuilding or softer fantasy tones may find the intensity overwhelming. For fans of gritty romantasy with spice, morally gray characters, and heroines who choose violence every time, this book hits hard.

Perfect for readers who want their fantasy dark, bloody, funny, and unapologetically wild.

*Thank you to Aurora Ramsden for the gifted copy for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

The Art and Science of Facial Reconstruction: A Review of Gloria Nusse’s Forensic Atlas

Craniofacial Anatomy and Forensic Identification by Gloria Nusse. Photo: PICT, used with permission.

Part of the Partners in Crime Tours Virtual Book Tour

Book Review: Craniofacial Anatomy and Forensic Identification by Gloria Nusse

Overview

Our bodies record what happens to us physically throughout our lives, including scars from injuries sustained years or even decades ago. Scars tell us how we used our joints or how we may have injured them as children and adults. Our bodies also conform to the environments in which we live, both externally and internally. By examining and observing these key clues, a forensic investigator can reveal the unique characteristics that tell the story of a person’s life and death. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)

Craniofacial Anatomy and Forensic Identification is an atlas that covers all aspects of facial reconstruction and the anatomy of the head and neck. It explores facial expression, the anatomical basis of facial development, and the effects of muscle movement in detail.

Written by a world-renowned forensic artist with decades of experience as a scientific illustrator, portraitist, anthropologist, and lecturer in anatomy and biology, Gloria Nusse brings a rare balance of scientific rigor and artistic mastery to this work.

What’s Inside

  • Chapter 1: Introduction and identity from the skull’s perspective
  • Chapter 2: History and research of facial identification
  • Chapter 3: Bones, muscles, and tissues
  • Chapter 4: Facial features
  • Chapter 5: Analysis and interpretation
  • Chapter 6: Age, archetype, and expression
  • Chapter 7: Grave goods and artifacts
  • Chapter 8: Mold making and reproduction
  • Chapter 9: Clay work and finishing
  • Chapter 10: Lefty, an exemplar

Highlights

Chapter 2
This chapter includes a fascinating history of facial identification, beginning with mortuary practices of preserving the head that date back approximately 80,000 years to Jericho and the Middle East. It also highlights influential figures in the field, such as Wilton Marion Krogman, a professor of physical anthropology who along with sculptor Mary Jane McCue created a 3D facial reconstruction on a male skull in 1946. Modern identification methods are largely based on this groundbreaking work.

Chapter 8
This section goes into detailed methods of mold making, skull preparation, and techniques for working with damaged skulls, making it especially valuable for practitioners.

Review

Craniofacial Anatomy and Forensic Identification is a visually rich atlas that bridges science and art with remarkable accuracy. Designed for forensic artists, anthropologists, and anatomy students, the book offers a comprehensive examination of the head and neck, grounding facial reconstruction in anatomical knowledge rather than artistic intuition alone.

Nusse guides readers through craniofacial anatomy, facial musculature, and the structural basis of expression, clearly demonstrating how bone, muscle, and soft tissue interact to create recognizable human faces. I especially appreciated her focus on facial development and muscle movement, which shows how subtle anatomical variations can dramatically alter a person’s appearance, which is an essential insight for forensic identification. The atlas format, supported by detailed illustrations, allows complex concepts to be easily understood and reinforces the text’s scientific clarity.

As a world-renowned forensic artist and scientific illustrator, Nusse writes with the authority of a scientist and the sensitivity of an artist. Her explanations are precise yet accessible, reflecting deep respect for both disciplines.

Overall, Craniofacial Anatomy and Forensic Identification is a valuable reference that elevates facial reconstruction from technique to discipline. It gives readers a deeper understanding of the human face as both a biological structure and an expressive form. An extra plus is the history of facial reconstruction; fans of history will appreciate the detailed background information.

“It is impossible to know all of anatomy. She is a mysterious mistress and refuses to be put into a box. Each time you think you have figured it out, you see something else that changes all you knew before.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Pick up your copy today!

Amazon Barnes & Noble Walmart Thriftbooks ScienceDirect Elsevier

About the Author

Gloria Nusse is a forensic artist, anatomist, and anthropologist who has taught numerous professional workshops, including for the FBI.

She has aided in the identification and return of the unidentified remains of more than 14 individuals to their families. Her work includes recreations of ancient peoples of the Middle East and the reconstruction of the crystal skull for National Geographic, among others. Her work has been featured on 48 Hours, Forensic Files, Dateline, National Geographic specials, Unsolved History, and more.

Nusse worked as a scientific artist for over 35 years and taught human dissection and anatomy at San Francisco State University for 12 years, where she is currently Emeritus. She has authored and co-authored multiple journal articles and book chapters and was the invited speaker for the Chalmers Historical Address at the Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons meeting in 2013.

*Thank you to Partners in Crime Tours and the author for my gifted copy for review as part of the tour. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Partners in Crime Tours is hosting a gift card giveaway! Enter now for a chance to win 1 of 2 Amazon gift cards. Terms and conditions apply. Void where prohibited.

Photo: PICT, used with permission.

What It Means to Matter and Why It’s Essential for a Meaningful Life

Mattering is the new book by Jennifer Wallace. Photo: Penguin Random House

We live in a world more connected than ever, yet more people feel invisible, replaceable, and disconnected from purpose than at any other time in recent history.

📚 New Book Spotlight

Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose

by Jennifer Breheny Wallace

From award-winning journalist and bestselling author Jennifer Wallace comes Mattering, a timely and transformative book that confronts the loneliness, burnout, and loss of purpose so many people are experiencing today. (Penguin Random House, 2025)

📅 Release date: Tuesday, January 27
📘 Status: Available now for pre-order

Why Mattering Matters

In this groundbreaking work, Wallace makes a powerful and urgent case: mattering—the feeling that we are valued and that we have an opportunity to add value—is a core human need, as essential to our well-being as food and water.

Yet in today’s world, this fundamental need is increasingly unmet, with serious consequences. As mental and social health crises continue to surge, we often point to social media, the pace of modern life, or polarizing politics as the cause. Wallace argues that beneath these forces lies a deeper issue, what she calls “an erosion of mattering.”

Stories, Science, and the Cost of Feeling Invisible

With her signature warmth and insight, Wallace weaves together compelling research and deeply moving stories of mattering lost and regained. She introduces readers to:

  • Burned-out employees
  • Overwhelmed caregivers
  • People navigating grief
  • Individuals facing destabilizing life transitions

Through these stories, Mattering shows how lives are transformed when people are reminded, often in small but intentional ways, that they are valued and that their presence and contributions truly count.

The “Mattering Core”

At the heart of the book is what Wallace calls the mattering core, made up of four essential elements:

  • Recognizing your impact
  • Being relied on (but not too much)
  • Feeling prioritized
  • Being truly known and invested in

Strengthening this core helps us reconnect with purpose, deepen our relationships, and face uncertainty with greater resilience and clarity.

Who This Book Is For

Perfect for readers of Brené Brown, David Brooks, and Adam Grant, Mattering is a rare, culture-shifting book that offers a diagnosis and a remedy. With a clear roadmap and actionable takeaways, Wallace shows how to:

  • Unlock mattering within ourselves
  • Build cultures of mattering in our homes
  • Create healthier, more connected workplaces
  • Strengthen communities that support belonging

Mattering is a call to action and a blueprint for living a meaningful life and for creating the world we so urgently need.

About the Author

Jennifer Wallace is an award-winning journalist and author of the New York Times bestselling book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—and What We Can Do About It, named an Amazon Best Book of the Year.

Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. A graduate of Harvard College, Wallace began her journalism career in television at 60 Minutes.

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When Names Shape Destiny: A Book Review of ‘My Mother Cursed My Name’

My Mother Cursed My Name is the debut novel by Anamely Salgado Reyes. Photo: Barnes & Noble

My Mother Cursed My Name Book Review: A Magical Realism Novel About Generational Trauma

My Mother Cursed My Name by Anamely Salgado Reyes is a debut novel that explores three generations of strong Mexican American women: Olvido, Angustias, and Felicitas. Blending magical realism, women’s fiction, and family drama, the novel examines generational trauma, grief, identity, and the power of names. Set near the U.S.–Mexico border, the story follows a grandmother’s ghost who meddles in her living family’s life from beyond the grave.

Book Overview: What My Mother Cursed My Name Is About

The novel opens with the history of the Olivares women, dating back to 1917, when Justa Olivares named her daughter Calamidades. Justa believed hardship built character and if she suffered, her daughter should too.

“For generations, the women in the Olivares family attempted to change the course of destiny through the power of names.”

Fast forward to Oakville, Arkansas, where Angustias abruptly pulls her ten-year-old daughter Felicitas out of school to leave town once again. On the road, Felicitas speaks with a mysterious intruder as they head to Grace, Texas, Angustias’ hometown, where her mother Olvido has just died.

The intruder is Olvido herself. Felicitas has the ability to see ghosts, allowing Olvido to linger. Convinced she cannot cross over without resolving unfinished business, Olvido insists on “fixing” Angustias’ life, including her family, career, faith, and future, by working through Felicitas.

Felicitas, who never knew her grandmother, agrees to help in hopes of understanding her. Meanwhile, Angustias, grieving and eager to leave Texas behind, is baffled when the town suddenly rallies around her offering jobs, matchmaking, and church invitations.

Each woman possesses a unique gift: Felicitas sees ghosts, Angustias sees people’s auras, and Olvido draws confessions from others through her cooking. Ultimately, they must learn how to truly listen to one another.

Review: Themes of Generational Trauma, Identity, and Motherhood

My Mother Cursed My Name is a haunting and intimate novel about inherited trauma, unresolved love, and the weight of family expectations. It asks a central question: how much of our destiny is decided before we are born?

The story alternates between Olvido, her daughter Angustias, and her granddaughter Felicitas, revealing how control, often disguised as protection, damages relationships. Olvido’s belief that names determine fate casts a long shadow across generations.

When Angustias becomes pregnant as a teenager, her choice to leave home feels both reckless and necessary, a desperate act of self-preservation. Years later, Felicitas’ attempt to connect with her grandmother delivers a darkly ironic truth: although Olvido is dead, her influence remains powerful.

Reyes’s prose is restrained, vivid, and poetic:

“Between the humidity and the running, her hair has tangled in multiple places as if various birds fought to make a nest on her head.”

Blending emotional realism with a subtle gothic tone, the novel uses death as a metaphor for estrangement and healing. My Mother Cursed My Name is ultimately a poignant exploration of motherhood, resentment, cultural inheritance, and the difficult work of breaking cycles we inherit without consent.

Readers who enjoy Latina literature, magical realism novels, and women’s fiction about family and identity will find this story heartwarming and thought-provoking.

“If only mistakes could anchor Angustias without drowning her, she wouldn’t be so determined on sailing the unknown sea.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

About the Author: Anamely Salgado Reyes

Anamely Salgado Reyes grew up on both sides of the Mexico–Texas border. Now based in the Rio Grande Valley, she writes stories rooted in family, friendship, culture, and the quiet magic found in everyday life.