I Am Going Where I Belong, A Review

Book Title: I am Going Where I Belong
Author: Hans Lindor
ISBN: 978-1592322657
Publisher: Enaz Publications
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui

I Am Gong Where I Belong relates a fictionalized and tragic tale of life for Haiti native Hans Leger. Born into the ruling class of Haiti and a life of privilege, Hans Leger discovers a side of his homeland that is both shocking and horrifying. The narrative carries the reader through a chance encounter with a child prostitute and her son, to the murder of Han’s father, and his family’s flight to and life in the USA as political refugees. This story reflects deeply on the living conditions, mental attitudes and struggles of the Haitian people. The narrative voice of the book relates and reflects upon issues of personal safety, survival, self loathing, racial and economic discrimination and political despotism.

I Am Going Where I Belong is loosely built around aspects of the author’s personal experiences, and offers a perspective and a vision of the Haitian people that have until now been given little or no voice. Author Hans Lindor eloquently weaves his personal experiences of life in Haiti and beyond into this fictionalized account, successfully capturing for his audience truths that can only be felt when shared by one who has lived and breathed them. Lindor has lifted his pen on behalf of Haiti and his native people.

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Hans Lindor after having read his book, I Am Gong Where I Belong. Lindor will tell you that the book is about a fictional character and that it is not about his life. After having interviewed the author, I can see why he would assert this. Many aspects of the character Hans’s life are fictionalized and differ from events that played out Lindor’s own story. However, the book also contains events, losses, and incidents that the author has drawn directly from his personal experience. The road of circumstance traveled may differ for the character, Hans, but when you read about Marie and her son, or when a beloved character is gunned down and must be left untended in the streets, there is an aspect of reality being shared that is heartrendingly real. These are elements of the author's own story which are retold using the vehicle of fiction to soften the impact for both the author and the reader. It is in these moments that Lindor’s ability to write is at its best. He transmits into words the incredible horror, loss and grief that has been his own and shares with all of us a tale of Haiti's children.

If you are at all interested in the lost boys of Haiti or in the politics and struggles surrounding this nation, you will benefit by reading I Am Gong Where I Belong. Well written and easy to understand, this book will open your eyes to realities and difficulties faced every day by the Haitian people. The author digs deep and offers up a piece of his soul in, I Am Gong Where I Belong.

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Love from the Other Side: a Review

Book Title: Love from the Other Side: Searching for Answers
Author: Carol Shimp
ISBN: 978-1432767907
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui


Are You Searching for Answers?

At some point, most of us find ourselves searching for answers to questions about what comes after this life, about the possibility of being touched by the spirits of our loved ones who have passed on. We all have our own reasons for the search and it is in these times of searching books such as Carol Shimp’s, Love from the Other Side: a Search for Answers, find their way to us. Sometimes a friend will recommend we read, other times it will be through a review that our attention is caught. We may not always agree with what we read, but the need to understand drives us and so we turn the first page hoping to find peace and a sense of knowing. If you are in one of these periods of soul seeking, it is no coincidence that you are reading this review or that the opportunity to read this story has come to you.

Love from the Other Side - Cover

Carol has given the gift of her story in, Love from the Other Side, a memoir recounting her spiritual exploration, paranormal experiences, and quest to balance daily life with experiences of the spirit world, precognitive dreams and other worldly messages. Through this book, the reader will discover hidden groups of spiritual seekers, spiritual teachings, and have an opportunity to encounter teachings that are often obscured for the protection of the innocent. In a world that has grown skeptical of anything that cannot be scientifically weighed and measured, psychic and paranormal experiences remain a taboo subject in most homes, or a matter of ridicule and scorn. As I read, I found myself drawn into the memoir by the sincerity of the author.

The quality of writing is pleasing; the chapters are well constructed, making the story easy to follow. Great care is given in the treatment of spiritual beliefs and matters of faith. Carol does not denounce or espouse any particular faith, although she does share that her background and religious path is Catholic. She receives assistance from a group of spiritual seekers and eventually undergoes a non-Catholic exorcism of energies that were detrimental to her spiritual and mental health.

This is a marvelous book for the curious and for spiritual seekers. There are wonderful spiritual truths within the folds of Love from the Other Side that will enrich the unfamiliar and gratify those initiated in the practices and teachings of spiritualists and mediums. Rather than portraying the sensational, Carol’s style and message are without guile. In the end what is revealed comes from a place of love and is offered without condition.

A Podcast interview with Carol Shimp about the book and her publishing experiences is available through the Writers In The Sky Podcast and Blog or for download from WITS Podcast on iTunes for your iPod or iPad.

To learn more about Carol Shimp and her book, Love from the Other Side: Searching for Answers, go to . . . http://carolshimp.com/


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WITS welcomes author of Evidence of Insanity, Carol Piner

Writers in the Sky Podcast guest, author Carol Piner will share her autobiographical book, Evidence of Insanity.

This hilarious new book is a jaw dropping, full-speed-ahead romp through the life of a girl in the south. Carol "dances shamelessly" through a maelstrom of events that would . . . bring a man down, but she bounces back and keeps on going. This is an amazingly candid story that will have you laughing and crying at the same time. Carol Piner is a storyteller in the grand-old-southern tradition. Join host Vonnie Faroqui for a visit with the author and discover what it means to be a “tale spinner,” southern style.

www.EvidenseofInsanity.com
To buy Carol's paintings or signed copies of her book, Evidence of Insanity [for $22.72,] contact Carol directly at sunny@clis.com.


Click Play to Listen . . .

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He Blew Her a Kiss: a review by Vonnie Faroqui

This Week I would like to share my review of, He Blew Her a Kiss: Communications from loved ones who have passed, by authors Angie Pechak Printup and Kelley Stewart Dollar. This wonderful collection of real life accounts will touch your heart and be the opening for many a healing moment between friends and family.

Book Title: He Blew Her a Kiss: Communications from loved ones who have passed
Authored by: Angie Pechak Printup and Kelley Stewart Dollar
ISBN: 1432760920
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Link to purchase
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui

He Blew Her a Kiss is a collection of inspirational stories relating experiences of communication from loved ones who have passed. The entire volume has been compiled, with sincere and gentle treatment by the authors, from email submissions by and personal conversations with ordinary people. Accounts of after death communication [ADC] are difficult to explain in terms of religion or dogma, but are not uncommon, regardless of cultural or ethnic background. However, acceptance of the phenomenon is not necessary for enjoyment of the book. Instead of being sad or depressing the stories are touching and within moments will draw the reader into empathic resonance. The book will be especially gratifying to those who have had similar mystical experiences. Readers who have second hand or no ADC experiences to share, but for who near death and after death experiences are of interest, will also be attracted to these life affirming stories.

The idea for the book came to Angie Printup after a dear friend related what might be called, an extraordinary coincident by some and by others, a tiny miracle of after death communication. Kelley Dollar, a long time friend of Printup, was asked to assist in transforming the rough first person stories into a third person narrative form that proves to be both thoughtful and effective. The authors show tremendous sensitivity and embrace the mystery of ADC experiences with loving acceptance. It is obvious from the care and treatment of the stories that helping others overcome devastating loss and grief is the primary purpose of this work and their book. They have been tremendously successful in compiling the stories tastefully, without unnecessarily adding to or sensationalizing the individual accounts.

Believing that our consciousness continues after death, or in the possibility of communication with loved ones who are in spirit, is unimportant next to the immeasurable comfort and relief sharing these experiences bring. It is hard to refute the validity of a mystical experience one has not shared and the authors waste no time in trying to win supporters. They simply and deftly offer the stories up as messages of hope and comfort. Those with similar accounts to share will immediately relate and waste no time in debating the validity of ADC. Others will look to these stories for inspiration and as an affirmation of faith guiding the way into an afterlife full of hope and continued purpose.

He Blew Her a Kiss is a beautiful volume of collected stories that you will want to share with others. Not all of the stories are dramatic examples of after death communication, relating instead simple and poignant moments which have brought healing in times of grief. Some of the accounts are quite extraordinary and impossible to explain; all are uplifting and demonstrate humanity’s capacity to love beyond any obstacle, even death. The book is slim, attractive and would make a wonderful gift for conversational reading and is suitable for those suffering loss as an aid through times of grief.


Be sure to join us this Friday for the WITS Podcast as Vonnie interviews co-authors Angie Pechak Printup and Kelley Stewart Dollar about the inspiration behind their healing work and this lovely collection of stories, He Blew Her a Kiss.

He Blew Her a Kiss Book Trailer . . .

A Haunting Glimpse of Forever

Book Title: Forever With You
Author: Ivzi Cipuri
ISBN: 978-1-4327-4257-7
Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc., 2010
Price: $16.95
Pages: 138 pages
Reviewer Byline: Vonnie Faroqui for Writers In The Sky

A Haunting Glimpse of Forever

When I first received the book, Forever With You, by author Ivzi Cipuri, I was struck silent by the faded photograph on its cover. I have been haunted by that lovely face; the way her eyes shy away from the camera’s lens, as if hiding the soul within, forever denying the reader’s gaze and foreshadowing the author’s torment.
Lovingly dedicated, “To my unforgettable beloved wife Aije . . .” this volume of poetry is an autobiographical journey of love, life, and loss. Through it, the author seeks to immortalize his beloved wife and to share their story with the reader. The book is divided into three sections or moods of poetry. In the beginning, Ivzi offers the reader beauty and hope as he and his bride enter into a new life through marriage. His poetry describes glimpses of life well lived, of health and happiness. Then, the poems take a turn down darker paths, into clouds of fear, illness, battles waged, and ultimately death. The author completes his offerings by opening his chest, and in words, he gifts the reader with grasping, choking, ugly, angry anguish, and grief.

“You beauty, you ugly, I hate you all!
You give me pain, I cry, I toll;
You pinch my soul, you break my heart,
I want to throw, to crash you apart . . .”

I cannot tell whether it is the story of a woman’s courage, and love’s fight for life . . . or instead, if it is the story of a man’s love and anguish revealed in the poetry that I find more compelling.
This book is haunting in its humanity. The verse is rough, but true to the voice of the author and in its aching realism, more potently alive than prettier words or a more skillful pen could convey. Forever With You effectively sings a song of life and courage; its melody revealing depths of love and painful loss more poignantly because it is roughly sung.
I recommend this book for readers who have suffered loss due to illness or for those and their families who are fighting to recover health. An excellent example of the healing power and transformative impact words and art can have on the grieving process and a ringing testament to a love and fidelity that knows no barriers, not even death.
This book is available through Amazon.com