Adventures In Frugal Land

Simply Frugal. Simply Natural.

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Love Centered Parenting Review

I was expecting an entirely different book but this is the one I needed to read. When I read the description, I figured it was going to be a typical parenting book. I’ve read Crystal’s other books and knew it was going to be good but I was expecting it to be more of a book about her family with a nice little to-do list packaged together to tell me exactly what steps to take to be a good parent. While she does share a lot about her own family in Love Centered Parenting, she wraps it around in a thought provocating way. Each chapter is a lovely mix of stories and actionable steps you can take to change your mindset about parenting, thus changing your relationship with your children.


My personality type is pretty type A and motivated by to-do lists, not about feelings and emotions. I was going through the motions of parenting, checking off what I thought I needed to in order to be “successful” at it. This book has helped me shift my mindset about my relationship with my child and what my ultimate goal is.
Love Centered Parenting is on the very short list of books I’ve already bought multiple copies and versions of to give to friends and to keep to re-read myself. I know I will be referring to it in the years to come.


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But, It’s Not Fair

Does life ever go as planned? I don’t think so. Mine certainly has not gone as planned. In the past 6 years, my life has been anything but boring. I’ve gone through a divorce, gave birth to a wonderful daughter, faced the scariest day of my life when she had surgery, got engaged, went through a medically induced menopause, faced infertility, suffered through a miscarriage, obtained my dream job…and promptly lost it, killed my thyroid gland and spent countless days in the hospital with my fiancée through his surgeries (don’t even get me started on his medical issues). Meanwhile, it seems that everyone else around me was living out their dream lives.

“It’s Not Fair!” became my slogan.

And, that was true. It WASN’T fair. Life really isn’t fair at times.

But…I wasn’t the only one dealing with hard life events.

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Recently, I had the pleasure of reading “It’s Not Fair: Learning to Love the Life You Didn’t Choose” by Melanie Dale. I was first “introduced” to Melanie when I read “Women are Scary“, her first book. I was blown away by her sense of humor and relatability. While reading “It’s Not Fair”, I enjoyed the same humor and insights.081216_1258_ButItsNotF2.jpg

Like Melanie, my default response is humor to a stressful situation. Actually, it’s first anger then humor. The above quote is one of my favorite take aways from the book. It’s so true. Finding the humor in a hard situation is the only thing you can do. And when you can relate praying to a swear closet…that’s just golden.

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Do you struggle with facing life’s struggles? Preorder “It’s Not Fair” and receive and awesome “Sur-Thrival Kit” complete with recipes, coloring pages and more! Just email your receipt to Melanie to gain access to it. “It’s Not Fair” is schedule to be released on August 16, 2016.

I laughed, I cried and felt a part of me heal through the pages. Melanie breaks up the chapters with easy to follow diagrams and often hilarious illustrations. She brings the humor to situations that just aren’t fair. She’s a friend to you when your life is falling apart around you.

The ONLY thing I wish this book had was an audiobook version.

I recommended this book to:

The wife stunned by her husband walking out the door.

The mother holding her child’s hand in the cancer ward.

The woman who longs to be a mother with negative pregnancy tests piled up.

The daughter facing the reality of caring for elderly parents.

The family struggling to keep their heads afloat financially.

And everyone else who has dealt with difficult situations in life.


Seriously, just go get the book. It’s that good.#‎ItsNotFairBook‬

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*I did receive a copy of this book by Melanie and the publisher as part of being on the launch team. All opinions expressed are mine. There are some affiliate links (Amazon) in this post.

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Teaching Christ’s Children About Feeling Angry

There was yelling, screaming, doors slamming and objects whirling by. Was it a tornado? A hurricane? Surely, there must have been a natural disaster to account for the reasons why my home was a disastor zone.

There wasn’t. The cause for the yelling and screaming was no other than my sweet four year old daughter.

I told her to clean her room and her angry switch got turned on. In the midst of her anger, she took her (month old) glasses off of her face and snapped them in half!!!!

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Now, it wasn’t just her who was really angry. I was there myself.

It was great timing that I received a book in the mail for children about feeling angry just days before that. So, I picked up the book and read it with her.
 

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In Teaching Christ’s Children About Feeling Angry, we are introduced to a little girl named Tayniesha (Tay).
 
We meet her family and learn what makes her angry. I really enjoyed that Tay got angry about real stuff. The book described that sometimes when she’s mad, she wants to hit someone or throw a toy.
 
Then, we learn what the Bible says about anger. There are several versus that are listed that describe what God has to say about feeling angry and what to do about it.
 
Tay explains different examples about how to respond when feeling angry.
 
One of the things I liked the most about this book is how the emotion of anger isn’t dismissed as something bad.  Rather, it explains how anger is a normal human emotion to certain events. All too often, I find children’s books about anger to gloss over the reasons of WHY and focus on what to do. I really like that Teaching Christ’s Children About Feeling Angry covers both.
 
By the end of the book, we both were much calmer. Eventually, her room got cleaned and I was able to order new glasses and we both learned something about anger. We’ve read this book multiple times since then, and I’m sure that will continue for quite a while into the future.
 

If you are looking for a Christ centered book for children about anger, this is it.

 

Teaching Christ’s Children About Feeling Angry is authored by Corine Hyman and illustrated by Almar Denso. You can find Teaching Christ’s Children About Feeling Angry on Amazon in paperback and kindle versions.

 
 
I was presented with the opportunity to review this book at no cost. I was not required to leave a good review, only an honest one. The review is my personal opinion. I was not compensated in any other way by the author or publisher.
 
There may be affliate links included in this post. Please view my disclosure policy for additional details.

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I Didn’t Dream Of Being A WAHM

I want to apologize. I haven’t been posting here as often as I wanted to. I’ve been busy. Busy thinking. Busy planning. Busy reading. Busy with life. Just busy.

One of the things I’ve been busy with is thinking about my journey to being a work at home mom (wahm).

On a snowy winter night in December of 2010, I gave birth to my daughter. Up until that point, I had pretty big plans for my life. I wanted to go to law school and be an attorney. I figured that after I gave birth, I would go back to school and continue with my plans. I always thought I would be a working mom. Children were always in my future plans as was a career. Never once did I consider the thought of being a stay at home mom. It sounded like torture to me.

Then, I looked into my daughter’s eyes. And that’s when my big plans turned into bigger plans. I wanted. No, I needed to stay with her. But there was just one problem.

My husband had left me months prior to her being born. I was dealing with a divorce, a new baby and having no income. I did briefly have a job when she was a few months old. It was horrible. I hated being away from her. After eventually leaving that job due to transportation issues. In that moment in desperation, I opened my computer while nursing my daughter and searched for ways to make money from home.

Many, many scams and years of research and experience later, I now know it is possible to earn an income from home. I lucked out in my first year of being a work at home mom (wahm) and I secured a number of freelance writing clients. I made enough money during that year to get by and even have a little extra. Then, my daughter fell seriously ill and I had to let those clients go after an extended hospital stay. Thankfully, my daughter got better but my client prospects did not.

I started this blog a little over a year ago. I’ve experimented with different posts, SEO techniques and social media networks. I had dreams of turning this blog into a lucrative business but now, I don’t think that is going to happen. Not because the potential isn’t there, it is.

It’s that I changed my mind. I’m not going to officially announce my next venture for a while but I think it’s going to be good. I’ve thought about shutting down this blog but decided to keep it up as a place to record my thoughts.

You may be wondering what made me switch business ideas. It’s because of the advice I received by a very wise person who’s traveled this road before me.

I had to learn what I was passionate about it. And how to turn that passion into a lucrative opportunity that realistic. I wish that I had this advice years ago.

Who’s advice would you take when trying to start a home business? You would seek out the advice of successful people who accomplished what they set out to do, correct? The only problem is advice from these types of people isn’t always affordable.

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Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom has found a way to bless woman with her advice for an extremely affordable price. I recently finished reading a review copy of her latest book, Money Making Mom. I amazed at the content in the pages.

Crystal wasn’t always successful. It’s easy to look at her today and only see the success. In Money Making Mom, she talks candidly about her past failures.-If you don't life with purposeful intention, aimlessness will be the default.-- Crystal Pain

Can you imagine what would have happened if she gave up after the first failure? She wouldn’t have been able to buy her first house in cash, to make a difference in South Africa or inspire woman across the world to start their day right. And that’s only at the first level. The trickle down effect of her giving up would have affected thousands and thousands of people.

The fear of failure is the main reason I hear people give for not following their dream or passion or idea. What future success or future inspiration to others are you giving up by letting fear keep you from trying?


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I can’t wait to see what great ideas spring from mothers reading this book. Money Making Mom is being released on November 3. When you pre-order Money Making Mom, you have access to several bonuses including:

  • Make Over Your Calendar: A 7 Day Online Course – a comprehensive course to teach you how to simplify, streamline and organize your daily schedule & to-do’s.
  • Crystal’s Top 10 Productivity Tools Tip Sheet – a printable PDF with links and information on Crystal’s favorite tools for better time management.
  • An Exclusive Live Q&A Call – an invitation to join Crystal for a special Q&A call to ask any your Money Making Mom questions.

Crystal has also released a free 5 day course about making money from home!

Have you pre-ordered Money Making Mom? What do you hope to learn from it?

 

There are affiliate links included in this post. These help me maintain this website. Please see my Disclosure Policy for additional information

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The Methuselah Project Book Review

In World War II, German scientists began many experiments. One never ended.

 

I am not a science fiction buff by any means. I honestly expected The Methuselah Project  to be like a science fiction novel.

I. Was. Wrong. 

Very. Wrong.

The Methuselah Project is not by any means a science fiction novel. It’s a mixture of history, romance and suspense all rolled up into one novel. The experiment talked about in the back cover is one that is easy to imagine taking place. Especially in Nazi Germany. I’ve done a lot of research about life during WW2 and am astonished at the atrocities people suffered at the hands of Nazi scientists. That is one of the reasons I decided to read this book. The back cover intrigued me. (Isn’t that interesting? They always say don’t judge a book by it’s cover but don’t we all judge books by their back covers?)

The beginning of the book is set in WW2 time and chronicles the events leading up to Roger Green getting captured in Nazi Germany. I am fascinated by that particular time in history and thought I had read everything I possible could about it. Once again, I was wrong. The Methuselah Project took the horror of Nazi Germany, the bravery of soldiers, the confusion surrounding technology, experiments, mystery and a romance and meshed them all together for one incredible tale.

The action in the first few pages had me hooked immediately. I was transported to 1943 in the middle of an air battle between Allied and Axis forces. 

Then, I was transported back to modern times to meet Katherine Mueller. I must admit, I was confused as to how these two characters would meet. They way it happened was genius. I didn’t see it coming at all. The way Roger and Katherine interacted with one another seemed natural. Yet, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book wondering what was going to happen next.

Roger and Katherine weren’t the only character’s that captured my attention. There are many different characters within the pages of The Methuselah Project. The characters were all complex. I could envision each and every one of them. Some I adored and was rooting for (like Roger!) and others I was hoping for their failure (Nazis).

I stayed up pretty late finishing The Methuselah Project. I found myself unable to put it down. This book is full of twists and turns that are unpredictable. If you enjoy reading suspenseful novels, you want to read this. 

I don’t want to give too much away, so I can’t say much about the ending. However, I will say that I was surprised by the way it ended but it fit perfectly. 

Roger and Katherine are characters who will stay with you long after you put the book down. I am hoping for a sequel to The Methuselah Project so I can find out what happened to them after the story ended.

 

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The author of Methuselah Project is Rick Barry. He’s authored Gunner’s Run, Kiriath’s Quest and several other articles and stories. His dad became a pilot in the 1940s, resulting in him growing up around airplanes. You can follow him on twitter or on Facebook. Check out Rick Barry’s Fun Freebies section on his website for some really cook links and information. Learn more about The Methuselah Project from Kregel Publications.

 

 

I was presented with the opportunity to review this book at no cost. I was not required to leave a good review, only an honest one. The review is my personal opinion. I was not compensated in any other way by the author or publisher.

 

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God Made All Of Me Book Review

“This simply told, beautifully illustrated story from the authors of Rid of My Disgrace and Is It My Fault? helps two- to eight-year-olds understand why their bodies matter and distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate touch. God Made All of Me gently opens a conversation that every family needs to have.”

 

It’s rare to find a book that covers this subject without being scary for young children. God Made All Of Me helps children learn how to protect their bodies in an uplifting, Christ centered tone of voice.

At the time of receiving this book, I was trying to figure out how to have that conversation with my young daughter. This book opened the lines of communication in a way that was not scary for her or for me.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with young children. Or for those who work with young children. It’s a must have!

You can purchase the Kindle or hardback version of this book on Amazon (affiliate link).

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I was presented with the opportunity to review this book at no cost. I was not required to leave a good review, only an honest one. The review is my personal opinion. I was not compensated in any other way by the author or publisher.

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Through Water’s Deep Book Review

Through Water's Deep Review

I adore reading about life during WWII. Interestingly enough, I never read a book about Navy life during his time period.  Through Water’s Deep was a great introduction to Navy life during WWII. Well, technically, the book begins before the official date that the United States entered the war. I am fascinated by the people who lived through that time. Can you imagine how much life changed during that time period?  Sara Sundin captured the fear, change and dreams of that era of time perfectly.

If you are looking for a book that’s full of romance, history, suspense and humorous; then, Through Water’s Deep is the one you’re looking for!

You can purchase Through Water’s Deep from Amazon or from any other major book retailer.

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Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are 100% my own. I did not receive any other sort of compensation for this post. However, there may be affiliate links in the post on the website. For example, Amazon links. Affiliate links help me continue to keep this blog up and running. You are not required to purchase anything via these links but it is much appreciated if you do. Please see my disclosure policy for additional information. If you have any questions, feel free to message me.

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Hands Free Life: 9 Habits Book Review And Giveaway!


I am so excited for this post. I read Hands Free Mama a few months ago and I was amazed at the content. Seriously, if you haven’t read it, go read it now!

The author, Rachel Macy Stafford, is releasing a new book, Hands Free Life, which is scheduled to be released on September 8, 2015. (I would run to pre-order it at the current price!)

In Hands Free Life, Rachel Macy Stafford shares nine habits to live a more fulfilled life. Throughout the book , there are mindful daily practices to help you through the journey of a Hands Free Life.

The back of the book has a very apt description.

“With a Hands Free Life, you will have the power to look back and see you didn’t just manage life, you actually lived it- and lived it well.” – Hands Free Life

That is exactly what you’ll find within the pages of a Hands Free Life.

While reading a Hands Free Life, I felt as if it was written just for me. The words on the pages jumped out at me. Page by page, chapter by chapter, I could feel a change stirring inside.

The idea of a Hands Free Life is a hard one. Especially for me. I am was an over planner, a control freak and a person who tended to live in the past or the future.

With Hands Free Life, I’ve learned how to live in the NOW (I may be a work-in-progress but that’s ok.)

It was hard for me not to read the entire book in one day. I limited myself to a chapter or two a day. I wanted give myself the time to reflect upon the wisdom in the pages.

In the first chapter, Rachel talks about the spaces in our lives. What are we filling them up with? Is it things that keep us busy or things that nurture us? I had to stop and think about what I want to remember about my life. At the end of my life, would I be that concerned about how much money I had or the clothes I wore? No. That’s not what’s important to me.

 

When I look back on my life, I want to remember:

The way my daughter’s hair tangles when she sleeps.

The sound of her giggles when she tells me a joke.

The way her hand fits into mine.

The look on her face when she learns something new.

I want to remember:

The conversations with the elderly in my life.

The joy of watching the sun set.

The smell after a summer rain.

Random road trips with my family.

The silly songs my daughter and I make up.

I want to remember:

How my daughter crawls into my bed to snuggle.

The late night talks with her about her dreams and fears.

I want to remember:

Living my life.

 

It made me think about how I want to remember my life.  How I want my daughter to remember her childhood. And what choices I need to make in my days to have the life I want.

If you fill your day with what’s important to you, you’re living a life to remember.  

When you think about your life, what do you see? A dozen appointments, a thousand “to-do’s”, a million regrets? Some people strive to live their lives regret free. While that’s an admirable goal, it’s not realistic. We are all human, flawed and imperfect. We WILL make mistakes, it’s part of what makes us grow and learn.

Without regrets, would we:

Know what we want in life?

Would we know what matters?

Would we embrace life for what it is,

Instead of what we wish it could be?

Without regrets, would we change and evolve?

You don’t have to dwell on your regrets to learn from them.

Recognize, learn and let go.

 

Rachel shares how, as a mother, she wished she could “freeze time” in order to keep her children little. I believe most parent s thought the same thing. I know I have. She then makes the realization that wishing she could freeze time would only be holding back her children from their potential.

To avoid the same trap, I decided I would make my own “Freeze List”. But, instead of wishing I could freeze time, I would freeze the memories, in my mind.

 

Instead of freezing time, freeze the memories #handsfreelife

When I encounter a moment that I wish I could freeze, I’m writing it down in my “Freeze Notebook”. That way, I can always remember but continue to move forward in life.

Instead of freezing time, freeze the memories.

Rachel told a story about a man who seemingly lost everything he had in a tornado. To an outsider’s point of view, he did loose everything. His house, his belongings, everything was swept away. Or was it?

Yes, he lost his house, but not his home.

Yes, he lost his belonging, but not where he belongs.

He still had his family, so he still had his home.

His still had his memories, of the life he built.

He still had his faith, his love and his fulfillment.

 

If tomorrow, you lost everything material in your life, what would be left?

When Rachel spoke of her former controlling, perfectionist ways, it was as if she was talking directly to me.

The hardest concept for me to grasp was letting go of control. As I stated above, I like to control everything. It causes me anxiety when things are unplanned and unscheduled. I’ve found myself attempting to plan spontaneity in my life. How pathetic is that?

When letting go of the control (it’s a work in progress!) I’ve begun to see the beauty of observing.

Things Won’t Always Fall Apart When I Let Go.

When I let go of control:

I receive the gift of observing

People reaching their full potential.

I receive the gift of knowing 

That things don’t always fall apart.

I receive the gift of understanding

That some people have a different way.

I receive the gift of of freedom

Of letting life happen to me.

The pressures of daily life can become overwhelming. What would happen if we let go of perfection and instead embraced imperfection?

Life doesn’t have to perfect to be beautiful.

I wrote the bulk of this post as I read through Hands Free Life. The perfectionist, organized, control free me is screaming “this isn’t the way to do a review, don’t hit publish!”.

But I feel this particular book deserves an authentic review from the heart. Hands Free Life is much more than a mere book. It’s a guide, a story, a life changer.

Read it.

It will change your life. 

Learn how I let go of envy with a Hands Free Life.

Enter The Giveaway:

I was provided with two copies of Hands Free Life to run a giveaway for my readers.

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Please note: This giveaway is only open to those living in The United States. There will be two winners. I will contact both winners at the end of the giveaway to confirm mailing address. Winners will be chosen at random.

 

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Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this book at no cost in exchange for me honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are solely mine. I was not compensated in any other way for this post from the publisher or the author.

There are affiliate links in this post. See my disclosure policy for additional information.

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The Midwife’s Tale Book Review


A Midwife's Tale Review

Pregnant woman today are pretty lucky. They can decide what type of birth they want, if they want a midwife or a doctor and even if they want to have pain medication during labor. This was not the case in the 1800s.

In the past, only midwifes attended pregnant women. Doctors treated men. Towards the mid 1800s, this began to shift. Doctors started taking over midwife duties.

A Midwife’s Tale is set in Trinity, Pennsylvania and tells the story of Martha Cade. Martha comes from a long line of midwives. Midwifery and natural healing is in her blood. She has a good client base and she is secure with her life.
Until her daughter runs away.

Faced with searching for her daughter, Martha also faces the challenge of a new doctor in town. One who seemingly wishes to take over her job.
Throughout the pages of A Midwife’s Tale, learn how Martha faces her challenges with faith and courage. Learn about the history of midwifery and prepared to fall in love with the characters.

What surprised me a lot about the book is the plot twists. I can honestly say that I didn’t expect any of them.DSCF2207

The Midwife’s Tale is authored by Delia Parr and published by Bethany House. You can purchase the book on Amazon or at any other major book store.

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Experience Healing and Mending with Cynthia Ruchti’s New Book and Reclaimed Treasures Giveaway

“A Crumpling Statue. A Torn Tapestry. A Faded Painting” is written on the back of this book. 

 

What does this mean? Is it a book about art? It sure seems like it.

It absolutely is.

 

But not art as in painting, drawing or sculpting. An art that we can see every day, if we just look.

 

Cynthia Ruchti brings the unique idea that WE are the materials that God uses to create art. Throughout our suffering, we become broken and wounded. It’s through these experiences that healing and hope is found.

I thought Tattered And Mended was amazing. Ruchti doesn’t encourage us to minimize the pain that we’ve felt. Instead, she encourages us to embrace it and the beauty that came out of it.

“God doesn’t just heal wounded souls, he heals artfully.”

I had never thought of myself as an art piece before. The way that Cynthia Ruchti weaves together her words is an art form in itself.

 

The book is thought provoking. I know I will read this book again and again for years to come.

 

Are you interested in reading Tattered and Mended? Read on to learn about you can enter the Reclaimed Treasures givaway!

 

How can the wounds that keep us from living the life we want to live be mended and healed? In Tattered and Mended, Cynthia Ruchti walks readers through a gallery of reclaimed and restored art as well as broken and restored lives of those who have gone before us. With a gentle touch and personable wisdom, Cynthia shows how even the most threadbare soul can once again find healing and hope.

Celebrate the release of Tattered and Mended with Cynthia by entering to win her Reclaimed Treasures giveaway!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on July 27th. The winner will be announced July 28th on Cynthia’s blog.

 

Plus, now through mid-July, sign up for Cynthia’s mailing list for a five-day virtual tour around Madeline Island for the chance to win a Hemmed in Hope prize pack. Each day begins with an email from Cynthia that introduces where you’ll be “visiting” that day (all key places from As Waters Gone By) with various interactive elements, including“I wish you were here” postcards, trivia quizzes, and an ongoing Island scavenger hunt. The person who interacts the most will win a Hemmed in Hope prize pack (valued at more than $200).

 

That includes:

  • The letterpress block Hope sign from DaySpring
  • A set of 6 Hemmed in Hope notecards showing a hope-themed Bible verse
  • A leather “I can’t unravel, I’m hemmed in hope” journal
  • Signed copies of each of Cynthia’s books, fiction and non-fiction

 

 

Disclosure: I received this book at no cost in exchange for my honest and unbiased evaluation. I received no other compensation for this post.