"Buddy: How A Rooster Made Me A Family Man" by Brian McGrory

Buy on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

This Thanksgiving my bird will be a rooster, not a turkey!

No, I'm not eating the rooster, I am reading "Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man" by Brian McGrory. I was lucky to receive a review copy from the marketing department at Crown Publishing.

I probably should wait to post on my blog until after I read this book, but I know I am going to love  it! Why keep this new release (November 2012) under wraps until I read it - you could buy your own copy before I finish mine.

This is more than a bird story, it is a memoir that goes to the heart of the author's life, his childhood, and his beloved dog. Be ready for some tears and laughs.

I am borowing a few words I found on two great book blogs, Feathered Quill Book Reviews and The Relentless Reader . You can click on the blog names and read their full reviews. I suggest you bookmark these sites too, as they are a great source for book information.

Here is what these reviewers had to say about the book:

Buddy is the story of Brian McGrory, who after finding himself divorced and then losing his best friend, Harry the Golden Retriever, finally came to the realization that Harry’s veterinarian, Dr. Pam Bendock, might just be his soul-mate. But dating, and later marrying Pam, will force many changes on Brain, a diehard city boy. Pam lives in the suburbs, has two young girls, a couple of dogs, rabbits, and yes, a rooster named Buddy. While the other animals easily accepted Brain, and Pam’s daughters slowly came to appreciate their step-father, Buddy insisted Brian was an intruder and the rooster needed to protect "his flock.” ..... there is a fair amount of storytelling revolving around other characters such as Harry, the author’s beloved dog who introduced him to his future bride Pam.  Feathered Quill Book Reviews

Brian McGrory's life changed drastically after the death of his beloved dog, Harry: he fell in love with Pam, Harry's veterinarian. Though Brian’s only responsibility used to be his adored Harry, Pam came with accessories that could not have been more exotic to the city-loving bachelor: a home in suburbia, two young daughters, two dogs, two cats, two rabbits, and a portly, snow white, red-crowned-and-wattled step-rooster named Buddy....Brian McGrory's love for his wise and faithful Golden Retriever Harry is beautiful to read about. Their bond is incredible. I read the passage of Harry's death with very watery eyes.The Relentless Reader 

Intrigued? I certainly am. I love memoirs, dogs, and now I'm probably gonna love a rooster.  Probably gonna want some chicks for my back yard. Zoning won't let me, but the thought will stay in my mind!

Brian McGrory is a longtime Boston Globe columnist and an award winning journalist.

Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

I hope you have a grand Thanksgiving. Check out "Buddy" and let me know what you think!

Patrick Smithwick, "Flying Change", Author & Jockey, Booksigning Event at Peachtree Battle Antiques & Interiors in Atlanta Nov. 4th

         

 Don't Miss This Peachtree Battle Antiques & Interiors Event if you are in the Atlanta area!

Meet author & Jockey Patrick Smithwick on Sun. Nov.4th

Books are available for sale at this event!

 About the Book from Amazon:

          Patrick Smithwick has done it again. His new book Flying Change is every bit the sleek, well-bred and fast Thoroughbred as its predecessor,Racing My Father.
           In Flying Change, Smithwick is no longer racing his father. He is racing himself - while continuing with his duties as a father, a husband, a friend, a teacher and a writer.

          This memoir of dueling ambitions is the tale of a man who decides in mid-life to call off all restraints, silence all naysayers, put his mind and body and courage to the test, and do what in his case--he has been away from the world of racing for twenty-five years--is the impossible: within a nine-month period get a horse to ride in the most difficult steeplechase race in the world, and then, ride that horse as if his life depends on it, which, literally, it does.          
         Flying Change is an inspiration for anyone who thought he or she could never compete again.  If you'd like to know what it's like to be a member of the elite racing set, if you'd like to experience firsthand a foxhunt at its most exciting moments, if you'd like to vicariously ride in the Maryland Hunt Cup, then this is your book.   

          The demands in time and energy required by Smithwick's return to racing pull him away from his family and his ambition to write, creating major conflicts. Yet, the fast-paced narrative shows Smithwick striving to carry on traditions from his upbringing and apply them to the raising of his own three children. These sections are positive, upbeat, father-affirming.  Fatherhood--the tensions, the responsibilities, the possibilities--is a topic sorely missing in the American canon. When tackled in American literature, books dealing with fatherhood are most often ones written by a son or daughter describing his or her mistreatment by father who is often either abusive, violent, alcoholic, inattentive, or worse. Smithwick fights against that formula in Racing My Father, a memoir of growing up as the son of A. P. "Paddy" Smithwick, the legendary steeplechase jockey.   
          In Flying Change, Smithwick goes against the grain again. He writes, as a father of three children, about his relationships with them. He addresses the question of what it means to be a father in 21 Century America. Tragedy on the racetrack in the form of death, paralysis, and suicide lurks in the background. This realistic recreation of the world of Thoroughbred racing gives the book a seriousness, and it also creates suspense.

         Flying Change is a must-read for the general audience as well as lovers of the horse and of horse racing. This is not only a racing memoir that catapults the reader through time and space at a breathtaking pace, it is a literary memoir that examines the big questions of how to live one's life.

 

 

 

From the Author's Amazon page:

 

 

 

 

        Patrick Smithwick has been working with horses all of his life. At a very young age he began working with his father, the legendary steeplechase jockey, A.P. Smithwick, who became a trainer after retiring from riding. Smithwick then worked his way through school and college by exercising Thoroughbreds at major East Coast racetracks and riding steeplechase races at such venues as Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, and hunt meets such as the Maryland Hunt Club and the Grand National.
        Smithwick received a Bachelor or Arts from Johns Hopkins University in 1973 followed by a Master of Arts in creative writing from Hollins College in 1975. After working in the newspaper business for several years, Smithwick began teaching English, philosophy, photography, and journalism at both the high school and collegiate levels. In 1988, he received a master of liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University and in 2000 he received his degree in education for ministry from University of the South. During this time, Smithwick taught as well as held the position of director of publications and public relations at two different schools.
       He has now turned his two biggest passions into two business - writing and training. Thoroughbred steeplechase horse and riding. He also gives talks, teaches part-time, and does freelance writing.

      Visit the Book Website!

"Sonia's Song" by Sonia Korn-Grimani

Available on Amazon

This book review is part of the author's blog tour with WOW-Women On Writing . Click here to visit Women On Writing for an interview with the author and a list of the different blogs that feature Sonia Korn-Grimani this month, along with many special features, including a sample of her music.

My Review:

     “Sonia's Song” is a memoir that will draw you in from the first sentence, I stand three feet six inches tall when I am declared an enemy of the German State, and keep you memorized until the last page. I was not convinced I would like this book when I signed on to do a review as part of the author's blog tour with Women On Writing (WOW) but I wanted to read it since I am a fan of memoir writing. I could not put the book down.

     The author's writing style makes the book easy to read with it's sharp dialog and tight descriptions. The subject is heart-wrenching, but beautifully and simply written. It is a small memoir, at 185 pages, with an additional four pages of photographs at the end. The book is also filled with photographs, which gives the reader a strong connection to the author and her family, as we see them as we read about them. I loved that about this book.

     My attention was focused on her years at the orphanage 'Le Joli Coin', where she and other children hide in plain sight as Catholic orphans. It is there her talent as a singer begins to emerge.

    “Singing daily in the choir offers me a sense of belonging that I need desperately. When I sing, I feel like I can reach God. This gives me a semblance of power – that I can beseech God in this way not t be ferocious toward the Jews. And, as the voices of our group harmonize, I don't feel so alone or scared.”

     Life at the orphanage is not easy, and Madame J., who inherited and runs 'Le Joli Coin', is a questionable character at best. The children went hungry, she was not a nurturing woman, but lives were saved. The author meets up with her again in 1961 and questions if she has mellowed after all these years.

    While robbed of a normal childhood, and faced with fear and horror, Sonia and her family survive to be reunited again. Their story does not end with the end of the War. Five years later the family still lives in limbo, and moves to Australia in the 1950s.

     Sonia's courtship with John, her future husband, lasts three years, until they finally decide to marry despite protests from parents. Her own children have the life she missed.

     The are four sections to the book, each a Verse, as in a song. Beautifully written and unforgettable, the author has shared her story of survival and hope, as well as a history of a period of time before, during, and after the Holocaust.

About the author:

     Sonia Korn-Grimani earned her doctorate in French literature and the teaching of foreign languages, and directed a multi-cultural language program at UNESCO. With her husband John, and their children Anthony and Renee, Sonia traveled and lived all over the world. She taught foreign languages at the university level, and performed frequently to the delight of audiences worldwide. In her album Cantos al Amor, Sonia sings in 16 languages.

     In 1989, Dr. Korn-Grimani was knighted Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes
Académiques, and in 1996 she was decorated Officier des Palmes Académiques.These decorations were awarded in recognition of her lifelong dedication to and promotion of French culture and language.
     Sonia continues to sing regularly at UNESCO events in France, and is
also frequently invited to share her Holocaust experiences as a guest speaker in high schools, universities, synagogues and churches.


About the book:

     In Troubled Times, a Song of Hope.

     At the age of seven, during Hitler's rise to power, Sonia Korn-Grimani was officially declared an enemy of the German State. After a perilous escape to the Belgian border, she witnessed the chaos and carnage of the Battle of Belgium. She lived with her family in the shadows, fleeing and hiding from persecution until being placed in an orphanage. There she lived with more than twenty other Jewish children, all disguised as a Catholic orphans, and all kept near starvation.       
     Sonia forged triumph out from these tragedies with unshakable tenacity and beguiling charm, a life chronicled in the new book Sonia's Song. She sang to the delight of audiences throughout the world, became an international sensation of radio and television, tutored French to a Queen, and was named a Chevalier by the French Government.      
    Sonia's Song follows this remarkable woman's transformation, starting from her childhood in Germany and Belgium in the 1930's and 40's, continuing post-war to Australia and Malaysia, and touching on her life in modern France and the Americas.

Visit the author's website.

Book Review "Shaping Destiny" by Destiny Allison

Purchase on Amazon

"Shaping Destiny: a quest for meaning in art and life".

by Destiny Allison

My Review:

This book appealed to me on many levels. I love art, I love personal journeys, and my favorite read is a memoir. When Women on Writing offered a copy of the book to review, I jumped on it! Shaping Destiny is my kind of story. 

The title caught my attention immediately. At first I saw it as simply shaping one's destiny. Then I realized the author's name is Destiny, and this is her story on how art shaped her life. Let's take it one step further. The book encourages you to shape your own life, to make your own destiny. How many book titles can convey so much in two words?

Shaping Destiny is the artist's story from the first sculpture she created to her first show in a prominent Santa Fe Gallery. It is a deeply personal memoir written in a compelling and powerful narrative. It is the story of a woman finding her voice and self revelation through art.

The book begins when Destiny is a young woman with small children. She is overwhelmed with daily life. At night, when there is no chaos around her, she realizes she does not know herself.

"My desire to give form to my ideas of love and marriage caused me to gift my very essence to a man before I even knew what it was. Imprisoned by my choice, I couldn’t breathe."

She reached for a lump of clay on her desk, the type of clay used by children and hobbyists.

"I rolled the sticky, brown clay between my fingers, feverishly smoothing and pressing little pieces onto the form. I forgot about my husband in the other room, the children sleeping above me, the desk in need of tidying, and the wood floor requiring care. The only thing that mattered was the clay before me because in it, I felt a hunger for something more than I had ever known.

The creation of that first sculpture was cathartic. It was the first time I had considered what it meant to be a woman, the conflict between what I was expected to be, feel, and do, and what I wanted to be, feel, and do. It opened the door to who I am instead of who I was supposed to be, but I didn’t recognize the opening. I only knew that I was dissatisfied, that I needed more time and more clay."

The book is comprised of 22 Life Lessons. Each chapter begins with a life lesson followed with a portion of Destiny's journey, revelations, and growth. The challenges she faces in her art mirror those in her life. It is a story on how art became the means for the author to change her life and herself.

About the author:

Destiny Allison is an artist, a business woman and a writer.  Her work is collected by public institutions and private individuals internationally.  In addition to her numerous awards for excellence in art, she was also recently named Santa Fe Business Woman of the year for 2011.

In addition to being a full time artist, she is also a managing partner in La Tienda at Eldorado — a commercial complex, community center, and arts center in Santa Fe, NM.

She is represented in prominent galleries across the country and owns her own gallery, Destiny Allison Fine Art, located at La Tienda.

Allison’s first love was writing.  Her first poems were published while she was a child and she received numerous awards during adolescence.  The story of how she became a visual artist is told in her book, Shaping Destiny: A quest for meaning in art and life.  While her focus over the last 20 years has been primarily on sculpture, Allison also paints on steel using acids and natural oxidation, and in acrylics.

The eloquence of Allison's language dates back to her childhood when art was constantly discussed and debated by her father, a writer, and her mother, a painter. Born and raised in Santa Fe, N.M., Allison moved to Boston after college where she worked as a freelance journalist while raising her three children. It was there that she discovered her voice through sculpture.

Predominantly self-taught, Allison apprenticed at a bronze foundry in Massachusetts, and later taught sculpture at the Attleboro Museum of Art and the Fuller Museum of Art, both in Massachusetts. In 1997, Allison returned to Santa Fe where she currently resides.

Synopsis:

Shaping Destiny is the inspiring story of Allison’s life from the creation of her first sculpture to her acceptance into a prominent Santa Fe art gallery.  The book, which recounts her journey from traditional female roles to self-actualization and independence, is told with three voices: the emotional, the intellectual and the instructional.  Though she had no formal training, Allison moved quickly from small, Plasticine clay sculptures to an apprenticeship at a foundry to teaching in a small museum. Along the way, the author wrestled with shedding and then reclaiming family. To add to the extended metaphor binding her story to the theory and language of sculpture, Allison infuses an ample dose of popular philosophy in lessons culled from childhood days spent with her father. The 22 lessons at the beginning of each chapter intend to guide readers’ passage through the complexities of clay and life; each lesson works with the idea that art is a process, as is life.

Links:

Follow Destiny's Tour On Women On Writing

Website for Destiny's Art

Book Website/Blog

Peggy Mullins "Everybody Loves Ika: One Woman's Memoir Of Her Dog, An American Pit Bull Terrier"

     

"Everybody Loves Ika" available on Amazon, Kindle, and Barnes & Noble. Like Ika's Facebook page! Order an autographed copy from the author's website.

A Note From Barbara, Book Talk Host:

     I hesitated to post a book today, July 4th, because so many are out enjoying the day. Then I decided what better book to showcase than a memoir about an all American dog!  "Everybody Loves Ika" is not only a love story to this beloved pet, but an introduction into the cruel and unspeakable world of dog fighting. It is the author's memoir of healing.

     I don't usually  do reviews on this site, but I loved this book, and memoirs are my favorites. Then you toss in a dog and I'm hooked!

     The first chapter was difficult, for if you don't know the world of dog fighting, it is shocking.  We hear about it, but most of us don't have a clue how hellish it is.

     Peggy Mullins has written a memoir, not only about her life, her beloved dog, but the world of horses. She is an expert horsewoman, dog owner, and an amazing writer.

The Book:

   Abandoned carelessly by her birth mother, Peggy Mullins grew up in a hellish adoptive home with distant, abusive parents who found every opportunity to damp out the tiny glimmers of happiness she managed to cling to in such a cold environment. After surviving two disastrous marriages, struggling to finally earn her degree in psychology, and starting her own marketing business, Peggy found herself emotionally devastated.

     Ika, a beautiful Pit Bull Terrier pup, was spared at the last moment from being born into a similarly hellish life—one where dogs were viciously abused for pleasure, sport, and profit. Though his mother and many of his siblings didn’t make it out of their gruesome home alive, Ika survived thanks to the skilled and compassionate work of a quick-thinking vet and a few big-hearted volunteers.

     In time, Ika found his way to Peggy, who would give him a loving, permanent home in which he would thrive. In return, Ika would teach Peggy the kindness, patience, and unconditional love that had long been absent from her life. In addition to Ika, she acquires several horses, all with their own unique and entertaining personalities that she details warmly in these pages.

     Along with the surprising affection of a special man and a spectacular family of animals, Peggy’s book poignantly guides readers through her difficult journey toward healing and peace.

From The Author, Why I wrote the book:

      There are few things I detest in life. Of the few, the two at the top of my list are animal abuse and prejudice. Any kind of prejudice.

       I wrote “Everybody Loves Ika” because I detest dog fighting and because I know the bad reputation Pit Bull Terriers have in the public eye due to the media coverage they receive. I want to educate people about the horrors that go on in the pit when dogs are forced to fight. My book depicts just how cruel and inhumane it is. It shows the reader the treatment these dogs get before and after a fight. If they live.

       I would like to change people’s minds about this breed also. Pit Bulls are really gentle, loving, and devoted dogs if raised in a nice environment.

       My book addresses these issues, and many more, through the true story of Ika’s life.  The book has something for everyone whether you are a dog lover or not. It is my hope that the words I have written on its pages cause people to take a renewed look at animal cruelty and the breed called the Pit Bull Terrier.  -- Peggy Mullins

About the Author:

Peggy Mullins, B.A. Psychology, George Mason University, lives in Virginia with her husband and has a deep love for horses and dogs. She works as a freelance writer, and "Everybody Loves Ika" is her first book.

Visit the author's website. Keep up with Ika's adventures on his blog. You can contact Peggy Mullins by e-mail.