Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


May 21

13

Crash: Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel Michelberg: Guest Review

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 13, 2021
Posted in Book Tours • Memoir  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Crash: Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel MichelbergCrash: How I Became a Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel Michelberg

Publisher:  She Writes Press, (April 27, 2021)
Category: Memoir, Divorce, Parenting, Moral Conflict, Caring for Disabled, Caregiver
Tour dates: April-May, 2021
ISBN: 978-1647420321
Available in Print and ebook, 224 pages
Crash

Description Crash: Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel Michelberg


Rachel likes to think of herself as a nice Jewish girl, dedicated to doing what’s honorable, just as her parents raised her to do. But when her husband, David, survives a plane crash and is left with severe brain damage, she faces a choice: will she dedicate her life to caring for a man she no longer loves, or walk away?

Their marriage had been rocky at the time of the accident, and though she wants to do the right thing, Rachel doesn’t know how she is supposed to care for two kids in addition to a now irrational, incontinent, and seizure-prone grown man. And how will she manage to see her lover? But then again, what kind of selfish monster would refuse to care for her disabled husband, no matter how unhappy her marriage had been? Rachel wants to believe that she can dedicate her life to David’s needs, but knows in her heart it is impossible.

Crash tackles a pervasive dilemma in our culture: the moral conflicts individuals face when caregiving for a disabled or cognitively impaired family member.


My Thoughts Crash: Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel Michelberg

Wow! A memoir that is both powerful and heartbreaking. I’m not ashamed to say that this one made me tear up more than few times.

Rachel Michelberg had been married to her husband, David when both of their lives were suddenly changed forever. David was flying a plane over the California countryside when he was involved in a crash that left him and his friend badly hurt. After being rushed to the ICU, it was determined that David had suffered massive brain injuries that would result in memory loss and other complications.

Now, David was deemed unable to care for himself and likely to remain that way for the rest of his life. Rachel had to decide if she was up to caring full time for her husband as well as taking care of their two young children and dealing with her own health issues and work as a cantor.

I put myself through university, working in group homes with adults with developmental disabilities.  Some of the people I worked with were also in wheel chairs.  I know first hand what back breaking work that is, even for well trained staff. I loved what I did because I knew I was making a difference  in peoples lives.  I was also gaining valuable experience that I knew will help me after I graduated with my social work degrees.  However, I understand that not everyone can do this type of work and that is okay.  Now, in my 50’s, there is no way I could do it but am so glad I got to do it when I was younger!

At home caregivers are people that are too often ignored or forgotten about in our society and this memoir is an excellent example of that. The difficulties that Rachel faced and the decisions about her husband’s care that all fell to her were affecting and upsetting. I can’t imagine having to face questions like that about a loved one and I hope that I never have to.

On top of everything else, before the accident, Rachel and her husband were going through a rough patch in their marriage and she was considering asking him for a divorce. Of course, after the accident, this question seemed impossible to bring up and Rachel had to decide if she wanted to remain married to this man and provide constant care for him.

I won’t spoil the ending, because this is definitely one that you should read yourself, but I felt such a hopeful and light feeling after reading this. I want to thank Rachel Michelberg for her bravery in sharing this very difficult time in her life and her honesty.  I think it could help others in similar situations.

5 stars for a beautiful and moving story and I hope Rachel is in a happier place now!
I received the ebook for my honest thoughts.

About Rachel Michelberg

Crash: Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel Michelberg

(c) Alicia Telfer

Rachel Michelberg grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and still enjoys living there with her husband, Richard, and their two dogs, Nala and Beenie. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from San Jose State University and has performed leading roles in musicals and opera from Carmen to My Fair Lady as well as the part of the Mother Abbess (three times!) in The Sound of Music.

When Rachel isn’t working with one of her twenty voice and piano students, she loves gardening, hiking, and making her own bone broth. CRASH: How I Became a Reluctant Caregiver is her first book.

Website: https://www.rachelmauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelMAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RMichelberg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelmichelbergauthor/

Buy Crash: Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel Michelberg


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Follow Crash: Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel Michelberg

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Crash: How I Became a Reluctant Caregiver by Rachel Michelberg

May 21

11

Don’t Say a Word: A Daughter’s Two Cents by Elizabeth Roper- Giveaway

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 11, 2021
Posted in My Past Giveaways  | Tagged With: , , | 6 Comments

Don't Say a Word by Elizabeth Roper MarcusDon’t Say a Word: A Daughter’s Two Cents by Elizabeth Roper Marcus

Thanks to Tabitha Bailey of Critter Caretaker, I am giving away one print copy of ‘Don’t Say a Word ‘by Elizabeth Roper Marcus.

Description Don’t Say a Word by Elizabeth Roper Marcus


Edna and Leo, a perpetually warring, tyrannical pair in their 80s, begin wintering In Mexico, where they abandon their usual prudence to embrace adventure and a bevy of sketchy new friends. Soon, Edna adopts a pair of shyster builders whom she trusts over her own architect-daughter Elizabeth, and a farcical house result.

Blithely indifferent to the calamities that result, the pair refuse all help from their too-compliant only child. Later, following her mother’s sudden death, Elizabeth’s wise, principled father attempts to fill his late wife’s shoes with a string of loopy, live-in housekeepers―with privileges, he hopes. Before it is over the Mexican escapade will bring down the kind of disasters commonly found in pulp fiction. Why can’t Elizabeth stop any of this from happening? No matter the madness, she cannot confront her parents any more than she ever could. In the end, the surprising way in which they come undone reveals just what they spent their lives trying to hide, thereby setting her free.

Though unique in its loony details, Don’t Say A Word! will resonate with beleaguered adult-children everywhere who will recognize the special misery of watching, helpless, as stubborn, diminished parents careen precariously toward the end of life.

Praise Don’t Say a Word by Elizabeth Roper Marcus

“Self-aware in handling her parents’ declining circumstances, Don’t Say a Word is a lively, honest, and wickedly humorous memoir about the minefields of parent-child relationships.” – Foreword Clarion Reviews

“What an achievement! Don’t Say a Word! is evocative, smart, AND funny, with fresh insights about families on virtually every page. Marcus’s drive to comprehend her past will inspire readers who felt silenced in childhood or whose talents and achievements went unappreciated. With this book, she breaks her silence, revealing hard-won realizations and a remarkable ability to laugh through the tears.”―Barbara Schildkraut, MD, author of Unmasking Psychological Symptoms and Masquerading Symptoms

“How well do we know our parents? Elizabeth Marcus confronts this question in her vibrant memoir, which follows the final decade of her parents’ lives as they seem to age into inversions of their former controlled and controlling selves. Reflecting on their absurd new friendships and terrible real estate deals, which she describes in hilarious detail, Marcus arrives at a dramatically new view of her difficult parents and their relationship with her. Funny, compassionate, and beautifully written, Don’t Say a Word is a moving account of a daughter finding her own story.”―Gail Pool, author of Lost Among the Baining: Adventure, Marriage, and Other Fieldwork

About Elizabeth Roper MarcusDon't Say a Word by Elizabeth Roper Marcus

Elizabeth Marcus grew up in Manhattan, the only child of a dentist and a Macy’s dress buyer, the Zeus and Hera of Apartment 2B. After escaping to Boston, she ran a small architectural office for 20 years, when she wasn’t traveling to far-flung places with her psychiatrist husband and rambunctious children. Eventually, she decided to concentrate on writing, which allows her to pursue the many, quirky questions that fascinate her: Why are butterflies called ‘butterflies?’ Why can’t she recall the taste of wines? Why are first-love memories so potent? Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and Boston Globe, on online sites like Cognoscenti, and in essay anthologies like Travelers’ Tales. “Don’t Say A Word!”: A Daughter’s Two Cents, in 90,571 words, is her first book. She posts essays related to the book at www.eLizWrites.com; she posts essays about everything else at www.archive.eLizWrites

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eLizMarcus

Buy Don’t Say a Word by Elizabeth Roper Marcus

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Giveaway Don’t Say a Word by Elizabeth Roper Marcus


This giveaway is open the U.S. only and ends on May 28, 2021 midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
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May 21

7

Committed by Paolina Milana: Giveaway

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 7, 2021
Posted in Book Tours • My Past Giveaways  | Tagged With: , , , | 6 Comments

Committed: Madness in The Family by Paolina MilanaCommitted: A Memoir of Madness in The Family by Paolina Milana

Thanks to Kim Weiss of PR By the Book, I am giving away one print copy of ‘Committed: A Memoir of Madness in The Family’ by Paolina Milana.

Description Committed: Madness in The Family by Paolina Milana


Imagine keeping a family secret about your mother’s mental illness and growing up as one of the offspring charged with “caring for crazy.” Then, to compound the horror, witnessing another version of schizophrenia as it consumes your younger sister – who you practically raised yourself, thanks to your mother’s frailty. To see Paolina Milana as an example of resilience might be the understatement of all time.

As a 20-year-old, Paolina gets a chance to escape her circumstances by attending an out-of-state school, but the madness she tries to leave behind will not let her be as letter after letter arrives, constantly reminding her of the insanity from which she longs to break free. Making matters worse, the voices in her own head whispering words she’s not sure are normal, further her fears. “Please don’t make me be like Mamma,” she prays to a God she’s not sure is listening.

The unexpected death of her father soon after she returns home leaves Paolina in shock—becoming fully in charge of her paranoid schizophrenic mother. But it isn’t until at age 27, when her younger sister explodes in a psychotic episode, is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and must be committed, that Paolina descends into her own despair, nearly losing herself to the darkness.

Beautifully written with flourishes of handwritten letters (in Italian) from her parents, recordings of her own inner voices challenging her every move, and a heartbreaking slew of sticky notes revealing the harrowing thoughts of her sister’s delusional mind, Paolina’s epistolary memoir invites readers into her inner circle of intimate encounters with mental illness. Poignant and impactful, Committed is a story of resilience that teaches and inspires, not as a tidy narrative, but as an authentic and rare share that speaks to the struggle of staying sane despite being surrounded by madness.

Praise Committed: Madness in The Family by Paolina Milana

“Paolina lets the reader in, to both her heart and her mind, as she struggles to make sense of the madness all around her. This is a harrowing story told with generosity of spirit, and that is not easy to do.”– Jennie Nash, founder and CEO, Author Accelerator

“Committed is a must-read for anyone struggling with mental illness, especially if, like Paolina, insanity has taken root in your family tree. This raw memoir brings to light the reality of madness — both in terms of what may surround us and that which may lurk within us.”- Samantha Dunn, author of Failing Paris and Not By Accident

About Paolina MilanaCommitted: Madness in The Family by Paolina Milana

Embarking on her latest book, Committed: A Memoir of Madness in The Family, author, speaker, podcaster, and founder of Madness To Magic, Paolina Milana’s mission is to share stories that celebrate the triumph of the human spirit: To unleash the power that lies within each of us to bring about change for the better.

Milana’s professional background is rooted in journalism where as a features writer for a major daily newspaper in the Midwest, she told the stories of other people. Then she moved to the field of PR/media and digital marketing as an executive in both corporate and non-profit environments. Given her experience in an emotionally tumultuous household where she was put in the position of caregiver to unstable family members, she is uniquely qualified to serve as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in foster care and as an empowerment and resiliency coach, using storytelling to help people reimagine their lives, write their next chapters, and become the heroes of their own journeys.

Paolina has won awards for her writing, including her first book, The S Word, which received the National Indie Excellence Award. Her self-help picture book for adults, Seriously! Are We There Yet?!, and her holiday fiction novel, Miracle on Mall Drive both published in late 2020. Paolina is first-generation Sicilian, married, and lives on the edge of the Angeles National Forest in Southern California.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MadnessToMagic

Buy Committed: Madness in The Family by Paolina Milana

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Giveaway Committed: Madness in The Family by Paolina Milana


This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on May 21, 2021 midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
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