Review: To Heaven and Back

Reviewer: Kelsey (Kristen is MIA...)
Author: Mary C. Neal
Format: Paperback ( ? )
Pages: 148
Rating: Let's skip this. It was good.

Summary (to Goodreads and back): Dr Mary Neal, an orthopedic surgeon, was on a kayaking holiday in Chile. Skeptical of near death experiences, she was to have her life transformed when her kayak became wedged in rocks at the bottom of a waterfall and was underwater for so long that her heart stopped.To Heaven And Back is Mary's faith-enriching story of her spiritual journey, her first-hand experience of heaven and its continuing life-enhancing effects.

Quick Thoughts: I don't feel comfortable writing a full review for this so I'll just tell you what I liked about it and you can decide what you think for yourself. 

First, this novel wasn't too long to read in one sitting. How many times have you given up or not even started reading a novel because it was too long. That doesn't happen here. She gets right to the point and tells it like it is. Near the end she kind of goes off topic for a bit but she comes back around.

I felt that this novel was more about the power of prayer than about Heaven. It really focuses more on the author than on the actual near-death experience part. It talks a lot about her family and about her faith. In fact, it talks about those things more than anything else.

I loved that there were Bible passages at the beginning of the sections/chapters. They definitely managed to sum up the majority of what she was trying to say within the chapter in those small phrases. It's amazing the wealth of knowledge that can be found out in the world even outside of the realm of pure science.

One of my favourite things about this novel is that she is an intelligent woman and can obviously tell fact from fiction yet here she is with this tale. She explains it all in a way that makes sense. It also really makes you think about life and how everything fits together. Even people fit together and change the lives of those around them. Most of the time we don't realize this or we don't think about it.

I really enjoyed this novel. It's short and you can get it in eReader format s what's the downside. If you are religious or not, if you have an open mind than this book might be good for you. What's two hours of your life for a novel that will make you look at the world differently?

How To Discover Your Divine Destiny and Total Breakthroughs

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Moses Ojute
Format: ebook (This is an author requested review)
Pages: 96
Rating: 4 out of 10

Summary (lots of love Goodreads): Beyond the good ideas of men, this book takes you out of every confusion in life, and guide you step-by-step to discover your hidden destiny, Choose the right career, move from nasty jobs to real work, invest in the right business, get the right employment, plan for your future and children, Get inner peace, great wealth, and good health, overcome problems concerning job, retirement, health and other crisis. You won't be able to put it down until you have read it and add its wisdom to your life.

My Thoughts: Alright, so, I found the beginning to be slightly dramatic. Sometimes people are confused because they aren't taking deep breaths and thinking about things, it's not necessarily because their parents want them to do a certain type of work or that they don't have a clue what their strengths are. Also, some people do know what they are doing with their lives they just don't yet have the means to get where they want to be. It's okay to be in transition. 

This book is very religious. It is full of bible quotes that the author uses to back up what he's saying. It's great to have the back up, proof if you will, but I just thought that there was a lot of it. I mean, if you are reading this book then I'm going to assume that you have some kind of solid religious background and already understand some of what the author is trying to get across to you. He did throw in some good examples from him own life though which I thought was a very good idea. It is very clear that the author put a great deal of time into this novel and researched too.

Thank God for no spelling or formatting errors though the font was horribly small on my ereader. Beware, it was a pain.

This book was really not my cup of tea. I usually only read these types of books on the request of my dad who is into all that self-help stuff lately but even then I don't really get into it. This book is definitely not for everyone. For sure, you have to be very religious as mentioned before. This book showed more of a way of thinking than steps that one can take. It didn't really help me. I already know what I want from my life though, so maybe it could help you? I believe that it might help those that are really lost or unhappy with where they are in their lives.

It's kind of like a Charism retreat in book form though I found it very odd that instead of using the word vocation, usually associated with ones work through spirituality, the author used destiny. Destiny to me is just so, I don't know, fairy tale?

Closing: I would only recommend this to very religious adults that already feel that they need help in this area. Like I said, it wasn't my cup of tea.

The Me I Want To Be

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: John Ortberg
Pages: 254
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 10 out of 10

Summary (From GoodReads): Reading The Me I Want to Be is your first step to becoming God’s best version of you. Join bestselling author and pastor John Ortberg as he guides you through the sometimes difficult but ultimately fulfilling journey towards a uniquely created spirituality. One designed just for you … one that will enable you to experience God more fully each day. Available in four unique colours, customers purchasing at retail will select the cover they prefer.

My Thoughts: So this is probably one of the first 'self-help'y books that's been reviewed on this blog but I just love this book. It's very affirming, has close to a gillion amazing quotes, has personal quizzes, cool tips, and many funny and heartwarming stories. The stories are entertaining but also relatable so that you can learn something from them and you can find the lesson in it. This book really makes you feel good about yourself and if by the end you still don't it gives you tips to help you with that. Personally, I have some issues with who I am, many people do, that's just how I thought life always was but this book told me that there could be something more than just that. It actually really helped. You should give it a look!