MSI Press Blog

A couple of years after the fact, we stumbled across a great book review by The Car's Maw at mypennameonly blog. Very appreciated is the 5-star review and the time taken to write it. I received a copy of this book from a Publisher’s giveaway on  LibraryThing.com  and the following is my honest opinion for the book. Although it’s not directly stated reading this book I got the sense the storyline is actually a poignant fictionalized memoir of the author herself as there too many key points which both Binta, the girl in the story, and the author share. While a purist might say this book needs to be edited to some degree, I feel the writing as is adds to the authenticity of the story being from the girl’s POV. Many other girls in the same position as Binta would have succumb to what the fates had in store for her, however the speck of faith she had in her heart and soul persevered and she survived. And having survived she herself, and like Lazarus rising from the dead,...

About the Book Tucker & Me: Growing Up A Part-Time Southern Boy  tells the story of a child growing up in the Mad Men era of the 1960's. Filled with humor, sadness, and harrowing incidents, the memoir reflects all the emotions of life one experiences growing up, in this case, with a single mom who lived in Los Angeles and a father who lived in a small town suburb of Atlanta, Georgia known as Tucker. Traveling in the summers to the alternate universe in Tucker, the author experienced a roller coaster ride of two completely different lifestyles. Book Endorsement "Readers can feel and taste the magical moments. You feel like you’re sitting by the fi replace with Uncle Andy, sipping coffee and listening to his fanciful yarns.” J. Bennett Easterling, author of Of God, Rattlesnakes, and Okra   Review of the Book From Readers' Favorite:  Anyone who has lived a double life like [Harvey's] will understand and enjoy these stories... This book is not just about Harv...

Given the need to attend a wedding in Elk Grove, the lucky contiguity to my son, Shawn, and his family who live in Elk Grove, and the opportunity for lunch with a former assistant Hatem, who now lives in Roseville, my husband, Carl, I, and my youngest son, CB, packed up the car on Friday afternoon for a weekend adventure three hours from where we live. The Studio, a martial arts center in Roseville three hours from our home in San Juan Bautista is the closest gym that offers ninja training -- both for kids (which turned out to be fortunate for short little me) and for adults. The Studio had scheduled the next iteration of the adult class for Saturday, July 28, absolutely perfect timing. I could get there Friday night, get a full night of sleep to be fresh for the ninja training, then have lunch with Hatem, race back to the hotel for a change of clothes, and finish the day at the wedding, with a planned breakfast the next morning our grandchildren and daughter-in-law. Tight ti...

Introduction: My Story When women with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) get pregnant, their RA goes into remission. At least, that’s what my doctor told my husband, Robert, and me when we went in to discuss the possibility of having a baby. At that time, we both were professors with busy careers. I was 28, and, according to my doctors, my RA was on “cruise control.” Thus, we were given a big “thumbs up” from the medical community to get pregnant. I would not trade our son for the world, but, boy, were they wrong! There was no remission for me, not unless remission means running head first into kidney failure and an abrupt pause in my career. After many months of discussions with baffled doctors, biopsies, and blood tests, I was diagnosed with Essential Mixed Cryoglobulinemia Type II—a complication of my RA that was causing kidney failure. I was officially the complicated, rare case “only found in medical journals.” In other words, my bewildered doctors and nurses all but labeled ...

STEP #1:   I affirm that people are values-centered. STUDENT: Dr. Brink? Do you remember me? I came by last week and we talked about religion. BRINK: Of course, but as I said last time, to give you the entire answer as to why I am religious, or why you should be religious, is not something that we should attempt all at once. We need to approach this topic advancing slowly but surely, one step at a time. STUDENT: So, where do we start? BRINK: My first point is that humans are values-oriented beings. They seek values, uphold values, and when they are not oriented by values, they fall into alienation. STUDENT: That sounds like Chapter 13 on social psychology. BRINK: My, you have read ahead in your psychology textbook. STUDENT: So, what’s the next point? BRINK: Don’t be so quick to agree with me. If we have not fully established step #1, then we do not have a good footing for the next step. We need to break down step #1 into several sub-steps. In order for y...