MSI Press Blog

Happy Fourth of July, 2020! In celebration of this day, we present an excerpt from Joanna Romer's popular book, Helping the Disabled Veteran . Excerpt: Holidays The holidays may be a poignant time for your veteran, perhaps more than you realize. If he or she lost a friend in battle, or simply during the course of military service, your veteran may be reminded of that friendship with sadness during the holidays. Even though you’ve never met this friend, you should respect your veteran’s grief—the friendship may have been very close. Your veteran may feel guilty if unable to do Christmas shopping. If they are confined to a wheelchair, for instance. You can offer to help—either by buying the items he/she picks out or by setting your veteran up on the computer to do some online shopping. It goes without saying that lending a little extra cash during this time would be welcome. On the day of the holiday itself, don’t be surprised if your veteran wants to stay in his/he...

This excerpt comes from  Helping the Disabled Veteran  (Joanna Romer)      Homeless Veterans Drive down any major thoroughfare in a medium to large-sized city, and you’re bound to see this sign at an intersection: “Homeless Veteran. Please Help.” The sign is usually being wielded by a man between 20 and 70 years old, bedraggled in appearance and wearing a helpless expression on his face. Sometimes the sign says, “Will work for food,” especially if the Veteran is on the younger side. Sometimes the sign bearer is disabled, with just one leg, standing on crutches or in a wheelchair. What do we do when we see such a person? The light changes and we drive on through the intersection; or, if we’re feeling charitable, we put a dollar in the outstretched cup. Sometimes if we get a look at the veteran’s face, a tear may come to our eye: there’s something very wrong about this situation . The more cynical among us may posit that the whole thing is an act — that the ...

  This excerpt comes from  Helping the Disabled Veteran  (Joanna Romer) Legal Help   Your son Tommy came home from Afghanistan paralyzed, and you’re stymied on how to help him. He’s been living with you and your husband for over a year, and a good part of that time you’ve been trying to get a certain benefit that would help him and your family a great deal. Unfortunately, because of a supposed “hitch” in his service record, that particular benefit does not seem to be available. Tommy says the hitch is an error — but so far you’ve been unable to get it removed. Is there anything you can do? Yes, there is. Paralyzed Veterans of America is an organization that provides competent attorneys to assist in cases just like this. They have litigated hundreds of cases for veterans, helping them to get the benefits they need (Legal Services – Paralyzed Veterans of America). Veterans have the right to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims if their benefits reque...

  One of more prolific writers, Joanna Romer, wrote a wonderful little tome about how to help disabled veterans -- all of it researched through interviews with disabled veterans: Helping the Disabled Veteran . Available in paperback and Kindle See more posts about this book, including excerpts, as well as other veteran-related related posts,  HERE . To read more posts about Joanna and her books, click HERE .

  This week's blog post is the next in the series of book back stories and is the story behind Passing On: Preparing for the Afterlife  by Joanna Romer. From the publisher -  Joanna Romer, an author who had already written seven books for us and was, at the time, working on two others, Helping the Disabled Veteran and Life after Losing a Child (with Pat Young ), which were ultimately finished and published, came to me with a book proposal for a book on preparing for death. As a popular MSI Press author and retired professor of journalism, her books were well researched, and I was intrigued by how she might go about researching this one. But go about it she did, resulting in another popular book. Little did I know that she might have a very personal reason for writing this book. She passed away not longer after it was released, and her two final books were released posthumously, one with the help of one our copyeditors, who is already a developmental editor, Mary Ann Rae...

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Discount begins (first day) at 99 cents, with amount of discount decreasing during the countdown period, so, if you are interested in the book, snatch it on day one for the best price. (Subsequent prices, though, are something to smile about as well.) Books return to regular price the day after the last day listed below. Healing from Incest Finalist, Book of the Year Award 5/10 - 5/17 Jesus Is Still Passing By Pinnacle Book Achievement Award 5/11 - 5/18 57 Steps to Paradise 5/12 - 5/19 Passing On 5/13 - 5/20 Helping the Disabled Veteran 5/14 - 5/21 Rainstorm of Tomorrow Awards Silver Medal, Science, Kops-Fetherling International Books Award Silver Award, Humanities, Reader Views Literary Awards competition Silver Award, Literary Titan Book Award 5/29 - 6/5 Paperback formats (and in some cases, hard cover formats) of the above e-books can be purchased on discount at MSI Press webstore; use FF25 as a coupon code to get a 25% disco...