MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from Healing from Incest : Lies and Secrets When I think about the lies my father told and all the unsaid thoughts and fears that were part of the air we breathed at our house, I remember a particularly frightening time when the truth was almost brought into the open many, many years before that session in Seanne’s office.   Mother and Father had come for my college graduation—a ceremony I had attempted to forego, perhaps to avoid having them come. But that same weekend my cousin had planned his wedding to coincide with the gathering of the families and friends for our combined graduations. I was involved in the wedding preparations, and Mother decided to ride along with me to a nearby city for the rehearsal. The truth was, she had an agenda that I couldn't have imagined. If I’d had any idea of her intention, I'd have been even more frightened and much more uncomfortable.   I sometimes had nightmares about Mother dying and me being forced to marry my fathe

Many of our authors have had incredible lives or incredible experiences -- or both! Surely, you can find one or more that sits beside you and keeps you company for years. All are difficult to put down.   Looking for love in your 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and yes, even your 80’s or 90’s?  57 Steps to Paradise  will help you navigate dating in midlife and beyond. Lorenz unzips her soul and exposes her foibles during 50 years of men weaving their way in and out of her life, providing a heap of wit and wisdom to help you make life-changing decisions about love and, perhaps, a life partner. A diverting and informative story of searching for love in mid-life by a divorced social worker, who intertwines entertaining stories of successful love interests with well-known movies containing similar plots and themes. Written as diary entries covering a 15-year period, the author shares openly, in detail, and with insights her experiences with dating, friendships, affairs, and relationships. Written ca

  What is a book jewel? A sometimes-overlooked book with remarkable insight and potential significance. Starting in August, we will share near-daily, as possible, reviews of the monthly book jewel - short, succinct reviews that can be read in 1-2 minutes with links to the reviewer by reviewers whose words are worthy of being heard and whose opinions are worthy of being considered. Sometimes a couple of minutes contains more impressive thought than ten times that many. We will let you decide that. This month's book jewel is Blest Atheist by Elizabeth Mahlou. Amazon review by Brendan Howard - Elizabeth Mahlou's autobiography and tale of coming to believe in God has a lot going for it. Her candid descriptions of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of relatives gripped this reader in a flood of sympathy and horror. Mahlou's great reserve of optimism and compassion as child and adult seems initially boastful. But in light of her life of childhood trauma, physical

  Recently released - the audiobook for  Blest Atheist  by Elizabeth Mahlou. As a young child, outraged by the hypocrisy she finds in a church that does nothing to alleviate the physical and sexual abuse she experiences on a regular basis, Beth delivers an accusatory youth sermon and gets her family expelled from the church. Having locked the door on God, Beth goes on to raise a family of seven children, learn 17 languages, and enjoy a career that takes her to NASA, Washington, and 24 countries. All the time, however, God keeps knocking at the door, protecting and blessing her, which she realizes only decades later. Ultimately, Beth finds God in a very simple yet most unusual way. A very human story, Blest Atheist encompasses the greatest literary themes of all time - alienation, redemption, and even the miraculous. The author's life experiences, both tragic and tremendous, result in a spiritual journey containing significant ups and downs that ultimately yield great joy and humili

  What is a book jewel? A sometimes-overlooked book with remarkable insight and potential significance. Starting in August, we will share near-daily, as possible, reviews of the monthly book jewel - short, succinct reviews that can be read in 1-2 minutes with links to the reviewer by reviewers whose words are worthy of being heard and whose opinions are worthy of being considered. Sometimes a couple of minutes contains more impressive thought than ten times that many. We will let you decide that. This month's book jewel is  Blest Atheist  by Elizabeth Mahlou. Amazon review by Debra Gaynor - Elizabeth Mahlou grew up in an abusive home. She tells of her mother stabbing her brother with a knife in the buttocks, and her father throwing a pitchfork and stabbing him with it. Taking an airplane ride had a whole new meaning in this family. The abuse was physical, emotional, and sexual. "The wounds were in the heart and mind and covered parts of the body." Like most bullies, their

  Blest Atheist is the perfect book story to tell on Easter. After all, it opens and ends with an Easter scene. The story behind the book is actually told within the pages of the book. Dr. Mahlou sspent her life as an atheist; Blest Atheist is the story of that life and of her conversion to Catholicism.  Here is the book description: As a young child, outraged by the hypocrisy she finds in a church that does nothing to alleviate the physical and sexual abuse she experiences on a regular basis, Beth delivers an accusatory youth sermon and gets her family expelled from the church. Having locked the door on God, Beth goes on to raise a family of seven children, learn 17 languages, and enjoy a career that takes her to NASA, Washington, and 24 countries. All the time, however, God keeps knocking at the door, protecting and blessing her, which she realizes only decades later. Ultimately, Beth finds God in a very simple yet most unusual way. A very human story, Blest Atheist encompasses the

  excerpt from It Only Hurts When I Can't Run by Gewanda Parker Introduction   I believe in a God who heals, delivers, and sets captives free. Because God in His mercy did this for me, I have to let the world know that if God can do it for me, surely God can do it for the next person. That is why I had to write this book—and I must admit that writing this narrative has been an unexpectedly tedious but healing journey.   I remember the day I began writing about the sexual abuse in my life. I started writing early in the day. I wrote for about four hours. I revisited every encounter I remembered from ages five to sixteen. When I finished, I erupted into tears. This flood of emotions lasted for nearly six hours. Anger, hurt, scarring, shame, betrayals, disbelief and even fear gripped me to the core of my being. When I had finally stopped, the time seemed to have slipped by because it was well past 11p.m.   On this occasion, God and my good friend were there. She sat there, praying si