On My Radar:

The Impatient Dr. Lange: One Man's Fight to End the Global HIV Epidemic
by Seema Yasmin
John Hopkins University Press
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

When Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by pro-Russian rebels in July 2014, the world wondered if a cure for HIV had fallen from the sky and disappeared among the burning debris. Seated in the plane’s business-class cabin was Joseph Lange, better known as Joep, a shrewd Dutch doctor who had revolutionized the world of HIV and AIDS and was working on a cure. 

Dr. Lange graduated from medical school in 1981, right as a new plague swept across the globe. His story became intertwined with the story of HIV. At once a physician, scientist, AIDS activist, and medical diplomat, Lange studied ways to battle HIV and prevent its spread from mother to child. Fighting the injustices of poverty, Lange advocated for better access to health care for the poor and the vulnerable. He championed the drug cocktail that finally helped rein in the disease and was a vocal proponent of prophylactic treatment for those most at risk of contracting HIV. 

The Impatient Dr. Lange is the story of one man’s struggle against a global pandemic—and the tragic attack that may have slowed down the search for a cure. Seema Yasmin charts the course of the HIV epidemic and Dr. Lange's career as a young doctor who blazed his own path and dedicated his life to HIV. Yasmin draws on written records, medical journals, recorded discussions, expert testimony, and extensive interviews with Lange’s family, friends, and colleagues around the globe—including the people he spoke to in the days before he died. She faithfully reconstructs key scenes from Lange’s life and the history of the AIDS epidemic, revealing how Lange became a global leader in the fight against AIDS. 

The first book about Lange and his contributions to the fight against HIV, The Impatient Dr. Lange is a powerful tribute to one of the greatest scientists, activists, humanitarians, and social entrepreneurs in the world of HIV/AIDS.

In My TBR Stack:

Four Hours of Fury: The Untold Story of World War II's Largest Airborne Invasion and the Final Push into Nazi Germany
by James M. Fenelon
Scribner

From the publisher's website:

On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later.

Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes.

Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the 101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations.

In My TBR Stack:

Brain Candy: One Woman's Hilarious and Harrowing Journey Through Cancer and Alzheimer's 
by Deirdre Allen Timmons
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

While fighting an aggressive brain tumor, Deirdre must care for her mother with advanced Alzheimer's, raise her teenage daughter, and help her husband chase a new dream — opening a barbecue restaurant. Her greatest defense is her sense of humor in this tender memoir chronicling life struggles that are often tragic — but can still be very funny. Grab a tissue and take a ride as one batty broad battles her way through the tragicomic trials of her most perilous adventure yet — brain cancer.

In My TBR Stack:

Why She Lied: A Riveting Psychological Thriller Based on a True Story
by Julie Coons
Trade Paperbac

From the book publicity:

Will she have to lose her child to save her child?

The day she tells her boyfriend she’s pregnant, is the same day he tells her he’s been accused of molestation. His trial is set to begin the following day.

She needs answers…

To get them, she tricks her boyfriend into signing a release form, giving her full access to all of his legal documents. She uncovers the truth, he’s guilty.

To save her unborn child from this monster, she gets an abortion.

FIVE YEARS LATER and still rebuilding her life, Julie finds out her ex-boyfriend has just become the most wanted man in America, involved in human trafficking. When detectives ask for her help locating him, she gets drawn into a baffling mystery. What began as a seemingly simple search soon turns into a much darker reality.

Someone from her past is watching…

Bit by bit, the tapestry of her own secret childhood begins to unravel. What she learns about her past will haunt her forever: family isn’t always what it seems.

Can she help bring this predator to justice, or will she die trying?

WHY SHE LIED is a gripping psychological thriller full of mystery, intrigue, and buried secrets. 

On My Radar:

If You Want to Make God Laugh: A Novel
by Bianca Marais
Putnam Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

In a squatter camp on the outskirts of Johannesburg, seventeen-year-old Zodwa lives in desperate poverty, under the shadowy threat of a civil war and a growing AIDS epidemic. Eight months pregnant, Zodwa carefully guards secrets that jeopardize her life.

Across the country, wealthy socialite Ruth appears to have everything her heart desires, but it’s what she can’t have that leads to her breakdown. Meanwhile, in Zaire, a disgraced former nun, Delilah, grapples with a past that refuses to stay buried. When these personal crises send both middle-aged women back to their rural hometown to heal, the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby upends everything, challenging their lifelong beliefs about race, motherhood, and the power of the past.

As the mystery surrounding the infant grows, the complicated lives of Zodwa, Ruth, and Delilah become inextricably linked. What follows is a mesmerizing look at family and identity that asks: How far will the human heart go to protect itself and the ones it loves?

On My Radar:

Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood
by J. Michael Straczynski
Harper Voyager
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

In this dazzling memoir, the acclaimed writer behind Babylon 5, Sense8, Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and Marvel’s Thor reveals how the power of creativity and imagination enabled him to overcome the horrors of his youth and a dysfunctional family haunted by madness, murder and a terrible secret.

Joe's early life nearly defies belief. Raised by damaged adults—a con-man grandfather and a manipulative grandmother, a violent, drunken father and a mother who was repeatedly institutionalized—Joe grew up in abject poverty, living in slums and projects when not on the road, crisscrossing the country in his father’s desperate attempts to escape the consequences of his past.  

To survive his abusive environment Joe found refuge in his beloved comics and his dreams, immersing himself in imaginary worlds populated by superheroes whose amazing powers allowed them to overcome any adversity. The deeper he read, the more he came to realize that he, too, had a superpower: the ability to tell stories and make everything come out the way he wanted it. But even as he found success, he could not escape a dark and shocking secret that hung over his family’s past, a violent truth that he uncovered over the course of decades involving mass murder.

Straczynski’s personal history has always been shrouded in mystery. Becoming Superman lays bare the facts of his life: a story of creation and darkness, hope and success, a larger-than-life villain and a little boy who became the hero of his own life.  It is also a compelling behind-the-scenes look at some of the most successful TV series and movies recognized around the world.

In My TBR Stack:

Man Mission: Four Men, Fifteen Years, One Epic Journey
by Eytan Uliel
Archway Publishing
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

In college a group of four young men establish a tradition: every year, they come together for a week-long trip in search of adventure and distraction. They travel around the world to go hiking, biking, or kayaking. They call it their Man Mission, a sacred ritual dedicated to new experiences and friendship.

In the course of their travels, they hitch a ride with drug dealers in New Zealand, down kava shots on Fijian beaches, come face-to-face with a roaring lion in South Africa, luxuriate in a resort intended only for Vietnamese Communist officials, trek to Machu Picchu, and go ice climbing in Iceland. 

Over the years, they all get married, start families, establish careers, and do all the stuff upright men are supposed to do. But when the challenges of real life come into conflict with the perfect lives they are supposed to be living, the yearly Man Mission becomes more than an annual getaway. It's a source of stability and a place to find redemption.

Part travel narrative and part roman à clef, this novel follows four regular guys as they find adventure together, and seek meaning and purpose, in a world where the traditional rules of "being a man" are no longer clear.

In My TBR Stack:

'Til Health Do Us Part: One Woman's Extraordinary Story of Healing
by Julie Rooney
Gatekeeper Press
Trade Paperback

From the author's website:

Julie Rooney was forty-eight years old in the summer of 2010, and to anyone looking in from the outside, she appeared to be living the dream. She and her husband owned houses in Silicon Valley and Hawaii, flew first class and stayed in five-star hotels. Their four children were all in college.

But Julie was on her last legs. She suffered from Addison’s disease, Crohn’s colitis, diabetes and hypothyroidism, and after years of synthetic steroids she weighed almost 200 pounds. She had blood drawn more often than most women had their nails done. The bones in her feet were as brittle as glass, and the team of doctors who had cared for her for years had run out of ideas.

“If your illnesses don’t kill you,” her endocrinologist told her, as gently as she could, “the drugs will.”

And then, when Julie had nearly given up hope, a scrap of paper with a hastily scrawled name and a phone number changed her life. Eighteen harrowing months later, against all odds, she had weaned herself off all her medications and her labs had come back normal for the first time in more than ten years.

The lessons she learned during her extraordinary journey of healing will resonate with all those who have struggled to regain their health, and more importantly, to understand their own role in the process.

Now in Paperback:

All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft
by Geraldine DeRuiter
Public Affairs Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Some people are meant to travel the globe, to unwrap its secrets and share them with the world. And some people have no sense of direction, are terrified of pigeons, and get motion sickness from tying their shoes. These people are meant to stay home and eat nachos.

Geraldine DeRuiter is the latter. But she won’t let that stop her.

Hilarious, irreverent, and heartfelt, All Over the Place chronicles the years Geraldine spent traveling the world after getting laid off from a job she loved. Those years taught her a great number of things, though the ability to read a map was not one of them. She has only a vague idea of where Russia is, but she now understands her Russian father better than ever before. She learned that what she thought was her mother’s functional insanity was actually an equally incurable condition called “being Italian.” She learned what it’s like to travel the world with someone you already know and love–how that person can help you make sense of things and make far-off places feel like home. She learned about unemployment and brain tumors, lost luggage and lost opportunities, and just getting lost in countless terminals and cabs and hotel lobbies across the globe. And she learned that sometimes you can find yourself exactly where you need to be–even if you aren’t quite sure where you are.

Excerpt:

BookSpin Excerpt:

ALS Saved My Life...Until It Didn't
by Dr. Jenni Kleinman Berebitsky

Prognosis vs. Diagnosis:
Coming to Terms with Terminal Illness


Page 45- 48


After some self-examination I realized that my physical weakness from ALS was forcing me to be stronger emotionally and spiritually. At that time, little did I know how strong I would become.

If I looked at my situation differently, flipped it upside down and put a more positive spin on it, I could possibly profoundly inspire others. Something as simple as living as normal a life as possible with this disease could be inspirational. The idea I could motivate others gave me purpose. That was huge for me. After all, inspiring people to live a healthy life was at the heart of my studies; maybe this was an opportunity to accomplish something toward a congruent goal. It was in this seminar that I adopted what would become my mantra: “I had to get weak to find my strength.”


My friend Tessa and I attended The Landmark Advanced Course, an empowerment training program. The leader was a petite redhead with a delightful southern drawl who surprised everyone in the course when she turned out to be tough as a drill sergeant. I credit her with nothing short of saving my life.

I remember that each time I stood up to share, no words came out of my mouth. All I could do was burst into tears. The Forum leader told me to sit down. Tessa shared that what she wanted from this weekend was to figure out how to deal with the fact that her best friend was just diagnosed with a terminal disease. She did not mention this friend was me. After attempting several more times to speak but still only able to cry, the leader said, "Sit down and don't bother to get up again until you can talk. You came here to get something out of this weekend, and crying is not going to get you anything."


I reached deep inside and with all the strength I could muster, declared, "I'm Tessa's friend."


At that point there wasn't a dry eye in the place.

“Jenni. Is that what you said your name was—Jenni?” asked the sergeant. “Jenni, you are a crybaby.” The room fell unearthly silent.


I was flabbergasted. No one had dismissed my illness like this before. I had come to expect a degree of shock, sadness, pity, deference and after that, a whole lot of coddling when people discovered I had a terminal disease.


“What? But I have ALS.” I didn’t know what else to say. I was in the spotlight naked and hurt. Angry now, I thought, How dare she call me a crybaby. This is a big deal.


“I don’t care. You’re a crybaby,” the sergeant repeated even louder now. “Do you know how many people I’ve seen with a 'prognosis'? It doesn’t mean a thing.”


I continued to cry. But the sergeant didn’t back down a bit, “When you cry, you are accepting a guess as the truth. You’re letting this so-called prognosis define your future. There is no real truth to this. It’s based on statistics, sure, but no one can tell you when you will die. No one! And when you buy into that, you fulfill the prophecy. And, by the way, everyone has an expiration date stamped on their foreheads—you’re not alone in that—and none of us, not even you, knows what that date is.”


The Forum leader went on to say, "Given your circumstances you have a choice: you can give up, accept your prognosis as the truth and 'die' inside, choosing to just exist until your body dies, OR you can choose to LIVE every minute of every day until you actually do die."


When I finally wobbled back to my place in the crowd after such a dressing down, I was a ragged mess, but my thinking had already begun to shift like tectonic plates before an earthquake, and an earthquake was coming. For the next three days I trained as if for war, ultimately ripping my prognosis apart and upending all that I had been told until I began seeing everything in a completely different way. Then I made a decision to forget what the doctors and statisticians had foisted upon me. I vowed to live my life and stay in the present and not give any more power over to the disease.


Through the course of the seminar, my perception of the Landmark Forum leader transformed. At first, I thought of her as a drill sergeant, but I came to realize she was someone who showed her deep compassion for others by courageously saying what needed to be said.


On the last day, she stated, "No matter what anyone got or learned from this weekend, one thing we can all agree on is that Jenni got her life back, and we were all meant to be here to be a part of that." As mean and abusive as you may be thinking she was, her brutal directness is what I needed to break through the wall of self-pity I was living in. I will be forever grateful.


It’s been said so many times that it may sound hokey, or like a cliché, but I learned that all any of us has is right now, no matter how much we reminisce about the past or dream about the future. We have this moment, and that’s all. I decided then and there to make the best of it.


To seal this vow, the program encouraged me to “enroll my community in my new future, new possibility, and new purpose.” So that’s exactly what I did when this transformative seminar concluded. I called my doctors, occupational therapists, friends, and family—everyone in my circle—and told them about my weekend experience. I explained to them that I had accepted that
I was dying but now was focused on living my life to the fullest. Even though I had no idea what that looked like, I was committed.


I carefully explained to everyone that I needed them to support this decision and agree to relate to me as someone who was moving forward with life—someone excited to take on what is in front of her—not someone with a terminal disease, waiting to die.


And it worked. I had my life back. The months of despondency were over. Sure I have my moments where I think this SUCKS, and I throw myself a huge pity party. But for the most part I have lived my life, just as I discovered I could in those workshops all those years ago.




Reproduced with permission by the authors of ALS Saved My Life...until it didn’t (March 18, 2018, PB & J’s Publishing, LLC).

Special thanks to Hannah Robertson from JKS Communications for her assistance and patience.

Author website

In My TBR Stack:

Lions of the Sky
by Paco Chierici
Braveship Books
Trade Paperback


 From the book publicity:

In the world of fighter pilots, the most alpha of the alpha, competition is everything and the stakes are impossibly high. A Top Gun for the new millennium, LIONS OF THE SKY propels us into a realm in which friendship, loyalty, and skill are tested, battles won and lost in an instant, and lives irrevocably changed in the time it takes to plug in your afterburners.

Sam Richardson is a fighter pilot’s pilot, a reluctant legend with a gut-eating secret. He is in the last span of his tour as an instructor, yearning to get back to the real action of the Fleet, when he is ordered to take on one last class—a class that will force him to confront his carefully quarantined demons.

Brash, carefree, and naturally gifted, Keely Silvers is the embodiment of all that grates on him. After years of single-minded dedication, she and her classmates can see the finish line. They are months away from achieving their life-long dream, flying Navy F/A-18 fighters. They are smart and hard-working, but they’re just kids with expensive new toys. They’re eager to rush through training and escape to the freedom of the world beyond, a world they view as a playground full of fast jets and exotic locales.

But Sam knows there is a darker side to the profession he loves. There is trouble brewing in the East with global implications. If they make it past him they will be cast into a dangerous world where enemy planes cruise the skies over the South China Sea like sharks, loaded with real weapons and hidden intentions.

On My Radar:

American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President  Trump
by Tim Alberta
Harper Collins
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

The 2016 election was a watershed for the United States. But, as Tim Alberta explains in American Carnage, to understand Trump’s victory is to view him not as the creator of this era of polarization and bruising partisanship, but rather as its most manifest consequence.

American Carnage is the story of a president’s rise based on a country’s evolution and a party’s collapse. As George W. Bush left office with record-low approval ratings and Barack Obama led a Democratic takeover of Washington, Republicans faced a moment of reckoning: They had no vision, no generation of new leaders, and no energy in the party’s base. Yet Obama’s forceful pursuit of his progressive agenda, coupled with the nation’s rapidly changing societal and demographic identity, lit a fire under the right, returning Republicans to power and inviting a bloody struggle for the party’s identity in the post-Bush era. The factions that emerged—one led by absolutists like Jim Jordan and Ted Cruz, the other led by pragmatists like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell—engaged in a series of devastating internecine clashes and attempted coups for control. With the GOP’s internal fissures rendering it legislatively impotent, and that impotence fueling a growing resentment toward the political class and its institutions, the stage was set for an outsider to crash the party. When Trump descended a gilded escalator to announce his run in the summer of 2015, the candidate had met the moment.

Only by viewing Trump as the culmination of a decade-long civil war inside the GOP—and of the parallel sense of cultural, socioeconomic, and technological disruption during that period—can we appreciate how he won the White House and consider the fundamental questions at the center of America’s current turmoil. How did a party once obsessed with national insolvency come to champion trillion-dollar deficits? How did the party of compassionate conservatism become the party of Muslim bans and family separation? How did the party of family values elect a thrice-married philanderer? And, most important, how long can such a party survive?

Loaded with explosive original reporting and based off hundreds of exclusive interviews—including with key players such as President Trump, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Jim DeMint, and Reince Priebus, among many others—American Carnage takes us behind the scenes of this tumultuous period as we’ve never seen it before and establishes Tim Alberta as the premier chronicler of this political era.

In My TBR Stack:

Finding St. Lo: A Memoir of War and Family
by Gordon Edward Cross, Robert Lewis Fowler, Ted Neill (Editor)
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

What did it mean to be a hero in 1944? What does it mean today? On the 75th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, these are the questions we ask ourselves as the world faces resurgent nativism, deep social divisions, and rising xenophobia. It's no exaggeration to say that the gravity of our crises today echoes back to the crossroads of 1944. Finding St. Lo presents us with two distinct voices from the past. The authors are Gordon Cross and Robert Fowler: a medic and sergeant who served in the 134th US Infantry Regiment. In their mobilization, Cross and Fowler witnessed horrific destruction alongside compelling heroism. Their firsthand accounts are joined here by essays by Fowler's grandson, Ted Neill. Neill explores the scars of war left by his grandfather's post-traumatic stress and its effects across three generations of family. Through Neill's reflections, three stories weave into one. The voices of soldiers, family members, and trauma specialists come together in prose that is readable and relatable. The photography of Gordon Cross, published here for the first time, provides an unparalleled window into the scenes of devastation and loss. But Cross also captures the stirrings of recovery and the foundations of a post-war peace that benefited billions--a peace that may endure, if we can be good stewards. Finding St. Lo examines a time in US history that was a crucible for the identity of a generation and the destiny of a nation. These stories and photos demonstrate, without question, that the values of self-sacrifice, community, courage, and compassion that steered a generation in 1944 can still serve us--and save us--today.

In My TBR Stack:

Future Proofed: How to Navigate Disruptive Change, Find Calm in Chaos, and Succeed in Work & Life
by Natalia Peart, PhD
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

We are living in times of constant change and disruption. But while the times have changed dramatically, we do not have new rules for how to succeed in our new world. With its unique blend of strong storytelling reminiscent of The Alchemist, and strong direction-setting for both your work and life, FUTUREPROOFED is both a journey and step-by-step practical guide tailored to the fast-changing times that we live in. 

Drawing from her own research and consulting practice and the latest in business, neuroscience, psychology, and design thinking, Dr. Natalia Peart presents a new paradigm and step-by-step pathway for thriving in fast-moving times.

In these pages, you will learn to: 

• Navigate the new road we all must travel.
• Build career confidence, whether you're working for yourself or someone else, by shifting from just finding your next job to creating a playbook and system for your success.
• Achieve peace of mind by increasing your own financial safety and security.
• Master the one constant in life--change--by building the mental fitness you need to thrive regardless of what's happening around you.
• Develop a success lifestyle by effectively using your time, energy, and attention to live a life that is satisfying and meaningful to you.
• Leverage your success to impact our world.

FUTUREPROOFED is the journey and experience we all need right now. This book is a wake-up call that challenges your assumptions of what it takes to be successful in our more complex world. It provides a clear roadmap for greater clarity even in increasing uncertainty, as well as empowers you to move forward with confidence toward a more inspired future.

In My TBR Stack:

The Stress Eating Solution: Emotional Brain Training
by Laurel Mellin, PhD
EBT Books
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

Tired of overeating, weight cycling, and feeling out of control of food? Enter the age of brain-based health! This breakthrough book by New York Times bestselling author Laurel Mellin, Ph.D. will give you everything you need to appreciate that issues with food, mood, relationships, and body image are caused by a few faulty brain circuits. The solution is to enter the age of brain-based health and learn easy, proven techniques to shut off these wires and the harmful chemical surges they cause, and activate healing wires chemicals that activate the drive to eat healthy and release extra weight. The motivator for many people? Self-reliance, and less dependency on medications and procedures. The techniques work rapidly (in one to four minutes) so you can feel the difference right away. Using them over time promotes lasting results. Enter the age of brain-based health, and you will never look back!

In My TBR Stack:

Target Funding: Discover a Proven System to Get the Money & Resources You Need Now In Order to Grow Your Business
by Kedma Ough, MBA
McGraw Hill Professional
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Target Funding ensures that the struggle to obtain funds will never again come between you and your dreams.

Too often, great business ideas fail to see the light of day because the entrepreneur doesn’t know how to secure the funding he or she needs. Until now. Target Funding proves you don’t need to be one of these would-be business owners or inventors. No matter what your idea might be, there is funding available to build a solid business or invention around it. Target Funding helps you obtain this and more—even if you have faced bankruptcy, exhausted all avenues, or feel like you are at your wit’s end.

Kedma Ough is one of today’s most respected authorities on business funding and entrepreneurship and this practical guide reveals how to locate and secure the necessary funds and resources you need to launch, stabilize, or grow your business dream. She will open your eyes to the vast array of opportunities you didn’t know existed—and provides special insight into beneficial sources before you’re even left the gate. 

Target Funding takes you on a deep dive into:

• The wide range of funding options available for any startup, including un-bankable ventures and independent inventors

• Hundreds of vetted funding sources detailing features and eligibility requirements

 • A winning process for matching funding opportunities with your specific needs• Step-by-step guidance on how to approach funding sources, win them over, and convince them to provide the money you need

• Real-life business funding stories that will motivate you to act

You'll learn about all the options available to you, including conventional, alternative, and diversity funding. You’ll find out how to access all of them based on your needs, demographic, industry, location, and other variables. 
Get started on your dream venture today! With Target Funding, you have a proven business-funding strategy to lift your company or invention off the ground and become a sustainable profit machine.

In My TBR Stack:

Off the Grid: A Mystery
by Robert McCaw
Oceanview Publishing
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

A scrap of cloth fluttering in the wind leads Hilo police Chief Detective Koa Kāne to the tortured remains of an unfortunate soul, left to burn in the path of an advancing lava flow. For Koa, it’s the second gruesome homicide of the day, and he soon discovers the murders are linked. These grisly crimes on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island could rewrite history—or cost Chief Detective Koa Kāne his career.

The dead, a reclusive couple living off the grid, turn out to be mysterious fugitives. The CIA, the Chinese government, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, attempt to thwart Koa’s investigation and obscure the victims’ true identities. Undeterred by mounting political pressure, Koa pursues the truth only to find himself drawn into a web of international intrigue. 

While Koa investigates, the Big Island scrambles to prepare for the biggest and most explosive political rally in its history. Despite police resources stretched to the breaking point, Koa uncovers a government conspiracy so shocking its exposure topples senior officials far beyond Hawaii’s shores. 

On My Radar:

Sea Stories:  My Life in Special Operations
by Admiral William H. McRaven, USN (Ret.)
Grand Central Publishing

Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Admiral William H. McRaven is a part of American military history, having been involved in some of the most famous missions in recent memory, including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.

Sea Stories begins in 1960 at the American Officers’ Club in France, where Allied officers and their wives gathered to have drinks and tell stories about their adventures during World War II — the place where a young Bill McRaven learned the value of a good story. Sea Stories is an unforgettable look back on one man’s incredible life, from childhood days sneaking into high-security military sites to a day job of hunting terrorists and rescuing hostages.

Action-packed, inspiring, and full of thrilling stories from life in the special operations world, Sea Stories is a remarkable memoir from one of America’s most accomplished leaders.

In My TBR Stack:

Dark Blossom
by Neel Mullick
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

Sam returns home from a business trip a day before his son’s thirteenth birthday and is looking forward to being with his family, when his world is cruelly shattered in one fell swoop. Initially he thinks he can cope with the loss, but finally seeks the help of Cynthia, an experienced therapist, to regain his equipoise. What he does not know is that Cynthia herself is trying to cope with a debilitating divorce and the sinister shadow of her ex-husband over her daughter…

What happens when doctor and patient find themselves in the same sinking boat? Moreover, when they are rowing in opposite directions—one clinging to the past, and the other unable to get rid of it! In the midst of it all is Lily, Cynthia’s daughter, who harbours a secret that has the power to explode the lives around her.

Taut with tension and intensity, Dark Blossom is a glimpse of what lies under the surface of apparently ‘normal’ people.

In My TBR Stack:

Folder or Crumpler: Wipe Away Your Misconceptions, Understand Your Strengths & Get the Most from Others
by Andrew Groelinger
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

This book is about my theory that there are two types of people in the world; Folders and Crumplers. It’s a reference to how you might actually use toilet paper, but in here we explore how this behavior applies directly to defining the different natures of a Folder vs. Crumpler.

The goal of this book is to help you understand the two personas so that you can identify and embrace who they are. Once you understand your own nature and subsequently how others around you “roll”, you will understand how Folders and Crumplers can cause friction for each other or can create amazing success together.

Everyone is either a Folder or a Crumpler.  You probably aren’t 100% one or the other but you are definitely on the F/C Continuum.  Follow me on my crazy path and learn how to better enjoy yourself and those around you.

In My TBR Stack:

Please Send Help... 
by Gaby Dunn & Allison Raskin
Wednesday Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Ava and Gen are best friends. Ava knows what she wants and has plans to achieve her goals. Gen...not so much. But no matter how annoying, dramatic, or utterly bananas a 2 a.m. rant might get -- Ava has always been there for Gen and Gen for Ava. But then they graduated high school. 

Now, they're in the same time zone (although over a thousand miles apart), and in the real world, and it's the worst, but they still have each other's support. For relationships. Questionable roommates. Internships. And whether or not it's a good idea to take in a feral cat. Through their hilarious, sometimes emotional, conversations, Ava and Gen help each other navigate. But as the two of them start to change, will their friendship survive the distance? 

In Please Send Help, the hilarious new novel from the New York Times bestselling authors of I Hate Everyone But You, Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn perfectly capture the voice of young adults looking to find their place in the world, proving no matter how desperate things seem, your best friend is always there to reboot your life and send help.

In My TBR Stack:

7 Rules of Marketing That Get Results: Discard the Myths, Follow the Facts
by Temel Aksoy
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

This well-organized book provides a fact-based guideline for marketing professionals to successfully grow their brands. Following the footsteps of Byron Sharp, the author of How Brands Grow, and the researchers at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Temel Aksoy presents 7 essential rules for successful marketing. Refined, insightful, and easy to follow, 7 Rules of Marketing that Get Results, demonstrates how to do marketing and what myths to avoid on the way. Whether you are a CEO, a marketing professional, or a student aspiring to work in marketing, this book will tell you what is myth and what is reality when it comes to marketing.

In My TBR Stack:

Go No Go: Is Your Business Idea Ready to Launch?
by Lauri Harrison
Twenty Steps Press
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

Over 50% of small businesses FAIL IN THE FIRST YEAR. 

                                       Why?

  

Before you invest money into your business venture, invest your time into understanding the market so you can gauge willingness to buy. Go/No Go walks you through the crucial steps needed to evaluate your business idea. You will learn how to...

  

     * make a decision with your eyes wide open

     * save time, money, and human resources

     * create and deliver value to the marketplace from day one

     * collect information, then use tools and templates to make a rational "go/no go" decision   

  

Lauri Harrison started her career with MapQuest and currently works for Google guiding customers on their digital transformation journey. She has helped small business start-ups define their marketing and product strategies for nearly two decades and has seen too many small businesses make the same mistakes over and over. Lauri wrote Go/No Go to explain the basics, so budding entrepreneurs can put their time, money, and energy toward success.

In My TBR Stack:

Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance: A Values-Based Framework for Reinventing Leadership in Uncertain Times

by Yvette Bethel

Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

An Out-of-the Box Perspective of Organizational Culture and Change

Everything in an organization operates within an interconnected ecosystem. This connectivity supports communication, productivity and other types of flow that have a personality and tempo of their own. In dynamic workplaces, interconnectivity and flow are enhanced by the process of balancing multiple tensions which is an important pre-requisite organizational adaptability and sustainability in an unpredictable, complex environment. Interconnectivity, Flow and Balance is a road map to both self-transformation and cultural change. It introduces ideas that translate into practical models which can be applied to simple and complex workplace challenges. You can use these models to:

• Enhance your culture by improving trust and engagement levels  
• Achieve healthy flow when communicating, producing output or even planning succession
• Explore the potential for changes within your organization which can help to sustain balance
• Maintain a state of balance that supports organizational sustainability.

In My TBR Stack:

Redesign the Reality of Your Finances: Understand the Why to Change the How of Your Spending
by Marc Barlow
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

How many people have consciously or subconsciously accepted their current financial reality as reality? Not thinking, believing, or understanding a different reality can and does exist. A reality waiting to be discovered, awakened, and actualized

How many people are living and operating in a "system" perfectly designed to get the results it gets...?

Financial bondage that is caused by excessive debt.  

Think about your current financial reality. What “systems” do you have in place that have produced the results you have gotten? If you are in excessive debt, how did your “systems” of spending and decision-making lead to your current financial reality?  

Through deep and honest reflection, my book, seminar, and assistance can help people create a road map to follow to get themselves out of debt, stay out of debt, and become financially free.  

By understanding the "why" people can begin to change the "how" of their spending. In doing so, they can redesign the reality of their finances.