This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Lela Buchanan for Readers' Favorite
Everyone has a story, but there are few quite as stirring as "Fierce Joy", a memoir filled with huge life struggles. Ellen Schecter begins experiencing physical symptoms of an unknown origin in mid-life that interrupt her normal lifestyle. With grit and determination she launches an offense, refusing to become an invalid as she battles not one, but two, debilitating and incurable diseases: systemic lupus and peripheral neuropathy. As she soon discovers, the battle is much more than a physical struggle; the greatest challenge takes place in her heart and mind. How do you stay positive mentally and emotionally when you are watching your body physically, and very painfully deteriorate? Pain tends to isolate its victim, and although Ellen has a loving network of support, including her husband and two children, you cannot help but sense her loneliness as she walks through this valley. But this is not a memoir of helplessness or hopelessness. This is a story of triumph!
I was mesmerized from the opening pages of "Fierce Joy" to its closing thoughts. You walk with Ellen, feeling her fear, her anger and her loneliness as she struggles to understand the insidious alien invaders trying to destroy her body. She does not--will not--go gently. Fueled by grit and innate resolve, and sparked by a mystical, ineffable experience, a fire ignites within her as she so eloquently states: "I'm . . . flooded with a fierce joy that simply will not allow me to be dragged down . . . pushes me up and up, into the light . . ." This story will both inspire and challenge you to persevere against all odds. You will be incredibly blessed by her journey.
