New Book Alert: For All of Us by Jillian Rose; Reincarnation Romance is Centered by Spiritual Connection and Meaningful Characterization

 

New Book Alert: For All of Us by Jillian Rose; Reincarnation Romance is Centered by Spiritual Connection and Meaningful Characterization

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

This book is also reviewed on Reedsy Discovery 

Spoilers: Here's a theme from two years ago: reincarnated lovers reunited in modern day, reveling in their timeless love and weighing whether they should be together in the current timeline. This time, it is captured by Jillian Rose in her Romance/Magical Realism novel, For All of Us. Technically, Rose’s version is nothing new, but it is a spiritually centered and captivating character driven novel. I suppose like its lovers, the theme itself is timeless, that love never dies and that there may be some existence beyond physical death.

Cora is a Yoga instructor, seemingly happily married to Emerson, an architect. She is assigned by Emerson’s partner, Natasha, to teach at the Catskills Retreat Center to encourage creativity and unity among their co-workers. Neither Emerson nor Natasha can come but Cora is sure that she can handle it. While there, she meets the participants in the class and the Retreat staff, particularly its owner, Kai. As she spends time with Kai, she begins to feel an emotional and spiritual connection that causes her to evaluate her marriage and realize that there are things that were unsaid and unacknowledged between her and Emerson. While this is going on, there is another story set in the early 20th Century about a couple named Juliette and Asher who fall in love and have a child, Pearl, before going through a devastating loss. In the present, Cora and Kai share memories of Juliette and Asher, further complicating their relationships both past and present.

There are some moments where the Reader feels a sense of spiritual calm. The chapters at the Retreat are filled with moments like these. Cora and Kai take walks in the woods and mountains and their senses are activated by the nature surrounding them. Cora’s classes are lessons in poses as well as mindfulness and transcendence.

These classes and her time at the Retreat benefits her as well as her students. Cora and Emerson suffered tremendous loss in their life, one that they don't talk about but causes a strain in their marriage. They keep the pain and sadness locked away and never acknowledge it. But the more that they don't talk about it, the more it pulls on them revealing the fractures between their happy facade. It is only in the safety of the Retreat and communicating with Kai that Cora finds the catharsis and emotional release that she needed. 

It also is at the Retreat in which Cora and Kai awaken their past life memories as Juliette and Asher. Now I will admit that while I don't necessarily dislike reincarnated lovers tropes, I have however seen times when it is done badly. Bram Stoker’s Dracula for example. Just because they were lovers in one life does not mean that they are entitled to be together in the current one. Let's not forget about things like consent and they may already be in a loving relationship. Where many people saw Gary Oldman speaking passionately about “crossing oceans of time,” I just saw a sexual predator who raped, assaulted, and brutalized a woman that he felt entitled to have because she resembled his dead wife.

I have also seen reincarnated lovers as a trope done with the theme that just because you were happy in one life or thought that you were, doesn't mean that you really were or guaranteed to be in the current one. Nikki Broadwell’s novel, Rosemary for Remembrance is a brilliant take on that in which a married couple live simultaneous lives in the 19th and mid-20th century and get all the baggage that comes with it including the arguments, infidelity, incompatible personalities, separations, trauma and so on. 

Actually Rose’s novel contains that as well when both Cora and Juliette suffer similar deaths in their lives. Those simultaneous moments of grief, anguish, and the aftermath on how both women and the men in their lives deal with the tragedies in different ways are some of the highlights.

What saves For All of Us from falling into the simplistic style of reincarnated lovers done badly is that Jillian Rose does not shy away from the actual consequences that occur when the lovers are reunited. If they are in another relationship, someone is going to get hurt. Also just because they resemble that person and share those memories doesn't mean that they necessarily are that specific identity. They are an entirely different person with different current memories, have been through different experiences, and have a different personality than the one who went on before.

For All of Us knows about this conflict because exploring Cora’s complex feelings towards Kai and Emerson. It's not a binary “either or” choice. They are both great guys. While yes she recognizes that there are unspoken cracks in her marriage, that doesn't make Emerson an irredeemable monster, just a flawed human being. One that acknowledges those flaws and is willing to work on them. 

What helps this particular version is the care that Rose shows all parties in this situation: Cora, Kai, Emerson, and even Natasha who is also affected by these events (and of course Juliette and Asher). They are well written with no direct protagonist/antagonist conflict. They also strive to be their most honest authentic selves in their relationships and finally reach that point with each other. They are paired not just by passion, love, or previous memories but by that honesty and authenticity.

Weekly Reader: We've Got To Stop Meeting Like This: A Memoir of Missed Connections by Donna Y. Farris; Heart Breaking and Inspirational Memoir About Second Acts in Life, Career, and Love

 

Weekly Reader: We've Got To Stop Meeting Like This: A Memoir of Missed Connections by Donna Y. Farris; Heart Breaking and Inspirational Memoir About Second Acts in Life, Career, and Love

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: F. Scott Fitzgerald was certainly wrong. There are second acts in American lives. 

Donna Y. Farris' book, We've Got To Stop Meeting Like This: A Memoir of Missed Connections is all about those second acts when a person rediscovers themselves after much disappointment in work and love. They find happiness in a new life filled with a fulfilling career, and devoted love.

Farris' book begins after her elder daughter, Sienna left for college. This transition caused Farris to feel loss and depression. She was left with Sylvie, a daughter that she loved but couldn't always communicate with. She also felt that her relationship with her husband, Jim, was growing stale and the two barely tolerated each other. While she had a talent for sales, the only positive thing that she found about her job with a finance company was that the commute was shorter than the previous one.

 To cheer herself up, Farris accompanied a friend to a Kripalu Yoga Retreat. The poses, meditative techniques, and the spiritual connection gave Farris  a new perspective. She became inspired to become a yoga instructor.

After her announcement, Jim's worst behaviors came to light. His partying with friends and condescending nature towards Farris' yoga studies were bad enough. The final straw occurred when Farris discovered that he sent flowers to and had an affair with another woman. Time to file for divorce.

After going through the loss and stress of ending her marriage, Farris took her yoga teacher training course seriously. She also began writing articles for The Elephant Journal. 

After some reluctance, she tried online dating. After a few early attempts, she clicked with Mario, a single father. They went through the usual dating conflicts and the childrens' struggles before a real romance and partnership developed.

Now in most books, usually novels, this would be the end of the book. Farris has a career that she genuinely loves and finds herself in a good relationship with a loving, understanding, and supportive man. The final page says, "The End." Credits roll and light comes up. Unfortunately, in real life endings are not so tidy. They only end with the author deciding that it is over. 

In fact, Farris' career change and close relationship with Marco occurs in the middle of the book. So there is a lot of pain, stress, and anguish left to go for Farris to reveal.

Even Farris' career change is written realistically. During her first visit, Farris isn't even sure that she likes Yoga. Her minivan with its "MINIDVA" license plate clashes with Priuses and Subarus and their "Kindness Counts" and "Coexist" bumper stickers. She remembers the old Sesame Street sketch, "One of These Things is Not Like the Others." 

She also felt uncomfortable doing poses. She muttered sarcastic comments under her breath and dreamt of walking out. But then she got past the initial discomfort, and began to use many of the practices such as writing about her issues in her daily life. She remembered how much she loved writing. An instructor also told her that "how we are on the mat is how we are in life…If we want to make change in our lives, the mat is the place to practice. It is where transformation begins."

Yoga however is not a quick fix or a bandaid for Farris' life. Her blog title 12 Months to Zen(nish) says it all. Farris still had to deal with depression, anger at her ex, bad dates, and the stress of single motherhood. An hour on a mat isn't going to change that. However, yoga gave Farris the capability to move forward in her professional and personal life. 

Farris also has to deal with stresses with her family and romantic relationships. She learned some surprises about her parents that caused her to rethink how she viewed them, particularly her distant mother. It also caused her to rethink how she raised her daughters. The realization that her parents and by extension herself are human and are more than they thought allowed her to become closer to Sienna and Sylvie.

Farris's relationship with her daughters and Yoga practice helped strengthen her in one of her biggest challenges. This also proves that life, unlike literature, can throw things at us even when we think that the plot ends on a high note. No sooner did Farris, Marco, and their blended family come together, wedding bells were on the horizon, then they were hit with a health scare that shook them into another troubling crisis. This health scare also changes the tone of the book. It started out as a seriocomic memoir about a divorced woman starting over but becomes a tearjerker about facing hardship and illness just when you least expect it.

Sometimes with memoirs and autobiographies, the book can't always end with a happy finale. Sometimes the end of a life is the end of the book. Sometimes, the only lesson that we can learn is to find the courage and strength to move on.

Weekly Reader: A Twist of Karma by Wendy Wanner; A Sad, Terrifying, and Tender Novel About Grief, Enlightenment, and Karma Good and Bad

 Weekly Reader: A Twist of Karma by Wendy Wanner; A Sad, Terrifying, and Tender Novel About Grief, Enlightenment, and Karma Good and Bad

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Karma. Fate. What goes around comes around. It is a basic tenet found within every belief system. What you give comes back around to you for good or bad. You kill someone, you will get arrested (and possibly face the death penalty  or at least see life in prison depending on where you live.) You steal or embezzle money, expect to be caught and have to pay it back. Even if you were a bystander to such events and indirectly caused or were responsible for a wrong, you may experience feelings of guilt and blame for what you did or didn't do. 

That is the situation faced by Jennifer, a grief stricken artist and mother and the protagonist of A Twist of Karma by Wendy Wanner, a sad, terrifying, and ultimately tender novel about grief, karma, and achieving real Enlightenment.

Jennifer is grieving over the accidental drowning of her daughter, Suzie who died in a swimming pool while Jennifer turned away for a few minutes. Jennifer has been depressed and blaming herself for the loss, so she decides to take a trip to a yoga retreat in Sri Lanka to gain some perspective and heal from the loss.

While in Sri Lanka, she embraces Yoga and Buddhism, and makes some friends with the retreat goers and villagers, particularly with Dharshani, a local girl about her late daughter's age. Even though she faces a devastating loss at the retreat, she begins to feel comforted and at peace with herself.

When Jennifer returns to California, she brings with her a commitment to Yoga and Buddhism, and a return to her art. Those aren't the only things that Jennifer brings to California with her. Several women are mysteriously murdered and Jennifer has been receiving visions in her dreams and artwork of the murders. Not only that but she has been receiving anonymous phantom messages on her Facebook account that only she can see and access. 

What is it going on and what is Jennifer's link to this murder? Is it another grief stricken parent who envies what others have? Is it a stalker from Sri Lanka? Is there a supernatural entity trailing after them? What has Jennifer done to encourage its wrath and how can she undo it?

This is a complicated book. The best parts are when Jennifer is in Sri Lanka and reconnecting with her inner spirit. She clearly makes a transformation from a wounded grief stricken soul to a woman achieving inner peace. Wanner goes into great details about the various Yogic positions as well as the physical, mental, and emotional benefits. Jennifer also explores a deep connection with Buddhism and the Eightfold Path. She achieves a spiritual welcome to the religion.

The book also makes it clear that following a new spiritual path is not a quick and easy answer to your problems. At the retreat and even afterwards, Jennifer is still filled with grief for Suzie's death. She just learns to compartmentalize her grief and embrace life.

Many of these moments are best revealed in Jennifer's return to art and her relationship with others, particularly Dharshani. When she returns to California, many of her paintings reflect the bright colors, nature, and villagers in Sri Lanka in gratitude for what she learned and experienced.

Among the best passages in the book develop Jennifer's relationship with Dharshani. It helps that Dharshani is beyond sweet and adorable, but it becomes clear that the two develop a mother-daughter bond. Jennifer's daughter is dead and Dharshani's mother is sick, so the two fill a need for each other. These moments remind Jennifer that it's okay to reconnect with other people, especially children. That hurt may still be there, but could be cast aside to live again.

I am of two minds about the thriller subplot that awaits Jennifer upon her return to California. On the one hand, it has some suspenseful moments such as when Jennifer paints one of the crime scenes without any previous knowledge of it and her nightmares of Suzie surrounded by a dark presence. It plays into the whole idea of Karma and guilt and how it can play onto others not just the one who is personally affected (though usually metaphorically not physically).

On the other hand, the plot turns a woman's personal struggle with grief and karma into a hoary mystery thriller which takes away from Jennifer's internal conflicts. There are some distracting Whodunnit moments that would work well in other books, but not necessarily in this one. Also, the resolution somewhat plays into the theme of Karma, but the reason behind it is a bit cliche and involves a sudden return to Sri Lanka to resolve it.

A Twist of Karma is a brilliant book that is enlightening in its theme. Wendy Wanner deserves good karma for writing it.

New Book Alert: Warrior Won by Meryl Davids Landau; An Enlightening Novel About Overcoming Stress With Yoga

New Book Alert: Warrior Won by Meryl Davids Landau; An Enlightening Novel About Overcoming Stress With Yoga




By Julie Sara Porter

PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book with a pun in the title (Warrior I)



Spoilers: In Meryl Davids Landau's previous novel, Downward Dog Upward Fog, Lorna Crawford discovered the key to dealing with the stress of an unfulfilled job and an emotionally abusive mother through Yoga. In the follow up, Warrior Won, Lorna uses Yoga to deal with a mostly positive but no less hectic life.


Lorna's life is miles above where she was before. She has a good job promoting an app which specializes in health screening for early signs of melanoma. She is happily married to Don, who is just as dedicated to Yoga as she is. She is the mother of Lilah, an energetic toddler, and is expecting another whom she and Don have nicknamed Deuxie. She has a close circle of female friends who encourage her Spiritual practice while implementing their own. As for her mother, well, she's working on that.


Lorna receives help from her Yoga sessions which help her feel more centered as she deals with an albeit satisfying but still complicated life. Negative stress returns to Lorna's life when she faints one day. Concerned what that could mean for Deuxie or herself, Lorna goes in for tests. She learns some distressing news that causes her to despair for the future of her unborn child and challenges her need to be centered in her life.

Warrior Won is essentially a manual on how to practice Yoga and implement meditation which admittedly has an interesting protagonist to guide the Reader through the process.

A very helpful facet to Lorna's character is that she demonstrates that centering is an ongoing process. Sure, she has coping mechanisms with her practises, friends, and family. But sometimes those mechanisms can only work so well when it comes to unexpected bad news or ongoing problems that leave long lasting scars.


Lorna's still-fractured relationship with her mother remains a bone of contention in her life. When she and her mother encounter each other, Lorna has to bite her lip to keep from answering back. However, she still feels like the little girl who had to endure the constant criticism and favoritism shown towards her sister.

In one passage, Lorna tries a meditative exercise in which she described her mother using positive affirmations in alphabetical order. She stops at F realizing that she can't think of anything else. Her mother's emotional abuse is still a hard thing for Lorna to recover.


Lorna also relies on Yoga and meditation in dealing with the unexpected particularly Deuxie's condition. It is truly heart tugging when Lorna and Don let the full impact of Deuxie's illness and impending short life sink in. They struggle with their practice, but realize that they can enjoy the time that they will have with their future son.

The book is filled with advice on how one can start their own Yoga practises. Landau (and Lorna) describe step by step the various poses such as Eagle (standing on one foot, arms crossed) and the Warrior (standing up, legs spread out, and arms extended). Not only the poses are described clearly but so are the benefits one gets from doing them such as a clear head, a calm demeanor, and a strength to handle the situations in life.


Other facets appear in Warrior Won. Lorna, Don, and Lilah have family Yoga sessions and meditations in which they set intentions and goals. Lorna's friends give her a Blessingway, a shower that focuses on the mother as well as the baby. Lorna and Don go to a retreat that combines Eastern and Western spiritual practises so well that Lorna reconciles with the Catholic faith that her mother once forced upon her. Books written by the likes of Eckhart Tolle, Esther and Jerry Hicks, Corrie ten Book, Teresa of Avila and others are recommended. These suggestions not only provide spiritual enlightenment for the characters but for the Readers as well.


Warrior Won is the perfect novel to help anyone begin their practice or who are well into their own and need a little encouragement to continue.