jbronderbookreviews

One Pedal at a Time: A Novice Caregiver and Her Cyclist Husband Face Their New Normal with Courage, Tenacity and Abundant Love by CJ Golden

Watching her husband, Joe, regress from crossing the country on a bike to cheering him on as he navigated his wheelchair around the kitchen, CJ Golden had much to learn about caregiving. And she did – through her characteristic determination, quest for knowledge, boundless love and relentless optimism. Within these pages the reader finds a balanced mix of somber reflections and light moments that highlight a very real passage in the lives of a husband and wife who love each other unequivocally. Golden shares the lessons she learned, the emotional and physical strain upon her heavily burdened shoulders, and the realization that, through it all, their connection and love have grown stronger. Joe’s motto for getting through life’s most trying times has always been, “one pedal at a time” – referring to his days traversing the country, for months at a time on the two wheels of his road bike. Thus, the title of this book and, hopefully, a philosophy that will help carry others through their own caregiving struggles. One Pedal at a Time speaks to caregivers who need a place to turn to for information, inspiration, and hope, and who enjoy a good love story.

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Author’s Bio

Author and inspirational speaker, CJ Golden, has a passion for helping others find joy in their life journeys. Her first book, Tao of the Defiant Woman, was born out of a personal need to find her own inner strength. She then brought her Tao and defiant attitude to teen and pre-teen girls through Tao-Girls Rule! Recently she became caregiver to her husband, Joe, after he suffered cancer-related strokes. Blogging about that, the greatest challenge of her life, she turned her work into her newest book: One Pedal at a Time.

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My Review

5 stars

CJ and Joe Golden are the world’s sweetest couple that truly loves each other. Joe was a cross country cyclist until a diagnosis with a rare form of leukemia and had a couple strokes. CJ was thrust into the role of caregiver. CJ has some hard lessons to learn on how to be a caregiver, namely that you have to take time for yourself too.

This is a beautiful story of two people that love each other deeply and how CJ learned to care for both Joe and herself. It’s inspirational and a great story for those that find themselves in the same position. Intermixed in the story is also emails CJ wrote that brings it home how hard caring for another person, especially someone so close to you, can be.

I loved this story. It is beautiful and very inspirational. I love how the story is written like she is talking to a friend. If you are looking for information or just a wonderful story, this is a great book and one to check out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank PR by the Book for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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Murder Gone Missing (Corrie Locke – 2) by Lida Sideris

Newly minted lawyer Corrie Locke has taken a vow of abstinence. From PI work, that is. Until her best friend Michael finds his bully of a boss stabbed in the back after confronting him earlier that day. Michael panics, accidentally tampering with the crime scene…which could lead the cops to Michael instead of the real culprit. He turns to Corrie to track down the killer. She doesn’t need much coaxing. Her late great PI dad taught her the ropes…and left her his cache of illegal weaponry.

They return to the scene of the crime, but the body’s gone missing. Racing against time, Corrie dredges a prestigious Los Angeles college in pursuit of clues. All she finds are false leads. Armed with attitude and romantic feelings toward Michael, Corrie dives into a school of suspects to find the slippery fugitive. Will she clear Michael’s name before he’s arrested for murder?

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Author’s Bio

For decades, Lida believed her birthplace to be North Hollywood, California. She liked that. She really did. North Hollywood hinted of bridled glamour and cocktail dresses without the need for the cocktail; it was a town that rubbed shoulders with Hollywood without being kinky or unrestrained. Then one day, she unexpectedly came across a copy of her birth certificate. She cooed over the tiny footprints that were once her own, until her gaze dropped on the words, “North Glendale Hospital.” Three questions popped into her mind:

• Was Glendale large enough to be subdivided?
• Wasn’t the north end called Burbank?
• What happened to North Hollywood and the cocktail dresses?

Lida called her mother.

“Where was I born again?” she asked.

“A highly recommended, private birthing center – North Hollywood Hospital. Remember?”

She informed her mother that she was misinformed.

“Are you sure? Must have been the meds.”

Ever since that pivotal moment, Lida has been struggling to get in touch with her inner feelings. The sudden shift in birth locale made her question whether she was still the same person.  Who was she really?

Not willing to fork over the dough to see a therapist, Lida took up writing. She wrote about her animals and people, the city she lived in, and various escapades involving the animals, people and city. Then she wrote a few chapters of a historical novel, which won her a scholarship to attend the San Francisco Writers’ Conference. Which led her to harbor the faint, flickering hope that she could complete a mystery novel that could possibly entertain and engage a handful of readers. And she did. She really did. Who knew therapy could be such a blast?

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My Review

4 stars

Corrie Locke has sworn off mysteries and plans to focus on being a lawyer. But when her friends Michael calls her in a panic she can’t help but say yes to his request for help. Michael just learned that he was demoted. He writes a resignation letter and plans on giving it to his boss when he finds his boss stabbed in the back. Michael leaves his note and runs but figures that note will make him look like the killer. He returns with Corrie to find the note and body are gone.

Corrie can’t say no to Michael when he asks her help finding his dead boss’ body and proving that he was not the killer. What ensues is false leads, missing animals, a lot of places to hide a body in a campus, and sarcasm that will keep you entertained.

This was a good mystery and had some romance in it too. Even though it was the second book of the series I had no problem following along without reading the first book. I think this is a good mystery and I would be delighted to see what happened in Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters and the next book in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank the author for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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