Dr. Bob Rich Reviews Loving Healing Press Book on Shared Humanity

Title: Demystifying Diversity

Subtitle: Embracing our Shared Humanity
Author: Daralyse Lyons

Genre: Nonfiction: Self-Help, Inspiration
• Publisher : Loving Healing Press

• Language: : English
• Paperback : 178 pages
• ISBN-10 : 1615995331
• ISBN-13 : 978-1615995332

Purchase B&N or Amazon
Kindle $6.29
Paperback $14.34

Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich 

This review is for two books, not one, because they form one unitary whole. Daralyse has written a powerful book that may change your life, and an accompanying workbook that forces you to convert intellectual understanding into a changed perception of yourself and your world.

If you want one sentence to summarize the book(s), it is “Dehumanizing anyone dehumanizes everyone.” (p 92) My attitude is that we are all family, going right back to the Rift Valley. Demystifying Diversity implicitly applies this concept. Successive chapters examine different sources of discrimination including race, religion, sexual orientation, body size/shape, and disabilities. Each is in effect a case study for applying the message of all the great religions and philosophies: the power of unconditional love. As Daralyse reports her connection to a wide variety of inspiring people, bringing each to life within these pages, she demonstrates that human nature is basically cooperative, compassionate and decent. She invites the reader to identify with this view, and to proactively apply it to everyone.

We learn from doing, not from reading, and so setting exercises is a good teaching device. I enjoyed the exercises in the workbook, and although I was reading because the publisher requested a review, I found myself spending time and mental effort in thinking about the tasks she’d set. Some of the exercises will take you months, such as learning a new language, or a whole lifetime, like becoming friends with people from a culture now foreign to you.

This is a passionate book, a program with the intention of reforming an insane, hating, greedy culture into a sane, loving, generous one. Daralyse is always on the side of the victim — but rightly considers the perpetrator, the abuser, to be also a victim of the abusive behavior: “Trauma is cyclical. Standing for human rights requires us to develop our capacity for empathy and to search out the causes that create conditions of violence and victimization. If we don’t intervene in restorative and reparative ways, hurt people are likely to hurt other people.” (p xii)

Another way I have connected with Daralyse is her distinction between a person and an action. She writes, “Confronting the human capacity for evil doesn’t mean losing sight of the beauty and resilience within each of us. In fact, acknowledging both is the only foundation from which to begin the process of repairing the world.” (p2)

I can’t do better than to finish this review with another quote: “So many of the people I came to know and love since embarking on the Demystifying Diversity initiative are people I would never have crossed paths with otherwise. By connecting over our shared humanity, I have forged lasting friendships and learned a lot about the importance of empathy. Some of the people who have enriched my life the most are people with whom I don’t share much on the surface. Yet, we have connected deeply. They’ve taught me so much and I consider our relationships to be sacred. I could never have figured out the lessons they’ve taught me without them entrusting me with their stories.” (p 140) This is why Daralyse invites you to reap the same benefits through this book.


More About the Author

Daralyse Lyons, aka the Transformational Storyteller, is a journalist, an actor, and an activist. She has written more than two dozen full-length books, a handful of short stories, and countless articles, performed in various plays and in improv comedy shows. A member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and a summa cum laude graduate of NYU, with a double-major in English and Religious Studies and a minor in History, she is passionate about exposing the painful side of history, the side that is not written by oppressors. Through her studies, she has come to see the beautiful and overlapping philosophies of Judaism, Islam and Christianity and wonders why people so often use religion as a battering ram, instead of a source of solace and support. As a Biracial woman, she has made it her mission to stand for a more integrated world. As a sexually fluid person who has had relationships and experiences with both men and women, she has had to find her place amidst a multitude of communities that attempt to erase her orientation and has been a voice within the darkness. 

After writing an award-winning children’s book (I’m Mixed!) about embracing her multiethnic heritage, Daralyse found her passion and her purpose educating others about the need to embrace all aspects of themselves. Since then, she has written and spoken extensively on the subject of diversity. Her perspective is one that looks to acknowledge the past while refusing to become incapacitated by it. As a Biracial, multiethnic and sexually fluid woman, she is uniquely empowered to use her seemingly disparate background as a catalyst for cross-cultural understanding.

More About the Reviewer

Dr. Bob Rich knows all about prejudice and discrimination, having been a Jewish child in a culture where “You Jews murdered Jesus!” was a customary prelude to physical violence, then “I fought for this country! You foreigners are coming to take it over. Go back to where you came from!” was a sequel. So, like Daralyse, all his life, he has been on the side of the underdog. As he matured, he also developed compassion for the abuser, and now the whole of humanity is his family: he cares for you even if he hates your actions. That’s why he is a Professional Grandfather. If you want to know what that implies, visit his popular blog, Bobbing Around, at https://bobrich18.wordpress.com Learn more about him at http://bobswriting.com. Tweet with him @bobswriting. His newsletter is "Bobbing Around" at https://bobrich18.wordpress.com. His mottos are:
Commit random acts of kindness
Live simply so you may simply live

MORE ABOUT BLOGGER AND A FEW WAYS TO GET THE MOST FROM THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request s social sharing images like the one in this post by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too!

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Dr. Bob Rich Reviews Ten Journeys or "Ten Case Studies of the Best of Humanity"

Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet
Author: Rod Taylor 
Publisher: Odyssey Books (October 2020)
Publisher Website: https://www.odysseybooks.com.au/titles/9781925652789/
ASIN: B08N5WS43W
ISBN: 978-1925652789
Pages: 284
Price: Kindle $9.99, Paperback $27.95

Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich

This book could be titled “Ten case studies in the best of humanity.” It so happens that I am Australian, the author is Australian, and all ten of the interviewees are Australians, but this is incidental. The events, environment and culture that provide the setting would be different in another land, but there are jewels like these ten everywhere.

While the book features ten jewels, my review is about eleven. Rod writes in a very personal style, and never blows his own trumpet, but comes through to be like his interviewees.

Here is a sample of Rod showing himself: “In my youth, there was talk of nuclear war and the possibility that our world would be consumed by the insane strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction. To us it was a theoretical proposition, a disaster that could happen. We had the possibility of calamity, but climate change is different because it is actually happening. In my lifetime it’s gone from just being a possibility to us seeing glimpses of what a disrupted global climate system looks like. Nuclear weapons and global warming aren’t going away. Humanity is doing a poor job on both fronts.”

These eleven are people who care, who have made a difference through intelligence, perseverance and creativity. Some are well known, others I’ve never heard off, but all have a passion for truth, science, decency, being of service. Because of these attitudes, they are all alarmed by our environmental crisis, and in different ways are doing their best to work for a survivable future.

I can’t do better than to quote Rod on what the book is about: “If there’s one defining attribute shared by the people in this book, it’s motivation — these are people who understand why we need to act. Each has seized upon the idea that there is something important; that there’s something they can do for the environment and for the community. The people in Fragile Planet are fiercely driven to avert the worst of climate change.”

I really enjoyed Rod’s style of bringing a person to life, faults and all. While staying the journalist interviewing someone, he has the skill of showing his subject’s inside reality, “what makes her tick.” For example, I got to really like maggot farmer Olympia, and strongly approve of what she is doing: in effect converting agriculture from a single-line process of fertiliser-to-waste to a circular economy of waste providing feed in a forever-loop.

Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet would be admirable compulsory reading for high school kids, to inspire them, and to educate them in what matters.

More About the Author

Rod Taylor is a Canberra-based science writer and broadcaster, whose latest book is Ten Journeys in a Fragile Planet (Odyssey 2020).  He has written a science column for The Canberra Times newspaper for the past 10 years. His background is in IT and business systems. He is currently co-editing a major book on the Green New Deal (Springer). He rides both a unicycle and an off-road motorcycle, and has fallen off both.

More About the Reviewer

Dr Bob Rich is a grumpy old man who can’t convince people of his grumpiness. They keep laughing at him. This is just as well, because there is not that much to laugh at in today’s insane world. So, he works for a sane future where people cooperate, care for each other, and prefer credit for karma to credit in the bank. He does much of this at his blog, Bobbing Around https://bobrich18.wordpress.com. Tweet with him at @bobswriting.

Commit random acts of kindness

Live simply so you may simply live

MORE ABOUT BLOGGER AND WAYS TO GET THE MOST FROM THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too!

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Author Dr. Bob Rich Offers His Book-Review Secrets

My way of getting (fair) reviews

 

Guest post by Dr. Bob Rich

 

 That wonderful lady, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, has set me a task: to tell the world about my method for getting [quite a lot of]  reviews for my books. And who am I to disobey her? So, here are a few thoughts on the subject.

 

Review what?

The first requirement is excellence. No one but no one sees my work until I consider it perfect. Then I send it to beta readers who prove that it isn’t. I am a professional editor, so there are few typos to pick up in my writing, but my raptor-eyed friends do notice even the extra blank space, the missing [quotation marks] and the over-repetition of some word (we all have those).

 

If you don’t yet have the skills to edit your writing to near-perfection, having it edited by someone knowledgeable is not a luxury but a requirement. As a beginning writer, I hired three different editors for three different books, and each time my writing skills advanced enormously.

 

Writing is both an art and a craft. When my words make you laugh, cry, seethe or ponder, it is because I designed them so, not in some heavy-handed way, but intuitively, the way a master chef produces a great meal. And all prose is poetry: if you read one of my stories aloud, there will be no awkward sentences to leave you breathless, no “Huh, what was that again?”

 

Finally, content also needs to be the best it can, though I could write a book about what that means. No, go away, not now!

 

OK, how?

Being a great magician, I wave a wand, and hex people to read my books and then post 5-star reviews.

 

When that doesn’t work (it hasn’t yet, but I keep trying), I rely on several approaches. All are applications of my philosophy. This is, the more you give, the more you grow, and also, the more you give, the more you get. When I answer the phone, I say, “Bob Rich here. How can I be of service to you?” Send out good, you get back good. Send out crap, and it hits you in the face.

 

So, I don’t chase people to buy my book. Certainly, where appropriate, like on my book pages, I do ask people to post reviews, and provide them with very convenient links to the exact pages where they can do so.

 

Rather, my motivation is to be of service to my friends, followers, fans, and soon-to-be fans. My task is not to get money out of them, or reviews, or referrals, but, depending on the book, to entertain, amuse, challenge, instruct or inspire them.

 

I also have a policy of many years’ standing. Anyone who emails me proof of purchase of one of my books has the right to a second title free, in electronic format. A review of the book is proof of purchase (unless of course the book was free from me. I may be old, but not that senile yet).

 

To get reviews, offer reviews

 

Occasionally, I edit or beta read a book that gets me enthusiastic, and I want to do everything possible to tell the world about it. So, I return it with an advance review. Also, fellow writers have occasionally asked me for an advance review or endorsement, and if I approve of the book, I provide one.

 

Because I’ve been posting reviews since 1999, a steady sprinkling of writers approach me out of the ether, and ask me to review their book. If the opening looks good, I agree. In addition, if I see what promises to be a good book, I track down the author and request a review copy to be emailed to me (No! Not a paper one! Paper is trees.) I may occasionally buy a book, believe it or not, but since I deliberately live below the official poverty level of my country as a form of environmental action, it is not often I can spare the money. If I have a few extra dollars, I donate it to some charity or movement I passionately believe in, like Medicins sans Frontieres, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, or the Climate Council of Australia. That’s more important than buying even the best book.

 

I am a reviewer for a few web services like Book Sirens and when I have the time, I grab a book from there.

 

My very strict rules for reviewing a book are:

 

If I consider a book to be worth 4 or 5 stars, I will provide a public review. I’ll publish it in my newsletter Bobbing Around http://wp.me/P3Xihq-1and happily post it on any website the author specifies.

 

However, I don’t trample on another writer’s baby. If I don’t consider the book to be excellent, I will privately let the author know why, pointing out what in my opinion are its good points, and where it needs improvement.

 

The return

 

Hey, but the topic is how to GET reviews, not how to give them, right?

 

Yes, but every time I read a book for review, I request a review of one of my books in return.

 

Since my books are good, almost always I get an enthusiastic acceptance. Now, a second aspect of my philosophy kicks in: “I can ask anyone anything, as long as I can accept a no, and vice versa.” I don’t know the other author’s circumstances. There could be all sorts of reasons that prevent this person from doing anything too much more than breathing, so a no-response or a refusal doesn’t make me react in kind.

 

Amazon considers review exchanges to be dishonest. Well, they can be, if you deliberately lie about the value of the other book, inflate your rating, in the hope of getting the same back. In my case, I am confident my work doesn’t need such sleazy treatment, because it is good stuff, and as I said, I prefer to be of service to the other person with suggestions for improvement instead of a review if I have concerns about quality.

 

In any case, I read much faster than most people. Typically, my review is posted and buried under many others before the return makes its appearance. I have never had my reviews refused for this reason.

 

It would be a poor thing if all reviews came from people I have had prior contact with. Whenever I check, there are those from strangers. If I can track them down, I draw their attention to the free book earned, and hopefully expand the single review into a series, and more important, into a friendship.

 

There is one more source of reviews. Since 1999, I have established a list of subscribers to my monthly newsletter, many of whom are almost family by now. More recently, my blog has been attracting followers. Each time I post something, I get Likes and Follows from complete strangers. I do my best to contact them, which is not always possible, and send a standard message. It is the same each time, but from the heart: “Thank you for choosing to follow my blog, Bobbing Around. I hope my words will be of service to you for a long time.”

 

Many of my subscribers and followers go out of their way to recommend my books to their contacts, and I am immensely grateful for this. I am glad they benefit from the “More you give, more you grow” rule.

 

How to write a review?

 

Being a conservationist, I like to recycle. Rather than give review writing instruction here, I invite you to read a post on the subject: https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1NF

Summary

I make it as easy as possible by placing links to specific web pages where a review will be of help. These are the selling pages of the book, and its Goodreads page.

 

If someone emails me a review of one of my books, I offer a second book, free.

 

Rather than seeking reviews as such, I ensure my books are the best they can be, and that I am of service to people in every way possible.

 

I review many books, and request a return review.

PS: I’m keen to find out what you think of my ideas. I'd love to hear your ideas, too.  So, here is a prize: I’ll randomly select one commenter, who will receive a free edit of 3000 words of your work--or a free electronic copy of any of my books, which are listed at https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/bobs-booklist.  

More About the Blogger and Ways to Get the Most from This Blog

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too!

 Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Dr. Bob Rich Praises New Self-Help Book: "Lyrical Language," "Transparent Honesty"

Title: Awakening to a New Reality

Subtitle: Conscious Conversations across the Horizon of death.

Genre: Spiritual, Self-help, After-Death Conversation

ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-8380152-0-6

Reviewer website:  https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/

Publisher:  Sleepy Lion Limited  

Some Purchase links:

Waterstones
Barnes and Noble

Amazon 

Direct from Publisher Sleepy Lion Limited 

Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich 

I have the benefit, and used to have the handicap, of a scientific training. I don’t believe anything, but have created a tentative and always evolving model of reality. As new evidence came in, my reality progressed from complete scepticism to seeing the Universe as alive, and made of the unconditional Love all the great religions and philosophies describe. 

Janice Dolley’s account of her conversations with her friend Ursula Burton, before and after Lady Burton’s death, fit perfectly into my current model. I cannot treat it as evidence, because it is a personal claim that is only hearsay in the scientific sense, but it is the kind of thing that fits my understanding of Reality. 

If you are open to a more complex yet simple, holistic and sacred view of reality, if you agree with me that death is not the end of a book but the end of a chapter, then Janice’s (and Ursula’s) book will speak to you. 

Add to that the beautiful, clear, lyrical language, and a transparent honesty, and you can enjoy having your eyes opened (or, as with me, your established beliefs confirmed) in a most pleasant way.
All the same, the basic claim of conversations with a dead friend made me entertain the possibility that the book is a cleverly done fantasy. Even if it were, it presents Truth, and joining Janice’s Reality will make you into a better person. However, a simple internet search provided many bits of corroborative evidence, so I am confident that Janice honestly believes her account. As I said, my scientific training prevents me from saying more, but her account is so inspiring that it honestly doesn’t matter."

About the Author

Janice Dolley is the co-author of The Quest: Exploring a Sense of Soul, Awakening to a New Awareness: Stories of Contemporary Christians and Christian Evolution. She is Development Director of the Wrekin Trust, which started as a spiritual education charity by Sir George Trevelyan in 1971 and she now travels the world, such as arranging the international conference on The Emerging Spirituality Revolution: Embodying the Spiritual imperative of our Time and has been a lecturer at the Open University for thirty years. Furthermore, she is director of the Findhorn College and Trustee of the Findhorn Foundation. Finally, she is the President of CANA, or Christians Awakening to a New Awareness, and she is striving to bring a holistic spirituality and positive message to many in the newly emerging future. As a Trustee of WYSE international, she aims to promote co-creating and encourages young leaders to rise to a greater potential. Bridging old and new faiths, her latest book aims to encourage everyone to create a better future and to reach authentically within themselves for truth and personal growth. Find her at:

https://www.facebook.com/sleepylionpublishing/

https://www.instagram.com/sleepylionpublishing/

https://twitter.com/sleepylionLtd

https://sleepylionpublishing.com/

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr. Bob Rich is a visitor to this planet. At home, he is an historian of horrror which is why Earth is his favorite place in all the universe. It is the only place where sentient beings play a game where points are scored for the number of civilians killed (they call this “war”), where child-raising practices are designed to damage the children, and above all, where the global economy of an entire species is designed to destroy their life support system. This background is why he is interested in the opinions of another traveler, who has left, but still chatting with one of her friends. You can learn all about Bob at his popular blog, Bobbing Around https://bobrich18.wordpress.com and find him on Twitter, too, @bobwriting.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning