And now for something completely different…

Today I bring you a first – for me, that is.

An enthralling memoir, and the author’s latest release.

To give you a little background, I’m first going to share with you my review of D. G. Kaye’s first book, CONFLICTED HEARTS

Blurb

A Lifetime of guilt — What does it take to finally break free?

Somehow I believed it was my obligation to try to do the right thing by her because she had given birth to me.

Burdened with constant worry for her father and the guilt caused by her mother’s narcissism, D.G. Kaye had a short childhood. When she moved away from home at age eighteen, she began to grow into herself, overcoming her lack of guidance and her insecurities. Her life experiences became her teachers, and she learned from the mistakes and choices she made along the way, plagued by the guilt she carried for her mother.

Conflicted Hearts is a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and acceptance, an exploration of the quest for solace from emotional guilt.

My review

This was my first time, reading a memoir. I am mostly a fiction reader, and occasionally I dip into the biography of a famous name that interests me, but memoir? Not something I’d considered trying.

I decided to read this particular memoir after meeting the author online, chatting on our respective blogs and by email. The other draw was that it promised some insight into a narcissistic personality (the author’s mother), and I’ve always been fascinated by the psychology of personality disorders – a pretty useful trait for me as an author, as it gives me lots of scope for developing my characters.

So with this in mind, I opened up Conflicted Hearts and was instantly drawn into the tale. All too often, we quote Mark Twain’s idiom, ‘truth is stranger than fiction’, and here that indeed holds true. I was enthralled by the story of this woman who was only truly interested in herself, and in being admired by others, and the toll this took on her husband and children. The total inability to recognise that anything about her way of life was wrong, or to acknowledge the lifelong negative influence it would have on her offspring, was staggering, all the more so considering that this was not fiction.

This memoir is, of course, told from the perspective of one of those children, and chronicles the author’s journey from her difficult childhood through the relative emancipation of leaving home and exploring her own life, to the later responsibilities of the mature adult.

Kaye’s writing style is fluid and exceedingly readable, expressing the story in a series of vignettes of her life, sometimes emotionally raw and at other times charming and funny. I’d like to thank her for her honesty, and for sharing what has clearly been a difficult journey with such an outlook of hope and positivity, albeit at times somewhat strained.

Memoirs? If they are as absorbing and enlightening as this one, I may read a few more.

5 stars from me 😀

Next up from D.G. came:  MENO-WHAT? A Memoir: Memorable Moments Of Menopause, which is high on my reading list and I’m itching to read it.

Blurb

“I often found myself drifting from a state of normal in a sudden twist of bitchiness.”

From PMS to menopause to what the hell?

D.G. adds a touch of humor to a tale about a not-so-humorous time. While bidding farewell to her dearly departing estrogen, D.G. struggles to tame her raging hormones of fire, relentless dryness, flooding and droughts and other unflattering symptoms.

Join D.G. on her meno-journey to slay the dragons of menopause as she tries to hold on to her sanity, memory, hair, and so much more!

And so to the latest

Just released is:

WORDS WE CARRY – Essays of Obsession and Self-Esteem

Blurb

“I have been a great critic of myself for most of my life, and I was darned good at it, deflating my own ego without the help of anyone else.”

What do our shopping habits, high-heeled shoes, and big hair have to do with how we perceive ourselves? Do the slights we endured when we were young affect how we choose our relationships now?

D.G. takes us on a journey, unlocking the hurts of the past by identifying situations that hindered her own self-esteem. Her anecdotes and confessions demonstrate how the hurtful events in our lives linger and set the tone for how we value our own self-worth.

Words We Carry is a raw, personal accounting of how the author overcame the demons of low self-esteem with the determination to learn to love herself.

Words We Carry is available in ebook and print on Amazon

This week only, Words We Carry is on Kindle Countdown offer – grab your copy while you can!

About the author

D.G. Kaye is a Canadian nonfiction/memoir author. She was born, raised, and resides in Toronto, Canada. Kaye writes about her life experiences, matters of the heart and women’s issues.

At a young age, D.G. began keeping journals to take notes about her turbulent childhood while growing up as an emotionally neglected child.

D.G.’s writing relates to her experiences in life, and she shares her lessons and ideas she acquired along the way.

D.G.’s newest book, Words We Carry focuses around women’s self-esteem issues. She talks about how and why the issues evolve, how she recognized her own issues, and how she overcame her insecurities.

Kaye writes for the woman of all ages. Her writing is easily relatable and her insights about the complexities of being a woman are expressed in her writing.

Quotes: “Live Laugh Love . . . And Don’t Forget to Breathe!”

“For every kindness, there should be kindness in return. Wouldn’t that

just make the world right?”

You can find D. G. on social media at:

www.dgkayewriter.com

www.amazon.com/author/dgkaye7

www.twitter.com/pokercubster

www.facebook.com/dgkaye

www.goodreads.com/dgaye

www.linkedin.com/in/dgkaye7

www.google.com/+DebbyDGKayeGies

Have any of you read any books outside of your normal reading pattern lately?