WANA International

Fantastic Journey into Deliverance Ministry!

Revisado: 11-19-24

The Devil, all too often, garners far more attention than he warrants, and this book made sure that God---Jesus Christ---kept the center spotlight (as it should be). While the tales of the afflicted are captivating, how God's glory manifests even in and even brighter BECAUSE OF the darkness really adds additional gravitas.

We live in an age of apostacy, which is arguably worse than paganism (since many in the modern world know the message of Jesus, yet reject Him). This, in many ways, is a far more ripe environment for the Enemy and his underlings to thrive. What better place to wreak havoc than in a world that laughs at your existence? A world who wants to believe in angels but no demons? Good but no evil...despite all we witness daily with our own eyes?

This book demonstrates that science, medicine, psychology and faith can all work together. The great LIE is that these were ever at odds, and Father Martins does a SUPERB job explicating how all these moving parts can work together to heal the mind, body and soul of those afflicted...of those that the "modern world" has left behind.

Not everything we face can be fixed with drugs and psychotherapy. Some problems are inherently spiritual. To deny the spirit man is to leave an hollowed shell...ready to be inhabited.

We also live in a world that has many open doors we might not even be aware of. So much of the demonic has infiltrated pop culture that many activities we take for granted are, in actuality, an open invitation to the diabolical.

This is a fascinating read, and not merely for the exciting anecdotes. It is a brilliant work of Christian apologetics and a fabulous tool for the spiritual toolbox.

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Great Brain Candy!

Revisado: 04-23-24

Love the honesty and am actually very impressed with the AI narration. Fabulous twists and turns.

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Brilliant Deconstruction of Leftist Fallacies

Revisado: 12-27-23

Sowell is all but unrivaled in his thoughtful explication of the truth behind “social justice movements.” He weaves history, economics, sociology and actual empirical data to underscore his points. “Social Justice” is a cancer that does more harm than good to those it purportedly has “helped.”

Sowell lays bare these claims and expertly dismantles their fallacious claims and shows using actual data and EVIDENCE how so many well meaning movements care more about their own egos and ideas than they care about the groups they supposedly desire to help.

As a woman I have experienced firsthand many of the consequences social justice warriors don’t want to admit are real, how their “help” was in actuality very harmful.

Per usual Sowell knocks it out of the park.

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Absolutely NERVE-SHREDDING! BRILLIANT!

Revisado: 10-31-23

I almost never leave written reviews for fiction (I am an editor by trade, so seems a smidge unfair to authors), but this novel absolutely BLEW ME AWAY.

Horror is the toughest genres to write, especially in a modern society where we believe our position at the top of the food chain is static. Where we believe we have tamed all there is to tame and can control most all we want to control.

This story strips ALL that away, and leaves the pink, tender, primal human who very much understands we are not at the top of anything, food chain included. There are depths of this world we have not even BEGUN to plumb.

Not only is this book terrifying and just nerve-shredding, but I found myself laughing and crying just from the sweet release when the story (rarely) gave me a break! It tossed me--out of mercy--a bit of HOPE.

It is a supernatural story but also one profoundly human.

The narrators also did a fantastic job. I found myself, for the first time in maybe years, deeply sad to say goodbye to characters. Even sad to say "goodbye" to this world that scared the bejeesus out of me (and I literally relax to frigging serial killer documentaries). The characters were flawed, broken, maddening, but also intensely relatable, forgivable and it is hard not to fall in love with them despite.

Well done!

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A MUST READ!

Revisado: 09-19-23

I’m so happy Alisa Childers tackles this touchy subject. As a fellow Christian, I’ve been deeply disturbed how much self-help woo-woo prosperity teachings have leaked into our churches.

When trying to develop my faith with outside reading/study,
I just kept being disappointed to disgusted with “pop Christian” books. I found myself going back to the older foundational thinkers from St. Thomas to Spurgeon to C.S. Lewis.

It was refreshing to read I’ve not alone in my thinking as well as to receive such an incredible dissection as to WHY I felt what I did.

Getting this in paper for deeper study and gifting copies for sure.

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Want to Take Back Your Life? THIS BOOK!

Revisado: 02-01-23

It's unusual to stumble across a true outlier in any genre, but in self-help? This is a veritable unicorn.

If you're like me and have read a ton of self-help, psychology, pop-psychology books, only to feel like you keep buying literary leftovers? This book is something fresh that I just devoured in one sitting (then six more times).

It might not be the ONLY book you'll ever need for dealing with toxic people (from family to work to love to church to on-line) but it certainly makes for fabulous foundational material.

There were a number of qualities that stood out to me that made me love this work in particular.

1) Ms. Thomas is (lovingly/professionally) blunt. Don't know about you, but I am aging and don't have time for someone to dance around the elephant in the room. If you want an expert who gets to the point so you can deal with the heart of your problems in THIS lifetime? This is the book you need.

2) I was thrilled that Ms. Thomas acknowledged that not only can men can be victims of abuse, but they're almost always left to handle it alone. Our culture still holds to the notion that only men are abusers which is patently false. Thus, a therapist who recognizes a virtually invisible segment of the abused population is impressive and a great start.

***I am female but my close male relatives were badly abused emotionally and physically (by females). Not only did they have nowhere to go, but authorities wouldn't believe them and always sided with their abusers.

3) She didn't use actual patient stories (with names and details "altered"). Apparently I wasn't the only one who felt this practice was creepy. Ms. Thomas creates fictionalized scenarios based off the "gist" of collective experiences to elucidate her points and I, personally, feel far more comfortable with that.

4) Thomas holds toxic people accountable. I've been through some pretty terrible ordeals only for well-meaning people (and THERAPISTS) to say crap like, "Hurting people hurt people," "They (abusers) have a low self-esteem," "They (abusers) did the best they knew how," "They feel unloved," "They didn't mean it."

NO.

I am with Thomas on this one. STOP GIVING TOXIC PEOPLE EXCUSES. Not only are excuses standing in the way of them having to actually change, but most of the time, these excuses are simply UNTRUE.

5) Her book is organized in such a way that anyone can see where they reside along a continuum of progress. Obviously, if you read the book and don't know ANY of this information, then you'll be at Step One. But, if you're an old hat at reading books on how to deal with horrible people in ways that don't land you in JAIL...then you can see you might be at Step 3 or 4. You get an idea how to progress or how to back up, revise, change your approach.

A final note is the narrator is simply fantastic. I've read (listened to) over 420 books since 2019. So, of all people, I know a narrator can make or break a book. Wendy King is just terrific. She captured a lot of the author's emotion and personality in ways that make you share the righteous anger or even cheer alongside the author. You feel more like you're sitting with a friend who genuinely cares about you instead of someone droning out non-fiction.

Long way of saying, GET THIS BOOK!

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Narrator Sounds Like a Robot

Revisado: 12-20-22

Good enough story but narrator so monotone o had to check an actual human read the book. Really wrecks the story because I had to keep going back because I was lost.

There’s no emotion and no delineation between characters.

If you get the book, print probably better.

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WHO is the Audience? Billionaires Buying TP?

Revisado: 11-15-22

Most of the book is cobbling together a lot of the information one can glean from reading 90s self-help books. The first couple of chapters were interesting, but overall there was total tone-deafness and disconnect with the modern reality workers, creators and entrepreneurs are facing.

Many of his anecdotal stories highlight people who are already successful, worth millions, or famous...who have hit a wall. Which, ok, but that is what? 1% And I would love to be in the 1% which was why I bought the book...but no advice HOW to do that. Not really.

Much of the book is fluff with little substance and the end, I feel, was padding and filler so the book wouldn't be too short to charge what he does. He goes on for like 40 minutes about some New Age weirdness that has nothing to do with the overall thesis (and is creepily too close to "The Secret" for me).

Then, he rambles on about being a child entrepreneur and his chicken business, lemonade stand and watermelon business. How he made $3.25 in NICKELS.

Okay.

So how does that help people who's businesses or careers have been dismantled by a pandemic? I get we need to be vigilant about limiting beliefs and mindful of our thought life, but then how to we handle REAL, TANGIBLE threats? Not First World Rich People problems.

A famous Hollywood couple having marriage difficulties? Not very relatable.

Overall a lot of name-dropping and outdated advice that could have been repackaged for a modern era and actual people...but wasn't. I REALLY wanted to love this book but...nope.

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Still Magical Decades Later

Revisado: 08-03-22

I fell in love with the Dragonlance series when I was in 6th grade. I've spent years scouring used book stores to find the books to relive them and was delighted to see they were on audio.

I was concerned at first that I wouldn't love them the way aI did when I was a kid, but I love them just as much though maybe in a different way. Still amazing storytelling.

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Now THIS is Horror!

Revisado: 07-07-22

Excellent story. New and creative as opposed to shoddy retreads of old tropes. VERY layered. I am on the third time listening and, like all excellent horror, it makes a statement about our humanity and culture. More than just a monster book, though brilliantly does that as well.

KUDOS to Smitherd for his narration. I was hesitant to try a book narrated by the author but WELL DONE, SIR! Loved this book and I am absurdly picky. I eat through 2-3 books a week and almost never leave a written review unless a book uniquely stands apart from the rest.

One of the best credits I've spent.

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