BOOK REVIEW - NANCY KLANN-MOREN: THE CLOCK OF LIFE

The Clock Of Life by Nancy Klann-Moren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(Reviewer's note - I am a writer and freelance reviewer. I received no compensation or inducement to review this book. Thank you. vmls)

Nancy Klann-Moren’s The Clock of Life is a rich, wonderful story with a distinctive flavor and narrative, engaging characters, and written with a compassion for some of the darkest days in the history of America.

*

The Clock of Life is an excellent historical fiction, which takes place in the American South in the last quarter of the 20th century. Reminiscent of To Kill A Mockingbird in many respects, The Clock of Life is a “coming-of-age" story about a young boy growing up in a small town in Mississippi. It is a story of truth and freedom… of injustice and inequality.

Told in ‘first-person’, in a clear, compelling voice, Jason Lee, the son of deceased Vietnam War veteran JL Rainey recounts his growing up in Hadlee, Mississippi during a time of much unrest in America. The Vietnam War and the civil rights movement had a profound and lasting impact on much of the country and Jason Lee's 'world' bears much of the brunt of that… a world where racism and intolerance runs deep. Jason Lee learns a great deal about his father and the kind of man he really was through stories from others. It is from these stories that a yearning grows.

In his befriending of a black schoolmate, Jason Lee - through many trials -grows in both character and spirit, learning and appreciating the meaning and value of friendship, freedom and tolerance for others in a society that often takes freedom for granted and does not fully appreciate the sacrifices of those who went before… those who fought and died to secure and ensure freedom for all… and a society that too often turns a blind eye to tolerance and acceptance, unable or unwilling to stand up to injustice and inequality.

Jason Lee wants to be like his father.

Ghosts of the past and the realities of a society rife with injustice and inequality, Jason Lee faces many challenges – not least among them broken hearts and the loss of a very close friend - and while [growing up] he doesn't always make the right decisions, Jason Lee, like the rest of us - especially those who also grew up in that time - learns and grows from his mistakes. He learns that while the 'right thing' isn't always the easiest thing to do… it is the right thing to do.

Jason Lee is becoming the man his father would have been proud to call son.

*

The author brings a strong narrative style, a very definitive sense of place and a stunning eye for the idiosyncrasies of rural life in the American South to The Clock of Life. Page after page is rich with a flavor that rings true for anyone growing up in that same period and place. One of the greatest strengths of this story, I feel, is the dialogue, with its finely-balanced dialectal quality, which adds to the overall imagery through-out the story.

There is a realism and depth to the characters in The Clock of Life that is sadly lacking in a lot of the fiction on today's market. Historical fiction especially demands richness in character, place and plot. Nancy achieves all three with such seeming ease that one forgets that this is her very first novel.

A minor scene perhaps, but like countless other 'little' scenes throughout the novel, Jason Lee and Samson's first shared experience with moonshine really struck a chord with this reader; in that relatively short passage is a great deal of truth.

A constant thread through-out The Clock of Life is the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War… both times of bitter conflict in which many lost their moral compass, some never to regain it... and the inequality and injustice those events engendered, and the scars left behind.

The Clock of Life is a powerful and thought-provoking morality play, if I may use that phrase, which will have a lasting impact on the reader. I came away from this story with many of the same feelings I had after the first time I read To Kill A Mockingbird. Nancy has written a humbling and inspiring tale of the courage and the strength of the human spirit, a story that evokes in the reader a broad range of emotions and hopefully, a degree of compassion and understanding for our fellow citizens.

If there is one thing we can take away from this story, it is this….

It is one thing to know the difference between right and wrong; that’s something we all learned in the third grade. It is quite another thing to have the courage and conviction of one’s beliefs and to live one’s life for the betterment of mankind and to have empathy and compassion for the family of man. Freedom isn’t free and justice isn’t blind. We should not live our lives with the presumption that freedom doesn’t have a cost and that justice can be dispensed equally with eyes shut.

Nancy has earned numerous accolades – among them, her debut novel was a finalist in the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards - for The Clock of Life, which should come as no surprise, and her novel has been adopted by the Los Medanos College’s English Department, to be taught in the school’s freshman writing classes.

The Clock of Life is a "must-read" and I recommend it without hesitation. Thank you, Nancy, for a thoroughly engaging story… one that will stay with the reader for a long, long time.


Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
6 August 2013
(Writing under a large mushroom, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)

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BOOK REVIEW - RICHARD GODWIN: ONE LOST SUMMER

One Lost Summer by Richard Godwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Richard Godwin’s One Lost Summer takes a detour from the author’s trademark noir / psychological thriller / horror stylings and answers with a resounding “Yes!” the question “Can Richard write anything other than horror thrillers?”

*

A novel steeped in mystery and suspense, with a subtle yet unmistakable eroticism, One Lost Summer takes the reader deep inside the mind of a damaged man… a tortured soul… where we are witness to the ‘shrouded’ dance of the watcher and the watched.

The story begins one hot summer… the mystery, long before that.  And if there is a moral to this story, it is this…

Some things… once lost… were not meant to be found.

Unfortunately, some people find that out too late.

~~**~~

Identity… it is what makes man… it is what breaks man.  If I had to choose one word to describe the theme of Richard Godwin’s latest novel… a blend of noir mystery and psychological thriller… ‘identity’ would be that word.  Some might disagree with that, but… to paraphrase Joe Pesci in Goodfellas (I think)… “It is what it is.”

At first blush, One Lost Summer would appear to be a simple obsédé noir… a middle-aged voyeur drowning in the pool of his own desire, spending his every waking moment, as well as not-inconsiderable amounts of money, watching his neighbor and cataloging her existence on film.

But… with a master story-teller such as Richard Godwin… well, ‘simple’ just doesn’t apply.  This soon becomes apparent as the layers that make up the mystery of filmmaker Rex Allen’s new life are exposed to the often unforgiving glare of the reader.

One Lost Summer is a slow reveal.  That is not to say the story is slow, on the contrary; the pacing of One Lost Summer is ‘pitch-perfect’, to borrow a phrase from the music world.  Page after page, the suspense builds… occasionally ebbing, so as to allow the reader a respite to consider what has transpired so far.

And to ponder on the two traps of man….

Identity… and memory.  One is lost without the other.  

Memory can be a cruel mistress.   She will taunt and tease… scattering words and broken thoughts, like breadcrumbs, on the floor of one’s conscious.  If there are secrets that she is not ready to give up – and there always are - no amount of begging will help.  Memory will reveal the bits and pieces of one’s past in her own fashion… and in her own time.   And… she always wants something in return.  Always.

And this is the ‘crux’ of Rex’s problem.  Memory, or more accurately, the absence of a good portion of his, is what drives Rex… what moves him to uproot from his home outside greater London to the suburbs of Surrey, where hopefully a change of scenery and distance from the noise and static of his former life will bring some peace and where Rex can begin to rebuild what was lost.  If only he had more than a few broken shards from which to start.  

*

Rex Allen has an obsession.  He sees beauty in the ordinary and ordinary in beauty, and seemingly, has an almost singular compulsion with dominating the spirit of those who cross the path of his obsession.

It starts with a single image… flashing in the recesses of his mind like a relentless strobe… teasing something deeper, something still chained… unable to rise to the surface of Rex’s consciousness, where it can be named and placed in this new life of his… put into perspective.

And from that image, a word… “Coral…”

And from that one word, in what is… for lack of a better word… a Dr. Frankenstein-esque quest, Rex attempts to bring to life something more than just a memory.  And in doing so, he discovers – or, rediscovers – the ‘flexibility’ of his own moral code.  Ironically, he fails to see, or refuses to see, his own reflection in the morality of this new ‘world’ he has found himself in and which he soon grows contemptuous of.

When at last he can begin to enjoy – although, I’m not sure that ‘enjoy’ was ever a part of Rex’s emotional make-up… ‘possess’ might be a better word – the fruits of his labors, something changes.  The stage of Rex’s little deux jeux de caractères is suddenly crowded with the arrival of ‘truth’… stage right.

But, as I mentioned earlier… one should be careful of what they wish for.  La vérité n'est pas toujours mis un libre.

*

From page one, the narrative of Richard’s latest novel has a mesmeric hold on the reader, pulling them along… with questions rising as images flash past… and just when the reader thinks they have a firm grasp on the reality of the story, there is that Godwin “turn” that makes the reader sit up and go “Oh!”

At times, the tension is almost palpable… like the taste of silver amalgam… and brings an expectation not unlike that conjured in watching the recalcitrant fuse of a firework moving inexorably toward its explosive conclusion.

And at other times, there is an almost dreamlike quality to parts of the narrative that is like - to borrow Richard’s words – “… a key turning in a lock.  Over and over and over…”  And with each page turn… a flash of memory… not unlike that of light glinting off the polished surface of a key turning in a lock, as another bit of the mystery is revealed.

*

Seductive and suspenseful, One Lost Summer is a dark, richly woven mystery… a riveting tale of deception of self and a frightening look inside the human mind and the lengths and depths one will stir to possess another.  Richard Godwin writes, with disturbing clarity, the psychosis of a man possessed by beauty, to the exclusion of all else.

One Lost Summer is a `must-read'... it "hits all the marks" of a classic and timeless mystery and is well worth a few sleepless nights.

Thank you,



Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
(Writing under a large mushroom, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)
5 August 2013


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BOOK REVIEW - NICOLE BAART: SLEEPING IN EDEN

Sleeping in Eden: A Novel by Nicole Baart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

~*~

(Reviewer’s note – I am an independent writer.  In addition to reviewing books that I myself have purchased, I am also a freelance reviewer for Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.  My reviews are based solely on the merits of the book, and I receive no remuneration from the publisher or author, other than a copy of the book, in exchange for posting a review on my blogs, GoodReads and Amazon.  The following is my review of Nicole Baart’s SLEEPING IN EDEN; purchased on Amazon.  Thank you – vmls)

~~**~~

Sleeping in Eden is told in alternating chapters… present and past drawing nearer with each turn of the page of this story of life and of death… and all the paths between the two.

*

The discovery of a body just beneath the hard-pack floor of a disused barn - the scene of an apparent suicide Dr. Lucas Hudson has been called out on, to act as coroner on the case, is the beginning of the unraveling of a lie that has chained three families to a past not entirely of their choosing and has now brought a fourth family into a mystery almost a decade old.

*

Oh what a tangled web we weave.  When Lucas holds back what will later turn out to be a crucial piece of evidence, the ‘good doctor’ takes that first step into the web.  Why did he do it?  Leverage in a failing relationship?  A desperate attempt to plug the leak in his marriage before it sinks completely?  Will what started out for Lucas as a little lie, end up destroying him and what little chance left to his marriage?  Even as Lucas questions his own motives behind this fresh deceit, he is unable to understand his wife Jenna’s continued grieving over a loss years before; a loss Lucas seems unwilling or unable to understand or share.  The river of denial runs deep in some.

*

Fifteen year-old Meg Painter doesn’t ‘play safe’ like most girls.  She isn’t afraid of scrapes, bruises and torn nails.  She also doesn’t ‘play it safe’ when it comes to boys, as is soon evidenced in how hard she falls for the new kid on the block, Dylan Reid.

Dylan is a bit of a mystery… a troubled boy, some instinctively sense and try to warn Meg about… a mystery with a past, who at times seems oblivious to Meg’s feelings, or perhaps he does but his young heart, already battle-scarred, isn’t ready to go back in to the fray just yet.

So, where does that leave Meg?  Meg finds out that, as the author so eloquently puts it, “… death by devotion is a slow, aching bleed.”

Jess Langbroek, the third side in this teenage love triangle, loves Meg with a intensity almost as fierce as Meg’s own independence.  Jess is the ‘safe choice’… every girl’s parent’s ‘dream’.

But…

Meg is torn.  Meg doesn’t want to play safe.  Meg doesn’t want what it seems everyone else wants for her.  Meg desperately wants to “step out of her perfect, pre-planned life” and make her own choices… live her own life.


The ‘echoes’ of Meg’s choices will one day haunt a man already haunted by ghosts of the past.

*

And that’s probably a good place to stop.  I don’t want to give too much away.

~*~

I love the structure of this story… it really could not have been written any other way.  Nicole has crafted an absorbing and spell-binding tale that fans of mystery and of contemporary fiction alike will ‘devour’, and then ask for more.

Suspenseful, fast-paced, impossible to put down… Nicole Baart’s latest novel, Sleeping in Eden, is all this and more.  Having already proven her gift of finely-crafted prose in previous novels, Sleeping in Eden more than satisfies readers’ expectations from this extremely talented author.  Nicole’s skill in setting a scene and creating mood with ‘pitch-perfect’ pacing and compelling narrative style will have readers talking about Sleeping in Eden for a very long time to come.

Nicole writes with passion and compassion, drawing on her own experiences and understanding of the unique nature of the family of man.  One of the most satisfying things about her novels is the characters she draws… real, vulnerable, redemptive… complicated and unpredictable at times... there is a dimensionality to the people in Nicole’s writing that has become a trademark and one of the reasons she consistently brings out best-seller caliber novels.  They are drawn in such a way that the reader can’t help but connect at some level.  There is a relatability… I think that’s the word I want to use… that pulls the reader into the story.

And un-stereotypical characters… let’s not forget that.  In Lucas Hudson, Nicole has written a truly rich character… a chimera of the two male stereotypes most often identified with.  Normally a safe, ethical and reliable man, a faithful and responsible man… the deepening mystery in the barn brings out in Lucas, the ‘bad boy’… questionable motives and ethics, setting aside his own accountability and becoming tangled up in sins of omission and unwelcome desires he can’t quite seem to vanquish.

*

Teen angst… unrequited love… a mystery that demands to be solved… coming of age… we’ve all read books before that had at least one of those elements as the main plot.  In Sleeping in Eden, Nicole takes these elements and weaves an indelibly sharp and poignant story of lives crossing time… innocence lost…love lost… and love found… of forgiveness and second chances… of seeing beyond one’s own self… of ‘waking up’.

Beautiful and bittersweet, Sleeping in Eden is at once a mystery… a love story… a cautionary tale of walking through life with eyes half-shut, unaware of the life around us, our impact on others and theirs on us.

It is a reminder that faith, fate, destiny, karma - whatever you want to call it - brings one back to the grace they had once lost and the true path of their journey.

~*~

I recommend Sleeping in Eden without reservation.  This may just be Nicole’s best yet; written with verve and authority, and a unique understanding of the human condition.  Beautiful prose, engaging characters and a plot that will keep you engaged to the very end… make Sleeping in Eden a ‘must-read’.



Thank you.

Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
29 June 2013
(Writing under a large mushroom, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)
veronicathepajamathief@hotmail.com



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BOOK REVIEW - SANDRA BYRD: ROSES HAVE THORNS - A Novel of Elizabeth I

Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I by Sandra Byrd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(Reviewer’s note – I am an independent writer.  I am also a freelance reviewer, listed with Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.  I choose the books that I wish to read, the opinions expressed are my own and my review is based solely on the merits of the book.  Other than a free copy of the book, I receive no compensation from the publisher or the author.  My reviews are posted on the GoodReads website, Amazon and my personal blogs.  The following is my review of Sandra Byrd’s ROSES HAVE THORNS, generously given to me by the author.  Thank you – vmls)

~~**~~

Roses Have Thorns is the third in Sandra Byrd’s Tudor series novels.  As with The Secret Keeper, the first of Sandra’s novels I was privileged to read, Roses Have Thorns captivated me from the very first page with Sandra’s rich prose and evocative narrative style, weaving a brilliant tale with unforgettable characters amidst the peace and the turmoil of mid-16th century England.

With a heroine one can’t help but love and admire and as much deceit, infidelity, murder, treason, intrigue, romance… set during the reign of Elizabeth I, the virgin queen of England… one could put into 300 pages,  “page-turner” and “I could not put this book down!” are phrases that immediately spring to mind with Roses Have Thorns.

On the eve of leaving for England, Elin, ladies maid to Princess Cecelia of the court of Sweden’s King Erik, discovers two things… two most disturbing things.  One…Phillip, Elin’s fiancé, and her sister, have become romantically entangled… to put it mildly… and, two… Elin’s dowry has been gambled away.  Her departure from Sweden is thus bittersweet.  Elin’s heart is torn from the deceit and betrayal of those nearest her, but her regret at leaving home when her future is suddenly uncertain is tempered with the prospect of finally journeying to England, and all that it promises.  Little does young Elin know just how long, or how much, her journey will encompass.

After an arduous ten months of travel and travail, Princess Cecelia’s ship finally arrives in England, where new adventures await the princess and her entourage.  For Elin, the coming days are also a time for some hard decisions to be made.  Circumstances back home have left her an uncertain future and Elin, through chance or divine design, soon realizes that her future, though it be without her own mother, is in England.

Elin, having ‘anglicized’ her name and now Lady Helena, joins the court of Queen Elizabeth and…

I should stop here before I tell away too much.

In Roses Have Thorns, Sandra brings the reader a richly imaginative story of Tudor England during Elizabeth I’s reign, told through the eyes of one of the Queen’s most trusted ladies.  The author’s carefully crafted narrative will thrill fans of historical fiction with its attention to detail and history of the period.  History class in school was never this much fun to read!  Evocative and at times suspenseful, Sandra weaves an indelible tale, the fabric of which is rich with romance and intrigue, compassion and adventure, tumult and peace, betrayal and faith.

The story’s protagonist, 17 year-old Elin, is ‘transformed’ through marriage to William Parr, into the second-highest-ranking woman in England at the time, Lady Helena Von Snakenborg, Marchioness of Northampton, and one of Elizabeth’s most trusted confidants.  It would be no understatement to say that Helena controlled access to the queen; she was indeed a powerful figure in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, finding herself, at times, neck deep in royal intrigue.

Over the course of the next forty-plus years Helena serves her queen, at times making tremendous sacrifices – she was married twice and bore her second husband eight children - to serve her adopted queen and country.

It is here that Sandra really excels in the telling of Roses Have Thorns, giving the reader not only Helena’s view of events which transpired during Elizabeth’s reign, but also a view of the inner workings of the queen’s chamber, making the reader privy to many private conversations between lady and queen and leaving little doubt that Helena was a favorite of Elizabeth’s and much loved by the queen.

What makes Roses Have Thorns even more compelling, for fans of fiction and of Tudor history alike, is that Helena Von Snakenborg was a real lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth.  It is quite exciting to have Helena’s point-of-view presented in this re-telling of the life of Elizabeth I and I can’t think of a more authoritative author on the subject of Tudor history than Sandra Byrd, to tell the story.  

A storyteller who mesmerizes from the very beginning, drawing the reader in with her narrative… a richly woven tapestry of character and place… and a pacing that is both emotive and suspenseful, Sandra shows a mastery of the craft that few others of the genre can touch.

Roses Have Thorns is a ‘must-read’ for all… not just for fans of historical fiction.  I recommend this book without reservation.  I enjoyed the story immensely and while it is difficult to pick out a favorite passage, if pushed to it, I would have to say that the incident with the bee would be in a very close tie.  This scene tells so much in such a small amount of words… it is a testament to the author’s skill.

I will close with this ‘caution’… you will want to have a box of tissues near to hand, especially at the closing pages.

Thank you.



Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
10 June 2013
(Writing under a large mushroom, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)


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RICHARD GODWIN – ONE LOST SUMMER – BBC RADIO INTERVIEW

Richard Godwin's latest thriller, One Lost Summer, is out June 14, 2013. Here is a little teaser...

"Rex Allen loves star quality in women. He moves into a new house in a heat wave with few possessions apart from two photographs of his dead daughter. His next door neighbour, beautiful Evangeline Glass invites him to one of her many summer parties, where he meets her friends and possessive husband Harry. Rex feels he knows Evangeline intimately. He starts to spy on her and becomes convinced she is someone other than who she pretends to be. When he discovers she has a lover, he blackmails her into playing a game of identity that ends in disaster."

Richard recently interviewed with Nick Wallis of BBC Radio... here is the link to his interview... http://www.richardgodwin.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/01-GODWIN-BOOK-BBC-SURREY.mp3

Click here for the Advance Information Sheet for One Lost Summer.

You can pre-order the book - US and UK -on Richard's media page.

I am honoured to help my friend and mentor promote his latest novel.

Thank you.

Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw

27 May 2013

Writing under a large mushroom, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest

MEMORIAL DAY

MEMORIAL DAY

By Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw

~~**~~

They shall not grow old,

As we that are left, grow old:

Age shall not weary them,

Nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun,

And in the morning,

We shall remember them.

~ Robert Laurence Binyon

~~**~~

Since the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775, to the present occupation in Afghanistan, more than a million and a half men and women have died in combat.  That number does not include the nearly 40,000 servicemen and women missing in action.  Over a million and a half sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends… who defended more than just an ideal.

Today is not about our own personal beliefs on war or politics, or whether we are a “hawk” or “dove”, whether we believe that we should have entered into conflict with Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan… or not.  Today is not a day to debate the ‘rightness’ of war, American politics, or America’s presence around the globe… superpower or ‘bully’.  There are enough other days on the calendar for such debates. 

Today we honor our dead.  Today is about the men and women who did what they were called to do… who had the courage to sacrifice all… and who paid the ultimate price.

Today is a day to remember and honor those brave souls.  It is a day to set aside our own differences, and memorialize the honor, duty, and sacrifice of these men and women.

I find a sad irony in the word “freedom”.  Freedom means “to be free”, yet freedom is not “free”.  A price is always paid, often; a horrible price.  The cost of freedom for all is the sacrifice of life for many.  That is a terrible, crushing truth.  I am unbearably saddened by the knowledge that this truth is something that we, mankind, must be constantly reminded of, because – another terrible truth – there will always be evil in the world.

Wherever there is evil in men’s hearts, tyranny will breed.  Wherever there is tyranny, there will be cries for freedom.  And wherever there are cries for freedom, selfless men and women will rise up and answer those cries.  Many will make the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, so that you and I and others may live and be free.  Free to live our lives as we  want; free to be whoever or whatever we want to be; free to breathe and speak our own minds; free to laugh… to love… to live!  And… free to rise up with others and fight oppression and tyranny wherever it exists in the world… because until all are free, none are truly free.

As we commemorate those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, so that you and I may live our lives as free men and women, I sincerely hope we will all spend a few moments in silence and remember the sacrifices of so many this Memorial Day, and maybe say a little prayer of thanks, if you are so inclined.  Those who sacrificed so that I am free to be the person who I am will always be in my prayers.  I also pray for the day when man will no longer take up arms against man.

~~**~~

“The rest of those who have gone before us...cannot steady the unrest of those who follow.” ~ Unknown

~finis~

© 2013 – Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw.  All Rights Reserved. 

May be reprinted with permission of the author.

BOOK REVIEW - LAUREN KESSLER: COUNTER CLOCKWISE - My Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate, and Other Adventures in the World of Anti-Aging

Counterclockwise: One Midlife Woman's Quest to Turn Back the Hands of Time by Lauren Kessler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(Reviewer’s note – I am an independent writer.  I am also a freelance reviewer.  On occasion, I receive advance copies of books from publishers, for review.  My reviews are based solely on the merits of the book, and I receive no remuneration from the publisher or author, other than a copy of the book, in exchange for posting a review on my blogs.  Through a contest sponsored on Goodreads.com, I recently ‘won’ an ARC of Lauren Kessler’s latest non-fiction book, COUNTER CLOCKWISE.  The following is my review.  Disclaimer:  I have taken care to not, with a couple of minor exceptions, directly quote from the book.  Please note that the opinions and any 'claims' the reader may infer from this review are mine, and not necessarily those of the author.  Thank you – vmls)



“If I could turn back time… if I could find a way…”

In Diane Warren’s “If I Could Turn Back Time”, Cher sings of love and of regret over things said and things done… wishing to turn back time and take away the hurt.  But as we all know, time moves in one direction.

Or, does it…?

In Lauren Kessler’s Counter Clockwise, the author writes of ‘turning back time’ in a more literal and profound sense… in a way that will change your life… in a way that will improve the quality of your life, not just now, but as one grows older… chronologically, that is.  With solid research and testimony from experts in their respective fields behind her, Lauren explains that while ‘age’ may be something measured by passing of years on a calendar, how we age… the speed at which we ‘grow older’ is something that we have much, much more control over than one might think.

Lauren’s “Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate, and Other Adventures in the World of Anti-Aging”, as Counter Clockwise is subtitled, is an odyssey of discovery… and a search for the truth behind the hype… through the anti-aging ‘realm’.  A market that some estimate, in the next couple of years, will exceed $200 billion in revenue.

Lauren explores the pills, supplements, creams, lotions and assorted devices pushed on a largely unsuspecting public that is in search of the fountain of youth.  She tackles fitness and exercise regimens that would make even the most hardcore Marine boot camp drill sergeant toss in the towel and head for the lockers.  The lure of cosmetic surgery, guaranteed to take years off your body (if not your mind), along with thousands of your hard-earned dollars, sings its siren song to Lauren.  Does she succumb?  Ha!  If you’re expecting spoilers from me, you haven’t been reading my reviews.

Diet.  When we hear that word, most of us think in terms of losing weight, but remember this… ‘diet’ is not just a verb.  Diet, in the noun form, is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle and if your quest is to ‘turn back the hands of time’, what, when and how you eat is even more important.  Lauren’s research - I would have loved to be her research assistant, at least for this part - takes her through the science of food and nutrition in search of the right foods and combinations of foods that will promote optimal health and get those narrow black hands winding backward around the clock face.  Think you know what a superfood is?  Want the real lowdown on dark chocolate and red wine?  Pay particular attention to that chapter.

Even a good diet doesn’t mean your body, and mind, can’t use a little help from the supplement market.  Lauren has done a great deal of research in the area of supplements and come up with her own list.  I think this is a list worth paying attention to.

Exercise… how important is it?  Lauren gives us the ‘sweaty truth’.  After reading Chapter Eleven, I am rethinking my current exercise regimen… which presently consists of a daily five-mile run - more if my stress level is up.  Deadlines and commitments; what are you gonna do? - and thrice-weekly visits to the gym.  Yeah, yeah, I know… there are seven days in a week.  But, I’m young.  I’ve got plenty of time, right?  Hmmm… might want to be re-thinking that ‘philosophy’, Veronica.

There is a philosophy, a sound one, by the way… unlike some of the hoke and hype surrounding some diet, exercise, and supplement ‘stay young’  regimens… that explores how the mind contributes to whether we age well, at a ‘normal’ pace, or age quickly.

Lifestyle, diet, attitude… the wrong combination of these can give a thirty-year old the body – inside and out – of a sixty year old.  And vice-versa… the right combination… well, imagine being 60 in calendar years but with the outside body of a 50 year old - without the benefit of cosmetic surgery - and the inside body of a 40 year-old?  (My words, not Lauren’s – vmls)

In Counterclockwise, Lauren shows us how we can not only slow down the march of time, but even reverse it, to some degree.  Has she found the fountain of youth?  No… there is no such thing.  Forget all those infomercials and so-called ‘experts’ on ‘midnight’ television, hawking the latest ‘key to eternal youth’… it is for the most part little more than ‘snake oil’.

Want to know a secret?  You have the key… not to eternal youth, but to living longer… to living younger than the age on your driver’s license.

I hesitate to say that there is one single thing that will ‘turn back time’, that will slow down that clock and turn you into an ‘anti-ager’… but in a very real sense there is.

One thing, from which everything else flows…

Attitude.  As is pointed out in the book… “expectation rules outcome”.  This is a simple, yet deeply profound truth that it seems, humans need constant reminding of.  What we think… how we think… is what we become.

Attitude.

Getting into the proper mindset.  Why does anything fail?  Diets… exercise… jobs…. relationships… all have one thing in common for not succeeding.  Our attitude.  If you don’t ‘expect’ to meet that weight goal… if you don’t ‘expect’ to finish that marathon or 10K race… if you don’t ‘expect’ to get that job you want… you won’t!  It’s that simple.  You can’t just want something to happen… you have to make it happen.  All of the research and advice Lauren offers in Counter Clockwise will help you make things happen.

My wife, Christina, has on more than one occasion remarked that I “act like a twelve year-old.”  Well, pardon me for not always acting my age, but as Chapter Twelve - unless they get renumbered; I am reading an advance reader copy, not the final ‘to-market’ book – points out, that may not always be a bad thing.  If I had only five seconds to summarize the ‘message’ in Chapter Twelve, it would be this…

Think young… live young… be young.

Fortunately, I don’t have only five seconds…

In the 21st century job market, more so than at any other time perhaps, youth… the perception of youth, that is… ‘rules’.  Wisdom, experience and knowledge take second place to a pretty face and a ‘fit and trim’ body.  You can take the band aid approach to ‘youth’… cosmetic surgery and the latest fad diet, but if what you really want is to look, feel and live not just younger, but longer… with a better quality of life….

Read Counter Clockwise.  This book is not 230 pages of opinion and conjecture.  The author has, through exhaustive research and at times, incredible self-sacrifice, written a roadmap, if you will, to a happier, healthier and longer life… a life “increasingly disease-resistant and increasingly energetic”.  Lauren has consulted with some of the top experts in their respective fields, subjecting her body and mind at times to total strangers, and come away with some very good news.

We can ‘turn back time’.  But remember…

You can’t just want something to happen… you have to make it happen.

I’ve read a book or two on self-help, diet and exercise… and wasn’t terribly impressed.  I’ve listened to a spiel or two at conventions, fairs and such… and was more impressed with the free water bottles and key fobs than the product or the pitchman’s speech.  After reading Counter Clockwise, however… I recommend it without hesitation.  I don’t say this about a lot of books I read, but this one… it will be life-changing.  Lauren covers all the bases here with good solid advice, as well as some resources, to set you on the path to a more fulfilling life.

Lauren's keen sense of humour, and occasional snarkiness - gotta love it! - made this a thoroughly enjoyable read, as well as being very informative and educational.

There was one thing missing from the book, though.

I didn’t see the chapter on the health benefits of Sonic’s Texas Toast Breakfast Sandwich or Five Guys’ Bacon Jalapeno Cheeseburger (yes, with the cajun fries!)… I’m sure they will be in the final version of Counter Clockwise.  Right, Lauren?

One final thought…

“Lauren, I have to side with your daughter on this… don’t mess with my smoothies!”


Thank you,



Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
12 May 2013
(Writing under a large mushroom, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)


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