Category Archives: book reviews

Book Review: The Storm is Over by Kelvin Lassiter

The Storm is Over: Quotes for Achievement and Success
by Kelvin Lassiter
(Lasstime, LLC)
5 out of 5 Stars


kelvin lassiter the storm is over on kelvinspeaksdotcom

Kelvin Lassiter’s The Storm is Over: Quotes for Achievement and Success is far more than a bunch of quotes and random thoughts. The Storm is Over is more like a manual for overcoming life’s struggles from an author who is full of wisdom and passion.

I was once told that to gain a better understanding of a book, you have to know who the author is. Lassiter’s background as a motivational speaker and a strong Christian man shines through each commentary. Lassiter showed promise of intelligence early in life. Although he had a rocky young adulthood, he has risen to motivate communities to achieve greater things. The Storm is Over is an extension of his outreach.

Many self-help/motivational books simply drown you in good information. It’s like having a year’s supply of food and water shipped to your house in one day – overwhelming. With The Storm is Over, there are fifty-two quotes. Each quote and explanation are assigned to a certain week of the month.

This gives you a chance to read the quote and internalize the message by revisiting the week’s quote over the course of seven of days. This is good for two reasons: 1) it allows you to keep an informal schedule for utilizing the book’s wisdom and 2) it allows your to read the book one portion at a time for maximum effect.

The organization of the quote being on the left-hand page and the advice being on the right-hand page makes it easy read and digest the great information given in this book. Plus, the quotes are broken up in a way that you can use this book as a reference and come back to it time and time again. As Lassiter covers topics such as being open to change, ending the blame game and even using your brain’s full potential, it is Lassiter’s solid identification of the strength of the quote that makes this book a powerful document.

Lassiter’s strategic choice of the people from whom he drew quotes will not go unnoticed. From presidents to well known entrepreneurs to globally-recognized leaders of change, the quotes really hit home from people who have achieved amazing things. For instance, Bill Gates quote (“It’s Fine To Celebrate Success But It’s More Important To Heed The Lessons Of Failure”) is powerful because of the angle it takes on using failures as valuable learning tools.

Another quote that impressed me was “When It Rains, It Pours”. Although the quote is cliche, the advice given on the adjacent page is intricate and truly inspirational. There was only one quote that didn’t fully related to the advice given, but the quote and the advice were powerful enough to stand on their own merit. Lassiter ends each section with an affirmation to repeat. This allows you to harness the power of self-motivation as you continue forward with a more focused and fruitful life.

The Storm is Over is not only a book about self-improvement. This is also a book about being able to interact with people whether they are your customers (I Want Minimum Information Given With Maximum Politeness) and or your children (It Is Easier To Build Strong Children Than It Is To Heal Broken Men).

The Storm is Over urges you to take action. It urges you to move in a positive direction. The Storm is Over does this by giving your bite-sized steps to pursuing your life to its ultimate destiny and the space to incorporate its teachings into the fabric of your life.

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Book Review: Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia – A Life in Poems by Patricia Neely-Dorsey

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia
by Patricia Neely-Dorsey
(GrantHouse Publishing)
4 out of 5 Stars


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In a time where most people shun being called “country”, Patricia Neely-Dorsey’s Reflection of a Mississippi Magnolia embraces all that is Mississippi country living. Before you can even open this collection of poetry, you are greeted with the beauty of a magnolia, Mississippi’s state flower.

Neely-Dorsey’s poems vividly and collectively paint a picture of a life that is simple yet provides rich experiences. From the authentic Southern menu found in “Soul Food Restaurant” to the culture depicted in “Yardsaling”, this collection of poetry gives more than a glimpse into lives of the good people of Mississippi. From the “Southern Man” poem where the main character fixes the back fence to the truth found in “If Mississippi’s In You”, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia shows a genuine pride in Southern culture.

I spent many summers in the small town of Winona, MS, where my dad still lives. I can say with confidence that Neely-Dorsey is an artist of words. Her images are painted vividly across the canvas of your mind as you thumb through her musings. Her words and rhyme patterns are simple, yet the complex imagery the words evoke will whisk yo down memory lane. I remember the “muscadines ripen[ing] on winding vines” (from “A Country View”) and using Vick’s Vapor Rub on everything “from arthritis to [a] bee sting” and “on chest or back” (from “Country Cure (All)”).

With Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia, Patricia Neely-Dorsey gives the world a book that is part biography, part rhymes, part imagination but all Mississippi!

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Book Review: From the Soul of a Woman by Valorie N. Parker

From the Soul of a Woman: Love Shouldn’t Hurt
Valorie N. Parker
(Vision Press Publishing)
4 out of 5 Stars


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Valerie N. Parker’s From the Soul of a Woman is much more than a woman escaping abuse. It was much more than the pain she endured. This book details Parker’s journey into and out of a major trial in her life, her marriage to an abusive preacher. She details how her growth is Jesus while still a child gave her the strength and direction to come out on the other side with a prosperous career and four beautiful children.

Parker first heard the voice of the Lord at about five years old. She didn’t know where it had come from; her cousin had to tell the source. Later in her teenage years, God would again visit her while she was sinking in a drunken depression. The shock of the Lord’s presence woke her from her stupor.

Again, the Lord spoke She shared her joy in the Lord and was able to claim her little brother as her first convert based on faith. Parker spent the next few years doing the Lord’s work and getting closer to God. It would be years before she was actually Saved. At 19, she found the Lord while anxious to leave a New Year’s service.

Her next stage in life was 19 years of marriage. Parker knew the preacher who would become her husband. He grew up near her grandparents. Their marital bliss came to an abrupt halt when he slapped her in the face in front of another couple who went to her church. From there, she endured verbal and physical abuse while giving birth to and raising four children. While fronting like the perfect Christian couple at church, Parker fell into a deep depression that would have taken the unbeliever.

Instead of succumbing to her husband’s ignorant ways, she was able to overcome the fear and doubt that she had for her own abilities. Although she had the gift to preach and minister into the souls of man, she chose to stay in her husband’s shadows.

That same voice that had been with her since kindergarten gave her will to strike out on her own and make a better life for her children. A chance meeting with Les Brown allowed her to use her God-given gift to the fullest, and From the Soul of a Woman glows because her testimony.

Valerie N. Parker has provided a sermon that will summon your soul to the summit of sweet victory. From the Soul of a Woman is not about being abused; it’s about how Jesus will help you turn that trial into a triumphant testimony. This book should be required reading for anyone who is truly ready “Let Go and Let God”.

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