Book Review: The Good Gut by Justin Sonnenburg and Erica Sonnenburg, PhDs.

This was a very informative book on the value of eating healthy and getting your gut to a healthy level for anyone concerned about living their best life.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book for my honest review.

Here is how Amazon.com describes the book:


The groundbreaking science behind the surprising source of good health

Stanford University’s Justin and Erica Sonnenburg are pioneers in the most exciting and potentially transformative field in the entire realm of human health and wellness, the study of the relationship between our bodies and the trillions of organisms representing thousands of species to which our bodies play host, the microbes that we collectively call the microbiota. The microbiota interacts with our bodies in a number of powerful ways; the Sonnenburgs argue that it determines in no small part whether we’re sick or healthy, fit or obese, sunny or moody. The microbiota has always been with us, and in fact has coevolved with humans, entwining its functions with ours so deeply, the Sonnenburgs show us, humans are really composite organisms having both microbial and human parts. But now, they argue, because of changes to diet, antibiotic over-use, and over-sterilization, our gut microbiota is facing a “mass extinction event,” which is causing our bodies to go haywire, and may be behind the mysterious spike in some of our most troubling modern afflictions, from food allergies to autism, cancer to depression. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The Good Gut offers a new plan for health that focuses on how to nourish your microbiota, including recipes and a menu plan. In this groundbreaking work, the Sonnenburgs show how we can keep our microbiota off the endangered species list and how we can strengthen the community that inhabits our gut and thereby improve our own health. The answer is unique for each of us, and it changes as you age. 

In this important and timely investigation, the Sonnenburgs look at safe alternatives to antibiotics; dietary and lifestyle choices to encourage microbial health; the management of the aging microbiota; and the nourishment of your own individual microbiome.

Caring for our gut microbes may be the most important health choice we can make.

Book Review: The Truth According To Us by Annie Barrows

I give this book 5 Stars.  This book is a delightful read that proves people are not what they seem on the outside and incapable of change. I really liked that I had NO IDEA how the book was going to end.

Here is a book description as provided by Amazon--

From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society comes a wise, witty, and exuberant novel, perfect for fans of Lee Smith, that illuminates the power of loyalty and forgiveness, memory and truth, and the courage it takes to do what’s right.  

Annie Barrows once again evokes the charm and eccentricity of a small town filled with extraordinary characters. Her new novel, The Truth According to Us, brings to life an inquisitive young girl, her beloved aunt, and the alluring visitor who changes the course of their destiny forever.

In the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. Within days, Layla finds herself far from her accustomed social whirl, assigned to cover the history of the remote mill town of Macedonia, West Virginia, and destined, in her opinion, to go completely mad with boredom. But once she secures a room in the home of the unconventional Romeyn family, she is drawn into their complex world and soon discovers that the truth of the town is entangled in the thorny past of the Romeyn dynasty.

At the Romeyn house, twelve-year-old Willa is desperate to learn everything in her quest to acquire her favorite virtues of ferocity and devotion—a search that leads her into a thicket of mysteries, including the questionable business that occupies her charismatic father and the reason her adored aunt Jottie remains unmarried. Layla’s arrival strikes a match to the family veneer, bringing to light buried secrets that will tell a new tale about the Romeyns. As Willa peels back the layers of her family’s past, and Layla delves deeper into town legend, everyone involved is transformed—and their personal histories completely rewritten.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this book for my honest review.
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Book Review: Pastel Orphans by Gemma Liviero

I really enjoyed the book Pastel Orphans.  So you get to know a little about the book here is Amazon's description of the book

.In 1930s Berlin, young Henrik, the son of a Jewish father and Aryan mother, watches the world around him crumbling: people are rioting in the streets, a strange yellow star begins appearing in shop windows, and friends are forced to move—or they simply disappear.

After his father becomes gravely ill, Henrik and his little sister, Greta, are taken by their mother to Poland for safety. However, not even the pastoral surroundings of their new home can protect them from the terrors of war. When the Nazis invade and Greta is kidnapped, Henrik must shed his youthful innocence and search for his lost sister, a quest that will further reveal a harrowing landscape of violence and struggle―but also unexpected connections.

Uniquely told from the perspective of youth plunged into adult chaos, Pastel Orphans is a coming-of-age story that explores profound lessons in self-belief, kindness, and human endurance.

My review:  I did not want to put this book down.  I really liked how the author Gemma Liviero wrote in Henrik's point of view and tells what he saw in that time from a young boy to mans eyes.
The plot kept me guessing and wanting to know what was going to happen next.  This is a story I will not forget and will recommend to everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this book for my honest review.
N.

Book Review: The Doctor's Diet by Travis Stork, M.D.

I could not wait to try this cookbook. After seeing some of the recipes on the television show the Doctor's I knew it had to be a winner.  Not only is there good recipes but there is a lot of nutritional information.  I have tried four of the recipes so far and look forward to trying more.

I think it is a book that you can return to again and again as your diet or nutritional needs change.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review the book with my honest opinion.

N.

Book Review: Unhealthy Anonymous by Dr. Pete Sulack

This book came at the exact right time in my life.  My son has skin infections and signs of Autism.  We recently took him to get his food allergies tested and vitamin levels tested.  The tests showed he is Very low on Vitamin D and has a low tolerance for dairy and gluten.  After taking the advice of one doctor, I was excited to read the opinion of another doctor on the subject.

Dr. Pete Sulack's book " Unhealthy Anonymous" has examples of past patients that have been helped by changing their diet and vitamin intake. This book gives an overview of how your lifestyle and stress levels can affect daily living.  I especially  liked the example of fixing a car temporarily with duct tape instead of finding out the cause.

There is a website that has recipes and a 21 day plan that is mentioned in the book.  Thank you to Bookfun and Dr. Pete Sulack for providing this book for my honest review.

Book Review: A Table by the Window by Hillary Manton Lodge

Book review: A Table by the Window by Hillary Manton Lodge

I just finished reading "A table by the Window" by Hillary Manton Lodge.  This book combined three of my most favorite things to look for in a book, mystery,cooking and a good love story.  

Not only was there a good storyline right from the start but the recipes,  ooh the recipes, and all of the talk about the food they were cooking and eating made me want to crawl right into the story!  I loved the details of the foods that they were all eating and the secrets of cooking properly.

Now don't think that this book is only about cooking.  For those of you looking for a little mystery you can find it here.  In fact, the author was very sneaky at the end of the book to keep you wanting more and continuing it with her next book that is coming out in the series.  

We can not forget the love story.  Juliette is the main character, she is in a family of chefs and is starting a restaurant with her brother.  She does not have the time to find a romance outside of her restaurant business and finds one on a dating website.  But her romance is not easy, the man that she falls for lives in another state.  
I really enjoyed this book and can not wait to read the sequeal when it comes out.  In the meantime I will try some of these delicious recipes.

I want to thank Waterbrook Press for a free copy of this book to give my honest review.

Book review: Inside The O'Brians by Lisa Genova

The book description from Amazon.com - 

"From the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice Lisa Genova comes a powerful and transcendent new novel about a family struggling with the impact of Huntington’s disease.

Joe O’Brien is a forty-four-year-old police officer from the Irish Catholic neighborhood of Charlestown, Massachusetts. A devoted husband, proud father of four children in their twenties, and respected officer, Joe begins experiencing bouts of disorganized thinking, uncharacteristic temper outbursts, and strange, involuntary movements. He initially attributes these episodes to the stress of his job, but as these symptoms worsen, he agrees to see a neurologist and is handed a diagnosis that will change his and his family’s lives forever: Huntington’s Disease.

Huntington’s is a lethal neurodegenerative disease with no treatment and no cure. Each of Joe’s four children has a 50 percent chance of inheriting their father’s disease, and a simple blood test can reveal their genetic fate. While watching her potential future in her father’s escalating symptoms, twenty-one-year-old daughter Katie struggles with the questions this test imposes on her young adult life. Does she want to know? What if she’s gene positive? Can she live with the constant anxiety of not knowing?

As Joe’s symptoms worsen and he’s eventually stripped of his badge and more, Joe struggles to maintain hope and a sense of purpose, while Katie and her siblings must find the courage to either live a life “at risk” or learn their fate."

My Review - 

I would rate this book over 5 stars if I could.  This book tells the heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of a family dealing with Huntington's Disease.  This is a very good book and I highly recommend it for book clubs and everyone wanting to read a book they will not forget.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book for my honest opinion.
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