Connie Almony's "At the Edge of a Dark Forest"--Will be on Carrie's 2014 Best Bibliotherapy Books List!

At the Edge of a Dark Forest by Connie Almony 

At the Edge of a Dark Forest (Fairwilde Reflections)

By Connie Almony

Reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pages

5 Stars *****

Cole Harrison is a veteran amputee with severe PTSD and is a full blown alcoholic.  Who would have thought that Connie Almony could get the reader to care for a hero who will eventually suffer Delirium Tremens (also known as the DTs)? 

Carly Rose is trying to save her father's company. He makes prosthetic limbs and early in the story Cole has an encounter with Mr. Rose that is very important to the story. Their romance blossoms when Carly moves into Cole's mansion to work with him on rehab and on fitting him.

Connie's  Beauty and the Beast story was unique despite it being a twist on this plot.  At the Edge of a Dark Forest is especially authentic because of Connie's background working in mental health.

This compelling novella by Connie Almony is my top candidate for Best Bibliotherapy Book for 2014 on my blog. I am not a big contemporary romance reader but her story was so well written and so unique that I couldn't stop reading the story until I was done! Strong characterization and a nicely layered storyline. Will be looking for more from this talented author!

Highly recommend, particularly for those dealing with PTSD, alcoholism, coping with amputation and rehabilitation, and for their loved ones! 

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This book may be purchased through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and others.

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GIVEAWAYS! We are giving away TWO copies of Connie's book this week (choice of format), a Starbuck's $10 Gift Card Giveaway AND also a a $10 Gift Card to an online bookseller. Please "like" Connie's FB author page and put FB on your comment. Leave your e-mail so that we may contact you if you win!

Veteran's Day & Winner

Rogers' Rangers by Frederic Remington, French-Indian War

My first manuscript in the proposal my agent recently re-sent out (with a cut in the word length) is set just before the French-Indian War.  Wonder how many British veterans of this war and colonial militia supporting the British fought in our American Revolution?  


My friend, Janet Grunst, who writes colonial American fiction did an excellent post yesterday on Colonial Quills.  Here's the link:
http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/2011/10/days-of-wooden-ships-and-iron-men.html


Janet comes from a long line of Navy families and is the mother of two veterans, one currently deployed. If you get a chance, go by and give this mother of a couple of our veterans a word of encouragement!  

WINNER of A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher is: 
Ingrid, whose mom had AD.  Congrats, Ingrid, and we pray you will be blessed by this book! Check your email!

Wounded Warriors

 Not all casualties of war die. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and seizure disorders can claim the hearts and minds of some of our veterans. 

Some wounded vets are like this G.I. Joe, who was used and abused by my husband in many “wars” years ago. It may not be immediately visible what is wrong with this soldier. This was one of those talking G.I. Joes, where you pull the string and he “speaks” to you.  Now it is a garbled message you hear, but once it was clear.  And his left thumb hangs on by a strand of plastic.  But in comparison to the rest of my husband's surviving toys, this guy is doing great!  And many veterans may compare themselves to someone less fortunate themselves, or even feel guilty that they survived while their friends did not.

 

We are grateful for the men and women who have given their lives that we might be free. We also need to be grateful for and supportive of the veterans who return from war without hope, without heart, and without their full faculties, possibly never to regain them again.

http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/  Wounded Warriors’ Project was set up to assist our returning veterans.  I was pretty shocked when I attended a TBI intervention conference several years ago and heard of how few services there really were. Was also amazed that there seemed to be little progress in interventions since I attended the National Association of Neuropsychology conference about fifteen years prior.

There are some treatments that help. One is neurotherapy (www.eeginfo.com) which is becoming more available to our veterans. We are blessed locally to have Dr. Lanny Fly http://flyconsulting.com/team.html and many neurotherapists who Dr. Fly has trained over the years.  He is a veteran and graduate of a military academy as well as having been a chaplain, and really has a heart for our young veterans.

Of course we should pray for them and for their families. Dad or Mom may have come home, but that person may not be the same one who left.  But with God’s help, one can survive, even overcome, these great difficulties, through time and healing.

I am dedicating this post to my father, William Henry Fancett, a wounded warrior. He is in the place of perfect healing. I thank those who also served with him and gave their lives either physically or emotionally as a cost for their participation in WWII.

Memorial Day Weekend Post by Carrie Fancett Pagels