Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go by Lucille O'Neal

The life story of the mother of NBA star, Shaquille O'Neal, Lucille tells all in this autobiography. A light read inundated by Bible verses to supplement her journey. The book tackles a poignant childhood growing up in the house of her grandparents, away from her mother, a father with a verbal cripple, teenage pregnancy, drinking problems, financial struggles and an unfulfilled marriage that love just cannot support. In spite of all oppression, Lucille emerges triumphant as she tackles each problem when reunited with the God of her childhood.

I have to admit that I love the title - it's what lured me in the first place. It's an interesting enough read considering I don't know much about the personal lives of NBA stars nor of their families. Very comforting to know is how there are still people who don't let money or fame affect them in an adverse way. Lucille manages to convey her fun-loving, down to earth charisma with every chapter. I am not for divorce but her decision to pursue her desires after she was finally able to identify it, i.e. higher education (and keep pursuing it), even past the age of 40 is powerful for women of today, most especially single mothers. It serves as an interesting read but is not captivating as other autobiographies/biographies that I have come across.

Bottom line: I would borrow it from the library but I would not buy it.

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I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part o their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

How to Turn Adversity into Advantage in Business and in Life by Ralpf de la Vega

I picked this book as the first of my free books from Thomas Nelson Publishers through BookSneeze.com to review because the title intrigued me. Instead, I was pretty much bored out of my mind and have had such a hard time finishing this book. Don’t get me wrong. The major life lessons parallel to the hardships a 10-year old immigrant boy from Cuba who reached the unimaginable unattainable heights of his American dream is truly inspiring. Standard and easy to grasp point by point steps are given in order to ensure that the reader can go through his/her own journey and emerge victorious if he/she chooses to do so. Dream big, if at all. I think it depends on the reader though if they would want to not only be inspired but take the steps needed in order to attain their dreams. Then, and only then, would I recommend the book to another. But maybe it would have been more effective if this were a slide presentation instead of a book.

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I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part o their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.