Book Reviews

	www.suite101.com Pursuit Of Light by Sandy Brewer An Extraordinary Journey From Abuse to Hope © Sandra Williams Jan 4, 2009 Sandy Brewer combines this memoir with self-help openly, so it's emotional and effective. Sandy Brewer is a survivor. As a child she endured horrific abuse and almost died at the hands of her parents. More recently she fought cancer. Not surprisingly, she's bouncing back. What’s inspiring about Pursuit of Light is the message Sandy Brewer portrays to people. She shares her past in order to enhance her message of hope and change for others. No matter how bad someone’s past is it’s possible to be successful and happy now. Read entire review
	Blocked Memories Because there were so many unbearable incidents that happened in her childhood, Brewer learned how to separate her self in order to survive. This is a common occurrence with victims who experience severe child abuse such as incest. Both her parents were extremely abusive, so it’s understandable that she couldn’t face the reality of the situation. It’s a big part of what helped her survive. Breakthrough The emotional and physical pain from the abuse was numbed since the memories were blocked. Years later she had a breakthrough and her memories came back. It took some time but she learned how to heal these wounds. By sharing her story, she shows others how they can heal too. Later Sandy decided she would no longer be a victim and dedicated her life to helping others. She’s had 30 years of experience as a therapist and is also a popular speaker and author. In Pursuit Of Light, ISBN 978-0-9796554-3-2, publisher Peach Tree House, 2007, Sandy Brewer urges people to make the decision to stop being a victim and let go of their attachments to drama. She shares how to let go of the past, pursue dreams, change attitudes and improve relationships. The story is told skillfully with humor. It’s amazing how much joy and laughter Sandy Brewer manages to portray in spite of all she’s been through. Although parts are heart breaking, the message of hope, light, freedom and change gets through. There’s a difference between facing what happened and wallowing in it and Sandy manages to find that balance. She continues to pursue the light and teaches others how to embrace it with the techniques she developed. There are examples of her methods in the book along with mini sessions with other clients that offer insight. This book is ideal for anyone having a hard time letting go of their baggage or victim status. She doesn't downplay the extent of anyone's abuse but regardless of what happened, it's never too late to enjoy living. To learn more, see Sandy Brewer’s website Pursuit of Light. There’s a free inspirational thought for the week and information about events, appearances and products. The copyright of the article Pursuit Of Light by Sandy Brewer in Self-Help Books is owned by Sandra Williams. Permission to republish Pursuit Of Light by Sandy Brewer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
	gloriaoren.blogspot.com also on www.LibraryThing.com Review by Gloria Oren, writer, book reviewer, and editor at Gloria's Corner "Every moment is a choice, and every choice reverberates…Every moment presents an opportunity to 'pay it forward'." Abuse is not a chosen lifestyle for the child placed there by the abuser. Sandy Brewer relates the trauma of rejection and abuse she lived through as a child, and how she chose to reach a better life where, eventually, she found love and acceptance. Read entire review
	When faced with a situation, in this case abuse based on rejection by her mother, the way out is by choice. Either choosing to succumb to the abuse, or to follow the line of abuse and grow to be an abuser as well, or to come to terms with oneself, and to choose to overcome the abusive environment to reach the light, the other way of life-the environment of being loved and accepted by others. But how is this done? For one, it demands courage, and lots of it. Sandy was a very courageous child, who withstood harsh, brutal beatings and verbal abuse from her mother. To be able to bear it is hard to comprehend. From being kicked and flung into the wall at the age of two, to being forced by her father to drink a 'poisoned' drink, Brewer's willpower to survive pulled her through. Yet with all she went through as a child, she was able to find the courage and determination to end the familial cycle of abuse, one she was determined not to pass on to her future generations. Brewer uses a technique of flashbacks to take the reader back to her abusive childhood. By doing so, she is telling two stories side-by-side: the first story is the one of her horrific childhood living in an abusive environment, the second her life as an adult and her journey out of the dark into the light. Brewer is proof that miracles happen. I liked the way I was drawn to keep reading, the realization of questioning what else could possibly follow as if this (whatever was mentioned) wasn't bad enough. I found a connection to the uncertainty an adoptee experiences, even in the best stable and peaceful family surroundings, where Brewer writes, "… I was aware of the blank, missing pieces of my life. I just didn't know what they were, and I had no one to turn to, no one to ask about it…" The heavy use of dialogue throughout helps us see the characters much more in depth than had she chosen to use simple prose. The combination of lessons Brewer intends to teach the reader weaved into the story line makes for an easy read of a very disturbing and otherwise difficult to read subject. I highly recommend that every new parent read Brewer's book to experience the effects of parental abuse on children and hope it will lead to the correct choice, and an end to parental abuse. The world will be a better place to live if only this could be achieved.
	www.theusreview.com Review by Liz Loveland of the US Review of Books "No true change is going to happen without choice. And no true choice is going to be implemented without will, heavily laced with more than a little courage." Pursuit Of Light, winner of the Eric Hoffer Award, is an unusual book in the abuse memoir genre. Unlike the majority of books of this type, it is not presented as a straight, chronological narrative, wherein the author describes their experiences and, often, then their personal healing process. To the contrary, Brewer presents philosophical musings and personal experiences about the nature of surviving and healing intermingled with anecdotes of abuse from her childhood, with the book culminating in some anecdotes about her adult life and people she has treated as a therapist. Read entire review
	The anecdotes often seem almost incidental to this book, and those that have difficulty reading others' abuse stories due to sensitivity because of their own traumatic past may be able to simply skip them altogether and glean what they can from the rest of the book. People who have experienced abuse will likely find this book particularly rewarding to read, with much to glean from the author's contemplations, and therapists that work with abuse survivors will probably also find it especially interesting. What Brewer presents is not just a story of healing from a traumatic past, but different ways of thinking about traumatic pasts than the way most people in American culture frame them. Brewer aims to help other survivors move past thinking of themselves as "survivors" and on to a life where their past is just one component of who they are as people. www.theusreview.com
	www.sallyhuss.com Sally Huss, Artist, Author and Creator of Happy Musings, offered this insightful and powerful review. "If life never gives us more than we can bear, Sandy Brewer is a Paul Bunyan among human beings. Not even Stephen King could have dreamed up such a hellish life as the one Sandy experienced as a child. And perhaps no one but Sandy with her tremendous fortitude could have survived it and then found her way into the Light. Read entire review
	THE PURSUIT OF LIGHT is more than a story of overcoming, it is a treatise on the need for us all to face the ills in our society, especially man’s inhumanity to children. Sandy Brewer sheds light on this subject through her painful, personal journey. However, her suffering will surely not have been in vain as others read this book, take note of their own actions and those of others around them. The buck stops with whoever notices injustice and puts their foot down. Thank goodness for Sandy Brewer for doing just that. And thank goodness to her for offering ways and means for others to find their way out of any dark abyss. As painful as this story is, it is equally riveting. And a person will go away a better person for having read it!”
	Review of Pursuit of Light and introduction of Sandy in podcast interview with Greg Voisin, Founder of Compassionate Communications. I was recently introduced to Sandy Brewer through a friend in Los Angeles.  She mentioned that I needed to contact Sandy to do a podcast for she felt that her book and story about her life were nothing less than amazing.  I contacted Sandy and we spoke for awhile about her book and upbringing and I was convinced that I needed to let more people know about this amazing woman.  I received her book Read entire review
	"Pursuit of Light" and was in awe by the strength and courage she must have had to manifest as a child growing up to cope with an amazingly horrific childhood. In my podcast with Sandy we discuss the trauma, triumph and the spiritual awakening necessary to live with such dysfunctional parents.  The abuse Brewer endured as a child was so horrific a reader may be forgiven for wondering why she didn't go insane or commit suicide. Remarkably, Brewer not only overcame the handicaps of her own past but has also gone on to become an extremely effective therapist and inspirational speaker. Now, she has published a gripping and cathartic memoir that shares the profound lessons of her personal story. Pursuit of Light has a double focus: It narrates the tragic story of Brewer's childhood and also expounds the mature philosophical and spiritual perspective she has developed, which has allowed her to get beyond seeing herself as a victim. A reader quickly discovers the enormous gulf between what happened to her and what she has chosen to make of her life. The flashbacks into the nightmare world of her youth, in which mental, physical, and sexual abuse were the norm, are italicized and narrated in present tense, setting them off from the rest of the text and helping to lend them a startling immediacy no reader will soon forget. As Brewer writes, "Choice impacts every area of our lives. Being a victim is a choice. Living life in the constant melodrama of a tedious soap opera...is a choice. Happiness is a choice." Sandy Brewer developed seminal techniques that allowed her to conquer the crippling legacy of her past. Enlightened and empowered by her journey of self-discovery, she is now committed to helping others make the same transition out of the darkness and into the light. This empowering narrative is a centerpiece of that work. Pursuit of Light provides an inspiring roadmap for how to follow the path Sandy Brewer has herself followed "through suffering to the stars." I thoroughly enjoyed my interview with Sandy and I highly recommend her book "Pursuit of Light-An Extraordinary Journey" I caution the readers, this book is not for the faint of heart for it depicts a tragic upbringing, but the lessons learned and articulated in the book are so important to one's spiritual growth.  Please visit Sandy's website for more information about her coaching, and workshops. Download the podcast (MP3). Review of Pursuit of Light and introduction of Sandy in podcast interview with Greg Voisin, Founder of Compassionate Communications. Compassionate Communications is an organization dedicated to connecting individuals one on one for the purpose of creating a mutually beneficial healing experience. Combining the technology of the Internet with the beauty of hand written cards, you can participate in an intentional act of compassion by sending a card to a critically ill patient. This experience is as rewarding to the card sending as it is to the patient. As a participant in the compassionate communications program you also will may receive a written communication from the patient, for part of the patient outreach kit includes postcards for the patients to mail back to you. If you would like to know more about this wonderful outreach program to critically ill patients please click on this link.  www.compassionatecommunications.com Below is the review and here is the link to the interview:  http://insidepersonalgrowth.com/?s=Sandy+Brewer.
	By Diane Amento Owens, Wise Women Write.com And Blooming Boomer Blog Dr. Phil has said, "Stand up and walk out of your history." In Pursuit of Light, Sandy Brewer tells of her abusive childhood at the hands of her parents and her search for recovery from this unhappy beginning. Part memoir, part self-help, Pursuit of Light could have been just a tragic recount of the abuse the author suffered with as a child. But Sandy doesn't want the sympathy vote ... Read entire review
	because she is not a victim. While her early story is at times hard to read, it is a necessary part of the book for the reader to realize exactly what Sandy survives. Through flashback, she includes numerous scenes of Ginny and Tom, as Sandy refers to her parents, inflicting physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Abuse wasn't openly discussed while Sandy was growing up in the Fifties, but school provided her with what little self-esteem she had. School was where she could pretend she was an "all-American everyday girl, Doris Day, Sandra Dee, Pink poodles on felt skirts, sweater sets, et al" kind of normal young girl. Her home life was far from normal. Her twenties were spent living in anxiety that caused constant headaches requiring 30 extra-strength Excedrin a day when "pain and suffering were ingrained in me as though they had been tattooed on the inside of my veins." But finally at the age of 39 after a lot of work and education through the "the school of life," she walks out of her history. She describes this as a "Halleluiah choir moment" when the pain of her past suddenly vanished following a moment of spiritual surrender. Sandy used her abuse history and the insight she's gained coming out of darkness to help others in her 30-year career as a therapist. She included stories from her therapy clients, and anyone with similar problems will be uplifted with her many messages of hope such as: "I have had the experience of a victim-many times over. But I am not a victim. Why? Because I said so. Because I choose so. Because choice is my reality. Because I am in pursuit of light." Sandy's sense of humor, her wise observations on the power of choice, and her willingness to share her story, both the unhappy beginning and the happy ending, make the book hard to put down. Long after you've finished the book, I guarantee you'll hear Sandy's voice empowering you to choose well. "I chose to believe my life is not happenstance, and in that choice I felt empowered." Pursuit of Light is a wonderful choice for any reader. By Diane Amento Owens Wise Women Write.com And Blooming Boomer Blog
	One of the most respected book reviewers, The Midwest Book Review, had this to say: "The debut title of the newly launched publishing firm of PeachTreeHouse, "Pursuit of Light: An Extraordinary Journey" by public speaker, therapist, coach and humanitarian Sandy Brewer blends autobiography with compassion, wit and ... Read entire review
	wisdom with illustrative self-help advice and example. The result is a compelling memoir revealing profound 'life lessons' that are as inspired and inspiring as they are thoughtful and thought-provoking. "Pursuit Of Light" is an informed and informative work that is superbly written, creating an engaging read from first page to last – and welcome, recommended addition to both community library Self-Help and American Biography collections, as well as personal self-improvement and inspirational reading lists."
	Gretchen's facebook blog Pursuit of Light: An Extraordinary Journey by Sandy Brewer has to be one of the most interesting auto-biography/self-help books I have ever read. I really wasn't prepared for what I was about to read. Not that I wasn't aware of the sensitive subject matter that Sandy would describe, but the depth of emotion and detail of each chapter made the book hard to put down. Read entire review
	I started reading while waiting for my daughter's softball game to start. Sandy's easy-flowing writing style and distinct personality pulled me in and before I knew it I had missed the first inning of the game. Oops! I put the book aside to focus on my daughter, but you can bet I was back to reading it before the night was over. Pursuit of Light is a book about choice. It is true that we are the result of our choices. When things go wrong or, in Sandy's case, we are wronged in ways that seem completely unimaginable, we have a choice. We can choose to wallow in the role of victim or we can choose to move beyond the baggage and step into the light of who we are meant to be. It's not a choice we make during a "lightbulb moment", but it's a choice we all must summon the courage to make every day. I think what I liked most about this book was that Sandy makes no bones about her feelings at the different stages of her life. There was no sugar-coating the range of emotions she felt both as an abused child and as an adult coming to terms with her past. Sandy is very open with her thoughts and the events surrounding her. I think everyone can relate Sandy at some stage of her life. The people and the situations may be different, but the feelings and realization that you must choose to rise above the circumstances are themes we can all identify in our own lives. Intermingled in the chapters are tidbits of Sandy's current reality as a counselor and she often sidetracks to a story about a patient she is counseling to make a point. These small insights were invaluable to understanding Sandy's healing process. It was also interesting to hear Sandy explaining how the mind can play tricks and how she walked her patients through their own discovery of choice. For more information about Sandy and Pursuit of Light, visit her website or pick up a copy of the book. You may not be able to put it back down From Gretchen's facebook blog at http://www.girlscantwhat.com/
	Early acclaim for PURSUIT OF LIGHT Through Suffering to the Stars Review by Scott Flora, About Books, Inc. Pursuit of Light: An Extraordinary Journey by Sandy Brewer. $24.95 hardcover, ISBN 978-0-9796554-4-9, published by PeachTreeHouse, Inc, P.O. Box 1008, Carlsbad, CA 92008. (760) 230-8123. Is your life what has happened to you, or is it what you choose to make of it? Do you have a choice to alter what you are, simply by viewing your life, as the poet A. R. Ammons has put it, "by the light of a different necessity"? Light: As the title suggests, this is the master trope of Sandy Brewer's harrowing but also inspiring memoir, ... Read entire review
	Pursuit of Light: An Extraordinary Journey. The abuse Brewer endured as a child was so horrific a reader may be forgiven for wondering why she didn't go insane or commit suicide. Remarkably, Brewer not only overcame the handicaps of her own past but has also gone on to become an extremely effective therapist and inspirational speaker. Now, she has published a gripping and cathartic memoir that shares the profound lessons of her personal story. Pursuit of Light has a double focus: It narrates the tragic story of Brewer's childhood and also expounds the mature philosophical and spiritual perspective she has developed, which has allowed her to get beyond seeing herself as a victim. A reader quickly discovers the enormous gulf between what happened to her and what she has chosen to make of her life. The flashbacks into the nightmare world of her youth, in which mental, physical, and sexual abuse were the norm, are italicized and narrated in present tense, setting them off from the rest of the text and helping to lend them a startling immediacy no reader will soon forget. The details of these horrific vignettes, however, are not the point of the book; they merely provide the necessary context for comprehending what is the point-that even those who have suffered the most traumatic forms of abuse can choose to take control of their destinies instead of allowing themselves to be tyrannized by the invisible bonds of self-pity and passive acceptance of an identity defined by victimization. The conclusion made me think of the conclusion of Walden, which is also about renewal and living in the moment. Ultimately, Pursuit of Light is about freedom and choice. As Brewer writes, "Choice impacts every area of our lives. Being a victim is a choice. Living life in the constant melodrama of a tedious soap opera…is a choice. Happiness is a choice." Sandy Brewer developed seminal techniques that allowed her to conquer the crippling legacy of her past. Enlightened and empowered by her journey of self-discovery, she is now committed to helping others make the same transition out of the darkness and into the light. This empowering narrative is a centerpiece of that work. Pursuit of Light provides an inspiring roadmap for how to follow the path Sandy Brewer has herself followed per aspera ad astra-"through suffering to the stars."