Tag: Memoir

Book Review: Triumphant! By Jessica Roberts

Triumphant! One Woman’s Journey from Prison to Purpose
Author:
Jessica Roberts

Published: January 12, 2019
224 Pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: October 24-31, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

I tried to live my life the way I’d been shown, and early on, it wasn’t as hard to do. But as I got older, choices weren’t so black and white. Love can make you do things that you otherwise would not do. Haven’t you ever done something that you really didn’t want to do, but it was for someone you really loved? I’ve come to understand that sometimes, the places we find ourselves and the experiences we encounter serve to prepare us for our purpose.  Now that I have the benefit of age, experience, and wisdom, I can see how the things I went through has shaped the woman I am now. The dreams and goals I have now were not the dreams I started out with. My love and my choices left me facing a ten-year prison sentence! In spite of my choices and what I thought I wanted for my life, my dreams took a different turn. My new dreams have been directly influenced by the direction my life took.

Coincidence? Read my story and then you can decide.

Jessica’s Review:

I met the author at an event for authors from Georgia telling you about the books they wrote. At first I didn’t realize that Jessica’s book was telling her story, but when I did, I had to get it and read it! Fortunately, I was finishing my current read and I was able to pick up her book and read her story. 

Roberts’ story is a quick read with short chapters and once I got started I wanted to keep reading!  I inhaled it as a “read in my free time” selection. If you are short on time this would be a memoir that can be read very quickly.  

Jessica tells her story to us directly and candidly. We see how the decisions she made shaped her life, and pointed her in the direction her life eventually goes. The reader sees what happens through her words, and the book evokes strong feelings to go with it: It just didn’t seem like the attorney really wanted to represent her. Your lawyer is supposed to be #TeamClient and Roberts’ lawyer appeared to be working against her. Why take on the case then? This wasn’t a court appointed attorney but a privately hired one.  

We go through the criminal case as Jessica tells her story, and her life after she is released. She has people who helped her and her young daughter, and now Roberts is working to help those women who need it as she did.  Through everything she had Faith and still does. 

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Audiobook Review: The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

The Woman in Me
Author: Britney Spears

Narrator: Michelle Williams
Published: October 24, 2023
Audiobook: 5 hours 32 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To:  November 1-3, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars

Audiobook Description:

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.

Jessica’s Review:

 The ‘big revelations’ in her memoir have already been released, so I knew those when I was able to listen to the audiobook. With what started with a tough childhood continued as a teen idol with teen mistakes, then a widely publicized relationship and subsequent breakup this memoir we hear Britney’s side of her life story in her own words. This tough life continues into her adulthood, with no control of her due to the conservatorship. The things her family and her father did to her are just terrible as family is where one should be able to turn to in difficult times.  The story does repeat itself at times and I feel Spears never really fully got over Timberlake.  But then how could you if you had an abortion in the way she did, when it seemed like she only did it for him. Spears has a bit of naiveté and possible mental illness.  

I was never a huge Britney fan, but wanted to read the book. Listening to her tell her story to us, of course some of her songs got in my head! And as she recollected certain performances that we have all seen, I remembered them and pictured them as I was listening. I listened to the audiobook version which was narrated by Michelle Williams.  She did a superb job bringing Britney’s voice to life, and even some entertainment with her imitation of Justin Timberlake towards the beginning of the memoir! I would listen to Williams narrate again.  Spears memoir also shows the conservatorship and what happened.  We see the abuse done to Spears. At least now she is able to do what she wants to do and live her life in the way she wants. Thirteen years is a long time to go through what she went through.

Sadly, the book tries to conclude with an upbeat ending for Spears, but that is now out of date since she is in the process a second divorce. One can only hope Spears has gotten what she needs by telling her story and can recover and live her life.     

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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Book Review: Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire by Clare Frank

Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire
Author:
Clare Frank

Published: May 23, 2023
336 Pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 27- June 25, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

A captivating memoir of trailblazing and firefighting from a pioneering woman in a male-dominated field

When Clare Frank was 17 years old, she became a firefighter in Northern California. Clare was five foot two and officially too young to join the service—she left her birthdate blank on her paperwork, hoping no one would notice. And she didn’t look like her peers, who sported an Adam’s apple and a mustache. But her brother was a firefighter and loved it, so she thought she’d try it out, too. Very soon, she knew she had found her calling.

Burnt is Clare’s inspiring, richly detailed, and open-hearted account of an extraordinary life in fire. It chronicles the transformation of a young adult determined to prove her mettle into a scarred and sensitive veteran, grappling with the weight of her duties as chief of fire protection—one of the highest-ranking women in Cal Fire history—while record-setting fires engulf her home state. Mentors and managing, funerals and scandal, pickup basketball, car crashes, and always fire—no one has written about this world, from this perspective, like Clare Frank. She masterfully mixes irreverence and awe, taking readers inside station houses, on daily calls, and along on wildfire campaigns where antics and dark humor balance terrifying risk, trauma, and a sense of almost holy responsibility. A Memoir of Fighting Fire is an unforgettable memoir from an American original.

Jessica’s Review:

In a very male dominated field, the average person doesn’t see many female fire fighters, but Clare Frank is one of those few.  Through her memoir we see her go through training and a seasonal fire fighter all the way up to retirement, which gives a 30+ year career span with her becoming second in command of Cal Fire. Also… she got a law degree too!! 

Frank is a woman who could do anything it seems.  Starting as an underage seasonal fire fighter (She left her birthday off her job application and was lucky enough for that to not be noticed) she always wanted to be a fire fighter, and even worked with her firefighter brother at times.  She constantly pushed the envelope and broke down barriers when it didn’t seem possible. 

We see how different she was treated as a female, but put a stop to that, making her peers see her who she was: A fire fighter, regardless of her gender. She kept up with the boys and proved herself many times over.  We see her overcome obstacles, some which could have been career ending, but she didn’t let it be. She is one tough bad ass as she could really do her job! 

During the course of her career we experience Frank’s rise through the ranks while doing a tough job and excelling.  We see the highs and lows of her career and just when you think fire can’t get tougher… It does! Fire is brutal and we see it first hand as everyone is affected in various ways. And Frank lived in California which deals with extreme fires yearly.

Bravo to Frank for a well-done career and showing others, especially females, that if you want to do it, you can and will accomplish what you set your goals to be.

Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an arc to read and review in my own time.    

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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