5 out of 5 Stars for 'Born To Return The Gift' - rated by the African Americans on the Move Book Club - Novels That Reflect You and Me

Born to Return the Gift by Catherine E. Johnson is a book that should be ready by many women.
This book is both a look at the physical and the spiritual side of the human being.I started reading and could not put down. This book was very good. Born to Return the Gift beautifully portrays the struggles of the main character. Being exposed to the harsh realities of addiction at a young age, she grows up with low self-esteem and throws herself into the world of depression, abusive relationships and suffering. Yet, somehow she finds herself reaching towards a stronger being. Johnson has written a novel that probably describes many women, especially the depression when nothing seems to go right. Nyima was an abused woman who simply didn't know how to chose the right man. It is a novel well worth reading. The conclusion creates a tension in Nyima. She finally sees the pattern of God's purpose in all that has happened. She meets the final challenge of finding the courage to fight for her future.
While some of the topics and language are "R" rated, this is a story that is faith driven and faith based. It is written with a gentle sense of humor. When you leave the book, you will believe in Nyima. I recommend this book to all women book clubs out there. This book has a lot of life reality.

Barbara Morgan
AAMBC Reviewer

NOTE - This review was posted to GoodReads

An Update On Books That Have Made An Impact On My Life

I just finished reading 'The Warmth of Other Suns' by Isabel Wilkerson, and below is the review I posted to Amazon.com.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Fact Of Life Lesson In American History,June 3, 2013 by Catherine E. Johnson

'The Warmth Of Other Suns' is a brilliant work documenting America's Great Migration from the South to the North and Western cities of America during the twentieth century. This analytical and profound story of American's socio-economic development was spurred by the Jim Crow Era of the South.

As Black migrants fled from the South, immigrants who fled Facism and Stalinism in their home countries fought Black migrants coming to Northern cities for resources such as jobs and housing; and with a perceived sense of fear, they desired to segregate themselves with those who shared their cultural attachments.

The interweaving personal stories of Ida Mae, George, and Pershing (Robert) humanizes history with the portrayal of the strength of character and human spirit indicative of most Blacks migrating to a new world within the same world. Their struggle and search for the freedom afforded them by the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the equality eventually insured by the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, is a monumental testament to generations of all ethnicities wanting a better life for their children.

Despite Federal Law, America's melting pot evolved into a psychological warfare for Black migrants because it proved to be more opportunistic for immigrants from other countries, while those who were born in this country were subjected to threats, violence, and bombings to keep them out of newly established neighborhoods. Generations of Black migrants persevered and adapted to the trappings of overcrowded ghettos and thirty years later their children still dream of escaping - a concrete jungle overruled by gangs, guns, drugs, and prostitution.

Jacqueline Joan Johnson - South Carolina migrant to New York in 1971, said, 'It occurred to me that no matter where I lived, geography could not save me.'

Notes at the end of the book (pg. 586, Notation # 535) list famous African Americans with their family's state of origin, who have successfully made it out and paved the way for generations to come.

Many quotes are cited from other's works, but I've chosen two to sum up the reality exposed in this book.

Revolutions - 'I can conceive of no Negro Native to this country who has not, by the age of puberty, been irreparably scarred by the condition of his life . . . The wonder is not that so many are ruined but that so many survive. - James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son.

Disillusionment - 'Let's not fool ourselves. We are far from the Promised Land - both North and South. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

This was a tedious read due to the painful atrocities recorded in the beginning, but the insights eventually established outweighed the discomfort.

We study History to understand the past in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes. I highly recommend 'The Warmth of Other Suns' as a 'must read' for ALL Americans in order to not only understand what has established us as one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; but also to further promote a healing that is still long overdue.

Congratulations to Isabel Wilkerson for her tenacious research and journalistic skills. I'm sure that many tears were shed in compiling this book. This Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece succinctly portrays an in-depth history truer than anything I was fortunate to read as a High School student in Connecticut, (A state only mentioned once.) during the 1960's.

In a World Wrought with Competition ...What Would Life Be Without Spies?

I must apologize for my last post when I invited you to borrow my books through Amazon's Kindle Prime Program. They have since notified me that it has come to their attention that because my books are now available through sources other than Amazon,  readers may not freely 'borrow' my titles through this program.

For those who are still interested in reading my books, please email me at onyzproductions@yahoo.com to request free copies in the following formats:

Kindle (.mobi); Epub; PDF; RTF; LRF; Palm Doc (PDB) and Plain Text. (download lacks formatting)

All I ask is that you submit your reviews first to Smashwords.com at the following links.

Born To Return The Gift :   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7915
End All To Be All : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/99857

And then copy and paste the same reviews to Amazon.com at the following links.

Born To Return The Gift : http://www.amazon.com/Born-Return-Gift-ebook/dp/B002T460JU/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370309886&sr=1-1&keywords=born+to+return+the+gift
End All To Be All : http://www.amazon.com/End-All-Be-ebook/dp/B0062T2LIW/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370309842&sr=1-2&keywords=end+all+to+be+all+by+catherine+johnson

And then to Barnes & Noble at the following links

Born To Return The Gift : http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/born-to-return-the-gift-catherine-e-johnson/1101744455?ean=2940000831359
End All To Be All : http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/end-all-to-be-all-ms-catherine-e-johnson/1107695185?ean=2940032858362

I thank God for the support each of you visiting this page give me, and I am grateful for all those who include me in their circle(s). As my circle expands, I am also aware that I become prey for those who will stalk only to find cause to undermine my efforts to become a distinguishable writer but . . . .

For the victims, the survivors,
and all the able bodied persons
who are there to assist in the clean up.

BORROW BOOKS FOR FREE

Born To Return The Gift and End All To Be All can be borrowed in eBook format through Amazon’s Kindle Prime Program for FREE. Those who do not own kindles can start a FREE trial to borrow these books for their PC with FREE wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet.

My books are being buried by millions of other titles and I need your help.  All I ask is for you to borrow Born To Return The Gift and End All To Be All and post your honest review. This will help improve the visibility and the rankings of these books.  

Born To Return The Gift is about a middle aged woman named Nyima, who has been diagnosed with clinical depression and post traumatic stress disorder. She refuses to acknowledge the validity of this diagnosis, choosing to believe she is only temporarily burnt out. She struggles to maintain her dignity until she ends up in a hotel after a friend’s betrayal. As her mind daily reconstructs details of her West Coast experience, a five year recurring nightmare continues to haunt her nights.  Once in the comfort of her East Coast home, she becomes complacent and the nightmare totally reveals itself. It is only then that she ends up on her knees thanking God for the grace it took for her to find a peaceful understanding.
[342 pgs. = 112,218 words / 78 words of censored profanity]

End All To Be All is the name of an alcohol and drug recovery program. Although this book shows the day to day interactions in an entrepreneurial venture that eventually goes bad, the titled story line is mainly about Michael, who comes to terms with himself years after losing the love of his life, and the woman he eventually marries kicks him to the curb in the name of money. After he gets clean of his own alcohol and drug addiction, he discovers he has become a pawn in a game he was meant to lose. Fortunately for him, he meets characters such as Nyima along the way, who bring him back in touch with the God he has forsaken along his journey.
[303 pgs.= 96,612 words / 24 words of censored profanity]

I truly believe these books have been heavenly inspired to serve a purpose in today’s world. I can only hope you will not rate these books based solely on the fact that they do contain censored profanity, but rather on the merits of the books as a whole.

As a Christian, I understand that what comes out of a man’s mouth is what defiles him, but these days I choose to leave personal judgment of others to God. Unfortunately, such common language is perceived as an expression of free will. Like a right of passage, teenagers are even more likely to use profane words than adults. Within the covers of these books the characters who use such language are not bashed, but rather are urged to comprehend its ugly / nasty inference according to their own cognizance. Like a double edged sword, readers are convicted to realize the desensitization that is going on in today's society.

I would also appreciate your help to build an audience for Onyz Productions on Facebook. At this time most postings are inspirational quotes made by people from all walks of life during different periods of time who have accomplished a purpose in life. Please take the time to click this link or the one above to “like” the page.  Much thanks and many blessings to you for your support!

Time For God

This is a forwarded email I recently received and the reasons why I post it will become clear.
*******
"Yes, this is a forwarded message...you may have even seen it before.  But don't delete until you read all the way through and really think about it!  It makes no promises that you will receive any money or any else special, but it is THE MESSAGE we as Christians need to share in our world rotting away with sin!

It has long been 'Time for GOD'!!Time For God

"Read only if you have time for God  Let me tell you, make sure you read all the way to the bottom. I almost deleted this email but I was blessed when I got to the end
God, when I received this e-mail, I thought... I don't have time for this... And, this is really inappropriate during work. Then, I realized that this kind of thinking is.... Exactly, what has caused a lot of the problems in our world today. We try to keep God in church on Sunday morning....Maybe, Sunday night... And, the unlikely event of a midweek service. We do like to have Him around during sickness....And, of course, at funerals. However, we don't have time, or room, for Him during work or play... Because.. That's the part of our lives we think... We can, and should, handle on our own.
May God forgive me for ever thinking... That... There is a time or place where.. HE is not to be FIRST in my life. We should always have time to remember all HE has done for us.
If, You aren't ashamed to do this... Please follow the directions.
Jesus said, 'If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father. Not ashamed? Pass this on ONLY IF YOU MEAN IT!!
Yes, ..... I DO Love God. HE is my source of existence and Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I will be nothing. But, with Christ, HE strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)
This is the simplest test. If You Love God... And, are not ashamed of all the marvelous things HE has done for you...
Send this to ten people and the person who sent it to you! Now do you have the time to pass it on? Make sure that you scroll through to the end. Easy vs. Hard Why is it so hard to tell the truth but Yet so easy to tell a lie? Why are we so sleepy in church but Right when the sermon is over we suddenly wake up? Why is it so easy to delete a Godly e-mail, but yet we forward all of the nasty ones? Of all the free gifts we may receive, Prayer is the very best one..... There are no costs,
but wonderful rewards...GOD BLESS!
Notes:
Isn't it funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.
Isn't it funny how someone can say 'I believe in God' but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also 'believes' in God).
Isn't it funny how you can send a thousand jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing?
Isn't it funny how when you go to forward  this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe,or what they will think of you for sending it to them
Isn't it funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.
I pray, for everyone who sends this to their entire address book, they will be blessed by God in a way special for them."
*******
This email was forwarded to me by someone I trust complicitly, even though I have on occasion stated that I do not like chain emails and usually do not pass them along. - Because this email speaks of making time for God, I understand why my trusted one believed it was okay to forward it to me.

Now, although the text of this email was in a very large bright red font on a black background, I also read the following small print on the white background at the very end.

"NOTE: This electronic message and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this message in error, any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, distribution or copying of this message is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. Unless expressly stated in this e-mail, nothing in this message should be construed as a digital or electronic signature or writing."
*******
Even though I comprehended the words and totally agree with the earnest message that we must make time for God, I must clarify that Philippians 4:13 does not say anything about us being nothing. It simply says "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
To my understanding, this was obviously done on the job and this final "NOTE" is probably an automatic addenden to all out-going company emails, BUT when perceived as a whole, does this email expose a deceptive ploy of appealing to those who have faith and uses God, in order to acquire email addresses? What do you think?
I may be wrong, but I decided not to forward the email to my contacts, but because the message is something to really think about, I choose to post it here.

'End All To Be All' Shows that somethings in life are worth fighting for

This review is from: End All To Be All (Kindle Edition)  By John Phiser
Addiction. God. Religion. This book covers all these themes.
Ultimately this book is more about overcoming your own problems and, in the end, triumphing. The book centres on Michael who hits rock bottom when his money and wife run out on him. While most would despair, and Michael certainly does this, the story is about not giving up. One has to pick oneself up, get back on your feet, brush up, and fight for your own dignity. For this reason this is a praise worthy novel, for which I applaud the author.

An Okay Story About Recovery

3 Stars out of 5 Stars
This review is from: End All To Be All (Kindle Edition) By eitak
Although the description doesn't explicitly state it, this book seems influenced by and features Christianity. Every chapter ends with a scripture for example. The characters find healing in part by going to church, and Michael questions his faith as a result of losing the woman he once loved. The religious elements aren't in every scene, but it definitely plays a role in Michael's growth. If you are religious or spiritual, more than likely, you'll find this story to be uplifting.

Unfortunately, there are other issues with this novel that made it less enjoyable for me. In one instance, the book shifts from third person to first person and then back, which was confusing. More frequently, characters curse, but the author censors this. I don't need characters to use swear words, but it was distracting to read an addict cussing another addict out and to have those insults censored. It was hard for me to see those moments as realistic, because the writing kept calling attention to itself.

With characters that never seemed to suffer much from their addictions, this book was too light for my taste. However, if you're looking for something that's not too angst-ridden, this is tale of recovery and faith that you might enjoy.

Author Comment - One chapter was named 'Turk', meaning it was all about him, and it was the only chapter in the first person. Despite one person so easily confused, please refer to my post about comprehension and understanding. If you choose to delve further, you'll find that this reviewer has written 4 reviews and only one merited 4 Stars - Dead Man Falling: A bizzare honeymoon plunges Fedora into the search for a disguised Nazi killer, a fabulous chache of diamonds - an espionage plot so monstrous it will hold readers spellbound until the shattering climax.

Sometimes it is obvious that whenever Jesus comes in the midst of things, some people will get things twisted when they crave a story of another kind of adventure.

Uplifting story!

4.0 out of 5 stars Uplifting story!, By bjy50131
This review is from: End All To Be All (Kindle Edition)
End All To Be All is a story about battling addiction, and winning. After the money runs out and his wife leaves him for another man, Michael hits rock bottom. A victim of his alcoholism amid an ongoing struggle to pick up the pieces, he embarks on a journey to find meaning in his life. His path of self-discovery leads him to sobriety, self awareness and a savior in Christ.

The book is very well written. The author's descriptive passages give a window into the soul of an addict. You'll find yourself rooting for Michael to succeed and be inspired as he finds his bearings on a winding path of recovery.

Thought Provoking

 4 Stars out of 5 Stars Thought provoking, mediocre writing
By chatmaraude
This review is from: End All To Be All (Kindle Edition)
A brief synopsis opens the story with a happy couple, madly in love and getting ready for a vacation. Fast forward about thirty years, and the protagonist is an alcoholic without a home, sleeping on park benches and surviving on food stamps and cigarettes. Opportunity finds him in the social services line, and his life begins to get better. This book is a tumultuous rendition of life on the streets and the struggle with temptation, using faith in God as your guide.

The author does a good job of opening a window into the world of a recovering addict and she certainly has a way of bringing humor into such a dark subject. Johnson's main objective appears to be the ongoing battle for survival and righteous enlightenment. However, it seems that after chapter seven, punctuation became an afterthought, which can be exhausting for the reader. The language throughout the book flows with casual jargon, and the characters' personalities show through the events that happen, rather than in their descriptions. Scriptures at the end of each chapter highlight what you should glean from them.

Definitely worth reading if you're interested in religious reformation.

Author Comment:  Mediocre writing? Evidently this reviewer prefers character descriptions and rated this reading accordingly. I remember a college writing class in which I had to describe a strawberry in 150 words. The teacher's lesson and motive for it was to differentiate what to tell and what to show. A strawberry is an object and is meant to be described so that anyone can guess what that object is. A character is meant to be perceived by one's own cognizance.  Therefore, personalities are shown through events, rather than the author telling the reader how to perceive them. (Intrigue the mind.) 

Review - End All To Be All

5 stars out of 5 stars
Review by Rarebird 1 "Anita B. Kearney"

This is a story written with style, wit and insight. It is so much more than a book about addiction and it is not about religion, although both have their parts to play. Catherine shows us how God is not someone you meet in a church but a living entity that is with you everywhere you are, the way she used scriptures to show how He works in a life is amazing.

Once again, she takes you and drops you smack, dab, in the middle of the action. You are not a voyeur, you are a participant in her character's journey of self revelation and enlightenment.

If you want to read a book that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and overcoming the odds then you will not want to miss this one.