Giveaway – Finding My Sunshine by Shannon Leith McGuire @iReadBookTours

 

FINDING MY SUNSHINE by Shannon Leith McGuire

I would love to welome Shannon to fundinmenal today.

What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your book?

As I was sharing my stories from my residents, I learned I was not truly as alone as I made myself believe. I learned coping skills in counseling, there I learned I did not have to carry the weight on my own, that there were people just like me. (Clinically depressed, learning disability) I wanted to quit counseling more than once, cause the personal work was intense and hard to process sometimes. But I knew I needed help; or I was not going to make it. I kept going, sometimes you surprise yourself and you do not know how strong you really are until you are being pulled down in an strong undertow, about to go under and no one is there to rescue you. You must do the work. Depression is like that feeling, your body wants to kill you off while your spirit whispers keep going. In the end, you only have yourself to save.

What was the inspiration for the story?

There was a lot of inspiration, first one, is I wanted to give the elderly a voice. I wanted them to know I heard them, someone cared. The world is very noisy, and they tend to be overlooked. I wanted them to know how much I appreciated their help, trust and kindness. While I was trying to figure my life out.

 As well as I wanted to share my story of being looked at as an underdog. Like so many of the residents I took care of.  I was born with a learning disability, clinically depressed and living an unbalanced life for a long time.  I wanted to share how much a little bit of love can really help change someone’s life. Just that one extra minute you gave to someone can really help them feel they mattered.   We are more alike, then different, regardless of age.  

What do you think of the book’s title? How does it relate to the book’s contents?

Finding My Sunshine is about me being in the dark for some time; it was only after I learned to accept myself was, I able to find my sunshine, and dance to life’s lessons. I talk about my depression, suicidal and being born with a learning disability. I felt defeated before I got out of bed in the morning. I tie that in with how my residents felt; and at times they too felt defeated and not heard.  Finding My Sunshine, reminds us we can all dance in the sun regardless of our struggles.

Explain “Dance to Life’s lessons” what does that mean?

To me, it means, mistakes are not life sentences.  I had to learn to forgive myself and learn that it was okay to do that.  I had to come to an understanding, that I may never get an apology, or I may never have friendships recover from what I went through. Part of self-healing is moving on and not being weighed down by somebody else’s actions. They may think they did nothing wrong or hurtful.

What is a moment when you were proud to be a nurse?

I have many. But my most favorite memory, is when I took a young quadriplegic to a baseball game. Earlier in his life, he was hit by an 18-wheeler/semi-truck.   I do not remember all the details of this horrific accident, but he survived. 

He cannot talk due to having a tube in his throat for airway; he is connected to an oxygen machine/device all the time; and it has to be plugged in to work.  I felt he was still present, only he did not know how to communicate. I asked him simple questions, and told him to blink once for yes, and blink twice for no.  He did. I was so excited to have that connection with him.  From what I knew at that time, he had not been taken outside to enjoy the sunshine or hear the birds. So I barrowed the maintenance extension cords, and took him outside.  A single tear came down his face and a faint smile.

I asked his doctor if I could take him to a baseball game.  The doctor did not understand why, when this resident was in a vegetable state.  I was able to track down this resident POA who agreed to go with us.  The MD finally agreed to let him go, but it was my license if anything happened to him while he was in my care.

It was myself and another co -worker, who helped me load him up the activity van, put in his portable oxygen machine, brought extension cords, and took him to the game. He sat up in his wheelchair and watched the entire game that night.    He healed my hand.  His entire family came out that night. For that one moment in time, I wanted him to feel human again.  That is what nursing to me is all about. Having people feel human again, feeling loved.

FINDING MY SUNSHINE by Shannon Leith McGuire

Join us for this tour from Nov 15 to Dec 3, 2021!

Book Details:

Book Title Finding My Sunshine (A Memoir)
Author:  Shannon Leith McGuire.
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 198 pages
Genre:  Memoir
Publisher:  Sunshine Street Press
Release date:  March 2021
Tour dates:  Nov 15 to Dec 3, 2021
Content Rating PG+M for bad language, anger, and suicidal thoughts, clinical depression, and assault
 
Book Description:

“What if that someone was you?” Shannon had been so quick to blame others for her anger. She knew she was drowning in darkness and pain; being born with a learning disability made her feel defeated by life. She tried drinking heavily in order to quiet the demons. After being kicked out of college, Shannon took a leap of faith and started working in a nursing home. That’s when her angels appeared and the miracle began. The insight and wisdom she gained from those elderly new friends led her on an inspiring journey of discovery and self-acceptance. Each of us has our own path. Some of us just need angels to help us find it. This is her story.
 
Buy the Book:
Amazon

 

Meet the Author:

Shannon was raised in a small town in Eastern Montana, where you leave your car keys in the ignition and your front door unlocked all the time. The kind of place where sunsets and sunrises can be seen for miles on the horizon. Where the spring crickets and frogs resting in the irrigation ditches helped transition the days into a calm resting night. Where the winters can get so cold, air can freeze.

It was only after she was academically suspended by the college she was attending, that she became a Certified Nurses Aide (CNA). She did her training in Billings, Montana and it was there she learned how to take care of others and bonded with the geriatric population.

For over five years, Shannon worked in the same nursing home where she received her training. The work was hard, but it grounded her and helped her find balance in what had become a deeply unbalanced life. It was not until she was a CNA, at one of the hospitals that she had a dream-three nights in a row-that she was going to become a nurse.

She currently resides in Tampa, Florida, where you may hear her laughing with her husband of over 10 years,  scuba diving in the ocean, taking walks with their rescued pit-bull dog- Darby, or dancing together to life’s music.


connect with the author: website
 
Tour Schedule:
 
Nov 15 – Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Nov 15 – Working Mommy Journal – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 15 – Cover Lover Book Review – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 15 – Kam’s Place – book spotlight / author interview 
Nov 16 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Nov 16 – fundinmental – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Nov 17 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 18 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Nov 19 – I’m All About Books – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 23 – Sefina Hawke’s Books – book spotlight
Nov 24 – Books for Books – book spotlight
Nov 26 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Nov 29 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 29 – @books_and_bagels – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 29 – StoreyBook Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Nov 30 –Cheryl’s Book Nook – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 30 – @soph_life.pages – book spotlight
Dec 1 – Pick a Good Book – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Dec 2 – Westveil Publishing – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 3 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:
 

FINDING MY SUNSHINE Book Tour Giveaway

 


 

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Homicide Hunter Tells All in I Will Find You by Joe Kenda #JoeKenda

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I have been watching Joe Kenda on Homicide Hunter, a TV show that appears on ID. I binge watch him for hours and hours. I fell in love with the guy, so when I saw he just came out with a new novel, I HAD TO HAVE IT. I find him very hypnotic and I have only seen him laugh a few times. He is a bulldog and determined to get his man…just like the title states. I buy very few books any more, but I am very excited to read I Will Find You and had to have a copy of my very own.

My favorite Joe Kenda quote:

“I don’t understand people, but they interest me.”  Joe Kenda

To some, my fascination with murder, murderers, homicide and serial killers may be morbid. Mr Wonderful humors my binge watching and reruns of many of the TV shows, such as ID TV, Forensic Files, Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, etc. To say I am fascinated is to put it mildly. I, too, will never understand the people that commit these crimes, but cannot help but want to know more about them.

I Will Find You: Solving Killer Cases from My Life Fighting CrimeGoodreads  /  Amazon US  /  Amazon UK  /  Amazon CA 

MY REVIEW

I don’t buy many books any more, but I Will Find You by Joe Kenda is one of those that I just had to have on my bookshelf.

If you think dealing with the scum of the earth can lead you down a dark road, just ask Joe Kenda. He looks all cool, calm and collected, but beware, he is a badass.

I love the first chapter, where he doles out a little justice to a guy trying to kill a fellow police officer. What a way to start a career. His fellow officers called him a shit magnet and kept their distance. It seemed he was always getting attacked or shot at.

Back in the seventies, police officers were not as sophisticated and trained as they are now. We have come a long way, but I feel it takes a special kind of person to be able to put all the puzzle pieces together and find the killer. He has solved 93% of his 387 homicides.

I love when he talks about the right to lifers…will you take care of all the children who need someone to love and care for them? Where are you when they need a loving home instead of raising themselves and growing up on the street, with a gang as their family? Where are you when the mother doesn’t want them or is at the end of her rope?

I also think a lot of lives could be saved if getting DNA results didn’t take so long. Law enforcement needs more money and all the latest greatest equipment and technology to aid them in doing their job.

Some people complained about a couple of shows ID TV ran. Give me a break. This is real life…it’s murder and it’s messy, as Joe says. If you think the TV show is bad, his glimpses of murder in the book is so much more grotesque, horrifying and heartbreaking.

When do you know enough is enough? How many sleepless nights and hauntings from the dead are enough? Each individual must pick their moment when it is time to pass the torch to the next generation of police officers.

Joe Kenda’s personality shines through in this fabulous glimpse into his life as the Angel of Death. I think it is a very appropriate title for a man that is determined to take the despicable off the street and, sometimes, help them leave this world.

My. My. My. I give this non fiction book a solid four stars and the show…five stars. I look forward to Wednesday’s, when I can binge watch Joe Kenda, and God forbid anyone who gets in my way. LOL

You did a great job Joe!!!!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

 Detective Lt. Joe Kenda, star of Homicide Hunter, shares his deepest, darkest, and never before revealed case files from his 19 years as a homicide detective. Are you horrified yet fascinated by abhorrent murders? Do you crave to know the gory details of these crimes, and do you seek comfort in the solving of the most gruesome? In I WILL FIND YOU, the star of Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda shares his deepest, darkest, and never-before-revealed case files from his two decades as a homicide detective and reminds us that crimes like these are very real and can happen even in our own backyards. Gruesome, macabre, and complex cases. Joe Kenda investigated 387 murder cases during his 23 years with the Colorado Springs Police Department and solved almost all of them. And he is ready to detail the cases that are too gruesome to air on television, cases that still haunt him, and the few cases where the killer got away. These cases are horrifyingly real, and the detail is so mesmerizing you won’t be able to look away. The tales in I WILL FIND YOU will shock you like the best horror stories-divulging insights into the actions, motivations, and proclivities of nature’s most dangerous species. Don’t mind the blood.

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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