Book Review by Lois Henderson for Book Pleasures
 
Discard the marriage manuals and read Ellen Graf’s poetic memoir, The Natural Laws of Good Luck: A Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage, instead, is the best advice that you can possibly offer any friend who is considering tying the knot. In this delightful and honest tale, Graf reveals the intimate details of her relationship with her Chinese tai chi teacher’s brother-in-law, starting with what basically amounted to a blind date and leading to a marriage that crosses cultural bounds with poignancy and blended (ir)reverence. With literally no holds barred, she shows how they managed to overcome their differences in all areas of their life together. In their exemplification of creativity and positivity towards each other, Graf shows how they were able to capture the true spirit of convivial joy in tackling life’s challenges. By conveying their mutual learnings and yearnings to each other and the world, despite at times having to work through what might seem to other, more ordinary, couples insurmountable odds, Graf indicates how they were able to grow and develop together in a loving and empathic union.
 
In an age that frowns upon matchmaking and prearranged marriages, The Natural Laws of Good Luck: A Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage shows how one can grow to love a partner whom one hardly knows at the start of consanguineous relations. Tenacity and will power are two of the key ingredients required for such a partnership to succeed, with the artistic and sensitive nature of Ellen and Lu Zhong-hua being an added blessing in this case. What Stella Gibbons’ Cold Comfort Farm has done for agrarian living, The Natural Laws of Good Luck is likely to do for cross-cultural marriage, with the added benefit of the fact that this is a true life tale and not a fictional encounter with the weird and eccentric in life. Humor is definitely a keystone of both works, however. The clear and detailed descriptions of how to overcome marital difficulties through evolving ways of communicating across linguistic barriers (neither Ellen nor Lu Zhong-hua can speak more than the most basic of expressions in each other’s language when they first start out) are a lesson to us all.
 
Both human and humane, The Natural Laws of Good Luck: A Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage should find a place on all marriage counselors’ shelves, as well as be recommended reading for any prospective couple. Even those who have been married for years would stand to benefit from accessing the essential nobility and integrity that underlies the respect for each other’s value systems that permeates this volume.

Reviewer Lois Henderson has a MA General Linguistics, BA (English) Honors, Higher Education Diploma, Higher Diploma in Library and Information Science – indexer of more than 130 books; editor of dozens of theses and study manuals at university and college level.

Review by Barry Hunter
Baryon Online Magazine

There are two topics I try to avoid in conversations unless my hand is forced. Politics is the first one. Religion is the other. Before going into the review, I would recommend that anyone who has a problem with ‘organized religion’ give this book a read and decide if you want religion or if you want to know Jesus better.

Ronnie McBrayer managed to leave the confines of North Georgia to leave the religion that he grew up with and follow the Jesus that made his life more fulfilling. This book could and should be used as a text in a class to help you understand the teachings of Jesus in the context of modern living. McBrayer converts the parables and teachings into modern day equivalences and makes it very easy to understand and gives you plenty of time to understand it. Each chapter ends with some reflection questions to make sure you understand what was discussed in the chapter.

The conversion of Jesus teachings by McBrayer is well done and makes them easy to understand. This is a book written for all age groups and will explain how it can be easy to be LEAVING RELIGION, and FOLLOWING JESUS.

GOOD NIGHT & GOD BLESS
A Guide to Convent & Monastery Accommodation In Europe
Volume 1: Austria, Czech Republic, Italy

Good Night & God Bless dropped into my hands directly from heaven on the wings of angels, or so it seemed. In it, Trish Clark gives us heavenly insider information on convent and monastery accommodations in three of the most romantic and picturesque countries in Europe: Austria, the Czech Republic, and…ah!…Italy. The actual hard information in the margins is so complete and good that it preempts questions arising from her wonderful descriptions of these remarkable lodging opportunities in the main text. The author even divides information for readers seeking spiritual retreats or those just wanting to soak up the ambiance of these sacred places.

You don’t have to be a monk to sleep in a 13th century monastery in Tuscany, with a balcony overlooking a quiet, rose-clustered cloister garden — or a nun to breakfast on coffee with steamed milk and just-out-of-the-oven pastries in a 500-year-old Austrian convent. Good Night & God Bless makes accessible fabled places that only the clergy and their friends knew about in times past. But more than that, the book educates us on the origins of these splendid institutions and the rich historical context in which they are set.

Whether you are planning a trip or just wanting to travel from the couch, get hold of Good Night & God Bless and read it from cover to cover — it really is a blessing.

Joseph Dispenza

Author of The Way of the Traveler: Making Every Trip a Journey of Self-Discovery and God On Your Own: Finding a Spiritual Path Outside Religion. Joseph is in private practice as a spiritual counselor at LifePath Retreats in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. http://www.lifepathretreats.com