Tag: mental health industry

Grief: The Silent Pandemic by Doug Lawrence Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviews1 Comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Author Doug Lawrence shares the steps to be taken when confronting and dealing with one’s grief in the book “Grief The Silent Pandemic.”

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The Synopsis

Grief is a profound and universal experience, a natural response to the loss of someone or something deeply cherished. Yet, for many, the journey through grief is made even more difficult by a lack of personal understanding and a society rife with misconceptions about what it means to grieve. This widespread misunderstanding has contributed to a mental health pandemic, leaving countless individuals feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and without the tools to heal.

In Grief the Silent Pandemic, Doug Lawrence offers a guiding light in the darkness of loss. Drawing from decades of experience as a grief mentor and the deeply personal pain of losing his beloved wife, Lawrence provides a compassionate and insightful exploration of the grieving process. With raw honesty and profound empathy, he delves into the complexities of grief, shedding light on the emotional, psychological, and societal challenges it presents.

Through heartfelt storytelling, practical advice, and actionable solutions, Lawrence empowers readers to navigate their own grief journeys. He challenges the stigma and misinformation surrounding grief, offering a roadmap to healing that is rooted in understanding, connection, and hope.

Whether you are seeking solace in your own time of loss or looking to support someone you care about, this book is a beacon of hope that reminds us all: healing is possible, and brighter days lie ahead.

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The Review

What a profound and truly moving read! The author does a remarkable job of finding the right balance between informing the reader and being empathetic to the nature of grief in general. The author’s ability to relate personal experiences to the grieving process and identify the root of what drives grief makes the education and practices related to the grieving process so much more moving and in-depth.

What stood out to this reader was the focus of the book’s inception on the COVID-10 pandemic, and how mental health in general, especially grief, got lost in confusion during that time. The horrors and fear that came with the pandemic and the hardship that came with having to face grief in such isolation and pain was so spot on, and thoroughly pushed through the core problems of pushing aside grief and mental health care in general to focus on other things to better help readers understand the importance of mental health altogether. 

The Verdict

Thoughtful, heartfelt, and emotional, author Doug Lawrence’s “Grief: The Silent Pandemic” is a must-read nonfiction book on mental health and grief. The informative nature of the guided book and the raw and emotion-driven experiences that the author shares on a personal level and as a mentor will help readers relate to the book’s message and get lost in the process the author lays out for readers. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy on April 20th, 2025!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

Doug Lawrence is an International Certified Mentor and holds two Mentor Certifications; Certificate of Competence – Mentor and the Certificate of Competence – Journey Mentor from the International Mentoring Community. Doug is the only one to hold the Certificate of Competence – Journey Mentor in the world today.

Doug served in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for 25 years retiring in February of 1999 at the rank of Staff Sargent.

Doug has been involved in the certification of mentors since 2009 when he first partnered with an organization to provide mentor certification based on knowledge. Doug has now partnered with an expert in certification to provide a certification for mentors based on competence.

Doug’s Practice of Mentoring continues to grow and has resulted in: 1) his teaching of others how to effectively mentor, 2)the mentoring of others internationally, 3) and being recognized as a thought leader in the mentoring space.

He has been working with researchers to examine the role of mentoring as a support for those struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). His experience in law enforcement coupled with working with people as a mentor who are suffering from PTSD has afforded him a unique view of mentoring and PTSD. His personal story is one that is compelling and it fuels his passion about wanting to help others.

Doug is a firm believer that mentoring begins with a person’s personal growth thereby helping to remove any obstacles or barriers to their professional growth and career development. As Doug has found, some of those barriers can be mental health and mental well-being challenges.

“You are Not Alone” came from the all to often stigma of people being afraid to ask for help, afraid to step out of the closet and say, “I need help”. Afraid to extend a hand to say, “its okay I will go with you on this journey.”

“You are Not Alone” came from cry for help and increased anxiety and depression from having to wait far to long for treatment and to begin a healing journey.

This book provides a solution to that problem.

At the Point of a Knife by Kenneth Richard Fox Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviews1 Comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Readers are given a glimpse into the tragic reality of a faulty mental health system that fosters and allows those suffering form the most severe cases to be untreated, and a man’s struggle to fight a losing battle against an unprecedented legal fight like no other in author Kenneth Richard Fox’s “At the Point of a Knife”. 

The Synopsis

A memoir about a life-saving invention, the hijacking of a hi-tech start- up, and the explosive meltdown of a nuclear family

At the Point of a Knife is a real life thriller about a doctor who invents life-saving laser technology, his wife’s destructive inheritance and the legal conspiracy to steal his successful hi-tech start-up. Dr. Kenneth Fox fights off predatory companies as he battles globally for his company’s rights. But he ignores the threats to his family. By day, he has a successful career. By night, he lives with an increasingly mentally ill spouse. Although she is physically abusive with him and their son, Fox is emotionally co-dependent. At the same time, he is helping his dying mother and his chronically ill father.

There is an attempted murder. After this explosive nuclear family meltdown, Fox learns of his wife’s secret fortune including several homes. He also discovers the true story about her dead father: a hereditary bipolar disorder and the scandal that drove her family from her childhood home. In a final twist of fate, manic depression, money and judicial corruption intersect. Fox’s company is wrested away in a plot that includes a crooked lawyer and a corrupt judge who owes his career to his former partner in crime. 

Dr. Kenneth Fox is a physician and surgeon, an inventor of patented medical laser technology and a medicine and business professor. 

The Review

This was a powerful non-fiction read that people will have a hard time putting down. The story was clear and concisely written, showcasing a multitude of incidents that contributed to the deterioration of a family, the personal and business losses of a man and the gross injustices that often plague our society. 

The author’s in-depth study of the law practices in relation to medical field lawsuits and divorce proceedings which favor one person over the other really brought the harm endured through this man’s life to the forefront. Each chapter has the reader shaking their head, unable to believe that one man would be forced to endure such hardships.

More than that however, the novel allows readers to see the grave injustice that comes with failing to treat those suffering with mental illnesses, and how the taboo of suffering from such a disease or the inaccurate assumptions about mental illness often lead to a lack of diagnosis or care for such individuals, who if given proper treatment and care could avoid the unfortunate damage and suffering endured by both the patient and those closest to them, in this instance the author himself. 

The Verdict

Although a short read, this was a powerful and great read that fans of law cases, medical practices and the struggles of mental health will thoroughly enjoy. A whirlwind case that will get readers emotions stirring, this was a heart-pounding story that draws the reader in and gets them invested immensely, so be sure to grab your copy of “At the Point of a Knife” by Kenneth Richard Fox today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Kenneth R. Fox is the inventor of a great deal of laser medical technology and the patentee of many international patents. Dr. Fox has practiced Medicine in six countries on four continents and has lectured in many others. He has taught both Medicine and Business at several universities in a number of different countries. He is the author of many peer- reviewed medical and scientific articles, quite a few published poems and several short articles, mostly related to various aspects of health, but all based on his personal experiences over many years, as is At the Point of a Knife. 

Your can find more at http://www.kennethrfox.com

Breakdown: A Clinician’s Experience in a Broken System of Emergency Psychiatry (serious mental illness, psychosis, reform) by Lynn Nanos Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviews1 Comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

An in depth look into the world of mental health care and the ways in which it can be improved take center stage in Author Lynn Nanos novel Breakdown.

The Synopsis 

When hospitals release seriously mentally ill patients too soon without outpatient follow-up, the patients can end up homeless, jailed, harming others, or even dead. When patients are deemed suitable for inpatient care, they can languish for weeks in hospital emergency departments before placements become available. Meanwhile, patients who fake the need for care are smoothly and swiftly moved to inpatient settings.

Breakdown opens a dialogue with anyone interested in improving the system of care for the seriously mentally ill population. This book helps to answer questions such as:

  • Is inpatient care too inaccessible to those who need it most?
  • Do mental health professionals discriminate against mentally ill patients?
  • Are more stringent measures needed to ensure that patients take their medication?
  • Is borderline personality disorder too serious to be classified as just a personality disorder?

Using vignettes based on real interactions with patients, their families, police officers, and other mental health providers, Lynn Nanos shares her passion for helping this population. With more than twenty years of professional experience in the mental health field, her deep interest in helping people who don’t know how to request help is evident to readers.

  • A woman travels from Maine to Massachusetts because she was ordered by her voice, a spirit called “Crystal,” to make the trip.
  • A foul-smelling and oddly dressed man strolls barefooted into the office, unable to stop talking.
  • A man delivers insects to his neighbors’ homes to minimize the effects of poisonous toxins that he says exist in their homes.

Breakdown uses objective and dramatic accounts from the psychiatric trenches to appeal for simple and common-sense solutions to reform our dysfunctional system. This book will benefit anyone interested in seeing a glimpse of the broken mental health system way beyond the classroom. It can guide legislative officials, family members, mental health professionals, and law enforcement officers toward a better understanding of the system.

The Review 

As someone who has advocated for mental health awareness and seeks to improve and see the mental health education and rehabilitation of this world improve, this was a book that spoke volumes to me. The author does a spectacular job of presenting the struggles and heartbreak of the profession. From the book’s opening pages readers are shown the levels of illness and sad state of affairs for both the patients and the doctors attempting to treat them.

What really stuck out to me reading this novel was how the author wrote it all out in a methodical and precise tone of voice, and yet was still written in a way that the average reader, someone who isn’t an expert in the field of mental health, will be able to understand and empathize with. Each chapter elevates the struggle by showing not only individual cases the author worked, but the journey to fight for the rights for all mentally ill patients to seek help or get help they need. The details given by the author and the statistics laid out for the mandates for mental health by state showcase a lack of cohesive treatment plans and emphasizes the need to expand and grow the mental health profession in this nation and the world at large. 

The Verdict

A well written, powerful and heartbreaking non-fiction read that everyone should try for themselves. Breakdown by Lynn Nanos is a detailed and meticulous book that gives readers the inside look into a very under appreciated field, and novels like this are the steps needed to take the United States and the world forward into the mental health profession for both patients and care providers alike. Be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

Part of taking care of one’s mental health and overall health in their daily relationships has to be seeking advice from counselors or those well versed in the hardships of any relationship. If you are looking for such advice, visit our friends at Regain to learn more by following this link https://www.regain.us/advice/ .

About the Author

Lynn Nanos is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in her twelfth year as a full-time mobile emergency psychiatric clinician in Massachusetts. After graduating from Columbia University with a Master of Science in Social Work, she worked as an inpatient psychiatric social worker for approximately seven years. She is an active member of the National Shattering Silence Coalition that advocates for the seriously mentally ill population. She serves on its Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee committee and co-chairs its Blog committee.