Arise and Shine: Laments from the Darkness,

Songs of the Light

by Laura Schultz

 

Contact me at laura@lauraschultznow.com to purchase the book at the cost of $12

 

Arise and Shine Book Cover

 

''After a year-long search to find the publisher that was right for me, I connected with Silver Bow Publishers in Canada. The title of my debut collection of poetry is "Arise and Shine: Laments from the Darkness, Songs of the Light." The book is a tribute to my recently deceased mother who was a renowned painter and sculptor. Thus most of the pictures are those of her paintings that were displayed in galleries all over the country.

Endorsements have been pouring in. For example, the New York Times best-selling novelist, Beth Hoffman says of this collection, In her generous and heartfelt collection of poems, Laura Schultz urges us to look up, to dive deep, and to venture within so that we might embrace the joys, pain, and wonderment of all that we are, have been, and hope to become.” —Beth HoffmanNew York Times bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

This collection is a visual journey through poems that range from “Solitary Tears” to “Transfiguration” and is a transformative experience along the path to the formation of personal empowerment through discovering one’s voice.  The purpose of writing it was to provide both enjoyment and inspiration to those who have or will encounter challenges as well as those who have overcome them. For those of us who have wrestled their inner demons and triumphed in the end, I believe most people can relate to the losses and overcoming them that are contained herein. I also trust that this collection of poems can provide guidance and hope to those still struggling to find their unique voice.

As a licensed psychotherapist for over 25 years, I’ve witnessed firsthand a myriad of broken relationships, depression, addiction and the correlating sorrow involved for all concerned. I, too, struggled with my own issues with depression and serious physical challenges as well as lost love and deep sorrow. Though over the years, I have facilitated positive outcomes for people in crisis, I decided to write about these challenges and my own as a universal via verse.


 

Published in Poetry Anthology

 

 

Sudden Thunder Book Cover

 

My poetry is now published in an international poetry anthology entitled "Sudden Thunder". As the only poet in the U.S. asked to contribute, I am really honored to be a part of this book. Thanks to all the great poets who contributed to this powerful anthology and the publishers Ken Ader and Candice James at Silver Bow Publishing. The link to purchase is http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=10812851902



 

New Quotes

"Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. ''
― Pablo Picasso

 

"Write for the most intelligent, wittiest, wisest audience in the universe: Write to please yourself."
― Harlan Ellison

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."

Cyril Connolly

"Reading is the sole means by which we slip,
involuntarily often helplessly into another's skin, another's voice
, another's soul."
Joyce Carol Oates


"There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly;
sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges."
Ernest Hemingway

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

~ Henry David Thoreau

"If you are using dialogue—say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.''
John Steinbeck

''All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath."
F. Scott Fitzgerald

Since I enjoy viewing websites that are creative, visually appealing and provide insights as well, I hope to provide the same environment for you as a viewer. For those of you who enjoy reading book reviews on upcoming releases, feel free to click here to view the ones I've written professionally for the New York Journal of Books. There really are some fabulous reads out there that may not be widely known about yet, that I predict will do really well if they find the right audience. And then there are others that..well, I'll leave that for you to decide. In the meantime,since I enjoy quotes about creativity, here are some for you to peruse and they will be updated periodically.

 

"Books are a uniquely portable magic." - Stephen King

"The reason one writes isn't the fact he wants to say something. He writes because he has something to say." F.Scott Fitzgerald

"Becoming the reader is the essence of becoming a writer." - John O'Hara

 


 

Laura's Reviews

 

Irritable Hearts: A PTSD Love Story

Feburary 25, 2015

“. . ..the message of hope and inspiration has the potential to help millions who are survivors of trauma and the people closest to them.”

 

IrratabeHeartsBookCover

 

 

This quote is but one small glimpse into the thoughts and feelings that incessantly plagued author Mac McClelland for years. They arose quite suddenly in the midst of her job as a journalist, reporting about sexual violence and other atrocities in the aftermath of the cataclysmic earthquake in Haiti (2010). Almost every conversation she had with victims and aid workers her first days there revolved around the horror and unimaginable terror of rape survivors. After personally bearing witness to the physical and psychological wounds of countless women and children, her own mind and body began to unravel. In short order, she became engulfed in a living hell, an emotional Armageddon that would change her life forever.

Like many people who experience a trauma that permeates one’s center with a constant sense of imminent danger, McClelland’s waking hours were intolerable and sleep was equally as painful, consisting of violent and vivid nightmares.  She stated “In bed at night, I listened for every sound. Each one hit my eardrums like a knife, painful and startling and sharp, my eyes so wide open my face ached. Whenever I dozed, I woke up fast, wet and heart racing, from nightmares that someone had got in, or had grabbed me there on the a mattress.

Read More...

 

January 23, 2014

This is my most recent book review written for the New York Journal of Books where I have worked for over 3 years. This new release made it's debut on January 1, 2014.

George Orwell: English Rebel by the British Historian Robert Colls

 

englishrebelbookcover

. . . as a result of this adeptly written biography, Orwell will continue to fascinate an entirely new generation of readers.”

One would be hard pressed to find anyone who has not heard of George Orwell or of at least one of his most famous works, 1984 or Animal Farm. But there are myriad surprises about Orwell revealed in George Orwell: The English Rebel that will amaze even the most ardent fans of his work.

How many would know, for example, that he became an British policeman in Burma (now known as Myanmar), worked as a reporter on labor and social issues in England, wrote as a partisan in the Spanish Civil War, and ended as a critical observer of Cold War politics until his death in 1950?

Read More...

 

Beauty and Wisdom by Robbie Kaye

January 2, 2014

 

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Ms. Schultz is a short story contributor to the new 2013 release Beauty and Wisdom that empowers women to value themselves and their unique qualities rather than to base their self-esteem on false notions dictated by others. To purchase.

 

A Riveting Book About The Casey Anthony Murder Trial by Claudette Walker & Matrix Filia

  December 30, 2013    

 

Casey Anthony

 

When my friend and outstanding author of the thriller "C Street" told me that she was writing a book with her daughter about the Casey Anthony case, I thought it was a timely and important story to tell. I was even more thrilled when she asked me if I would write the Post Script for the book. Many of us were glued to the trial about the death of this beautiful and innocent child.

Reading it makes me realize how right I was about the importance of this book. I also became aware of how much I did not know about the horrific death of this child and the judicial process that was to try her mother for the death. I walked away from reading this book with an understanding of how unpredictable our justice/jury system can be. From the media and shows like CSI, juries currently expect a great deal of forensic evidence such as DNA, fiber, strands of hair etc. However, such is rarely the case in a homicide. Furthermore, young missing children do not garner a great deal of news coverage, unless the media is focused on that particular child whose case then develops into a high profile one.It would behoove all of us to be more sensitive to and become more aware of those whose task it is to guard our most precious resources, our children. To Purchase.

 

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Hiding in Plain Sight: The Psyche of Serial Killers

by Laura Schultz

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jeffreydahmer

 

You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body.  You’re looking into their eyes. A person in this situation is God. Sometimes I feel like a vampire and I like to kill. I’m the most cold-blooded sonofabitch you will ever meet. We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. AND there will be more of your children dead tomorrow. I wouldn’t trade the person I am or what I’ve done for anything. So I don’t think about it. And at times it’s a rather mellow trip to lay back and remember”.

---Ted Bundy

“I love to kill people. I love watching them die. I’d shoot them in the head and they would wiggle and squirm all over the place and just stop. Or I’d cut them with a knife and watch their faces turn real white.  I love all that blood.”

---Richard Ramirez, aka The Night Stalker

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Killing for Attention: Munchausen by Proxy

As a psychotherapist for over 20 years, I find that many disorders of the mind labeled as mental illnesses are both fascinating and complex. One disorder in particular, is as interesting as it is bewildering. Munchausen Syndrome is so named after Baron von Munchausen (a German nobleman who was a teller of tall tales and became a central character in children’s stories) but the official diagnosis is that of a psychiatric disorder, which may include symptoms of pretending to be mentally ill.

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The Writer’s Guide to Psychology: How to Write Accurately about Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior

 

Is the term “nervous breakdown” an accurate description of what can happen to someone under stress and who might be struggling with a major depression or panic attacks? Is mental instability an ingredient in the psyche of a creative mind? Are the characters depicted in popular films and books accurate portrayals of actual, real-life psychiatric disorders?

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Attaining Joy: The Hidden Secrets

For decades, men and women alike have repeatedly asked the daunting question, “What is joy, how does one attain it and can it last, particularly during tumultuous times”? Though it is true on average that people are happier in societies where the government functions well and people feel they have a voice, it appears that joy does not depend on socio-economic conditions but more on a persons’ personality. Unlike happiness which may depend on a person’s outer circumstances and their perception of “the good life” which is fleeting, joy is found at a persons’ innermost essence. J

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dove

 

 
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