The River – Michael Neale

Sooo good! So good, is The River by Michael Neale.  I read it in five hours and kept it in my mind for a while, before penning my thoughts about this book.  The Author gets you right in the very first pages and you can’t leave until the book closes. 

A five year old boy loses his river-guide father who embodies everything that this boy knows to be true and good about his world.  He loses his father to the river and struggles through growing up with an ever present depression that threatens to swallow him up.  His journey through life brings him back to the river and he encounters the river as he was not able to as a five year old boy watching his father drown.  He experiences love, release, learns to forgive and find life once more – a life connected to the river.  This book is so very beautifully written, you can’t help falling in love with the characters portrayed and feeling a part of their story.

I hadn’t heard of Michael Neale before reading this book and in the follow up notes, discovered that this was his first book.  A Dove award winning song writer, he captures the essence of our life stories, yours mine and Gabriel’s.  The core statement of the book, “You were made for the book” sums up the theme that we are made for adventure, for the unknown and that settling for what is safe and known is never in our best interest.  Neale puts it this way: “The only true joy and fulfillment in life comes from living out our purpose and destiny  in the greater story of life, which I believe is God’s story.  Read this book and enjoy it as I did.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The MoneySmart Family System - Teaching Financial Independence to children of every age - Steve and Annette Economides

I am so blown away by this book – not only is it practical in terms of teaching children about money but it also encompasses other issues facing parents raising children with reasonable boundaries and responsibilities.  I really enjoyed the way this  book gets to the core of parenting children and teaching them sound (not only financial but life) principles.

The authors Steve and Annette Economides, know what they are talking about having raised five children to be moneysmart, they have produced this book having walked the walk, made some mistakes, found some solutions and come up with such a wonderfully practical guide to being money smart as adults and passing this one to our children. 

The book is broken down into 21 chapters which start off with a great rule to apply to the financial management of our children.  Then broken down into the various categories of giving, saving and spending, this book is packed with tips on how to apply the MoneySmart Family system.  It’s a great read and makes a lot of sense in raising smart, money savvy independent young children.  I just wish I had read this many years ago already.  Fabulous.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”