Guest Karen Jones Gowen

 

Hello Readers!

This week I would like to introduce a guest, Karen Jones Gowen. She is doing a blog tour hosted by WOW! Women On Writing. 

Karen is the author of Afraid of Everything. This book is a gem. While it starts a little slower than most books you may pick up, I beg you to not be put off by this slow start. It isn’t because of a lack of skills on the author’s part; but because of her skills. If the book had gone from “zero to sixty” in the first paragraph, I think it would have done an injustice to the ending. 

The slow build-up in the beginning prepares you to experience a life-changing journey with Helena Carr. You will learn what it is like to live with a near-debilitating anxiety disorder. You will learn to see the world through a lens unlike any other you may have experienced. The life lessons that Helena learns from her hospital bed are enlightening.

Sometimes it is difficult to step into the perspective of another person. Karen manages to guide her readers into a world rich with difficulties and limitations, yet lead them through the trials to a wonderfully satisfying ending.

Since I don’t want to ruin the story for you, I will stop here with my review. Just know that I strongly encourage this book for anyone looking for a unique and uplifting book.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Afraid of Everything is a touching and expertly written book about the life and experiences of Helena Carr as she explores an intriguing new world.

Helena Carr is afraid of everything. After a crisis at work, she quits her job and feels lost. It’s time for a serious change, to beat the extreme anxiety that has plagued her since childhood. Something different, unplanned and radical. Sell her house, move to a foreign location, turn her life upside down in an effort to end the emotionally paralyzing fear.

Before Helena can act on her options, however, she has a terrible accident on a Southern California freeway. Instead of going on an exotic vacation, she is in a hospital, in a coma, traveling to strange worlds in another dimension, meeting people who seem to know more about her than she knows about herself.

As Helena explores this intriguing new world, she realizes the truth about her past and the purpose of her future. And she is no longer afraid. She is at last ready to live. But first, she must wake up from the coma.

Paperback: 285 Pages
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: WiDo Publishing (October 7, 2014)
ASIN: B00OAC0N6U
Afraid of Everything is available as an e-book and paperback at Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Born and raised in central Illinois, Karen Jones Gowen now lives and writes in Panajachel, Guatemala. She and her husband Bruce are the parents of ten children. Not surprisingly, family relationships are a recurring theme in Gowen's writing. Her children’s stories have appeared in the Friend, and her essays in the Jacksonville Journal Courier. Gowen's published books are Farm Girl, Uncut Diamonds, House of Diamonds, Lighting Candles in the Snow, Farm Girl Country Cooking: Hearty Meals for Active Families and Afraid of Everything. She blogs at her website, karenjonesgowen.com and at Coming Down the Mountain.

Karen can be found online at:
Website: karenjonesgowen.com
Blog: karenjonesgowen.blogspot.com
Email: karenjonesgowen@gmail.com
Twitter: @KarenGowen 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karen.gowen.1?fref=ts

Be sure to stop off on Karen’s next stop on her blog tour:

Monday, March 30 @ Memoir Writer’s Journey
Join Kathleen Pooler at Memoir Writer's Journey as she reviews Afraid of Everything by Karen Jones Gowen http://krpooler.com/

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CONTEST: For each guest that leaves a comment, your name will go into a drawing for a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Just be sure to leave your email address!

Until next time…be kind to each other…and to yourself!