Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: After serving a 4-month stint in Afghanistan with the Military Intelligence Corps, Jason Kander returned home to Missouri and, with his wife, Diana, at his side, threw himself into a political career and, by 2017, was preparing to run for President of the United States. However, Jason had a dark secret he didn't even know about, post-traumatic stress syndrome that was controlling his decisions, ruining his marriage and putting his life in danger. Review: I walked past this book at our local library this past Saturday and, while I didn't originally pick it up, wound up grabbing it on my way to the checkout desk.  Normally, I'll read a book one or two chapters at a time but, on occasion, come across one that I can't put down. This was one of those books. Like many people, I was familiar with the term PTSD but, having never served in the military, didn't fully understand the mental illness. It's easy to say this book both taught me a lot about the illne...

Synopsis: Well-renown surgeon and conservative icon Ben Carson gives his view on race relations in America as well as subjects like critical race theory and George Floyd's death at the hands of police officers. Review: As a moderate independent, I try to keep an open mind and read books/articles written by people from both ends of the spectrum. That's why, when I came across this book at the library, I was intrigued enough to check it out. Since I was familiar enough with Ben Carson to know his basic political views, I pretty much knew what to expect from the book. However, I also hoped a conservative, black, doctor would offer a slightly unique viewpoint about racism in America and how to solve it. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case. To be fair, there were a couple things that did stand out for me when reading this book, such as his stories about the racism he faced when he was a child and how his white teachers hated the fact he was doing better than the whit...