Mac seems to have a PERFECT life...a wonderful wife, three lovely children, and a job that he's not only good at, but enjoys...until one day, he's under attack. The worst part? It's not a physical presence from which he can defend himself with fists or weapons, but a mental and spiritual one he'll need all the help he can get if he is to survive with any semblance of that perfect life still intact.



It was so sad to watch the family's decline...they were so happy, so together, but whatever it was he was going through was stealing it all away one attack at a time. As the story progresses, we uncover the root of this mysterious disease, but not without his seemingly sturdy house of cards falling completely down. They're stomped on, trudged through, and left for scavengers to drag off to the darkest corners...but then we see a ray of hope. We see a man in the lowest of low places reaching up to capture the hand of someone that'll never let us down, never give us more than we can handle, much as he promised his own children. Seizing that ray with all his might, he pulls himself hand over fist, and heart over it all, back to the land of the living, but to what end? Everything he ever worked for, everything he ever built with or for someone...is gone. A devastating blow to someone coming back from the brink...well it might be to someone less dedicated, someone who had truly lost every ounce of what it means to be HUMAN, or the priorities of a truly great Father...but sometimes the hardest of lessons learned make an impact we CAN'T forget, and placing his life in the hands of the one who first gave it, opening himself up to all the lessons around him, may just be the way to his own heaven on earth.



I admit, I LOVE THIS AUTHOR'S WORK....you know, in case you haven't already seen my multiple reviews in days gone by. Grant it, I adored the past releases more than a few of the current "best sellers", but this one is a semi-return to those "days of glory". Mr. Manchester is known for writing heart warming stories with a great deal of heart wrenching along the way, but he never leaves his characters unfinished, or in utter despair. True, he follows the "take the bad with the good", but he always manages to bring them back from the brink, a more complete version of themselves, while shining a golden light on those lessons that are often hardest to learn. He celebrates family, faith, and the simple things in life, while managing to not write a fairy tale version of it all. Take this one...the first half of the book is quite literally Mac's decline into his own personal h*ll. It shows how while some men are taught to be stalwart and strong, sharing only the barest portions of what they consider weakness to their friends and family, we were meant to SHARE our journeys as well as our burdens to make it through this life one step at a time. Had he done just that, his path wouldn't have been smooth by any means, but it may not have spiraled so completely into despair that the only outcome he could see was darkness with no one at the wheel to guide it otherwise.



All in all, it's a story that isn't pretty in the classical sense, but it speaks to the masses just the same. Sometimes we DO have to take the good with the bad, but it doesn't mean there isn't an easier way out of the trenches, or a guiding presence that never leaves our side. Even in our darkest hour, there's always someone we can turn to who's never more than a heartbeat away, and asking for help is never a weakness, but a strength. Being able to recognize we need someone else to lean on shows courage, and wisdom, not dependency or cowardice, so long as we put the work in as well to get us where we need to be. My only critique would be the length of time Mac's spiral takes, or rather how much of the book it occupies (quite literally around 50%). I understand it wasn't something that happened overnight exactly, but personally I feel that portion could have been halved while still achieving the overall fantastic results. Recommended for fans of this author's work, as well as Contemporary Fiction readers from late teens to adult.


**ecopy received for review ( )

Mackenzie Anderson, who goes by Mac, and his wife, Jen, feel that everything in their lives is perfect. They were on their way home from a wedding anniversary dinner, when they saw a serious accident. Mac stepped out of his car to help but then he heard some sirens.

The next day, he was talking to Jen and later she left the room and he suddenly was dizzy, and made for a chair, he was having trouble catching his breath. He could not figure out what was going on. He recovered and later tried to blow up a balloon for his son’s birthday and it happened again. He could not breathe and worried that he may being having a heart attack. That started a series of attacks. He did not know why he was having them and they were not possible to predict when they would happen. He was ashamed to find at the emergency room out that they were panic attacks. Then the nightmares began, he would wake up screaming. This began to dominate his life. He started losing his with his kids. He could not focus on anything that his wife was saying. He started spending less time at work. This problem was taking over his life and he did not know why. He starts to self -medicate with alcohol.

Trapped in a terrible vortex of frightening emotions and he ttried but could not get out. Reading about this situation, I wanted to reach into the book and help him. There were times that I could not stop reading. Mac was experiencing PTSD. He loved his family and they loved him, but he needed professional help to walk him back through his memories and deal with them. The writing is very convincing, and you really feel what Mac was going through. Having experienced PTSD, myself to a much smaller to degree, I am positive that he captured the experience accurately.

I highly recommended for those who have PTSD and their families

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review, but that in no way influenced my review. My thoughts are my own. ( )

Every once in a while an author comes along who writes novels that are so powerfully compelling, poignant, and thought-provoking, that they pull at the heartstrings and stir the soul. For me, that author is Steven Manchester and his latest novel, Three Shoeboxes.

Three Shoeboxes is a poignant story about a man struggling with PTSD and the complicated dynamics of family relationships that will simply pull at your emotional heartstrings.

Author Steven Manchester weaves a richly descriptive and complex tale that follows Mac Anderson as a traumatic past event that he has repressed for nearly twenty years suddenly comes to the surface when he comes across an auto accident on his way home from celebrating the fifteenth wedding anniversary with his wife Jen. This repressed event triggers a frightening journey down the rabbit hole, and as Mac's world is suddenly turned upside down, the effects of continuous panic/anxiety attacks lead Mac to feeling broken, alone, depressed, and turning to alcohol that ultimately results in him losing his job as an advertising executive, and more importantly his family. Mac's change in behavior results in a charge of domestic abuse and a one-year restraining order. Mac's family also goes through the trauma of having their lives turned upside down, no one is the winner in this difficult situation. Desperate to get his life back, Mac checks himself into an intensive in-house detox rehab treatment center, and while the road is long and hard, he faces his PTSD and alcoholism diagnosis with the hope to reconnect with his three children: Jillian (13), Bella (8), and Brady (7). Mac's journey is filled with life lessons, animosity, unresolved dysfunctional family issues, regrets, acceptance, hope, and an emotional chance to renew the bonds of family. Three shoeboxes filled with hope and unfailing love for his three children leads Mac to a good place where he strives to gets his life back on track.

The reader will be easily captivated and drawn into Mac's realistic and heartwrenching journey. The author does a wonderful job of intertwining Mac's traumatic past with the difficulties that he faced throughout his journey. You can't help but get swept away and experience the full gamut of emotions as Mac and his family faces a crossroad in their lives as they struggle with an unresolved dysfunctional family dynamic due to PTSD, while considering the intense and difficult choices of how to deal with their current life issues and the unknown future for their family.

Three Shoeboxes is a powerful and compelling story written from the heart. It is a must read that will make you ponder about the effects of mental illness (PTSD), alcoholism, and your own family dynamic. This is the kind of story that will stir your soul, and resonate with you for a very long time.

RATING: 5 STARS

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Providence Book Promotions.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2018/07/three-shoeboxes-by-steven-man... ( )

This is probably the first time where I didn't really like a book from Mr. Manchester. I am usually a fan of his work. There is so much life infused into the characters that makes the stories that much better. In fact, I have grown close to some of the characters that I have cried. Yet, I struggled to find myself connecting to Mac. The fact that he was struggling with PTSD is sad; which should have allowed me to get closer to him. However, I couldn't.

For this reason I found myself having a hard time reading this book. I would read only a chapter or two and have to stop. This stop and go method was not ideal. After finding myself finally getting a little more than a third of the way into the book, I had lost all interest in wanting to finish. I am really hoping that the next book is a hit with me again. ( )

Steven Manchester has the talent to get right to your heart and soul. Three Shoeboxes tells the story of an amazing husband and father, Mac Anderson, who suddenly changes and becomes not so amazing. He is fighting with everyone including himself, lashing out at people for no reason, and seeing trouble where there isn’t any. I love that his wife doesn’t just throw in the towel and call it quits. She wants to work with him, wants to support him, and wants to continue loving him. Until she can’t. She has to make changes in their lives to protect herself and their children.

Three Shoeboxes had me in tears, full of hope and thankful for this families strength. Anytime PTSD is brought into a story it becomes a tough story. Steven Manchester has the heart, soul, and understanding to tell the story with gentle care and love. He tells the truth, doesn’t cover it up and make it pretty but yet he keeps in real. There are families that suffer from members that have PTSD every day and this story would give them the help, the support, and knowledge that there is help out.

I am adding Three Shoeboxes to my must re-read list. ( )