Clare T. Walker

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book review: Jesus, the Master Psychologist by Ray Guarendi

September 4, 2021 by Clare T. Walker

My latest review for the National Catholic Register is up!

Dr. Ray Guarendi is a Catholic father of 10 children, a practicing clinical psychologist, and a popular author and media host. He’s known to EWTN audiences for his down-to-earth, “actionable” advice, especially for parents. However, his latest book is a pivot into general psychology, emotional well-being and relationships, drawing upon wisdom from the mouth of our Lord Jesus himself.

Lots of good stuff in here, especially some admonitions against falling for every pop psychology trend:

…in some Gospel teachings, “Jesus is two millennia ahead of what psychology is only now coming to understand.” For example, Our Lord’s exhortation to simply do one’s duty and then regard oneself as no more than an “unworthy servant” (Luke 7:10) controverts the pop-psychology doctrine of “self-esteem.” Modern psychologists are starting to realize that too much emphasis on self-esteem (and, if I may extrapolate a little, its corollary, “self-care,” as secular culture understands it) has created a tendency toward unhealthy self-absorption.

Dr. Ray is a great resource for parents of all faiths!

To read the entire review, click here.

To buy the book, click here.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: book review, book reviews, Christian psychology, National Catholic Register, parenting, psychology

review of Startling Figures appears in National Catholic Register

January 3, 2017 by Clare T. Walker

I got a pleasant surprise today when browsing the National Catholic Register–I came across an article called Familiar Names Appear Among Latest Literary Offerings, a review of books written by Register contributors. Couldn’t help noticing the cover of my short story collection in the image accompanying the piece:

books_by_register_writers_register_book_feature

Sarah Reinhard, author of the article, wrote:

Mostly, I had fun reading these books. They’re curl-up-on-the-couch good, though they’re definitely for adults (or older teens, though I’d recommend you preview them first). My older daughter has aspirations toward veterinary medicine, and I think Walker’s characters will likely appeal to her … but at almost-12, I’m not sure if the nature of these stories (and what I’ve read so far of Keys) is quite appropriate.

Reinhard’s take is spot on: Startling Figures and The Keys of Death are edgy, gritty, realistic, contemporary stories meant for adults and older teen readers. My bad guys are really bad and they do bad things! They say bad words! (Sometimes even the good guys say bad words…). Some situations are intense. Adult relationships are tastefully depicted (nothing explicit) but some parents may prefer that their children be a certain age before reading.

She concludes with this observation:

Walker has taken on suspense/thriller fiction from a Catholic perspective, without watering down the “real” aspect of things.

This is exactly what I was going for in both books. Well done, Sarah, and thanks for your kind assessment!

You can read more from Sarah Reinhard on her blog, Snoring Scholar and at the National Catholic Register.

Here are the URLs in case the links above are broken or go astray:

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/familiar-names-appear-among-latest-literary-offerings

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/sarah-reinhard

http://www.snoringscholar.com/

http://www.ncregister.com

Filed Under: Literature, Reviews, Startling Figures, The Keys of Death Tagged With: book reviews, National Catholic Register, reviews, Sarah Reinhard, Startling Figures, The Keys of Death

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The Keys of Death – a veterinary medical thriller

Startling Figures: 3 stories of the paranormal

Tooth and Nail: a novelette

Look At Me: a novelette

The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings

Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, 5th edition

Homeland: The Legend of Drizzt – Book 1 by R.A. Salvatore

Exile: The Legend of Drizzt – Book 2 by R.A. Salvatore

Watership Down by Richard Adams

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