Lifestyle | Book Spectrum

Master Builder Leads a Deck Rebellion

I remember when my father built his first deck. It was a small one at one side of the pool. Years later, he took it to a new level where he built one connected to the house with sliding glass doors, a grilling and dining area leading to the pool. That was decades ago, but my first experience with a deck as not simply a platform, but a living and entertainment space. Fast forward to 2025, Deck Rebellion: Revolutionary Concepts for Outdoor Living takes deck design up several notches (as the great Casey Kasem used to say) into a dimension so fascinating, it is limited only by one’s imagination.

Sean McAleer, founder of Deck Remodelers, winner of a plethora of prestigious awards, offers us not only a look into his own mind and skill, but a trending attitude toward decks as not only a place to enjoy a newspaper and grill burgers, but as the centerpiece of a backyard resort. We all enjoy going to 5-star hotels with beautiful outdoor deck areas, why not have one at home? This book not only let’s the reader explore his or her potential with photos of McAleer’s heralded work, but a series of short story testimonials from those whose backyards he and his company enchanted.

The decks shown in this book not only epitomize the new wave in yard-wide reimagination but also reveal how much McAleer loves a challenge and takes true joy in improving people’s lives through their homes. Why not, as he says, bring what you enjoy about the inside of your home outside?

While the photos inspire imagination and offer readers a chance to think about the possibilities for their own backyard paradise, McAleer also offers practical advice to those who want to take on one of their own Deck Rebellions. He conveys what a well-conceived and quality-constructed deck can do for a home both to its aesthetic and investment value

Autobiographies Lifestyle Non-Fiction Relationships

Kristin Casey On Her Life, Dating and Recovery After the Breakup with Her Rock Star Ex

Kristin Casey wrote about her wild and interesting life with her previous book, Rock Monster: My Life with Joe Walsh, but follows up with Casey Dancer: A Memoir About Dating, Stripping, and a Little Hot Yoga , where she reveals more about herself beyond life in the proverbial fast lane.Many people who watch television and read tabloids thing of celebrity girlfriends as one-dimensional arm candy and dancers as paid live window dressing, but rarely see there are real human beings underneath the surface of that their eyes show them.
Ms. Casey offers a look at the real person beyond a pretty face in Casey Dancer. She shows the reader more of her own life, thoughts and inner conflict with herself within what could be considered a follow-up to her first book as much as a sequel to her life.
Kristin goes in-depth about her recovery, dating philosophy, professional struggles, personal vulnerabilities and how they all helped her grow, prosper as well as flourish.

: Kristin is a recovered alcoholic and addict who’s rigorously inventoried her every resentment and relinquished ninety percent of them. She’s survived clinical depression, numerous addictions, the panhandle of Texas, and seventeen years of Catholicism. Her first book, Rock Monster: My Life with Joe Walsh, documents a tumultuous six-year relationship with rock legend and Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, their drug-fueled train-wreck breakup, and her ensuing suicidal spiral. Her writing has appeared in The Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, The Nervous Breakdown, Please Kill Me, $pread, The Fix, and more. Her expertise resides in addiction, dependency, intimacy, and sexuality, with particular knowledge of the commercial sex industry. She resides in Austin, Texas, where she worked as a certified sexuality counselor, intimacy coach, and IPSA-trained Surrogate Partner. Recently retired, Kristin is now a full-time author of both memoirs and screenplays. Visit her website at www.KristinCasey.com

Business Lifestyle Non-Fiction Uncategorized

Linda Jensen to Small, Medium AND Larger Business Owners: What’s YOUR Exit Strategy?

What’s Your Exit Strategy? opened my eyes to the future outside of running my business. While we tend to focus on staying strong and expanding, Linda Jensen offers us valuable advice so we can be ready for outside hurdles and what to do when it’s time to sell.
Often we see books, and valuable ones, helping small and mid-size business owners build and strengthen. There are also plenty of books about life after retirement. Ms. Jensen’s book is unique and important as she teaches us in a pleasantly unorthodox way how to prepare for the ending of one’s business whether it be preparing to sell it or setting up a succession plan. What’s Your Exit Strategy? also helps those whose businesses might be suffering from an economic downturn, aiding someone who needs to transition from that particular endeavor to another venture. As a business owner, I have always looked toward running my day-to-day operations, servicing clients and looking for new challenges. Reading Ms. Jensen’s book has me more prepared for when the time comes to cash in on the many years of hard work, navigate the hoops one must travel through and look toward a nice post-business ownership life.
This is not a typical procedural “how to” book. Inside What’s Your Exit Strategy?, the reader will find lessons learned from the successes and failures of others who told their stories as Ms. Jensen narrates and delves into relatable, even when unanticipated, potential situations. These true tales keep the attention of the curious business owner whose time, frankly, is valuable and perhaps would not want to labor through a droning instruction pamphlet.
What’s Your Exit Strategy? is an extremely valuable book for Boomer and Gen X business owners who need to look ahead to very serious concerns outside the confines of the work days from not only Ms. Jensen’s expertise, but also through the experiences of others.

Get the book here: Amazon.com: What Is Your Exit Strategy: Maximize Your Business Mindset. Minimize the Minefields: 9781948261890: Jensen, Linda: Books

Lifestyle Mental Health Non-Fiction Success

S4 E1 – Messed Up Like You with Rick Cullerton

We kick off Season 4 of Book Spectrum with Rick Cullerton, who tells the story of how he overcame mental illness, anziety and verbal abuse to become a success in life and prominent vacation hotel owner in his new book Messed Up Like You.
Rick discusses his family life, how he learned entrepreneurship, how he hooked up with the wrong crowd, wound up in jail and later finally took over his own life — losing several pounds, turning his career aronud and becomng the man he truly wanted to be.
Weaved in and out of the book is Cullterton’s tale of how he got his pilot’s license, which is no small feat for anyone let alone a man with ADD and anziety.
Rick’s life is kind of like that of a movie character who had a lot of things happen to him, yet it all took place in the real world with no cameras, directors or actors.
Come to think of it, we are all messed up in one way or more.

Biographies Entertainment Lifestyle Non-Fiction

S3 E12 – Marilyn Monroe as You Never Knew Her with Jay Margolis

Many know Marilyn Monroe as the iconic movie star through her on-screen persona. On Book Spectrum’s Season 3 finale, we will bring you a look the Hollywood legend as you never knew her, far from the spotlight.
Biographer Jay Margolis, author of ‘My Maril, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Hollywood and Me.” tells Marilyn’s personal story through the eyes of Terry Karger, whose family were close friends of the sliver screen legend dating back to when she was known as “Norma Jeane” and the young narrator’s babysitter.
Jay discusses Terry’s memories of Ms. Monroe, who she really was when not pretending to be the “dizzy blonde” sterrotype, how Marilyn was an influence in Terry’s own life and career, her loves and relationships away from the paparazzi and tabloids as well as both Jay’s and Terry’s thoughts on the mysterious circumstances surrounding the acclaimed actress’ death.
In the book, Terry also recalls her interactions and personal relationships with other members of the Hollywood Hierarchy like Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman and many more.

Pick the book up here: My Maril: Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Hollywood, and Me: Karger, Terry, Margolis, Jay, Reagan, Michael: 9781637583265: Amazon.com: Books

About Terry Karger: Terry Karger graduated from the University of Southern California in 1963, one year after Marilyn Monroe’s death. She taught at Crescent Heights Elementary and would later teach at Westwood Elementary where her students had parents such as Micky Dolenz, Millie Perkins, Ronny Cox, and Richard Pryor.

About Jay Margolis: New York Times bestselling author Jay Margolis graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California and became a Jesse Unruh Research Scholar for his paper on African American Reparations. On October 15, 2014, The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. accepted Margolis’s book The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed for display at the 37th Annual Book Fair & Authors’ Night, in partnership with Politics & Prose. The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed was translated into Italian, French, and Russian and became a New York Times bestseller. Jay Margolis appeared in the 2014 United Kingdom documentary, directed by Renny Bartlett, titled The Missing Evidence: The Death of Marilyn Monroe, a Blink Films production in association with the Smithsonian Channel.

Inspirational Lifestyle Non-Fiction

S3 E11 – Psychic Detective Nancy Orlen Weber

Have you ever watched a true crime program where a psychic was recruitied to aid investigtors with the solving of a crime or perhaps to find a missing person and wondered how they were able to do that? Joining us on Book Spectrum is Nancy Orlen Webter who has worked difficult and high profile cases and wrote about many of them in her book, The Life of a Psychic Detective.

During our conversation, Nancy discusses how she got into helping solve crimes and some of her most interesting investigations. While she has been instrumental in murder cases, she also tells of times when her talents led to happier endings like the finding of a missing loved one.

The book is not only about her work as a psychic detective, but a primer on how the reader can tap into his or her own intuitive talents.

Find out more about Nancy Orlen Weber and how to pick up her book on her website: The Life of a Psychic Detective – Nancy Orlen Weber

Inspirational Lifestyle Non-Fiction

S3 E07- Mia’s Odyssey: After an Abusive Marriage, Mia Odeh Takes Back Her Soul

Mia Odeh was Imprisoned in an abusive marriage, but how can a woman whose culture emphasizes female submission escape the clutches of her husband? Mia Odeh shares her journey and how she finally re-took control of her live in the revealing new memoir, Mia’s Odyssey: Taking Back My Soul.
In the book, Mia revisits her life story, beginning in Palestine at age sixteen, where she was forced into an arranged marriage. After being brought to the United States, Mia realizes that her marriage is not only unwanted, it is unsafe, as she experiences routine sexual and physical assault. Mia’s Odyssey shines an unflinching light on the horrors of domestic abuse and reveals how a survivor with enough determination can find the resources to forge a path to freedom.

“Sometimes you have to get a little distance from something before you can really see it,” Mia says. “From the time I was sixteen years my husband surrounded me like a putrid fog, permeating every minute of every day and completely blocking the sun from entering my life. When my husband left us behind in Arizona and moved to Michigan for work I began to see him as he really was, nothing more than a small, evil, isolated creature. I made it my goal to keep my children pure, to keep them from ever becoming like their father.”

Business Inspirational Lifestyle Non-Fiction Success

S3 E05- Bew White Reveals His New Outlook on Life After Recovering From a Near-Fatal Disease

What does it mean to live a truly substantial life?
How does a visionary entrepreneur repeatedly overcome risk and rejection?
Is there more to a life well lived than the sum of a person’s successes and failures?
A Summer Classic: The Bew White Story explores these questions and more through the life and eyes of William Bew White III, the founder of Summer Classics, a manufacturer of luxury outdoor furniture.

“When you start a small business and grow it, you go through a lot of trials and tribulations,” observes Bew. “This really is sort of a modern re-telling of the Jimmy Stewart It’s a Wonderful Life movie.”

The biography, written by Christopher Taunton, delivers a detailed chronicle of Bew’s childhood, college years, early professional life, the successes and failures that got him to where he is today and how he overcame a health condition which nearly killed him as he makes the most of his life on Earth.

The high costs and sacrifices behind this success make A Summer Classic compelling and instructive, a gripping illustration of the saying, “One step forward, two steps back.” Bew’s career was beset with “hurdles, challenges, sleepless nights, poor health, things that didn’t work, (facing) the recession” and the twists and turns of a life spent doing business with a host of people. Trustworthy business partners were hard to find, and those who did not share Bew’s commitment to faith, character caused big problems along the way. At each obstacle, his creative thinking, foresight, and leadership helped the company to move forward with its vision that people might look at Summer Classics furniture and see “beautifully furnished spaces where they might share memorable moments with their friends, family, and loved ones.”

Bew White III is the Chairman of the Board of Gabriella White and its brands, Summer Classics, Gabby, and Wendy Jane. He graduated from Auburn University in 1972 with a degree in textile engineering. The phrase “outdoor living” had hardly been coined, as outdoor furniture was simply known as a table and chairs you would find on a basic patio deck
At just 28 years old, Mr. White left his job at his family-owned business, Avondale Mills, and started a sales representative company in 1978 called Vista Corporation, specializing in selling outdoor furniture. In 1987, Bew started multiple companies in an effort to expand from selling on the road to building a national brand. One of those companies was Summer Classics, which was created around Bew’s thought of designing and manufacturing products that he would want for his own backyard. With a business model based on creating products that were consumer driven, would stand the test of time, and would not go out of style, Summer Classics officially took off in 1987.
Born in 1950 in Birmingham, Alabama to William Bew White II and Gabriella Corner White, Bew is the great-grandson of Braxton Bragg Corner, governor and then senator for Alabama, as well as the founder of the Alabama-based Fortune 500 textile company Avondale Mills.

Health Healthy Living Lifestyle Mental Health Non-Fiction

S3 E02 – Men's Health and the 21st Century Man with Dr Judson Brandeis

We are in an era of increased health-minded awareness and a plethora of books as well as PSAs and news pieces dedicated to wellness for women, children and seniors. Sadly, Dr. Judson Brendeis says while increased information is available, younger and middle-aged men still are not fully invested in their own health. Why is that? Dr. Brandeis not only answers this question, but provides the definitive guide to men’s health titled The 21st Century Man.
Dr. Brandeis takes a unique approach to this essential tome as he not only provides what one might use as an owner’s manual of one’s body, but styles it as a “hero’s journey” story with the reader as the main character.
In the book, Dr. Brandies encourages men to not ignore taking care of themselves while still focusing on their natural instincts to pay more attention to and protect others, answering such questions as:
What does a successful and healthy life look like?
How can men maximize their health to live their best lives?
In a man’s life, what changes are needed to build a mind and body that will help him develop health, strength, and vigor?

Dr. Judson Brandeis, in his straightforward and compelling guide to men’s health, The Twenty-First Century Man, addresses these questions and so many more while providing a clear road map for maximizing men’s health.

Dr. Judson Brandeis is an award-winning urologist and sexual medicine expert, clinical researcher, physician educator, and a caring clinician and surgeon. A graduate of Brown University and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, with Urologic Surgery residency at UCLA and a post-doc fellowship at Harvard, today he specializes in the emerging field of sexual health and medicine.

Over the course of his 25-year career as a board-certified urologist he has performed thousands of surgeries and pioneered surgical robotics. In February of 2019, he opened BrandeisMD, a national leader in technology and sexual medicine innovations for men. BrandeisMD engages in ongoing clinical research to improve wellbeing and provide tools for men to live their best lives.

Family Health Inspirational Lifestyle Relationships

S2 E19 – Two-Time Breast Cancer Survivor Erika Weathers Tells Her Story

Erika Weathers is a two-time breast cancer survivor, actress, real estate agent, advocate, biker chick and soon to be adding a lot more to that list including first-time author with her new book Free Me 2 Be Me: My Turbulent Journey With Breast Cancer.

While Erika reveals her battles with cancer in the book, Free Me 2 Be Me is also a story meant to inspire those going through the same fight while revealing the ups and downs of the author’s own life as she looks both back to her early years and forward to those to come.

Pick up Erika’s book through her website, http://www.iamerikaweathers.com