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N. N. Light
Nov 2, 20226 min read

5 stars for Destiny of Determination: Faith and Family by @QuietThunder #historicalfiction #fiction



Title: Destiny of Determination: Faith and Family (The Destiny series Book 2)

Author: Cathy Burnham Martin

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction


Book Blurb:


Book 1 found Hrant Gulumian, the youngest child in his family, deeply relating to his granddaughter, Cassie when her nightmares precisely mirrored his traumatic childhood experiences. Destiny of Dreams… Time Is Dear shared young Hrant’s harrowingly narrow escape from the mass deportations and attempted annihilation of the Armenians in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Despite the hauntingly intense and dramatic truths in Book 1, the Destiny trilogy resumes with the powerful hope and strength known only to survivors. Book 2 completes Hrant’s voyage and sweeps the reader into his family’s new life in the USA, illuminating the vulnerability of the diaspora and all forced refugees in a new and unfamiliar land filled with language, cultural, and discrimination challenges. Author Martin celebrates her family’s quiet determination and its refusal to lose faith, despite bigotry and numerous economic woes, eerily paralleled in modern society. Set in the 20th Century, her family’s true story shines a beacon of optimism and comfort for countless other families, hailing from many nations and struggling to endure on the way to freedom and a chance for a better life in this century.


My Review:


Part two of this amazing life tale doesn't disappoint. When we last left 'Cassie' she had overcome the nightmare visitations she had been living with. The readers were presented with the facts of the Armenian Genocide done by the Ottoman Turks. Here the story continues with the escape of Cassie's Grandpa to freedom in America.


This book is about the life of Grandpa Hrant and the story is heartwarming, energizing, and educational. The struggles Armenian immigrants dealt with in coming to America are still felt today by immigrants. It is sad how the discrimination and recrimination faced by immigrants over 100 years ago still happens today.


The story is another open book on the remarkable lives of an incredible Armenian American family. The book is well-written and captivating. There is a palpable interest in the third book yet to come. Readers of the first book will clamor for this one. Upon finishing this book, readers will be on pins and needles for book three. Another great book in this series.


My Rating: 5 stars


Buy it Now:







Author Biography:


Coming November 2, 2022, is Book 2 in The Destiny Trilogy. "Destiny of Determination: Faith and Family" continues the story of the author's Armenian family roots as ancestors journey to America and tackle various challenges faced by continuing generations of immigrants. While having read Book 1 in the Destiny trilogy provides a hauntingly powerful foundation, it is not essential. The historical fiction will be released in paperback and eBook formats on November 2, 2022, with the audiobook to follow. For more information, check her website at GoodLiving123 (dot) com or the publisher's website at QTPublishing (dot) com.


Cathy Burnham Martin's first published attempt at writing happened in Grade 5, when her poem was featured in the local newspaper. That was back when her parents refused to let her have the then-popular Chatty Cathy doll, stating that one chatty Cathy in the house was more than enough. Though poetry took a back seat, she has since driven her writing and blabbing proficiencies along a highly eclectic career path through recruiting, acting, marketing, broadcasting, and even bank organizing.


This professional voiceover artist, journalist, corporate communications geek, and dedicated foodie earned numerous awards as a television news anchor. She acknowledges that her broadcasting skills enjoyed extremely humble beginnings, as she often appeared in the rows of children watching cartoons and playing games like "Name the States" and "Simon Says" on WMUR-TV's "Uncle Gus Show." As an adult, she has written, produced, and hosted dozens of groundbreaking documentaries, TV specials, and news reports, ranging from the Moscow Super Power Summit and the opening of the Berlin Wall to extensive coverage of New Hampshire's First-in-the-Nation Presidential Primaries.


A born storyteller of Eurasian descent, Cathy showed questionable promise as she made up ghost and crime stories for weekly elementary school Show & Tell sessions, including one that sounded so real that local police were summoned to interview the imaginative first grader. Such antics led to her first acting role, when she proudly played Peter Rabbit in a neighborhood production. It turns out she got the role because the older children wanted to avoid being the kid who'd get spanked for tearing their shorts while escaping under the farmer's wire fence in every performance. She landed future roles more admirably, and remains a member of the Actors Equity Association, media coach, and business speaker, including status as a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association since 1995. Cathy Burnham Martin has been dubbed the "The Morale Booster."


In her early educational path, she frequently arose as a class clown and a challenge for her teachers. At their retirement celebration, her team of kindergarten teachers announced that Cathy had been both the most creative and the most challenging student in their 30-year-career. A perfect twist of fate has found Cathy enjoying adjunct college faculty work, teaching persuasive public speaking and communications. She proved to be a much better-behaved student when she earned a Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communications at Northeastern University in 2009, where she also received the highest academic honors.


Her parents' insistence in extensive involvement in the community invited the volunteerism bug to bite her, and Cathy continues to actively serve on boards for corporations and non-profits, including the Manchester Community Music School. Cathy Burnham Martin was also the 2009 recipient of Easter Seals' David P. Goodwin Lifetime Commitment Award.


Though her father once trained under the executive chef at Boston's famed Copley Plaza Hotel, and her mother quickly gained Best-Cook-In-Town status, Cathy admits that her own earliest recipe creations evolved out of laziness and a desire to use fewer ingredients and take less time. Her passion for great tasting, simple cooking led to the celebrated KISS™ Keep It Super Simple original recipe cookbook series.


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Cathy Burnham Martin narrates her own books as well as those of other authors. Audiobooks can be found on such sites as Audible.com as well as from Amazon. In addition to fiction and nonfiction books, Cathy writes articles for the GoodLiving123.com blog. Other writing credits include 300+ episodes of New Hampshire Minutes, plus being a contributing author in various books, including:


* The Communication Coach: Business Communication Tips from the Pros (1998) Jeffrey Tobe, Monroeville, PA

* A Healthier You (2005) Insight Publishing, Sevierville, TN

2007 saw the release of Cathy Burnham Martin's timeless book, Dog Days in the Life of The Miles-Mannered Man, a whimsically philosophical collection of tall tales, wagging tails, and tantalizing treats, from Quiet Thunder Publishing, a division of SpeakEasy Corporate Communications in Manchester, NH.

This was followed by a number of other books, also from Quiet Thunder Publishing, including:

* Of the Same Blood: Your Eurasian Heritage

* Lobacious Lobster: Decadently Super Simple Recipes

* Dockside Dining: Round One

* Dockside Dining: A Second Helping

* Dockside Dining: Back for Thirds

* Cranberry Cooking

* Champagne: Facts, Fizz, Food & Fun

* Fifty Years of Fabulous Family Favorites, Volumes 1, 2 & 3

* The Ronald: Daydreams, Wonderments, & Other Ponderings

* Sage, Thyme & Other Life Seasonings: Perspectives

* Healthy Thinking Habits: Seven Attitude Skills Simplified

* The Bimbo Has Brains... and Other Freaky Facts

* The Bimbo Has MORE Brains... Surviving Political Correctness

* Encouragement: How to Be and Find the Best

* Good Living Skills: Learned from my Mother

* Destiny of Dreams: Time Is Dear

* Destiny of Determination: Faith and Family (November, 2022)

The following is a partial list of Audiobooks narrated by Cathy Burnham Martin:

NONFICTION:

* Encouragement: How to Be and Find the Best (by Cathy Burnham Martin)

* The Bimbo Has More Brains... Surviving Political Correctness (by Cathy Burnham Martin)

* The Bimbo Has Brains... and Other Freaky Facts (by Cathy Burnham Martin)

* Exploring Past Lives: A Guide to the Souls Travels (by Sheerah Indigo)

* 31 Days to a Stronger Marriage (by Dr. Simon Creek)

* The Hormone Fix: Naturally Rebalance Your System in 10 Weeks (by Dr. Julius Herrera)

* Healthy Thinking Habits: 7 Attitude Skills Simplified (by Cathy Burnham Martin)

* Universal Force - The Power Behind the Law of Attraction (by Ishan Rami)

* Fat Loss Tips (by V. Noot)

* Why We Fail at Love (by Delilah Sweeney)

COMEDY:

* A Dangerous Book for Dogs: Train Your Humans (by Bandit and Cathy Burnham Martin)

(WARNING: Keep Out of Human Paws)

FICTION:

* Destiny of Dreams: Time Is Dear (Historical Fiction by Cathy Burnham Martin) (Book 1 in Destiny Trilogy)

* Dungeons of Destiny - Book 3 in The Kremlins series (Historical Romance Novel)

(by K.L. Conger)

* Bastions of Blood - Book 2 in The Kremlins series (Historical Romance Novel)

(by K.L. Conger)

* Citadels of Fire - Book 1 in The Kremlins series (Historical Romance Novel)

(by K.L. Conger)

* Daniel's Fork - A Mystery Set in the Daniel's Fork Universe) (by Zeece Lugo)

(WARNING: Contains strong sexual content)

* The Relentless Brit - A Tale of Relentless Love, Espionage, and Spies During World War II

(by Sarina Rose)

"A Morale Booster Extraordinaire builds people confidence... providing ammo to use against both naysayers and inner demons." -- Cathy Burnham Martin


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Reviewed by: Mr. N

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