Book Review: Just Hand Over the Chocolate…

 The full title of this book is: Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt. The author is Karen Scalf Linamen. I’m not exactly sure what genre it would be under: nonfiction, humor, memoir, advice, religion. What “label” is attached to it is much less important than that it’s a fun book to read.

She offers her own life (and occasionally a friend’s) as examples of times when things go wrong in your life, or you’re under stress, or you’re depressed, or you really would like to hide in a closet and eat chocolate. Then she shares how she overcame these times and bad days and how you can, too. Both Linamen and her stories are relatable. She talks about pretty much everything, from depression to the delivery room, from taking risks to holding grudges, from forgiving to finding a mentor.

Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt will make you laugh occasionally and smile often. Linamen is funny and, at times, courageously honest. Reading this book won’t keep bad things from happening in your life, but will give you ways to cope.

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I give Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt by Karen Scalf Linamen a rating of Hel-of-a-Writer.

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FTC Disclaimer: This book was sent to me, not by the author, nor by the publisher, nor by a publicist, but rather by Kathi Oram Peterson. Thank you Kathi. Getting the book from Kathi did not influence my review. I was influenced by being able to open the book to almost any page and find something wonderful, like this on page 159: “Now, you have to understand that I once bought greeting cards for my friends that read, “I gave up jogging because it was bad for my health.” The inside of the card explained: “My thighs rubbed together so much my underwear caught fire.” (My own disclaimer: I did indeed open the book and choose a paragraph at random.) As I said, Linamen is totally relatable. And apparently using my thighs to amuse her friends.