Books by Mary Lou Cheatham

I'm Choking . . . But Life Moves On Along the Path of Grief (Insights about Grieving:
"The process of grieving is like walking through a murky swamp. In this e-book I want to talk with you about the way it feels. There's no way I can know exactly what you are going through, not even if we could sit and talk and you could tell me. I will tell you though that I have experienced grief and known many other dear ones who have." Mary Lou Cheatham

The Collard Patch:
"I highly recommend The Collard Patch to anyone who loves cooking good, healthy, down-home food." Willie Crawford, The World's Leading Soul Food Expert

Do You Know How God Loves You?:
"If the question were actually asked of us 'Do You Know How God Loves You?' I'm afraid most of us would have to say 'I haven't got a clue!' It's easy to go through our normal daily routine without giving a thought to God's love. This book can help change that. Mary Cheatham has written a lovely devotional book that takes the reader deep into the heart of Scripture where, day by day, she examines the many facets of God's love for his people. I can't imagine anyone reading this without being informed, enriched and encouraged. I know I was!" Ann Tatlock, author one of the Top Ten Historical Novels of the year according to Booklist Magazine

Do You Know How God Loves You? [Kindle Edition]:
"I requested through Amazon that your publisher make your book available in an Amazon.com Kindle edition, so Kindle readers can find it and enjoy it 'on the go'. God bless you for such a wonderful book that reminds us of God's presence and love for each one of us." RBS Prods, one of the top 500 reviewers on Amazon

A Prayer of Nehemiah, The Birth of Leadership [Kindle Edition]:
Assuming a role of leadership can be challenging. We face all kinds of problems when we step out to lead. The struggles a leader faces are human problems that have not changed over the centuries of history. "Nehemiah, a cupbearer for a Persian king more than 400 years before Christ was born, led a company of his people from Babylon to Jerusalem, where he restored the walls and civil authority. Where his nation once existed, he found ruins. His challenge was for him a great one." Mary Lou Cheatham

Solomon's Porch:
"In this warm, personal story of a devoted marriage, a tragic illness, and incredible perseverance, Jane Riley presents us with the full spectrum of good and evil. But it is not done through high drama, or in complicated philosophic terms. Rather, with a constrained writing style she shows us how it appears in our ordinary, everyday, lives: good friends and devious friends; doctors guilty of deplorable malpractice and callousness, and doctors moved by unswerving concern for their patients; churchgoers who run the gamut from cruelty, hypocrisy and selfishness, to those kindhearted souls that harken back to the early Christians who met at Solomon's Temple and shared compassion and love for one another. All of this is dealt with, fought with, and savoured, in this story of a loving wife-mother-and-caregiver's story, which is gently and beautifully written (with a wonderful knack for dialogue), and -- as several reviewers have already noted - very hard to put down." Andrew Cort, author of "The Purpose of Religion: Enlightenment, Meaning and Love in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Symbology"

Flavored with Love: Mary Lou's Family and Friends Can Cook:
"Jane Riley is a pen name for Mary Lou Cheatham. 'Jane' has garnered recipes from her lifetime of cooking, mostly from family members and friends, to compile this omnibus cookbook. 'Flavored with Love' is additionally punctuated with a nostalgic overview of the Louisiana and Mississippi regions, and its people, in particular." Patrick Crabtree, one of the top 500 reviewers on Amazon.

All quotations are from reviews and product pages on Amazon.com

E-Book about Grief: I'm Choking . . . But Life Moves On Along the Path of Grief (Insights about Grieving)

Months pass; nothing changes. We sleep in our beds, awake to the buzzing of our alarm clocks, go about our daily routines, enjoy our health, feed the dogs, and interact with our families. We start thinking that our lives will always be the same.

No matter what we think, life moves on. Someone close – a family member or a cherished friend – dies.



It's okay to cry. It's okay to grieve just as it's okay to eat. Problems arise from negative effects when we become stuck and continue to gratify our yearnings and uneasiness by luxuriating in abnormal amounts of normal behavior.

Have Yourself a Happy Little Mother's Day

What makes holidays sad?

It's Mother's Day and we're supposed to be happy, but it doesn't always work that way.

This realization became evident to me when I was a young girl. In our yard we had several varieties of roses in all colors. We always pinned them on our dresses for church. Those whose mothers were living were supposed to wear red ones. Those whose mothers were deceased wore white ones.

The year after my grandmother died, I remember going out and selecting the roses. Our red ones were small, but the white rose blooms we had were huge and impressive. The one we found for Mother that year was the most beautiful I had ever seen. I still remember the bittersweet expression on her face.

On holidays the memories of the times when we were all together can overwhelm us. The personnel at our gatherings changes. Some of us have no one. We tend to romanticize the past times -- to see them through rose-tinted lenses. Our minds tell us the good old days were better than they could have possibly been.

As much as possible, it's best to look for ways to make each holiday special within the context of the joys we have today. It's time to make some new happy memories.

I have published a new Kindle book entitled "I'm Choking But Life Moves On Along the Path of Grief." It is under review and is scheduled to appear in Kindle today. The purpose of this book is to help us deal with grief.