A Patzer's Story

Good Read!!!

Very touching and lovable - Inspirational! I must admit I was skeptic after reading such a horrible review, but I was touched by the author's reply and candid prose. I am glad I read this book because it gave me a sense inner strength and hope. Thank you Mr. Sawyer for sharing your world with me. *On a side note - I looked into Publish America as a publishing company, and found absolutely no indication that services are paid for by the author. It indicates they in fact do the opposite and even pay royalties and advances to their authors. They may be a smaller company, but seemingly very reputable. Anyone wanting to attack an author for being selected for publication - or even self- publishing if that were the case - should not be taken seriously, obviously. Perhaps they should read this book before jumping to conclusions and not be so hateful for others who accomplish what they obviously cannot. * Again, a nice story and I was impressed and glad I read it - my opinion!

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A must read

I would highly recommend this book to all my friends.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Great Read!

This book is both profound and touching! The Author is a humble human being; yet his voice is strong and incredibly POWERFUL! I have never cried so much while reading a book. Page 12 hit me like a hurricane! So much so, that I had to put the book down to compose myself. Tim Sawyer, your words are deep! "A Patzer's Story" not only deserves recognition-- you deserve praise! My life was touched by suicide (Dec 1996) when my dear sister-in-law succumbed to the darkness. I cannot describe the pain and heartache that came from losing someone in such a horrible way. So, yes...this book hit home! I applaud Tim Sawyer for sharing his story and personal struggles with depression. His compassion for humanity is a constant throughout this book. Surely worth a 5 star rating!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful Read!

I loved the correlation to games and life that was portrayed by this author in his point of view. The author did a great job of explainig how and why he felt these things could be applied to life situations. The story was upfront and heartfelt, leaving me with tools that gave other options for a point of view. I am not a chess player, I don't even know the "rules" but I do know that if I apply the rules from A Patzer's Story, I could become a respectable and worthy player in any game.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Author Response to Anonymous Review

As the author, I am going to respond to a "review" that was written by someone who chose to remain anonymous, yet has obviously not read my book. The poster has made a few errors in their post and I am going to clear these up.

>>Written in 4 days? Nothing more than a manifesto. Obviously no research, just personal opinion.

Where did this come from? Yes the book was written in four days but the poster failed to state where they got their facts. Nowhere on B&N does it state that the book was written in four days. Yes, the book is based on my personal experience. No research is required for that. I make no claims otherwise. One could say that it is also opinion, and I'll accept that. In fact, the book makes many references to the fact that it is based on personal experience such as page 15, "...this is all based on MY personal experience...". I also make the disclaimer that I am not a mental health professional, on the same page.

>>What kind of nut would want a personal journal printed?

I'll ignore the personal attack and respond by saying that I am the kind of "nut" that wants to share his experience in hopes that someone else does not have to go through what I went through. "I am writing it for my own therapy. While I did this mainly for me, I feel that I would be remiss if I did not offer to share my story with those who may find themselves in the same or similar position as me" (page 10)

>>Jesus is quoted, yet this writer (not really an author) professes not to believe in God. The printing company that produces this book didn't edit it because they aren't really publishers. The only reason it's on this site for purchase is...

Nowhere in "A Patzer's Story" is Jesus quoted. That is in my second book. Also, in my second book I never professed to "not believe in God". As a matter of fact, let me quote from "My Email to God Bounced". On page 9 I write "I do believe in a Supreme Being". To me, this is God. I further write, "I identify with the Christian faith because that is where my personal experiences have been.".

The person posting this review obviously has my two books mixed up, and obviously has not read either one of them. It is also a very sad commentary where someone wants to criticize but won't identify who they are. Both books contain my email address, where I invite feedback, both good and bad. Obviously the poster does not have the maturity to identify themselves when making a character assassination.

An anonymous poster posted, I responded and now I leave it to the general public to form their own opinion.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book has a lot of very good points The game of chess can be compared to life. Ultimately you are in control of the pieces, especially the pawns. You are not the pawn but rather in control of how it moves. You can think of your opponent'

Reviewed by Brenda B. for Readers Favorite

The game of chess can be compared to life. Ultimately you are in control of the pieces, especially the pawns. You are not the pawn but rather in control of how it moves. You can think of your opponent's pawns as the difficulties in your life. Chess is a game of strategy in which you must predict what your opponent is going to do next. In life we need to recognize that every action we take will bring about consequences. We would benefit from seeing life from different viewpoints. The author shares 22 chess rules to utilize in life. He shares his story of overcoming depression and adversity. In this book he shares his heart. While this book concentrates on chess the reader does not have to be a chess enthusiast to understand and benefit from the analogy.

This book has a lot of very good points to consider. The author obviously knows the ins and outs of chess. The game of chess is very complex and so life. Writing this book was a form of therapy for the author. He also hopes as it will benefit others dealing with depression. This is not a book for the author had a specific audience. A Patzer's Story is a good read except the text was slow in several places. I encourage the author to continue his writing, work on flow and continuity, and most of all, keep working on his chess skills!

Don't waste your money.

Written in 4 days? Nothing more than a manifesto. Obviously no research, just personal opinion. What kind of nut would want a personal journal printed?

Jesus is quoted, yet this writer (not really an author) professes not to believe in God. The printing company that produces this book didn't edit it because they aren't really publishers. The only reason it's on this site for purchase is because the person that wrote this "diary" had to put up a fee to PublishAmerica. They leave it up to the writer to promote it.

I have to add a star is because this review can't be printed without one. Too bad there isn't a negative star rating.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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