ALTERNATE REALITY
Alternate Reality is the comical telling of the mostly true story of how Steve Ross grew up in a dysfunctional family with dysfunctional relationships an overcame the pitfalls of his youth to live a good and prosperous life. Those who have been in an abusive or bad relationship know the doubts and fears we take into the next relationship as emotional baggage. That baggage has a tendency to negatively affect the new relationship and eventually doom the new relationship adding more doubts and baggage to the next. This culminates in an avalanche of bad relationships with seemingly no end. In Alternate Reality, Steve Ross uncovers the secret to overcoming the avalanche in a comical and down to earth way, sharing wisdom about life and how to treat people. Ross is a great story teller with a great story to tell. Join in with his adventure and his mistakes during life.
Alternate Reality
Paperback 13-978-1-6312-9100-5
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Personalized signed copy of Alternate Reality is available on the STORE tab on this website.
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I am happy to announce that I have changed publisher. I am now with Mill City Press. This allowed me to add 28 pages of content and I am very happy with the result. This 5 star rated book just got even better.
BOOK REVIEW by US Review of Books
Alternate Reality: The Mostly True Story of How I Became a Sociopath
by B. Steve Ross
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LitFire Publishing
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Book review by Eric McDowell
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"I was like a cyborg in that I looked and acted human, but inside I was just a calculating machine of manipulation."
The author’s book is both a soul-bearing memoir and a study of how childhood psychological trauma propels into motion a pattern of compulsive sexual behavior. Raised in a broken home with an occasionally drunk and subsequently abusive father—who died when the author was seven—and bullied by his family for years, Ross sets the stage to share an even greater trauma that led to his creation of alternate realities as coping mechanisms. The central action takes place during a family reunion to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of the author’s aunt and uncle. As the reunion gets underway, Ross proposes a game: he will tell personal stories about his past, and the participants must evaluate the percentage of truth contained in each, using evidence and prior knowledge to support their decisions. After the votes are tallied, family members debate the findings and are given a chance to revise their scores based on the input from others. When Ross discloses the correct percentage of truth per story, the reunion becomes unforgettable.
Accompanied by a song playlist that reflects central ideas of a given chapter or passage, Ross’s memoir illuminates a central irony of his story. While his lifelong duplicity may have suppressed his own pain, his behavior ultimately devastates all involved, including the author. At times, the storytelling during the reunion is reminiscent of the kinds of games Martha and George propose in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother in the role of host. While the playlist might at first seem a distraction, it provides the book with additional heart and soul. Ross’s tale questions the possibility of sociopathic behavior among us and others as it encourages self-reflection and analysis. His book is both a fine accomplishment and an intriguing read.
©2018 All Rights Reserved • The US Review of Books
This review was written by a professional book reviewer with no guarantee that it would receive a positive rating. Some authors pay a small fee to have a book reviewed, while others do not. All reviews are approximately half summary and half criticism. The US Review of Books is dedicated to providing fair and honest coverage to all books.
OTHER REVIEWS FROM AMAZON
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5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book. Highly recommend.
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2017
This was awesome. The main character was a combination of a comedian, a wise man, a nice guy, and a scumbag and made for very good storytelling with a rich character. It was a roller coaster ride and I was glad I used the music feature. It was a great way to learn about relationships and alternate realities of life and gave me a sense of having a greater understanding of other people. I know people like this and now have a better understanding of how to deal with their flaws. The end absolutely blew me away. Very unique style of writing and his side notes reminded me of the movie Zombieland. I highly recommend this to everyone.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Well written book, humorous and makes you think.
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2019
This book was very interesting to me, and gave me some insight into what goes on in the mind of the opposite sex. I appreciate Steve sharing his struggles in his book and guiding people on how to get help that are going through similar situations. It's a page turner and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!!
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2018
Fantastic book, gave us some great insight!!!! Well written and easy to follow.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read! Highly Recommended!!
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2017
The author does an amazing job of telling his story! He makes you feel like you are right there with him. I found myself laughing my way through the chapters. A real page turner, I work full time and have 2 kids under 2yrs, I had a hard time putting it down and finished in 4 days in my free time. The stories themselves were very engaging and when I got to the end I wanted more! There is a lot of different relationship topics in the book that could be relatable to a lot of people not just those dealing with sociopathy, in themselves or others. Thank you!
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Top international reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars Very good and VERY mind-boggling
Reviewed in Canada on March 6, 2018
Verified Purchase
The author would be very pleased by reading these lines: it's been a very long time since a book made me want to laugh, cry and go berserk at the same time. The book is a big puzzle in itself and although I hate in real life when someone plays with my head, I truly enjoyed reading this.