Midwest Book Review Recommends Calling Out the Shadows
Reviewed by Midwest Book Review, June 2026.
Midwest Book Review is a long running organization that reviews books for librarians, booksellers, and readers, with a stated priority for small presses and independently published titles. Its review of Calling Out the Shadows: A Father’s Stand Against the Current by Neal Winsomer ran in the June 2026 Library Bookwatch. The passages below are quoted directly from that notice, with a link to where the full review appears.
The book behind the recommendation
Calling Out the Shadows joins two purposes in one volume: a personal memoir and a reference shelf for people living through family conflict. The narrative traces a father through the end of a long marriage and a contested, high conflict divorce, while the back matter turns that hard won experience into tools other parents can borrow. Begun as a letter to the author’s daughter, it grows into a record of how breakdowns in communication and accountability pull a household apart. Writing for the people who stock library and bookstore shelves, Midwest Book Review weighs the book on craft and on usefulness alike.
What Midwest Book Review wrote
On the writing itself, the review is brief and direct:
“Original, exceptionally well written, organized and presented.”
On the reference material that sits alongside the story, it singles out:
“24 deflective and evasive communication patterns identified and defined, an A-to-Z behavioral reference, and a framework for building court-ready documentation with AI support.”
Recommended for library collections
Because Midwest Book Review addresses the people who decide what libraries carry, its closing recommendation matters:
“Especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Contemporary American Biography/Memoir and Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections.”
That endorsement points back to the book’s ten appendices, a working set that includes an A to Z reference for deflective and evasive communication, a method for assembling court ready documentation with AI support, and prompts for holding a steady record under stress. For a taste of the writing itself, the pull quotes collect lines straight from the book.
Read the review and the book
The complete Midwest Book Review notice runs in the June 2026 Library Bookwatch.
Read the book Read the full review
Frequently asked questions
What is Midwest Book Review?
Midwest Book Review is an organization that reviews books for librarians, booksellers, and readers, with a stated priority for small press, self-published, and independently published titles.
Did the review give a score?
No. Midwest Book Review publishes recommendations rather than numeric ratings, and it recommended the book for personal and library collections.
Where can I read the full Midwest Book Review review of Calling Out the Shadows?
The review appears in the June 2026 Library Bookwatch on MidwestBookReview.com. The link is in the buttons above.
What formats is the book available in?
Readers can find it in hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, large print, and a Skimmer’s Edition. All formats and retailers are listed on the store page.
Share: X · Facebook · LinkedIn · Email
More from the book: Pull quotes · All formats and retailers
