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Simplemente Salsa
When life is complicated with fear, worry, pain and heartache, #1 bestselling, Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta shows you the simplicity of a life free of fear and rich with joy and contentment.
The author’s real-life story blended with those of women of today and of biblical times paint a portrait of God’s restoration from pain to peace and from trials to triumph.
The unique warm style woven with a Latina flair, a bit of sass, passion and sprinkled with humor engages the reader. And its colorful yet profound insights dance inspiration right into the heart.
View more than 30 5-star reviews here: http://amzn.to/pwDntn
The author’s real-life story blended with those of women of today and of biblical times paint a portrait of God’s restoration from pain to peace and from trials to triumph.
The unique warm style woven with a Latina flair, a bit of sass, passion and sprinkled with humor engages the reader. And its colorful yet profound insights dance inspiration right into the heart.
View more than 30 5-star reviews here: http://amzn.to/pwDntn
159 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2011
5 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Janet Perez Eckles
8 books24 followersInternational speaker, author and founder of JC Empowerment Ministries, Janet Perez Eckles has been called an expert in overcoming adversity.
She’s the author of six books: Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow, Simply Salsa, Hola Happiness, and Contagious Courage and her newly released memoir, Now I See.
Janet's book, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Turns Betrayal, Blindness, and Heartache to Shining Joy, empowers readers to discover the same glorious victory she reached after her own trials—blindness, the murder of her son, the acquittal of the man responsible, and the death of her 42-year marriage. But rather than be defeated, God’s grace lifted her to victorious triumph.
She shares that same path to glorious victory through the pages of her books and from the stage when she addresses English and Spanish-speaking audiences nationally and internationally. With a blend of Latina passion, insight, and biblical wisdom, she illustrates the beauty of restoration, the joy that comes after adversity, and the abundance that tenacity and faith bring.
Her writings have appeared in thirty-two Chicken Soup for the Soul titles, Guidepost Magazine, Crosswalk.com, and hundreds of print and on-line publications. Her joy-filled recount of her journey has been featured on Christian radio and TV programs from Focus on the Family to the 700 Club and on the cover of Hispanic Woman Magazine.
She’s the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Central Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Beyond Me Award from AWSA, Latina Women Who Make a Difference Award, Professional Excellence Award by Language Line Solutions, and first runner-up for the Ms. Senior Florida Pageant, 2022.
Janet travels across the globe empowering women to rise above the bitterness of this world and taste the sweetness of God’s triumphant success.
Florida with husband Dale, adult children, and delightful grandchildren. She can be contacted at: www.janetperezeckles.com
She’s the author of six books: Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow, Simply Salsa, Hola Happiness, and Contagious Courage and her newly released memoir, Now I See.
Janet's book, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Turns Betrayal, Blindness, and Heartache to Shining Joy, empowers readers to discover the same glorious victory she reached after her own trials—blindness, the murder of her son, the acquittal of the man responsible, and the death of her 42-year marriage. But rather than be defeated, God’s grace lifted her to victorious triumph.
She shares that same path to glorious victory through the pages of her books and from the stage when she addresses English and Spanish-speaking audiences nationally and internationally. With a blend of Latina passion, insight, and biblical wisdom, she illustrates the beauty of restoration, the joy that comes after adversity, and the abundance that tenacity and faith bring.
Her writings have appeared in thirty-two Chicken Soup for the Soul titles, Guidepost Magazine, Crosswalk.com, and hundreds of print and on-line publications. Her joy-filled recount of her journey has been featured on Christian radio and TV programs from Focus on the Family to the 700 Club and on the cover of Hispanic Woman Magazine.
She’s the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Central Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Beyond Me Award from AWSA, Latina Women Who Make a Difference Award, Professional Excellence Award by Language Line Solutions, and first runner-up for the Ms. Senior Florida Pageant, 2022.
Janet travels across the globe empowering women to rise above the bitterness of this world and taste the sweetness of God’s triumphant success.
Florida with husband Dale, adult children, and delightful grandchildren. She can be contacted at: www.janetperezeckles.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 11, 2011
How do you respond when tragedy strikes - you lost your job, your home, a child, or your health? Some commit suicide. Some transform into cynics and lose all zest for life. Others, after a time of realistic grieving, rethink life and still find time to dance. Such a person is Janet Eckles.
In Simply Salsa, Janet walks us through the thought process that gave her hope, purpose and peace after tribulations of a variety and intensity that few face, including the loss of her eyesight, the infidelity of her husband, financial disaster, and the murder of her child. As I read, I find not only wisdom, but the hope that "If Janet can keep playing the game of life with the hand she's been dealt, then there's hope for me." Having lost my wife to breast cancer in her 30's, leaving me with four young boys to raise on my own, I understand a bit about loss and grief, and identify with Janet's struggles and solutions.
Some who deal with profound disappointments need to struggle deeply on a philosophical or theological level. They may appreciate the works of C.S. Lewis (The Problem of Pain) or Philip Yancey (Where is God When It Hurts?). But others prefer answers offered through a more personal approach, from someone who's willing to share her inner struggles and the rethinking of life that helped her emerge from the ruins to find a life of hope and joy. For the latter, Janet's experiences can start the healing process.
In one section, Janet observes that answers to life's problems often require waiting. How we handle that waiting can make all the difference. As she puts it,
"There are two groups of people. One group exudes peace even in difficult circumstances. The other group includes the folks who go into hysterics over small things like a long line at the post office. The difference between the two kinds of people is the way they decorate their waiting rooms."
That's wise advice, straight from someone who's intimately acquainted with years living in the waiting room. Simply Salsa is a well-written, heartfelt message from one who's been there to those who are there. Don't give up! There's Light at the end of your tunnel. And not only Light, but a bright Light and a personal Light who cares for you deeply.
In Simply Salsa, Janet walks us through the thought process that gave her hope, purpose and peace after tribulations of a variety and intensity that few face, including the loss of her eyesight, the infidelity of her husband, financial disaster, and the murder of her child. As I read, I find not only wisdom, but the hope that "If Janet can keep playing the game of life with the hand she's been dealt, then there's hope for me." Having lost my wife to breast cancer in her 30's, leaving me with four young boys to raise on my own, I understand a bit about loss and grief, and identify with Janet's struggles and solutions.
Some who deal with profound disappointments need to struggle deeply on a philosophical or theological level. They may appreciate the works of C.S. Lewis (The Problem of Pain) or Philip Yancey (Where is God When It Hurts?). But others prefer answers offered through a more personal approach, from someone who's willing to share her inner struggles and the rethinking of life that helped her emerge from the ruins to find a life of hope and joy. For the latter, Janet's experiences can start the healing process.
In one section, Janet observes that answers to life's problems often require waiting. How we handle that waiting can make all the difference. As she puts it,
"There are two groups of people. One group exudes peace even in difficult circumstances. The other group includes the folks who go into hysterics over small things like a long line at the post office. The difference between the two kinds of people is the way they decorate their waiting rooms."
That's wise advice, straight from someone who's intimately acquainted with years living in the waiting room. Simply Salsa is a well-written, heartfelt message from one who's been there to those who are there. Don't give up! There's Light at the end of your tunnel. And not only Light, but a bright Light and a personal Light who cares for you deeply.
October 31, 2017
Reviewed by: Celia
Rating: 3 stars
Review: “Physical blindness, infidelity, the murder of my child, and the acquittal of his killer—all these tragedies piled on one another in my own personal train wreck.” (2) The experience of “her-panic” is something we’ve all been familiar with, whether you’re Hispanic or not.
Author Janet Perez Eckles speaks with such raw candor and reverence. Through life’s turmoils, which involve financial hardship and the death of a child, she somehow manages to find strength and solace in God’s grace and worship. Of course, I am not religious, but I could certainly appreciate the meaning in this story, even though there may have been too much biblical jargon throughout. There was certainly some lag here and there, and, although I couldn't really get that into it, readers will surely enjoy the chica commentaries and dialogue.
Ultimately, the story delivers a powerful message to never give up and keep dancing, which I certainly applaud.
A memoir of love, loss, and salsa!
Rating: 3 stars
Review: “Physical blindness, infidelity, the murder of my child, and the acquittal of his killer—all these tragedies piled on one another in my own personal train wreck.” (2) The experience of “her-panic” is something we’ve all been familiar with, whether you’re Hispanic or not.
Author Janet Perez Eckles speaks with such raw candor and reverence. Through life’s turmoils, which involve financial hardship and the death of a child, she somehow manages to find strength and solace in God’s grace and worship. Of course, I am not religious, but I could certainly appreciate the meaning in this story, even though there may have been too much biblical jargon throughout. There was certainly some lag here and there, and, although I couldn't really get that into it, readers will surely enjoy the chica commentaries and dialogue.
Ultimately, the story delivers a powerful message to never give up and keep dancing, which I certainly applaud.
A memoir of love, loss, and salsa!
January 6, 2022
The tone of the book was nice and inviting! I loved the structure Eckles chose for the book and the stories she shared were relatable.
January 1, 2012
I read Janet Perez Eckles’ book Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta on a flight to see family for Christmas. But it was a spiritual journey that I wish I had taken months ago when I first ordered this book.
And though my Irish-heritage skin is so incredibly pale that it’s unlikely the beautiful Latina author shares any close ancestral connection with me, we are definitely close sisters in spirit. That I can tell through her poignant, honest, and heartfelt writing.
Eckles has an amazing testimony of strong faith amidst sorrow. As a young mother with three small boys, she found her eyesight fading from a genetic condition. It was inevitable, her doctor said—she was going completely blind. Within eighteen months, her world’s light was gone forever.
Struggling to adapt to this sudden darkness and with the discouragement of some who said she could not mother her family as a blind woman, Janet shook her fist at God, only to find His loving hand taking hers. He spoke to her heart that He would oversee her needs if she would turn to Him in trust.
“There it was,” Eckles writes, “a brilliant light of truth, of revelation and of freedom, shining through the darkness in my life.”
Her poetic and uplifting prose draws you in to her subsequent battles with a betrayal, a financial crisis, and a cancer scare. But her ultimate challenge was thrust into her life when her youngest son was brutally murdered. To add insult to injury, the murderer was set free.
Eckles does not spout Christian platitudes like, “God does not give us more than we can handle.” While that statement is true, she shares honestly from her heart the intense pain, the arguments with God, and the gut-wrenching moments of tears that followed these trials. But she also allows us to journey with her as God continues to draw her close, reminding her of His comfort and commitment to loving her and never leaving or forsaking her.
She likens her spiritual journey to a dance where the gladness of the Lord shines its spotlight on her. And readers will truly experience that spiritual delight that flows from her words. Her beautiful Latin culture intersperses her text in such a way that you feel she is sitting right in front of you, bubbling with the joy of the journey.
It is a literary and Christ-filled road that I highly recommend.
And though my Irish-heritage skin is so incredibly pale that it’s unlikely the beautiful Latina author shares any close ancestral connection with me, we are definitely close sisters in spirit. That I can tell through her poignant, honest, and heartfelt writing.
Eckles has an amazing testimony of strong faith amidst sorrow. As a young mother with three small boys, she found her eyesight fading from a genetic condition. It was inevitable, her doctor said—she was going completely blind. Within eighteen months, her world’s light was gone forever.
Struggling to adapt to this sudden darkness and with the discouragement of some who said she could not mother her family as a blind woman, Janet shook her fist at God, only to find His loving hand taking hers. He spoke to her heart that He would oversee her needs if she would turn to Him in trust.
“There it was,” Eckles writes, “a brilliant light of truth, of revelation and of freedom, shining through the darkness in my life.”
Her poetic and uplifting prose draws you in to her subsequent battles with a betrayal, a financial crisis, and a cancer scare. But her ultimate challenge was thrust into her life when her youngest son was brutally murdered. To add insult to injury, the murderer was set free.
Eckles does not spout Christian platitudes like, “God does not give us more than we can handle.” While that statement is true, she shares honestly from her heart the intense pain, the arguments with God, and the gut-wrenching moments of tears that followed these trials. But she also allows us to journey with her as God continues to draw her close, reminding her of His comfort and commitment to loving her and never leaving or forsaking her.
She likens her spiritual journey to a dance where the gladness of the Lord shines its spotlight on her. And readers will truly experience that spiritual delight that flows from her words. Her beautiful Latin culture intersperses her text in such a way that you feel she is sitting right in front of you, bubbling with the joy of the journey.
It is a literary and Christ-filled road that I highly recommend.
June 3, 2012
"Thinking of grabbing a juicy novel to stick in your beach bag as you head to the beach, pool, or just the backyard as your summer read? Well, think again! Why read a novel that in 2 weeks you'll forget the title? Instead read Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God's Fiesta by Janet Perez Eckles. Truly, this is a book that can change one's life. She lead me through my own winter of doubt and insecurities, and guided me into the dazzling summer sunshine of God's love. This is a witty, light-hearted, yet poignant look into a life shared through personal struggle with "broken plans and melted dreams."
Born in La Paz, Bolivia, and raised in St. Louis, MO, Janet takes us on her journey from language/cultural barriers as a 12-year-old arriving in the U.S., blindness at 31 (with 3 small boys), marital crises, financial devastation, and the brutal murder of her youngest son. Through it all with unyielding faith in God, mixed with her vivacious personality, Latina-infused humor, and guiding words of the Gospel, Janet shows us the way to reclaim the "sweet melody of joy" set the to upbeat rhythm of God's fiesta. What better summer (or anytime) read can one ask for?"
–Patricia Turley, Chicago, Ill
Born in La Paz, Bolivia, and raised in St. Louis, MO, Janet takes us on her journey from language/cultural barriers as a 12-year-old arriving in the U.S., blindness at 31 (with 3 small boys), marital crises, financial devastation, and the brutal murder of her youngest son. Through it all with unyielding faith in God, mixed with her vivacious personality, Latina-infused humor, and guiding words of the Gospel, Janet shows us the way to reclaim the "sweet melody of joy" set the to upbeat rhythm of God's fiesta. What better summer (or anytime) read can one ask for?"
–Patricia Turley, Chicago, Ill
October 26, 2014
I picked up this book as part of a church reading program and really wanted to like it. The author does share personal situations and scriptures that she found helpful. She does attempt to keep the book fun and happy like the name, Simply Salsa, implies. Unfortunately, much of the book just seemed like it repeated the same type feel sorry for me stories then showed how God could free that person from the said situation. I am sorry for the hardships that the author faced and I'm glad that she found strength in the Bible. I'm also glad that writing this was helpful for her. Sadly, I just didn't find this book to be realistic or helpful. Very few people "wallow in self-pity" and those that do wouldn't be helped by reading this book.
September 3, 2011
No matter where you are in your faith walk...no matter what you have been through or what you are coming out of, Simply Salsa: Dancing without Fear at God's Fiesta will minister to your heart of hearts. You will take something positive from reading this book. Ms. Eckles life lessons and heartaches will bring empathy to the forefront and reach those dark corners of your soul that need light. I simply cannot imagine going through the trials of this life without the strength of Christ. Learn how to keep joy as the foundation of your life no matter your situation.
October 1, 2012
I love the delightful lingo in Simply Salsa. It's so Janet Perez Eckles. I love the vulnerability, the way she shares "every woman's story" in her own. I like the way she gets real and yet as I read, I smile. I know this vulnerability. So does every other woman out there. But Ms. Eckles helps us look at our life, our story, and turn to God to dance in joy. She teaches us how to spin, swirl, and enter into the sheer joy of being held in God's arms.
Go chica! (Um, write more books, okay?)
Go chica! (Um, write more books, okay?)
July 3, 2012
What an interesting story about an immigrant girl and living the "American Dream" - which was really just a facade! Facing major challenges, including blindness, Janet writes with charm and passion about her journey to trusting God. Letting go of her own expectations, she found greater truth and comfort in a life of faith. Good story!!!
February 21, 2012
This woman has endured the worst and still humbly and vigorously praises God. She is funny and warm and her writing is conversational. If you need a faith boost, this is the book for you.
October 12, 2014
Inspiring and uplifting author.
January 24, 2017
This was s fun and enlightening read.
January 12, 2015
I liked this book. quick to read, but take your time reading it.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews