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S F Chapman
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I'm here to help Kindle Edition

by S F Chapman (Author), Mark Chapman Ph.D. (Editor), Clinton D. Anderson (Editor, Photographer), Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 60 ratings
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It had all seemed so right at the time, Sharon realized with a shudder.

Long ago she had made a collection of tiny and innocent decisions that had precipitated a most profound and unpredictable outcome.

Minutes ago her seventeen-year-old daughter, Renita had stumbled upon the subtle inconsistencies of her birth while completing some college applications. Now she waited reproachfully for Sharon to explain the discrepancies.

It was clearly the time, Sharon brooded uneasily, when she would have to finally disclose to her daughter both the laudable good deeds and the lamentable oversights that had led them to the current situation.

S F Chapman has cleverly crafted I’m here to help as a social commentary in the form of an often poignant literary novella.
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  1. Print length
    129 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    June 29, 2012
  5. File size
    423 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A lifelong Northern Californian, S F Chapman traded his construction job for the more docile profession of novelist in 2008 when the US economy faltered. The tireless author has since written eight books. His first, "I'm here to help" (published by Striped Cat Press in July of 2012), is a literary fiction novella about a teenage daughter looking for answers to some troubling inconsistencies in her birth certificate. "The Ripple in Space-Time" (published by Striped Cat Press in February of 2013) is Chapman's second book. It is an exciting science fiction detective adventure set in a moldering and corrupt future controlled by greedy warlords. The author's third novel "On the Back of the Beast" is an action-packed Contemporary Fiction tale about a massive earthquake that destroys the San Francisco Bay Area. It is now available from Striped Cat Press. Other completed works awaiting publication are the post-apocalyptic soft science fiction MAC Series consisting of "Floyd 5.136," "Xea in the Library" and "Beyond the Habitable Limit;" and a recently completed sequel to "The Ripple in Space-Time" entitled "Torn From On High." Chapman is currently writing a rough-and-tumble literary fiction novel about homelessness called "The Missive In The Margins." S F's huge gray male tabby cat keeps him company while he writes and was the inspiration for Striped Cat Press.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008GF3TU4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Striped Cat Press; 1st edition (June 29, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 29, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 423 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 129 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 60 ratings

About the author

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S F Chapman

S F Chapman

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

A lifelong Northern Californian, S F Chapman traded his construction job for the more docile profession of novelist in 2008 when the US economy faltered.

The tireless author has since written eight books. His first, “I'm here to help” (published by Striped Cat Press in July of 2012), is a literary fiction novella about a teenage daughter looking for answers to some troubling inconsistencies in her birth certificate. “The Ripple in Space-Time” (published by Striped Cat Press in February of 2013) is Chapman's second book. It is an exciting science fiction detective adventure set in a moldering and corrupt future controlled by greedy warlords. The author’s third novel “On the Back of the Beast” is an action-packed Contemporary Fiction tale about a massive earthquake that destroys the San Francisco Bay Area. It will be published by Striped Cat Press in the summer of 2013.

Other completed works awaiting publication are the post-apocalyptic soft science fiction MAC Series consisting of “Floyd 5.136,” “Xea in the Library” and “Beyond the Habitable Limit;” and a recently completed sequel to “The Ripple in Space-Time” entitled “Torn From On High.”

Chapman is currently writing a rough and tumble literary fiction novel about homelessness called “The Missive In The Margins.”

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
60 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Dodo
4.0 out of 5 stars Good story, falsely promoted.
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
First of all, this book is being vastly misrepresented in the description. I read it on my Kindle in less than two hours, so there is no way that it would be 289 print pages. Description should more accurately call it a (longish) short story or at least a novella.

The story itself is good. Kept me interested enough to finish before going to bed even though I was tired. However, there were a few odd things. The author mostly did a good job of telling the story from a mother's viewpoint and I was surprised when I read the author's bio to discover that S. F. Chapman was, indeed, a man. The beginning seemed very awkward, almost like he had a story but didn't know how to start and just threw the first few paragraphs in as an opener. Both the word choices and style just seemed clunky. After that, I'm not sure if the writing got better or if I just became used to it so that it was easier to ignore as I became engrossed in the story. There were a few glaring mistakes that jolted me right out of the story though, such as using the word stigmatism when the word I'm sure he meant was stigma. Other than that, mostly well-edited and a good story.
4 people found this helpful
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Yvonne Butler
5.0 out of 5 stars Vacation
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2017
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A family, mother, father, and daughter, went to Mexico on vacation. The resort had a baby sitter service, ; but the schedule was filled up. They were put on a list for any cancellations. A knock on the door and there was a young Mexican girl saying "I'm here to help." Thinking they would never see her again, they went home the next day. Going back across the border, they were not checked. The next morning the father was killed on the way to work. A knock on the door and the baby sitter said, "I'm here to help." This book would be in the supense category.
I was on pins and neetles and didn't put it down until I finished.
2 people found this helpful
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Danielle
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2021
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Nice, quick read. I was able to get through this on my night shift. The ending ended somewhat abruptly to me but overall decent read.
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mamacita
4.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put this book down
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2013
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I gave this book 4 stars because I really liked the story alot. It was more than I was expecting. It was very lovingly written and sweet. The main character struggles with depression and doesn't seem to know whats going on with her until she opens up to her mom and her mom tells her the story about where she came from. She realizes that the way she feels is not her fault and that she can do something about it. I think this book hits a subject really well about how people can be really good at hiding how they feel instead of opening up.
2 people found this helpful
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Mela
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational....
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2013
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A story about the love of two mothers for one child. A quasi-illegal adoption, with a loving and tear-inspiring story told with the help of photographs, is related to the adoptee, with a view to telling her about the incredible devotion of her birth mother. Also touches on the hereditary nature of mental illness and suicide. A very well done story, with enough background to be interesting, but not so much as to seem overwhelming to the reader. Kudos to Chapman for a lovely and well written story about a mother's love.
4 people found this helpful
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Jamiesaurus Rex
4.0 out of 5 stars what a story
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2014
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amazing the story of a young family and their trip which changes their life. The struggle of a young single pregnant woman and the lengths she will go through to better herself and her unborn child. The love between everyone and how secrets can build a bond. This was a beautiful and wild ride, I didn't see the end coming until it hit me!
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R. Burton Author of The Burgundy Briefcase
3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Subject Matter
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2013
Verified Purchase
Chapman's storyline was intriguing but it seemed more narrative backstory than telling the story to the daughter. I kept reading to the end because the writing was good and I wanted to know how the book ended. What is missing from this book is the heart. I wanted to feel the mother's reactions to that early decision that led to these consequences. I wanted to feel what she felt as she was telling the story. The book is well worth the $3.99 Kindle price.
One person found this helpful
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lisa rossi
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm here to help
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2012
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This was a really fun book. I totally did not expect the ending! Being from New Mexico (where we have a lot of Mexican nationals as well as a 35%Hispanic population), it was great to see a book that dealt with a Mexican national as a person first, a nationality only as a side note. The love and caring exhibited in this book by all of the characters was a welcome contrast to the "gloom and doom" in the papers today. I highly recommend this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

AlyseGarner
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and Reasonably Well Written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2013
Verified Purchase
Less of a novel and more of a short story broken into very short chapters I'm Here to Help is an intriguing story in which a mother explains to her adoptive daughter the true nature of her birth.

While I found the book very easy to read, Chapman's style flows nicely and more often than not her use of language only helps to further knit readers into the story; there were certain aspects of the story that felt jarring and out of place and that had the misfortune to appear time and time again.

My biggest qualm was with the way in which Chapman chose to tell the story; where it reads as a mothers personal reflection and first person narrative the author has insisted on turning the piece into a conversation between both mother and daughter, wedging in physical interactions and crow barring incongruous vocal interruptions and questions at some of the most imitate moments of reverie.

Overall however I enjoyed the story, my pleasure was significantly dampened by the author's choice of format but as the book is so short this was not a problem I had to suffer through for long.

Also note that on the Kindle version there are a handful of print/grammatical errors.
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Adina Luca
5.0 out of 5 stars Appreciating the time we have left
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2013
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Chapman manages a captivating dialogue between mother and daughter (plus cat). I was surprised to discover that the author is not a mother as the feelings are so authentic. It's definitely a good quality page turner that you will enjoy either in your spare time, tucked at night in bed or during long tube commutes.

The story is about the big losses and the big gains we get in life, whether we are prepared for them or not. It left me with a feeling of tenderness and careful attention to those (fortunately, now still) around me. I would definitely like to meet the characters again, maybe down the life road when things twist again in unexpected directions, as life has the habit to do.
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Anthony Rodden
4.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2014
Verified Purchase
`I'm Here to Help' by SF Chapman is an incredibly easy read with short digestible chapters that do not take long to read at all.

The story itself is an interesting portrayal of the interaction between a mother and her adopted daughter as she informs her about the circumstances surrounding her birth.

Chapman writes in a way that eliminates any struggle in getting to the heart of the content and flows in a manner that feels as though the pages flip open by themselves as Chapman takes the reader through this journey.
I found the use of conversation between the mother and daughter a frankly interesting and engaging way of writing the story instead of it being told from one strict perspective which enables the reader to become fully immersed in the experience as it feels like real-time.

A likable book that does not take too much time to finish, however, do not be mistaken in thinking that this means that it is not memorable.
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