Marines Don’t Cry by Daniel Garcia and Jacqueline C. Garcia, a Non-fiction Memoir | Huge Giveaway- one winner of a $50 GC and 10 entrants win a free copy of the book!
A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.
Book Details
Marines Don’t Cry by Danny Garcia, Jackie C. GarciaPublished by Morgan James Publishing on 09/21/2021
Genres: Biography & Autobiography / Military, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 219
Have you ever been lost, really lost?
Daniel Garcia answers this question in Marines Don’t Cry by telling his stories of death to life, deep sorrow to joy, darkness to life and freedom in Christ. Daniel Garcia and Jacqueline C. Garcia depict Daniel’s dramatic highs and emotionally painful lows. They do not pull punches, nor do they sugar coat his experiences. Marines Don’t Cry recounts his early life in Spanish Harlem, which makes his journey of walking more than 52 million steps on six continents for children and world peace such an incredible story. It conveys Daniel’s conversion from drugs and the fast lane to a man consumed with knowing and serving God at all costs. Marines Don’t Cry describes encounters with world figures, such as Pope John ll, U.S. presidents, kings and queens, heads of states and well-known personalities. Most of all, it is about the love of God, the transformational power of that love, and how Danny has made it his life’s work to love his neighbor, to love himself, and to spread hope. Read on to discover:How do you walk around the world with no money?
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Excerpt from Marines Don’t Cry
(Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for tour purposes, all copyrights remain in place)
Chapter 13: Taken Hostage in Gaza
The next morning, the Palestinian officials picked me up, gave me food to eat, and took me to a hospital. They showed me some of the kids wounded by guns. The media interviewed me.
I told them, “I walk for these children who are in the crosshairs of conflict.”
After the hospital visit, they took me to a building I think was the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Several people welcomed me, and I told them I was walking through Gaza for Palestinian children too. They thanked me, and some of them were weeping as they presented me with a medal on behalf of President Yassar Arafat and the Palestinian children.
I told the representatives where I was going, so the PLO assigned me a security detail of twenty men, ten on each side. The guards walked with me through the Gaza Strip, where I visited several refugee camps. The Palestinians were friendly and grateful that I was walking for their children.
At the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, I reached the region of Rafah, which is mostly populated by refugees. Rafah’s border crossing, Egyptian-controlled, is the only means of crossing from the Gaza Strip into Egypt. Here, the Palestinian security detail left me. I was alone again.
That afternoon, I arrived in Rafah. As I walked through the streets of Rafah, I felt friction in the air. The tension was thick, hair-raising. I was alone with no escort or entourage. There was no American or UN presence.
The same day, Israeli forces had shot and killed a young Palestinian girl in Rafah. People were in the streets protesting at a heightened pitch. An angry mob of about 2,000 Palestinians saw me walking in the streets. Then three or four of them with rifles grabbed me by my arms. The men pulled me at gunpoint toward a one-story shell of a house.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” they demanded.
The people in the mob saw everything. They yelled and fired their weapons in the air as if they were cheering my capture. We continued to move toward the building and, once inside, the men shoved me and threw me into a room. I was taken off-guard, dazed.
Then I realized that I was a captive. I had been taken hostage.
Perhaps it was three or four hours? As a hostage, I lost track of time. I relied on my Marine Corps training to survey my surroundings. I was frightened but knew not to show fear or panic. I had to appear calm.
I prayed silently, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. You brought me here, you order my every step. I trust you. Keep me calm, give me favor. Save me.”
My captors took my backpack and searched through my possessions. They found the silver medal with Arabic writing. They pulled the medal out of my pack like a treasure and held up it.
“What is this?” the captors asked.
Calmly, I said, “I walk for children, and I walk for Palestinian children. That medal was given to me this morning on behalf of Yasser Arafat, expressing his thanks for the walk I am doing for your children.”
Yasser Arafat was the Leader of the PLO. Because Mr. Arafat knew of me, the abductors realized they had to protect me, not kill me.
The men quickly repacked and zipped my pack and gave it back to me. They shuffled me from the holding area, took me outside, and threw me into a waiting taxi with my belongings on top of the car.
When the mob saw me being put into a taxi, they turned their attention toward me and ran, charging the taxi. They wanted vengeance to quench their anger at the death of one of their young daughters. They wanted to kill me.
The situation grew more chaotic, and my captors lost control. The bloodthirsty mob swarmed the car, screaming and beating with their fists on all sides. They rocked the taxi side to side, trying to overturn the car to get to me. Would I escape? Would I survive?
Excerpt from Marines Don’t Cry by Daniel Garcia and Jacqueline C. Garcia used with author permission.
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Purchase Links for Marines Don’t Cry
Amazon – OneLink for every country
AppleBooks/iTunes The Book Depository Blackwell’s
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Marines Don’t Cry by Daniel and Jacqueline C. Garcia
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Author Interview – Marines Don’t Cry
How do you feel about forgiving and forgetting?
As I reflect on the book and my life, there have been many times when I’ve had to forgive others. But I also had to forgive myself in order to have complete healing. Most people are not aware of this aspect of self-forgiveness. Forgiveness, in my opinion, is the key to healing of body, mind, and spirit.
One has to be careful that in forgiving, one doesn’t become “the judge” (there is only one judge, and he is God). You must be humble. If you don’t forgive others, how can God forgive you?
Forgetting? I don’t. I have to remind myself, though, to let go of the past because if helps me to live with joy. When you forget, it is only for a while. Yet when someone says a particular thing, it triggers a negative memory or feeling. You have to tell yourself, “I don’t have to dwell on this. It is in the past. God has already taken care of this.” My prayer to God every day is “Lord, help me to forgive and to forget.”
Can people be healed of infirmities and sickness of the body and mind?
Every day people are healed in the body, mind, and spirit. Don’t you see it? I’ve seen it as I have walked around the world, and I have experienced it myself. How? After a divorce, I started walking from San Francisco to San Diego. Immediately I felt hope and love from people along the route.
Something supernatural was happening. I know it was the hand of God to touch others who greeted and encouraged me, made a donation, provided lodging, prepared a meal, etc. They showed that they loved me, and that love was my healing from God.
What prevents people from receiving healing is their lack of faith. They don’t believe God and that he has already provided healing. Therefore, they have to call on him, repent, and humbly ask for help. Then, here is the key: thank him for the gift. Don’t make it complicated.
What should somebody do when they want to change their lives? Their direction?
First, stop. Stop what? Stop assuming, stop thinking, stop doing. Be still and listen. Then you can hear from God. I started walking in 1996 as a major change in my life and direction. I was trying to find God and myself. I had to change the way I was thinking and be honest with myself.
My wife told me she didn’t love me, so instead of continuing in that relationship, I had to get away and stop thinking about something I no longer had. I was in a destructive environment that was trying to kill me; I had to flee.
Check yourself out; examine your conscience, motives, and values. For me, when I was walking around the world, God was always speaking to me, his spirit to my spirt. Many times, I walked alone and actually shut up. In that silence, I learned to listen to the spirit of God, and received direction from him.
How long have you been writing?
I am a visionary. I’ve always put my ideas on paper. These days we make use of whiteboards. But I needed someone who could transform my ideas and my story into a book that flowed and captured my truth. Jackie has been writing since high school, throughout her entire Air Force career and time in industry. This is our first book, our first collaboration, our first publishing experience.
Interview questions provided by Ralph Oko, Our Veterans Voice Radio and host, The Book Worms Podcast
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Purchase Marines Don’t Cry online from a local bookstore.
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Easy Amazon Links
Marines Don’t Cry: Delive...Shop on Amazon Marines Don't Cry: Deliveri...Shop on Amazon
Amazon – OneLink for every country
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Marines Don’t Cry Giveaway!
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
Ten randomly chosen winners via rafflecopter will win a free copy of the eBook.
Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!
Full Tour Schedule for Marines Don’t Cry:
March 1: Rogue’s Angels
March 3: Travel the Ages
March 8: Uplifting Reads
March 10: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
March 15: FUONLYKNEW
March 17: Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
March 22: The Avid Reader
March 24: Hope. Dreams. Life… Love
March 29: All the Ups and Downs
March 31: The Obsessed Reader
April 5: The Faerie Review
April 7: Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin’
April 12: Girl with Pen
April 14: The Reading Adddict
April 19: fundinmental
April 21: Sea’s Nod
April 21: Straight From the Library
April 26: Fabulous and Brunette
April 28: Author C.A.Milson
May 3: Novels Alive
May 5: Welcome to My World of Dreams
May 10: It’s Raining Books
May 12: Let me tell you a story
May 17: Lamon Reviews
May 19: Westveil Publishing
May 24: Gina Rae Mitchell
May 26: BooksChatter
May 31: The Salty Nomad
June 2: Our Town Book Reviews – review
June 7: Gimme The Scoop Reviews
June 9: Long and Short Reviews
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This sounds like an awesome book thanks for sharing!
How did you celebrate Memorial Day?
Thanks for sharing!
Our pleasure, Kathleen Kelly. We pray you will have a meaningful memorial day.
Great interview and excerpt, Marines Don’t Cry sounds like a fantastic and interesting memoir that I want to read! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a wonderful day!
Hello again, Eva Millien. Thanks for commenting and your kinds words. God Bless You.
This sounds like an interesting read and I love the cover.
Hello Sherry, thank you!
Thank you for sharing your interview and your book details, I am looking forward to reading your biography
Hello again, Bea LaRocca. Our pleasure. This book was a huge milestone, to get some of Danny’s life in print to share with the world. God Bless You.
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks Gina Rae, Nana, for having us as guest bloggers. What a delightful site you have.