The Holotropic Mind: The Three Levels of Human Consciousness and How They Shape Our Lives

Customer Reviews:

Can hallucinations explain reality?.......2005-10-26

What does holotropic mean? The dictionary does not define the term, and neither does the author, although he has developed an entire psychiatric treatment and trademarked it as the "Holotropic Breathwork." If we compare it to the meaning of "allotropic" we can deduce that it should mean "of one form." But with one form with what? After reading the book I am guessing that it refers to the universe. Our mind is one with it. Purely a guess; the author does not tell us.

Stanislav Grof was born in in 1931 in Czechoslovakia, where he received an MD in 1956, and PhD in 1967. It appears that he spent his time between the two degrees doing research in LSD-induced psychic states, often using himself as the subject. But when he came to the US in 1967, LSD use became prohibited, and so he eventually continued his work in "Transpersonal Psychology" (defined as a study of non-ordinary states of consciousness) with techniques that involved controlled breathing in a controlled setting. If nothing else, the reader of this book can get an idea of what a psychedelic trip feels like.

The book consists of two parts, framed between what could be called an introductory and a concluding chapter. In the introduction he mentions how some avant-garde physicists have introduced theories that connect together everything in the universe into one mathematical or even conscious entity: Talbot's holographic universe, Bohm's implicate order, Sheldrake's morphic resonance, and finally Jung's (an avant-garde psychiatrist in his day) collective unconscious. He then takes off into his favorite subject, LSD-induced regression into early childhood states and the birth process.

The next four chapters are allocated to studies of regression into the womb and birth experience, which he considers as the most important factors that are unconsciously affecting our adult feelings and actions. Even if you strongly disagree with what he is saying, try not to throw the book in garbage at this point. The following five chapters deal with wider transpersonal expansions of one's consciousness. Although he starts by discussing how under regression he was able to remember his existence as the spermatozoon that caused his own conception, and how others regressed to previous lives, or even plants and inanimate objects, most of the information here comes from published work by others. A lot of it is interesting, and a sufficient reason to have kept reading the book to this point. There is a good discussion of Carl Jung and his myth and archetype ideas, a brief discussion of synchronicity, and an excellent listing of many inventions and ideas that originated in people's minds as complete, inspired insights.

In the concluding chapter, he ignores the contents of the preceding five chapters, returns to his favorite subject of birth trauma, and generalizes it as the cause of all problems that have plagued mankind through its existence.

Obviously, this book is directed to the open-minded reader. Personally I disagree with the author's conclusions. I think all the data he presented could have been explained better if he followed through with Jung's and others' ideas of a universal subconscious rather than his own birth trauma theories.

The writer is the author of "Christianity without Fairy Tales: When Science and Religion Merge."

Truth Seeker.......2005-09-08

A truely inspired journey through an emerging paradigm in consciousness research. This book is an absolute must read for anyone who has seen the futility of modern material science's need to relegate the mind to the status of a physical anomaly.

My Hollow Mind........2005-02-07

The distance between the atoms in my brain is the same overall ratio as the distance between the stars in our galaxy. My head is basically empty space. Just thought you should know.

Stanislav Grof is considered to be the Father of Transpersonal Psychology. His opinion that the psyche can be exterior to the brain is well formulated and respected though not necessarily agreed with by mainstream science. The notion that the universe is a machine made up of parts has a strong hold on much of Western Science. The Newtonian view that the universe is composed of solid matter is a hard nut to crack. The metaphysical assumptions seem so obvious. Consciousness is the product of our brains, of matter. Maybe, maybe not.

The main objective of this book is to explore non-Newtonian views concerning the relationship of mind with matter. Views congruent with modern physics. Within the context that consciousness does not passively reflect the objective material world; it plays an active role in creating reality itself. Rather than seeing the universe as discrete objects and empty spaces the universe is seen as one continuous field of varying density. Matter and energy are interchangeable. Consciousness is integral to the universe and not limited by any of its parts.

This is a book about how we are at a turning point in human history. A point where we have the opportunity to transcend our differences and create a seeming utopia on earth. Where we realize our interconnectedness with not only each other, but with all life on earth, even the universe itself. This is a most optimistic book where the future of man is concerned. We are an essential part of reality. It has taken us 14 Billion years to get here and the universe is on our side. It is our time to shine. Life, like baseball, is a field of dreams.

Thou essence art that essence.

transpersonal experience accounts, not theories.......2004-08-28

The book describes transpersonal and paranormal experiences, with anecdotal evidence of their validity. It's not really about the scientific theory about them. For example, it only briefly refers to the holography analogy and the relevant studies in quantum physics, and doesn't really explain them in detail as the title might suggest; that was a bit disappointing. From a psychological side, same thing - it doesn't talk about the why and when and how of the phenomena, just that they occur.

Still, a decent introduction to what's possible in non-ordinary consciousness, from a reputable scientist; it will make you open your mind a bit more to new age topics. If that's what you're looking for, then it's not a bad book.

An excellent intro to Grof's work..........2004-08-27

Although a bit light, I found "The Holotropic Mind" to be a great and accesible intro to Stanislav Grof's work within Transpersonal Psychology. Although none of the holotropic breathwork techniques are revealed within this book, I found some of the models and metaphors to be really enlightening (his note on the nature of the void experience was particularly compelling).

This book is NOT on the level of Beyond the Brain or LSD Psychotherapy but it is worth picking up, even if you are a more advanced student of Grof's work.

The Perricone Promise: Look Younger, Live Longer in Three Easy Steps

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Great Diet
Ok I guess
given as a gift
The Smart-Aging Bible
His skin products don't work. His diet isn't new (and imperfect)

The Perricone Promise: Look Younger, Live Longer in Three Easy Steps
Nicholas Perricone
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0446695912

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To this end, he recommends a three-pronged approach: a very specific 28-day diet; supplements taken morning, noon, and night; and his own line of "topical" cosmetics, all aimed at boosting the body's levels of "peptides and neuropeptides." These substances, according to Perricone, are not only the building blocks of the skin's collagen, but an integral part of the functioning of the immune system, and may prevent inflammation in the body that's associated with such illnesses as arthritis and heart disease.

Perricone's diet sensibly includes a "rainbow" of fruits and vegetables and the liberal use of herbs and spices, and shuns any foods browned or cooked at high temperatures. But unfortunately, some of the food combinations sound less than appetizing (typical snack: "1-2 ounces sliced turkey or chicken breast, 3 olives, 3 strawberries, 8 ounces water"). His eponymous supplements and cosmetics are also pretty pricey, but as far as Perricone's fans are concerned, when it comes to putting the brakes on the aging process, you get what you pay for. --Erica Jorgensen

Book Description

For women seeking complexion perfection, Dr. Nicholas Perricone is the name to know; actress Courteney Cox counts herself among his many devotees. In The Perricone Promise, he claims that his 28-day program will help stop and even reverse the aging process, making anyone who follows his advice "look and feel ten years younger." Perricone says the brain and the skin both start out as the same embryonic tissue, so it follows that any efforts aimed at improving one's complexion will also improve one's memory and overall sense of well-being. To this end, he recommends a three-pronged approach: a very specific 28-day diet; supplements taken morning, noon, and night; and his own line of "topical" cosmetics, all aimed at boosting the body's levels of "peptides and neuropeptides." These substances, according to Perricone, are not only the building blocks of the skin's collagen, but an integral part of the functioning of the immune system, and may prevent inflammation in the body that's associated with such illnesses as arthritis and heart disease.Perricone's diet sensibly includes a "rainbow" of fruits and vegetables and the liberal use of herbs and spices, and shuns any foods browned or cooked at high temperatures. But unfortunately, some of the food combinations sound less than appetizing (typical snack: "1-2 ounces sliced turkey or chicken breast, 3 olives, 3 strawberries, 8 ounces water"). His eponymous supplements and cosmetics are also pretty pricey, but as far as Perricone's fans are concerned, when it comes to putting the brakes on the aging process, you get what you pay for. --Erica Jorgensen

Customer Reviews:

Great Diet.......2007-08-01

I tried Perricone's diet and it makes me feel good and active. He has done his research and is aware of the new products available. I did not try the supplements. I felt they are over priced.

Ok I guess.......2007-07-02

It has a lot of great detailed data and things like that...BUT in the end it is the same ole addage that we all know: Eat right, Sleep enough, Exercise, and be positive. LESS Alcohol, stress, bad carbs...

given as a gift.......2007-06-27

One of the Christmas gifts given to my daughter in 2005. I am sure she was satisfied; I did not receive a feedback from her

The Smart-Aging Bible.......2007-06-10

Dr. Nicholas Perricone is perhaps the leading expert on "smart-aging" diet and nutritional supplements.

His advice on the best foods / beverages and the most scientifically-advanced nutritional supplements is FAR ahead of any other "expert" out there.

Being in the nutritional supplement industry, I can vouch that what he says about specific supplements is scientifically accurate.

I especially like what he says about the nutrients Alpha Lipoic Acid, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, Benfotiamine (fat-soluble vitamin B1) and Carnosine as being the most powerful "age-fighting" supplements avialable.

For those of you who can afford the supplements...and some of the foods he recommends, I can virtually guarantee you that you will see & feel results very fast.

For those of you that complain about how much the foods / supplements / cosmaceuticals cost..."don't shoot the messenger" (Dr. Perricone)...he doesn't set the prices on most of these products - especially the foods and supplements.

The alternative is to keep eating the typical "Standard American Diet" (ironically called SAD), so you can continue to look and feel like hell, and set yourself up for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration and all the "wonderful" things associated with getting older.

He is sharing the science of "smart-aging" with you, so you can make highly informed / educated decisions about what foods / supplements / skincare products to use to feel & look your absolute best.

Do your doctors share this information with you?

His skin products don't work. His diet isn't new (and imperfect).......2006-08-10

It hasn't been clinically proven that Perricone skin products work. My mom (age 46) tried them anyway, and they didn't work.

His advice to stay away from grains (and whatever comes from them, of course) is great, but not new. Yes, farm-raised salmon is screwed up, eat the wild one, but again, I knew that already.

And I disagree with his complicated "system" of taking supplements. If you just eat normal food, like vegetables and fruit, NOT grains and soda, you won't need supplements. The only supplement you need is fish oil, since farm-raised animals that we eat lack necessary fatty acids.

What's Your Why?: How a three-word question can change you, your company, and the lives of those you lead

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What's Your Why - an instant classic
Life Changing Subject Matter
Simple question - Profound results
Top management recruiter offers career development wisdom
Wow, I was not expecting this!

What's Your Why?: How a three-word question can change you, your company, and the lives of those you lead
Kent Burns , and Silouan
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Personal Transformation | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1425935435

Book Description

Where is your treasure? Consider the passion and commitment displayed by those searching for buried treasure. For most, it dominates their thinking, planning, and actions for a lifetime. You may not be a treasure hunter in the literal sense, but we all have our treasures - things we value highly and go to great lengths to acquire, honor, or serve. When you think about it, few things in our lives truly qualify as treasure. At a crossroads in his life, Kent Burns went in search of his treasure. The result? After fifteen years as an accountant, within sixty days, he made a life-changing decision to leave accounting and corporate America behind. He left a six-figure salary and took a 100 percent commission recruiting job that guaranteed him ZERO income. Within four years, he was the number one individual producer worldwide at the largest recruiting firm in the world. How did he do it? His treasure hunt led him to answer a simple three-word question: "What's Your Why?" The answer has changed his life forever. What about you? Has life ceased to be fulfilling? Do you feel trapped in your current business environment? Do you see apathy when you look at those you lead? Do you aspire to drive your organization to increasing levels of excellence? Understanding your Why will reveal the core factors that motivate you. Understanding your Why will lead you on a path toward a more meaningful life. It will also help you better understand those who work in your business. It will allow you to lead them to places they have never been. They will, in turn, take your business to places it has never been. So where is your treasure? If you've never been on a treasure hunt, perhaps now is your time. © Kent Burns 2006

Customer Reviews:

What's Your Why - an instant classic.......2006-11-10

"What's Your Why" is a must read - an instant classic - for every modern executive who is ready to invest the time and effort to take a leadership role above and beyond traditional expectations. The tools Kent provides you with in this brilliantly written and concise book will arm any manager to better understand their employees and customers which will yield immeasurable results - not just on the bottom line - but also in employee morale and inner-company relations.

Life Changing Subject Matter.......2006-09-20

"What's your Why?" addresses a pivotal moment in every life. We get limited opportunities where we actually stop and examine what lies beneath the surface of our lives. Most days expire without any such examination. Picking this book up is one of those moments, and it is an uncluttered guide to asking yourself the kinds of questions that force you to be honest with yourself about who you are, the choices you make, and the desires of your heart. You can't very well lead people to be their best if you can't ask and answer these most meaningful questions of yourself.

Simple question - Profound results.......2006-09-13

I picked up this book and found it very interesting and helpful to keep "integrity" in my life -- that is to be sure what I am doing fulfills my deepest desire. Kent's methods for finding out your deepest reasons for why you do what you do are very simple and really work! I highly recommend reading this book and working the exercises at every stage in your life, if not once a year, as it truly makes you more effective as it helps you understand and make adjustments in your goals, your career and your life. Awesome and easy to read book.

Top management recruiter offers career development wisdom.......2006-09-13

What's Your Why? is ideal for people who are looking to gain new perspective on how their inner motives, interests, and needs can be clarified and harnessed for optimal career and self development.

It is written in an accessible style and designed for the busy individual who wants to step off the treadmill for a few moments to gain an extra edge through insight without the obscure theories or shallow exhortations of the typical management or career book.

It is authored by Kent Burns, who has been consistently one of the leading talent recruiters working internationally. Kent has placed hundreds of professionals into top positions with Global 2000 firms, and his vast experience is distilled into practical concepts that will hold value for anyone seeking to advance in his or her career.

Brief, fun, and relevant, What's Your Why? offers a good return on investment for new job market talent and experienced professionals alike.

Wow, I was not expecting this!.......2006-08-24

I bought this to help myself and it has changed the way I look at my life, my family, friends and my co-workers. I manage a small group of people with lots of drive but we lack focus and direction. I ask the 3 major questions from this book and my people really got into this project.

We are planning some team building events and I feel like the dynamic of this mindset is really starting to take hold and we know each but other not just on a surface level now. I hope the results are what I have read about in this book, I feel really inspired by the inital results and can not wait to see how it unfolds!

Great read, easy, quick and Kent has simplified something very complex aspect of being human!

Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown

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The True Story Of Pocahontas, John Smith and Chief Powhatan
Pieces of the Real Jamestown and its Major Players
Review

Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown
Helen C. Rountree
Manufacturer: University of Virginia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0813925967

Book Description

Pocahontas may be the most famous Native American who ever lived, but during the settlement of Jamestown, and for two centuries afterward, the great chiefs Powhatan and Opechancanough were the subjects of considerably more interest and historical documentation than the young woman. It was Opechancanough who captured the foreign captain "Chawnzmit" -- John Smith. Smith gave Opechancanough a compass, described to him a spherical earth that revolved around the sun, and wondered if his captor was a cannibal. Opechancanough, who was no cannibal and knew the world was flat, presented Smith to his elder brother, the paramount chief Powhatan. The chief, who took the name of his tribe as his throne name (his personal name was Wahunsenacawh), negotiated with Smith over a lavish feast and opened the town to him, leading Smith to meet, among others, Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas. Thinking he had made an ally, the chief finally released Smith. Within a few decades, and against their will, his people would be subjects of the British Crown.

Despite their roles as senior politicians in these watershed events, no biography of either Powhatan or Opechancanough exists. And while there are other "biographies" of Pocahontas, they have for the most part elaborated on her legend more than they have addressed the known facts of her remarkable life. As the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's founding approaches, nationally renowned scholar of Native Americans, Helen Rountree, provides in a single book the definitive biographies of these three important figures. In their lives we see the whole arc of Indian experience with the English settlers -- from the wary initial encounters presided over by Powhatan, to the uneasy diplomacy characterized by the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe, to the warfare and eventual loss of native sovereignty that came during Opechancanough's reign.

Writing from an ethnohistorical perspective that looks as much to anthropology as the written records, Rountree draws a rich portrait of Powhatan life in which the land and the seasons governed life and the English were seen not as heroes but as Tassantassas (strangers), as invaders, even as squatters. The Powhatans were a nonliterate people, so we have had to rely until now on the white settlers for our conceptions of the Jamestown experiment. This important book at last reconstructs the other side of the story.

Customer Reviews:

The True Story Of Pocahontas, John Smith and Chief Powhatan.......2005-11-22

Everyone is familiar with the story of Pocahontas and British explorer/adventurer John Smith. They are romantic stories fed to us by the likes of Disney (10 yrs ago in the 1995 film) and countless romanticized versions in historical fiction novels. This "documentary" book exposes the truth about what really happened in the span of time that John Smith, Jon Rolfe and the Virginia Company founded Jamestown and dealt with the Indian tribes headed by Chief Powhatan and his brother Openchancanough. Since Thanksgiving is fast approaching, this makes a fine book to read if you are interested in the earliest British colonial period of the 1600's, when the pilgrims fist arrived in the Eastern coast of the United States. This period has been romanticized by movies and novels, evoking a thrilling time of danger, intrigue and romance, when Indians and colonists sparred and sometimes made peace, even made love. Princess Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan. She was only fifteen or so when she first met Jon Smith and a romance was highly unlikely, even if perhaps the girl felt an attraction to the supposedly attractive adventurer. John Smith had traveled across the globe to foreign lands as a British explorer and was in his day a bad boy. That he may have gotten into trouble with Chief Powhatan and his people is probably true. Pocahontas was a diplomat, a healer/medicine woman and regarded as a peacemaker. Even if she didn't do a dramatic a thing as offer herself up as sacrifice to save John Smith's life, she did for a time lessen tension between the natives and the colonists. She married Jon Rolfe, a British nobleman, was converted to Christianity, learned to read and speak English. She journeyed across the Atlantic, leaving behind her old life in the tribe and became a popular figure in London society. She became a lady. Most people forget about this phase in her life and it must have been a very interesting story within itself. Did she miss her old life ? Was she as respected in London or did she experience a form of racism because she was not a white English lady ? Powhatan's life is documented well in this book. He was a very influential man in his time and he, too, was able to negotiate with the English. Jamestown brought these people together. They hoped that Jamestown would be an independent, Utopian society where English and natives could live and prosper. Unfortunately, Jamestown succumbed to disease and death. The dream died and conflict between natives and colonists resumed. If you're a big history buff, this book is for you.

Pieces of the Real Jamestown and its Major Players.......2005-08-08

The major theme of POCAHONTAS POWHATAN OPECHANCANOUGH: THREE INDIAN LIVES CHANGED BY JAMESTOWN revolves around truth. For each story that has been told about Virginia's Jamestown settlement or Pocahontas in general, its has centered on the Captain John Smith and Pocahontas legend and myth that has been overly romanticized in novels and in movies. At this time, no scholar has made the attempt to intertwine the Indian voice within the English story of Jamestown. However, Helen Rountree attempts to provide the Native American voice, but from letters and accounts by English colonists and foreigners. It is unfortunate that the Indians did not record their accounts of the arrival of these new world settlers, or as Rountree suggests, invaders. Nonetheless, Rountree places the three major participants' semi-biographical accounts at the forefront of this study in order to incorporate their contribution to the settlement as well as the invasion of white colonists to the Indian landscape.

Rountree examines these three major actors and their way of life from anthropological perspective. Indeed, this is an historical narrative that deals with ethnohistory, but one that is " about one side only" (p. 6). Historians study their subject matters in order to get to the bottom of how an event occurred and its end result - think in terms of the past while writing in the present. Rountree takes the same approach, and studied the Powhatan side with why and how they acted the way they did. Rountree is critical and frank about past accounts of the Jamestown story as told by historian, William Strachey, HISTORIE OF TRAVELL INTO VIRGINIA BRITANIA and his plagiarized version of John Smith's narrative, GENERALL HISTORIE, which takes an English perspective that downplays the Indian presence. Rountree clarifies misconceptions that have been told within past narratives.

Chronologically, the book covers the period from 1607 to 1644. With these periods, one has a time frame to work with. Rountree provides an in depth analysis of the inception and deterioration of relations between natives and colonists of the Virginia Company's settlement in Jamestown and the wars that concurred in 1622 and 1644. The book shows how life was like before the colonists, and the significance of Powhatan daily rituals. Rountree's expertise in so-called "digging deep" to the root of origins from an anthropological point of view allows the reader to understand how life was simple and structured for the Powhatans. Rountree suggests that life only later became complicated when the Indians had to provide and teach the colonists how to survive. In the process, both Indians and colonists discovered that their lifestyles and environments were different than what they had been accustomed to.

For the sake of understanding, POCAHONTAS POWHATAN OPECHANCANOUGH will allow readers of history to see the bigger picture of the Jamestown story that took place three centuries ago. Although this history has already passed, its legacy and myths continues to engage readers. Helen Rountree should be commended for taken the task to reveal the real Pocahontas as human as possible and not as a Disney cutout, and to emphasize the predominant role of chief leader, Powhatan, and his successor or "brother", Opechancanough as essential actors in American history.

Review.......2005-08-03

Most interesting. A story of the founding of Jamestown from the Indian point of view. It is a family tradition that we are descended from Powhatan, and the story meant a great deal to me.

Blithe Spirit, Hay Fever, Private Lives: Three Plays

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Three Brilliants By The Great English Wit
Impressive
The only serious challenge to Feydeau in English

Blithe Spirit, Hay Fever, Private Lives: Three Plays
Noel Coward
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 067978179X
Release Date: 1999-01-26

Customer Reviews:

Three Brilliants By The Great English Wit.......2002-05-30

Noel Coward's talent for spinning gossamer plots into rapier-sharp comedy assures his reputation in theatre, and his comedies have such timeless appeal that they remain staples of both English and American theatre. This volume collects three of his most memorable scripts: the fantasy BLITHE SPIRIT, the farce HAY FEVER, and the razor-wicked PRIVATE LIVES.

Of the three, BLITHE SPIRIT and PRIVATE LIVES are best known to the general public through various film versions and frequent revivals. BLITHE SPIRIT concerns a novelist who invites a medium to give a seance that he might learn tricks of the trade for the book he is writing--but the medium is no fake, and she unintentionally summons up the ghost of his first wife, who promptly moves in and makes his second wife's life a living hell. PRIVATE LIVES offers the story of a divorced couple who unexpectedly meet while honeymooning with their new spouses--whom they quickly abandon in order to resume their torrid passion for each other. Trouble is, although they love each other desperately, their personalities are about as compatible as two scorpions in a bottle. HAY FEVER, one of Coward's earliest successes, presents the story of visitors to an eccentric family who are very nearly driven mad before they are able to escape.

Coward was reknowned for his sophistocated and often acid turn of phrase, and all three of these plays contain enough outrageous situations and sharp-tongued lines to make even the worst sourpuss laugh loud enough to annoy the neighbors. Although those unused to reading playscripts may find HAY FEVER a bit hard to grasp, both BLITHE SPIRIT and PRIVATE LIVES read extremely, extremely well--so much so that you're likely to find yourself acting them out as you read! Wonderful fun, and strongly, strongly recommended.

Impressive.......2001-07-02

I recieved my summer reading list for Honors English a few weeks ago, and under the section that held a list of three play titles to choose from, I came across Blithe Spirit. Having never heard of Noel Coward, or anything of the other two plays in this book (Hay Fever, and Private Lives) I decided to give the book a chance and I am pleased that I did. I am not a huge fan of reading plays, but after I read Blithe Spirit, I felt that I just had to keep going and read the other two. After reading this book, it is now very obvious to me that Noel Coward was a man with extreme talent, and an awful witty sense of humor. While reading these plays you come across some really interesting situations, and characters, and I guarentee that you will be smiling throughout the whole thing.

The only serious challenge to Feydeau in English.......1999-12-19

Noel Coward's _Hay Fever_, Evelyn Waugh's _Handful of Dust_, and Kingsley Amis's _Lucky Jim_ are, for my money, the three funniest things written in English in the 20th century. I was a drama critic for nearly 12 years, saw hundreds of productions of all kinds from coast to coast in the US and a few in London, and never laughed harder or enjoyed myself more than at a regional US production of "Hay Fever" in the late 1970's. Do it again! Do it again!

Women on the Margins: Three Seventeenth-Century Lives

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Three fascinating lives

Women on the Margins: Three Seventeenth-Century Lives
Natalie Zemon Davis
Manufacturer: Belknap Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0674955218

Book Description

As she did with Martin Guerre, Natalie Zemon Davis here retrieves individual lives from historical obscurity to give us a window onto the early modern world. As women living in the seventeenth century, Glikl bas Judah Leib, Marie de l'Incarnation, and Maria Sibylla Merian, equally remarkable though very different, were not queens or noblewomen, their every move publicly noted. Rather, they were living "on the margins" in seventeenth-century Europe, North America, and South America. Yet these women--one Jewish, one Catholic, one Protestant--left behind memoirs and writings that make for a spellbinding tale and that, in Davis' deft narrative, tell us more about the life of early modern Europe than many an official history.

All these women were originally city folk. Glikl bas Judah Leib was a merchant of Hamburg and Metz whose Yiddish autobiography blends folktales with anecdotes about her two marriages, her twelve children, and her business. Marie de l'Incarnation, widowed young, became a mystic visionary among the Ursuline sisters and cofounder of the first Christian school for Amerindian women in North America. Her letters are a rich source of information about the Huron, Algonquin, Montagnais, and Iroquois peoples of Quebec. Maria Sibylla Merian, a German painter and naturalist, produced an innovative work on tropical insects based on lore she gathered from the Carib, Arawak, and African women of Suriname. Along the way she abandoned her husband to join a radical Protestant sect in the Netherlands. Drawing on Glikl's memoirs, Marie's autobiography and correspondence, and Maria's writings on entomology and botany, Davis brings these women to vibrant life. She reconstructs the divergent paths their stories took, and at the same time shows us each amid the common challenges and influences of the time--childrearing, religion, an outpouring of vernacular literature--and in relation to men.

The resulting triptych suggests the range of experience, self-consciousness, and expression possible in seventeenth-century Europe and its outposts. It also shows how persons removed from the centers of power and learning ventured in novel directions, modifying in their own way Europe's troubled and ambivalent relations with other "marginal" peoples.

Customer Reviews:

Three fascinating lives.......2001-08-18

Davis takes the reader deep into the lives of three quite different European women of the 1600s, showing how they courageously face family and career challenges. Each story is amazing. Catholic widow Marie Guyart goes to the wilderness of Canada to help found the Quebec branch of the Ursuline teaching order. Jewish mother of 14 children, Glikl von Hameln is a successful business woman, both as her husband's chief assistant and as a widow. Divorced Protestant Maria Merian supports herself and her daughters through her engravings based on her own ecological observations of caterpillars native to Europe and northern South America. I particularly enjoyed learning about Merian because I have been impressed by her elegant work which I have seen in a number of museums including the National Museum of Woman in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families

Average customer rating:

Best Modern History of Boston Ever
one of the best political books I ever read - 6 stars!!!!
Fabulous insight into Boston's 1970's busing crisis
current events raised to the level of art
Hugely Important

Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families
J. Anthony Lukas
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

ASIN: 0394746163
Release Date: 1986-08-12

Amazon.com

The climax of this humane account of 10 years in Boston that began with news of Martin Luther King's assassination, is a watershed moment in the city's modern history--the 1974 racist riots that followed the court-ordered busing of kids to integrate the schools. To bring understanding to that moment, Lukas, a former New York Times journalist, focuses on two working-class families, headed by an Irish-American widow and an African-American mother, and on the middle-class family of a white liberal couple. Lukas goes beyond stereotypes, carefully grounding each perspective in its historical roots, whether in the antebellum South, or famine-era Ireland. In the background is the cast of public figures--including Judge Garrity, Mayor White, and Cardinal Cushing--with cameo roles in this disturbing history that won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction.

Book Description

Winner of 3 different awards, this is a story of the busing crisis in Boston.

Customer Reviews:

Best Modern History of Boston Ever.......2006-11-02

In you are interested in modern Boston history, and why Boston is the way it is, there is no better book. The subject of this book is busing, but that is only one (important) element of the book. Excellent, well-researched overview of Boston's different ethnic clans, geography, religious groups (the most fascinating history of the Boston Roman Catholic Church I have ever read), and Boston culture. Extremely well-written.

I've lived in Massachusetts/Boston my entire life. I regret not reading this book earlier.

one of the best political books I ever read - 6 stars!!!!.......2005-05-07

This book is an absolutely magnificent tableau of American politics in all its complexity and ambiguity. Lukas investigated the lives of three families in a fundamental controversy on the future of America: forced school busing.

The first family are brahmans, from Harvard Law and straight into the Mayor's office in a moment of idealism that would forever change his career. He is a mechanic of political change, who is trying to lead a good and honorable life. Then there is a working class Irish family, from the other side of the tracks. The widowed mother becomes a great adversary of the process underway, in no way racist but opposed for very practical and personal reasons to forced busing. Finally, there is a black family, struggling to get by amidst dashed hopes and pathological mental illness, the supposed benificiariers of a great social experiment. The portrayals of these lives - all real and thoroughly investigated by an absolutely first-rate investigative journalist - are beyond novellistic realism. The personalities are so vivid and well drawn that it is simply astonishing.

Then there is the wider political/historical milieu, Boston in the early 1970s. Lukas stops at nothing to create a composite picture: there is the mayor Kevin White (whom I was astonished to learn was considered by Jimmy Carter as a running mate in 1976), Ted Kennedy, and scores of others including the archdiscese and various minor politician-demagogues hoping to make a career out of the crisis. The portrait is as beautiful and detailed as the Sistine Chapel, exposing the best, the worst, and the unexpected in American politics of the period. Lukacs' talent to do all of this is simply extraordinary. Late in the writing, I learned, he had to throw out one of the three families and begin the entire process over again in the name of thoroughness. No wonder he won a pulitzer.

This book also spoke to me personally. I was in Boston for part of the time, in the very neighborhood where the brahmans lived as a personal social experiment, and I witnessed many of the events as they unfolded. Lukacs' evocation of it all struck me as entirely accurate, pitch perfect to where people were coming from and what they hoped and feared. As such, this book is a crucible of the American race conundrum, a turning point of the greatest political import, perhaps equal to the Vietnam war protests.

And the writing! It is elegant and clear beyond imagination, approaching what I would call genius, the product of an unusually driven mind. The characters are so vivid that I will refelct on them until the day I die. This is destined to become a classic, like Tacitus or Thucydides - the quality is truly that high. I have read HUNDREDS of political-historical books, and this one ranks as near the top as a handful.

Recommended as a true must-read. Get it, make the effort, for an excpetional reading experience.

Fabulous insight into Boston's 1970's busing crisis.......2005-02-11

I thought this book was breathtaking. J. Anthony Lukas does a masterful job telling the story of the Boston busing crisis from the perspective of 3 individuals involved (in 1974 a judge ordered the city of Boston to bus children into schools outside their own neighborhoods in order to achieve racial diversity; problems ensued). You learn about a young, idealistic upperclass white man who works for Boston Mayor Kevin White, a poor black mother who is concerned for her children and their education, and an Irish Catholic family living in Charlestown who resent the changes being imposed on them by others. Lukas tells you about each family's history and presents their story and perspectives in a way that you can understand and relate to.

As a resident of Boston, I really enjoyed learning more about an important period of time for the city. I think that by putting human faces to the story he personalized it for people who didn't experience it themselves. Boston still does not have neighborhood high schools - students submit their top 3 choices and then are assigned to a school - and I would imagine this is a vestige of the 1974 court ruling.

A great book.

current events raised to the level of art.......2001-04-09

Though Common Ground is non-fiction it reads like great literature.So detailed and moving is the story of the families and individuals that Lukas traces, that while you read this involving and complex tale of idealistic politics and failed expectations, you end up caring deeply for all the people whose lives over two decades are being traced.If you were going to read one book to understand the state of race relations in the late 20th century this would be it.There are only a few books that I have read that made me want to meet the author and thank him for writing it.This is one of those.

Hugely Important.......2000-06-08

A hugely important work, immense in its scope. This book is an excellent educational experience, on at least the levels of racial attitudes in the 60's and beyond, Boston and New England history, local and national politics, and social stratification. Common ground is detailed in its factual accounts, empathic with its central characters, and insightful yet unbiased. A must-read for anyone from the Northeast, and a should-read for everyone else. I hope to read this at least every other year, so as not to forget its importance and cultural significance.

We Don't Live Here Anymore: Three Novellas

Average customer rating:

Effortlessly entertaining and ultimately relatable...
As Fine a Collection of Novellas as Anyone Ever Published
I Will Champion This Collection Until I Die
You'll think about it long after you've put it down.
Immaturity abounds in these dismal stories.

We Don't Live Here Anymore: Three Novellas
Andre Dubus
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400079268
Release Date: 2004-08-17

Book Description

In these three stories—two of which form the basis of the award-winning film We Don’t Live Here Anymore—literary master Andre Dubus traces the lives of two couples who married too young, and who are intricately entwined by love and friendship, jealousy and understanding.
Hank and Jack have been best friends since high school. Hank married Edith, the prettiest girl Jack had ever seen, and Jack married Terry, whom he thinks he may no longer love. But Hank and Edith’s adultery didn’t begin or end with Jack and Terry. Moving, perceptive, rendered in clear-eyed prose, We Don’t Live Here Anymore maps with preternatural insight the often separate lands of love and marriage.

Customer Reviews:

Effortlessly entertaining and ultimately relatable..........2007-07-27

Andre Dubus is a masterful storyteller, as anyone whose read his work can attest to. He may generally focus on the one subject of relationships and marriage but he is so connected with that subject that the lack of creative range is forgiven. In this collection he gives us three novellas that focus on a group of four people. Jack, Terry, Hank and Edith, and with each respective story he breathes life into his characters and further cements them into the readers memory.

`We Don't Live Here Anymore' is the first novella in this collection and it's a brilliant way to start things off. Told through the eyes of Jack we are brought in on the lives of two married couples, Jack and Terry and Hank and Edith. We quickly learn that Jack is sleeping with Edith. They both love each other very much. Jack has slowly grown cold concerning his wife Terry. She is lazy and boring and not the woman he thought he knew. Edith on the other hand is spontaneous and young and she showers him with affection. Edith's husband Hank is an adulterous man who doesn't love her and has betrayed her before, leaving her adultery to come easy. Hank in fact has fallen in love with Terry who still loves her husband deeply but has grown depressed and hungry for attention, attention that Hank is willing to provide. Told with such brilliant dialog and heart breaking realism, the reader can truly find a place within this all too real story.

In `Adultery' we get a better look into the eyes of Edith and her relationship with husband Hank. We see that they have both come to a mutual understanding and carry on in their individual affairs, but while Hank seems to stay stifled in his way of thinking Edith grows from her relationship with dying ex-priest Joe. Edith becomes much more alive here and becomes endearing to the reader. I fell in love with her and sobbed along with her in the end. You can see that much of her character's persona in the film adaptation of the first novella is a direct derivative of the life Dubus breathes into her here.

It's in `Finding a Girl in America' though that my heart was truly touched. There's a passage in the first few pages where Hank, now separated with Edith and falling in love with nineteen year old Lori, dreams of his unborn child, the one he never knew almost was, and it brought me to tears. Now maybe this has to do with the fact that my wife and I are expecting our first, but regardless, the dream and Hanks reaction to the dream is both moving and emotionally connected to the reader. The balance of the story as well shows how this one event in his life helped mature him and push him in a new direction where he craves the stability and normality he once considered unnatural.

Upon closing this book one feels closure because all the lose ends that seemed to unravel within the first novella seem to find themselves by the closing words and make good for all their misspent mistakes. I still feel a sense of solace for Jack and Terry for I fear they may never find happiness, but Edith and Hank are so well fleshed out and discovered that I feel warmth towards them both and am encouraged by their struggle to find themselves and their journey. `We Don't Live Here Anymore' tackles some very controversial yet ultimately familiar subjects and is a collection that will sit well with the reader and remain in their minds for a long time to come.

As Fine a Collection of Novellas as Anyone Ever Published.......2006-06-09

The three novellas collected here -- We Don't Live Here Anymore, Adultery, and Finding a Girl in America -- all concern an overlapping cast of characters, notably our man Hank, a Dubus doppelganger who can't seem to find the right balance between freedom and devotion, but who is drawn with such empathy that we forgive him even as those he has loved and wronged forgive him in the stories. My favorite of the three is Finding a Girl in America, and it's good enough as a standalone novella, but even better when read against the backdrop of the two that precede it.

My only gripe about this collection is that the publishers removed "The Pretty Girl", which was included in an earlier edition, but it's a choice that makes perfect sense, because "The Pretty Girl" is not linked with the other three novellas.

If you enjoy these stories, consider checking out "Voices from the Moon," Dubus's finest novella, collected in his Selected Stories. Check out "Rosa," too, and, hell, everything he ever committed to print.

I Will Champion This Collection Until I Die.......2006-04-18

Important lessons from this amazing book:

1. Less is not always more, more is more.
2. Characters can be complex. In fact, they must be.
3. Dubus' world is a luscious, richly painted place--why do other writers render their world in black and white?
4. Stories can wrap their arms around you and embrace you for days--even weeks. They can slow you down, in all the best ways.
5. Details--By the end of this trio of novellas, you will have been to another place. It's good to get away.

Get lost here. It's an important place to be.

You'll think about it long after you've put it down........2006-01-22

This book is a collection of three novellas. Each containing the same characters as we trace them through the years. The stories follow two young couples, Jack and Terry and Hank and Edith. Jack and Hank are both literature professors at a small New England college and Terry and Edith are housewives and mothers. They're all best friends and they all married too young. This book is broken into three novellas, "We Don't Live Here Anymore," features Jack's first-person narrative. "Adultery" is Edith's version of events, and the final story, "Finding a Girl in America" is Hank's saga of trying to move on after a failed marriage. The characters in these stories are so vivid. That's the one thing I love about Andre Dubus's writing power. The characters just aren't fictional people, they become people living in the house next to you. Sure, it is bleak and depressing at times, but what marriage isn't?

Immaturity abounds in these dismal stories........2005-12-06

I was very interested in the first story in this collection because at the outset it looked like it would take a look beneath the surface of relationships. Instead the story quickly became a silly adolescent soap opera acted out by supposed adults. The four central characters are comprised of two married couples. Each spouse has an affair with his/her friend's spouse. And they all pretend this isn't going on and that they're still all friends. The four characters are among the most unlikeable, narcissistic, immature, non-credible characters I've ever read about. The two male characters teach at a college, but could just as easily be portrayed as accountants, factory workers, or computer programmers. The characters have absolutely no depth. The men in the story clearly suffer from "Peter Pan" syndrome. The author is trying so hard to say something important with these stories, but it's a mystery what that is. In short he seems to think that immature behavior somehow represents honesty. If you want to read about four people who never outgrew high school adolescent behavior this may be the book for you. Apparently Dubus saw something he liked in these characters because he wrote three novellas including them. Unfortunately the movie is just as dismal as the book--even more so actually.

Three Among the Wolves: A Couple and Their Dog Live a Year with Wolves in the Wild

Average customer rating:

A Fantastic Read
Wolves are beautiful creatures; this is a beautiful book.
Remarkable----Page Turner
A Fascinating Read

Three Among the Wolves: A Couple and Their Dog Live a Year with Wolves in the Wild
Helen Thayer
Manufacturer: Sasquatch Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1570613982

Book Description

Three Among the Wolves is a highly readable true-life adventure tale combined with a fascinating natural history of the wolf. Helen and Bill Thayer, accompanied by their part-wolf, mostly Husky dog, Charlie, set out on foot to live among wild wolf packs — first in the Canadian Yukon and then in the Arctic. They eventually set up camp within 100 feet of a wolf den, and are greeted with apprehension at first. They establish trust over time, because the wolves accept Charlie as the alpha male of the newly arrived "pack."

The Thayers discover the complexities of wolf family structure, including how pups are reared and how the injured are tenderly cared for. They view the intricacies of the hunt firsthand — how ravens direct wolves to prey in exchange for carrion — as well as the wolves' finely honed survival skills and engaging playfulness. Readers observe the ways Helen and Bill model pack behavior and how they address an unforeseen event: the Arctic wolves attempt to lure Charlie to join them.

Customer Reviews:

A Fantastic Read.......2007-07-16

This book was incredible, and is definantly my favorite non-fiction book. This book is great for anyone who has a slight intrest in nature. It helps if you think wolves are awesome as I do.

Wolves are beautiful creatures; this is a beautiful book........2006-02-28

This book is my second literary experience with Helen Thayer and her dog Charlie following her 2002 book "Polar Dream," in which the pair join together as Ms. Thayer became the first woman (and oldest person at 50) to walk and ski solo (not counting Charlie) to the Magnetic North Pole. In this adventure her husband Bill joins the pair as they spend a year living with wolves in the wild above the Arctic Circle. It's easy to see why the National Geographic Society/National Public Radio has named Ms. Thayer one of the great explorers of the 20th Century. Her stamina and perseverance are phenomenal. The trio infiltrates the Richardson Mountains in Canada's Yukon Territory in search of the greatest villains in all of children's literature. After struggling through most difficult terrains, they come upon a family of wolves and spend months living in a tent within the animals' sight studying the social interplay of these beasts. Completing this phase of their adventure, they sadly leave this family and trek further north into the shifting and dangerous ice of Beaufort Sea to discover the wintertime interplay between wolves and polar bears, considered by many to be the most dangerous of all wild animals. After this near-death adventure, they ski back to the Mackenzie Delta and set up housekeeping next to another group of wolves. The hardships and danger the three faces on a daily basis are amazing to contemplate. The payoff from this book is two-fold. First, the scientific data discovered for the first time. But maybe more importantly is the realization that these creatures are truly magnificent and caring individuals, and anyone who reads this book with an open mind will forever despise hunters who slaughter entire packs by shooting them from low flying airplanes. Ms. Thayer makes it crystal clear that wolves deserve to be part of the world community. There is a bit of repetition in the book. I only need to be told once that the northern lights are called aurora borealis or that animals burrow under the snow were it is a few degrees warmer than above. But that's nit picking. There is also repetition in the telling of their studies, but that captures the flavor of their scientific existence, so is acceptable. To enhance this telling, dozens of pictures taken during this adventure are sprinkled throughout. All outdoorsmen, naturalists, and animal lovers will treasure this book.

Remarkable----Page Turner.......2004-06-03

A true story of two people, their wolf-dog and their amazing adventures with wild wolves in Canada's far north tundra and frozen ocean.
Helen Thayer, a recipient of many awards and honored by the White House, is a veteran world wide explorer over many years. She and her husband explore the world's remote places seeking material to add to their highly successful educational programs which I and fellow educators nationwide use in classrooms.
Her writing and lectures have inspired people of all ages in many countries. I had the pleasure of meeting this dynamic 66 year old, five feet two inch woman after she spoke at a national corporate convention in Florida.
This is a true life experience of living among wild wolf packs in which Charlie, her Inuit dog who once saved her life from a polar bear attack, is the story's star. Just as POLAR DREAM was, this new book is well written with vivid description that takes you on this remarkable journey. This very different approach to wolf study is a welcome addition to our knowledge of these animals. We see the close relationship of many species of animals sharing wild wolf habitat, and at times depending on each other.
Her first book, POLAR DREAM, tells of her adventure with Charlie when she became the first woman to walk alone pulling her own sled without dog teams or snowmobiles to the Magnetic North Pole.
This exciting story and THREE AMONG THE WOLVES are on the same informative, page turning level. The observation of wild wolf family life, their ability to adjust their survival skills, the raising of the pups and even the concern over an injured family member show close observation and remarkable intuitive understanding of wolf behavior. Of course beloved part-wolf Charlie is the reason for the success of the year long project as the author readily acknowledges.
The story is fast moving and flows smoothly from one chapter to the next. Also beautifully descriptive, compassionate and in places humerous. The numerous photos add to the account. A valuable addition to the story are the descriptions of the various animals the Thayers' encountered who share wolf habitat. An excellent addition to anyones book shelf.

A Fascinating Read.......2004-05-12

I collect books about wolves. This book is different with a new perspective both fascinating and informative.The author, explorer Helen Thayer,her explorer husband, and their Inuit dog Charlie of the best selling book, "Polar Dream" fame,(the author's book about her first ever by a woman to walk alone to the magnetic North Pole)lived a year with wild wolves above the Arctic Circle summer and winter. The author tells us "it would have been impossible without Charlie.He was the bridge we needed to cross the gap that allowed us to live alongside wolves and share their lives."
Charlie, part wolf, was quickly accepted. His human pack was accepted shortly afterward. The affectionate nature of wolves, their interaction with other animal species, even polar bears, that's not well documented elsewhere, is truly enlightening. The escapades of the mishievious pups are adorable as is their care and teaching by the adults.
The amusing episodes, the highly emotional times and the valuable information makes this book a winner. Beautifully written, vivid description, allows the reader to share this amazing and unique experience.
The reader soon knows each wolf, its personality, and its role in family life as if the reader were right there with the author.
A true winner in wolf literature.

One Last Wish: Three Novels (Mother, Help Me Live / Let Him Live / Sixteen and Dying)

Average customer rating:

A MUST READ Lurlene McDaniel book!
Best Book I ever Read
Great Stories!
Great Emotional Impact, even for an older person.
One Last Wish

One Last Wish: Three Novels (Mother, Help Me Live / Let Him Live / Sixteen and Dying)
Lurlene McDaniel
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553571427
Release Date: 1998-10-13

Book Description

You don't know me, but I know about you.... I can't make you live longer, I can stop you form hurting. But I can give you one wish, as someone did for me.
Three letters. Three last wishes.
In Mother, Help Me Live, Sarah discovers that her birth mother, whom she's never known, is the one person who may have the bone marrow she needs to survive. When Sarah journeys to find her mother, she learns the real meaning of family.
Let Him Live tells the story of Megan's friendship with Donovan, who is hoping to receive a liver transplant. Megan helps make Donovan's wish for his mother and little brother come true, along the way, Megan comes to understand true giving.
In Sixteen and Dying, when Anne finds out that a blood transfusion she had seven years ago has made her future uncertain, being given one wish helps her face her pain. She chooses to spend the summer with her father on a ranch out west—and there she meets someone who will change her life.

Customer Reviews:

A MUST READ Lurlene McDaniel book!.......2005-08-22

A long time ago i read this book and it was the first LM book I ever read. I loved it!!! Lurlene McDaniel is my fave author and I'm pretty sure I've read all her books. What can I say?:Im a HUGE fan! her novels relate to real-life stories, so they are very sad but they make you wish you could help people who are suffering from diseases or a crisis like the characters in LM's books.
I knew that LM's books would take over me. cuz once i read this book,all 3 of the novels, my eyes got damp and thats when i knew. a book had never made me cry like that before. not ever

Best Book I ever Read.......2002-08-22

This is one of the best books that I have ever read, i was so into it, I finsihed the first story in less than 3 hours. It also helps with problems , the first story talks about cancer, and one of my loved ones is dealing with cancer, and it made me feel better afer I read it, these are very inspirational stories, and will show you that there is more to life than the little things.

Great Stories!.......2002-07-16

These stories truly went straight to my heart...every single one of them! Mainly because I could relate to all of them. In the first story, Sarah had leukemia and I once had a very good friend that went through all the same ordeals as Sarah. The second story I think I can relate to also because a couple of months back, I too was a candy striper at my local hospital because I had to get service hours for my church in order to be Confirmed, and just like Megan, I too went to the hospital everyday at first just wanting to get my hours done and go home, but after awhile, some of the patients that you visit with and get to know everyday have a very huge impact on you and your life sort of starts to revolve around them because you're constantly worrying about their health but, there's nothing you can do except listen to them talk everyday and try to cheer them up the best that you can. Then finally in the third story about Anne, I can also relate because just recently my distant cousin, whom I was very close with, passed away on account of HIV and the AIDS virus and I know the struggle she went through everyday because I was with her most days. Her and my friend, with leukemia, were also part of the reason I stuck with my candy striping job at the hospital because, like Megan put it, it gives you a great feeling of joy knowing that somehow you made a difference in someone's life and even though I'm only a sophmore in high school, I am already starting to make plans to someday attend Medical School and become a doctor so that I can keep making a difference in people's lives. So, thank you Lurlene for writing these beautiful and truly heart-warming stories that I would recommend to anyone and everyone!

Great Emotional Impact, even for an older person........2002-03-13

I just finished reading all three stories in this book, and I must say, Lurlene McDaniel still has the ability to create amazing and emotional stories for her readers. I have been a Lurlene McDaniel fan for many years, and it all began when I read "Six Months To Live". Her stories really bring to life the struggles that so many young people go through. All three of these stories had a major impact on me, but I think the greatest impact was brought on by "Sixteen and Dying". It's hard to explain why, exactly, but it did. At any rate, I think that any fan of Ms. McDaniel's, be they old, new, or never read any of her books before, should read these three stories.

One Last Wish.......2002-03-06

How will you feel if someone tells you that you only have six more months to live? What will you do if you discover that you are diagnosed with Leukemia? And how will you help a boy who has tons of wishes to fulfill in his life, but is dying because he needs an urgent liver transplant? In this novel, the author Lurlene McDaniel writes three touching and heart-warming stories all about teenagers diagnosed with life-threatening diseases. The first story, Mother Help Me live, describes an adopted child, Sara, suffering from Leukemia. In order for her to survive, she must find her birth mother. Readers read a long stream of struggling from Sara¡¦s disbelief in her adoption, up to the end when a shocking fact about her birth mother is revealed. The importance of love and family is showed¡Xfamily members will always love each other no matter if they are blood related or not. I am really touched by the story because I can almost feel how Sara is hurting mentally and physically, and how hopeless but optimistic her family is. In the other story, Sixteen and Dying, Ann discovers that she is infected with HIV. She has the opportunity to go to a ranch and spend her last wonderful times there, and she meets someone who changes her life. We can see step by step how angry and confused she feels when she knows she has HIV, and when she finally understands to accept what she can¡¦t change, face the reality, and live as happy as she can. These stories are all based on a person known as JWC generously donating checks to these ill teenagers, letting them use the money to accomplish what they want before they die. These novels have made me cry, and every time I start reading, I need a box of tissue beside me. Before, I always whined about how my life was horrible with all the homework and pressure from schoolwork. But after reading Lurlene McDaniels¡¦ stories and seeing how teenagers my age are suffering from much more than I am, I finally started to appreciate what I had, stopped complaining, and always thought on the bright side.

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