5 comments about The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father.

1. I was hoping to learn more about the characters and relationships of the main human characters in the real life. Unfortunately, the book did not offer much in this respect. There was much repetition of the stories that a good Herriot fan would already know well from his books. I got an impression that in real life the relationships of the partners in the practice were less charming than in the books and TV series. But the book still was fun to read.



2. In addition to answering many questions you might have, this book also fills in gaps you probably don't know exist.
   
   An excellent chronological biography for the lover of all things James Herriot.



3. How often do we find that the man behind the myth isn't all he's cracked up to be? Well, that most definitely is NOT the case in this loving biography of the world's best-known vet, James Herriot, by his son Jim Wight. (If you're wondering about the different last names, it's because James Herriot was actually a pseudonym for James Alfred Wight, known all his life as Alf.) This is a tribute to a cherished father and, as the author notes, best friend who always considered himself "99 parts vet and 1 part author," which must be why he remained the decent and down-to-earth individual he was, unspoiled by fame and fortune that would have turned the head of a lesser man. I was moved to find that the individual was as nice if not nicer than portrayed in his books and as appreciated by his friends and family as he was by his fans. Anyone who loved the other main characters in the series, namely Siegfried and Tristan, will also enjoy discovering more about them as well. This is a wonderful, heartwarming, well-written biography of a remarkable human being by one of those who knew him best.



4. This is a good peek into the true life of James Herriot as written by his son. His son gives his own views and anecdotes of James Herriot. I have really enjoyed reading it and getting to know the author and his characters better.



5. The book arrived in a timely manner in excellent condition. I am enjoying reading about the life of this gifted, gentle and compassionate man and his family and the descriptions of the countryside and the people of Yorkshire/Glasgow and that area. A good read to help me appreciate and aim for a slower, gentler pace of life.

5 comments about Pretty Is What Changes: Impossible Choices, The Breast Cancer Gene, and How I Defied My Destiny.

1. This book is a must for anyone with the BRCA mutation or anyone who wants to understand a woman's journey after she finds out she has a BRCA mutation. It is brutally honest and therefore, absolutely compelling. As one who has walked this path, I can tell you that Jessica is very brave to lay it all out there for others to benefit from. I wish her health and happiness.



2. The author explained her gene risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer in an emotional informative way. I purchased the book because my daughter, twin sister and myself had just been tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation. Our test results are that we all have a "variant" that is the same so it is genetic but it is a variant that the lab has never seen in the whole world thus it is "uncertain" what it means other than it is genetically being passed in our family. Reading this book helped me understand gene mutations. The author truly is "beautiful" inside and out.
   Joan Reams



3. I am faced with the same genetic predisposition to breast cancer and it was a life-saver to read about another person's triumph.



4. I read this book in one day. It's a great read. Jessica really makes you think about your options. My mom is a breast cancer survivor and the BRCA test has always been in the back of my mind. It's definitely something that needs more discussing.



5. This is an incredible, thought-provoking true-story of a young woman who has watched her mother die from cancer and then tests positive for a gene mutation that makes her nearly 90% likely to get cancer herself. What would you do if you had that knowledge?
   
   Author Jessica Queller eloquently takes us with us on her journey. Despite the heavy material, this book is an easy read - I read it in 2 days - because her writing is clear and the story is so engaging.... You want to know Jessica and are rooting for her all the way.
   
   This book is for EVERY WOMAN - not just those with BRCA mutations or with cancer in their family. It is for anyone who believes that true stories often make the best books, and are drawn to the extraordinary stories of 'ordinary' people.

5 comments about Death Be Not Proud (P.S.).

1. Death Be Not Proud is a story written by John Gunther about his son, Johnny Gunther, who developed a brain tumor when he was just the young age of seventeen. Throughout the time of Johnny's months with his tumor, his professors at Deerfield Academy, friends, and family are impressed by his courage and patience through the worst times. From the time when Johnny first finds out about his illness, and the likelihood that it would never be cured, Johnny has the strength and courage to go on with his studies and act as if his illness is not affecting him, even if the tumor is worsening. This book shows the struggles and the hardships of a family and their son, who is "slowly being taken by Death," (Johnny's mother, Frances Gunther) while maintaining a positive outlook. Overall, the book was fantastically written and the father and the author, captures every moment of this time in Johnny's life. The book is almost like a series of pictures. John describes everything with such rich detail that I feel that everything could be expressed in a series of photographs.
   John Gunther writes "Johnny died at 11:02 P.M. Frances reached for him through the ugly, transparent, raincoat-like curtain of the oxygen machine. I felt his arms, cupping my hands around them, and the warmth gradually left them, receding very slowly upward from his hands. For a long time some warmth remained. Then little by little the life-color left his face, his lips became blue, and his hands were cold. What is life? It departs covertly. Like a thief, Death took him." This quote shows how much Johnny meant to his family, and later letters sent to his parents showed that the accomplishments Johnny made while he was sick, would surely never be forgotten by the ones he knew and loved with all his heart.
   After reading this story, I found myself contemplating the thought of Death stealing me or one I love away. Johnny Gunther not only gives me the strength to go on with life if you loose someone you love but also has become my hero. Hearing about the challenges he faced, and how much of an inspiration he was, I believe that there is no other way to die; to be at peace knowing the your loved ones are safe, and will go on remembering you.



2. "Death Be Not Proud" could have been the worst book ever written. Consider: John Gunther, Jr. loses his only son to a brain tumor in 1947, when the boy is just 17. And Johnny was no ordinary boy --- he was brilliant, caring, funny. The kind of kid about whom, after his death, people say, "He was loved by everyone he ever met."
   
   And that's just the summary. In fact, this kid was off the charts. He did original thinking in mathematics and wrote to Einstein --- and Einstein wrote back to encourage him. Unable to attend his boarding school because of his tumor, he got all his work done, aced his college admissions tests and would have gone to Harvard had he lived. And, through his 15-month ordeal of operations and treatments and diets and doctors and hope and despair, he never showed his parents how much he was afraid.
   
   Here's how amazing: When his surgeon told Johnny he had a brain tumor, his immediate response was "Do my parents know this? How shall we break it to them?"
   
   Imagine having a kid like that. Your only kid. And then sitting down and typing 150 pages about him.
   
   Only the geezers among you will recognize the author, but John Gunther was, in his day, a megastar journalist. Just after World War II, he published a book called "Inside Europe," and it was so successful he went on to write a series of "Inside" books. His novels flopped, but no matter. He was a born journalist --- he knew how to tell a story with style and economy.
   
   And "Death Be Not Proud" is the proof.
   
   "Johnny came home for the Christmas holiday in 1945, and he looked fit and fine." That's the first sentence of Chapter One, and it's a model. You know the boy is going to die. You know you're in for an emotional wringer. But you also know this father is going to serve it up straight, adult to adult --- he's inviting you to rise to his level.
   
   Big ideas? They're offered as sparingly as adverbs: "What I am trying to tell, however fumblingly and inadequately, is the story of a gallant fight for life, against the most hopeless odds, that should convey a relevance, a message, a lesson perhaps, to anyone who has ever faced ill health." What he doesn't need to say: That's you, dear reader, that's all of you, later if not today.
   
   This is the story of an emergency --- can the Gunthers find a cure for the tumor before it takes their son? --- and so the writing is, correctly, terse. Over this non-fiction medical thriller Gunther lays a story just as exciting: Johnny's effort to preserve his intellect, to make his mind triumph over his body.
   
   Of course there is no hope. Of course --- cruelly --- Johnny gets better. Several times. Only to relapse. Each time, Gunther just lays it out. You can feel him fraying as he writes, reliving how he frayed as he lived it. But he didn't crack then and so, if only for accuracy, he won't crack now.
   
   There is a scene in this book that should be required reading for everyone who ever has to write. It occurs at the end, when Johnny leaves his bed in New York to attend graduation at Deerfield Academy in Western Massachusetts. He's desperately ill --- he'll die just eight days later --- but he's determined to walk into chapel with his class and grasp his diploma in his left hand, just like his friends.. Gunther takes you through that walk, step by step, the chapel rocking with cheers --- good luck forgetting those pages.
   
   And then the end. The doctors are --- let Gunther have this metaphor --- "helpless flies now, climbing across the granite face of death." The world contracts. Now it's mother, father, son, in the saddest of scenes:
   
   "Johnny died at 11:02 P.M. Frances reached for him through the ugly, transparent, raincoat-like curtain of the oxygen machine. I felt his arms, cupping my hands around them, and the warmth gradually left them, receding very slowly upward from his hands. For a long time some warmth remained. Then little by little the life-color left his face, his lips became blue, and his hands were cold. What is life? It departs covertly. Like a thief, Death took him."
   
   An epilogue follows, but that's it, really. What can I say? Emotion doesn't come cleaner. You could throw a coin against those sentences and it would bounce back --- there's not a weak thought, an excess word.
   
   "Death Be Not Proud" was published in 1949. It isn't likely to go out of print any time soon. The saga of a boy dying? Sure, it grabs you and holds you. But that's because the broken, grieving man who wrote it was so professional he got out of the way and just... told the story.



3. A journalist and occasional novelist, John J. Gunther (1901-1970)was best known for the series of geo-political books he wrote during the 1930s and 1940s; today, however, he is best recalled for DEATH BE NOT PROUD. Published in 1949 and subtitled "A Memoir," it is a short work describing the final months of son Johnny Gunther, who died of a cancerous brain tumor in the late 1940s. Over the years many people have recommended this book to me, describing it as poetic in style, deeply touching in story, philosophical in content. Having at last read the work, I find the descriptions of it largely inaccurate and myself sharply unimpressed.
   
   To hear his father tell it, Johnny Gunther was an entity without flaw, a seventeen year old who was charming in his shyness, brilliant beyond his years, corresponding with Einstein even as he bemoaned his lack of skill at sports, the perfect child, a paragon beyond paragons who endured great suffering with a smile. While I can easily accept the brilliance and integrity and strength of character--such people do exist--the portrait quickly becomes cloying; Gunther elevates Johnny to the level of plaster saint and it is tiresome in the extreme.
   
   Gunther's prose is not in the least poetic; it is in fact the workman-like writing of the journalist he was. As for philosophical tone, this seems to consist of asking the time-honored questions about life and death and little more. In the end, DEATH BE NOT PROUD is the emotional purging of a grief-stricken parent who considers his loss to be unique instead of universal and therefore lacks the scope that one would really wish of this sort of memoir. Recommended, but primarily for the details it offers of the way in which cancer patients were treated in this era.
   
   GFT, Amazon Reviewer



4. My Mom had me read this old classic when I was about 10, only the book was not all that "old" then. I've reread it several times, and introduced my two kids to it at a young age, though certainly not at 10. This is WAY too heavy for the average youngster; fortunately, I've got pretty good reading ability.
   
   John Gunther was a well-known author and journalist of the 1930's thru the 60's, famous for his "Inside" books; in April, 1946, his only child, Johnny, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor....he lived 15 months, most of it miserable, with small doses of hope thrown in. Gunther and his ex-wife, Frances, joined forces and did all that could have been done.
   
   This is the story of Johnny's courage and determination. No child is as great as Gunther paints his son, but a father can be forgiven. The events surrounding Johnny's high school graduation somehow make the fight worth it. That Johnny fought without the comforts of religious faith is, of course, tragic...still, he fought.
   
   An excellent picture is given of cancer treatment in the late 1940's, with introduction to Wilder Penfield, and other grand master neurosurgeons of the day. Chemotherapy was in its very infancy; diagnostic imaging was far different, and often brutal, with CAT scans and the MRI far in the future. We get to meet Max Gerson, and his controversial diet; I believe it's still in use. Cancer treatment is much different now, and the results for many types of tumors much better, but one irony is that the prognosis of glioblastoma multiforme is essentially what it was 60 years ago. And radiation therapy and neurosurgery are still rough.
   
   My Mom was right about one thing; this book is still around long after John Gunther's other work is dated, and forgotten. A father shared his grief...I forgive him his excesses, and still recommend the book.



5. I was in the Barnes and Noble on Broadway and couldn't find "Death Be Not Proud." I was looking in the biography section and needless to say I was surprised on not finding it. I called an older clerk over and he looked too. He knew the book and he knew Johnny's story. He, too, was shocked.
   We went to the computer and found out that it was classified as Biography, but as "Literature."
   That started a conversation between the clerk and me. I told him that I just got back from Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, NY and seen Johnny's grave. I wanted to buy a copy of the book as a remembrance. He took a break and we had an interesting and thoughtful conversation about it.
   More than a biography, more than a piece of literature, Death Be Not Proud is a celebration of life which is also a celebration of one particular life. The book is written by Johnny's Dad and tells the story of the last year of Johnny's after he developed a brain tumor. The humanity and decency of his parents, his doctors, but mostly, Johnny comes through on every page.
   I was reading a critique by someone who thought that the book was pablum and a failure. They just don't get it. Johnny the whole time he is dying is keeping everyone else's spirits up. There can be no greater act of selflessness, than cheering up those who love you while you fight the good fight, even when you know that you aren't going to win. I think Johnny knew he was dying from the beginning and he dealt with it by "filling the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run."
   A few weeks before he died, Johnny received notification that he had been accepted by Harvard. Over a year of suffering but he still attain his greatest goal.
   Johnny Gunther was a man and, to me, "a man for all seasons."
   I know that it is highly unlikely, but I wish everyone who faced death had a father, brother, sister, mother or friend like Johnny's Dad. Thanks to John Gunther Sr., Johnny will live forever.
   And that is only right.

5 comments about Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope.

1. I believe this book is a must read for everyone. It touches you, it pulls you, it makes you want to scream and yell, it breaks you apart and puts you back together...but most importantly, it makes you appreciate all that is good about your life.
   
   I have Crohns disease and I have a mental illness, two of the topics touched upon in this book. But I am a better person today for having read Strong At The Broken Places because I know that, in spite of my infirmities, I am strong and I will survive.
   
   Thank you Richard Cohen!!!



2. Book: Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope by Richard M. Cohen
   
   About: Cohen gets the stories of five people with chronic illnesses: Denise with ALS, Buzz with cancer, Ben with muscular dystrophy, Sarah with Crohn's disease and Larry with bipolar disorder.
   
   Pros: The 5 people's stories are varied and moving.
   
   Cons: Cohen does not let his subjects just tell their stories, which would have lead to a much better book as the five people profiled are very interesting, instead Cohen just seems to get in their way. A choice quote: "I'd rather hear this kid chew than listen to him talk about dying." While interviewing, He seems to try to get his subjects to say what he wants to hear and inserts far too much of his own struggle with MS and cancer as many statements that with "When I..." instead of focusing on the person he's supposed to be profiling. His analysis of the five adds very little and includes such groundbreaking lines as "Cancer is no fun. Neither are diseases of the bowel."



3. Some people may "understand" chronic illness like they are watching news video of a destructive Midwest twister - it's always happening to some other family. The statistics show otherwise. Richard Cohen does not take the reader on a pristine glass-bottom boat tour of devastating illnesses. "Strong at the Broken Places" tips the boat over and tosses the reader into the waters to swim - for a moment. Honesty begins with a trusted conversation. Cohen invites us to the table with five people, who each bluntly detail their brutal struggles with different chronic diseases. The respectful dialogue reveals that we may all have more in common with them than we care to admit. In the face of catastrophic events, we will all wish to have the strength that they have shown. Their lives set landmarks to guide others through their own realizations, acceptance and constructive determination.
   Thank you, Denise, Buzz, Ben, Sarah, Larry and especially Richard, for sharing your strengths and fostering the humanity in all of us.



4. I was drawn to this book because I admire how the author Richard continues his life as a brilliant journalist despite a chronic illness. And because last year for the first time I was in the hospital myself for several days unexpectedly. Yes, for the first time in my life it was me in the hospital bed. AND I realized how challenging it is just to be INSIDE the hospital, let alone think about dealing with a chronic illness and living a life of hope. You know sometimes it's tough to keep up hope every day. This book is like six different volumes in a way -- it tells the story of five different 'citizens of sickness' and then a collective meeting with them all. You will find it a) inspirational -- b) informational and it will live on in YOU. I keep thinking of Denise who as the author says traded an impossible challenge (of conquering ALS) with a rigorous task (going to Antartica to see the penguins) she could complete. How come we all don't make plans to see the penguins or whatever it is that symbolizes our own vision in life? Each story of each person is more poignant than the other. This is not sniveling stuff-- it's real and not all nicey nice either. But it is fascinating to see how these people including the author turn their anger into fuel to keep going. Richard talks straight to you with his writing. I often feel like I'm sitting in a coffee shop or yes, a bar having a beer with this guy...he's honest. IT'S NOT EASY...heck it's really TOUGH and other words that won't get pass the Amazon cyber censors. BUT it is inspiring to thing that we may all be strong at our own broken places. Too often those of us from challenging families or who face chronic illness, pain or other obstacles feel 'defective' because of our difference. The author shows how to channel that into strength. This is a great book for anyone going through a life transition -- divorce or a major move or graduation or starting a new venture. For it is in the challenges that we discover opportunities. ENJOY -- every parent, every therapist, every doctor, every counselor and everyone into self-improvement will want to read these real words.



5. "Strong at the Broken Places" is an excellent resource for anyone with a chronic or terminal illness, as well as for their family, caretakers, and friends. It really emphasizes the strength and perserverity of these five strong individuals. I highly recommend this book. Richard Cohen does a great job of emphasizing how important it is to treat the person, not just the illness or condition.

5 comments about Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence.

1. Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence
   
   This is a MUST book for young people of all types and ages. The philosophy expressed herein is essential to their success. We have ALL our students read and absorb it. Mary Kessler, Beehive LDS Schooling, LLC. St. George, Utah



2. Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence
   
   This is an awesome book. It is a must read for students struggling in school or struggling with life.



3. One of the greatest stories I have ever read. It is a true reflection of one who leads by example in what he says. The author's recognition of the importance of reading and a refusal to dwell on the negatives is a true understanding of what it takes to maximize one's potential. His recognition of God is also significant in the fulfillment of one's purpose. The author is in agreement with the author of Breaking Free: The Key to Empowerment, Happiness & Fulfillmentin his understanding of the power of the mind and positive thinking. This book is a must read for all persons from the moment they can read!



4. I read this book years ago when I was still in school. I read it quite a few times since then. It inspired me to be more and do more. I admire Dr. Carson, and I thank him for sharing his story and road to success with me.



5. Continuing his desire to share what he has learned in his journey to greatness, Dr. Carson lays out in very plain terms his philosophy of life and how it has become so important to him. T-H-I-N-K-B-I-G could completely overhaul this country in profound ways. It's worth the time to dig into this and find out how it can affect your life.

5 comments about Cancer on $5 a Day* *(chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life.

1. Robert has been one of my favorite comedians since the mid 80s. This is a very touching book. It sounds cliche, but it'll make you laugh and it'll make you cry. Being one of the worlds top comedians he is really able to tackle such heavy topics in a amusing way.
   
   Definitely a must read for anyone experiencing something similar or for any of his fans.



2. Humor is a gift, and Robert Schimmel has the gift.
   
   While some readers might think: "Cancer is no laughing matter", Schimmel's story shows how the use of laughter can lead a patient through the terror of cancer diagnosis and the devastating effects of treatment.
   
   If you or someone you know has heard the dreaded words: "You have cancer", get this book. It's absolutely inspiring, and will help you to laugh through your tears.



3. I started reading after lunch today, and couldn't put it down. The writing is compelling and real, and inspiring in so many ways.
   I am grateful that Mr. Schimmel lived through it all, and even more grateful that his book enriches our lives by reminding us about what really matters. As a survivor myself, and having lost many relatives to cancer, the book had my emotions all over the place...but through it all, the humor prevails. I can't remember ever reading a book that had me laughing and crying at the same time.
   
   This book is in my collection after seeing him on Conan, and it's going to get a lot more readings from here on out. It's a keeper.



4. It's always encouraging when someone beats cancer. And non-Hodgkins lymphoma is especially tough to overcome. Robert Schimmel had the advantage of age, good health, and caring support in his battle. And no doubt his determined sense of humor helped a lot too, besides bringing a welcome uplift to his fellow chemo patients. His book demonstrates that humor grows out of even the direst situation and that horniness survives all assaults.
   
   There are no profound lessons in this volume beyond illustrating that mental attitude can make a bad time a little better. And whether attitude influences healing or not, it usually just feels better to be positive than negative.



5. I am not your typical book reader ,but after finding a book about your favorite comedian I could not resist.This was litterally the first book I read in over 20 years.I loved the book and was well entertained.I now have a more insight on how Robert's last decade really was.

5 comments about The Lord God Made Them All (All Creatures Great & Small).

1. As an animal lover, if I were to be restricted to a single author on my bookshelves, it would be James Herriot, hands down. All four books by James Herriot, The English Country Veterinarian, comprise a collection of stories that remain unsurpassed in all animal literature.



2. I was verey satisfied with the whole process of ordering
   on-line and I will continue buying books this way.



3. I read his books as a teen and loved them. Bought the whole set for my grandsons, [teens]. They laughed until they cried. [so did I].



4. I think we've all heard of ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. The book was brilliantly written in every way, and I thought that was that. But then he wrote a sequel, and I marveled that it was at least as great as the original. Then he did it to me again with a third book. The titles come from a famous poem or hymn, by the way. He used the second verse, for the creatures, then the first, then the third, and now we're at the fourth.
   
   I'm going to say it again. I believe I'm enjoying this one most of all. All the humor, all the spot-on accurate observation of animals, of both the four-legged and the two-legged variety. And, I'm feeling this time, a maturity in the veterinarian, the author, and the person. He still has the ability to write a chapter so touching or sad that I stop and wipe my eyes, and then read a few more so I can laugh before I put the book away for the evening.
   
   So I've read four in a row by this guy, and they all get five stars. I ordered all of mine from Amazon, but you in "the west" can probably just swing by your local library. Do so.



5. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312498349/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
   James Herriot's book "The Lord God Made Them All" is the final book in his series about his experiences as a Scottish veterinarian, dealing with both large and small animals. His love for his patients and their owner's shines through in every story, and takes the reader through the gamut of emotions from laughing out loud to tears of frustration and empathy.
   Dr. Herriot was, without a doubt, a man who put his patients and their owners far above financial gain, and that is what sets his stories and the loyalty of his patient's owners apart from anyone in his time. If he was called, he went, no matter what time, the weather, the circumstances.
   His love for his profession may not have made him rich, but he set a standard for veterinarians everywhere that has yet to be matched.
   This is a wonderful book with only with disappointment:that it ends when the reader finishes the final page.

5 comments about Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab.

1. We have all thought of death. We have all imagined our bodies rotting after death. Many prefer incinerating their bodies, preferring ashes to decaying flesh. However, not all religions allow cremation, and thus, some of us are stuck with living with the thought of a decaying body. This thought is scary to most of us.
   
   All of life is about death and decay. Every day, people around us die. Within our own body, death looms all the time. Cells in my body are dying as I write this. Indeed, we are born to die. And maybe we die to be reborn, sort of like a computer reboot. Some scientists believe death is beneficial to evolution, knocking off the weak genes and improving them in subsequent generations. If we all lived forever, evolution would have no opportunity to improve us. Death can therefore be looked upon as a way of improving ourselves, or an evolutionary upgrade. Any of you been watching the TV series Heroes?
   
   In this book, you will follow the life of a medical student during her journey in body dissection. You will learn what it is like being around a dead body. What does a dead body smell like? What is it like cutting a dead body into pieces? Can a dead body know what we are doing to it? Those are all questions, among many others, medical students (as well as philosophers) ask all the time. And you'll be joining the circle and asking many more questions at the end of this book.
   
   The author traces the history of body dissection, and actually flies first to Italy for her research. In the old days, doctors were desperate for dead bodies in order to learn more about the functions of the living body, and thus help the living. But not many people would volunteer to donate their body to science. The business of body-snatching was thus born. Bodies were often stolen from cemeteries. So prevalent was this practice at the time that families hired armed guards to watch over their family's burial grounds. The poor obviously could not afford such luxury, and their bodies were often stolen and then sold to hospitals.
   
   Fresh bodies earned the most money. A body sold right after death earned more than a day or more old cadaver. This gave rise to another business: killing the patients before they die. Why wait for a person to die? Kill him and give his body for research, and earn big money! Real criminals just killed a person, whether ill or not, and then sold his body. Why wait for the person to be terminally ill?
   
   Not only was there the fear of having your body stolen from the cemetery, but there also was the fear of being donated for research while being still alive. This often happened, and there are many stories of people having been buried alive! This of course gave rise to the tales of zombies! In fact, many acted as zombies for they were partially brain dead from oxygen deprivation. A person can quickly exhaust the oxygen supply in a coffin!
   
   Prevalent at the time was live dissection. This was the preferred method, since the body is still alive, and doctors can better study and understand the functions of the body. But honestly, who would want to be cut off while still alive in the name of science? Unfortunately, many did not have a say. Prisoners were often used as live dissection subjects!
   
   The author tells some horror stories that happened during her medical school. For example, students would cut off the penis of a cadaver and insert it into the vagina of another cadaver. How disrespectful to the dead! There are many other similar stories. Having sex with a dead body is not unheard off.
   
   What is it like transporting a dead body, or part of a dead body? Does the body become an object for study, or the thought that this body was once a person lingers in one's mind? What is it like being in a room alone with twenty dead bodies?
   
   I found it interesting that nowadays medical schools and hospitals are very cautious about which bodies they purchase. For example, if a person just died, the hospital or school researches the person's name and checks whether a student from the same family is one of their resident students. Could you imagine dissecting the body of your own father or uncle? Many psychologists will tell you that the dissection of a body gives trauma to a person, regardless whether the deceased is known or unknown to the dissector.
   
   Nowadays, there is a movement to dissect bodies using 3D software and virtual computer programs. Maybe one day soon, all the dead can rest in peace.
   
   A very prevalent multi-billion business nowadays is selling body parts. Many body parts are sold by poor people. Many body parts are taken from people forcefully. I once saw a movie about an American tourist going on a holiday in a South American Country, meeting a woman at a bar, who later drugs him. He wakes up in his hotel bathtub in icy water. One of his kidneys was surgically removed to be sold! Such stories do happen. There are reports that this is now happening in Iraq, with organs either sold by the person or being forcefully removed!
   
   One important question you will ask yourself at the end of this book: will you give your body for medical research? I already answered this question for myself.
   
   This is one of the best books I have read. The author has a great writing style, poetic at times. You will not be able to put this book down. And you will be scared out of your wits!



2. It's certainly an interesting concept for a book--observe the process of first-year anatomy lab at a medical school and watch the fur fly. There are a lot of good details here from Montross on both what the process means in historical terms as well as how it affects those who do it. However, Montross' prose when it comes to her self-observation is too simplistic to carry this book much beyond average. She writes in the tone of an emotional fourteen year-old on an online journal complaining about how someone has wronged her--the descriptions are too emotionally-loaded, too extravagant, too...much to do anything other than get in the way. But if you move quickly through these parts, there's a lot of good to see here as well. Mildly recommended.



3. XXXXX
   
   "When I listen to any patient's heartbeat or lungs, or feel for someone's liver or pulse, or find tendons to tap with my hammer in order to test for reflexes, the structures I picture hidden beneath the skin are all--all of them--Eve's. [Eve was the name the author gave to the cadaver she had to dissect during her first year of medical school.]...I cannot begin to know what led Eve to give me such a gift [of her dead body for dissection], whether it was practicality or altruism or cynicism or love of science or some other, equally unknowable, aspect of her personality or life. What I do know is that she neither knew me nor knew anything about me, and yet she bequeathed to me this offering, unthinkable for centuries, that has formed the foundation of my ability to heal...Bit by bit, I cut up and dismantled her [dead body], a beautiful old woman who came to me whole. The lessons her body taught me are of critical importance to my knowledge of medicine, but her selfless gesture of donation will be my lasting example of how much it is possible to give a total stranger in the hopes of healing."
   
   The above is found in this mesmerizing book, a memoir authored by Christine Montross, M.D. (now a resident in psychiatry at Brown University.)
   
   This book brought many memories back for me as I at one time had to do some dissecting of a human body. The author does not clarify this but dissection is a technique used to study the structure of the body, whereas anatomy is a field of scientific study. Studying the body by dissection is called macroscopic or gross anatomy.
   
   This book is not only about Montross' dissection of Eve during her first year in medical school. Montross was so affected by her dissecting experience with Eve that she set out to learn more about the history of cadavers and the discipline of anatomy. Her curiosity took her from such places as an autopsy lab in Ireland to the University of Padua in Italy (where Andreas Vesalius (1514 to 1564), a forefather of anatomy, once studied); she also learned about other things such as about body snatchers, grave robbers, and anatomists who practised on live criminals (called vivisection).
   
   The author also sprinkles throughout the book her own views about various issues including her thoughts on becoming a doctor. Here is one of my favourites that I can identify with:
   
   "It's not that med school is difficult conceptually, it's just that there's such an incredible amount of information to learn and attempt to retain [or memorize]. There is no need yet for any kind of original thought. So far our learning is regurgitation at its most pure."
   
   At the beginning of each chapter is a back and white image or picture. All these images (except one) are from the first anatomy book (actually book series) entitled "De Humani Corporis Fabrica" (1543), literally meaning "The Fabric of the Human Body" by A. Vesalius, who was, as mentioned above, a forefather of anatomy.
   
   Also, at the beginning of each chapter is a thought-provoking quotation from others. This is my favourite since it is so true based on my own experience:
   
   "Anatomical textbooks give the misleading impression that everything in the [body] is immediately distinguishable. The unsuspecting student plunges into the laboratory carcase expecting to find these neat arrangements [found in the text] repeated in [the cadaver], and the blurred confusion which he [or she] actually meets often produces a sense of despair." (Jonathan Miller)
   
   Finally, my only minor complaint with this book concerns a section in the last chapter where the author pays homage to her grandparents. I felt that this section was a bit too long.
   
   In conclusion, this is truly a unique book--lyrical, insightful, introspective--that takes the grossness out of gross anatomy!!
   
   (first published 2007; preface; 12 chapters; epilogue; main narrative 290 pages; bibliography; acknowledgements)
   
   <>
   
   XXXXX



4. This is the book I should have written, wish I had written, and Dr. Montross does it so much better than I ever could have. My experience dissecting a cadaver in medical school was 30 years ago, and her thoughts, musings, and observations of herself and others helped me know I was not alone. This experience does have an effect on students, and it is not even remotely addressed in a way that allows the students to process their full range of emotional response in a safe and supportive manner.
   This book opens the door to a psychological but little discussed trauma that is the initiation of a medical career.
   Bravo and thank you!



5. I was almost EMBARASSED to let people see me buying this book! I was somehow afraid people would think me odd, gross, macabre, etc. However, as soon as I began reading the book I was taken in, and almost couldn't put it down! I am recommending this book to everyone I know. It is an amazing, eye-opening, gentle view of "life" after death, as in what happens to our bodies and what goes on in the minds of those who are still living. This is an excellent book for anybody interested in medicine, life, human nature, death, the body, you NAME IT! EXCELLENT BOOK!

5 comments about This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor.

1. I was engrossed with reading this book. It is well written and the story is powerful. Also, the details match the details of my life when I worked at an abortion clinic; it is accurate.
   
   Many thanks to Susan Wicklund for telling the world how her life was effected by her work.



2. This book is simply excellent. No matter your feelings on the subject matter, the memoir is well-written, with a compelling story. Dr. Wicklund makes an excellent heroine for the 21st century--we see her plodding on with resolve, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. But we also see moments of doubt, of reflection, that let us know that she is human. This is a very good book.
   
   Dr. Wicklund focuses her memoir on herself, but also on her patients. The many, many women that she has served over the years play a huge role in this book. However, what was most interesting and eye-opening to me was her recounting of various tactics used by anti-choice protesters, and what she had to do to keep herself safe and to keep working. I had heard of doctors being killed, but I truly had no clue about the everyday lengths to which the "antis" would go in their self-righteousness.
   
   
   Dr. Wicklund, I don't know if you read your book reviews on Amazon.com, but thank you. Thank you for writing this book, and for doing what you have done and what you do. Thank you for never giving up. You are an inspiration, as is your daughter, and everyone who supported you.



3. This is a wonderful, well written, book about a heroic figure who has endured much intimidation by anti-choice thugs who want to control women's bodies. It's a book I would recommend especially to young woman as they have a 50% chance of finding themselves in need of a save and legal abortion sometime in their life and if things keep going the way they are, they may be unable to obtain one. The stories Dr. Wicklund relates about herself and her patients would be unheard of in other developed Western nations so you get an indication of how out of step the U.S. is with respect to women's health. The book contained interesting medical facts about abortion procedures so you'll get factual information about an issue that has been clouded by a great deal of misinformation courtesy of the anti-choice folks. I was surprised not to see more endorsements on the book jacket from well known feminists other than Barbara Erenreich but that may be an indication of their own fear of being targeted. This is an inspiring story of a courageous woman who followed her passion and sacrificed much to serve women in need.



4. This is a remarkable story about a courageous woman who - despite ongoing threats to her self, family, practice, and property- vigilantly protects a woman's right to choose.
   
   Dr. Wicklund's stories about her patients are both inspirational and heartbreaking; her interactions with abortion stalkers/protesters - who violated her privacy and terrorized her family - are absolutely chilling. Before I read this book, I thought I understood the risks that doctors assumed when they worked at a facility that performed abortions. I didn't have a clue.
   
   God bless you, Dr. Wicklund, for your eloquence, grace, and devotion to woman's health. You are an inspiration.



5. Hooray for Wicklund's heroic struggle on behalf of abortion! I very much sympathized with her enduring persecution from the anti-choice fascists. Because lets face it--abortions are great! The right-wing nutzoids claim that abortion is "killing". But what's wrong with that? Killing, obviously, should be a choice left to a child's mother, not the government.
   
   I was shocked to hear that there are so few abortionists available in rural America. O, the trials that these women must go through to abort their fetuses! I wept in triumph as each fetus was--against seemingly insurmountable odds--aborted! Thank God for courageous warriors like Wicklund! Fight on, brave abortionists! Unite, I say! Unite behind Abortion's billowing star-spangled banner! Surely a nobler cause was never championed!

5 comments about Where is the Mango Princess?.

1. I found this account of a severe brain injury and the bumpy road to recovery very moving. I ask will there be more to Cathy and her husband's experiences
   written as a memoir at some later date? Maybe not this book was published in September 2000. Worth the read!



2. I read this book in four nights, right before bed. I tore through it like no other memoir before. This book, for me, was like reading my own parents' memoir. My father suffered a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) when I was four/five years old. Of course, so much of what was available to the author's husband was simply not around 45 years ago. I understand so much more why my father acted the way he did for the remaining 16 years of his life. This book is powerful. It is honest, raw, intense, lighthearted at times, funny, sad, well written and easy to read (though the subject matter is quite painful at times)... an all around excellent book. I am so glad that I read it, and plan to keep this one.



3. We read this book for book club and we all loved it. Only now I understand what my cousin and his family have gone through after he had an bicycle accident and was in a coma for three days. The writer clearly describes the pain and anguish she and her daughter went through. I admire her absolute commitment to her husband and getting him back on his feet and back to a "regular" life. This is a great and informational book to read for everybody who comes into contact with a person with brain injury.



4. An honest telling of head injury and what family will experience.
   
   I was shocked at what her daughter, Kelly, was exposed to - I have since read that the author now regrets this. Rehab is NO PLACE for children - or an endless stream of friends. I am sad that her husband's privacy was taken away in order to project 'normalcy' or the authors belief in emotional honesty. She should have protected her husband and her daughter. THIS is the time when you close the door to the world outside and tend to your family - as best you can.
   
   I feel for the author. How quickly the nurses/non-doctors put forth a 'professional opinion' about brain injury. As I often say: Everybody wants to be a doctor, nobody want to go to medical school. You have to see brain injury over a long span of time, which is years and decades. A nurse who sees them admitted and discharged knows next to nothing, unless personally affected.
   
   The beginning of the story was confusing to me because the marriage had so little intimacy. The parents were 2 ships in the night and then they had a child. This little girl was utterly alone through a waking nightmare. I hope she finds the support that she will need as she grows up.
   
   Eventually, the author acknowledges her lack of connection to husband and child and explains herself in a way that is somewhat satisfying.
   
   I appreciate her honesty in the discussion on disinhibition. You can count on it happening and it's real hard to explain to people - especially when you have to.
   
   Worth reading, though disturbing in ways the author may not have intended.



5. Crimmon's book was heart-wrenching to read. The story of her husband's TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and the after effects of it on her life, his life and their daughter have to be read to be understood. I can't do it justice. She keeps a good sense of humor throughout the book but there is certainly an underlying cynical and bitter tone throughout. Not that I can blame her. It's real. It's life and a it ain't pretty. Personally, after reading this I literally wanted to make all my loved ones wear helmets each day after reading about the hell that TBI can put a family through.