5 comments about Tiny Titan.

1. Almost unreal perseverance by the mother of this Tiny Titan! This book should be read by every social worker and Department of Health employee in every state. The failure of the "system," whether from lack of training, lack of funds or just plain lack of caring, is often devastating to families and disabled persons. Fortunately, our family also had the help of the Yurcek's "guardian angel," seemingly the only person who knew the what, when and especially how of getting help for our adult disabled son. Too often families don't have the perseverance of Ann Yurcek and lose hope while going through the endless loops of the health system, leaving the disabled person much less than what he or she could be.



2. Ann Yurcek's "Tiny Titan" is a memorable story. The constant struggles of the family, Ann, Jim and the children were nearly exhausting to read. The tenaciousness of this family overwhelms me. Having their sixth child be so desperately ill might have fractured other families. Becca just made their's stronger. Way to go Yurcek's! While I admire the dedication, blood, sweat, and tears of raising up their adoptive children, I had to wonder how they thought they could ever do it. I felt badly for them that so much potentially important information was withheld from these loving, giving parents. While I'm glad those children now have a 'forever' family with the Yurcek's, I feel they might have been better served in a black home where they had more of a familiar cultural and extended community experience. I applaud the Yurcek's, every one of them for their abilities to share, care, and work hard to get there. My only criticism I have about the book is that it seemed to be authored (especially near the end) almost entirely by a voice recognition system. I can understand that as Ann is an extremely busy person. However, a good proof-read for grammar and incorrect word usage would have made this good book a terrific book. I'm surprised it was published at all without having been given a little spit and polish.



3. Congratulations to an amazing family with an amazing story. A thank you to the Yurcek's on a life well lived and an award well earned. Let your light shine for others who need to believe in miracles and the strength of family.



4. The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc.- an award-winning independent publisher and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.



5. I purchased this book by Ann Yurcek as soon as it was published. It was the BEST and most inspiring moment for myself and family. I cannot express enough how grateful I am to Ann for writing this book, for the determination, the faith, hope and belief she needed to have for her Tiny Titan and the rest of her family. For standing by her husbands side and letting him find his way -- when the world was crashing down around her. As a mom to a daughter who has been diagnosed with Noonan Syndrome I read the Tiny Titan as my 8 month old underwent Open Heart Surgery. Thank you Ann Yurcek for helping me find my inner strength at a moment when my baby needed me to be strong for her!!!

4 comments about War Child: Growing Up in Adolf Hitler's Germany.

1. Ms. Woodstrom's first publication will help you understand the reason so many Germans viewed Hitler and his promises the way they did before and during WWII. This book is a first hand account from the author, presented in her voice at the various stages of her life during this time. She tells of the day-to-day life of her family and community and captures the perceptions that people had about Hitler, the economy, the reasons for this war and the drastic changes in their lives. It's a real insight into the struggles and the challenges and yes, even the joyful times. "War Child" not only kept me reading far into the night, it also left me feeling like I want to know more...what happened to her family, her neighbors and her town after she left? I have a new appreciation for the freedom and abundance here in America. This book is suitable for all ages.



2. We are grateful to have learned of this book when it was first published in spring 2003. It gives an unusual and unfortunately rarely noted perspective about German life from 1933-45 as experienced by an ordinary person and family in a small town. Annelee tells her own story in a very open and honest way, from the early days when she wanted to wear the uniform of the Hitler Youth, to the terrifying end days of the war when urban Germany was virtually destroyed. This is not an academic study of war theories; it is about what really happens to a people when their government chooses a tragic course.



3. What a book! What a storyteller! I remember a few snippets from freshman English class that you shared with us, but the opportunity to glimpse the whole picture was a rare treat I've been looking forward to.

   I once read an account by an "undercover" war correspondent- who attended a speech by Hitler, and found himself so moved and overwhelmed by his speaking prowess that he suddenly found himself cheering and shouting with the rest of the crowd. You communicated that same spirit, that same awesome power of the prevailing tide. I feel one lesson that Nazi Germany teaches us is how dangerous unchecked government can be: how it can creep into and start to control our daily lives -with the best of intentions- and soon compromise our freedoms and even our right to independent thought. I very much appreciate and value your perspective as one who has lived through such a strict (and successful!) propaganda machine. I strongly feel if we just trust in our elected leaders and let them satisfy our wants and desires in exchange for ever-increasing tax rates the United States will soon cease to exist as we know and love it.

   On the other hand, I'm forced to be impressed by what the Third Reich was able to accomplish; how a broken and defeated nation at the end of WWI was able to come within a stone's throw of conquering the world. It's been said that if Hitler hadn't imprisoned all of the (Jewish) scientists... Germany would have developed the A-bomb before the United States and ended the war on their terms. Germany already had a more reliable rocket (V-2) than we did! What also strikes me is the wealth of development that Germany saw before and early in the war - the autobahn, fine, new schools (for loyal party members of course), the housing and works programs and impressive social motivations to join the Nazi party always reflected Hitler's genius side (not the other side of his personality that wrought great suffering and evil). How insightful he was regarding human nature though - how else could he have enticed so many to join his crusade.

   In one part of your book I actually stopped reading and contemplated how beautiful the writing is - how descriptive and wonderful the wording; when you described the morning of your departure and the breathtaking surroundings you were so familiar with that I truly felt the natural wonder - and the love you had for your home.

   Thank you again for letting me share in your story. I will be recommending this book to my friends!!




4. I was honored to be able to buy this book directly from the author when she attended our women's Spring Luncheon as our Guest Speaker. She was so kind as to sign it for me with a German dedication. Although I was born an American, my children both carry German passports. I am glad for this opportunity to share with them the story of their country through the eyes of someone who was there to experience it all first hand.

   We are already planning to buy her next book, War Bride, and read more about her experiences with immigration.

5 comments about 44: Dublin Made Me.

1. As if drawn by a gravitational pull, Irish yarns seem to center on the relationship of children with their mothers. In a break from this natural order, Peter Sheridan's memoir, 44 Dublin Made Me turns to the bond of a boy with his father for its compelling tale.

   Sheridan writes about his childhood with grace and ease. Readers are catapulted into his large Irish family in 1959 from the first sentence onward.

   Peter Sheridan is a good Irish boy who enjoys school and loves the hectic life Dublin offers. His best friend, Andy, hates school but loves traipsing around the city in search of fortune.

   The two boys influence each other in both good and bad ways - Andy gets involved with the church after a stint in reform school, and Peter learns to stand up for himself. In the end though, Andy remains the rogue and Peter the goody-two-shoes.

   A steady presence throughout the book is Peter's Da. The man has his own outhouse in the garage, preaches to his family like they are his disciples and relies on his wins at the horse races as a major means of income.

   Peter is his Da's helper and is ordered to do just about every imaginable task - from climbing up an ariel on the roof to fix the TV's reception to digging holes in the garage to fix water pressure.

   When Peter's brother, Frankie, falls ill, their Da finds himself unable to cope. Peter tries to fill in for his father and be someone for his mother to rely on. After his father regains his strength, he and Peter find their friendship stronger.

   Peter also runs errands all over the city and helps out with the tenants his parents have taken in.

   One of these boarders, Mossie, plays a crucial role in Peter's life. Mossie robs Peter of his innocence, terrifies and scars him so deeply that Peter withdraws inwardly. Unable to find comfort, Peter then seeks solace at the hands of the church.

   Illness and deaths make Peter grow up quickly and 44 Dublin Made Me documents his maturation. Andy gets a girl "in trouble" and quickly marries to take responsibility for the situation. As his world changes, Peter adapts.

   Sheridan's strength is that he writes his story, which could be sad, as hopeful and happy. Rather than just have stories from his childhood strung together as some memoirs do, 44 Dublin Made Me creates a touching story.




2. The story is about Peter growing up with his family in North Dublin and is set in the 1960's. The tightly knit family relations with his own family and those of his extended family of lodgers, which his parents took in to supplement his father's income, forms the backdrop to his story at 44 Seville Place.
   The pace of the book has the rhythm of the sixties. The short sentences beat out the rhythm of the sixties and keeps the tempo up-beat throughout the whole of the book. For those who have experienced Dublin in the sixties this book will take you back to that place and that time.
   The metaphorical pieces were very touching and masterfully executed. One example of this technique was when Peter tries to get to grips with his emotions concerning the possible loss of his brother Frankie before Frankie goes into surgery. A joy to read.
   Da is the Sun and all the minor planets revolve around him. Peter takes to his role as Mercury the messenger with great relish. There is a strong bond between father and son.
   I feel this story should not be compared to Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. A one generation step into the future in Ireland can make a very big difference in how life is experienced.
   It was a very enjoyable read whereby the need to laugh out loud in places could not be silenced. However there were places in the book where the need to cry out loud could also not be silenced.



3. Happiness is in the eye of the individual..to me this was a tragic family life...a mother overburdened with a houseful of children and a self centered husband. All the sader for me to review since I'd read 47 Roses first and knew the father to be less than honest with family.



4. Peter Sheridan gives a brave and honest account of his formative years growing up in a working class Dublin family, reminiscent of Roddy Doyle's "Paddy Clark: Ha Ha Ha." It is a deeply felt book, full of the frustrations and joys of everyday family life. His parents, in particular, are beautifully renderred. At times, I found the choppiness of Sheridan's style a little jarring, and the final chapters seemed a little rushed, but on balance, I definitely enjoyed the book, and do not hesitate to recommend it.



5. When I bought 44: Dublin Made Me, it was primarily because my mother had been born on the same street, at No. 77, a generation before, in 1917. All I knew of the place was the stories she had told me of her childhood.
   
   As you might guess, I ended up loving the book for itself, and enjoying Sheridan's voice (I buy his other books as I find them). I fell madly in love with his entire family. However, my original purpose was satisfied anyway - Sheridan has painted a wonderful portrait of a place and a culture, which was what I'd been seeking all along.

5 comments about Clear Springs: A Family Story.

1. I'm an appreciative fan of Bobbie Ann Mason's short stories, about rural people raised with traditional values now somewhat at sea in a world of consumerism, pop culture, and a new morality. Young adults, whose parents would have stuck with a marriage come hell or high water, now divorce and drift through relationships. Their parents tied to the land and other life-long occupations, Mason's post-war generation is less rooted, freed of conventional beliefs, but often at a loss about what to believe in. Most striking as America grows increasingly urban, Mason's people continue to inhabit a rural landscape -- more worldly than their forebears, but not more sophisticated.

   While some readers of Mason's stories and novels may have been puzzled by the point of view in them (ironic? matter of fact? sentimental?), this wonderful memoir should do much to clear up that ambiguity. Here a reader is introduced to the world of day-to-day experience that these narratives have emerged from. And you can begin to see how the matter of fact, ironic, and sentimental blend into a perspective that is distinctly rural American. The strongest individual (who is surely the source of many of Mason's fictional characters) is without doubt her mother, a remarkable woman with a quizzical sense of humor, a colorful manner of speaking, and a long view that comes of witnessing much of the 20th century at first hand.

   A list of highlights in this book would go on for pages; there's just so much to savor and enjoy. There's Mason's own unsophisticated childhood (barefoot summers, crushes on pop stars, rock and roll fandom), the making of the film "In Country," and the continuing transformation of the rural Kentucky environment from horse-and-buggy days to the invasion of agribusiness -- a huge processing plant has sprung up across the road from the family farm.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Mason's fiction. It is rich with thoughtful and well-observed detail reaching back across three generations of family history.




2. Indispensible to serious readers of Mason's fiction, this memoir is true to family and community life in Western Kentucky (despite what other reviewers might say).



3. When writing a memoir, authors are advised to write the first draft as if everyone is dead - and then to prune the damaging parts in subsequent rewrites. Perhaps Mason pruned a bit too much. This otherwise lovely and affectionate memoir of how it was to grow up in a small, working-class town in Kentucky in the 40s and 50s is a bit long on respect and caution - and a bit short on grit.
   Otherwise, I loved it. I grew up in Kansas in the 50s and can relate to the pace, small-town values, and lack of danger (except from the "evil Communists" and "the bomb") that Mason portrays as such inherent parts of her roots. Her language, esp in the first part of the book focusing on her own childhood memories, is rich and multi-layered and pulls readers into every scene right along with her. In the rest of the book, she uses the techniques of creative nonfiction to weave a background narrative that spans the lives of three generations of women within the community.
   A worthwhile read; it won't change your life, but it might make you think, and it's certainly a pleasant trip to take with this accomplished author.



4. Bobbie Ann Mason has done a wonderful job with "Clear Springs". I did not grow up in Kentucky in the baby boom generation, but I did grow up in rural southern Missouri just after it, and this story is so very like what I was familiar with. Ms. Mason is of my mother's generation and except for the disfunction there are many similarities between this story and stories my mother has told. My family reminded me of the older Masons and not the disfunctional Lees. The isolation of rural life, but the joy in many ways that come from it. The curiosity of the outside world, but the fear of it. She relates that Clear Springs hadn't changed much since the Civil War and she was correct in that. The world that slowly evolved for most Americans changed before this rural generation's eyes. A Great book!



5. I'd never read any of Bobbie Ann Mason's work before reading Clear Springs for a book club. I believe I may be missing out if her other books are like this one. There is a warmth to her story that makes it a real pleasure to read. Mason's language, too, is comfortable and highly readable. Her rhythms, especially, give a real richness to her prose. I highly recommend this.

5 comments about On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood.

1. Excellent story of WW2 from the perspective of an ordinary little girl. I loved this story because it was a whole new look at this era of world history, a view not often captured. A must read for any enthusiast of the era.



2. I lived in Germany in the late 1970s with a family who would have been young people during the War. I was vastly curious about their experience as "average Germans" but they were evasive and would say very little. Irmgard Hunt, who grew up just 30 miles from my foreign exchange mother during roughly the same years, gives us a portrait of what it was like for the average German citizen. Relying on her mother's diary, and interviews with family and friends, it may be some fiction, as an earlier reviewer states, but it rings true to me. You'll enjoy this book more if you know some German.



3. this is a very well-written book. The lifeline flows in order which makes it easy for the reader to keep track of events as they occurred. This provides a very different perspective because it is from that as a child growing up on 'Hilter's mountain', as well as that of a German citizen. This provides a very good inside look at what life was like in these most terrible of times.



4. This book makes it clear under what pressures kids and teens grew up in the thirties and forties in Germany. The writer shows the big riff between the older and younger generations in Germany during the Hitler era. It is personal and detailed. It reaffirms many of the stories I heve heard from my parents and grandparents. A must read for every interested in keeping peace alive.



5. Absolutely an outstanding piece of literary work by Irmgard Hunt written from the heart as she viewed her childhood years growing up on Hitler's Mountain in World War II Germany.
   Regardless of your age, you will thoroughly enjoy this beautifully written book by Irmgard as she recalls her personal feelings and observations of life in Germany as she and her family struggled to exist in war torn Germany.
   This is the kind of book that one can't put down once you start reading it.

5 comments about The Fourteenth Year.

1. This book is a raw account of a young girls fight to survive years of repeated abuse. Throughout the book the writer sheds a ray of hope that one day she will have a normal, loving family of her own. The thought of a family gives her the strength to live. This book is very easy to read. Each chapter left me amazed of how the writer was able to go on. It is a story of how a young girl was able to triumph over unbeatable odds. I highly recommend this book!



2. This book touched my heart and soul.
   I believe it takes a great deal of courage to reveal such details of a person's life in order to help others.
   Kelly has put her story out there to let people in similiar situations know that they are not alone and there is hope.
   She proves that dreams and personal achievements do not have to be lost at the hands of an abuser.
   A very personal and candid look into a part of an abused girl's life and the coping mechanisms used to get through.
   I highly recommend this book.



3. This was a sad story but there were way too many inconsistencies throughout. For example; she talks about being promiscuous after losing her virginity to a boyfriend, and later she talks about losing her virginity to her father.
   
   After she runs away and the father is arrested for abuse, she talks about her friends who also accused him of abusing them. But, when she lies and says it never happened, her father is allowed to walk out. What happened to the charges against him for molesting her friends? This is never mentioned again. I'm sure the trauma affects the memories but an editor should have been able to clean some of this up.



4. this book truly cuts deep to the guts.... there are is no sugar coating of the facts as a young girl survives things that no human nor animal should ever have to bear. the glimmer of hope does shine through at the end, that she does survive (physically ) intact. I am wishful that young victims of this kind of abuse could read her writing and realize that they too could survive (possibly finding a way to cope without choosing drugs, alcohol and promiscuity), i also feel strongly that this book should be read by all involved in law enforcement, teachers and all in children's services of any kind. it is almost a handbook of the type of behaviors that should call an alert to abuse.
   
   i am hoping that kelly will publish a "part 2".



5. "The Fourteenth Year" is an inspiring book that will touch your heart. As you read the book, you have to wonder how this child managed to deal with everything that happened to her and grow up to lead a normal life with her husband and children. I admire Kelly's strength and brutal honesty as it must have been difficult to re-live her childhood in order to write this book, let alone have it published and reviewed by a bunch of strangers. When I read the book, I was reading for "enjoyment", not to analyze the feasibility of what items were inconsistent within her story. I admire her for her determination to survive and for the work she is currently doing on behalf of children who are abused.
   
   My one complaint about this book is that it left me feeling like I wanted more. While I am sure Kelly poured out her heart and soul, I felt like there was something disjointed or disconnected between myself and the individuals I was reading about. I almost felt like the book was superficial and Kelly couldn't dig deep enough within herself other than to simply scratch the surface of her life story. Perhaps, this is simply due to the trauma she endured or maybe, she simply chose to tell us what she wanted us to know. Either way, I hope to see a continuation of her memoir in the future.

5 comments about Recollections of My Life as a Woman: The New York Years.

1. At the end of the book I cried because it was over. That happened once before at age 10 when I finished Black Beauty. This book hit nerves in me that hadn't been touched since On the Road. DiPrima's brilliance, toughness, honesty and forays into the unknown make me want to find her phone number so I can talk to her... this rare woman!



2. Diane di Prima is one of the most foremost and noteworthy female writers of the Beat generation and the 20th century. She has been affiliated with such writers as Jack Keroac, Allen Ginsburg and Robert Creeley. She wrote and inspired in a mans world bringing to life a new female perspective in the 1950's. She continues to write extraordinary poetry, essays, and amazing prose. Her writing style is original and still refreshing to read fifty years later. Diane in her latest book Recollections of My Life As a Woman : The New York Years, an autobiography, goes on to embrace all aspects of her life as a woman. It was an amazing book. I enjoyed it, and I think most will, even if your forte is not beat generation history. It's a good read for others who want to learn more about the beat generation, and it's a great book because of the excellent narrative, and the obvious love she has for writing as well as life it's self.



3. I found this book to be captivating. I felt as though I was right along side her on her journeys. The eras she lived through were so richly detailed. She had so much hope and energy. I never wanted this book to end.



4. This is a wonderful book, presenting a brilliant vibrant picture of a cultural movement and time, the Beats/Hippies, and a woman who embodied all the artistic and humanistic values in an incredibly pure form. To me, the book (and the woman) are inspiring in their dedication to the values of art, spontanaeity, love, and Zen naturalness. An invaluable read for women artists, especially, and also for artists in general, and people interested in a certain world view and life style.



5. Diane di Prima's "Recollections of My Life as a Woman" is a must read for anyone who loves her poetry. I found it to be incredibly insightful and enjoyable to read. Understanding her life definitely helps demystify some of her poetry, like LOBA, for instance. She is such a diverse writer and woman. Everyone who reads this will benefit from it no matter what.

5 comments about Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with The Bay City Rollers.

1. Well sure, hardcore BCR fans are going to hate this book-- but don't let that put you off this magnificently self-mortifying book. Caroline Sullivan nails the illogic of teen obsession so well I squirmed (wasn't BCR for me, fortunately-- it was the Who-- there but for the grace of god). She knew BCR were hacks and grossly untalented. She had otherwise great taste in music. And yet... and yet... Buy this book. Treasure it. And make sure to hand it down to your daughter when she gets caught up in the latest manufactured pop-- boy band-- hysteria juggernaut.



2. Okay...it was just great fun to read the memories of another Bay City Roller fan who actually had the resources and, well, nerve to go chase them down. It was a superb trip down memory lane ... well written, funny, sad, absolutely loved it. The Bay City Rollers took over two years of my life as a teenager ... if you liked them, you were nothing short of obsessed with them. Great job, Caroline ... thanks for such a wonderfully inspired read.



3. This is the book to read if you ever thought you'd found the rock star that you were meant to love for life! Fantastic tale of obsession and fear and joy and fun and desperation. Kudos for this honest and grand story.



4. I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but once I got a couple of chapters into it, I had an epiphany. Caroline Sullivan and her Tacky Tartan Tarts could have been me and my friends had we had the means to follow any of the teen idols we adored. That's when for me the story stopped being about the BCR and started being about a slightly tilted mirror image of myself. If you go into to this thinking you're getting great insight into Leslie, Eric, Woody, Derek, Alan et al, then this isn't the book for you. If you want to remember the pure joy you experienced in loving these guys, and you're not afraid of taking off the blinders and seeing how they saw you in return, then get this book. Thanks, Caroline, for the memories and sharing the mirror!



5. Another book I could not put down and went through in a few readings. Great stories. Really brought back memories of the 70's and the rollers

5 comments about Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos.

1. "Feather in the Storm" is a fantastic book. It is well written, and enthralling. I rarely get attached to a story, but I read it through cover to cover with only one break. I couldn't put it down. I am looking forward to the sequel! It is depressing but enlightening. People are really terrible to one another. There is a whole generation lost to the policies of Chairman Mao in the chaos. This comes to light in this true life story of Emily Wu's struggle to survive.



2. My wife and I met Emily Wu at SIUE while on her book tour. Her story was amazing, so we had to buy the book to get the details.
   
   It normally takes me about a year to read a book, but this one I devoured in a matter of days. The perspective of the book grows as she grows. In the beginning it is written as though you are only a couple feet tall - the details are in the words she hears, people's feet and the underside of cribs and tables. Later on she gets taller and you start to experience more of the people around her. But, like the limitations put on a pre-teen, she can only see so much and know so much, therefore her story is limited to just what she could see and understand. You feel as though you are a child right alongside her.
   
   Often I found myself trying to figure out what things meant (names of Mao's movements and doctrine), but that just muddled the story. At times you feel like more should be written about the backstory of the Red Guard, but if you think about the fact that she didn't know much about them at the time it leaves it all in that child-like perspective. She writes about what she saw and read and experienced as a child, especially her reactions to how it changed the people around her.
   
   The tempo is well-paced and manages to catch you off-guard. It covers issues like capping and de-capping, the invasion of the Red Guard at the Anhui University campus in Hefei, book burning, cleansing of the "Old" ways, living conditions, food, suicide, female infanticide, arranged marriage, bound feet, class struggles, child-on-child violence and much more.
   
   When you are finished, you will view your life through a new pair of glasses. You won't be able to go 5 feet without finding 100 things to be truly thankful for.



3. Emily Wu and Larry Engelmann book "Feather in the Storm", an amazing openess of Emily Wu's life and history of China during the Cultural Revolution. The events that unfold carries the reader from youth to adulthood during a time of hardship and struggle which reminds us why hope and love is so neccessary and reasons to allow history to not repeat itself...



4. Feather in the Storm is a heart-wrenching and deeply moving story of a childhood lost in the terrors of Communist China. The story opens as three-year-old Mao, as she is known by family and friends, meets her father for the first time - in a concentration camp. Moved from family to family and from city to village, little Mao finds herself striving to learn who she is and where she belongs. Fed by her starving grandmother and protected by her outcast parents, Mao attends school and performs her daily chores at home without complaint, maintaining her hope for a brighter future.
   
   Mao's father, a university professor who studied in America, has been labeled as an extreme rightist by the communist party in China. Cast out of the university apartments, Mao's family is sentenced to live in a tiny village so that they can "learn from the peasants," becoming better citizens. Here, Mao and her family live in a tiny mud house which melts away in storms, leaving the family exposed to the elements. Forced to leave home as a teenager after high school, Mao is sent to live in a remote village on the top of a mountain where she falls in love with a young man she is forbidden to marry.
   
   Throughout all of the trials and tribulations Mao faces growing up, and in every village and town she lives in, she is able to make friends and gain the respect of her teachers and neighbors. With an undaunted courage to survive, Mao teaches the reader that hope can be found no matter what the circumstances. Surrounded by death and destruction, Mao creates a life for herself and embraces those who struggle by her side.
   
   Author Emily Wu expertly captures the essence of what life was like during this tremulous age, and helps the reader experience the drama from a firsthand point-of-view.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: Stunning read.



5. I loved this story. I hope Emily Wu writes more about her life and what led her to America. This was a beautiful story about how the cultural revolution in China robbed people of there childhoods and destroyed families. I intend to read more from this author.

5 comments about Ultimate Judgment : A Story of Emotional Corruption, Obsession and Betrayal.

1. I met this wonderful person that this book was written about. She gave me this book when she learned that I too was abused. It is incredible how she has turned so much pain and suffering into something positive as she shows so clearly in the way she leads her life. I never thought in a million years there was so much abuse going on in our United States. It't time that abuse is stopped including verbal, mental,emotional and sexual. I pray that in opening the scarrs and barring her soul in her book that Megan will be continuely blessed and never forgotten. Your Friend, June



2. I've learned from personal experience that Meg is truely as strong and good hearted as she seems. I cringe at the thought of the horrible things she was forced to endure for so long and can only pray this book touches others as much as it has me. Meg's story inspires everyone to never give up or give in to the wicked people surrounding us. I thank the Lord everyday for the voice he has given her, and hope that others can find peace that have been through similar tragidies.



3. I am Ms. Meg Clairmonte's Ex Sister-in-law. I have heard for years about Meg's court case and book. My son, her nephew, just turned 18 and graduated from high school. I am a single mother and have struggled for years to support us and now we are trying to send him to Tech school in the fall.
   
   The only reason I am telling you all that is to say this...
   
   I just found out that Meg's step-father, Don had created a trust fund for my son. If the reason Meg sued for all that money was for "therapy" as her lawyer once told me, then why, pray tell, was it necessary to take the trust funds that were supposed to benefit my son and hers. (Yes, she took her own son's money, too. I guess she figured that he wouldn't need any money, either)? Did that additional sum of money make a big difference in her settlement? Well, I can tell you that it would have made a big difference in my son's life right now, when we are trying to scrape up the money for school.
   
   I know you can tell that I am very hurt by this. My guess would be that the reason she did it was because I would not be sucked into the law suit and testify on her behalf. My experience with Meg before Don died and she started telling the world about her life with him was that she was manipulative and spiteful. So, there you are, she has proved me right. And this time it was at my son's expense and hers, too.
   
   Just wish everyone who read the book and felt so sorry for Meg could read this, too. As I knew from the beginning, it was always about the money...



4. I thought the book was great. I just wish they would have wrapped things up a little more at the end.



5. Ms. Clairmonte is a severely disturbed woman, who, when she found out she had been left out of the will of her step-father, destroyed the memory of a great man, making up horrible lies, and sued her own mother, leaving her mother broke and penniless. Shame on Ms. Clairmonte, how can she live her with herself?