1 comments about Memories of Every Season: A Young Woman's Struggle to Overcome Abuse.

1. This story was so true to life. I hope women read this before they make a lifelong commitment to anyone. There all all kinds of warning signs that the main character should have seen. Hopefully readers will see them and it will keep someone else from living the same type life. I cried when the character couldn't and I just wanted to help her in some way. You really have to read this one!

No comments about Knocked Off My Knees: Coping When Chronic Illness Hits Hard.

2 comments about Battling Through Life: The Story of Filomena Danisi.

1. One of the many benefits working in a profession that includes dealing with the general public on an ongoing and interpersonal level is when they share the creative aspects of their life with me. Some patients come in with cookies, some with stories, some with excuses about their unpaid balance and on rare occasion, some come in with a poem, a song or in the case of Filomena Danisi, a heartfelt book.
   
   Ms. Danisi writes about what she knows best, her life. Her writing style is engaging and her message is inspiring. She throws cold water on a world where most people complain about their bus being late. She makes you examine your priorities by indirectly explaining hers.
   
   Reading this book will not only give you insight and perspective, but an inspirational focus. Her attention to detail is tasteful and her story is riveting. Read the book and learn from it. I did.



2. Filomena Danis has done it her way and no other way possible. From the moment she first saw her hand tremble to the day of her diagnosis she could not accept her fate.
   Living with Fredrick's Ataxia {a progressive,incurable neuromuscular disease} could be likened to living with a poltergeist. A cup crashes to the floor, scissors won't cooperate, terror seizes the heart, anger dashes over everyone. "I couldn't stop whatever it was from progressing.. It had a life of its own, and no one-least of all me- could stop it.
   Throw in the usual mix of neurosis, parental guilt, family secrets, blurred boundaries, religious doubt. Whip into that imagination, some poverty and dealing with our inadequate social service systen and top it off with a sibling having the same diagnosis. Thank goodness she wrote this book..She truly succeeds with determination and detail to bring us to the brink of "..the dread of insignificance..."(H.S.Kushner)then catches us with her net of forgiveness, peace,and vision.
   Marge Helenchild May 2005

No comments about A Beacon for Life.

5 comments about Growing Up With Joey: A Mother's Story of Her Son's Disability and Her Family's Triumph.

1. As a mom with two special needs kids, I am often overwhelmed by the sadness of not knowing what the future holds. This book touched a nerve in me and really lifted my spirits in a way no other book of this nature ever has. This book is a keeper, I'm so glad I found it.



2. As a professional screenwriter, I am always looking for books that have compelling stories and dynamic relationships. Those that not only touch you in profound ways, but that stay with you long after the read. "Growing Up With Joey," does just that. Ms. Papazian's account of bringing up her handicapped son, amidst the pain and confusion of parenthood, is as mind boggling as it is inspiring. Having worked on projects that involve the mentally handicapped, I have done extensive research in the field. Until now, I had yet to come across a story filled with so much honesty. Honesty that transcends marriage, family, the work place and social consciousness. Ms. Papazian's attention to detail, not only in the day to day struggle of bringing up her son, but in the myriad of ways that struggle impacted every facet of her life, is something at which to marvel and, more importantly, something from which we can learn. The path is as long as it is difficult. It's filled with frustration, uncertainty and despair. But it's paved with love. This book is certain to bring Ms. Papazian critical acclaim and should be read by parent, spouse, sibling, teacher, student and child.



3. This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the difficulties facing a child with multiple disabilities and the problems families face in doing what they think is best for the child. This is a beautifully written book by a woman who knows the subject matter because she has lived it....I am CEO of a social services organization and I have not read a more inspiring book on this subject....I give it two thumbs up....Garrison Smith, CEO, Wabash Valley Human Services......



4. Sandy Papazian has achieved what most writers can only dream of. She's managed to tell a tragic and compelling personal story in a most entertaining and affecting way, while at the same time never flinching from the sometimes difficult truths that confronted her family after the birth of their youngest son, Joey.
   Anyone who ever had their faith shattered, their beliefs questioned, their strength drained, their hopes challenged...should read and learn from this magnificent story. Joey's story may seem, at first, only relatable to those who have family members wth handicaps...but in reading her book, we soon learn that we all have handicaps of one sort or another...and it is how we learn to deal with them that determines the fabric of our lives. In "Growing Up with Joey", Sandy has found a way to define and extract the most beautiful qualities on earth from the most tragic and terrifying of circumstances.
   ...If you are not transformed into a better person by reading this book, then there is little hope for you to begin with. Don't miss it.



5. Sandy Papazian has written a book that truly is a MUST HAVE in everyone's library! The book clearly documents the various physical as well as psychological stages and coping mechanisms that each member of a famly of the identified patient: Joey goes through...everyone 'grows up with Joey.' The encounters, impediments , frustrations that each of the family members faces are so intricately detailed that the reader often feels that he or she is right there in the Emergency Room with Joey and his doctors. A family's coping mechanisms for effectively interacting with the members of the 'health care' community are clearly documented. Whatever 'disability' a child may have, whether it be emotional/psychological or physical/organic; the resulting impact on his family is one that is so powerful. How this impact can effect a primary family, even the extended family dynamic is beautifully detailed with anectodes that allow readers to develop their own effective coping mechanisms for not only 'growing up with ...' but growing up HEALTHY with their special needs youngster. Once again, I urge you to read this book and share it with all your friends, whether they have a special needs member of their family or not, this is a MUST reading for all families!

3 comments about In the Open: Diary of a Homeless Alcoholic.

1. In this autobiography, Donohue chronicles his peregrinations across the USA while drinking himself silly. He gets a few lucky breaks, some money here and there, a little success, but he drinks it all away. In the end, the book snaps shut abruptly with no conclusion, no climax, no denouement, nothing. Just snaps shut in a very odd way. But then it is just a peek into one man's life, the life of an alcoholic. I definitely had more sympathy for homeless people, even alcoholic homeless people, after reading this book. The potential reader should be warned that it contains a lot of economic theory that Donohue, who actually graduated from college with a business degree, develops. So that stuff is a bit dry and you can safely skip over most of it.



2. One reviewer compared this book to George Orwell's "Down and Out in Paris and London," a gritty look at the lives of transients in France and England in the 1930s. In truth, this book and its author bear more resemblance to Ted Kaczynski and his anti-technology "Manifesto."

   The difference is that Orwell never became part of world he described. Exploring the world of the lower classes, he was constantly betrayed by his "lower-upper-middle-class" mannerisms and tastes. Timothy Donohue is all too much a part of the world he describes--namely, the nightmarish world of the late-stage alcoholic.

   On the surface, "In the Open" is about a man who freely admits he's trapped in alcohol's clutches but is somehow able to string together a carefully reasoned argument in favor of food stamp reform, typing his manuscript at public libraries whenever he's sober and has the opportunity.

   His thesis proceeds with fits and starts, however, as Donohue--who sees himself as an unappreciated visionary--struggles with simple tasks made monumentally difficult by his disease. Obtaining money, finding and keeping a menial job, avoiding the police and bullies, keeping his few possessions intact--all these things demand increasing expenses of time and energy as the author tries unsuccessfully to moderate his drinking.

   It's not unusual for an alcoholic to reason that the problem isn't with himself but with the rest of the world. What's unusual is for an alcoholic to go to the lengths to which Donohue has gone to persuade the world that he's right and it's wrong. There may be some sense to Donohue's economic proposals, but then there may be some sense to the musings of a teenager who talks metaphysics while smoking pot. His ideas are nothing if not grandiose--and grandiosity is one of the hallmarks of alcoholism. There's something about Donohue's economic plan that rings false; perhaps it's our awareness that what Donohue's really trying to reconstruct is not the American welfare system but his own shattered Self. If he can prove (to himself at least) that the system's broken, then who can blame him for checking out?

   Donohue is at his best when he's describing the landscape and his immediate surroundings, which are by turns enchanting and menacing. There's no denying he has a gift for descriptive prose. Seeing this gift in the service of such a wayward project, however, is somewhat depressing. If he can hit patches of brilliance while drunk and living on the street, where's the limit to what he could do if he got his life turned around? (On the other hand, if Donohue were leading a "normal" life, he might not feel compelled to write at all.)

   Oddly, this book is presented with no commentary apart from what's on the dust jacket. There's no Introduction or Forword to put the author and his plight in perspective. There's no Afterword; the narrative ends abruptly, and the reader is left with many questions. Did Donohue ever get his drinking "under control"? Did he ever realize that he wasn't that much different from other alcoholics after all? Did he ever find a spiritual solution to his torment? Is he even still alive?

   Because the publisher, the University of Chicago Press, offers such scant explanation, we're also left wondering why the book was published in the first place. Did the editors find merit in Donohue's economic proposals, or is the book intended as an example of the lengths to which a damaged psyche will go to justify itself? The reader is left to draw his or her own conclusions.




3. This is not a coherent, well-structured narrative. It's a first-person account of an intelligent person disabled by alcoholism. He's an individual. He doesn't represent everyone in his category. Its value is in the intimate look inside the mind of an addict and how he makes decisions. I was especially interested in the lies he tells himself to get different effects. For example, he says, to stop drinking for two days he must *decide* to stop for a month. His description of the pain that drives him to drink is vivid and heartbreaking.

5 comments about Writing Out the Storm.

1. Rebecca Merriman writes from the heart. She tells us that manic-depression is both an exhilirating and frightening roller coaster ride type of mental illness. It affords its suffereres with an oversized dose of happiness, confidence, and risk-taking only to plunge them into the depths of darkness and despair. Merriman writes with a "no holds barred" approach, opening the door to this mystifying disorder from which so many people suffer.

   Drawing from her journals, Merriman shows through her writing how words helped put her manic depressive world in order, especially after her psychotic breaks and subsequent hospitalizations.

   For anyone suffering from manic depression or who knows someone touched by this discorder, this book is an easy-to-read and enjoyable story of what can be a devastating, and sometimes deadly, illness. It offers hope by showing, from first hand experience, how the medications and counseling available today to manage it can help people live healthy lives.

   Carol Smucker, RN, PhD




2. Rebecca, I can't tell you how much insight I've gained through your beautiful, genuine, poetic words into the state of mind of family members and friends who suffer from mental illness. For many years, sufferers have gravitated to me because they seem to sense that I understand their plight and have compassion for them, having grown up in a family afflicted with a range of chemical imbalances.

   Often, I've been deeply wounded by the words and choices that those closest to me who are operating from various platforms of mental distress have leveled at me. But, after reading your book which so eloquently and precisely states and chronicles your mood swings and behavioral variances, I now better realize how insignificant my external role has been in evoking negative responses from affected loved ones. What a relief for me, as one standing on the outside of this illness looking in, to discover through your account how the internal chemical triggers work in determining the subsequent behavior. From your revealing journal entries, I could clearly discern that your choices were chemically, not morally determined or driven. Also, what a comfort it was for me to hear you speak lovingly about those in your life, such as your husband and mother, who have been stable and loyal advocates during your recovery. I am greatly impressed with the virtues of strength, honesty, wisdom, compassion, and abiding faith you have skillfully woven throughout the pages of your compelling narrative.

   Please know that whether or not your book becomes a best seller, you have lit a torch from the baptismal fires of your own crucible that casts an illuminating brilliance on a shadowy subject for all of us whose lives are directly or indirectly affected by chemical imbalance. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart for your inspiring, precious, and heroic gift, Rebecca, and may you, like the sturdy red and yellow spring tulips mentioned in your book, always stay firmly rooted in the solidity, richness, and wellness of your sacred middle ground.

   God Bless,
   Stephanie McIntosh




3. Rebecca's book helped me to better understand the manic-depressive people in my life. The journal style gave (me)the reader a day to day view of life as a manic-depressive person. Her story is insightful, honest,heart wrenching, but also uplifting.

   Rebecca's story helped me to understand that being manic-depressive is an illness, but that a ill person can still determine a path of health for their life.




4. If there is any book that shows how keeping a journal can save your life, it is WRITING OUT THE STORM. Yes, it's a hard one to read, yet Rebecca Mitchell Merriman's enthusiasm for life & her attention to detail shine through. Yes, it is full of the angst & turmoil of mental illness, yet embedded in each & every chapter are the kernels of redemption & surcease, until she can no longer control her illness.

   That Rebecca Mitchell Merriman survived to tell her tale, with a lot of help from the steady companionship of her husband & their feline offspring, is undoubtedly the result of her untutored discipline at writing out her storm & the restorative power of spirit. She has gone through her trial by fire & lived to tell of it.

   Very well done, both for the book & the mental disease survived!




5. Rebecca merriman was my High School teacher at one time. I read her book and was touched by it. She is a special lady. True to the heart. very helpful to others. Shes an inspiration to me. I love you rebecca.

No comments about About Nick.

No comments about And the Sun Still Rises: A Mother's Inspiring Story of Living with ADD in the Family.

4 comments about God Gave Us a Promise: The Story of a Little Fighter.

1. I am pleased to share my thoughts with you about this heartwarming book about love and how complete love is. I recently read "God Gave Us a Promise". I was incredibly moved by the love and dedication that Jeremiah, Patience and Phil Wolf shared for life. Their story is an awesome story that reminds each and every one who reads it just how precious and short life truly is.

   There were many tears and many smiles as I made my way through this book. You will laugh at the cute and cunning ways that Jeremiah got what he wanted. You will laugh at the times that Patience and Phil bounced off of each other, much like "who's on first". It warms your heart to see the teamwork that this marriage truly possesses. You will cry as you feel the pain in their hearts as they pray that God will carry them and Jeremiah to a safe place where there is no more pain.

   "God Gave Us a Promise" is one of the best books that I have read. It reminded me that I have so much to be grateful for. It also made me realize that the love a parent feels for a child knows no boundaries. God always works all things for his good. Jeremiah has touched many lives that only God could have known he would. Jeremiah will live in many hearts forever. He certainly is in mine.




2. Guaranteed to make you want to hold your kids a little tighter. Told with raw emotion and an unblinking eye. Should be very helpful to any parent whose child has this complication, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Fund.



3. Normally I wouldn't call non-fiction "entertaining," but Phillip Wolf does a great job telling of the struggles facing a home that welcomes in a child with congential heart disease. I laughed in many places at the antics of Phil and his friends, and I cried in many others. Even knowing how things had to end ahead of time, I still kept hoping for a miracle. An outstanding performance by this author.



4. God Gave Us A Promise: The Story of a Little Fighter by Phillip Wolf is the candid and intimate testimony of his own family when an infant son was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Their son's diagnosis changed their lives as the cruel realities of this devastating condition forced them to trust in love, God's faith, and the essence of human compassion to survive the difficult choices ahead. A powerful and profoundly moving remembrance, God Gave Us A Promise is remarkable and recommended reading.