5 comments about It Takes a Worried Man: A Memoir.

1. Brendan Halpin's memoir is exactly that - a memoir - that is, a narrative composed from personal experience. It is beautifully written in a free-form style which leaves you feeling like you're sitting in a pub with Brendan every night while he tells you his story. And like any good friend, you will laugh with him, cry with him, and be outraged along with him.

   I've been in healthcare for over thirty years, but as a patient, and this book resonated with both my husband and I. He, too, fears losing his best friend, like Brendan. For me, Brendan's voice is very much my husband's, and I will treasure certain lines from the book such as when Brendan has to stop and watch his wife and daughter come through the door, because his whole world just entered the room.

   But this book offers a glimpse into someone else's thoughts and experiences in a brutally honest and clear voice and for that reason, it should not be missed. It does not offer a resolution or answers to the big questions, but then neither does real life.

   And Brendan, you, Kirsten, and Rowen are welcome on our back deck anytime. We'd love to hear more of the story...




2. I could not put this book down. It had me laughing and crying at the same time. I anxiously await more literary work from this most talented writer.



3. If you want to know how Michener's "Fires of Spring" ends, read this book. If you laugh, if you cry, if you swear, you're alive. Grab it by the lapels and shake it. That's what Halpin does. It's too bad he's ambivalent about Dan Fogelberg - they sing the same song.



4. This is the most amazing book I've ever read. Mr. Halpin writes with amazing honesty about his experience, without whitewash or apology. The book bounces back and forth between hilarious episodes that are all the more funny because often the people around them don't get it, to the laid-bare terror of dealing with cancer in someone you love and can't imagine living without. I can't stand sentimental books, and this isn't one, and yet some of his revelations took my breath away with their poignancy and honesty. I tend to be a library borrower rather than a book buyer, but this is one to own.



5. My mother's oncologist once told her that there are 2 kinds of men when it comes to wives' illnesses: those who care too much and those that care too little. It is admirable that Halpin is clearly one who cares too much and I found the initial stages of his account an honest, moving, and surprising amusing one. My father is also a man who cares too much and I had hoped to understand him better through Mr. Halpin's experience. I ultimately stopped reading simply because Halpin sobs in nearly every vignette. The sobbing became repetitive. Moreover I am completely unable to relate to a man who is so willing to openly sob to every person he meets, which strikes me as pathetically self-indulgent and weak. Sorry everyone - I suppose I realize it's important for men to be able to cry but it just reeks of insincerity and weakness when a man's response to every degree of sadness (OR happiness) is tears. While Halpin made much of his need to be strong for his wife, I could not help but think that his efforts lacked consequence and I eventually got tired of reading about them.

No comments about Normal Again: Redefining Life with Brain Injury.

1 comments about Superhero: A Biography of Christopher Reeve.

1. Christopher Reeve's acting career alone is probably not interesting enough to sell books. It was his determination to recover from his crippling riding accident that inspired me to listen to the audio version of Superhero: Ahe Biography of Christopher Reeve, by Chris Nickson.

   Other than his rise to stardom at an early age with Superman, and his tragic accident, there is nothing much to say. This becomes evident when the author runs out of words and starts using the same phrases over and over again. By the middle of the book I was annoyed and tired of listening to it. It left me feeling that Christopher Reeve was a well to do, preppy actor who made it big, then squandered his stardom and made excuses for his otherwise mediocre acting career.

   Sadly enough, it takes his paralyzing riding accident to pick up the pace of the book and make it interesting enough to finish. His life after the fall is certainly more notable and the book depicts a couple of really moving moments.

   Perhaps in another 20 years his life will have expanded enough to make a really worthwhile book. My opinion is they should have waited until then to write this one.

No comments about Threading the Snail: My Journey Through Deafness.

1 comments about What I'Ve Learned from My Daughter: Blessings from a Special Child.

1. Nancy Jo Sullivan probably never dreamed that one day she'd "grow up" to write this book - sometimes life brings unexpected twists and turns that we can never imagine. In this wonderful book, Nancy Jo shares her experiences as a mom of three beautiful daughters, one of whom was born with Down syndrome. It's easy to fall in love with Sarah, "God's Princess", who succeeds in teaching us all many lessons in this book.
   
   This is not just a book for parents of children with disabilities. It is a book for all of us, looking to count our blessings, love unconditionally, and never take the everyday treasures of life for granted. Nancy Jo ends each chapter of this book with a set of "ponderings", which will prompt you to ask yourself a few questions, consider a few new ideas and learn some valuable lessons from Sarah. Gift yourself the gift of this book and you will find yourself with a new, uplifted perspective on life.

5 comments about Nothing But Time.

1. Ms. Ayyildiz book is about life and love and family and trauma and survival. It is for any who have faced the very hard times life throws at us. Judy tells her survival in voices of those who shape her life, with tears and laughter.



2. Ms. Ayyildiz book is about life and love and family and trauma and survival. It is for any who have faced the very hard times life throws at us. Judy tells her survival in voices of those who shape her life, with tears and laughter.



3. I was looking forward to this book, as my family has gone through several severe illnesses, including Guillane-Barre. I was very disappointed in both her writing (I found it hard to follow at times) and in her attitude (towards her family and health care providers). She was in the hospital for 5 days and seemed to yell at someone at least once a day; my husband was in for 3 months and, albeit justifiably stressed at times, was pleasant and thankful to his caregivers. It is rare that I do not finish a book once I've started it; this one was not worth my time.



4. Another survivor of GBS, who is also a writer

   Only several thousand Americans get this hard-to-diagnose, hard-to-understand disease each year. It continues to baffle doctors and researchers. The excellent writer that she is, Judy Ayyildiz unfolds her horror story of paralysis with characteristic gentleness and sensitivity. Because she interweaves childhood and family memories into her GBS story, which lends interest to the tale, a speed reader is apt to get confused. This is one book you cannot skim.

   Judy writes descriptively of the fear this unpredictable disease/syndrome brings. She relates how families struggle to deal with it and lend the kind of support needed by the patient, who spends many lonely hours isolated from family members who don't seem to understand. Her book title, Nothing But Time is dead on. The disease wipes you out, leaving you utterly tired and weak.




5. Overcoming a serious life-changing disease is never easy. This book takes readers on a journey from onset and diagnosis to recovery and survival. Along the way the author shares her thoughts and feelings about being a patient. Readers will enjoy listening to family stories and absorbing the sights, smells, and sounds of Judy's native Appalachian region.
   
   Ann Brandt,
   Broomfield, Colorado

No comments about Inside Anorexia: The Experiences of Girls and Their Families.

No comments about Reading Lips and Other Ways to Overcome a Disability.

4 comments about The Cancer Monologue Project.

1. The authors didn't have to put themselves in others shoes to to convey these enormously brave and inspirational accounts. The authors in their own shoes, brilliantly edited, make this book a must for anyone directly and indirectly faced with cancer's devistation.



2. I purchased this book as a gift for an uncle who has just been operated on for colon cancer after reading about it in the Oprah Winfrey magazine which she highly reccomended. After leafing through a story or two I wound up reading it cover to cover on the weekend before mailing it out. It really is an exceptionally moving work and will inspire anyone that reads it whether they have been touched by the disease, know someone who has (as we all have)or just needs to be reminded how precious life really is. I cannot wait to see what the authors bring us in the future.



3. When I read The Cancer Monologue Project, I made 30 new friends; each with their own very individual voice and outlook. They share a gruesome commonality, cancer, but something even stronger unites them. What I found most enlightening was the gratitude these survivors expressed for the very disease that brought them, or a loved one, to death's door. Wisdom, humility, and a deep appreciation for family seem to be the legacy of the pain, fear and degradation they endured. In celebrating life, these people made me laugh through my tears as they generously shared intimate details of their journey. I can't help feeling I've been given a primer on how to live my remaining years to their fullest; a gift from these extraordinary contributors.
   I wholeheartedly recommend this book to read, and reread, and give to everyone you love.



4. I have known a number of people with cancer, and I think I had close relationships with them. However, somehow I learned more about what really happens when people get cancer from this book than I have learned from suffering friends and family. The reality is so grave that I suppose the people I know did not want to bring me in to the pain. But the participants in these workshops feel free to unburden themselves and get specific and I have a more real view of the cancer experience now than I did before. The scathing and lonely vignettes about radiation really got to me, and while it's painful it's also better to know than not to know.

5 comments about Loss of Innocence.

1. This story was so amazing, I couldn't put it down. I have never written a review before, but this book compelled me to do so. This story is too true of so many of our teens today, and so many parents don't know what to do or how to help. Ron (the father) shows incredible courage and strength in trying to bring his daughter back. He refused to give up, and for most teens that is what it takes. I have recommended this book to everyone I talk to. I loved the way the story told both points of view - Carren's and Ron's. Carren is also a strong and brave individual, her story is chilling, yet shows her incredible determination on both sides of addiction. I love that they told their story together for the rest of us to read and learn about addiction, teen troubles and parents who fight for their teens. The support network and the programs like the one Carren went to in Jamaica are real and amazing. They are committed to making a difference for our teens, one child at a time. I am glad they were mentioned in the book. I absolutely love this book!!



2. No child comes with a "How To Raise" manual; parents do the best they can with the tools THEY have from their own life's experience. I greatly admire this family. When they realized they were in trouble, a comprehensive search began to find ways to correct the problem. Carren is no different then Teens anywhere in America in this day and age, in that she chose to take her own way. For every choice there is a consequence and these parents had the courage to make new choices to save their child's life. There is pain, suffering, laughter and positive growth between the covers of Loss of Innocense; this is a must read for every citizen! We all are involved with our youth in some way and this book gives great insight into positive interaction. We CAN make a difference!



3. Loss of Innocence is one of the best and most compelling books I have ever read. After I found out my daughter was a meth addict and later came to find out the tragic circumstances surrounding her addiction, I began searching for books about drug addiction. Loss of Innocence is by far the best I found. The books makes very effective use of offering contrasting perspectives of the father versus the daughter. Neither one knows the whole story that is unfolding. While I could relate to the father's perspective, it was most helpful to see the daughter's.
   Loss of Innocence is a must-read for every parent or future parent of a teen. It points out how parents can seemingly do everything right and a child can still be victimized by a very evil world. This book provides invaluable information on detecting drug abuse. Oh how I wish I had read this book sooner than I did.
   This book helped my daughter and I to heal. Loss of Innocence will most assuredly save thousands of lives and families. Parents think something like drug abuse will never happen to their children or family. Please read this book so that you will not be as ignorant as I was.



4. This is not a book I wanted to read - but my wife talked me into it. I also live, like the Clems, in Montana and have always felt this is a very safe environment. The Clems do a fabulous job of showing both sides of the drama - that of the daughter and the father. As a father, I can relate to his side of the story better and I appreciate how Ron puts his mistakes in the book as well as what he did right. I found myself thinking "that's exactly what I would do..." as I read about his reaction to first picking Carren up after she had been raped. The painfully explicit and eye-opening description of the fall-out from that reaction has caused me to have a number of difficult but necessary conversations with my own daughters, some of whom are now teenagers.
   
   I am most appreciative of and impressed by Carren and Ron for being willing to share such a painful story - pain that must be re-felt each time they talk about the experience or in writing the book. By sharing their pain, they may have helped me avoid the mistakes they made and know how to better help one of my daughters, if ever the same circumstances find us in our "safe" Montana home. It also gives me hope that despite the unbelievable process, Ron and Carren have re-created the bonds of father and daughter. The book helped my children - boys included! - realize the amount of pain to everyone around them their own drug use would cause. I think it opened their eyes as well and cut through a lot of the "sales hype" drug users or sellers would tell them.
   
   One can only hope. I encourage every parent and teenager to read this book - they may not like what they read, but it could well save their life and that of those around them.



5. Believe those of us who know Mr. Clem and his family - this book is true, comes straight from the heart, and was written to help others going through the same battles with addiction in their families, as well as to help in the healing process. Mr. Clem spends his time (and money) selflessly helping others, and wrote this book with that intent. He does not need to show pictures of Carren at rock bottom, or to prove that it actually happened. Anyone that lives in Northwest Montana, knows first-hand what he and his family have been through. Read the book, and be thankful if your own family doesn't have to go through this. Ron Clem's only agenda is to help others with what he has learned. Read the book, you will not be sorry, and you might be all the wiser.