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

4 comments about Reflections On A Life With Diabetes: A Memoir In Many Voices.

1. I have read this book from beginning to end and congratulate the writers for telling their story about what it's like to live with diabetes. The stories and poems are heartfelt and capture the essence of life with diabetes. There are many books on the market dealing with the medical aspects of diabetes but this is the first to deal with the emotional aspects. It is well-balanced and offers insight into the struggle and survival of this disease. I LOVE it and suggest everyone touched by diabetes read it. There is much to reflect on in these pages.



2. This is a really lovely book, filled with amazing insights; but even more, it's a book of comfort. It's about not being alone, and it's about not just surviving diabetes, but living with it, in the moment and in the company of some pretty incredible writers who wrap stories and essays and poetry around you, serving up comfort and hope. It's about life. Highly recommend!!!!



3. For anyone who has been affected by diabetes this is a must read! An inspirational, touching and heartfelt look at living with diabetes from the point of view of the diabetic but also those who live with or love a diabetic. As someone who has a friend with diabetes this book has made me feel not alone in dealing with diabetes and has given me a much better understanding of what having this chronic condition is like.



4. It's difficult to imagine a collection of more telling and powerful tales on the topic of diabetes. This book, compiled by Diane Parker and Ruth Mark, is a winner. The contributors chronicle their personal struggles with diabetes and the strengths and insights gained along the way with candor and humor. I can't think of a better read for ANYONE whose life has been touched by this illness. I honestly could not put it down! The fact that most of these folks were gifted writer made each story even more more pleasurable to read. Highly recommended to those with the illness, their family or friends, or anyone living with a chronic illness or condition.

5 comments about My Mother Dying.

1. I have just finished reading MY MOTHER DYING by Hillary Johnson, art by Ruth Jones, the mother Johnson nursed during her final illness. This is a beautiful memoir to the complex relationship of mothers and daughters, a memoir addressing those who have cared for and wathced a loved one die, a memoir about the coming of age of a woman who became a wife and mother at a very young age in the fifties. Ms. Johnson has captured the magnificence and complexity of the mother-daughter relationship, an artist's struggle to express herself, a family member dealing with the myriad of problems that are present in watching a loved one pass on. The author's prose is glorious, and she uses many notes her mother wrote to her after she was rendered mute fom throat cancer surgery. Johnson has preserved the many legal pads filled by her Mother after her surgery, and uses them in her book to give a voice to Ruth for all, and a voice from Ruth to her daughter. The bonus for readers is the reproduction of Ruth Jones' art, whimsical and telling of her life, and the insight it gave her daughter into her mother's own self expression.



2. This book is a entrancing autobiography and biography of a woman and her mother and in particular the story of a rekindeling of their connection as adults when the mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Unlike the suggestion of the title this is not a depressing story, it is strongly life affirming, funny and an interesting look at two remarkable women. It has helped me greatly in dealing with my own mother's death from cancer. I recomend it highly!



3. This "shared memoir" is a gem in every way: from the author's eloquent writing style to her mother's whimsical yet provocative drawings and even the smooth surfaces of the pages. Like the physical feel of the pages and the colors in her mother's artwork, the authors' words are finely wrought and rich. I didn't want to put the book down.



4. I feel I cannot do justice writing a review on such a high caliber memoir. Emotions run so deep and the characters are made so lifelike that I felt such a kinship with this family. Hillary Johnson is a fantastic writer and a fabulous daughter and caretaker. She deserves five gold stars for the wonderful job she did taking care of her mother through such dramatic medical horrors. I am honored and enriched for having read her book. Her mother was the bravest of women who faced life and illness with the best attitude possible. Her book will be the biggest help to me as my mother's health continues to decline. Thank you to both of you, Hillary and Ruth. Your mother was absolutely right to encourage the writing of this painful, truthful account of her living and dying. I am ordering it now for my sisters.



5. I met Hillary this weekend at her High School Reunion, which I attended with my Fiancee. I am VERY sorry that I did not have more time to speak with her, our weekend was too short! You would never know Hillary was sick with CFS, her demeanor, quiet manner, and her easy humor put me, a profoundly shy woman at ease immediately!
   
   The morning we left, she stopped by our room, and gave me a copy of her book, 'My Mother Dying.' The gesture touched me deeply, as I am an author, and one of the hardest things for me to do is give one of my books away, it is like giving away a small piece of my soul. Selling them in different, but to give one away is never easy.
   
   I am deeply thankful that she did so, as I started reading it Monday morning, and finished it at 8:30 a.m., Tuesday morning, I could not put it down, finishing dinner with it in my hand, forgoing unpacking, and a myriad of other tasks, to continue reading.
   
   It is amazing how much our Mothers of that period went through, what their own Mothers went through, and how much that shaped how they raised us, not wanting to teach us to reach for too much, thinking their warnings of failure were an honest attempt to cushion the blows and rejections sure to come to us in life, but almost forced to embrace a feminist movement few of them could join, as they were already Mothers of young children.
   
   That almost forcible delay of their dreams so that they could raise us, led to a shattering of our lives and connections from the time we were young women, until we are often in our 40s or 50s or later. Often only their own mortality forces us both back to the table to try and resolve the loveless years in between.
   
   Thank you, Hilary for putting into words so honestly the very same issues many females (and males) who were both born, and grew up during the 50s to 70s transitional years, have faced with our Mothers.
   
   T. Lindsey aka Ronin Schtihl Daire
   fellow author and chronic illness survivor

5 comments about Silencing the voices: one woman's experience with multiple personality d.

1. Even though I don't have multiple personality I could relate with many parts of this book. I thought it was wonderfully written and gave me things to think about in my abuse recovery. Many thanks to those who have the courage to step out and share their lives in order to help others.



2. As the spouse of a multiple I found this book to be very informative in the area of how the multiple personalities process in their mind the abuse they are put through. I noted many similarities from my own observations. One of my wife's personalities wants to read the book but I've cautioned her about the potential triggering portions but also stated that she might find the description of the road to integration to be encouraging. Congradulations to the author. I have an understanding of the strength it took to write this book.



3. In doing research about Dissociative Identity Disorder I was referred to this book. It clarified so many things about the disorder, how it works, how if affects everyone from the patient to the family and how it can be cured. I highly recommend this book! It's a wonderful story of support and recovery and also gives a graphic depiction into the mind/life of an abuser; through her father's actions. Jean has done a good job of relaying her experiences to the world.



4. Jean Cline's recounting of her horrific experiences with her twisted father took courage. She does not back away from her experiences in retelling them in this book; she confronts them and by setting an example encourages others to do likewise.

   Jean Cline developed three distinct personalities to cope with her overwhelming life conditions. Like most persons with DID/MPD, she was highly creative, artistically talented and suffered horrendous abusive childhood experiences. She gives a fresh voice to this now recognized condition and it is through her perseverance that she is able to "integrate" her "alters" and become a core. She is Gestalt; the whole person is greater than the sum of her parts (alters). Like a shifting kaleidoscope, Jean Cline shifts into various patterns of behavior and appearances. Like a kaleidoscope, at no time is she ever the same. Once integrated, she is able to make peace with herself.




5. Even today, Multiple Personality Disorder(MPD) challenges psychologists and health care practitioners. One common denominator MPD patients seem to share is childhood trauma, usually sexual and/or physical abuse. Children use the natural human ability to "disassociate" when the pain or trauma becomes more than they can bear. After the body has been hurt, the child may no longer feel the pain because the mind has found "a safer place to be." In MPD "alters" or "other personalities" emerge; they may be male or female, child or adult, extrovert or introvert. This book is the journey of Jean Darby Cline from childhood abuse at the hands of her father, verbal abuse in her first marriage, and diagnosis as a "multiple" to therapy and healing with the help of Jack M. Reiter, M.D.,P.S.

   As the book will reveal, the healing process can be as painful as the childhood abuse. During therapy, the patient often relives the memories and pain of the abuse. Often MPD patients are not aware, prior to therapy, of the multiples living inside them. They may realize there is a problem but not know exactly what the problem is. Jean Darby Cline exposes her feelings, fears and pain, and gives the reader a true account and inside view of what it is like to live with MPD. In her case, she had three alters, but it is not uncommon for patients to have many, many more as was the case in the book, "Sybil."

   If you want to learn more on MPD, I would highly recommend "Silencing the Voices" as well as, "First Person Plural" by Cameron West(see my review.)Both are excellent books on the subject.

No comments about Words for a Deaf Daughter and Gala.

5 comments about The Feel Of Silence (Health Society And Policy).

1. The account of a courageous woman who has been deaf since at least age two. Determined to communicate, she taught herself lip reading and speech. Her life has been a journey to defy all obstacles that stood in the path of her being totally involved in the hearing world. She refused to accept permanent set backs and plunged ahead with a strength of determination seldom seen in any human being. Although she had a lifetime to become adept at deafness, she presents as a role model for all of us whether two years deaf as I am, or deaf from birth. She is not an experienced story teller but her life is rich in adventure. It will evoke a plethora of emotions from all readers and may spark the debate about communication styles for deaf children. I would reccommend this book to parents of deaf children and to deaf adults



2. I found this book to be upsetting and depressing. All of her life, it seems the author never accepted the fact that she was deaf and tried "passing" as hearing for her entire life! Although I am not deaf and do not pretend to know what it is like to be deaf, I felt that she made her life so much more of a struggle by shunning the Deaf Community. She refused to sign and tried to live as a hearing person. This book left me with a feeling of overwhelming sadness for all that this woman has missed in her life as a result of not accepting her deafness and at least trying to be a part of both the hearing and the deaf communities.



3. I would have never heard of this book if not for a dear friend's recommendation - whose 15-year old daughter has been deaf since birth. And I am as profoundly grateful to my friend Anna Marie, as I am to Bonnie Tucker, the author - for a lesson in gratitude. compassion and frustration . . .
   
   All of us, the hearing - will learn of gratitude for the "given" of the sense of hearing. We will add to our repertoire of our feelings a very special variation of compassion - for one like Bonnie - full of zest and energy in her approach to life - who definitely does not want pity.
   
   We will learn of the aspects of frustration which our hearing world may not conceive of. Why not learn of this? Why not absorb some of the unique feelings which none of us ever thought of, in the situations none of us ever has found himself/herself?
   
   You, the psychologists, might add to your lists of therapeutic data - this very intelligent woman's pointers and leads - how and when to help the deaf . . .
   
   As the deaf are not really deaf - witness Beethoven and his most significant output as a composer in the late years of life, when, after becoming deaf, his hearing switched inward, into the inner world of sound - after all we all have an inner ear.
   
   So does Bonnie Tucker and she has proven it with her astounding life and career as a mom and an attorney. Hurrah to the victor!
   
   Eva Victoria Tame, [...].



4. I ran into this book by accident looking for a book about law. (LOC cataloged it in the Dewey system as 340.092, near books like Legal Realism at Yale.) It's actually the autobiography of Bonnie Poitras Tucker, born (so far as anyone can tell) totally deaf but who eventually became a lawyer and a law school professor. Tucker's strength is in communicating the burden of being deaf even for a gifted lip reader. I must say that I never thought about how terrifying darkness must be for the deaf, how much it would hurt to be thought rude because one couldn't hear everyday sounds or conversation, or even how a moustache might completely frustrate a lip reader. Tucker's reluctance to tell others about her handicap undoubtedly made some periods of her life more difficult than they might have been otherwise, but it takes little imagination for the reader to sympathize with her desire to be "normal." Curiously, although Tucker, is an expert on the law of disabilities, her book does not address legal issues in any rigorous way. For her, it is a self-evident truth that a theater owner should provide a seat for her interpreter at no charge. Likewise, the brief attempt she makes at discussing her religious beliefs (basically none) is more simplistic than one would expect from a law school teacher. Nevertheless, the book is worth reading. As a teacher who has had a number of deaf students over the years, I will certainly think twice before regrowing my moustache.



5. I found this book to be extremely powerful. Bonnie wholely admits to being in denial about her deafness til she was 38. At first I found this disturbing as she KNEW she was deaf, but claimed to be in denial. Three months AFTER I read the book it finally hit me what she was saying!!! She was not in denial about her deafness, she was in denial about the fact that her deafness made her different from other people, AND she was in denial that it impacted on her life! This was a huge lesson to me, because I was (then) doing the EXACT same thing!! I blamed a madrid of other "things" that affected my life EXCEPT for my hearing loss! What a relief it was to be able to accept the truth and get on with my life, and go forward! I now accept and do know that it is just a part of me that I have to live with every day!!! I must constantly educate others about it, and I am always appreciative of those who make the extra efforts to accommodate me and keep me informed on what is going on around me.
   
   This book was very liberating for me and helped me tremendously! Bonnie is one of the very few deaf authors that addresses the implications that hearing loss has on one's own life, and those people directly around you.

1 comments about Onward Ever, Backward Never.

1. I read the book in an evening and found it to be very inspirational. I laughed and cried and enjoyed the familiar bible verses.

3 comments about The Caregiver: A Life With Alzheimer's.

1. Thank you, Aaron Alterra, for sharing your very insightful experiences while giving such loving care to your dear wife, Stella. Your touching recount of Stella's final days as a cellist and your countless successful efforts at preseving her dignity brought tears as I (a sexagenerian) empathized with your many dillemmas.

   I would certainly recommend this book to anyone with elderly parents or who themselves have become caregivers.




2. This is a most thoughtful insight from both the point of view of the Caretaker and the one for whom care is given. Many of your own thoughts, questions, fears, victories, frustrations and actual experiences are seen and lovingly, yet honestly, shared by a gifted writer. Thought provoking, calming, and a real companion for a Caretaker who feels alone -- as we all do from time to time. Well worth the read!



3. I was very touched by the way he cared and loved his wife. He did a lot of trial and error and gave 110%.

1 comments about Danny: The Murder of a Man with Down Syndrome.

1. Based on a true story, this book provides the reader with two unforgettable insights. The first is the "human-ness" of those members of our society not blessed with perfect births, and the warm interrelationships of their direct family members as well as the "neighborhood" family members. The second is an "in your face" realism of the consequences of the deterioration of our older established neighborhoods, and a legal system (ours) where many of the key members are much more interested in upward mobility and societal profile than in "equal justice for all" as set out by our constitutional forefathers. The readers of this book will close it with many lingering thoughts!

No comments about Mental Illness/Spiritual Warfare: Two Sides to the Same Coin.