2 comments about Windhorse Woman: A Marriage of Spirit.

1. This book recounts Lynn's real adventure into her spirit marriage and meetings with other medicine women in Nepal. Her writing style evokes a novel -- but in your heart you KNOW it's real. You KNOW that you chose this book to teach you about yourself and your relationships. It was the first of her books I read, and now I must read THEM ALL. It is the first book I've read about any relationship that gave me a tool to gain peace about my own relationships.



2. Lynn V Andrews books are a good read. They are interesting and well-written. I recommend all of them - let your mind fly ... great read

5 comments about Atlas of the Human Heart: A Memoir.

1. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was quite inspirational and I definitely admire the author's stength and independence. However, I found the summary a little misleading as it makes it sound more like it's a book of not only her travels but her trials as being a young mother. She did not even find out she was pregnant until the book was nearly over. It was a really easy read that made me think, but if you're interested in reading more about motherhood I wouldn't recommend this book.



2. In this memoir Ariel Gore (aka Ghost Girl, aka Hip Mama) tells of her wanderings around the globe in her teen years. The memoir is bittersweet and leads up to the birth of her daughter. Inspiring and intelligent any mama/poet/wanderer/questioner will love Ghost Girl's crisp prose and moving metaphors.



3. Since when did apathy become brave and stoned self absorption become enlightenment. This book is about a woman who made one interesting decision (to travel at a young age rather than complete high school in a California suburb) and then spends the rest of the journey/book making poor and predictable decisions with the occasional foray into no decision making whatsoever. This author is extremely invested in her own image of herself as a ground breaking too-cool-for-you darling of the backpack traveling set. More like a bratty, lost, vain child.



4. Ariel Gore has as unique voice or feel to this memoir, which is refreshing, searching, and magnetic.
   Before I read this, I had my doubts. How would I, a sixty-seven year old man, get through the story of a wondering young teenage girl?
   Her story was like a magnet, it it I found my own life-long seeking of purpose, inner peace and God.
   The only distraction to me, mentioned by other reviewers, was the overly detailed recounting of drug and alcohold usage.



5. This is exactly the kind of book I love: Adventure, travel to exotic places, a gutsy individual overcoming obstacles and finding her own way in life. I also recommend another Ariel Gore book: The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show.

4 comments about Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage.

1. Seldom have two heads-of-state been better matched to work for common goals than were Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. However, neither their personal relationship nor their political one was as placid as usually portrayed for benefit of the general public on both sides of the Atlantic. Nicholas Wapshott's dual biography, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage, offers a more realistic look at the personal relationship that helped change the course of world history by so directly contributing to the end of the Cold War.
   
   Reagan and Thatcher, whose terms in office overlapped by the eight years of Reagan's presidency, first met in 1975 at the suggestion of a friend of Reagan's who believed that the two would be natural political allies. At the time of their meeting, Thatcher had just been elected Conservative leader and Reagan had just finished his second term as governor of California and was being pressed by some for a run at the presidency. On that eventful day, the pair found their political views to be almost identical and they forged an alliance, both personal and political, that would remain strong and productive throughout Reagan's entire term as President of the United States.
   
   Margaret Thatcher saw Ronald Reagan as an inspirational figure but Reagan's tremendous respect for her political skills, and his willingness to listen to her and to take her advice on a regular basis, placed Thatcher in the unusual position of being almost an unofficial member of the Reagan Cabinet. As a result, Thatcher influenced American international policy like no world leader other than Winston Churchill had ever done before her. She was not afraid to make demands of Reagan and she found him a willing listener who could often be moved in the political direction that she preferred as British Prime Minister.
   
   That is not to say that Ronald Reagan always gave in to Margaret Thatcher's arguments, but she knew that she could always count on Reagan to give her point-of-view a fair hearing. Together, the two leaders hastened the demise of the Soviet Union by keeping the "heat" on its leadership and by engaging their two economies in a spending war for military weapons that the Soviets could not long sustain.
   
   On the surface, the two seem to have had little in common. Thatcher's formative years as a shopkeeper's daughter, with a religious father who seldom allowed alcohol in his home, was very different from the childhood endured by Reagan, son of an alcoholic father who could barely afford food and shelter for his family at times. But remarkably Thatcher and Reagan ended up with the same strong beliefs that nothing was more important than family and religious faith. Both believed in hard work and developed a true appreciation for those who made their living in "trade," producing a strong belief in each of them that everyone deserves respect and fair treatment regardless of social class or financial worth, lessons that served each of them well in their political careers.
   
   Nicholas Wapshott's use of the treasure trove of hundreds of recently declassified letters, notes, transcripts of telephone conversations and recollections of many who witnessed the relationship as insiders has resulted in an effective political history of the eighties and the kind of dual biography that political junkies everywhere will enjoy. Taken alone, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher would have likely been recognized as remarkable politicians, but taken together as a unified team with common goals they enjoyed the kind of success that the pairing of George W. Bush and Tony Blair could only dream about. What they accomplished by joining forces was astounding.



2. This dual biography details the remarkably parallel lives of two of the late 20th Century's most influential world leaders. Both were raised "above the store" as children of merchants, though Thatcher's father owned the store, whereas Reagan's hard-luck father never did. Both were insurgents and change-agents in traditional, staid political parties. Both were freedom-promoting anti-totalitarians deeply committed to breaking the legacy of Yalta and, in Reagan's words, "transcending" Communism. Both enhanced their reputations for firmness by staring down powerful unions -- PATCO in the U.S.; the National Union of Mineworkers in the U.K. Both furthered national restoration, in part, through controversial, but ultimately successful military expeditions.
   
   Making use of newly released correspondence, diaries and phone transcripts, journalist Nicholas Wapshott mines the depths of the Thatcher-Reagan political partnership. Like any marriage, they did not always agree. And at times, the disagreements were quite contentious. For example, the iron-willed Thatcher is seen upbraiding Reagan in strong terms over U.S. resistance to her Falklands action; Reagan's decision not to consult Thatcher before launching the Grenada invasion, and U.S.-led restrictions on Western companies supporting the Soviet Siberian gas pipeline. Reagan's zero-option nuclear gambit at Reykjavik also drew a stern post-mortem rebuke from Thatcher. Reagan is seen parrying these hot critiques with charm and diplomacy.
   
   Reagan and Thatcher, of course, came to dissimilar ends. Reagan quietly disappeared from public life (even before the onset of Alzheimer's), while Thatcher, felled in an intra-party coup, remained an outspoken, if somewhat embittered commentator on world events.
   
   Wapshott's book is not an authoritative biography, but it does provide revealing insights into the most intimate and successful trans-Atlantic political partnership since Roosevelt and Churchill.



3. Nicholas Wapshott gives us a dual biography of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and what he calls their `political marriage' during the 1980s when they were the hugely popular leaders of the United States and Great Britain. He shows us their childhood and the unlikely careers that finally lead to the White House and #10 Downing Street. It is interesting to remember that Thatcher's period as Prime Minister began before and ended after Reagan's Presidency. However, Reagan seemed to leave office with greater comfort than Thatcher did. Of course, Reagan was term limited while Thatcher ended up being undermined by her party as well as the accumulation of political missteps.
   
   Wapshott presents their careers and lives in a largely positive light, but does not shy away from criticism. Nor does he favor either Reagan or Thatcher. He shows the strengths of each as well as their blind spots. What the book excels at is showing their friendship and its being stronger than their sometimes vehement disagreements. These periods of confrontation are fascinating. The book bills itself as featuring previously unpublished correspondence, and it delivers these very interesting letters, but there are not as many of them as I had expected. This doesn't detract from the book in any way, but I just thought you should know that this isn't primarily a book of correspondence between the two world leaders.
   
   Were Thatcher and Reagan as important a global leadership team as Churchill and FDR? Maybe not quite, but their partnership during a critical period of the Cold War certainly helped it become a period LATE in the Cold War. Wapshott is not so sure that they caused the fall of the Soviet Union as much as they were in office when the USSR ran out of gas. While I am not a scholar of the period, I lived through most of the Cold War and followed it closely. I have no doubt that Reagan and Thatcher led the West and made things sufficiently more difficult for the Soviet leaders that they did contribute to its demise. And I am delighted each day that they did. You can't point to the way the West has muffed the post Cold War relationship with Russia to judge it any more than you can say that the Cold War makes our victory in WWII less victorious.
   
   A solid, concise, and interesting telling of these two lives on the world stage.
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI



4. If there was anyone who truly bestrode the 1980s like colossi, it was Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. While they acted upon the world stage, the other nations were forced to deal with them - were forced to react, while they acted. Together they reinvigorated their nations, challenged and defeated the Soviet Empire, and reshaped the modern world in ways that are still being felt some twenty years after their passing from power.
   
   In this fascinating book, author and journalist Nicholas Wapshott, draws on interviews and hundreds of personal correspondences to give a full view of their relationship. Theirs was not the simple, distant relationship enjoyed by most national leaders, instead their relationship was more like a marriage. They shared deeply-held values, they talked out and often fought over policies, and proved impervious to any attempts to set them against each other.
   
   I must admit that I really loved this book. I came of age (politically) during the Carter malaise, and remember the Reagan era with great affection. Plus, what Conservative does not fondly remember Britain's Iron Lady? This book does an excellent job of giving the reader an inside view of the relationship between Reagan and Thatcher, and really explaining what happened between them and what it meant for the rest of the world.
   
   I think that this book does a great job of giving the reader an insider's view of the 1980s, informing and explaining. This is one of the best books I have read in a while - and I read many good books - and I do not hesitate to give it my highest recommendations! Buy this book!

1 comments about Casting Her Own Shadow.

1. Negotiating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through the United Nations was not the only post-FDR contribution of Eleanor Roosevelt. This extraordinary woman was a powerful force within the Democratic Party and America until the day she died and left a legacy in her own right on issues of civil rights and civil liberties that finds voice even today.

   Black's book focuses on Roosevelt's post-White House years and brings ER's domestic front activities and contributions to light--showing the long-term and deep nature of Eleanor Roosevelt's convictions. The book traces ER's growth in understanding of issues and underscores the courage it took to live her life in the forefront of debate and controversy.

   This book should be read by anyone interested in Eleanor Roosevelt for the insight it brings and the truly interesting stories it tells. I particularly found the chapter on ER's relationship with John F. Kennedy fascinating and learned that ER withheld her support for his candidacy until he promised her action on civil rights. Ever the consumate tactition, she even rearranged the chairs at the famous meeting between them at Val Kil so she would be sitting higher than him.

   "Casting" is pain-stakingly researched and well documented. Allida Black's interpretation of ER is founded on years of work with Roosevelt's papers and other sources.

2 comments about Testimonios: Early California through the Eyes of Women, 18151848.

1. I wrote this review specifically for a collection of newspapers published in the Salinas Valley, but I think
   it's more broadly understandable. Hope you do.
   
   
   California: Land of Immigrants who Quickly Become Incumbents
   
   Testimonios is an interpreted collection of interviews with thirteen women, primarily Spaniards, who spoke with researchers employed by Hubert Howe Bancroft as he prepared to write his seven-volume History of California. These women were most often second-generation Californios - the daughters of families who came with the expeditions lead by Portola or Anza. Several of the women are from the greater Salinas Valley area and one, Maria Antonia Rodriguez Soberanes, is an ancestor in what my family calls "the Soledad Soberaneses." Maria is great-great-great grandmother to Paul Binsacca, Craig Bianchi, Dana Bianchi, Nicola Bianchi, Kathryn Bianchi, Mary Tadman, Sarah Sarmento, Steven Terry, Jana Martinez, Kerry King, and me. I am sure there are many other Salinas Valley residents who can trace their lineage to her as well.
   
   And so what might we learn from my 3-great grandmother? One of twelve children, she bore fourteen children. Born in 1795, she married Feliciano Soberanes in 1810 and she died in 1883. In 1818, while living in Monterey, Maria remembers the appearance of a pirate ship. Women and children were dispatched to ranchos away from Monterey and the pirate Bouchard burned and sacked the city. By order of the Spanish governor of Alta California, munitions at Monterey's Presidio were destroyed rather than given over to Bouchard. At least for one cold, long night, Maria slept beneath a wagon with very little to keep her warm.
   
   Maria's recollection of the early economy of the Salinas Valley is fascinating. Tidelands with lagoons of salt water were claimed by the Spanish crown and soldiers protected the salt when it dehydrated and began to set. This salt was taken in sacks to the royal treasury in Monterey and then sold to Spaniards for use on their ranchos. These cattle ranches needed salt licks for the animals and salt to cure the meat. Thus, the Spanish government was able to tax the cattle industry, with salt being the currency of the day. The city of Salinas and the Salinas Valley take their name from the Spanish term for salt.
   
   Perhaps the most thought-provoking information shared by Maria, which is amplified by other women's testimonios, is a unique perspective on what I will call immigrants and incumbents. Feliciano and Maria are first-generation Californios and their parents arrived in our Salinas Valley in 1769 when the incumbents were Native American peoples. Within two generations, the Spaniards displaced the incumbents, cast off their status as immigrants, and populated large tracts of the valley. When Mexico pushed Spain out of its country, a Mexican army marched through Alta California to take the reins. No sooner than that political transition ended, Col. Fremont and the Americans arrived to drive Mexican rule south to our current border. Maria saw all four of these phases. She saw the Mexicans begin to secularize the California Missions to reduce the authority of the Catholic Church, and she watched the large ranchos held by the Spaniards given over to American settlers. King City and Soledad were once part of a Soberanes family land grant, for example.
   
   About the American phase Maria said, stoically, "It is a law of nature that the poor shall steal from the rich. We Californians in 1846 owned every inch of soil in this country and our conquerors took away from us the greater part. The same thing has happened, I suppose, over and over again in any conquered nation..." These are certainly the words of an incumbent, not an immigrant.
   
   California does seem to have a propensity to create incumbents just in time for the next wave of immigrants. And it's not always about ethnicity. John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath captures the collision of American immigrants from the Dust Bowl with California incumbents. Maria may well be on the right track - migration trends are about the redistribution of wealth and the motives and actions that are driven by poverty.
   
   I commend the editors Beebe and Senkewicz for providing enough context for readers who are not California historians. And, the editors include material about the interviewers and the information-gathering process, which makes the book interesting at another level. The 470 page book is a treasure chest for anyone interested in California history in general and activities in the Salinas Valley in particular.



2. A great collection of newly translated transcriptions from a generation of women who witnessed dramatic events in California's history. Included is a several page narrative of my great, great, great, great, grandmother, Juana Machado.

5 comments about Fearless Women: Midlife Portraits.

1. After looking at three of the photographs and reading the first page of the introduction, I immediately purchased three copies of this book - one for myself, and one for each of my sisters. Now halfway through looking at these amazing women and reading their inspiriational stories, I am empowered and inspired. Life is long, and the middle of it is fabulous! My first book was published when I was 53 and my next one is due out when, God willing, I will be 57. So take heart all you "women of an age." The best is yet to come, as the authors of this book and the women in its pages will show you. You, too, can join this company in making this the most delightful time of your life! Give this book to every "Boomer Babe" you know.



2. This book contains photographs of some of the women I admire most. Unfortunately, the women are posed holding a large sword as a prop to indicate their fearlessness.
   
   I suppose that this was the feature that "sold" the book idea, but I would much prefer portraits of my heroines without the sword. The sword is a symbol of much more than fearlessness, and detracts from the book. It makes the book corny.
   
   My husband bought it for me for mother's day last year; I'd guess from an amazon recommendation -- but it was a most disappointing gift -- one that I would never leave out for others to view. This wouldn't be true if the swords weren't in every photo.



3. This review comes from a post I made on 21 July 2005 on an actors' forum, in honor of one of the amazing, fearless women profiled in the book.
   
   I have a story to share.
   
   Yesterday, my husband came home with a stack of mail from our post office box. As usual, the stack was pretty thick and was mainly headshot submissions, postcards from actors, invitations to shows, and a few bills. :\ At the bottom of the stack, however, there was a very thick express mail package. Heavy. Large. I know that Keith had to wait in a line to pick it up, as the post office would have put a yellow slip into our box so that we'd know we had something waiting.
   
   Filled with curiousity, I began opening the package. Inside the first envelope, there was a second. Inside the second, there was a third. My excitement was building. "What *is* this?!?" Couldn't wait to find out!
   
   Imagine my delight when I saw the gorgeous photograph on the cover of this book, immediately alerting me to the fact that the amazing Pamela Jansen had sent me a copy of "Fearless Women: Midlife Portraits" by Nancy Alspaugh and Marilyn Kentz, with photos by Mary Ann Halpin.
   
   First, the book is simply gorgeous. These women are, in fact, fearless and their portraits are breathtaking, their stories inspiring, and their courage outstanding. But what touched me the most is the letter Pamela wrote. I won't share it here, as it was personal and beautiful, but I have to let you know... I cried.
   
   I read the letter, I turned to Pamela's chapter, I read the inscription, and I cried some more.
   
   Keith said to me, "I want you to keep that letter out. Anytime you need to be reminded of the beauty that is GRACE, you read that letter and continue on."
   
   Pamela, after reading the letter again and placing it into the book for safekeeping, I pulled out your headshot, held it up, and said, "I WILL find a way to cast you someday."
   
   And that is for sure. It is probably the only gift I could give back to you, for having shared so beautifully with the WORLD by being profiled in this wonderful book. I am humbled and honored that you sent this book to me. I am forever on your side and will be sure that others know what a gift LIFE is, as evidenced by your amazing story.
   
   Everyone... GET your hands on this book. You will be blown away, inspired, delighted, and motivated to live your dreams like only you can.
   
   I hope you don't mind the plug, Pamela. I just had to share my thoughts. Much love,
   -Bon.



4. Babyboomers are not the only ones who will identify with the stories of the famous and "not-as-famous" FEARLESS WOMEN in this book. Included along with short bios of fifty incredible women are beautifully done black and white photos showing them in their "hayday" as well as now. Not just a coffee table book, but one which gives interesting stories of accomplished, humanitarian, courageous people. This is an inspiring book which leaves the reader wanting to know more about these "fearless women."



5. I purchased this book, along with several other photo essay type books. As an avid photographer, I like collecting the work of others. This book was easily the best of the bunch - it will not disappoint. The photography is captivating, and extremely well printed on quality paper stock (a rarity in these days of cheap self published books). The accompanying text is inspiring and motivational. I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Ithaka: A Daughter's Memoir of Being Found.

1. What I don't understand about this book is how it and the Amazon reviewers of it can be so brainwashed by the adoption industry that they do not respect Sarah Saffian's natural parents as being such. The demeaning word "birth mother" is used not only throughout Sarah's book but also in reviews of it. In addition, Sarah seems to refuse to acknowledge her parents as what they really are: her parents. Sarah's lack of thinking for herself and her inability to understand and respect natural family relationships is sad indeed. May she one day take a few steps away from denial and from the adoption industry, which she obviously supports, and realize how terrible mother and child separation is. I'd like to read the book that she writes after she wakes up from her adoption fantasy.



2. Recently, I was reunited with my daughter whom I gave up to adoption 34 years ago. I was unprepared for what this reunion would do to my life and the roller-coaster emotions that came to the forefront of our "relationship". After our "honeymoon" phase ended after much emotional and verbal conflict (and all contact between us ceased), I began to reach out for help. Many of the "other" Mom's suggested this book.
   Though my daughter and I have not renewed our relationship, this book, more than any other (so far) has helped me understand somewhat of what she was/is going through emotionally. Factors I had not considered that Saffian points out have helped me cope with this "silence".
   It is not a perfect book. There are questions that remain: why did it take Saffian so long to have a face-face meeting; did the reunion last (are they still reunited); etc.
   Though I am unlike Sarah's "other" parents, the book is helpful in that it also shows what they are going through (via personal letters and phone calls) and glimpses into her parents' feelings as well.
   All in all, a good read that will help all in the adoption triad struggling the initial phases of contact. I wish I had known of the book sooner.



3. The story of Sarah Saffian (born Sarah Morgan but given up for adoption) is a story of promise but one that quickly drizzles down into one long whine. Imagine the luck of finding that the parents who had to give you up stuck together against all odds (parents' wishes, lack of money), eventually married, and produced three siblings for you! How often does such a thing even happen???? Is our didactic, deliberating, depressed daughter delighted by her parents' phone call at age 23? No, indeed, and the reader must, it seems, be dragged through all her misery, too. Her parents are alive, healthy,in their mid-40's, married, employed, financially stabled, and educated. They adore their children and are totally welcoming to the daughter that they had to give up in 1969, dark pre-legal-abortion days. Does she accept, jump on the bus and go? Oh, no!
   
   Assuming that a reader can stomach a full-novel-length's whining, one has to say, that if it were written in a more engaging style, for example, with more information about her real life, her adopted parents, her schooling, her half-siblings, and general world view, then we could have a better sense of her. WE might even sympathize with her great ambivalence about meeting the real parents, Hannah and Adam. But this reader, for one, cannot get a grip on who Sarah really is. She's a Brown University kid, grew up in a brownstone in NYC, has plenty of money, works in publishing and writes for a living, has had one abortion at age 21, likes to look out at the snow from her apartment window. That's all I could gather. Does she have any real interests, hobbies, all-consuming passions? Does she have problems or conflicts at work? Does she like to cook, or what does she eat, just bagels and coffee? Does she like movies? What kind of books is she reading? Does she hang out somewhere, like bookstores, libraries, cafes, parties? Her birthparents, especially her father Adam, tries to get her to open up and tell about her life, her problems, her views. She is unresponsive to him as she is to the reader.
   
   The abortion, did you say? Oh yes, there's a fellow...her boyfriend Chris seems completely peripheral, likes to go to junkshops with her. Gee whiz! Perhaps he's too poor for her to marry him - just like her mother Hannah's problem back at age 21 when Adam, a non-Jew, a dropout, and unemployed fellow, didn't suit her future plans. Otherwise, what's wrong with him, why she is just drifting along with him, well, readers must guess.
   
   This poor woman wrote a novel of herself, her disaffected, detached, and depressed view of reality. What she really wants or will ever achieve in her life is hard to say. I'll admit it's possible that the knowledge of being adopted sapped her of any life force from a very young age, from having no mother-love, as she says.
   
   This woman needs desperately to open up to others, to see their pain and problems. She's even been to see a psychiatrist already, but it didn't help. The reader feels like bashing the book on the woman's head and shouting, "For God's sakes,woman, wake up! You are alive, young, healthy, rich, and you have two sets of parents! GEt a MOVE on!"
   
   I am not adopted but was well acquainted with a fellow my age (now mid-40's) who tried to find his birth parents in his 30's. He went through heck and high water, only to find that the father was long dead, a disreputable man who'd been married at the time of conceiving my friend, therefore could not marry his mother. The mother was dead only six months, and had died a miserable woman - alcoholic, diabetic and sickly. She'd married later in life, had a couple of kids, and these half-siblings took one look at my friend and essentially said, "Scram, man". She came from Irish immigrants in Oakland, California, and was forced through the Irish Catholic adoption service nuns to give up the baby, although her father had tried to see about keeping the child somehow and even raising it himself. AMongst Catholics in the late 1950's, that was inconceivable, and "it would ruin her chance to marry". Sure enough, she found someone,but was sad her whole life, or so he was told.
   
   He is STILL Raging about her, against her, with no conception what the Catholic Chuch was like in those years, especially in regard to women. I caught the tale end of it myself, having Irish immigrant parents, and tried to tell how his mother must have felt. He could look in the mirror and see how Irish he looked. He did not know his heritage or faith, adopted by agnostics/Anglicans in Walnut Creek, given a priviledged suburban life, but in the end, drank and smoked himself into poverty, ill health and unemployment. I have cut the friendship because of his terrible attitude towards his dead birthmother and towards almost all women as a result. YOu can't talk to him.
   
   I only bring up this side issue of a similar case to show that this woman has nothing to weep about, and indeed, has the insight to realize that the abortion she had at 21 was exactly the same choice,given the circumstances, that her own birthparents made when they were 21: not able to be parents yet.
   
   And will she ever be? I wonder? She would now be in late 30's. Poor little rich girl, I hope she turns out okay and doesn't fall into drink, smoking and drugs....



4. While I imagine this book might be extremely useful to a member of the adoption triad who is looking for insight or validation, it's not for the general reader unless used as a sleep aid. As a general reader, I wouldn't recommend it.
   
   Other reviewers have criticized the author's seemingly selfish reaction to her birthparents reaching out to her; I have to give her credit for honesty about reactions that don't show her in the best light. But to be frank, her personal journey just isn't interesting enough to sustain the average reader for more than a few chapters. While she plumbs her feelings endlessly and repetitiously, going so far as to enter therapy, she seems to be lacking the self-awareness to make it a worthwhile read. There's a lot of drama-queen there, but not much personality.
   
   A far better book by adoptees is "Identical Strangers" by Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein published this year. Perhaps I'd be more sympathetic to Sarah Saffian if I weren't comparing her voice to those of Bernstein and Shein, two eloquent writers who went through far more, and yet write about their experiences beautifully and without a drop of self-pity.



5. As an adoptee who searched for and renunited with my birth family, with resulting wonderful relationships, in my teens some 17 years ago, I found Ithaka, although interesting hard to relate to. Although I can understand her ambivalent feelings at times and can sympathize with feeling discombobulated at being found, her underlying current of hostility and extreme negativity towards her birthparents I find a bit disturbing. Personally I have found that a large helping of compassion, understanding, maturity and grace go a long way in dealing with one's family members either birth or adopted. Additionally, I found the cultural contrasts between Ithaka with other Adoptee Memoirs such as "A Wealth of Family" by Thomas Brooks and "A Daughter of the Ganges" by Asha Miro who come from cultures where Family whether Birth or Adopted the cultural norm is it is not a question if one shall accept one's blood relatives, people just do as it is culturally expected, to be quite fascinating and enlightening.

No comments about Means of Transit: A Slightly Embellished Memoir.

2 comments about Meetings with Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America.

1. Kudos to Lenore Friedman for recognizing the birth of Buddhism among American women twenty years ago - and for keeping us up to date in this revision. She introduced us to Toni Packer, to Pema Chodron, to Joko Beck. This book is an important contribution for women (for all) spritual seekers. With her meticulous insights and her obvious devotion to the material, one imagines that meeting Ms. Friedman would be remarkable, too.



2. This is a biographical book on American Women Buddhist teachers: 10 have individual chapters (with photos); 7 share 3 chapters; & quite a few have short vignettes in the Epilogue including many Zen, a fair number of Theravada, & some Vajrayana bios. The larger bios often include interviews with students. Some of the teachers are well known & included in books by Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Martine Batchelor, Sandy Boucher, Ellen Sidor, & Thubten Chodron (e.g. Ayya Khema, Jiyu Kennet, Ann Klein, Maurine Freedgood Stuart, Ruth Denison, Tsering Everest, Jacqueline Mandell, Gesshin Prabhasa Dharma, Pema & Thubten Chödron). This book includes significant teachings: a learning experience for both readers & its psychotherapist author, who has a great talent in biography.
   
   Her main thesis is ADAPTATION: p. 24: "As Buddhism moved from country to country, its methods & character changed considerably...the most skillful views in one culture are not necessarily the most skillful means in another. As time went on, each country developed a distinctive form of Buddhism with its own flavor & particularities." Her Introduction seems feminist, but p. 26: "Most of the women teachers described in this book do not technically consider themselves feminists," pp. 89-90: Maurine Stuart says "One of the frightening things I see sometimes is that people are destroying differences. What a pity. To reduce everything to a sameness in the cause of equality is foolish. Exploring our diversity, our differences together, we go beyond our differences & come to understand & show concern for one another. We go beyond our differences to our deepest level of communication, which is not merely communication, but communion," (but also p. 91: Maurine Stuart-"Those texts which say it's so difficult for a woman to become enlightened, well that was some man who wrote that!") & p. 303: "She [Jacqueline Mandell] made it clear that she didn't believe men repress women or that a system represses anyone. `Everyone is doing it together,' she said. And all aspects of conditioning have to be looked at."
   
   The interviews well support her sub-thesis that American Women Buddhist teachers are active in ADAPTING BUDDHISM TO THE WEST: pp. 97-8: "Maurine's particular genius seems to lie in creating a setting, a medium in which practice flourishes, hearts open, & differences among people become spices, not thorns. It is safe to be whatever one is-crazy, strong, critical, confused. There is room for everything." Ruth Denison:--"When there is strong awareness, one can be creative. A new approach is no problem." p. 280-2: To make the Dharma accessible to more people, Gesshin Prabhasa Dharma introduced family retreats, variable intensities of practice, "bicycle sesshin," etc. Gesshin also introduced these students to "laughing Zen."
   
   More specifically, she addresses THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGY for Western Buddhists:
   p. 146: Elizabeth Hamilton-"In all the approximately 1,700 traditional koans, there are almost none dealing with emotions or self-centered & inaccurate thinking-the things that are running the lives of most of us (including some so-called advanced Zen practitioners, myself included)." p. 154: "Sitting in the traditional way is not enough for dealing with neuroses, trips & daydreams, she [Ruth Denison] believes." p. 294: "Yvonne [Rand] wants to know `How do those of us in teaching positions get others to shed light on our shadow side so that we ourselves can see it?' She's been encouraging students to do this recently, but that's not enough, she feels. It needs to be done with peers as well." p. 349: "Lama Palden is also a trained psychotherapist & believes strongly that for spiritual practice to thrive, psychological issues often need addressing. Instead of `just striving' against all odds toward an elusive goal (so common in other spiritual settings), she encourages students to work with themselves on all levels: spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, & physically." But, pp. 318-9: quoting Leigh Brasington, "She [Ayya Khema] wasn't the least bit interested in our psychological processes...She was tired of our [U.S.] preoccupation with our own psychological processes." See books by Jeffrey Rubin, John Suler, etc.
   
   SOCIAL CONTEXTS/ACTIVISM & CULTURAL DIFFERENCES esp. for Western Buddhist teachers: p. 127: Charlotte Joko Beck-"People like to project their power onto someone else...bowing down to another human being as though he or she were vastly superior is bad for people. I'm trying to take the teacher out of the superman role. The teacher is a guide not some magical or heroic figure." p. 342: "Her [Maylie Scott] profound integration of spiritual practice & social change work has been an inspiration to many...she's taught meditation...in jails & prisons...& plans to do post-release work." p. 352: "Maylie Scott told me that `social engagement is now usually regarded as an aspect of practice. Some of us feel it is the most important practice edge: how do you express what you have learned on the cushion? There is internal practice & external practice. The Dalai Lama said you need both."
   
   And there are quite a few beautiful, enlightening, inspiring, PROFOUND MESSAGES, such as:
   p. 97: Maurine Stuart-"Summer has come & the birds sing all by themselves." p. 186: Jiyu Kennett Roshi-"Everyone possesses Buddha nature (or, as the Christians call it, the soul). It is only hidden from our view because of our opinions of ourselves." p. 315: Ayya Khema-"The holy life cannot work without joy. It's as if it were the yeast in bread. Without joy the holy life cannot rise to its full height."
   
   There do seem to be a few FLIES IN THE OINTMENT, however. The author seems well versed in Zen & reasonably in Theravada (which she refers to as vipassana), but not with Vajrayana (stating regret on not including more Vajrayana teachers). Vipassana could be construed as Southern Buddhism since it's in Pali, but its Sanskrit equivalent, Vipashyana, is also part of Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana also includes Japanese Shingon). She seems to equate vipassana with mindfulness meditation which differs from Tibetan practice/terminology. Most authors use "Theravada" to signify the Buddhism of Burma/Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc. though Theravada is only one school of several in the Pali tradition. I'd prefer Southern Buddhism or, perhaps, Pali Buddhism-since Mahayana & Vajrayana Buddhists usually use Sanskrit terms. More importantly (regarding her theses), adaptation requires informed judgment of what is to be kept, deleted, or changed. An extreme approach such as pp. 353-4: Wendy Egyoku Nakao, abbot at the Zen Center of L. A.-"People say, `Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.' And I say, `What's the baby? What's the bath water?' Throw it all out & let's see what arises from the vast unknowing'" would probably not be accepted by most of the interviewees. In the spirit of Western freedom & the free market, teachers individually determine what to teach & how & practitioners vote with their feet-which itself is a major factor in the adaptation of Buddhism to the West. It is regrettable that some of the finest teachers in this book are now deceased.

5 comments about Dorothy Day: A Radical Devotion (Radcliffe Biography Series).

1. Robert Coles' friendship with Dorothy Day began in 1952 and continued through almost three decades until her death in 1980. Coles kept notes on his many converstations with Day, and in this book shares with his readers his intimate knowledge of this extraordinary woman. He quotes extensively from these converstations in which Day spoke simply and openly about all sorts of issues, and Coles says that he writes "in the hope of giving readers the benefit of her distinct, compelling point of view." In keeping with this, the organization of his book is topical rather than chronological, although the first chapter does provide a brief overview of the events of Dorothy Day's life.

   The remaining chapters center about the issues that were important to Dorothy Day: her conversion to Catholicism, her relationship to the Church, politics, her daily life in Catholic Worker houses, and more.

   What is special about Coles' work is that the reader comes to experience Day, as she revealed herself to her friend. We encounter her in all her complexity and even contradictions, and above all, in her stunning fidelity to her ideals and beliefs.




2. Biographers frequently become lost in minutiae.

   Dorothy Day poses a particular challenge to the discriminating writer, because of the sheer volume of material about her life, including an autobiography, an autobiographical novel, a huge mass of journalism, biographies, and the writings of a number of her contemporaries. Given such a prolific writer, the reader might expect with dread to encounter 900 pages of occupations of great-grandparents, musings in correspondence, and constant press quotes--the fodder of the "I've got a book deal and I'm gonna put out a tome" kind of bio writing that we see all too often.

   Coles' book is a breath of fresh air. In a hundred and a half pages he gives us an overview of her life and ideas, framed by excerpts from his own interviews with Ms. Day in her later years. Coles' editorial voice is always present, but generally open-minded. This is not a literary biography, evaluating the merit of Ms. Day's writings, nor a social biography, intending to give us all the inner workings of the Catholic worker movement. Instead, this is a meditation on the inspirations and contradictions inherent in this very rich life, told as often as possible from Mr. Coles' impression of Ms. Day's own take on her life-as-lived.

   I read this in an evening and a day, and found it inspiring, satisfying, and altogether well written. Sometimes I wished Mr. Coles had put a little less of his first person impressions into his reportage of interviews with Ms. Day,but other times I wanted more of Mr. Coles' touchstone analysis of what Ms. Day was saying.

   A reasonable critique of this book is that one could read it and still fall well short of understanding Ms. Day's thoughts or the details of her life. The somewhat sunny tone may be perceived as uncritical. For me, though, this was a great bio--get in, get the job done, get out, leave an image as clear as a descriptive poem. This is a good read--I highly recommend.




3. "Dorothy Day: A Radical Devotion" was a good book because it showed Dorothy's imperfections and her good points. Some authors only tell about the good points of people's lives, but this book shows that Dorothy Day wasn't perfect. She made mistakes in her life. I learned a lot of interesting facts that I never knew about Dorothy Day. This book shows how Dorothy was devoted to helping the homeless. She established thirty three homeless houses across the whole country. She was brave when she left her husband to convert to Catholicism. Her husband didn't approve of God. Her daughter was baptized. My favorite part of the whole book is when the homeless man comes into the hospitality house and he has a gun with him. He threatens to shoot the gun. Instead of calling the cops, Dorothy goes over to the man and introduces herself. This shows how brave and courageous Dorothy is. The man then talks to her. All he wanted was for someone to appreciate him and someone to talk to him. He visited her often. Dorothy was there for him. This book gave me hope because it shows that an immoral person such as Dorothy Day turned into a woman who had great morals. She went from having an abortion to establishing hospitality houses. If a person knows someone who has no morals, they shouldn't give up on them because if they have enough faith in God, they can turn themselves around like Dorothy Day turned herself around. Having faith in God can help a person through anything. We all make mistakes in our lives and do things we shouldn't but we have to learn by these mistakes and try to better ourselves. Also, like Dorothy we have to do what makes us happy and not listen to other people. She lost her husband and gave up a lot of material things, but this is what made her happy and she helped a lot of people.



4. Robert Coles tells Dorothy Day's tales in such a way that readers get a balance between autobiographical reflection and biographical bias. Coles' biography of his friend includes many long quotes from Day herself, adding a sense of truth. Through these quotes, Day reflects on various aspects of her long career in writing, her conversion to Catholicism, and her continued activism. Readers get an idea of what Day wanted other people to know about her life. Her words seem truthful and extremely reflective - it seems she has nothing to hide about her very interesting life journey. As far as the self-reflecting aspect of the biography, it is definitely a book to take a look at if you want a candid view of Dorothy Day.
   
   However insightful Day's reflections were, Coles' interjections in her quotes and his descriptions of certain events were sometimes too biased. He essentially praised Day throughout the book (rightly so, if you were giving a speech honoring her), instead of giving readers a more clear-cut look at her life. I am not trying to say that the praise is not well deserved or well written, but for a biography I would have liked a bit more of factual information inserted among Day's quotes. I suppose this style of writing is to be expected, because he saw Day as



5. This is a good book, but it's in an interview format, with extensive quotes from Day. That's great, but I was hoping for more of a critical and intellectual analysis of her body of work, and of the development of her thought.