5 comments about The Friendship of Women: The Hidden Tradition of the Bible.

1. In a day and age where individualism and self-sufficiency is prided as characteristics of success and power, a voice that reminds us of the true role and import of friendship needs to be heard - and Joan Chittister offers one such voice. Using women biblical figures as a springboard and chapter mastheads, Chittister develops a short reflection on what the true meaning of friendship is and how is should be cultivated today.
   
   From a refreshingly feminine perspective, Chittister approaches the topic of true friendship from the projected experience of the women for whom each chapter is named. While in no way a scholarly or academic work (most observed in the lack of authoritative scripture references, scholarly endnotes/footnotes or exegetical analysis of implicit scriptural references - although she does list the biblical passages at the end of the book where each woman could be found mentioned in scripture), this book is a wonderful meditative tool for one's own reflection on friendship.
   
   In the spirit of full-disclosure, I should note that I am a male in religious life (in contrast to the author, a female in religious life, and the audience which appears to be primarily women). This perhaps limits my ability to fully appreciate the impact this work has on a female reader. I can attest to the fact that two very close women friends have read and recommended this book to me and they have found great solace and inspiration from it. I enjoyed it very much and it has allowed me to reflect on both friendship and women in the Bible in new ways.



2. This small book is packed with information about the women in the Bible and how each personifies as aspect of friendship. There is a chapter on Ruth, a chapter on Anne, and some women that have received very little attention. There are interesting thoughts about each of them and how they represent different aspects of friendship. I am enjoying it so much that I only allow myself a chapter at a time to read and ponder. I think this will be the book I give to women friends this year. This is a keeper.



3. You may know about the women in the Bible that are written about, but the author brings you up to date with your own personal life...also a good discussion for small groups or a friend...another Chittister winner.



4. I gave a copy of this book to everyone in a group of women friends I have when we all went away for a weekend. We had fun reading about the friendship of the women of the Bible and why they are important in todays context, however we all wish that each story was much longer, more indepth and more detailed. Nice read for a weekend.



5. I have enjoyed every one of Joan Chittister's books that I have read. However this one truly spoke to my heart. I have only recently realized how important community is in my spiritual life. This books explains what I could never put into words myself regarding the special friendships of women. I have given it as gifts to five of my very special friends.

5 comments about Bess of Hardwick: Empire Builder.

1. My first experience with Bess of Hardwick was through a historical romance novel several years ago. After some research online, I discovered so much more about her. I find her to be an extraordinary woman who lived in difficult times. I felt that Mary Lovell captured her perfectly. There was so much more information that I had never read before. I would recommend this biography to anyone who enjoys reading about life in the Tudor era.



2. I love history and this was a great book. My friends want to read it as well and they are not history lovers. So it is a great read.



3. Bess of Hardwick was born the daughter of a gentlemen squire, that is, a sort of farmer with a few servents, but an ancestry that allowed him (and his wife) to be part of the "gentry" in the age of King Henry VIII. She was able to become, by the time of her death at the (then) remarkable age of 80 the second most powerful and richest woman in England, after her friend Queen Elizabeth I. She had been able to marry off her children and step children very well,into the most powerful names of Tudor aristocracy and the author shows how many aristocratic houses of England are directly descended from this woman, including the Dukes of Devonshire.
   Bess began the building of the fabulous home "Chatsworth" which is still a showpiece, though re-done over time. (See the biography of "Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire for more on Chatsworth).
   Bess was the grandmother of the Princess Arbella, who could have just as well been the next Queen of England after Elizabeth I: Arbella had the exact same blood lines as her cousin James I, but her life, plotted and planned by her grandmother who had raised her with Queenship in mind, ended tragically).
   Bess was a formidable yet at times kindly woman, as the author says, a type of CEO in the Tudor world.
   It was a fascinating biography and a great glimpse in the Tudor/ Elzabethan world. (Having read so much about Henry VIII, Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, etc, it is interesting to read about a non royal person, for other insights into that world.) Very well and clearly written. Highly recommended.



4. To be honest, I was hoping for (and thought I ordered) a work of good historical fiction, such as "The Tower and the Dream," a book about Bess that I couldn't put down. This book is a biography and I don't find the author particularly interesting to read. Her style of writing tends to be dull and unimaginative, which is a shame because the story of Bess of Hardwick is quite a fascinating one. In my opinion, the one word that sums up this work is "dry."
   
   If you are looking for details and facts about the life of Bess of Hardwick, this work will provide them. If you are looking for a good read, this just isn't it.
   
   Alexandra, Visalia, CA



5. Bess of Hardwick defied the norms of Tudor society and became the most powerful and wealthy woman in Tudor England after Queen Elizabeth I. Bess married four times, each time more successfully then the last, negotiating before the marriage to ensure she was financially stable should her husband die.
   
   She was a loving, but strict mother and grandmother, dedicated to advancing her family, through court contacts and cunning marriages. She is known for marrying well, but it is her second husband, Chatsworth, through whom she set up her dynasty. Chatsworth House is still one of the finest in England. Bess is also known as the "houser" of Mary, Queen of Scots, held in England by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth for years.
   
   This is a great story of one woman's power of personality and sheer determination in a man's world.

5 comments about In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures.

1. If you are a fan of Helen Mirren, you must buy this book.
   A very personal book that is more photos than text which allows us to know a little more about the woman behind the wonderful roles that she has played.



2. If you like Helen Mirren, you will certainly like her book. I read it in one sitting, quite a feat during Spring gardening season. She sounds as fascinating offscreen as she is to watch on screen. My neighbor liked it very much also.



3. Beautiful book - it is a must have for Helen Mirren fans -
   its like a family album of her entire life...love it!



4. This is a beautiful book. Even if you don't read through it for the interesting life of this wonderful actress, the photos are really fabulous--I had never seen most of them before. I ordered it, thinking that it was going to be a autobiography, but it is so much more.



5. This is a photo-filled memoir that is as enjoyable to look at as to read. It is quite comprehensive covering her childhood all the way to the awards season for The Queen.

5 comments about The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics).

1. In 1913, a little English girl named Elspeth relocated with her family from their native country to begin a coffee plantation in the wilds of Kenya. Similar in a way to Laura Ingall Wilder's adventurous and sentimental "take" on what was surely a very difficult experience for her family, Elspeth remembers Kenya as a wonderful place and tells us with lingering excitement of her experiences there in the short time before the First World War changed nearly everything. A delightful memoir that is a pleasure every time it's read.



2. I loved this book. It is beautifully written and is a gripping story on growing up in Africa.



3. The Flame Trees of Thika is a wonderfully written book giving the reader a glimpse of what it must have been like to grow up in Colonial Africa. It is an experience most of us will only have through reading and can only be compared to what it must have been to be one of the early settlers on the American Frontier.



4. This is by now a revered classic of a young girl's childhood in the Kenyan countryside under British rule. One reads this and instantly identifies with the colonial family. It's a kind of Swiss Family Robinson story about that magical time in Kenya and thereabouts before World War I when the world seemed to be at the feet of the British King and all globes glowed pink under the Empire. Were people ever so free and happy as the colonialists in Africa who instantly had countless servants, nearly free land, and the British fleet for protection? This is Out of Africa for the middle class, as opposed to Isak Dinesen's aristocratic take on things. Still, the going was good, as Evelyn Waugh once said. Ms Huxley is a charming writer. Required reading for lovers of things African.



5. Having watched the DVDs of The Flame Trees of Thika several times, I was delighted to see the reissue of Elspeth Huxley's book of the same title. This is a unique case of both the book and the movie being about equal. Knowing the story from the movie in no way detracts from reading the book. Huxley's devotion to the land and people of Kenya shines through her descriptions of encounters with both. A semi-biographical account, it not only gives the reader insight into the colonial thinking of the times, but accurately predicts the inevitable conflicts (for example with the Mau Mau) that would later occur. It is a description of what must have been, for Huxley, an idyllic childhood living in the shadow of Mount Kenya, with its exotic animals and her interactions with the local tribes people. A most enjoyable read, this is a cameo of a time long past.
   
   All that is now needed is a re-issue of the sequel : The Mottled Lizard.

5 comments about A Remarkable Mother.

1. I purchased this book for my 86-year-old mother for Mother's Day.
   She said she enjoyed it very much and learned more about Mrs.
   Carter than she knew.



2. Loved the book. It was an easy afternoon read. My husband and I took turns reading it to one another while sitting on the dock sipping cold beer. It is one of those days you hold in your heart. Laughed, cried and hated to see the end. Miss Lillian was some kind of woman!



3. This was a quick read, but well done. Mr. Carter's mother was definitely her own woman, but Mr. Carter treated her always with respect and love. A great tribute.



4. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was lovingly written by a son who adored, respected, and loved his mother very much. Lillian was such a force in the White House, and it sounds like everyone from every country who ever met her just loved being with her. She's was a woman that we could all learn from....she didn't take from anyone...even the President. The book was inspiring to me...she went into the Peace Corps at 70....enough said....very good book!



5. Very quick service. I got this book for my mom for Mother's Day and she loved it. I recommend it to anyone and use Amazon.

5 comments about Ginger: My Story.

1. What do you get when you cross Ginger Rogers with Tammy Faye Bakker? You get, evidently, Ginger Rogers--or at least what remained of Ginger in her not-so-sprightly seventies. Though much has been said and written about the cruelty of time, the gentle reader must nonetheless brace herself for a shock upon cracking Ginger's memoirs to the pages of recent photographs. There is nothing left of the buff, scrub-faced girl that graced the cover of Life Magazine in 1942 sporting boots, coveralls, and a fishing rod. Alas, Ginger in her dotage was an overweight, diabetes-ravaged, pancake makeup-smeared parody of her former self, more frightening and less recognizable than any male drag artist's impersonation could ever have been.
   
   But what, you may well ask, is the relevance of these observations? None in particular, unless you speculate that the medical treatment Ginger shunned throughout her life might have boosted her long-term physical and mental health, leading to a more lucid, balanced, and enjoyable memoir. But such was not to be. Nay, Ginger--devout Christian Scientist that she was--relied exclusively on prayer, and credited it with curing everything from an ailing starlet's acute appendicitis to the boils on her fourth husband's derriere. Where most Hollywood memoirs are chock full of juicy gossip and innuendo, Ginger's runneth over with religious testimonials. It seems that in childhood, little Ginger, stricken with warts, first employed the bury-the-potato method to no avail. Shamefaced at her lapse in faith, Ginger then tried prayer, which--lo and behold(!)--vanquished the warts, leading to a lifetime of unwavering, prayerful devotion. So says Ginger in three scores of hindsight, at any rate.
   
   These sorts of rose-colored recollections might justifiably strain the credulity of even similarly devout readers, and will certainly alienate young film buffs, who tend to lean toward the cynical and metrosexual. This is too bad, because La Ginger was indisputably one of the great geniuses of the Golden Era--one who could not only dance like the wind and sing tolerably but act, both dramatically and comically. She was a quadruple threat, as evidenced by her Oscar turn in *Kitty Foyle* and her uproarious comic rhythm in classics like *Swing Time*, *Stage Door*, *Tom, Dick, and Harry*, and *Monkey Business*.
   
   On the bright sider, evidence of Ginger's cross-medium artistic ability is plentiful in *Ginger, My Story*. While her memoir doesn't come close to matching the literariness or wit of say, Tallulah Bankhead's, it conveys a sense of physical place and culture with an effectiveness unparalleled by other Hollywood bios. Whether Ginger is squatting in the dirt at her childhood home in Independence Missouri, sashaying around Astaire, or cringing at a bull fight in Rio, the reader can see, feel, and smell things as they were. This delightful sense of immersion makes *Ginger, My Story* a more than worthwhile read, despite what I would call the book's principal flaw: the author's tendency to depict the otherworld of human relationships in black-and-white, two-dimensional terms.
   
   Four stars.



2. Not being an avid "autobiography" reader, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can honestly say that even if you aren't a reader you will like this book. It has surprises out of nowhere & it's enjoyable.
   
   I'd recommend this book to anyone.



3. I was a huge fan of Ginger Rogers until I read this book--oy vey, what a moaner! She comes across as thoroughly tedious and completely self-involved. I can fully understand exactly why she had so many husbands. I truly sympathized with one of the later husbands who had to resort to hiding booze up in the loft of their house--anything to numb the pain, I suspect!



4. Ginger Rogers wasn't much for self-reflection, and that's very evident in the recounting of her life. For instance, you never know precisely why all her marriages failed. There weren't any transitions from being head-over-the-heels-in love with her husbands to getting a divorce. And it's probably because the marriages failed that quickly. She was a romantic and when the romance faded, so did the marriage. After the fifth marriage, I think she finally realized she enjoyed being single and dating, more than she enjoyed being married.
   
   Pretty much that's about as deep as she gets about herself. Mostly it reads like a travel guide of all her movie-making. There are some amusing anecdotes which will give the reader a sense of the real Ginger Rogers. And there's also a lot of mention about her religious beliefs. These beliefs probably helped to curb any self-reflective moments she might've had, because she allowed her faith in God to guide her through the really tough times.
   
   There is one movie of hers, that, now that I've read the book, gives me a better understanding of her overall personality. 'Monkey Business' with Cary Grant. The part where she regressed to childhood was perfectly played, and I could see this as a side to Ginger Rogers that could've annoyed a lot more serious-minded people. Maybe even her husbands. But, if that's her worse sin, she did good.
   
   Fluff, but if you enjoyed Ginger Rogers as the hard-working actress she truly was, this book won't disappoint.



5. when this book was released in hardback, ginger rogers went on a book signing tour. she stopped in chicago and the press was there to record the event. i was there and she signed my copy. she said to me, with a bit of bemused surprise, 'bless you heart'. i, goon that i can be, just smiled and stared at this icon of film and dance. i didn't care that arthritis had robbed her of her dancing prowess and the meds had blown her up. the winsome half smile was in place and the eyes were still an amazing green.
   
   so, i niftied my way back to my apartment and started to read. it was a little bit of a comedown.
   
   i did some research on film musicals for a paper i hope to publish this year and re-read. i was left a little numb and cold. i realize that a woman like rogers came from a different place and time. and being a staunch midwesterner that she was there was no way she was going to write about her life with the candor of say, rue mcclanahan or shelley winters(they're both midwesterners--i'm about to lose my point!). but besides claiming credit for the beautiful gown of blue feathers and satin she wore in 'top hat', there was little enlightenment about her life or career. the stories just had the same bemused, slightly dazed quality she had when i met her and touched her hand that day.
   
   but i touched ginger rogers' hand! in our minds, that moment counted for something.
   
   now, if i didn't own this book, would i buy it? no. i would get it from the library and read it. and i would hope for the biography that will elucidate this woman who is a lot more complex than she let on. an only child with a domineering mother and an electra complex--hey, this is the stuff that minieries are made of!

5 comments about Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities.

1. I loved this book. I felt connected to each personality and wanted to know about them and their complicated "house". I couldn't put the book down and read it in 2 days. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the human mind, effects of childhood abuse and books that keep you wondering what will happen next. Very good read!



2. Reading this book is like rubbernecking at an accident; you're drawn to the gruesome details against your better judgment. I'm still waiting for Oprah to reveal to the world that the book is a huge hoax, though the writer's credentials with Medicare suggest he wouldn't risk his career and reputation. Her tale is horrendous but even worse is the writer's inability to talk about its effect on him. What was he thinking and feeling as this woman revealed 17 personalities to him? All we know about him is that he's ambitious and status seeking. Anything he describes beyond Karen's tale is about his career trajectory and is written like a boring resume. Perhaps it was okay for him to sit silently and observe in therapy, but as the author of this book he owes it to the reader, if not to himself, to reveal his thoughts and emotions during what must have been a harrowing and incredible experience, assuming it's true.



3. I borrowed this book from the library. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It was the saddest story I've ever read. Karen's parents were crazy and ignorant. They choose her for abuse because of her childhood deformity and bad health. I think this proves that anyone can have children it takes special people to raise them in a health environment so that they will be healthy. I was so glad when her father died. I was happy for all the deaths of the crazy people in her life. I was fascinated by the descriptions of the intergrations. I could picture them as I read them. A very good read. It will be added to my personal collection. I'm pleased to see that the paperback copy has been published. Either edition of this book should be read and studied by every one who takes care of children. All teachers, coaches, and day care workers should be required to read this book so they know what to look for in the extreme abuse cases. It also helps to reenforce that not all child in a family will be abused. It's usually the weakest child who will be destined for abuse.



4. This is an amazing story of a woman overcoming terrible events in her childhood. It is terribly sad and difficult to believe, but it's out there. Bad stuff doesn't just happen on tv and the movies. This is real life about an amazing woman.



5. Amazing read. Really enjoyed the book. The look into the interworkings of the psyche was facinating. The way the brain can change its chemistry to a adapt to God aweful situations is prevelant in this book. The writing is not too clinical but it doesn't dumb down anything either. Highly recommended.

5 comments about An Unfinished Marriage.

1. There are so many things that the author describes in this book that everyone can relate to at one time or another in their life. She expressed on paper what most of us are thinking when in a relationship but never say. I thought the book was thought provoking and empowering. A delightful read and highly recommended.



2. A sequel to "A Year by the Sea", this book follows Joan Anderson's journey as she and her husband reunite after she spent a year alone at her family's cottage by the sea. I did not quite know what to expect from the book, as frankly, I loved her first book so much, I really didn't want him to come back! Joan is brutally honest with the reader about her feelings as she deals with her struggles of his return, feelings to which I think many women can relate as we deal with the men who come in and out of our lives. Joan's candidness creates a common bond that makes you cheer for her in the good times and cry with her in the bad. This is another great book that speaks to women of all ages as we navigate life's journeys. I highly recommend it!



3. I think every married woman should read this and Joan's previous book 'A Year By The Sea.' I read this several years ago and could easily identify with it then. I just reread it and being a little older and even deeper into my marriage, it just hits home. I have read this off and on for the past week and have found consolation from my own marriage woes and commraderie in knowing that I'm definately not alone in working through certain stages and feelings of marriage. Makes me feel even stronger really for working through the muck and mire instead of throwing in the towel which can be a mighty tempting and attractive option depending where you are.
   
   The memoir picks up where 'A year By the Sea' left off. They are re-entering their marriage. The book reads kind of like a journal, or maybe a personal conversation with a close friend. The chapters are divided by months and seasons of the year. I love the detail and open honesty of it. I like that she not only talks about her marriage, but the changes she and Robin are experiencing as parents while they watch their son transition into his own family.



4. Joan is always open, honest, fresh, clever and puts things into perspective. Wish she wrote more books!



5. In An Unfinished Marriage, Joan Anderson chronicles some of the events that took place in her relationship with her husband in the months following her year's "vacation" from the marriage. Through ups and downs, the two struggle to readjust to one another, to living together in what had been their small vacation home, to Robin's retirement, and to Joan's newly-developed independence.
   
   Anderson summarizes the book, and the relationship, well when she writes that "...age brings with it the stolid reality that there are no sudden transformations, that the real work of becoming a couple never ends, and that even though we've been married for half our lives, we still haven't figured out how to get it right."
   
   Nevertheless, she ends the book on a cheerful note, on their thirty-second anniversary, leaving us to conclude that, while they may not have figured out how to get it right just yet, they're making progress in that direction.

5 comments about Confessions of a Carb Queen: A Memoir.

1. I read this book in 3 days. I found it be be courageous, inspirational and real. I feel like I know Susan for many years. I find myself thinking about her and her story when I have the urge to not eat healthy and then stop...and make a better choice! I wish I could infuse an ounce of Susan's courage in my brain!!!! Thank you Susan and Sister Caroline for putting your story into words!!!!



2. Susan Blech was on a downhill path. In her late 30s, she weighed an amazing 468 pounds. This amazing book is about the path she took to get to that place, what life was like in that place, and about the steps she took to lose over 268 pounds without surgery. I call this book amazing because I probably had my mouth open the entire time I was reading it. You won't believe what this girl used to put in her mouth every day. That someone could eat this much and still be alive is amazing. For all her lack of self control, Susan must be a very strong woman. She was still alive and able to turn her life around. Some people never get that chance.
   
   She used to go up and down both sides of the street picking up gigantic bags of food from every fast food place, eat it all in her car, and then dispose of the bags, convincing herself that it didn't count if she ate the food in her car. Some weeks she would spend $300 to $400 dollars on fast food.
   
   This was especially interesting to me because she lost the majority of her weight at a weight loss center in Durham, NC called the Rice House. That's only about an hour from my house.
   
   Susan talks about her life. She grew up in a house with no mother since hers was in assisted care after a stroke. She ate as a form of self-medication for the pain she felt. She talks about her friendships, boyfriends, and siblings.
   
   Anyway, this is a fascinating read. Susan also includes recipes of low-calorie, low-fat foods. I have been trying some of them, and they are good.



3. Susan was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo transparent about her binges. I could relate.. Very open about the hardships of finding romance when one is a overweight woman.. The part that I most related with was the relationships she had with her mother and father..I really appreciate that she wrote this book. This will help me to lose the "last 40lbs"...



4. I really liked this book! Ms. Blech has a wonderful flow of writing that made me fly though this book like conversation. I felt at the end like we had journeyed together and I made a new best friend who I was so proud of and inspried by! Thanks Susan! Keep writing!



5. I really loved this book- Interesting, inspirational- You'll never look at an obese person the same again! Just today I saw an obese man and I made myself look at him in the eye and smile- Just as I would do to anyone. I never noticed how I would avoid eye contact before.
   Loved it.

5 comments about Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife.

1. Absolutely one of the best books I read of late. I was a labor and delivery nurse in the mid 70's when so many changes occurred. This book took me down memory lane of all of the wonderful experiences I had as I labored women before the "electronic age". Thank you Peggy and your women for sharing the most intimate part of their lives.



2. I love that Peggy begins her career as a shy, girlish candy striper & goes on to become the take-charge, seasoned veteran she ultimately is. I love that she chose what appear to be the most exciting, interesting, poignant & pivotal birth stories of her professional career to share with us. She gives the people what we want - action! I've read lots of hum-drum, normal homebirth stories, so I found it refreshing to be riveted at every page.
   BTW, Peggy, you got screwed & it's not fair! I was so spitting mad about her lawsuit that happened >20 years ago that I will rant about it whenever the topic comes up. A page-turner, but perhaps not for first-time pregnant mommies. If you're really into childbirth, like me, wait until your postpartum time, when you need something to get your heart racing & overemotional eyes pouring in happiness & sadness.



3. My best friend gave me this book as a thank-you gift for flying from Nor Cal (60 miles from Berkley, where most of the action is set) to Phoenix, AZ on a few hours' notice, five days ahead of schedule, in order to be her doula for her first baby. I had read it before I left for California again some days later.
   
   Fast, engaging, memorable life experiences follow a decades-long parade of shifting ideas of how women give birth in our country, from "all stirrups-and-forceps, all the time!" (slight exaggeration... slight.) to the reemergence of midwifery care and homebirth. The chapters tend to be short, which is great if you've only got a few minutes to squeeze in some reading. The stories are exhilarating, often hilarious, sometimes terrifying.
   
   One of my favorite books. I hope someday to meet Peggy and learn more from her as I also work with laboring women, and maybe even get to catch a few babies, myself.



4. I've read several births on midwifery and Peggy Vincent's is by far one of the most readable in terms of reaching a broad audience. If you reach for a midwifery book, in general you are pregnant and considering it as a birth option or interested in midwifery itself. There aren't a lot of general interest readers but Vincent's book is in a position to change it. It is both a memoir of a powerful personal journey and a piquant social commentary but beyond those two facets it is a testament to the power of women and the beautiful normalcy of birth. In fact, it's the stories of the women--both happy and sad--- that make the book so compelling, particularly because the author doesn't try to ignore or whitewash births that did not end as planned.
   I recommend Babycatcher to any pregnant mom who wants a glimpse of her own birthing capabilities and to any women considering midwifery. I also recommend it to anyone else who wants a moving, informative, often funny adventure into the exciting world of baby catching.



5. I was born in my house and witnessed the births of my two younger brothers. Yet I hate to say, I never imagined that I myself could deliver at home. All my friends were born at hospitals, so that must have been normal, right? I used a hospital midwife for my first child and had an amazing birth experience. If I hadn't, (and if I didn't already LOVE my current midwife who will also deliver in a hospital) I would certainly call up a local midwife and "do it at home."
   I have to say, as much of an education this book was, it was FUNNY! Peggy Vincent has a great way with telling a story. Its one of those books where you laugh out loud, and then read the passage to whoever is in the room. Even my 20 year old brother laughed at the part when the husband is ready to catch the baby and started screaming.
   Another thing I liked about this book is that the chapters are pretty short, so if you have other responsibilities (and really shouldn't be reading a book) you have several good stopping places.
   If you are pregnant, or planning on becoming pregnant, or have already had children, are a nurse or doctor, or just want to be entertained, I would highly recommend this book.