5 comments about After Silence: Rape & My Journey Back.

1. Ms. Raine describes the trauma and recovery of rape in clear and helpful terms and I appreciate the references to other works about rape recovery and feminism. Raine's AFTER SILENCE inspired me to read another landmark TRAUMA AND RECOVERY by Judith Herman, MD. It is hard to find books about rape recovery and people who can and will talk calmly, rationally, compassionately (or at all) about this subject. Raine's AFTER SILENCE should be required reading in high school for both boys and girls! Rape is so widespread that it should be addressed more often by family and friends; local, state, national, and world leaders; educators and news media. Raine also references I NEVER CALLED IT RAPE by Robin Morgan, another excellent source for raising awareness of the frequency and extent of rape in society. My own childhood incest and young adult rape were not known to my parents, siblings and doctors for decades even though the symptoms were so obvious that I was hospitalized for months. Can't praise Raine's work enough. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Raine and all those who made her work possible. Healing may be slow in coming, but it does come, after the silence, with the help of authors like Raine.



2. It was shipped to me within 2 days, great service and great product.



3. "Throw away the lights, the definitions
   And say of what you see in the dark" - Wallace Stevens
   
   "Speech is civilization itself. The word . . . preserves contact - it is silence which isolates." - Thomas Mann
   
   Following her rape, this author became a completely different person, a person who lived "with sudden fear the way others live with cancer. The fear was always there." It took seven years before she could begin writing about her experience. She states that the anniversary of her rape "was more significant than my own birthday, and yet there was only silence . . . I had become, the one who marked her anniversaries in silence . . . Could I celebrate my survival in silence and alone? Not according to Webster's, which defines the verb "to celebrate" this way: "to perform (a sacrament or solemn ceremony) publicly and with appropriate rites" . . . It pained my family and friends to remember. To acknowledge my experience might bring up what they hoped I had forgotten . . . for me to remind them that I had not forgotten seemed unkind, even cruel, because I knew they needed to believe I had. Our rite was, therefore, silence."
   
   "I thought about Wittgenstein's observation that the limits of language are the limits of reality. Was rape off limits to our most distinctly human attribute - language? . . . I could no longer consent to silence."
   
   Another friend and rape victim asked her, "How do I tell people who don't know, people who might become close friends? If I don't tell them, it makes it a secret, like something to be ashamed of. When I do tell them, they make it worse. They never ask me about it. It'a a part of me, part of who I am now, but they don't want to know about it. It's no-win. Just no-win."
   
   "But silence has the rusty taste of shame. The words 'shut up' are the most terrible words I know. I cannot hear them without feeling cold to the bone. The man who raped me spat those words out over and over during the hours of my attack - when I screamed when I tried to talk him out of what he was doing, when I protested . . . The real shame, as I have learned, is to consent to them."
   
   So she wrote an essay "Returns of the Day" in The New York Times Magazine in 1994. In response "Without exception, all of the letters from survivors described the isolation of the aftermath of rape, its life-altering transfromations."
   
   "The victims of rape must carry their memories with them for the rest of their lives. They must not also carry the burden of silence and shame."
   
   If you have friend or family member dealing with these issues (and the odds are that you do), here are other books that are also excellent on this and related topics, "Lucky" & "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold, & "Siolence" edited by Susan McMaster - all written by women. Rape victims and victims of relationship violence and abuse often hide their experiences and the behaviors of their abusers, feeling ashamed for even being involved with the abusive patterns. All of these books suggest women become more free and mentally at ease when they realize there is nothing to be ashamed of about being victimized. And they suggest the causes of our silences and the things we hide probably deserve more attention, new perspectives, and reconsideration.



4. I had to read this book for one of my Woman's Studies classes at Western Illinois University. I think this is a must read book for everyone (especially those who are in recovery or have been convicted of a violent crime of this nature). It is a bit graphic and I don't recomend that anyone under high school age read it. I had to set it down a couple of times due to that, but, it was nessessary to truely understand Ms. Raine's story. You don't truely understand what someone goes though after rape without going through it yourself.



5. A friend loaned this book to me but it is likely a book I will never forget. Nancy Venable Raine tells her important story in a very accessible way. As a nurse who took care of rape victims in the middle 80's and now a school nurse, I am aware that the secret of abuse and assault reverberates in too many lives. And while I would never say that my experiences as a young nurse were equivalent to those of my patients, I vividly remember hearing my victim-patients stories and identifying with them. Many of my victim-patients were not that different from me--young, single, living alone. During that time, I _usually_ slept with the lights on because I wanted to try to be able to identify my perpetrator, if that ever happened to me.
   
   Raine shows us her story, how it echoes in her life. Coming back from and integrating the experience in life is not, cannot be easy but one cannot help but feel she is one of the minority of individuals who gets the needed help to do so.
   
   Now, in year 2007, I was acutely aware that at times Raine paired the rape experience and the torture experience. It is a source of sadness to me that we, as a nation, are perpetuating that experience for so many. There is something profound about her description of the rape victim as a container for her perpetrator's anger. And that is far from the only profound idea.
   
   Having also read "Lucky" by Alice Sebold, I would say they are both very important books but this book is a far better glimpse into the recovery aspect.

5 comments about The Sky Isn't Visible from Here: Scenes from a Life.

1. a poignant and stirring account of a woman's highly interesting life. The story is imbued with complex psychological dramas and philosophical musings that offer much to the generation of people who grew up in the eighties and nineties. She maintains a sense of humor and literary creativity throughout the book. I was intrigued, disturbed, humored and enlightened by this unique and intelligent book of discovery.
   
   I look forward to checking out the other works by this talented author.



2. I haven't finished a book this quickly since I was twelve and read Beverly Cleary by the week. THE SKY ISN'T VISIBLE will hold you by the throat. It is gripping and tragic--making it that much more hopeful in the end. It takes a bold and talented writer to tell a disturbing story in such an endearing way.



3. In her book about her childhood with an abusive and neglectful drug-addicted mother, Sullivan does not only paint in black and white. There are no absolutes. Her mother is not horribly evil all the time--no, sometimes she knits and makes lunches. Unfortunately the times that she locks herself in a bedroom, or spends food money on drugs, or exposes her daughter to an abusive boyfriend are far more frequent.
   
   Sullivan hurts, and tries to hide for most of her young adult life, but as we've come to expect in memoir, she heals as well. Thanks to a supporting cast of her "father," (who she had the good fortune to pick herself), friends old and new, and most of all the self she wants to be, she kicks her own drug and alcohol addictions.
   
   I read memoir to remind myself about what is inside the people we see each day. Most have overcome something or are struggling with something at the moment. Sullivan's story makes us think and reminds us of the power of hope, but also not to paint everyone's past with the same brush.



4. I didn't hate the book and it was interesting enough that I was curious how it would end. However, I felt like her writing style was all over the place. Some chapters are about dreams. Some are written in the third person. Some in first person. One chapter I didn't even know what she was talking about. It didn't flow that well and I felt like she was trying too hard. The story itself was soso. I've read better.



5. I found her story gut wrenching and mesmerizing. Sullivan crafts an absorbing memoir from painful experiences. She writes beautifully.

5 comments about All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes.

1. I thought it was a great book. It was my first ever read of Maya Angelou. I think the book has made me a fan of her. Her style of writing was mellifluous, sincere, and truthful.

   I am not a very emotional person, but the part that made my eyes water was when Maya went to the market in Kato, as the book ended. She met Ewe women who instantly confused her for an Ewe. They were sure Maya was an Ewe decendant because of her features and tone of voice. Once, she was mistaken for a Bambara, and an Ahanta as well. It was beautiful. I admire Maya for her having fortitude and being curious and passionate. She loves her people and was more than willing to come back home to America to help them by working for Malcolm X, promoting civil rights, et al. I have great respect for her. She also learnt how to speak the Fanti language, which I would guess was not easy.

   It was a great autobiography. I wonder what would have happened if she had married the Malian Fulfulde man.




2. her poems are so great. They teach great valuable lessons that we should all here.



3. From purely a literary standpoint, I find ALL GOD'S CHILDREN NEED TRAVELING SHOES perhaps the best of Angelou's series of autobiographical works that I have encountered thus far. It is the fifth "installment," having been preceded by I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, GATHER TOGETHER IN MY NAME, SINGIN' AND SWINGIN' AND GETTIN' MERRY LIKE CHRISTMAS, and THE HEART OF A WOMAN. While I suppose that any of these could be read in isolation, to do so would be analogous to reading a single chapter from a full-length novel. One may enjoy the contents of that single chapter but will miss all the background material that explains how the characters reached that point in time and space as well as everything that follows to explain and wrap-up the story. For the same reasons, one really should read each of Angelou's books and in chronological order, too. Consequently, if one is examining reader reviews before purchasing ALL GOD'S CHILDREN, and if this is the first of Angelou's books being considered, please wait. Reading the others first will enhance significantly the reader's enjoyment of this one.
   
   Pure autobiographies tend, in my experience, to be rather dull reading for the most part. Where is the excitement in a list of events and dates? That sort of dry recitation of historical facts is the reason that most of us were likely bored to somnambulance by our high school history textbooks. Happily, this is not at all that sort of autobiography. What one finds in Angelou's books is the world seen through her eyes and interpreted by her mind, and she carries with her the filters built strand by strand by her life experiences.
   
   What "life experiences"? Being born Black into a legally, socially, culturally and thoroughly segregated country. Being abandoned by one's father. Being shipped across country by one's mother to be raised by an aging grandparent. Feeling the constant scorn and belittlement fostered by racial segregation. Bearing a child when one is still herself a child. Being duped by another into prostitution. Failing at an attempt at marriage. On the other hand, conversing with such figures as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Touring Europe as member of a musical cast. Living in Africa. Angelou's experiences, both negative and positive, were emotionally extreme, or at least significant, events, and they created interpretative filters that are quite different from those of essentially all of her readers. This difference is what makes her books captivating to read and worthy of her readers' consideration.
   
   I suggest that the epitome of Angelou's skill as a prose author of the first five books I have mentioned above comes in the closing chapter of ALL GOD'S CHILDREN. Her encounter with the Ewe tribal women in the marketplace in Ghana's village of Keta is expressed in nearly supernatural terms. In the actual event, she is merely mistaken for another person, but, to Angelou, the encounter firmly establishes Africa as her spiritual homeland, the origin of her own ancestors who, generations earlier, were sold into slavery in a strange land across the ocean. The skill with which she describes her feelings at this encounter is one to which any writer might aspire.
   
   I must admit to another aspect of Angelou's writing that I find almost annoying, however, and that is her repeated and continuous reference to the effects of slavery. If any evil exists in the universe, if sin seeks an embodiment, if a cause for all the misery in the contemporary world must be identified, Angelou finds it in slavery. Judging solely by the attitude revealed in these five books, one could conclude only that all Caucasians are blue-eyed devils, that they alone made possible the eternal and unforgivable sin of enslavement, that no redemption is possible and that racial integration is never achievable or even desirable. If there is such a concept as "original sin," it has nothing to do with a mythological Adam or Eve in a "garden of Eden" but rather with the insufferable conceit of Whites and the horror of slavery, most particularly slavery in the United States. To judge by the attitude that pervades these five books, one would think that Angelou was herself born into slavery, exploited economically and sexually by her White masters, and denigrated to the very edge of sanity. Not to excuse or to minimize in any way the physical and emotional pain of slavery, its immorality or absence of any ethical justification whatsoever, but "methinks the lady doth protest too much." She claims for herself an understanding of the debasement of slavery that her own history does not support. She assumes a mantle as spokesperson for long dead generations that she is not qualified to wear. To what extent historical slavery and racial prejudice may bear the blame for what were her own poor choices in life I am hardly qualified to say, yet I would caution the reader to bear in mind the fact that we are seeing events through the author's intellectual filters and that no one's filters are totally objective.
   
   Having said that, I hurriedly add that my critical observation should in no way deter anyone from reading Angelou's books. On the contrary, while I may feel that she is at times presumptuous in assuming spokesperson status on the topics of slavery and contemporary racial bigotry, her perceptions provide many revelations for her readers and are worth noting. On now to the next book of this series, A SONG FLUNG UP TO HEAVEN.



4. A rather nice lady gave me this book and asked me to read it. I did. When I returned it to her I asked her why she wanted me to read it. I had never heard of Maya Angelou and unfortunately I found the book very unimpressive. The writing was done well and the phrasing was nice but as far as having something to say, I thought that it was rather shallow. I thought the author of the book to be rather mediocre, somewhat insensitive, and very much enamored with herself. This wasn't the life of Mahatma Gandhi or Desmond Tutu. She seemed to me to be a typical woman on a personal journey to success and all the people around her were stepping stones along that path.
   Since that time I have picked up tapes of poetry by Maya and I enjoyed them - not so much for the content but for the presentation. Sorry. We all have our opinions.



5. I never received my order and the company just blamed it on slow mail. I waited over a month before getting my money back.

5 comments about Chicken with Plums.

1. Drawn in bold black and white, Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel illustrates the moving and disturbing life and last days of her uncle, Nasser Ali Kahn. He was a famous Iranian musician, loved for his virtuosity, and the sensitivity with which he played his beloved tar.
   
   It's a tale of how a man's happiness was gradually eroded by his culture, loss, suppressed feelings, and unrealizable expectations.
   
   The story starts with an older man in black walking down a city street. He encounters a slender woman with her grandchild. He hesitates. Asks if her name is Irane. She doesn't recognize him. Wonders how he knows her name. He, Nasser, apologizes and walks on to a friends business where he hopes to buy a replacement for his recently broken tar.
   
   We later learn that the broken tar had special meaning for Nasser. When he was a young man, the parents of the woman he'd fallen in love with forbade her to marry him because he was only a musician. Losing her plunged him into deep depression. He had difficulty playing. Nasser's tar master tried to console him by telling him, "To the common man, whether you're a musician or a clown, it's one and the same. The love you feel for this woman will translate into your music. She will be in every note you play." He then gave Nasser his own tar and instructed him to go on playing.
   
   From then on, Nasser's joy was his music. His playing thrilled his audiences
   
   Since childhood he'd been unable to meet the conventional expectations of others. His mother's, his brother's, his teachers', the parents of the woman he loved, his wife, his children.
   
   His mother urged him to marry a woman he didn't love so that he would forget his loss. Although the woman he married did love him, she resented his music. His children, influenced by their mother's attitude, became estranged from him. This drove him further and further into his music.
   
   After he failed to find another tar equal to his broken one, feeling that without that tar and his music there was nothing else he wanted, Nasser came to the conclusion, "To live, it's not enough to be alive." He decided to die.
   
   This where the novel really begins. Through Satrapi's masterful construction, we are able to piece together what we need to understand who Nassar was, and why he would make this tragic choice.
   
   Satrapi reveals Nasser's life and character by skillfully rearranging temporal events - picking up a incident, then dropping it, and then weaving it in later on in the story with new threads. She loops the past into the present, the future into the past. Sometimes, from frame to frame, she switches back and forth between the past and the present, showing how a character's unhappy memories and lingering hurt become emotional IEDs on the path to true understanding.
   
   There are many lenses through which to "see" another person, many ways in which to know them. At Nassaer's mother's funeral, a mystic tells him the story of five men in the dark trying to describe a whole elephant from the part each has touched. "We give meaning to life based upon our point of view," he tells Nasser. In Chicken With Plums, through characters and events, Satrapi gives us the whole elephant.
   
   As the novel progresses, Satrapi's drawings become more expressive and surreal, adding more decorative touches. Her work resembles animation, almost cartoonish, but her story has the depth of a great novel. She has the timing of a film maker, knowing just what to show when, and how to keep the mystery and tension to the end.
   
   Chicken With Plums has touched me deeply. It's a heart breaking story of love on many levels, fulfilled and unfulfilled. I believe Nasser died of a broken heart. Without Irane and without his music, he could not find a way to be in this world.



2. Having read Persepolis I and II, as well as Embroideries, I was excited to snatch up Chicken With Plums as well. And despite some of the negative reviews here (which almost dissauded me), I found this book one of Satrapi's most magical, perfect creations. It's quite different than the autobiographical, child-like Persepolis I, though readers of Persepolis II and Embroideries will recognize the general tone and style. That said, it's a work that takes you by surprise with its directness, honesty, and sheer invention.
   
   The book follows the last eight days of Nasser Ali Khan's life, as he decides to resign himself to death after his wife, in an argument, destroys his precious "tar"--an Iranian sitar-like instrument. He is a master musician, renowned throughout the country, and the great love affair of his life (despite one thwarted human one) was with this reciprocating instrument. Unable to find another tar to requite his passion, he loses all taste for life and its joys, and decides to stay in bed until Azrael, the Angel of Death, comes for his soul. While waiting, we get a series of flashbacks and flashforwards as he--and others--recount the stories and anecdotes that frame his life. Reading this book is like listening in on family stories around the dinner table, which by their very nature are fragmentary, interrputed, and from multiple points of view.
   
   Though a simple story, the manner of telling it is amazingly complex and mesmerizing. Satrapi's storytelling is at its most concise here, but so much is revealed about the very human passions that shape a life, and how blind we are even to the people we live with. This is a magical book, filled with Satrapi's beautiful characterizations of the people she knew and loved. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.



3. I just finished Chicken with Plums, and I loved it. It has about a human condition. In this case a man, who is living a life that he felt he did not own, except his musical instrument, and the secret it held for him.
   It is deceptively simple, but it is deep in what it conveys to the reader.
   I noticed some readers felt that the book was not finished, or they were confused about it. However, I found it very clear, honest, and funny at times. It made me sad too. I wonder how many of us live a life like Nasser Ali Khan, the musician? The life that is not truly an expression of our hearts.



4. This is a story of a man who lives for music and a tragic love. It is a very simple yet wonderful tale of a man who doesn't seem to know how to live. He becomes a great musician but can't work and loses the love of his life due to his devotion to music. Without music and his memory of great love, he dies. The man's family, friends and relatives don't seem to count in his estimation of life. I found this book very moving and very touching. I think some reviewers took offense since it differs from her most famous book but this one holds its own and is very special. I highly recommend this book. It is very touching and the ending is just as tragic as the main character's life.



5. Marjane Satrapi, Chicken with Plums (Pantheon, 2006)
   
   Satrapi's fourth book gives us biography instead of memoir this time-- the story of her great-uncle Nasser Ali Khan, a musician who decides to die after his wife breaks his favorite instrument. We are taken through the final eight days of Khan's life, as friends, relatives, and his own consciousness try to change his mind.
   
   I admit that my somewhat cool reaction to the book is almost certainly a product of the complete overload of memoirs and memoir-like biographies with which the market is currently glutted; I'm relatively sure this will be my last one for a long, long while, save one series-memoir I'm in the middle of. I say this because it's certainly not a bad book; Marjane Satrapi is a witty writer, and no less here than in her other books; Chicken with Plums is as enjoyable as anything else she's done. I just couldn't get my head round it as much as it deserved. ***

5 comments about Fat, Stupid, Ugly: One Woman's Courage to Survive.

1. There is no doubt that this woman's story needs to be told. Unfortunately, the way it is told doesn't match what is being said. The first half of the book reads like a college entrance essay, with the themes reiterated over and over and over. Finally, halfway through, when Debrah creates A Place Called Home, the book picks up the pace and moves forward with incredible stories and anecdotes. Ultimately the story is triumphant, encouraging and inspiring.



2. What an incredible story of turning one's life around and making a difference in the world. Deborah Constance's stamina and creativity are remarkable, as is her survival in the face of extraordinary life challenges. While it would have been good to learn more about Ms. Constance's underlying psychology, the straightforward writing style may be a reflection of her need to do rather than to analyze. This book is accessible to all readership levels (except, of course, children).



3. For most of us, good self-esteem and good self image drives us to do great things ... make more money, create a home for our family, be the best kind of person we can be, and do right in the world. But for Debrah Constance, not having any self-esteem and being labeled "Fat Stupid Ugly" pushed her to help a displaced community deal with life's hardest issues -- drug addictions, gang violence, single parenting, school drop outs, and death. Debrah is the founder of "A Place Called Home," a South Central Los Angeles youth center that provides at risk children, ages nine to twenty, with a secure, positive family environment where they an regain hope and belief, earn trust and self-respect and learn skills to lead to a productive life. Debrah's memoir chronicles her life as an abused child who thought so little of herself she endured deep psychological and emotional problems, drug and drinking addictions and abusive relationships throughout her life. After a life long struggle with her poor self image, she found a way to change her pattens, get help for her drug/alcohol problems and give back to children who have lost hope. This is an amazing person. I found hope and direction for my own life after reading it. I hope I get an opportunity to meet her one day so I can thank her. Her story belongs on the Oprah show so that other people can learn that even when the most unfortunate situation occurs ... there is hope. Thank you Debrah!



4. As a psychologist, I am always astonished at what people can transcend. Debrah Constance's telling of her life story in her own words is witness to this fact. I found "Fat, Stupid, Ugly" extremely inspiring. It gave me pause. It gave me the opening for further introspection into my own life. The questions are always the same: Who am I? Where am I going? What am I doing? It seems to me to be truly awake, these questions must be posed time and time again. In my 61 years I have found this to be so.
   
   "Fat, Stupid, Ugly" is a disturbing book that provokes us to think beyond the surface of our day-to-day lives. I thank Debrah for this book; it is a gift to all of us. She is remarkable. Our lives can be so difficult and some of us have dramatic and cataclysmic events befalling us. Debrah tells us about the major obstacles in her life and that the battle is worth it in the end. It brings us to our ultimate truths. Debrah's story reminds us that the work is never done, the job never quite complete. We are all on our way back home is how I see it. And on the way back we meet each other and hopefully shed a little light on the task at hand. Thank you, Debrah. The light shines brightly.



5. i felt this book was not only written horribly, but this woman just came across as immature and self centered, despite her horrible childhood. the entire time i was just annoyed by her. i felt that the whole book was just a bunch of reiterating and repeating. i DO NOT suggest this book to anyone.

5 comments about Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress.

1. This book is a laugh every page. It will remind you of times in your life you thought you forgot. No matter how old you are, or where you grew up this book will speak to you.



2. Really, everyone who has given this "author" one star has hit the nail on the head; she wants to be fascinating. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that................until you decide that you're such an ironic paradox and so profound that you should probably publish. There are so many wonderful books and amazing authors out there; don't waste your time.



3. It took me three attempts to get past the first twenty pages. Once I was into the heart of the first section it was laugh-out-loud funny. Well, that was until the second part of the book which was a bit dull and mind numbing. However, the optimism from the first section carried me through to the final section of the book. It was definately worth making it through the middle of the book.
   This was an enjoyable read; the type of book to take to the beach for the day. There is about 100 unneccessary pages however, the remaining pages are witty, entertaining and enjoyable.



4. I absolutely loved this book, I laughed out loud which is something I never do. Loved everything about her, her musings and her attitude towards all things pro-woman. You wont be disappointed !



5. I found the chapters scattered and storyline pretty uneventful. The book was not a quick read. Pretty forgetable overall. Funny moments, some chapters were more entertaining than others, but def was not a page turner.

5 comments about Faith Under Fire: Betrayed by a Thing Called Love.

1. Tjis is a must read for all females young and old to read. AIDS IS A DEVASTING DISEASE!



2. This book was awesome. I read the book in a day in a half. This book was passed to me from my Aunt. I learned a lot from ready this book. Just to wait and listen closely to what Jesus has to say. Don't jump into relationships without seeking Gods face first. From this day forward my life will never be the same. I will continue to be more observant of that gut feeling that we get, they are not always butterflies but Jesus trying to tell us something. LaJoyce Thank You So much for sharing your life with all of your readers. This is definitely what God ordained you to do. I was always taught that God allows us to go through things so that we can help others that may face similar situations and so that we can have a testimony to share with others.
   
   Be Blessed and Highly Favored



3. This is one I borrowed from the library but definately will buy to add to my collection. I read this leisurely in 4 days staying up pretty late on the 4th day trying to finish it. It is amazing what someone can get through when God is carrying them. I am astonished and happily excited by a story like this one. Thank You for sharing Mrs. Brookshire.



4. this was a very powerful book she believed deeply in god and he was there for her every step of the way even though her husband treated her badly i was very happy she found someone who loved her and believe in the same things as she did i love this book



5. I applaud and respect, Ms.Brookshire. I believe from reading her testimony, that she is a woman of God, and was highly favored during this ordeal. In this book, I learned what that phrase "NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME SHALL PROSPER.
   
   I can't believe her then Mother-In-Law, knew of her son's medical status, and did not warn this woman, this makes the mother, her son accomplice.
   No wonder why they both got what they deserved.
   
   This woman is a real "Trooper". God bless you.

5 comments about Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain.

1. Tharps' story about her love-hate relationship with Spain was high on my list of must reads for this summer - and it turned out to be time well-spent. Tharps chronicles her youth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was the only Black girl in her predominately white classes, to her undergrad days at Smith college, where she is one of the few Black women on campus. Tharps struggles to find herself and determine where she fits in. As a youth, she develops a strong love for Spain and vows to see this country that she has fallen so deeply for. Tharps takes her readers to Salamanca and we watch as her adoration for this country slowly turns to something else when she encounters its citizens and learns its hidden truths. This is simply a love story - and in the end, I think Tharps eventually learns to love the thing that is most important - herself.



2. This memoir by Lori Tharps, who also the co-authored of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, was a nice, easy, lightweight coming-of-age story. The book got a little whiny at times as the author tried to reconcile the differences between the Spain of her imaginations and the real Spain especially as it related to the treatment, ideas and attitudes of Black people. But I was completely on-board as she struggled to figure out her identity as a Black person. She grew up in an area that was predominantly White and was never really confident in her Blackness especially when dealing with other Black people. As a first generation Nigerian born and raised in the states, that has been something I too have struggled with. If you speak English properly, enjoy reading and the Opera, well, then, you are not really Black. We know that's not true but I think it's something that many young, upwardly mobile, intelligent Black people face. What does it mean to be truly Black? Ms. Tharps story is inspirational in that she finds her own way to be authentically Black. I felt like she glossed over some things (like her children's birth and her practice of the Ba'hai faith) but these, I suppose, were not the focus of her book. She is, however, refreshingly honest about herself and her feelings/emotions in her page-turning memoir. I think it's that candor that makes you want to continue reading because there is nothing overly exciting going on in the book. It's her story. And it's just life. The ups. The downs. And the in-betweens.
   
   Great summer reading.



3. I must admit that I vacillated between sorrow and anger for Lori. She seemed to have such a hard time identifying with her Blackness and I didn't realize young Black people struggled with this identity crisis while coming of age in the '80's. Having lived through the turmoil of the '50's and '60's, I assumed that people of African descent living in America were Black and Proud.
   
   I'm happy that Lori is finally appreciating the blessing of being born Black, one manifestation of the Source of all of us.
   
   Now she will be able to impart to her children and others that on a spiritual plane, all of us share the same Source even though the multitude fails to realize that the breath of life, the air that sustains us all is the same. Many will go through life not realizing this simple fact and will continue to erect barriers/walls to separate us.
   
   Her memoir is a gratifying read and many will enjoy her awakening.



4. I bought and read this book as part of a bookclub selection. The first 60 pages were good almost even interesting then it went downhill from there! She was a complete Drama Queen and sort of an Elitist. If I was really interested in a history lesson (like the one you'll get reading this book) I would have grabbed a history book instead and not spend 15 bucks on this. So all in all it was good in the beginning then quite a torture to finish.



5. I was a little hestitant about reading the book because of Wild Orchard's review, but the book turned out better than I expected. I actually thought the history portion was the best part of the book.
   
   I think Ms. Tharp may have learned( and the above Nigerian reviewer should make an effort to learn)that speaking "proper" English is not rare among blacks, nor is listening to opera, and reading definitely isn't rare within the African-American community. And that is the missing element of the book...What changed Ms. Tharp's prospective of blacks? The book is missing her New York years which awakened her pride in herself. She gives us a sneak peek, but only to show how much Manual, her Spanish love, meant to her.
   
   My biggest problem was trying to figure out what audience this book is geared towards, adults or teens. There seems to be too much innocence in this book to have been written by a married 30-something with two children. It doesn't have to be rauchy, but it's just a little too chaste. I got the impression that it was written by a late teen rather than an adult.
   
   I bought this book because I wanted to live in Spain for a year. However, I've been hestitant due to it's history in the kidnapping and enslavement of Africans in the Americas. Then there were the incidents with Spain's Olympic basketball team's mocking of Chinese people, and the treatment of black fútbol players by Spanards which haven't encouraged me to want to assist in Spain's economy. So, I was eager to read this book because I really wanted to get a prospective from a black person.
   
   I cant' say that the book enligthened me on the Spaniards. First the author was a student, and then a member of an extended family. She didn't really write about going on excursions alone, except to and from school or to acquaintances' homes. So, I don't get a true sense of what the average tourist may encounter.
   
   However, I do have to say the sites in Cadiz interested me. So, I may end up going for a vacation, but if so, only to the South of Spain.
   
   ***Unfortunately we can't change the rating once it's entered. I meant to rate this as THREE STARS. I really don't have anyone I would recommend read this book.
   
   It definitely shouldn't be a hardback book. This book is only good to use in an African-American Studies course to study the various way a racist society shapes self-image.

5 comments about Narrative of Sojourner Truth (Dover Thrift Editions).

1. very much a must read
   the way the words flow
   with your thoughts
   as if you were really there
   to me it is a must read
   nice book



2. I can never tire of learning the depts of suffering black woman had to endure. It gives me even more pride for my people and much hope for a better tomorrow.



3. In a world that still suffers from the blight of slavery, mainly in Islamic nations and northern Africa, and Sudan, but also through the sex trade in nations like Thailand, this book is a great nonfiction account, especially for grade and middle schoolers, but also for all who think slavery is a thing of the past.



4. Provided a valuable insight into some of the thinking of slaves even while experiencing inhumane treatment and searching for their own identity. A woman of courage, foresight and well ahead of her time.



5. So often we find out how important a piece of text written hundreds of years ago can change the way the human species views the world as well as themselves. The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is such a novel. Not only does it show the harshness of human error, it also illuminates the strength and compassion that exists within all of us . I now realize how iggnorant I actually was before reading this novel. I had no idea that cruelty to slaves was so prominant in the northern part of the U.S during the early 1800s. The reader can feel the raw emotion radiating off this extraordinary women who faught so hard for racial and sexual equality. Sojouner(or Isabella) is so commited, she even fasted for three days just to improve herself spiritually. It is acts like this as well as the numerous occasions where she seeks to help others that will leave the reader in awe. I would suggest this book to any body interested in America's history and anybody who is looking for a little inspiration in their lives. This narrative is part of America's young yet vast history and should never be forgotten.

5 comments about Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War.

1. Good book, I'm jealous of her career, someday...



2. Deborah Copaken Kogan writes about her very young career as a rag tag photojournalist who fearlessly jumped at every opportunity and when opportunities weren't available or were pulled away (she was a woman after all) she made them happen for herself. As a young graduate from Harvard, Copaken moves off to Paris alone to become a war photojournalist. The challenges she faces mirror directly or as metaphors, the challenges that every young woman faces who believes she can make a difference in the world. The sexuality of Deborah's chosen relationships in Shutterbabe are understandable and expected for a young adventurous person. The accounts of the men she chooses to, and is forced to deal with interweave perfectly with the many other challenges that Deborah faces in her career. Critics who compare her sexual accounts and relationships to "what if a man wrote this" are way off base. The gender reverse argument is ridiculous. This is a story of a woman fighting the odds and questioning what life has handed her. Trying to make a difference in a world that doesn't belong to her. A man in the same situation would never have to process the same challenges. Men don't get raped and sexually attacked. OK maybe there are exceptions but a story about a man getting raped would not be a metaphor for what other men experience. A man being shut out of an opportunity because he's a man wouldn't mirror what nearly all men must deal with frequently in their lives. Though not religious, Copaken is inspired by her Jewish roots and her knowledge of the Holocast. She questions the existance of God as she plows through her adventures and thoughtfully produces art that will document and communicate the world's struggles. As she reaches her late twenties and after several years in the "trenches" Deborah experiences a metamorphosis. From the young ideal college graduate to the young woman who recognizes true love and emotional support from a partner, Deborah begins to question the effectiveness and authenticity of her career. She wrestles with the importance of childrearing. She moves to a safer career yet still struggles with the same questions. On one assignment Deborah meets her old male colleagues and finds herself defending her choices to these men with fetus envy(men who try to belittle women who raise children). Shutterbabe is my hero--a woman who makes a difference while young and again as a devoted parent of two children. I look forward to learning of Deborah Copaken Kogan's next phase. I recommend this book to all young people--men and women, to gain a richer understanding of the places we hold in this world and how we all might take a step forward from here. Be inspired by this young woman's incredible bravery and the conviction of her thoughtful choices.



3. This very unusual book is fascinating whether you are interested in pursuing a career in journalism or just curious about what life is like as a woman covering war for a living. This "Shutterbabe" tells the story of her life from behind the camera across different battle zones around the globe. She also tells of the men she meets and gets involved with. There has been some criticism of the book for these tales of sexual escapades, but this is the raw story of a real person's life, and I think that they reflect a complete story, instead of one massaged to make the author look better.
   
   My only disappointment with the story is that she finally gives it all up for motherhood, but that is real life too. Before that, Kogan was a producer for "Dateline" on NBC after her return to the United States. She speaks of tiring of wartime weariness and equates photojournalists to vultures who prey on others' misery--all of which I find disingenuous for someone who made her own living this way for many years. It's ok to change your mind, but I believe that photojournalism is an important way of bringing news to people, and I think Kogan would agree or she would have pursued another way of making a living with her camera in the first place.
   
   Despite these claims, I highly recommend this book to everyone, particularly young women interested in journalism. This book is a real insider's look at covering war, from a woman's point of view, something (unfortunately) we still don't hear that much of, even in the 21st century. Don't miss it.



4. My absolute favorite book - I have read it at least 3 times, which is a record for rereading books for me. It's captivating, but very real.



5. There are so few non-fiction accounts of photography lives that I am giving this melodramatic book 5 stars because it is full of facts on how its done. Im sure you might have a quibble with this but this is a life that was lived with a camera by a young intelligent woman. This is how photojournalism is done or should I say was done before the advent of the digital camera. You might prefer to read "The Bridges of Madison County." I dont. I just wonder if she threw in all the gratuitous sex just to pander to such readers to keep them turning the pages. I would so like to read another book full of details like this one. PS In the wonderful British sitcom "Waiting For God" Diana Trent had been a photojournalist and now whe is a rampaging assisted living denizon. It kind of great to picture Diana as Deborah, except of course, for Deborah's big copout to work for Network TV instead and write crappy books. So ugly.