5 comments about Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady.

1. I am truly a southerner, and Ms. King's irreverant approach to the traditions and ways of the south in the mid-twentieth century are so on target that it will startle the reader who is not from the south, and will sound all to familiar to the southern reader.
   
   I found her covert feminism during this time in her life very interesting and educational. It almost seemed like the fact that she was a feminist during this time in her life was unknown to even herself.
   
   Her honest talk about her sexual life I found startling.
   
   The way she challenged the cultural norms of that time is educational for anyone who is living under a cloud of opression, real or just real to you.
   
   it's a great read!



2. King's book features a quirky mish mash of mismatched family members who, at first glance, seem not to belong together at all. This book examines the various relationships of those characters while simultaneously being a coming of age story regarding young Florence King as she ages throughout this books and faces the many trials and tribulations of her various ages. I've read this book several times and it never fails to get a laugh out of me as Florence moves through her childhood and young adulthood with her brash, tomboy mother who smokes and screams at baseball games on the radio, her father a proper British bartender who works nights and her granny who defines all Southern women as having either problems "down below" or else "in the head." This book will have you holding your side in stitches in places as you laugh yourself silly. A truly great reaad.



3. A friend shared this book with me. King's wit is unsurpassed in this day and age. Having found myself being an "honorary southerner" - relocated from the midwest to the deep south - her question throughout the book ("just what IS a lady?") could only have been explored with such humor and insight as this writer. I found myself laughing openly numerous times - not in a Bridget-Jones-Diary-Outrageous way, but in the One-Couldn't-MAKE-THIS-STUFF-Up kind of way.
   
   Having born witness to many similar smelling-salt-scenarios King describes, I found myself fully entwined in this book. Poignant, observant, honest, intelligent, this is one writer you need to have on your bookshelf.



4. I was born and bred in Virginia. I didn't like this book. I identified with only about 25 percent of it. For example, all of the women in my family are good housekeepers. Also, for the prospective buyer, there is foul language in it and a pornographic description of a lesbian affair.
   
   It is interesting that most of the reviews that rave over this book are from northerners.



5. No one on this earth can write a story (or a book review) like Florence King can! The fluidity of her writing never ceases and I felt like I was there watching this story of her life unfold. She is a brave, strong, independant woman with amazing talent! Although any people will clump her with "feminists", she is not.

5 comments about Terry: My Daughter's Life-and-Death Struggle with Alcoholism.

1. 'Terry' is the heart-wrenching tale of the life and death of Terry, daughter of George McGovern. I was reduced to tears in the book's first 40 pages as he recounts her tragic death. The book was very personal to me because I have lost a daughter (in an auto accident) and alcohol abuse and dependence have disrupted my life. Of course, the setting is familiar to me as a resident of the Madison area (indeed the Teresa McGovern Treatment Center is located adjacent to my favorite local place to walk). And McGovern's quixotic 1972 presidential campaign was the first of many political campaigns upon which I have worked.
   
   Teresa McGovern simply could not stop drinking and in the end effectively drank herself to death. The book tells the excruciatingly sad tale how this bright, sensitive girl grew into an alcohol dependent. Despite untold attempts by herself and her family to get her to stop drinking, in the end the booze won.
   
   The book is a cautionary tale for 'recovered alcoholics' - Terry did stop drinking for some 8 years and had several other substantial bouts of sobriety. In the end, sobriety was more painful than drinking despite the incredibly painful consequences of her drinking. If you think you have the booze beaten, remember that it lurks in wait for you.
   
   The book does highlight the lack of any predictably succesful treatment for alcoholism. She tried many times to get cured, although she did not, apparently, try any non-AA programs. In one section McGovern simply records police, hospital, and detox center reports as she was taken repeatedly to detox. At the end of her life she was basically drinking to the point of incoherence and incontinence every day. One does wonder why the authorities did not attempt to have her committed involuntarily - but whether that would that have worked is highly doubtful.
   
   One thing McGovern does not mention is the woefully inadequate insurance coverage for AODA treatment. Even if you have insurance, it is likely that your policy severely limits the amount that will be paid to cover treatment.
   
   A powerful, honest, deeply felt book. The reader wants to reach out to McGovern and remind him that, in fact, he did try to help his daughter, it didn't work and her death from alcohol abuse really was not his fault. To drink or not to drink - only the drinker decides.



2. This is a brave story for Senator McGovern and his family to tell. By writing this book they have taken some of the shame out of alcoholism and told a real account of the devistation alcoholism takes on the alcoholic and everyone that comes in touch with them. I really appreciated their taking the time to write this helpful book.



3. This is an incredibly sad book. I remember George McGovern's run for president as well as the excitement of that time. Reading his take on it around his daughter's alcoholism changes the memory to one much more personal. It's also a really good portrayal of the decent of the alcoholic. From being a good, daddy's girl, to passing out in the snow. The story is all there and true blue. There is some advice from George to other parents of alcoholics. What he would do if he could do it all over again. I recommend this book to anyone with an alcoholic in their lives, but it's not for the faint of heart. He doesn't pull many punches.



4. This time when I saw this paperback book in one of my favorite bookstores I decided I would buy it. I have a friend that said she had a hard time putting it down. I would say that I would rather put it down--and not pick it up again. I had a hard time plodding through this memoir. I did find the last part of the book where notations are made of the last few weeks of her life are the most interesting part of the book..the most moving and memorable parts. Otherwise this book was a big waste of my time. :(



5. This book is a must-read for families struggling with the devastating consequences of alcoholism and addiction. Nothing says it better than personal experience. It should be read by alcoholics, addicts and those of us who made it into recovery, as a stark reminder of how life for us could have turned out. I read it several years ago and carry the message with me every day. I am going to give a copy to my daughter who struggles with alcohol.

5 comments about He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Hope, and Happily Ever After.

1. This memoir is about Trish's journey through many different spiritual practices and relationships, while searching for happiness, and ultimately a husband. Her candid sense of humor comes through in her casual, yet gripping style of writing. I appreciated her ability to communicate that not all (in fact probably most) Christians do not fall into the stereotypes that are thrown at them, whether it be that they are Republicans, Bible-thumpers, etc. Her style/experience with faith is one that draws people in wanting to experience it for themselves. I'm not a fast reader, but finished this book in two days because I couldn't put it down.



2. When I first read the book jacket on He Loves Me, He Loves Me NOT (HLMHLMN), I thought I was in for some light-hearted chick lit or a God on a Harley type ride. Trish Ryan's desperate hubby hunt turned faith quest ended up far more meaningful than finding Prince Charming.
   
   Spirituality/Religion can be a heavy topic and can put many a reader on the defense, but Trish reveals her journey with such candor and humor, I, for one, walked away appreciating her process.
   
   In her twenties, Trish threw around the common disclaimer that she was "spiritual, but not religious." She embraced everything from A Course in Miracles, astrology, tarot cards, feng shui, crystals, chakras, Native American spirituality--you name it, she tried it. If she hadn't already made her choice, you better bet, Trish would be first in line to buy Oprah's Book Club pick, Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth Awakening To Your Life's Purpose. With painful self-dissection and heartache, all that changed...
   
   Even if you're not exploring enlightenment, you can glean clarity from Trish's memoir. I appreciate her willingness to allow us a glimpse into her spiritual and psychological trenches--she admits her insecurities and speaks openly about the dreaded "D-word," depression. Don't be detered--HLMHLMN is by no means a downer. Think Sex in The City meets Women of Faith ~ Trish's relentless self-effacing humor inspires quick page turning.
   
   I doubt we'll find many people, especially women, who won't find themselves relating to Trish, at least on some level. She reminds me of our tendency to project our ideals onto our latest man crush--the biggest trap we can set for ourselves. Instead of seeing others--specifically, prospective mates--for what they truly are, we throw our notions of perfection at them in hopes they'll stick, so we'll finally find our elusive soul mate glazed in shiny flawlessness. Then, "Life Happens," and inevitably things heat up and that glaze begins to melt, slowly dripping off to reveal the faulty individual underneath...and we're left with our disappointment wondering "What happened? Why did THEY change? I appreciate Trish's comitment to digging deep in HLMHLMN to determine that the hole she thought she could fill with a man truly could not be satiated by someone of this world.
   
   I must admit, I was left wanting her to explore just a bit more:
   
   **WHY she had such a deep sense of insecurity in the first place ~ From her account, she comes from a strong Catholic in-tact loving family--anything BUT dysfunctional compared to today's standards--so where does this deep internal abyss originate? Without God, does that unfillable hole reside in us all?
   
   **Like Trish, in my twenties, I fell into the trap of thinking my boyfriend could complete me . On page 26 of HLMHLMN she admits: "Dating Josh marked an evolution for me: it was my first experience with lying about who I was and what I wanted, of guessing what a guy wanted and then pretending to be eactly that." That was me. I didn't know myself or what I wanted and I thought finding a guy would fill that void--in was unconscious, unintentional. After reading HLMHLMN, I found myself wanting Trish to explore her own individual passions and purpose apart from her quest for landing a man. Hmmm, maybe visiting her website will provide those answers. You can also visit Trish's Forty Days of Faith website.
   Just a sidenote: As a young twenty-something "yankee," living very much like Trish--very defensive to condescending "Christianese." I had a number of Born Agains hit me with well-intended phrases like "Don't you want to be washed in the blood of the lamb?" and "My heart is burdened for your salvation" ~ Huh? That, quite frankly, felt far from loving--only sanctimonious--and turned me OFF from Christianity. It's no wonder Christianity gets a bad rap these days. Conversely, I think Trish does a superb job of articulating the Christian tenets in a nonthreatening conversational tone--very much like a discussion you may have with a nonjudgmental loving girlfriend. Admittedly, I've lived in the southern Bible Belt for nearly fifteen years now and embrace the Christian perspective, so maybe I'm immune at this point, but I'd be interested to hear how you recieve Trish's message.
   
   What are your impressions? Let's start a conversation..Feel free to visit my website at www.WordsToMouth.com and leave a comment or call and leave a voice mail.
   
   Bottom line: HLMHLMN obviously evokes much introspection. I recommend it and would love to hear your thoughts on the book and the points I've raised in this post.



3. I loved this book more than I have ever loved a book. This book came upon me at exactly the right time.



4. I heard Trish recently at the Printers Row Book Fair in Chicago. I was impressed with her humor and sincerity. I bought her book for a friend about Trish's age (30-ish). However, I started reading it myself and couldn't put it down. As a 60-ish woman, I enjoyed her authenticity as she describes her jagged journey to finding spiritual meaning in her life and, along the way, finding the "right" husband. I like her spunk! She does not give up.



5. If you're looking for a faith-oriented version of "Eat Pray Love"; keep looking. This book has serious credibility issues. For instance - She's a Lawyer who makes Law Review but she can't find a job in Boston? She can live for a year on the proceeds of a sale of a ring? Yah. Forgive me for being skeptical but if you're focused and ambitious enough to make Law Review, you should be able to find a job post-bad-divorce.
   
   Secondly, I have a real problem with naming some names in her journey - particularly the Christian ones (presumably so we can all tune in to Joyce Meyer and go to the Vineyard Church) but not her "new Age" ones - choosing a Pseudonym instead of a person whom she followed and using a euphanism instead of the teaching guides - though she does list off the popular books she read in her "New Age" studies as she talks about burning and/or destroying them.
   
   Lastly, I swear, throughout the whole book I kept conjuring up a Loony Tunes Foghorn Leghorn cartoon character - the skinny chicken who's always chasing after him screaming "a MAN!" and blinking her 'lil old eyes. Even as she's putting herself back together (and for the second time int he book being two faced - telling the guy she's with she wants no commitment then being all devistated that she doesn't get a ring - even after a disasterous marriage), all she can think about is "Bring me a Husband!" Really?
   
   Now, of course, life is perfect. She's been married a year. Yeah. Tell us about how he's your perfect match in Christ for all time and your soul mate in 20 years. And leave out the obvious slams of other (better) authors and "New Age" teachings that are, well, 5000 years old.
   
   It is good for a laugh or two.

5 comments about Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion.

1. This memoir read like an article that was stretched out into an entire book. It was not a particularly interesting memoir or a good book on the topic of OCD or Tourette's. It was long-winded, obvious, and stale.



2. I thought it was a really good book.

   I think that overall my experience with Asperger's syndrome (AS)has been more traumatic than hers has been with Tourette's, still, I think it's an important book. "Passing for normal" is something I'm trying to do all the time when I am with people.

   My only criticism is that she uses "like autistic" as a description of some of her behaviors and implies that it's a BAD thing to act autistic. It sort of feels like a put-down to me, but I don't think she intended autistic people to read her book and feel that way.

   It's amazing at the overlapping issues that Tourette's has with AS (some people have both), but they don't have any intrisic problem with making friends or understand typical motivations, as she shows.

   I thought her description of her relationship with her father was really interesting.




3. Passing for Normal (by Amy S. Wilesky) Reader Review
   Reviewer: Kristina M. Emard from Lebanon, ME USA

   Amy is an awesome writer, she tends to skip around a little but her detail and thoughts and opinions about everything are just so selective and different. Too bad there weren°Øt more writers like her. She talks about her life and the things she had to deal with. She did very well in school even with her disabilities.

   Amy had a very rough up bringing dealing with her two disabilities (1) Tourette Syndrome which is a rare disease that is characterized by involuntary tics and by uncontrollable verbalization involving especially echolalia and the use of obscene language, (2) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions or compulsions having one or both is sufficient for the diagnosis. An obsession is a recurrent and intrusive thought, feeling, idea, or sensation. A compulsion is a conscious, recurrent pattern of behavior a person feels driven to perform. Amy didn°Øt even know she had the disorders until she was older. She had to deal with her family and friends who thought she was crazy. She does finally end up getting the strength to go see a doctor because she knows that something is wrong with her. She was diagnosed with OCD and Tourette Syndrome, so her doctor put her on Prozac and other medications.

   After, when she knew she had the disorders she had a hard time, and didn°Øt want people to say bad things or make fun of her because of her disabilities, so she kept them to herself. When Amy is at her group meeting she isolates herself, she says °?My main problem is this: I seriously questioned myself up to a group of people who wouldn°Øt or rather couldn°Øt accept my party line.°± When Amy says °? people who wouldn°Øt or couldn°Øt accept my party line°± she means, people wouldn°Øt accept her for her. She was afraid that people wouldn°Øt accept her.

   In group she met a man named Bryant. They shared many similarities, which built their strong relationship. When Amy moved and was able to start at a new school, she loved it! She made many new friends, who again didn°Øt know she had these disabilities. Her friends thought that the twitching and the need to touch everything was cool. Amy eventually becomes obsessed with her obsessions and compulsions.

   Amy goes to college at Vassar like her many other relatives, where her and her first boyfriend begin living together. She was afraid of relationships, afraid of getting hurt, and afraid of being touched, but most of all afraid of any sexual activity. She trusted Ben very much though.

   In the last chapter she sends a very strong message that includes the title of the book. °?The older I get the more arsenals I acquire, the better I get at keeping my secrets, sometimes overriding them, sometimes Passing for Normal.°±

   This book has an amazing twist in the end but I wont spoil it for you. It is a great book for any reader that can follow flash backs and such. She uses great detail and amazing thoughts and opinions. She is a great writer.




4. This book was so incredibly interesting. I've read quite a few books on the subject of suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder and I have to say this was one of my favorites. Amy so honestly tells the stories of her childhood, the way she suffered from tourettes as well as OCD and went undiagnosed for years. Amy details such difficult subjects, her trials and tribulations, but often speaks humorously about her past. She takes dark subjects, and writes seriously, but keeps them from being too dark and weighty by keeping a humorous attitude about her whole situation.



5. Passing for normal gives the reader great insight on life with OCD and Tourette's. It talks about her very first tic to her treatment that she has today. Amy is very open about her problems in this outstanding memoir. I also have OCD and can relate to many of her stories. This book also gives hope to reader's.

2 comments about The Story of My Life: The Restored Edition (Modern Library Classics).

1. This is a beautiful 100th year anniversary edition of Helen Keller's The Story of My Life, originally published in 1903. In his introduction, editor James Berger stresses the importance of offering Helen Keller's text in its original form, but he has greatly enhanced the original story by including additional background information, a section of Keller's own letters from the age of eight, and finally, commentaries on Keller's personality, education, speech, and style written by Annie Sullivan and others.

   Although Helen Keller's story is familiar to all, to read it described in her own words is even more compelling. Using wonderful, descriptive prose, Keller does a masterful job of depicting her transformation into a sentient being after the arrival of her teacher, Annie Sullivan. Of particular note is Keller's frequent use of sight-oriented language (e.g., "very soon the green, pointed buds showed signs of opening") despite her disabilities. Although Keller tells of several dark periods in her life--including the "Frost King" incident and her struggles at college--what shines through most clearly is her incredible optimism and unfailingly cheerful disposition.

   As amazing as it is to read Keller's story in her own words, it is her letters which leave the reader feeling truly astonished. Just three and a half months after Sullivan first arrived to teach Helen, Keller was able to write simple declaratory statements such as "helen write anna george will give helen apple." The progression of Keller's language is truly extraordinary; just five months later, she is writing nearly as well as--or perhaps better than--other children her age: "I am glad to write you a letter. Father will send you a picture." Soon it is nearly impossible to believe that this young woman spent her first eight years without thought or speech. Included within Keller's letters are some of the replies she received from her many famous friends, such as the poet John Whittier.

   Following Keller's letters are supplementary accounts from various sources, most notably the letters of Annie Sullivan. My one complaint about the book is that I wish these letters had been printed side-by-side with Keller's; it would have been truly captivating to read the accounts of pupil and teacher in tandem. Still, Sullivan's accounts are appealing in their own right, and her life's dedication to her student was truly remarkable. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to get the clearest, most true account of one of the 20th century's most fascinating women, Helen Keller.




2. My vote of many others who believe Helen Keller was Person of the Century. She was an incredible human being. Personified what should be the "Human Spirit".

5 comments about Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women.

1. Great, more caterwalling from this self-obsessed, immature, indignant egomaniac. Do us all a favor Lizzy, and throw in the towel. You're schtick is overtired. You're pushing 40. Would you finally grow up and stop torturing the nation with your whining?
   
   That's right, your depression was real. But you were 19. You were nothing but a scared little girl. It doesn't take a Harvard education to figure that out.
   
   And this book, I yie yie. Please go on another bender and never ever take pen to paper again. You'll be doing us all a huge favor.



2. Everything that Elizabeth Wurtzel wrote in this book is true. The truth about how males can be so sexist, and how men are 'allowed' or supposed to do certian things, while women aren't. Elizabeth uses many examples of 'difficult women' in this book such as Dilea, Madonna, Amy Fisher and so on.
   
   I am pretty sure that everyone has heard of phrases like, "Men can sleep with 10 women and thats fine. But if a women would sleep with 10 men she is a whore or a slut." And thats what many people believe to be true.
   
   When guys are difficult and speak there mind they are 'just being a guy' but when a woman is difficlut or speaks her mind she gets classified as a bitch. And those are some of the things that she points out in her book. This is a very good book, but I wouldn't recommend it to people that have the minds set to the old fashioned ways or people that believe 'women are better off seen than heard'.



3. I have rarely been as disappointed with a book as I have been this one. In many ways Elizabeth Wurtzel is a brilliant writer, gifted with the ability to construct a memorable sentence or a brilliant image. Moreover, as a bit of a rebel and a very intelligent woman I would have imagined that this would have been a book bristling with insight. Besides, I liked the subtitle: In Praise of Difficult Women. My own thought has long been that the way our society is constructed, brilliant, independent women would often be taken by society at large as "difficult." I had imagined that this was going to have multiple overlaps with third wave feminism and perhaps the riot girrrls and all kinds of wonderful new ways of women asserting their rights to be whoever it is they want to be. Besides, she and I share very similar tastes in music and pop culture. I imagined a brilliant effort in gonzo feminism.
   
   But I was disappointed. Yes, there were the brilliant turns of phrase and startling paragraphs. But like other reviewers, when I finished I really couldn't say what the book was about. The details were often marvelously expressed, but to what overall end? The book ended up being brilliant on the micro level, but dense and opaque on the macro. The result was a book that was fun to read from beginning to end, but frustrating because I was never able to grasp what it was all about.
   
   The book is structured around five themes, each one with several women evoked to stand as icons, but in each case one woman above all others. The first part deals with sexual sirens who can also be conceived as man eaters, with Delilah, Samson's seductress/betrayal as the great example. The second part deals with under aged temptresses, with Amy Fisher as the great exemplar. The third section deals with women who died either by their own hand or by the kinds of lives they had come to live. Here several women are presented as icons, including Margaux Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Anne Sexton. The fourth section, written at the height of Monica-gate, skewers Hillary Clinton for being a wife instead of achieving great things herself (a secton that seems hopelessly out of touch with reality as she in 2006 looks poised to run for president--for the record, a move that I am passionately opposed to, since despite the hype she is extremely conservative on most issues, especially economics, and I think she would keep America on the right wing course upon which it began under Jimmy Carter--another person perceived to be liberal who was actually quite conservative on economic issues--and has continued under all successive presidents). The final section deals with women who are the victims of extreme violence and centers on Nicole Brown Simpson. The problem is that the book simply never coalesces around any substantive ideas.
   
   In the end, the women she chooses to write about are women that are as difficult for feminism as for men or society or the public at large. Feminism simply can't absorb Amy Fisher and claim her for one of their own. The story is too tawdry and messy for that. But after three hundred pages of writing about these women, it still isn't clear what she is writing about. The big pay off never comes. It is a book that promises great--or even just pretty good--things but never delivers. This truly is a book that is far less than the sum of its parts. I think the fact that one can love many individual pages while hating it as a whole is reflected in the weirdly schizoid reviews that my Anchor Books edition contains (I have as of today the latest printing, so this may not be true of previous editions). The blurbs are divided into "The Good," "the Bad," "the Bitchy," and "The Bottom Line." The attempt on the part of the publishers almost seems an admission that it is a deeply flawed book, but they want to portray it as one of those ultra-controversial books that you have to read so that you can discuss.
   
   I stil think there are some great books to be written about truly difficult women, about women that society has trouble absorbing or that it resists. I just in the end did not feel that this was one of them. This despite the fact that she writes well, that she is obviously a smart woman, and--let's admit it--very hot. Yes, that is her on the cover. Not many writers could pull that off.



4. I was eager to read Bitch after having read Prozac Nation years before. I was sorely disappointed. Wurtzel rants and expounds on various maligned women throughout history. Her rambling can be hard to follow and I soon lost interest. This book had a lot of potential but Wurtzel just wasn't able to deliver.
   
   I later read her memoir of drug addiction and recovery, More, Now, and Again which explained Bitch's dismal failure. It turns out that during the time Wurtzel was writing Bitch she was heavily using a myriad of drugs.
   
   I suggest reading Prozac Nation and More, Now and Again (which are fabulous)and skipping Bitch. Read Manifesta and Grassroots for a modern perspective on feminism.



5. As a radical feminist, I was pathetically amused and enraged by this book. It does not celebrate women's strength or struggle, instead finding glory in the consolation prizes of temptress roles and the like. As a reader, I was intrigued but confused. It's easy to lose your place - the author is very clever but harder to stay with than a mechanical bull. I don't think any book i've ever read has given my facial muscles such a workout: i'm sure someone watching my expressions as I read would have been the more entertained of the group. Now that i've learned it was written during a drug binge, I understand it better and can get some sleep. We can do better.

4 comments about Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847 (Yale Western Americana Paperbound, Yw-3.).

1. Magoffin was a name familiar to the Mexicans who had trading relations with Susan's husband for years before he married her and took her with him from the states on an expedition to Chihuahua, Mexico. She kept a diary from which she drew her information for the only book I know written by a woman, young and pregnant, whose fate it was to die in her 26th year, at home. Accounts from her perspective at such a crucial time in relations between the United States and Mexico, in a venacular peculiarly her own, make her work one of considerable importance to the serious student of the time. Revealing also are individual encounters with men, some from her own country, and her opinion of Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny, commander of the U.S. Army of the West stationed in Sante Fe. Susan was a young lady of class the exercise of which makes the reader proud, and whose elegance charmed all who came to know her.



2. 
   Many journals of travelers along the Santa Fe (and Oregon and California) Trail have been published, but Susan Magoffin's ranks among the best of them. Susan Magoffin was born of a wealthy family in Kentucky and had recently married the successful Santa Fe trader Samuel Magoffin. They had spent six months on a honeymoon trip to New York and Philadelphia (about which Susan also kept a journal, though to my knowledge it has not been published), and now, two months after their return to Independence, Missouri, she was to accompany her husband on a caravan transporting goods along the Santa Fe Trail to northern Mexico. She was 18 years old.
   
   Magoffin is as charming as any 18 year old could be, and it's a joy for the reader to share her sense of adventure. She is obviously having the time of her life, despite the inconveniences of broken wagon bows and stormy weather. We also get a view of what life was like for typical travelers on the trail. There is also intrigue to a degree: Samuel's older brother James was on a mission for President Polk preceding Stephen Kearny's troops during the initial stages of the Mexican War, and news about James enters the journal at certain points, including once where he was robbed by the Apaches but somehow escaped with his life. After the trading caravan reached Santa Fe, the Magoffins contined on into Mexico, spending time at Chihuahua. The journal ends on September 8, 1847, and does not include her contracting yellow fever at Matamoras where she also gave birth to a son (he died a few days later). The couple then sailed across the Gulf of Mexico to the Mississippi River and to Susan's family in Kentucky. (Susan would live only another eight years, dying of childbirth at age 27.)
   
   It's a wonderful first-hand account. My only complaint is that I wish editor Stella Drumm had identified locations (camping sites, geographic sites, etc.) mentioned by Magoffin in the journal. Other than that, it's a chronicle that can be read often and always seem fresh and exciting. A must-read record of an important and lively adventure.



3. I am an author. I am writing a novel based on my grandmother's life. I'm using this book as a guide to writing her story. She was born in 1863 in Clinton, Iowa and traveled west. The route she took is not know but this book gives a vivid account of the trail and its tribulations and high points.



4. It is with some awe in my own breast that I write a review for this remarkable little book, which is a "Historical Diary" and therefore of importance to those who would study history from the human element rather than strictly through footnotes. I offer a quote taken from her that struck me as one of the most unique I have heard uttered - flowing from the mind through the pen and on to posterity from of one of the Pioneers; the raw honesty springing from the personal epic she never designed for others other than family to ever see:
   
   "There is such Independence, so much free, uncontaminated air, which impregnates the mind, the feelings, nay, every thought, with purity. I breathe free without that oppression and uneasiness felt in the gossiping circles felt in the settled home."
   
   The writer is not polished; but her work was never intended to be published. What makes it so intriguing is that she managed to capture the moment, the time, complete with names, descriptions of the country and the peoples as she was thoughtfully living it, something most of us would either not think of doing, or be distracted in the monumental tasks of everyday work in such an environment. Which brings me to the crux of the matter in a hurry: this woman, though very young, was educated, had married a mature, much older man man who had a thriving, though fraught with danger Trade business established on the fringes of the frontiers. She was pampered throughout the journey; yet never seemed to take it for granted. As a result, she could write enthusiastically of events and gather wildflowers at will, almost as a scientific mode arising unintentioned from the moment; this free, unencumbered freedom from heavy responsibility obviously was one of the things that allowed her to devote her time, energy and full attention to matters of the day that were happening around her, while her servants did the mundane work. This alertness is felt throughout the book, even in the midst of the terror of Mexican and Indian attacks that came within miles of their supply train. I don't know how much of this she went back and wrote with a steadier hand, but it appears that she was in full self-control at all times, even during these times of high stress.
   
   Her devotion to her husband is genuine, and is felt in a way much different than many diaries I have read. It seems as though their union was one of love, companionship; yet comprised of a strong sense of individualism, another idea that was rare within that era of female domination. She describes the grass, the cold, sweet limestone water, the suffering of the animals when lack of feed and water arose - it made no difference - the wagons must travel on.
   
   In short, she wrote what is possibly one of the most accurate, historical accountings, unembellished of the Santa Fe Trail at that time simply because she didn't know she was doing it.
   
   If you love old Southwest history, American Frontier History of any kind, you will enjoy this book.

1 comments about American Empress: The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post.

1. Superb biography which open the window (and the door) into Marjorie Merriweather Post's fascinating life - - and shows that "money cannot buy everything" ....

3 comments about All Cracked Up: Experiencing God in the Broken Places (Women of Faith).

1. It's a funny yet serious book.....I have bought one and sent it to a friend. Mine I read then share with others, Pass Around the Good Feelings You Get From Reading Them. This was a great great book that I think any woman can relate too, and leaves you smiling.



2. Patsy Clairemont's book is great. You can use it as a devotional and her outlook on life is so funny, yet she shows you God is in it all.



3. I have gone to a women of faith conference,and i love this author.I was thoroughly prepared to enjoy it,and i did. Patsy really is a petite woman, but she is a dynamic speaker irl, and it translates to her book. I could just hear her voice in the pages.
   If you are contemplating going to a WOF conference, i recommend it. It truly is a life changing experience.

5 comments about Daughter of Destiny: An Autobiography.

1. Benazir Bhutto is a striking personality-she is both hated and loved in Pakistan, very much Indira Gandhi on a somewhat smaller scale. Her autobiography begins with her reaction to her father's death-Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged by General Zia ul-Haq after a military coup and the pleadings of the world community. Throughout the book, Benazir paints Zia as the ultimate devil, the evil that consumed Pakistan and sent her family into prison or death. The book is extremely melodramatic in tone, but to me it was quite appealing-not as a portrayal of Mrs. Bhutto's personality but rather as another testament in the mixed reviews of her reign. The book ends with the votes about to be cast in her favor-and they did. Benazir was elected to two terms, but was dismissed by Pakistan's President and replaced by political rival Nawaz Sharif. She has been accused of financial laundering and at one time had an arrest warrant placed on her in Pakistan. Though her character is now under question, Benazir Bhutto still remains a well-spoken, articulate voice, and there is no better reflection of these qualities than in DAUGHTER OF DESTINY. She speaks without much bitterness-there is only moderate waxing of effluvium about the cruel fates her early destiny went through. Though, not having experienced life in Pakistan under her rule as Prime Minister, I cannot form any political or personal view towards Mrs. Bhutto, one thing is clear to me-she has the ability to make her voice heard. Whether or not she is 'defending' American airstrikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan or speaking of how she believes her brother's shooting death was related to a conspiracy to remove the 'Bhutto factor from Pakistani politics', Benazir has an articulate and clear voice. Now if only her morals and character were so lucid.



2. Benazir Bhutto has acquired an eminent place in history of Muslim world. She is the first Muslim elected prime minister of any Muslim country in 1400-year history. This book, no doubt, is part of Pakistan's history now. She talks very eloquently about the atrocities that her family endured during long dictator ship of Asia's model dictator ZIA-UL-HAQUE, who overturned Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto's elected government in a military coup. Z.A. Bhutto had the courage to challenge the WHITE ELEPHANT, and subsequently loose his power and face assassination at hands of undemocratic and tyrant army supported by PNA (Pakistan National Alliance), a group of islamists backed by a foreign agency. Same religious group has gathered some political strength in Pakistan's political scenario, but has now been shunned by the same opportunist foreign agency. Benazir Bhutto talks a lot about the sufferings at hands of military but does not have same heart as ZA Bhutto to challenge her real enemies. This book is however a "must read" for those who are interested in the politics and history of this region. She has art to impress the reader and make her point clear.



3. Benazir Bhutto, on the brink of a political comeback against the odds in several ways, was assassinated after a political rally on December 27, 2007. Bhutto is an impressive figure from a prominent political family, whose history includes several untimely deaths -- her own father, a Prime Minister of Pakistan, was killed in a coup in the 1970s; her brothers were killed in suspicious circumstances. Now Bhutto herself has been lost, and likely the aftermath will continue in different ways for some time to come, both internally to Pakistan as well as internationally.
   
   Bhutto's strongest claim to fame in history will be that she was the first female Prime Minister of a Muslim nation, an accomplishment unlikely to be achieved in any other Muslim nation any time soon (even nations such as Turkey, which are officially secular). Her rise in some ways paralleled that of Indira Gandhi, who also gained political power in large part from the family reputation bestowed upon her initially. Bhutto, however, was no mere figurehead for her family or her party. Educated at Oxford and Harvard, she had a good intellect and a keen understanding of the world.
   
   This book details Bhutto's feelings and memories of her family, her growing years, and the struggle to the point of her first election as Prime Minister (she would go on to be re-elected after being deposed, and then spend many years in exile in the West). This is not dissimilar to the kinds of books that every American presidential candidate feels obliged to publish - part policy, part history, part wish-list. Still, it is one of the rare books we have on Bhutto, and (at least partially) by Bhutto. As such, it is worthy to be read. How it will compare to the upcoming autobiography (due to be released in April 2008) will be interesting.



4. Benazir Bhutto, mother, first Woman and two-time Prime Minister, and life-long Pakistani patriot, sets forth her version of Pakistani history here - at least the history during her and her father's reign. Her version is a private chronicling of her public life; her educational years; and her years incarcerated, under house arrest, and in exile.
   
   It is often laced with bitter memories and understandable bitterness expressed towards the murderer of her father, ex-President Zia-ul-Haq; towards those who were responsible for her incarceration, which lasted for a total of about seven years. She also has many equally unkind things to say about the viciousness of Pakistani internal politics, although the role her family played in making it so is carefully omitted.
   
   On balance, her outlook and the book are generally upbeat. She never completely loses faith in, or gives up on the hope and the dream that Pakistan can turn itself around and become the kind of open democracy she envisioned it to be, and which, almost with an obsession, that ended in her death, she seemed bent on leading it to become. Agreeing to an arranged marriage to a Pakistani playboy, she admits to being not much of either a mother, or a wife: politics remaining her primary preoccupation throughout her adult life.
   
   In the wake of her assassination, her autobiography seems to have served as part of the national mourning process, at least for her followers and admirers. And while this book, her autobiography, naturally portrays her as the national hero that she surely is, we all know that her reign as leader of Pakistan was not without its own problems and was itself beset with many intrigues. None of this is mentioned in the book. One hopes, that in due course, a more definitive and a more balanced account of Pakistani history covering the period of her and her family's reign, soon will be forthcoming. Four Stars



5. This is a wonderful book about an impressive woman. I've learned so much about the Pakistani culture. It's helped me to better understand the way this Moslem country thinks. This book has pointed out more strongly than ever that not all Moslems want violence and that there are many good people out there trying to fight against extremists who are trying to dominate the many middle eastern/asian countries.
   
   Daughter of Destiny: An Autobiography