5 comments about I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can.

1. This is the Age of the Quick Fix, the Age of Prozac and other mind potions. Barbara Gordon's story of her addiction to Valium and striving towards recovery is a classic in the literature of addiction. From a successful career as an award-winning documentary film maker, becoming famous and rich, to having a personal relationship with "Eric," who supposably was trying to take her off Valium cold turkey with disastrous results, Barbara Gordon paints an honest and painful a portrait of addiction as you will ever read. Once the most prescribed drugs for anxiety and "Nerves" in the world, it is now potentially one of the most addictive and dangerous to get off of after taking it for a long time. This book changed my life, for I was addicted to Valium, not ever imagining how it would change my life, mostly for the worse. Barbara Gordon's struggle was heroic and her getting off the drug, finding her bearings, and heading on the road to recovery make inspiring reading and a cautionary tale, that pills do not cure everything, that the human spirit can survive deep terrors. Many books on drug addiction have come and gone, written by professionals as well as laymen, but I know of none more powerful, none that face the fear with such total honesty as Barbara Gordon's book. It should never be out of print and anyone contemplating taking the drug path to lower anxiety should read this book and have second thoughts. Barbara Gordon, like many true survivors, takes her readers to hell and back, and show us that there is hope, even after a journey into into the deepest darkness of the psyche. Highly recommended. One of the best books ever written about drug addiction of any kind.



2. Hidden within the pages of this intense and absorbing first person account, are sincere and serious warnings for everyone living in our therapeutic culture. It warns of the false solutions offered by therapists who rely too heavily on medication. It warns of the dangers of relying on experts to provide healing rather than on self-responsibility. It warns of the dangers of emotional repression instead of expression. But the greatest warning may be that we all need to build and maintain networks of supportive and sensitive family and friends. In the end Gordon credits this resource as contributing the most to her healing.

   Honored for 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller's list, this book is the story of Barbara Gordon's anxiety-induced slide into Valium addiction, her ill-advised and dangerous "cold-turkey" withdrawal, the psychosis and hospitalizations that followed the withdrawal, and her slow, painful, and persistent pathway back to functioning. Readers may find the first half of the book to be a bit repetitive as Gordon chronicles her destructive relationship with Eric, but the pathos and honesty expressed in her fight back to sanity while at Greenwood Hospital is gripping and compelling.

   I am aware that there have been changes in state licensing standards for therapists since this book was written. I am aware that there have been many significant advances in the study of brain biology since this book was written. I hope that the therapeutic "industry" may be credited with significant advance since Gordon endured this mistreatment. Nonetheless, I recommend this book. It speaks with a distinctive voice warning that we all - treated and untreated, patient and therapist - must take personal responsibility for our mental health within a supportive social context of family and friends.

   No one should ever have to repeat the experience Barbara Gordon had.




3. If you're like me, and really *get into* what you're reading, this book will have you questioning your own sanity!

   You will fall into the deep blackness with Ms. Gordon, as well celebrate her successes as she begins to see the light!

   This book is timeless, powerful, and AWESOME. Not a "feel good" story -- but a tormented journey -- one which will give you hope.

   A must-read for women in search of inner-strength!




4. While this compelling, but somewhat antiquated, true story chronicles Barbara's hell during withdrawal from Valium, the point somehow seems to have been missed by the psychiatric community. Benzo prescriptions and hospital detox admissions (at least in the US) are at an all time high. If Valium wasn't enough hell, the drug companies are peddling even stronger and more addictive version of theses benzos. Including Ativan and Zanax being 2 of the most commonly prescribed drugs in America today. Barbara's story is a power and compelling tale of the dangers of these drugs, but unfortunately it's lesson has had no effect on widespread prescribing and subsequent addition to these drugs.

   All one needs to do to verify what I'm saying is join the benzo group at yahoogroups.com. There you will find hundreds if not thousands of people all over the world trying to cope with living the life of an "accidental addict".

   Unfortunately few will ever recover from this addiction and most will die from it or at least with it.




5. The books arrived within a few days. The book was excellent and well worth the purchase price.

5 comments about James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon.

1. This story of the life and times of Alice Sheldon is uniquely odd and well-written. Although I haven't liked science fiction since I was an adolescent, this life of a science fiction writer was engrossing and thought-provoking. Written with insight and affection, and an objective eye, we see the gyrations of Alice as she explores her formidable talents and fights her difficult demons.
   
   The biography has several levels - Alice's search for a self-identity, her struggle to define a relationship with her parents, her search for companionship, her search for commercial success, and her search to express her hope and despair in her writings. I found the fantasy themes dragged, and the gender confusion wore thin at times, but the biographical incidents more than atoned for the length of this tome.
   
   A very good biography for readers seeking a peek at a troubled yet impressive life.



2. This was not an easy read. It took me over a month to get through it and I had to take it in small doses. That being said there were many chapters that helped me understand where modern day sci-fi originated from and it was always a thrill to read an author's name that I know and love. I would recommend it to any fan of science fiction.



3. This book was difficult to put down. Alice Sheldon is a tragic hero. The writer is so engaged with her subject that she makes Alice Sheldon's world come alive. The places that Alice's life cross history are fascinating. There is a sad disconnect between Alice Sheldon and the world. Her life as James Tiptree, Jr allowed her a freedom that she couldn't have as a bright, agressive woman. She got an advanced degree in psychology, she worked for the OSS, she traveled extensively and she experienced first hand the degradation of the untamed parts of the natural world. I recommend it to anyone interested in smart women and their place in the 20th century.



4. They totally need to make a movie of "Tiptree"'s life.
   
   I also bought this for a relative, who appreciated it too.



5. Alice's life is tragic. Julie Phillips does an fantastic job of chronicling the life of this brilliant and tortured figure. From a childhood she didn't fit into, to disguising herself to fit into the science fiction world, Alice's life is presented as a woman trying to find herself in a man's world.

5 comments about Mi Pais Inventado: Un Paseo Nostalgico por Chile.

1. La narracion es placentera y veloz para el lector. La voz es optimista a pesar de su cornucopia de penas (el golpe militar; la muerte de su hija; el destierro; divorcio; etc.) No abundan las innecesarias ornamentaciones y descifra las melancolias e inseguridades causadas por la complejidad de su pasado.
   Allende sostiene y siente el hibridismo que afecta a muchos Hispanos en los Estados Unidos. Es decir, ella logra concretar la nostalgia que sentia por su pais que ya no es suya y acepta cierta marginacion en un pais anfitrion al cual no esta totalmente acostumbrada. Esto compartimos muchos hispanos. Ni de alli ni de aca. Allende nos lleva con ella a Chile de una manera sencilla y personal. La honestidad de los alagos y de las criticas de sus paisanos es sincera y muchas de estas caracteristicas se pueden aplicar a los demas habitantes de America del Sur en gringolandia. El paralelo del Golpe Militar y el 11 de sept., es lo que empuja a Allende a encontrar cierta definicion que se universaliza para cualquier inmigrante en cualquier pais.



2. I picked up this book because I'd heard of Isabel Allende (and the late Salvador Allende), and because I thought it would be helpful in my Spanish studies. I quickly became engrossed in the book and, as they say, couldn't put it down (except to reach for my Spanish dictionary).
   
   Isabel Allende, author of numerous bestselling novels, was born in Peru, grew up in Chile, and then traveled with her parents to various diplomatic posts. Later, she was exiled permanently from Chile after the military coup of 1973. She writes about her native country as one who, having stepped outside her culture, can no longer return to it as a native, but sees it from the outside. She is a perpetual foreigner now, an outsider in every culture, and so she sees things others miss. In this book, Author Allende takes a nostalgic look back at her life, her family, her native land, its culture, its foibles and its great strengths. She also reveals a great deal of her own inner self, creaing a powerful bond of intimacy with her readers.
   
   This is a book which transcends time and place. Written in a simple, conversational style, it draws the reader in, engages, delights, and amazes. And it causes the reader to think and reflect. She is able to discuss world-shaking political events in the same intimate style, and caused this reader to reflect deeply on some of the political currents of our own time. The author has a sparkling sense of humor, and often got me to laugh, though her message is profoundly serious. I believe this book will be recognized as a classic. I recommend it highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.



3. Un libro que en lo personal me hizo descubrir la magia que puede haber en recorrer nuestras memorias mas intensas, esas que se marcan en nuestra infancia y adolescencia, cuando la memoria esta mas fresca. Esos recuerdos y nostalgias van enlazadas a la distancia y la aceptacion de una nueva tierra que nos brinda la oportunidad de estar aqui lejos de la otra y de alguna forma seguir cosechando recuerdos.
   Por supuesto que estas nuevas memorias y vivencias nunca reemplazaran los recuerdos magicos de ese pais inventado... o real del cual venimos.



4. El libro "Mi país inventado" de Isabel Allende es muchas cosas al mismo tiempo:
   
   Es un viaje a Chile: Isabel Allende nos cuenta de la geografía, de la política, de la cultura (especialmente del humor) y también de la historia reciente de este país Latinoamericano. Pero no es una guía que pretende reemplazar por ejemplo los libros de la "Lonely Planet". Si buscas una guía de ese tipo debes que comprar otro libro.
   
   "Mi país inventado" también es una autobiografía: Allende describe su infancia en Santiago de Chile. Cuenta de sus padres y parientes; especialmente nos deja saber muchas cosas sobre su abuelo. Pero al final solamente es una autobiografía muy rudimentaria (el libro de bolsillo solamente tiene aproximadamente 200 paginas).
   
   Sobretodo ese libro es una declaración de amor por "su país" (ella misma refiere varias veces a Chile como "mi país" - inclusive en su título ), por su patria. Sí, claro, escribe sobre la década del gobierno Pinochet en los anos 1970s, de las brutalidades cometidos por los militares etc. Sí, claro, nos cuenta de las características menos favorables de sus compatriotas. Y sí, claro, nos explica como a ella le gusta vivir en California con su marido y que bueno es para ella regresar "home" a San Francisco. Pero sin embargo después de leer "Mi país inventado" no hay ninguna duda donde reside su alma: en Chile.
   
   ¿Entonces, para quiénes fue escrito ese libro? Pienso que probablemente sea para los aficionados de Latino América y de Isabel Allende. Para lectores que ya conocen sus libros de ficción y que quieren saber más sobre Chile y Isabel Allende y de lo que Isabel Allende piensa de "su" país. A mi me gustó muchísimo leer "Mi país inventado".



5. This is a beautiful book. You will learn a lot about Chile and the author. Isabel Allende is a very interesting and fun writer. I was reading this book while commuting and I was often laughing alone in the train. She has that great sense of humor I some times miss from Southamerica. Great book.

5 comments about Stolen Innocence: Triumphing Over a Childhood Broken by Abuse: A Memoir.

1. Anyone that has ever lived through the horrifying experience of being raped, just as I have, needs to read this enlightening and healing memoir of hope. Erin Merryn unashamedly bares all in her narrative, recounting the mental, emotional, physical and sexual abuse that she so courageously overcame by breaking the silence of this most heinous of violations. From writing this book, she has given voice to those of us who were afraid to venture out with our own stories due to the stigma and the shame associated with this crime. This book overcame for me what years of counseling could not do. By her candor and her kind and gentle spirit you will be guided to a new self-awareness. You will most definitely come away from reading "Stolen Innocence" a much stronger, more assertive and hope-filled person. No longer will you consider yourself a victim, but rather, a Survivor!!



2. I found Erin Merryn's book by chance in the bookstore. I'm glad I did. I started reading the book and finished it in one night. Erin tells her story by using diary entries that she made at the time the abuse was taking place. She doesn't hold back. The result is a book that gives the reader the true horror of sexual abuse and its devastating effects on young girls. Stolen Innocence is a book that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned. The story is heartbreaking and inspirational at the same time. What I liked about the book was how Erin educates the reader on the harsh realities of sexual abuse in this society by citing statistics. From there, she takes the reader on the horrifying journey of living with sexual abuse day in, day out. You feel the fear and pain with every word she writes. Sexual abuse is a topic that many tend to "push under the carpet." I applaud Erin for the courage she displays, for her ability to convey her story, and for being a survivor of sexual abuse. The communication between Erin and her abuser is a great addition to the book. Erin allows the reader to witness her raw emotions as she confronts her abuser in a series of emails. This book would be helpful to survivors of sexual abuse and to those who desire to help a loved one who has been abused. A great read!



3. Giving voice to unspeakable abuse is what prevents it from propagating. Only when it remains in the dark is its sinister purpose accomplished. This young woman was able to finally put aside her own fears and come out of the shadows to illuminate the disconsolate corners of her life that had been concealed from her parents and even her own sister.
   I read the book cover to cover in one sitting and had to choke back tears of recognition in several places. The book resonated deeply within me as we had a somewhat similar situation in our own family. Often, the revelation is as traumatic as the original abuse with the survivor suffering much more than the perpetrator even in the punishment phase.
   Nonetheless, Erin has sparked a flame that now needs to be passed among survivors and their supporters to shed light on a subject that is too often veiled by silence.
   Together we can bring light to the suffering. As survivors we need to continue to speak out, to support one another, and educate the public to prevent the growing scourge of sexual assault and child molestation. Thank you Erin for lighting the candle.



4. A riveting and very sober account of the harrowing experience of child abuse as told by the victim. In the end this memoir ia an uplifting account of how perseverance overcame the fear of telling the truth. An amazing book.



5. This story is really sad and it could have been a good book. but the writer is a terrible one. There was so many mistakes and the way she writes is boring. I understand she is trying to make it look like a 6th grader wrote it (she did a great job at that!) but lets get real, does anyone want to read 248 pages of a 6th grader repeating herself over and over again?
   i was excited to get this book from reading all of the good reviews but i would only recommend this to a 6th grader going through the recovery of incest that she was.
   I hope nobody over the age of 13 wastes their money on this book.

3 comments about Women Travelers: A Century of Trailblazing Adventures 1850-1950.

1. I bought this book for my wife as a Christmas present and after she had thoroughly enjoyed reading it , I stared to peruse it .
   A must read for everyone and more particular every woman.
   
   Excellent.



2. I read a review of this book in an Australian newspaper and felt that I just had to have it. Due to it's popularity it was out of stock, so of course I looked on Amazon and there it was - and even with postage it's cheaper to buy overseas ! My package arrived safely and with excitement I ripped into it to reveal the most gorgeous book filled with amazing women and their stories. These women survived hardship, often with extreme weather and lengthy travel by any means in order to satify their wanderlust in a time when women were meant to stay at home and tend to husbands and children. I love that they remained true to themselves, however they saw themselves, some dressing as men to allow a greater range of travelling experience and others ensuring they travelled with the best goods such as porcelain teasets and linen sheets. If you adore armchair travel then this is the book for you - it takes you back to the time when a journey was dangerous, romantic and exotic and when the fun was in the getting there.



3. 
   "In 1898, Fanny Bullock Workman launched her assault on the Himalayas. Hanging from the handlebars of her bicycle was a tin teakettle. Her pith helmet harbored the badge of the Touring Club of France. A final accessory, one that never left her side and was scarcely less indispensable than her teakettle, was her husband." And as they journeyed, they added such "items as a whip (to drive away the dogs who chased Mrs. Workman's skirts), a pistol (for any men similarly inclined), and a Kodak camera."
   
   This fascinating book celebrates the courageous journeys of thirty-one women from fourteen countries. In addition to Workman, they include Fanny Vandegrift, wife of Robert Louis Stevenson, Nellie Bly, a journalist who went around the world in 72 days, Ida Pfeiffer, Alexine Tinne and Florence Baker and others.
   
   Many of the journeys had long-lasting effects on the role and status of women in society. Some made important contributions to disciplines as varied as medicine, archaeology and anthropology.
   
   Christel Mouchard is an award winning novelist. She used archival photographs and extracts from diaries, letters and other writings to bring these people alive. This book will appeal to travelers of all types and genders.
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008

5 comments about Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood.

1. This is the most powerful and shameful example of parent abuse I have ever witnessed. Apparently Julie is unable to tell the difference between real life and her drug/alcohol induced hallucinations. I read this book and I was totally 'sickened' by the ridiculous lies that were written about her mother, Sandy. Absolutely nothing is true in this book, not even her father's occupation. What a horrendous shame. I know this family extremely well, since early childhood, and I can tell you this book is all lies, written only for sensationalism and profit. Julie was a troubled child who has grown into an even more troubled adult that does not know the difference between good and evil. Even her credentials are fictitious. She has no degree and has not graduated from any college. As a child, she was given everything she ever wanted by a mother who wanted her to have the things she was deprived of as a child. The damage Julie has caused her family is unfathomable, personally, emotionally and monetarily. The entire family have been shunned by the community because of the vicious lies, including the innocent "adopted" children. There was an intense investigation done on this family as a direct result of this book. All charges were unfounded...period! Physiological evaluations were performed on all involved. The children were credited with making tremendous strides under the love and care of Sandy and they love their adoptive mother. Sandy herself has been absolved of any and all possibilities of being Munchausen by Proxy. Sandy, nor the family was ever interviewed by Marc D. Feldman, MD. Therefore, he cannot be considered a valid co-author of this book as he has no basis for his opinions. There was no verification of fact done by Random House before this book was published, unfortunately. Had any been done, this book would not exist other than in the imagination of a very sick person.



2. This was a very interesting book. I wish the author had included a little more detail of how she pulled herself together, how she discovered fruit and vegtables (vice fixing chocolate cake batter for breakfast) I would also have appreciated knowing how she persuaded the child protective services in Montanna of the truth of her mother's 2nd round of "Munchausen by Proxy" with her 2nd family and foster children.



3. i have heard many sad stories of munchausen syndrome by proxy. when i picked up this book i read and read thinking the situations would be getting worse soon... but then it was done. not that i want someone to endure the abuse of this disorder, i was just hoping it would be more graphic, more touching. to make me want to reach out and hold the poor child. it was an ok read, i was just expecting more.i gave it to my aunt to read who has similar interests as myself, and she thought it was just 'ok' too.



4. Like several other reviewers, I could not put this book down. I was horrified, but kept reading because I wanted to see her prevail. The ending wasn't quite as satisfying as I had hoped; it left me with many unanswered questions.
   
   The tale of twisted abuse is quite disturbing. In addition to the medical abuse, Julie, her brother, and the foster children were physically, verbally, and psychologically abused. Julie's mother also neglected to care for veterans she housed (to get the money).
   
   Julie's mother and father were also abused in childhood. Hopefully Julie will end this cycle.



5. I love memoirs, and so many are about child abuse, sexual abuse, or the like, and this one has all that and more. With parents who were both severely mentally ill, being forced to manipulate doctors with her mother in order to get attention and treatment. This book has another aspect in every memoir like this, that people never really change. In fact, they stay the same, which is both comical but sad. This is better than the Glass Castle memoir.

5 comments about Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith.

1. Ms. Gallagher's year long journey with faith was very inspiring. The book covers her year at Trinity Episcopal Church and her growing faith. The chapters follow the Christian calendar and each is filled with insight into the season as well as her personal journey. A very rewarding book.



2. "Sometimes I just can't stand church life," confessed Nora Gallagher to her friend Ann on the next-to-the-last page of her memoir. Baptized at the age of 15, she dropped out of church for about a decade, returned in her late twenties, then spent two decades negotiating a lover's quarrel with church life that she describes as both "familiar and a foreign planet. To cope we are often ambivalent." I suspect that a large part of this best-seller's success has been Gallagher's candor and the chord it has struck with readers who resonate with her experience.
   
   Gallagher came to Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara as a "tourist," she says, but narrates how five years later, much to her surprise, she discovered that she had stayed on as a "pilgrim." Trinity was struggling in many ways for many reasons. The sanctuary that held 400 people was three-quarters empty. Dysfunctions abounded. But a new interim pastor, Mark, heralded a new day and the ship began to turn around. Gallagher organizes her eight chapters according to the church liturgical year (much as Kathleen Norris did for her monastic year in Cloister Walk)--Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time, and pulls back the curtain on every day church life at Trinity among ordinary people. She steps forward as a lay minister, serves communion, participates in a base community, and works at the church soup kitchen. She visits the dying, learns to love Republicans, attends meetings, and eats many a tuna casserole.
   
   At its best, she discovered, church can be a place where, as her friend put it, "you can bring your whole self." Like her brother's bladder cancer, her non-believing husband, the drug death of Ephraim (one of their homeless regulars), or their pastor's announcement that he was gay and how Trinity handled that explosive issue. Gallagher shows what it looks like to do your doubting inside the church, rather than taking pot shots from the outside. She describes a very imperfect human institution where honest people articulate genuine questions and differing opinions. In such a church, observed the English historian Esther de Waal, we encounter the "sense of allowing the extraordinary to break in on the ordinary" (p. 18). If that prospect sounds attractive to you, then read Things Seen and Unseen. Then do what I did; read her sequel called Practicing Resurrection (2003).



3. A good Episcopalian who has returned to the Church after a decade-long hiatus, Gallagher examines Christianity in action using the liturgical calendar as a framework. Her bold voice is one of common sense and reason, always true to her innate feminism without becoming strident. Good for seekers and rock-solid believers alike.



4. While I appreciated the book as an Episcopalian who is very involved with my own parish, and one who is someone new to faith, I did find fault with her book. I felt it neeeded more structure.
   She tended to jump from person to person and from situtation to situation too quickly, leaving me with a long, dizzy list of people who mattered to her, but it seemed like I didn't really know too much about any of them. It would have have been better if she focused on a just a few people in the church and expanded more on her experiences with them. Still it is worth a read and an honest peak into what being involved in a church is all about.



5. Nora Gallagher's "Things Seen and Unseen" calls to mind Lauren Winner's Girl Meets God: Both are a series of vignettes about faith, structured around a religious calendar, and both women are exceptionally well-read.
   
   Gallagher, however, lacks some of Winner's spiritual angst; while Winner bounces back and forth between Judaism and Christianity, Gallagher stays in one place (the Episcopal Church) as she tries to figure out what it means to "love God and love thy neighbor." The book covers one year in the life of Gallagher's church, during which the parish sees the deaths of several parishioners, a furor over the soup kitchen, and a difficult-but-necessary forum on human sexuality.
   
   Gallagher is an articulate writer, who chronicles both the growth of her church and her own personal change with an honesty that makes her an immediately sympathetic narrator. However, she has some trouble "building" the world of her narrative; she mentions a profusion of people at her church, but there are so many of them, often described only in connection with their church activities, that it becomes difficult to keep track of them all. In short, I think the people of the story are so real and dear to Gallagher that she forgets to make them real and dear for her readers.
   
   Though she does grapple with fear and doubt, Gallagher usually comes back to the comfort of a relatively conventional faith; the book might have been more fulfilling had she pursued the ramifications of her problems just a little more aggressively. Her ruminations on faith sometimes wax sentimental, but Christians should welcome this approachable fellow-seeker.
   
   ~

5 comments about Confessions Of an Art Addict.

1. Peggy was a trip. She also apparently had no editor, or so it seems, which adds to the air of entitlement and oblique charm that permeates this book. Her accounts are interesting historically, though PG's slant on history is sometimes its own beast. This is a quick read and some of her observations will make you laugh out loud ("I was worried about my virginity--I was twenty-three and I found it burdensome..."), while others are chilling, especially the question of which Jews she deemed worthy of her efforts to help them get to the States. This may be more entertaining than informative, but it's both.



2. Here's the story of a woman that knew them all, felt the earth move under her feet with many of them, and bought their art for pretty much nothing. She recognized them when they were starting, and this makes her a Princess. This book is her equivalent to Gore Vidal's "Palimpsest" and Lillian Hellman's "Pentimento". This is one of those books that almost transports you to a long gone era, and makes you wish you could have been there to see it all.



3. Undoubtedly, Miss Guggenheim led a colourful and interesting life. She had either great artistic insight and intigrity or a bratish desire to boost of her wealth.
   I didn't reach a conclusion having read this book, but then maybe she was doing a bit of both and wanted to keep us guessing? I found the book enormously entertaining and informative if a little disrespectful of it's subject.
   One cannot help but to consider that this disrespect and the virtual anonymous space she occupies in history, might be very different had she been Peter and not Peggy.
   A great read for modern art lovers, a fairly good one for anyone else.
   Though it cannot be helped nor altered, it is a book very heavy on characters, plot, and at times, weighty information; which can be very offputting and confusing.



4. Guggenheim doesn't seem to gilt her "Confessions" in velvet (or gold); she comes across as an honest soul wanting to relate her experiences--an influences--in the art world. Some of the things mentioned are her childhood, her marriages, Max Ernst, Brancusi, Kandinsky, Pollock, and Motherwell (to name but a few). Worth a read... and another read.



5. I became curious about Peggy Guggenheim, when last year, I visited her former home - Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on the Grand Canal in Venice. Now a beautiful and exciting museum, made up of a great collection of paintings and sculptures.
   I was very impressed by the famous artists I found there - Dali, Picasso, Max Ernst, Brancusi are just a few names. So I thought that such a woman must have had an interesting life.
   
   But I have to say that the autobigraphy she wrote has no literary value whatsoever. Instead, it is a very honest, uninhibited story of a life dedicated to collecting pieces of art and their authors. Her motto was "buy one paiting per day" and she got much of the fame for her many affairs with artists. However, the efforts she made to promote XXth century art, by organizing exhibitions and art galleries can only be laudable.
   
   A definite non conformist, she decided to quit college and left for Europe, where most of the American literary "nomads" of the time were going. Bohemian life style suited her perfectly. The vivid literary and artistic life in London and Paris, made her fall in love with these places.
   
   I can only say "chapeau" to such a woman who was neither an artist, nor a critic, but loved art and artists, and who spent all her fortune to create what is today the most important museum in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the 20th century.
   
   The story flows nicely and I also got the chance to find out a lot of interesting details about famous artists. The book can only be a pleasant and light reading on an intercontinental flight or on your coming soon vacation.

3 comments about A Church of Her Own: What Happens When a Woman Takes the Pulpit.

1. I am thoroughly enjoying the book. The author deals with past and present patriarchal obstacles that would ordinarily prevent an elevated sense that there is true value for women to assume leadership roles within the church. A well written description of what to look forward to when women are finally accepted and valued in in true pastoral capacities in influencing a valued and healing role of the soul and the many dimensions overlooked in a male dominated profession.



2. Sarah Sentilles set out to be an Episcopal priest, attending Harvard Divinity School, and seeking ordination in that denomination. She found the ordination process difficult, because she did not conform to some rather narrow expectations of what a priest should be. She blamed herself for not being good enough, and so great was her pain, she completely withdrew from the Church.
   
   In A Church of Her Own, Sarah Sentilles studied in depth a problem that she sees to be of major importance in organized religion. She found that although more and more women are entering divinity schools and the ordination process, these same women are leaving the Church in even larger numbers. She wanted to find out how and why called and committed Christian women were becoming so discouraged and disillusioned in a very short time. [inset as quotation] "...I realized that the brightest, most creative women I knew were having trouble. Either they struggled through the ordination process like I did, or, once ordained and working in churches, they were silenced, humiliated, and abused. These women--women who were faithful, who brought the house down when they preached, who had dedicated their lives to serving God--were being driven out of churches or were leaving the ministry altogether." (p. 3)
   
   When I read this, I became very defensive and wondered if I wanted to read further. Having been in churches with female pastors and counting several as friends, my experience seemed the opposite of Sentilles'. Surely she exaggerated. But I read on--and as I read, I became persuaded. I also became angry and disillusioned. If churches can treat people like that, what hope is there for the world?
   
   The interviewees, from across the country and from different denominations, were honest and frank and needed little prompting to talk about their experiences. Some were still in the church and their real names were not used--their real feelings, however, came through in heartbreaking detail. They reported many incidents of sexism. One of the most common, seemingly harmless practices involved a woman pastor being complimented or criticized about her clothes, her hair style, her weight, or her "time of the month." Male pastors seem never to have that experience. Interesting, isn't it?
   
   Almost all women were offered lower salaries than their male counterparts because (it was rationalized) men were known to be the breadwinners of the family. Many congregations could not deal with a pregnant pastor. It makes everyone uncomfortable, they were told, to bring that "sexual connotation" to the pulpit. Do these same congregations think their male pastors are celibate? Of course not, but their sexuality was not so overt.
   
   Many women--and some men--come as new pastors, fresh from leading seminaries with a passion to serve. They might use what is called "inclusive language," terms which do not exclude or demean on the basis of race, religion, or gender. Most often, the women's efforts to speak inclusively were rebuffed. They were told that no one wanted to call God "She." (Sentilles argues that this misses the point, anyway: "Replacing one form of gender-exclusive language with another does not solve the problem." p. 138) The way we speak of God, she feels, goes to the heart of theology, regardless of denomination. "We will have to trust that God is bigger than anything we can say or write or sing about God. We will have to have faith in God."
   
   What first seemed to me to be Sentilles' angry and bitter criticism of an institution that failed her turned out to be a clearly stated and researched study, not just of the institutionalized church but those who attend and manage those churches. It truly does go to the heart of belief. What is religion? What is the Church? Who can fully participate? And, most important, what do our attitudes toward the clergy say about Christianity and those who profess to be Christians? Sentilles and the women she interviewed were very specific about ministry being a call to action--this is not religion of which they speak, but service, ministering to others. "Ministry is theology in action." (p.244) Sentilles and the other women ask this of organized religion, from which they often felt excluded or alienated: "What might empowering people to live their ministries in daily life look like? How would it change the church?...What might be lost? What gained?" (p. 247)
   
   Many of the women remain hopeful about the future. Many continue their ministry outside of the church, working with the homeless, abused women, the elderly. Interestingly, more than one finds she is most accepted in women's prisons. "It is a population that is vulnerable and needs help and is easily accessible...Women want to tell their stories. This is a place to hear women's stories." (p.278)
   
   Sentilles concludes that she has found a kind of faith in the writing of this book. "Yes, the church is sexist. Yes, the church is racist. Yes, the church is homophobic and classist and oppressive...and exclusive. And, at the same time, the church is filled with human beings ministering to one another, nourishing one another, challenging one another." (p. 309) "When I began writing this book, I was extremely angry. I was grieving. I wanted to write a book that would reveal how terrible religion is...But the women I interviewed changed my mind. Their stories, their energy, their commitment converted me. I began to feel strangely, unexpectedly hopeful." (p. 309)
   
   Having read this book, I feel hopeful, too.
   
   by Susan Ideus
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



3. IMHO, the name of this review should have been the title of this book... as I read through the first 3/4 of this book, I was struck by two things: how well-written it was, and how bitter the author was about her experience with trying to serve in the church.
   
   Turns out, writing the book was healing for her. In the final pages, she comes to realize her interviews with the women for this book have washed over her soul and made her long to be accepted or requested by a congregation. Her bitterness turns to grief. I was sorry she hadn't spent more time on this discovery, less on all the negative aspects of women in ministry. (I do know women who are serving, loving it, but have also had frustrations. That seems rather typical, I think.)
   
   This was not the kind of book I was expecting when I bought it. Often I wondered how young this author was--her contemporaries were women in their 20s. And, I'm sure it is hard to receive respect when one is a woman, that young, and as some of her friends did, look and act so contemporary that some might have thought they still belonged on a college campus.
   
   Still, she is a fabulous writer (or she has a fantastic editor, or both). She's obviously done tons of research that's invaluable. For years I struggled to find something contemporary on the shelf about women in the ministry... so a book like this was/is sorely needed.
   
   The slant is overtly liberal and gives ample space to the disenfranchised (gay/lesbian/transgendered/etc.). I did feel much compassion for, and learned more about those who are frustrated because the traditional church will not ordain them, yet God is calling them to serve in some meaningful way.
   
   I totally "get" the inclusive language she talks about. I'm a Cady Stanton fan, sat through many women's studies classes--yet I can't say that I have as strong of a revulsion to the male-only language (Father, Son, etc.). Although I do love the NRSV and the fact that it uses "brothers and sisters"!

5 comments about First Mothers: The Women Who Shaped the Presidents.

1. Imagine if the public throughout history had been privileged to read books and concepts like this one. We might have had entirely different Presidents than we had, or we might have had a much better understanding of the kind of President we were getting. Barbara Bush has been around for some time, and most know both her influence, and her ability to put people at ease with her common sense and her style. We've yet to hear anything about the mothers of the current candidates in 2004, but who would not remember Lillian Carter, feisty as she was, a no nonsense strict disciplinarian if my memory serves me correctly, but endearing, and honored by her son, the President. One of the most powerful mothers of all was Bill Clinton's mother, and when I read her story I wept, not only for her, but for her family, and in part, for me, and for all of the women I'd known who had to march forward in life in less than ideal circumstances. Hers were pretty bad, but they sounded more familiar than not, unfortunately, as I'm sure they did to many others. I had never read a more powerful personal reflection and about such deeply troubling topics. Their familiarity continues to move me whenever I think about it. With all of our rhetoric about how we claim to be opposed to domestic violence, physical, emotional and verbal, we've done little to the vast need that actually exists. She may have been the first that I'm aware of in my lifetime to be so candid, and be connected to so powerful a person as a President of the United States. Surely, that is a major step forward for America, and one hopefully not lost on American women, even if it is usually on American men. Because we prefer our heroes complete with shining armor and white horse, we are not prepared for the knowledge that they had endured some of the common problems that affect so many families. The revelation was striking, and provides an extraordinary backdrop to understanding her son, the President, and perhaps a little of his administration despite their obvious gender differences. Men are often measured by their fathers as the "chips off the old block," as Dad's are inclined to view them, but in fact, most have far more affinity with their mothers to whom they have been the most intimate and honest. It is the reason that Barbara Bush can look at her son, and wonder if he would make a good President, as she did once, and why Lillian was not about to become lax with her son. The high expectations that mothers have of their sons as adults is far higher than their fathers do, and sons nearly always feel the pressure of that concern, as well as the love that accompanies it. Fathers have high expectations of their sons as youngsters, generally, to prepared them for that task, but it is usually the mothers who scrutinize and measure their progress the most intensely. Any book that attempts to define the relationship of Presidents and their sons, or even any prominent sons, and their mothers is well worth the effort and the expense for understanding how those gentlemen are able to rise to meet those expectations, and the struggles to get there. This is true family entertainment, and among the most worthwhile available for family values, and perhaps, for family progress.



2. Predictable. This book only made me turn the pages because I was hoping to find some golden nugget of information that would truly link the Presidents. It was not to be found.



3. This was a very informative book, well-written and interesting. Numerous facts not before know to me were written in this book. I felt each of the mothers was unique, but many had similar characteristics. I really enjoyed reading this book.



4. Although First Mothers is an interesting topic, this book had a few serious flaws. The author is obviously a journalist, not a non-fiction author. The chapters felt a little choppy, and the lack of a firm timeline was confusing at times. Also, there was a strong bias throughout the book, particularly in favor of Rose Kennedy. It was an interesting book that was obviously researched extensively. But it was a bit too nostalgic.



5. I enjoyed this book very much and have passed it on to my Grand Daughter to read since we have a new Great Grandson just born. Who knows he could be our president someday.