5 comments about Population: 485 (P.S.).

1. In many ways this book deserves the highest praise: well written, thought provoking, and in some cases very funny. Yet at times seemed justified for an average rating because it did seem to drag and Mr. Perry chose to wordsmith just a bit too much for me. However, I believe the book can offer every reader something of value and would recommend you take the time to visit Mr. Perry and the town of New Auburn.
   
   It should be pointed out that the book isn't intended for the weak. Perry's story's are graphic and hard hitting and if death bothers you; enter cautiously. From a personal perspectives this made the book for me and the authors ability to make me feel a part of each scenario added to my enjoyment.
   
   I travel on occasion on Route 53 heading North to Duluth.... I plan on stopping to take a look and catch me some food at the local diner. Thanks Michael for sharing your stories.



2. Michael Perry's every page drips with humor, intrigue, and dexterity. He is truly a master of words! His simple country bumpkin way of life stands juxtaposed to his extreme intellect--a beautiful combination that makes his writing style quite unique and thoroughly enjoyable. Even if the story seems at times a monotonous New Auburn history lesson, one should read it for the sheer joy of watching Perry turn a phrase.



3. Since reading this book, Michael Perry has quickly become one of my favorite authors. His writing style is humorous but at the same time heartfelt and sincere. Population 485 is about Michael's return to his hometown and his adventures on the volunteer fire department. The people in the town are the characters and by the end of the book, you feel as if you've know them yourself.



4. From the little I'd read about this book, I expected some warm, perhaps funny vignettes about life in a rural town. This book is much more! It's laugh-out-loud funny: I read several passages to my family. It also gives an insider's view of the world of volunteer firefighting and EMT/ambulance work. The author uses an impressive range of voices--from "local yokel" to knowledgeable medical professional, essay writer, and lover of poetry. My favorite book of the year so far!



5. MIchael Perry is a good writer. Any reader will feel instantly at home and comfortable reading one of his books. Population 485 accurately describes life in a small town. People know and care for each other. This emotion comes through in Population 485. If you want to feel good about the spirit of America, read this book.

5 comments about Why I Wore Lipstick: To My Mastectomy.

1. Being a young survivor myself, I thought this book depicted the fears and anxieties a young woman goes through when she discovers she has breast cancer. It can be really scary and threatening and the author, Geralyn Lucas, shares that but with a mixture of humor and spunk, which makes for easy listening and digestion of her story. I love that she isn't afraid to wear lipstick, show off her breast tattoo, or face breast cancer with optimism in the midst of her perils. This is a nice uplifting breast cancer book that will make any young woman feel she can deal with breast cancer and life isn't over just because you have a cancer diagnosis.



2. I loved this book. I am a breast cancer survivor, and I can relate to everything she is saying. It is also so hilarious! I gave this book to my mom and my best friend to help them understand my world. It really helped.



3. I had to have a bi-laterial mastectomy last year and this book was recommended to me by my oncologist. I found it very inspirational and have decided to pass it on to anyone that I know that has battled breast cancer. It was funny at times and sad at times, just like my own experience with this devastating disease that affects so many women.



4. I agree wholeheartedly with most of the positive reviews here. This lady faced her dark hours with a sense of humor about herself as well as those around her who couldn't know what it exactly felt like to be in her shoes. The path of cancer or any serious condition is fraught with faux pas of medical staff as well as loved ones and acquaintances. There is no set script for anyone to follow. The author meets these issues and her illness with a fighting spirit. Well-written,funny and a stark view of cancer victim reality with a empowering edge.



5. please see, "Goddesses Don't Buy Green Bananas" THis is a photographic story about more than one person with cancer... read about their bravery and courage and fear.

5 comments about Gift of Pain, The.

1. This book is a moving account, part biographical, part medical that gives incredible insight into the experience of pain. Pain is protective and a subjective experience. Dr. Brand makes things imminently clear and understandable. Great read.



2. I am a hand therapist, an occupational therapist who specializes in hand and upper extremity conditions and injuries. Paul Brand was an amazing man, an inspiring teacher and writer. Of course Philip Yancey coauthored this book, but this is Brand's own voice. It reads much like his professional writing, with clear and vivid analogies to explain difficult concepts. I never had the privilege of working with him, but I was lucky enough to spend time with him at various conferences and courses. He was a deeply spiritual man who spoke with both authority and humility, and possessed a sparkling sense of humor.
   
   The book does not by any means cover Dr. Brand's entire career, but sheds a very bright light on the groundbreaking work he did with Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients. In the US, he moved to the Carville, Louisiana Hansen's disease center and continued to publish his writing, and to teach and guide hand surgeons and hand therapists. He was made an honorary member of the American Society of Hand Therapists, one of many honors showered on him throughout his distinguished career.
   
   Please read this book. It will inspire you and give you fascinating food for thought.



3. I have not quite finished reading this book (though I've skimmed the last chapters and know some of their content), but I am so excited about it that I could not wait to post this review! Be forewarned: those reviewers who used the phrases "can't put it down" and "the dishes will stack up" and "a page-turner" are not exaggerating. Every day I look forward to the time when I can open this book again and read, and I have lost not a few hours of sleep staying up late to read just a little more.
   
   Paul Brand's account, expressed in Yancey's superb writing, of his investigation of the causes of leprosy and its devastating effects reads like a detective story, with pieces of the puzzle falling into place one by one. The stories of successes and failures are always placed in the context of the lives of real people. Brand's reflections on pain are never heavy-handed, always instructive, sometimes challenging, often humbling and awe-provoking.
   
   If you work in the medical field, as I do, I cannot urge you strongly enough to read this book!! It should be required reading in every medical school, nursing school and PT/OT school. I have already started to re-tune my approach to patients with pain a little, and I have begun rethinking my own pain of various kinds.
   
   Paul Brand was a compassionate genius of the highest order. I've never heard that he won a Nobel Prize for medicine or the Nobel Peace prize, but he should have. He applied his genius with sacrificial energy, enthusiasm, humility and humanity to helping "the least of these".
   
   I wish I had read this book sooner. I recommend it more highly than I can express.



4. This was the first book that introduced me to the writing of Philip Yancey. He is a truly great writer and this story of Dr. Brand's life is exceptional. I suffer with chronic pain and have for many years. I was profoundly impacted by the wisdom of this book and found that reading it has made a healing difference in how I view my pain. Not only that, the tale of Dr. Brand's life is fascinating. I never knew much at all about leprosy and thought it was a disease of the past.
   
   I think the title can deter some people from reading it. I remember hearing about it when I wasn't in chronic pain and it definitely did not sound like a subject I wanted to dwell on. For some reason, though, I purchased it and put it up on a shelf for years. One day I happened on it--when I was ready to read it.
   
   Do miss this. The human body and the God who designed it is truly amazing.



5. Dr. Paul Brand's "The Gift of Pain" (with Philip Yancey co-authoring) is probably my favorite-ever book. It reads like a mystery, a biography and a story-teller's yarn all at the same time. Be careful - once you pick this book up you won't want to put it down; the dishes will pile up in the sink and you'll stay up later than you should, reading by flashlight if necessary. Apart from the Bible, I can't recall any other book that has been so uplifting to my soul. It is the only book that, after reading a library copy, I bought not one but two copies: one to keep and one to loan out to anyone I can encourage to read it. The Brand/Yancey team also wrote two other excellent works ("In His Image" and "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"), and there is a biography of Dr. Brand entitled "Ten Fingers for God." All well worth reading, but "Pain" is by far the best. My only regret is not having met Dr. Brand personally. If I had to choose one man (apart from Jesus himself) to point out to my son and tell him, "Grow up to be like that man," it would be Dr. Paul Brand. Do your soul a favor; read this book!

5 comments about Where is the Mango Princess?.

1. This was one of four books that I had to read for an Intro to Communications Disorders class that I took last semester. I was pleasantly surprised what a good read it was. After reading this book I checked into my insurance to see how much coverage I would have for accidents like this one. It also made me think about how fragile life is and how your life can turn on a dime. The brain is complex and vulnerable to trauma both externally and internally. The book also helped me to communicate with my husband about these kinds of accidents. If your language center gets damaged then you can't communicate. I told him that if that happened to either one of us then one really helpful piece of advice is to find a book such as this to see whats going on in the injured person's head. I really appreciate that people take the time to write about their experiences even very traumatic ones such as this.



2. Crimmon's book was heart-wrenching to read. The story of her husband's TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and the after effects of it on her life, his life and their daughter have to be read to be understood. I can't do it justice. She keeps a good sense of humor throughout the book but there is certainly an underlying cynical and bitter tone throughout. Not that I can blame her. It's real. It's life and a it ain't pretty. Personally, after reading this I literally wanted to make all my loved ones wear helmets each day after reading about the hell that TBI can put a family through.



3. An honest telling of head injury and what family will experience.
   
   I was shocked at what her daughter, Kelly, was exposed to - I have since read that the author now regrets this. Rehab is NO PLACE for children - or an endless stream of friends. I am sad that her husband's privacy was taken away in order to project 'normalcy' or the authors belief in emotional honesty. She should have protected her husband and her daughter. THIS is the time when you close the door to the world outside and tend to your family - as best you can.
   
   I feel for the author. How quickly the nurses/non-doctors put forth a 'professional opinion' about brain injury. As I often say: Everybody wants to be a doctor, nobody want to go to medical school. You have to see brain injury over a long span of time, which is years and decades. A nurse who sees them admitted and discharged knows next to nothing, unless personally affected.
   
   The beginning of the story was confusing to me because the marriage had so little intimacy. The parents were 2 ships in the night and then they had a child. This little girl was utterly alone through a waking nightmare. I hope she finds the support that she will need as she grows up.
   
   Eventually, the author acknowledges her lack of connection to husband and child and explains herself in a way that is somewhat satisfying.
   
   I appreciate her honesty in the discussion on disinhibition. You can count on it happening and it's real hard to explain to people - especially when you have to.
   
   Worth reading, though disturbing in ways the author may not have intended.



4. We read this book for book club and we all loved it. Only now I understand what my cousin and his family have gone through after he had an bicycle accident and was in a coma for three days. The writer clearly describes the pain and anguish she and her daughter went through. I admire her absolute commitment to her husband and getting him back on his feet and back to a "regular" life. This is a great and informational book to read for everybody who comes into contact with a person with brain injury.



5. I read this book in four nights, right before bed. I tore through it like no other memoir before. This book, for me, was like reading my own parents' memoir. My father suffered a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) when I was four/five years old. Of course, so much of what was available to the author's husband was simply not around 45 years ago. I understand so much more why my father acted the way he did for the remaining 16 years of his life. This book is powerful. It is honest, raw, intense, lighthearted at times, funny, sad, well written and easy to read (though the subject matter is quite painful at times)... an all around excellent book. I am so glad that I read it, and plan to keep this one.

5 comments about Welcome to My Country.

1. Lauren Slater presents a vivid tale of a therapist' s sojourn, examining mental illness from both an insider's and outsider' s perspective. Slater takes us on a journey through her own work in hospital settings, culminating in a personal coda. She confronts unbelievable countertransference at Mount Vernon, the same place she was hospitalized, with a client suffering from a similar constellation of symptoms. She is unique in the mental health community, populated by professionals attempting to abstract themselves from their clientele in the name of objectivity. Although, my psychoanalytic frame dictates an objective stance, I was deeply touched by her sincere humanism and willingness to explore the subjective world of her clients' alien worlds.
   
   Before exploring the clients, their illnesses, the therapist and the treatment interventions, I feel compelled to comment on Slater's unique writing style. Her prose is the result of the ability to paint from a diverse palette of lexicon, style, theory and foremost, metaphor. I was whisked through her world, experience and firm theoretical grounding, giving way to a clear image of her thought process and orientation as a therapist. Her writing style is lush and sensual, like her unique approach to therapy, crossing boundaries rarely trespassed by the orthodox therapist. At certain points, I was left questioning whether this was bravery, or a misguided foraging into the taboo realm, which leads to dual relationships.
   
   Often, clients with Axis Two disorders, such as Peter, have a wide repertoire of tactics at their disposal, testing the boundaries and weaknesses of the attendant therapist. I conferred with one of my colleagues, and they agreed that some of her sexual imagery, in describing herself as well as Peter was a bit much, to say the least. For example, she states, "I imagined myself in sequins, my crotch sprayed silver, as I, nude, gyrated to the beat of his voice" (p. 53). Later, she asserts, "in his admission of pain he was now naked; he had pressed himself against me and I wanted to celebrate, not violate, this stance" (p. 59). The list of sexually charged metaphors is simply too long for this brief review. However, a few more examples might help to make my point. She goes on to say, "and I, well, I grew to love him and love the strength in his slow surrender" (p. 61). Sometimes, I was overwhelmed with laughter, writing in the margins "this is too much". For example, try this sentence on for size: "it is a dangerous thing for us, we people who grow up sucking the steel nipples of this country's missiles, many think living in the world is living in war, women who think their bodies are Molotov cocktails that must be detonated, destroyed, before they are munched up by their own metabolism" (p. 62). In the words of George Orwell, "The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not"(Orwell, 1950). Simply stated, although she is an Ivy Leaguer, her metaphors are mixed as "people sucking steel nipples" clash with munching metabolisms. This is not an isolated example of where I felt metaphors mixed, and poetry superseded the message. Frankly, my impression of Peter was summarized in the margins as, "he is a sociopath", "she's turned on" and "he's got her where he wants her". Perhaps, this is too simplistic, however this was my reaction.
   
   Nevertheless, her work and description of the schizophrenic clients is noteworthy. It helps the shed light on the discombobulated world of the schizophrenic, and her daring and adventurous discarding of the banal "activities of daily living" foisted upon her clientele. I think there is a connection between R.D. Laing's views on insanity and Slater's subjective willingness to voyage into the mind of madness. Perhaps, it is because they both have a grain of insanity within their own minds. However, as Aldous Huxley once stated, "sanity is a matter of degree"(Levy, 1997). I found the hospital settings, frightening, rigid and mundane, until Slater injected some humanity into their sterile milieu. Perhaps, this comes partially from her being a former mental patient and seeing things from the inside looking out as well as the outside looking in.
   
   In contrast to Maslow, Slater's vision as well as her life is circular, not linear. Like so many of us, she finds herself walking down the same path and confronting the past and its ghosts. Emotionally, this resonated with me on a personal and intellectual level. Her client, Linda Cogswell, is described as bulimic and borderline among other things. Slater courageously admits, that she to was diagnosed with an eating disorder and a borderline personality as well as hospitalized at the same facility in which she treated Linda. Lauren Slater allows the reader to catch a glimpse of her unique beauty, and talent as a therapist and person, readily admitting identification with the client. Vis `a vis identifying with Slater as a multifaceted human being, I was able to readily accept the notion that borderline personalities and mental illness involve people as opposed to categorical descriptions. Lauren Slater renews a sense of humanity in writing about her clients, their illnesses, herself as a therapist and her unique approach to therapy. I enjoyed this novel a great deal and was enlightened, entertained and invigorated by her refreshing memoir of madness.
   
   
   
   
   References
   Levy, D.A. (1997)., Tools of critical thinking: metathoughts for psychology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
   Orwell, G. (1950). Shooting an elephant and other essays. London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.



2. Her work is not a work of non-fiction. She admits that she has changed the identities she has written about and confounded their settings. Therefore "Welcome To My Country" should be regarded as a work of fiction. But that is nothing to spit on.
   I must confess that I feel a sense of dread and perverse anticipation when I look back on my reading of this book. Doctor Slater engages in what can only be called the art of vulnerability. She peels back the petals of many, many roses until we find, with a bit of shock, that the most central rose is both hers and our own. Her prose is cool but her spirit is warm. The theme of the erotic is constant through out this book and in all of its episodes. I was bewildered by this until in a sequence that lies near the end of the work she reveals exactly what country we are being welcomed to. Her own confessions are gut wrenching and are the kinds of expostulations that make me cringe as if I was being compelled to pay ear to the screechings of fingernails dragged across the surface of a black board.
   There is a great beauty in this book. There is also something slightly clumsy and sweaty as Doctor Slater strives to make sense of the madness of her clients and her own madness.
   A memoir of madness. Whose?
   I will return to this book often.



3. Read this in the library of Slater's secondary school when I was in hs, but didn't know it was by a graduate. Looked at it from that perspective of knowing who it was by this time w/out knowing that I had read it. I knew that I had read it because I remembered Marie's cracking peach nail polish. I have remembered that image forever; it has been echoing in my mind. I think that I was skimming the book, and hadn't read the personal part before too. So, if I remembered parts of the book after probably 7 years, this has to be an extraordinarily poetic book. After I read the book, I remember thinking maybe I should become a psychologist (i really don't know what i am going to do yet, but the book really did make an impression on me nevertheless). So, this book deserves really to be in any library, and not on the basis of the author graduating from that school! The author comes across as being very compassionate and well spoken. She writes like an angel.



4. Lauren Slater has guts. We've had decades and decades of first hand accounts of mental illness by those who have worked with the afflicted, but Slater is singular in her unwillingness to spare the layman's sensibilities.
   
   Slater's book is a first hand account of her journey through life with a house full of schizophrenics, some doomed and some just in the reach of redemption. She herself is driven to the emotional brink trying to bring something whole out of these irretrievably wounded people. In one scene she practically breaks down trying to convince a group of schizophrenics that the imaginary UFO they want to take off in as a group simply isn't there. She works with a borderline sociopath male chauvinist, every inch the ruthless alphamale, who brutalizes his girlfriend and in his spare time watches sadomasochistic pornography films--all symptoms of his underlying terror of the feminine. Miraculously, despite her disgust with this guy, she gets somewhere with him.
   
   This is not light reading but necessary reading.



5. Welcome to My Country is a beautifully written narrative about psychotherapist Lauren Slater's challening work with mental patients in Boston. She goes to greath lengths to get inside the minds of each patient, following their schizophrenic dreams and fears, their history, and treatment. Her prose is vivid and poetic, albeit a little overwritten at times. Her metaphors are far-fetched, but the language is astounding. The ending is a bit short, but works well. The reader does not get a true grasp of Slater's own private struggle with mental illness, but it is touched on enough to show how her compassion and experiences set the groundwork for her entrance into the mental health field. It is more lyrical essay than psychological text. For all intents and purposes, this book seems to have more to do with Slater recognizing her own voice and self in her patients (much countertransference) than the patients themselves. However, the memoir, at its most basic point, is a fascinating study into Slater's own psyche.

2 comments about The Bill Cook Story: Ready, Fire, Aim!.

1. An extraordinary portrait of a remarkable and unsung - till now - American entrepreneur. Those familiar with Bob Hammel's writing will recognize the great reporting and inimitable style which have marked his journalism and several books. As he did in his bestseller about another complex genius, former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight, Hammel displays a knack for finding and revealing his subject's psyche.The reader feels as if he is perched on Cook's shoulder listening to him think. Hammel's story of a life and fortune well-spent is wrapped around a suspenseful crime drama. Don't miss this one.



2. This book is an epic tale that is equal parts ambition, pluck and smarts. Hammel details how a guy who once slept on a cot in a Chicago factory where he worked (because he had no place else to stay) was able to eventually create a medical devices company that has saved millions of lives and created jobs for tens of thousands of people in the last 40 years. Settle in for a great read and expect to take away insights galore from this remarkable story of achievement. Only in America could something like Bill Cook and the Cook Group happen. Get ready to be "Wowed."

5 comments about A Midwife's Story.

1. I'm an older guy, and I don't remember why I first read this story about 15 years ago, but I have read it every few years since, and I can never get through it without tears towards the end. It is a lovely and very touching inside view of a young woman's personal Odyssey through the rigors and perils of learning her art in Scotland to practicing it among the community of Amish in Pennsylvannia. I was at my wife's side when our two sons were born, perhaps that is why her story always touches me so. Penny's book has always been on my "A" list :).



2. Armstrong's and Feldman's book is outstanding. I would reccomend it to anyone thinking of having a baby. Listening to the stories about home birth in the Amish community will increase a woman's sense of confidence about her own body and give her faith in the natural process of birth. This is a classic. Every mother should own it.



3. I am a self proclaimed doula and accidental midwife. This book spoke to my heart what I know to be true about birth but had no words for. The journey that Penny went through finally ending at a healthy respect for life and death...it was just beautiful. I enjoyed the stories of the Amish people and their ways and am challenged to look at the way I live. Excellent!



4. This is a great book that enters the world of both midwifery and the Amish. Actually, it's more about the Amish than midwifery so if you are looking for a book that is soley about birthing babies, than I would consider Baby Catcher or something similar.
   Really enjoyed this book.



5. I liked this one overall; there were some good birth stories, and I learned more than I expected to about the Amish. There was also some good insight into the hospital birth system.
   
   However, I was left a bit disappointed because I didn't feel the book was well-written in general. The story was often jerky and disjointed. To offer one example, when Penny went to Scotland for her nurse midwifery training, I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Wasn't she American? Why did she go all the way to Scotland? What, what? Some events just felt... random and not properly introduced.
   
   There were also quite a few lulls in the story; about 3/4 of the way through, I got bored and started skimming. I was expecting more birth stories, but there weren't too many.
   
   I would recommend checking this out from the library. And if you're looking for more birth stories and drama surrounding midwifery in general, check out "Baby Catcher" by Peggy Vincent.

5 comments about Married to a Bedouin.

1. I've only heard rave reviews of this book and was strongly encouraged to read it since I would be spending an extended period in Jordan. I think my expectations were too great. I had hoped to learn more about Bedouin traditions and culture and how a Westerner became a part of the society. I'm not a scholar of the Middle East, Arab, or Bedouin historty/tradition, but there was little information that was new for me. I found the book to be poorly organized, lacking of structure, and repetitive. Except for a few "chapters" when the author truly opened up to the reader, I felt as if I were reading a list of items from a day planner. From the anecdotes, it's clear Ms. Van Geldermalsen (Umm Salwa wa Umm Raami) led a rich life and experienced much that most of us will never know. I simply wish she had a better editor.



2. Having been to Jordan several times and hoping to go back (I am totally in love with the country) I picked up this book at the airport for an in-flight reading.
   
   I thought it would be just another account of a western person whining about the ''wrongs'' of Muslim life but I was so pleasantly surprised that I couldn't put this book down.
   
   Margaruite's story is a matter of fact account and no preaching. She writes it as she experienced it and offers us facts which we can then make into whatever we want. She offers no criticism of the lifestyle nor does she compare it to the western lifestyle as many of the similar accounts are written nowadays. She also isn't a ''hippie gone native'' as she says many people used to see her as.:)) She simply fell in love with a man and adapted to live her life in his culture. You will enjoy the funny details, and I especially liked her account of the trip back to New Zealand with her Bedouin Husband.
   
   I admire her story, not just for the story itself but for the way it was written.
   Although I have been to Petra several times, after having read this book I went again to experience it in a totally different way, not stopping to admire the ancient Nabataean city but the people who live there and around at the moment. And the experience was unforgettable. We do tend to forget observing the people when doing the ''touristy'' thing at the historical sites. And ashamed, I must admit that the first couple of times around I was annoyed by the ''Bedouins'' trying to get me to buy the ''ancient'' items - but this time around I had a wonderful experience enjoying their spirit.
   
   I don't want to give away too much.
   Read the book. You will not regret it!
   
   Hope it will get you to plan your next holiday to Jordan!



3. If you want to understand Arab culture no better place than to start here. You get a two for one. Petra is one of the great places on the globe and the people there are very special. Marguerite writes a cogent and charming account of her life from New Zealand to Jordan and her family in Petra.



4. Read this book right after touring Petra. It enhanced my feelings and memories if the place immensely. Well written. It gives a very good sense of what life was like in a Petra cave and being married to a very creative Bedouin man and his very large extended clan. Recommended highly, although I'm not sure how much I would have comprehended without having been there myself.



5. This New Zealand-born woman with her Dutch ancestry talks about how she wasn't brave or didn't do anything extraordinary: she merely fell in love with a wonderful, decent, funny, charming and intelligent guy -- who happened to be Bedouin and live in a cave in Petra. I met them in the teahouse across from the amphitheater in the spring of 1989 when Salwa was a little girl and the boys were toddlers. Marg and Mo became our lifeline there and secured one of the new government houses in Umm Sehun for us to rent -- with a hot shower and all. We returned in the fall for three more months, learning so much from Marguerite: how to weave a tent from goat hair, to make margluba in one pot and attend a wedding. Each year for the next 10 years (until 2000), we remet and rekindled our friendship, having incredible fun with my own bint (daughter). Now, reading her book, I cherish each page, understanding even more about their special lives and what it means to be part of a Beduoin family.
   It is a book that is so pertinent today in understanding another culture and how our American government is clueless about that part of the world and the vastly different outlook, superstitions, meanings, approach to everyday living that the local people have. Bravo Marguerite.

5 comments about Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal.

1. Absolutely everyone should read Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal by Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen! There is something in this book for everyone. Without reservation, I would recommend this book to every single one of my friends and family. This book is overflowing with boundless wisdom, delightful stories, and poignant memories. Remen's writing style exudes maturity, wit, and warmth. The content is brilliant, while the writing and presentation is equally engaging.
   
   Remen's even cadence and steady, rhythmic style of writing lulls the reader into a calm and quiet state of mind - making it even easier to embrace and accept her thoughts and wisdom. Aside from the invaluable insight it offers, Kitchen Table Wisdom is beautifully written. Beyond her years of experience as a noted clinician, Remen should be recognized as a writer in her own right.
   
   Remen's work pioneered a new genre of medicine - combining medical knowledge and experience with a psychologist's approach to healing. Kitchen Table Wisdom is a direct, accessible, and genuine account of her experiences as a practicing physician. Throughout the book, she heals her patients, not only in body, but in mind and spirit as well. While her book can't heal physical ailments, it will most certainly touch your heart and soul. Her work is astounding, and her direct, unwavering account of her experiences is both informative and eye-opening. Kitchen Table Wisdom is completely enthralling.
   
   In short, this is without a doubt the best book I've read in a very long time. I dare you to try and read just one page. Once you open this book you'll be glued to it until the very last sentence.



2. There was a seeming dual purpose motivating the author to write this book. Remen is a medical doctor who basically tells the stories about how her professional experiences moved her closer to, rather than away from, emotional involvement with her clients particularly as it pertained to the connection between one's spirituality and recovery,amongst other things.
   Remen also shares some very deep and moving stories that were shared with her by her clients once she became a therapist.
   It's a wonderful read and will be helpful to anyone seeking spiritual enlightenment and motivation.



3. Rachel Naomi Remen believes in the healing power of stories. She trained as a pediatrician and expected to practice traditional medicine much as her father and other male members of her family had done before her, but something happened to change her carefully planned course.
   
   In the introduction to Kitchen Table Wisdom, Remen tells how her male colleagues frequently knocked on her office door to ask for her help with a crying patient. They believed that she, as a woman, would know what to do. Though she knew no more than they, she felt flattered that they came to her and felt that this helped her be more a part of their exclusive "Old Boys Network." She began to spend more and more time listening to patients share their fears and feelings of living with a terminal disease.
   
   Since the age of fifteen, Remen has suffered from Crohn's disease. As she listened to her patients, she began to feel less lonely and isolated. Probably, her guidance and uncanny understanding of her patients stemmed from her familiarity with physical and emotional pain.
   
   Kitchen Table Wisdom is a compilation of eighty-eight poignant stories that Remen heard over many years, as well as stories of her own life. Her stories demonstrate her belief that a larger process is at work in all our lives and that human beings are "unfinished, a work in progress." She believes we come into the world whole but lose faith in our wholeness and become discouraged by feelings of not being pretty enough, smart enough, etc. " ... our wholeness exists in us now," she writes, "Trapped though it may be, it can be called upon for guidance, direction and most fundamentally, comfort."
   
   No retelling of Remen's stories can do them justice. One of my favorites is "The Question"--a story told by a patient named Tim (now a cardiologist) of his experience at the age of fifteen with his father, who was in the last stages of Alzheimer¹s disease. At the time, his father had not spoken for ten years and was totally helpless. Tim and his brother were alone with their father when he suddenly slumped over and fell to the floor. The brother was calling 911 when both boys heard a voice commanding, "Don't call 911, son. Tell your mother that I love her. Tell her that I am all right." With those words, the man died. An autopsy later revealed that Tim's father's brain had been entirely destroyed by the disease. Tim never stops wondering who spoke those final words. He tells Dr. Remen, "Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed."
   
   The author believes that talking about and sharing one¹s feelings revives memories that can lead to important new insights about one¹s life, bringing about a healing that formal treatment is unable to offer. She says that Shamans believe illness is a direct indication of soul loss. The soul, she explains, is that which is aware of the sacredness we carry and the sacredness that exists in the external world as well. Losing our appreciation for our sacredness, living with sadness, with feelings of unworthiness can manifest illness.
   
   "Life is the ultimate teacher...," she writes. "It is through experience, and not scientific knowledge or expert academic training alone that we learn our deepest lessons." In her lectures and writings, Dr. Remen likes to tell of a sign on the wall of a room in Florida where the elderly come to play Bingo. It reads, "You Have to Be Present to Win." And so it is in life.
   
   by Duffie Bart
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



4. Beautiful sweet touching book that helped me get me through some tough times. Celebrates the human spirit.
   
   I recently had the privilege of hearing the author speak. she is an amazing woman.



5. For years I refused to read this book after a friend's recommendation thinking that it would be another "feel good" attempt . Boy was I wrong! This book is one of the most extraordinary pieces of writing I have ever encountered. I have read it over and over again many times (the stories are short enough that allow you to read at your own pace). It has actually become sort of a "guide to Life" for me. Furthermore, as story-telling itself goes, is simply masterful. Dr. Remen is a powerful communicator and her wisdom goes beyond "new age". It is a groundbreaking work about mystery, awe and Life with a capital "L".

5 comments about Pretty Is What Changes: Impossible Choices, The Breast Cancer Gene, and How I Defied My Destiny.

1. This is an incredible, thought-provoking true-story of a young woman who has watched her mother die from cancer and then tests positive for a gene mutation that makes her nearly 90% likely to get cancer herself. What would you do if you had that knowledge?
   
   Author Jessica Queller eloquently takes us with us on her journey. Despite the heavy material, this book is an easy read - I read it in 2 days - because her writing is clear and the story is so engaging.... You want to know Jessica and are rooting for her all the way.
   
   This book is for EVERY WOMAN - not just those with BRCA mutations or with cancer in their family. It is for anyone who believes that true stories often make the best books, and are drawn to the extraordinary stories of 'ordinary' people.



2. I read this book in one day. It's a great read. Jessica really makes you think about your options. My mom is a breast cancer survivor and the BRCA test has always been in the back of my mind. It's definitely something that needs more discussing.



3. I am faced with the same genetic predisposition to breast cancer and it was a life-saver to read about another person's triumph.



4. The author explained her gene risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer in an emotional informative way. I purchased the book because my daughter, twin sister and myself had just been tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation. Our test results are that we all have a "variant" that is the same so it is genetic but it is a variant that the lab has never seen in the whole world thus it is "uncertain" what it means other than it is genetically being passed in our family. Reading this book helped me understand gene mutations. The author truly is "beautiful" inside and out.
   Joan Reams



5. This book is a must for anyone with the BRCA mutation or anyone who wants to understand a woman's journey after she finds out she has a BRCA mutation. It is brutally honest and therefore, absolutely compelling. As one who has walked this path, I can tell you that Jessica is very brave to lay it all out there for others to benefit from. I wish her health and happiness.