5 comments about Prophet's Daughter: My Life with Elizabeth Clare Prophet Inside the Church Universal and Triumphant.

1. Sadly, although one may empathize with her difficulties, Erin seems to have missed the inspirational messages and experiences that have been enjoyed by thousands who felt the beautiful, peaceful, scintillating presence of Archangels and Ascended Masters through dictations given by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. One may get the impression that Erin reveals from the beginning that she does not seem to understand Elizabeth Clare Prophet's dictations from the Ascended Masters by referring to them as being channelled. In channelling, a person's consciousness leaves the body while a disembodied entity takes over and speaks. Elizabeth was trained and elevated by the ascended masters to their level of spirituality and she was fully conscious while taking messages.
   
   Erin refers to the "hubristic title Pearls of Wisdom" as if the title is arrogant, yet this term has been used for many years for wise sayings. She wrote that she "bought into" her "Mother's vision derived from a philosophy of New Thought which influenced Christian Science". She also refers to her mother's teachings as coming from "Theosophy which cribbed from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Kabbalah" as if Theosophists pilfered from these instead of being an accepted organization based on ancient information. When she mentions church members not swearing and having "good vibes" during a traffic jam, it does not sound like a genuine compliment. She may write in an educated way, using terms such as "right of primogeniture" in reference to her brother, and lovely landscape descriptions, but the sardonic use of words such as "bought into", "hubristic", "cribbed" and "good vibes" set the tone.
   
   Later on in the book one may get the definite impression, from her own words, she just does not understand the writings of the I AM activity, or the Rosicrucians. She wrote about music that was allowed, such as Sibelius and Beethoven; the reasons for listening to the inspired composers are given in David Tame's book The Secret Power of Music which is available on Amazon.
   
   The purpose of "New Thought", as she calls it, is to individually learn the teachings of the Masters given in progressive revelation, not to criticize the messengers, their personal lives or unkind physical descriptions. Her mother is not the first mother who has attempted to influence the choice of marriage partners.
   
   She wrote about being human but many have experienced the purpose of this activity that is not to be good humans but to be good spiritual beings as demonstrated by the life and love of Jesus Christ and his respect for women and the Divine Mother, as revealed in the dictations given through Elizabeth Clare Prophet.



2. The writer keeps you captivated. She exposes her sex life and that of her parent.



3. I finished this book in pretty much one sitting. It is very well written, Erin Prophet is a great writer. Even when she wrote letters and other things for the organization, her style was sober and to the point. It's an easy (juicy) read, especially for someone familiar with the story from the outside. I'm an ex member, fairly active in local study groups and teaching centers of the organization (as board member and volunteer).
   
   It's clear the book was written without malice, and with complete honesty. It was confusing to me, a few times, when it doesn't follow the time line from the first to the last page, but rather by segment. I did get used to that though, and it does help understand the different segments of the author's experience.
   
   A great book, highly recommended.



4. Tremendous reading. Seems some however need to move on through this old time piscean judgment and get on with this AGE!!! HELLO, so last age folks to judge in this unproductive way! It's a new Day and Erin Prophet has told her story and its wonderful! Bless her in the Great Light the Always WINS!



5. On 8/29/08 I wrote: Last night, I asked to go to Serapis Bey's retreat two times, and because I got up to go to the bathroom two times, I could remember. I saw Elizabeth at Serapis' retreat. (The place looked just like the book cover.) We surrounded her in a celebration--She is preparing for her ascension.
   
   We were so happy, like the old conference days when we got together! Happy as a mandala. Happy around our brothers and sisters on the path...just like the Camelot days. I recognized it was a retreat because Elizabeth used to teach in the etheric retreats and I attended her classes. But this event was a celebration, not a classroom.
   
   ...You see, on 7/4/08, Saint Germain said that God Harmony went before the Karmic Board for a dispensation. The result? Everybody got ten years of karma balanced...I cried for three days for our glorious path--and dear Elizabeth.
   
   Thanks Mark and Elizabeth for showing us the way. That last drama, of the worse ten years, is over. Count me in as one to follow in your footsteps--through thick and thin--to the ascension. Count me in!

5 comments about Women of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture.

1. This is a wonderful book! However, in the copy I received there were some faded pages that were difficult to read. It was small disappointment in an otherwise very pleasant choice!



2. We are using this in our Women's Circle at church and take one of the Women each meeting we have. It has been a really good study and I have really enjoyed learning about these women in depth.



3. This is one of the best book purchases I've ever made. This is a wonderful devotional. I look forward to opening it up everyday. You will not be disappointed.



4. I LOVE this book. I have been using it this past year and am now buying it for friends!



5. I really love this book! It's a versatile resource for personal home devotional time OR a group Bible study (I know, because I'm currently using it for both). My favorite part is the first day's reading, where they take the featured woman's story and retell it in a compelling, dramatic way that draws you into her experiences. I feel much closer to many of the women of Biblical times after spending a week with them through this book.

5 comments about The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories, and a Sense of Home.

1. Beautifully written . . . this book was so touching and the writing style so elegant that it brought the characters to life in a way that made me feel like I could make a connection to each and every one of them. The one section of this book that really affected me was when her grandmother, Nana, toward the end of her life was terrified that she would not see her parents in heaven because she had converted to Islam. It shattered my heart. I loved the "affair" the author had with a gentleman in India. It is so difficult to put in words how the book affected me . . . I have been highly recommending this book to everyone which I do not do lightly.



2. This is a fascinating, well written story. The author has organized a very involved story in a format that makes it easy for the reader to follow. In addition to her Grandmother's story I learned more about the partition of India and Pakistan. Sadia Shepard should be very proud of her first book.



3. I expected this book to be informative and interesting, but I had no idea of how emotionally involved I would feel by the end. Shepard's first-person narrative describes the two years she spent in India, researching her grandmother's roots in a small community of Indian Jews. Her tale depicts the blending and intermingling, successful and otherwise, of nationalities, cultures, and religions, both in India, Pakistan, and in the U.S. Her quest to understand her grandmother better inevitably draws the reader in, and by the end of the book, I couldn't help but feel an intimate connection to both Sadia and her grandmother. Shepard tells her story beautifully, and I was very impressed that this is her first book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys personal narratives, foreign travel, the intersection of cultures, and questions of religious faith.



4. Is there a significant difference between family and spirituality, and family and religion? In Girl From Foreign Sadia Sheppard, a young woman with three religions and one home, explores the distinction in a quest to discover her grandmother's roots. In this quest Sadia begins a complex journey into Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Can one have three spiritual homes? Or is it necessary to choose one? What unites all three religions and what distinguishes them? Can one live with the values implicit in all three religions?
   
   This book highlights the ambiguity of life. How we as modern people can get beyond the view of the world in black & white. The world in actuality is a multiplicity of shades of color. Why do we have to define differences rather than developing a sense of expansiveness?
   
   For Miss Shepard, as it is for most of us, it was important to discover her grandmother's physical and spiritual roots. That knowledge of our ancestors gives all of us a sense of physical continuity and a concreteness which then becomes a jumping off point to discover our own self.
   
   I literally took Sadia Shepard's journey with me as I read her story. It is a moving tribute to her grandmother and presents possibilities for individual peace within a warring world.



5. Mesmerizing memoir, quirky nuanced story telling.
   
   Engagingly discombobulated at times, yet microscopically real, as Shepard explores the nooks and crannies of India and Pakistan using her curiosity, camera and notebook to illuminate micro-cultural threads that weave the tapestry of her heritage. Full of fascinating exposure to Jewish Indians with unique roots and customs who lived harmoniously among Muslims and Hindus for generations. A stirring exploration into the diverse cultural palette of South Asia.
   
   A book to read slowly to best savor the revelations that unfold with Shepard's entertaining and insightful journey full of detailed ambiance and discerning commentary.
   
   Readers beware, as this book may have a lasting impact on your own desire to understand a little bit more about the influences of your own cultural legacy.

5 comments about Lakota Woman.

1. Oh please get out the hankie and feel oh so terribly sorry - - and guilty -for this woman and her tribe. If you light skinned, get out the scourge and whip yourself you evil white person. Only white people are bad. Only people of color are abused. I was a white girl in a foreign country struggling to learn the language and get by and I did. Now I am highly paid having gone through the experience. I learned to speak the language and adapt. Cultures change, people change, ethnic peoples are brutalized, citizens are mistreated. Ms Lakota Woman thinks her life is hard, trying being non-hispanic and live in California!



2. I learnt so much from this book, and felt myself getting angry because of her experiences. good on her for telling her story. L'Ohanna



3. An autobiographical account of Mary Crow Dog's life, this includes experiencing the events that happened at Wounded Knee, and her relationship with her husband, as well as the politics and experiences associated with the AIM political movement.
   
   A look at the disturbing state and problems these people were facing at the time, very interesting.



4. An interesting look at the American Indian's struggles in the latter half of the 20th century. The perspective of Mary Crow Dog is helpful for those who have no similar life experiences to compare to it. Very good insight.



5. The book came in perfect time and is in excellent condition. I have added it to my collection of Native American History

5 comments about In His Sights: A True Story of Love and Obsession.

1. This book is an amazing look inside the life of someone who's being stalked. It's written in such a compelling way, I couldn't put it down-- Both times I read it. It makes you both sad and angry because it reveals how ill equipped we are to protect the victims of this crime. Everyone should read it. It's that good.



2. I am surprised by the anger this book generated in a recent review. I, too, read the book. It was clear the experience was fully documented as accurate. Although documenting subtle and mind-playing games must be difficult, it was apparent that the authorities saw it as real and recognized the potential for great danger and harm. I applaud the effort and courage this author extended to validate her own experience and the experiences of others who feel helpless and victimized.



3. I had high hopes for this book. I myself was a victim of stalking several years ago, and was looking forward to reading an honest account of it. By the time I was 3/4 of the way through this book, I was genuinely beginning to believe that the author either fabricated most of the plot (which is fine, but just don't call it non-fiction) or, more frighteningly, was *herself* the obsessed one.
   
   When you really get right down to it, this is the memoir of a deeply narcissistic, navel-gazing woman who took extreme-yet-illogical measures like traveling under an assumed name (like a customs agent in the United Kingdom, post 9/11, is going to care about a hand-written letter from a small town police chief when her airline ticket doesn't match her passport?) and yet she continues to go to the same therapist for a decade, continues to go to the same libraries for years and years, etc.?
   
   I just finished this book tonight. Once I read the last page, I sat down and thought, 'OK, what really happened?' She never once, except for at the very end, actually SAW Paul. She slipped it in that he had REMARRIED and completed MEDICAL SCHOOL, all the while he was allegedly stalking her? C'mon. So, her phone line went dead a few times. She herself admits it happened only once every two years or so. She saw an acquaintance at an airline ticket office, an acquaintance who apparently didn't even take note of her. Her "complex, modern" alarm system rang false alarms a few times. So does mine. All the time. I can't think of anything else that happened to support her claims of being stalked.
   
   She was never assaulted. She was never threatened; not verbally, not in writing, not second-hand. She never once saw her alleged stalker, nor did she imply that he was following her and was just good at hiding. A backpacker in the woods in Maine asked if he could sit next to her. GASP! CALL THE POLICE!!
   
   Honestly, I am surprised at my own reaction to this, but I guess I feel really tricked and manipulated by this book. There's simply no evidence that this woman was stalked, let alone brutally stalked by a virtual ARMY of paid "surrogates" for more than a decade. I think she is chronically bored, has an overactive imagination, and was perhaps spurned by Paul. What kind of a person doesn't get out the FIRST time their boyfriend says, "Does it bother you that I have a gun in the house?" Does it really ring true that she laid there night after night as he asked and re-asked that question? Wouldn't it be a little more realistic that she might turn over and go "What the hell, freako? You asked me that last night, and the night before that!"
   
   Another lie: She says she didn't get a restraining order because Paul would've had to come to court and be in the same room with her. That is an absolute falsehood. The system is not set up that way.
   
   If I am wrong, then God forgive me. But I don't think I am. Do some critical thinking, folks. Look at the evidence she provides. Look at the likelihood of some of her stories about creating false identities and "going on the run," yet then she returns to her mother's house (where presumably Paul had frequently been a visitor when they were dating) and lives there for a year without a worry?
   
   In conclusion? I don't buy it. In the very beginning of the book, she says she will not name anyone still alive in her acknowledgments, because she is afraid that Paul will hurt them. At the end, she goes on to name full, first and last names of several people who helped her with the book. Huh? I also found it interesting that apparently, according to the author's own words, several people in her life also decided that this alleged "stalking" was a fabricated drama of her own making. I'm with them.



4. I ordered this book immediately after seeing it advertised in a newspaper and read it almost straight through once I got it. I'm very sad for this author who has to be so aware & methodical in her daily doings and living. I also greatly admire her strength and tenacity in being in "control" of her own life while also being Mindful of how quickly the rug can be pulled out from under her. An amazing lady for sure!!



5. 
   
   
   
   Stalk, stalking, stalker - all frightening words. They are words that we see in newspapers, online, or in books. Fortunately for most of us those words are not applicable to our lives, yet we do know that millions of women are terrorized by stalkers. Frequently these women are too frightened to speak out. Not so for Kate Brennan who has been the victim of a stalker for some 13 years. Choosing to write pseudonymously in order to protect those close to her, Kate recounts years of emotional turmoil, fear, aggravation, and anything but a normal life.
   
   Those years have also been a time of growing self-awareness as she remembers growing up in an alcoholic family and the fact that she has always been attracted by slightly out of sync, controlling men. She wonders how she could have loved and once trusted a man capable of such fearful acts. Kate believes that the answer is "...that life with my family had left me with such a high tolerance for cruelty I couldn't recognize perversion when I saw it." Then, as she notes, when she did see it she still thought that sick people could be well, that enough love and understanding might heal. She learned how very wrong she was.
   
   Kate first met Paul at a party in the home of friends. A writer and Bronte scholar, she went alone, comfortable with herself as a 41-year-old single woman. Paul was attractive, a charmer, and independently wealthy. He was a photographer, and the two shared a love of travel. He pursued her and despite past poor luck at romance Kate moved in with him.
   
   However, Paul was not at all what he seemed to be. It wasn't too long before he began having affairs, there were signs of illegal dealings, his once congenial facade changed dramatically. Kate moved out. She thought this was easily done - just walk away. She learned differently. "You can do all the psychic and physical separation you want, but there's no getting away from someone who wants to remind you he can mess with your life anytime he wants." Paul has the resources to do just that, and she now realizes it will not be over as long as he lives.
   
   She has moved repeatedly, still her phone goes dead because her account has been canceled. Small things are moved from place to place in her apartment, people are hired to intimidate her. When she goes to a movie, she first locates the exit then sits in the back row so she can keep an eye on the audience. There is nothing the police can do because there is no solid evidence against Paul.
   
   One wonders how she has been able to maintain her sanity through all of this. Kate's story is a chilling one, even more terrifying because it is true.
   
   - Gail Cooke

5 comments about Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic.

1. Expecting Adam is Martha Beck's engrossing memoir of her pregnancy with her second child, who has Down syndrome. She and her husband, John, both Ph.D. students at Harvard, decide to keep the baby, for reasons they can't at first articulate, and even though doing so goes against most of the values of their Ivy League community.
   
   During the pregnancy, Martha and John experience deep transformations of their worldviews, values, and ambitions. Each also has numerous spiritual and paranormal experiences which they understand to be connected to their unborn child. Most of these experiences are so strange that for many months Martha and John don't even confide in each other.
   
   The Harvard community Martha paints is bleak. Intellectual prestige and appearance are the supreme values. "Knowing a great deal is the norm and knowing everything is the goal, [but] appearing to know everything is considered an acceptable substitute." In order to survive in this culture, Martha consciously calls up a sort of alter ego, named Fang, before every visit to campus. Fang is fearless, aggressive, disdainful, and competitive.
   
   Martha also paints a less than sympathetic view of the passionate feminists who apparently exist in large numbers at Harvard. After one public bout of morning sickness, Martha is approached by one such feminist, a stranger, who says, "I think it's time you stop kissing up to the enemy... This crap about -- what do they call it? -- morning sickness. You know it isn't real... All of those myths were made up to justify denying women access to decent jobs and positions in society... I don't care if you think you can help it or not... It makes us all look bad... Just stop it."
   
   With the exception of a few amazingly supportive friends, this is the context and community in which Martha and John learn that the baby they are expecting has Down syndrome. Their community is often intolerant of healthy pregnancies, not to mention unhealthy ones. The Beck's are pressured on every side to abort -- by fellow grad students, professors, advisors, colleagues and medical professionals. Not to do so is considered both foolish and irresponsible.
   
   These pressures are intensified by Martha's nearly constant "morning sickness" (actually an autoimmune disease not diagnosed until many years later), John's frequent absences due to consulting assignments in Asia, and the anxieties they both have about raising a mentally impaired child.
   
   Martha and John find reassurance and strength in strange places. This is where the spiritual and paranormal experiences come in. They have visions, sometimes even "seeing" each other across continents. And they frequently sense the presence of spiritual beings who they believe speak to them, give them peace, orchestrate events in their favor, and in at least two instances save Martha from grave physical danger.
   
   The ending of the story is never in doubt. Throughout her memoir Martha intersperses chapters about Adam after he is born. He is a beautiful child.
   
   This book was an easy and engrossing read. I particularly enjoyed Martha's and John's transformation from a thin existence characterized by mindless striving, excessive individualism, emotional hunger, and disbelief in all things spiritual, to a thicker existence that was more human and allowed for (in fact, could not deny) a spiritual dimension to life.
   
   I also appreciated Martha's instinctive sense of the vulnerability and humanity of her unborn child. At one point she describes an exchange between herself and her obstetrician, who pressures her to terminate her pregnancy:
   
   "'I would not make the choice that you have made,' he went on steadily. 'I have never known anyone who would.' ...
   
   'I don't know,' I mumbled. 'I guess I just... can't reject him.' It was a miserably inadequate statement. My real feeling, the one I couldn't articulate yet, was that my entire life hinged on knowing that there were people who would continue to love me unconditionally, even if I were damaged, even if I were sick. Such love was the only thing that had sustained me during the turmoil of the past months. If I eliminated my child because of his disability, if I put him out of my life, I would be violating the only thing that was keeping me alive. I'd be ripping the rug out from under my own feet."
   
   In addition, I was touched by Martha's descriptions of life with Adam and the insights she gained because of him. For example: "I was afraid Adam would slow me down, and he has. Not because he has required more care and time than a 'normal' boy (he is the most helpful and least demanding of my children) but because the immediacy and joy with which he lives his life make rapacious achievement, Harvard-style, look a lot like quiet desperation." Another example: "[Adam] has taught me to look at things in themselves, not at the value a brutal and often senseless world assigns to them. As Adam's mother I have been able to see quite clearly that he is no less beautiful for being called ugly, no less wise for appearing dull, no less precious for being seen as worthless. And neither am I. Neither are you. Neither is any of us."
   
   I had a few disappointments with the book. First, I grew tired of reading about Martha's sickness and her seeming neglect of her own medical needs. I began to wonder how, if she was so sick, she kept up with her doctoral studies, mothered her two-year-old daughter, and kept the voluminous journal that she said she relied on to write her memoir more than 10 years after the fact.
   
   I was also disappointed by Martha's misunderstanding of, and opposition to, the pro-life movement, notwithstanding her own profound experiences. She expresses puzzlement that religious people who possess "a devout belief in the life of the spirit" and a "belief that life exists outside of mortal bounds" are the same people who are "so obsessed with a fetus's 'right to life' on this messy little planet." What she doesn't understand is that such people (I include myself) are not devoted to some belief about the nature of spiritual life, but to God himself, the Author of life, who creates humans in his own image. Because he is the Author, that life is sacred and created for his purposes, not our own.
   
   I also found myself wanting to better understand Martha's and John's spiritual experiences. I hoped that these obviously significant experiences would lead somewhere coherent. But Martha and John seemed content not to question, categorize, or define their experiences. Martha simply called the visions the "Seeing Thing" and the spiritual beings the "Bunraku puppeteers" (after a Japanese puppet show). Perhaps their attitude is understandable in view of the Mormon faith in which they each were raised and each abandoned. Nevertheless, their spirituality seems to turn into a free floating, New Age-ish, therapeutic sort of thing. When they conceived Adam, it was as if a door cracked open providing a way out of a harsh philosophic reductionism, but the door never leads anywhere coherent.
   
   Lastly, as I hinted above, I had some doubts about the author's credibility. I wondered how a memoir like this, chock-full of details and verbatim dialogues, could be written so many years after the fact, even with the aid of a journal. I also began to wonder if Martha was prone to exaggeration and caricature. And I questioned the sheer number of strange voices, visions, presences, and events that she describes. After reading the book, I found some biographical information about Martha that, unfortunately, only added to my doubts about her credibility.
   
   Nevertheless, this story was engrossing, moving, and enjoyable.



2. This book was recommended by a writer-friend saying it was well written and an interesting read. I was sucked in by the writer for a few pages, but then decided to start listing all the inconsistencies and reality-defying events. By page 95, where I am now, I have 10 major ones listed. Then I remembered the lately discussion about Fake Memoirs and thought, hey lets see what the reviewers on Amazon say. I'm surprised at the large number of reviewers who believe this stuff actually happened as written. She might have gone to Harvard and might have a Down's syndrome kid, but after that, it pure fiction. Try imagine writing about what you had in the refrigerator on day 26 of vomiting 10 years later. But you have to give Ms. Beck credit for a vivid imagination; similar to a paranoid-compulsive nephew I know who can make up the most compelling fictitious event scenarios; way better than I can.



3. I was primed for this book. Our third grandson, Adam, had just been born (August 5), when I visited a bookstore just down the street from the hospital. So the title, Expecting Adam, quite naturally practically leapt off the shelf into my hands. I originally thought, what a great gift for my daughter (the new mother), but when I read it was a story about having a child with Down Syndrome, I reconsidered. Our particular Adam, although a few weeks premature, seemed pretty much perfect, and I didn't want to needlessly upset the new mom. I needn't have worried. This is an absolutely wonderful book, told with humor, compassion, wit, wisdom and a nearly other-worldy sense of wonder. And did I mention humor? Because this woman is a very funny writer. The numerous references to invisible beings, whether she calls them angels or Bunraku puppeteers, and intercontinental telepathy are the kind of thing that would normally put me off, as I am a natural skeptic. But somehow Beck pulls it off. Probably because she believes it, she makes me believe it too - all of it. My wife wants to read it now. (She'd seen Martha Beck on Oprah some time ago, she tells me.) We will then pass the book along to our daughter to read. We know she will relate, and probably cry a little, when she reads Beck's perfect descriptions of a tiny foot the size of a man's thumb and a head the size of an orange. Babies. Ain't they just the grandest things?! I'll say it again. This is a wonderful book. - Tim Bazzett, author of the ReedCityBoy trilogy



4. Read this book if: you are struggling with the belief that you must be perfect to be loved. I have read other Beck books. I especially liked Leaving the Saints. And like some of the other reviewers here, I occasionally pause, scratch my head, and say "can all of this stuff really happen to one person?"and "is it possible she is taking literary license with some of the details? And then I look at my own life, and I think, NO. If all of us told the truth of our own existence, the late night thoughts, the dreams, the spiritual experiences, we'd all sound like lunatics. These are the things we must share with each other and these are the things we don't share because we are afraid some "reviewer" will skewer us or smirk or otherwise besmirch our integrity and sanity. I loved this book. It brought me back to the power of my dreams and my connection with the divine. I thank Martha and Adam for the inspiration and love shared.



5. As many have mentioned, Beck's story has very little to do with Adam, her son, and everything to do with the many miracles that she feels surrounded his gestation.
   
   The assumption is that something very spiritual took place. I don't doubt that's true. But I found her position to be highly unbalanced.
   
   Being the scholar that she is, I have to wonder how she wrote this memoir as "truth" when the subject matter cannot be proven.
   
   The red flags are:
   
   1) From A to Z this story is presented with *high emotion.*
   2) While she was expecting Adam she was under tremendous stress.
   -she was physically hampered by a difficult pregnancy compounded by an autoimmune disfunction (which she doesn't name).
   -her academic requirements would have produced enough stress to put the Dali Lama on Prozac.
   -she had very little family support
   -she was caring for another child under the age of two.
   -after her appartment building caught fire, when she claimed she and her toddler nearly died, she kept right on pushing herself to the extreme. She sought no psychological help for what must surely have been a traumatizing event.
   -when her fears that "something was wrong" with her baby were confirmed, she kept pace with all her stress. She worked and studied and cared for her other child. It seems to me she took very little care for her physical and mental health.
   
   Another thing to consider is that her other books are also questionable. A quick background check into the controversies surrounding her life and experiences suggests there is no middle ground present in this woman, only extremes. Her pendulums swing all the way to the right or left. They don't appear to rest anywhere in between. This has landed her in more than one sticky situation. Beck and former husband John once co-authored a book on abstaining from homosexuality. Today they are divorced and both are openly gay. She also wrote about leaving the Mormon church, where she accuses her father of molesting her. Her seven other siblings all contest her reportings, some were said to have shared a room WITH her and have no idea how molestation could have taken place without thier knowledge. Even John felt the need to respond to her portrayal of events, feeling they were inadequate and unfair. To date she's at odds with her family, her husband John (so highly represented in the book, they are now divorced) and the Mormon church of her upbringing. Controversy is to Martha Beck as ink is to paper.
   
   By now this review sounds largely negative. Let me add that Martha's writing is stellar and extremely readable. Even believable. To the untrained eye, this is an amazing account.
   
   If you, like me, have that niggling suspicion her perception of supernatural abetting may indeed be larger than life there is one question to be considered: Is the niggling doubt of a spiritual manifestation? Or could it merely be common sense...
   
   I will close by mentioning that I too have kept journals of my experiences in life. Looking back I could easily assign spirituality as the sole benefactor of certain events. But it wouldn't be fair to present myself as though that were the ONLY cause of my life's outcomes. My choices and actions are part of the equation. One also has to wonder if Beck's perceptions were in any way altered by psychological (perhaps peri-partum depression? anxiety? Outright psychosis?) were in any way a factor in her view of what was happening inside (and outside) of her body at that time.

5 comments about The Vixen Diaries.

1. When I read Karrine's first book, I felt that she was delusional to believe that she had evolved into something other than a wounded, promiscuous "vixen". In her second book, it cemented my first belief about her. She is probably the most delusional person I have ever had the misfortune to read about. She believes her stories about the various men she slept with for money has made her a "celebrity", instead of the joke she is. I have never seen someone refer to themselves as "best selling author" so many times in a book! She comes off bitter, childish, and still doesnt get why she is the girl a man calls for some fun, but marries someone else! Every chapter outlined her emotional merry go rounds that was usually tied to a man-if she wasnt at a party, she was in a man's bed or in a psych ward, and I felt sorry for her son every chapter. I cringe to think of the values he is learning from this person. Her happiness,self worth and beliefs directly coincides with her possessions and how much money she has in the bank. Andthen for her to out "Papa" at the end, the man she claims she loves and respects so much and who now has to face his wife, was deplorable(even though it was widely rumored it was this person, anyway). To wrap this up, I found myself rolling my eyes as I read chapter after chapter of her self proclaimed celebritydom, and was glad when it ended. I felt sorry for her son throughout, and my only hope for Karrine is that she gets some true help so that she can be the mother her son deserves.



2. Karrine Steffans has written another book about her personal life. This book was much different but yet quite the same as Confessions of a Video Vixen. She shares very intimate parts of her life and her love in the spotlight with her readers. In some ways you see a growth in her and in other ways you don't.
   
   This book goes into details of relationships and the effects that they have on her. She clearly displays how damaging and destructive they are for her and how addicted she is to them. Through the eyes of a reader I see the pain she is in, not for failed relationship but for the lack of them. She seems to equate love and sex as one of the same. As one reads they see the confusion that dwells inside and it makes you empathize with her and also makes you wonder why or what happened that has left her scared to the point that she has not opened her eyes to see.
   
   Karrine Steffans, leave much to be desired of her parenting practices. Even though she don't go into many details of her son's life it leads me to believe that she may not be parenting but simply allowing her child to live under her roof. Unfortunately, this happens in a lot of households of especially young parents. I also wonder who is with him during her nights out.
   
   After reading this book I felt a need to try and reach out to Ms. Steffans. I wanted to give her words of encouragement to keep pressing forward. I was particularly concerned in the first book about the drug usage and how was she going to clean that portion of her life up. However, reading Vixen Diaries I realize she was not addicted to the drugs but more addicted to a lifestyle. The drugs were just apart of it but never a real issue. Her underlying issues seem to still be ever so present in her life yet, she is learning new ways to deal with them.
   
   I would recommend this book only if you have read the first one. I would love to read more as this young lady continue to press forward in life. My prayers are definitely with her and more importantly Naiim her son.



3. This book is an excellent example of how a person can easily be distracted when trying to accomplish certain goals.
   While Karrine's story may be considered an extreme; she is a mirror of the many women that have a problem distinguishing the difference between love and sex.
   This book is also a great read for all the juicy celebrity gossip as well!



4. Well where do I start? This book was absolutely garbage. It was written in the form of Diary entries. Who really cares what Karrine does in her everyday life. This book gets a big fat yawn from me and is now proudly propped up underneath my air conditioner to help hold it in place.
   
   It is obvious this author did not write the first book and even more obvious she was locked in a two book deal and had to throw something together quick before she had to give all the money back she constantly talked about in the book.
   
   Borrow do not buy!



5. What a waste. All she talked about was Bill (old), Bobby Brown (played out), and Ray J (lame-o). Then she talks about how she's a celebrity, all about class and culture, and doesn't need to depend on anybody to provide for her. Yet, she's still quick to jump in the sack with anyone who shows any kind of interest in her. The majority of the time these guys only want her for one thing: sex. Then they go back home to their wives and girlfriends. It's amazing that a so-called accomplished career woman who has it "all" would be so desperate enough to sleep with any guy who crosses her path. I see a pattern here, but obviously she doesn't. She talks about how how much she loves her son, yet she continues to have many strange men coming in and out of their loves, using her for a cheap thrill. What type of an example is she setting for her son? Despite her whorish reputation I'm surprised that a lot of guys want to be with her. Jamie Fox was smart not to touch that. From what I've heard she's now writing a book called "Vixen Manuals"- "a book about love, sex and relationships through the eyes of a woman". Is that a joke? Think twice before spending any money on her books.

5 comments about Let Me Hear Your Voice: A Family's Triumph over Autism.

1. We are the parents of a severely autistic adult and the founder of a school for autistic children.Katherine Maurice's book accurately and sensitively portrays a search that mirrors our own.One of the virtues of the book is that,like many parents, she has tried alternative therapies for her autistic children and analyzes them dispassionately and objectively. Her children benefitted from Applied Behavior Analysis, as has ours and the children in the school we founded.However,the positive results are not universal or complete, and the final cures for autism await the progress of advanced neuroscience.



2. I chose to give a reaction to the book because I found myself having many while I read. Overall, I felt the book was like an infomercial for the Lovaas method.
   
   What I did enjoy about the book was watching Catherine outline her own journey. Her stages of grief were so clearly apparent and moving. I also enjoyed finding myself with a renewed energy around behavioral therapy. She also showed that parents have to work with and partner with professionals for their child's success. Often, parents want their child "fixed" by professionals. Lastly, the interventions broken down by developmental area at the back of the book was excellent. I have recommended many of those myself.
   
   What I did not enjoy about the book was that it seemed outdated. While this is not a criticism of the book itself as it was appropriate at the time she wrote it, it is a concern because parents may read this book to find inspiration or guidance in this day and age when many things have changed. Therapists (at least in California) no longer believe in psychodynamic therapy to treat children with autism. As a matter of fact, Freudian therapy, which she mentioned several times, is considered antiquated even for typical people. Her book was packed with obvious bitterness toward the classically trained therapist and toward what seemed like the Psychology "establishment" in general. Then she spoke of the Lovaas techniques repeatedly under the framework that her children were recovered. Many parents looking for answers may interpret this as a cure. I don't believe autism can be "cured" so much as the symptoms can be managed through constant work and attention.
   
   Toward the end of the book, she advises fighting for what a parent wants and how to do it. I think the "how to" is important, such as gathering documentation and presenting facts, but the legalistic attitude I have issue with. Some parents may have to escalate their case into a battle, but I don't believe it has to start out that way. I have found in my practice parents, with whom I have never worked before, walk through the door with aggressive attitudes. While I appreciate their spirit, it sends up red flags. I work for a private agency and we are not "required" to choose to work with every family that calls on us. As a result, if we find parents "difficult" in the beginning, we try to be empathetic to their situation, but we may choose not work with them at all. What's even more frustrating is that these parents may not be difficult at all, but the guidance parents get to fight for everything all the time may send a different message.
   
   I felt the book may send false hopes of cures using the behavioral methods and a fight fight fight orientation that may cause professionals to get the wrong idea about families. I think there are more current books that can give stories of inspiration such as Temple Grandin's Thinking in Pictures.



3. A wonderful and very quick read! I recommend this book for anyone with a child, friend or family member with autism.



4. Maurice enlightens the mind to the real world. The struggles that her family endured to help their children and the future of autism on research development. She writes this from the time when blame was placed upon the mother. She tells how she dealt with her emotions of that blame. This is an excellent book for a parent of a child with autism or an educator alike.



5. the most honest look at her story and the trials and tribulations that came with it. EXCELLENT READ

5 comments about American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White: The Birth of the "It" Girl and the Crime of the Century.

1. Like a few other reviewer's here, I'd never heard of Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White or Harry Thaw, and only picked up this book on a fluke. What a pleasant surprise to read about one of the first "trial of the centuries" and the "girl in the red velvet swing".
   
   Paula Uruburu has done a spendid job of making the reader feel the gilded age, the stuffy social scene and didn't bore this reader with an endless account of the trial like so many other true crime novels.
   
   Highly recommended!



2. On June 25, 1906, wealthy millionaire Harry K. Thaw killed his wife's Evelyn Nesbit's, former lover, the famous architect Stanford White, at Madison Square Garden. Evelyn, age 20, had spent the past five or six years of her life in the public eye as a model in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York, but nothing could have prepared her for the publicity that occurred in the aftermath of the killing.
   
   American Eve is primarily about Evelyn's life, and not quite so much about the murder and subsequent trial. Evelyn was born outside of Pittsburgh in 1885. After her father's death, her mother tried to make ends meet by hiring Evelyn out as an artists' model (as long as the artists were female or elderly men). Because of her timeless beauty, Evelyn soon found herself modeling in Philadelphia and New York, where she met much-older Stanford White, who set himself up as her father-figure and protector. Soon, however, he became much more.
   
   Evelyn met her future husband Harry K. Thaw "of Pittsburgh" in 1903. Thaw was known for his erratic, almost sociopathic behavior, but she married his anyways two years later. Thaw was obsessed with Evelyn, to the exclusion of everything else. He was especially obsessed with Evelyn's old relationship with White, whom Thaw considered the original exploiter of young, impressionable, virginal girls. Then, one sultry evening in the summer of 1906, Thaw shot White point blank, in front of hundreds of witnesses in the rooftop garden at Madison Square Garden. It led to "the trial of the century," as Thaw was tried for the murder under the plea of insanity.
   
   Uruburu tells the story from a feminist point of view, though Evelyn is protrayed as a victim of circumstance rather than architect of her own fate. Every now and then, as in the chapter which discusses the selection of the jury, Uruburu puts in a little aside like, "...and women were excluded, of course." Another thing I didn't like about the book was the opening chapter. The author begins with a discussion of Gilded Age society, whereas I believe she should have begun with the murder, in order to grab the reader's interest right away. And though I liked the photographs of Evelyn, I feel that there should be more of Stanford White (there's only one reprinted here). Also, I wish that more had been said about Evelyn's life after the trial.
   
   But aside from these points, I really enjoyed Evelyn's tragic story. Since Evelyn's life was so public, a lot was known (and speculated) about her life, and Uruburu does a wonderful job sorting out the fact and fiction. The narrative is also easy to follow, which is also another major plus. Even without Uruburu's contribution, Evelyn, the original "Gibson Girl," and the girl for whom the term "je ne se quais" should have been coined, remains today an interesting and compelling persona.



3. The pictures from the era are fantastic--The United States first super model, whose face even today could stop traffic. Fame she had, but fortune was nil until she married Henry K. Thaw. A modern day Letitia who was used by everyone around her, including her insanely jealous husband.
   If you are into "peeping Tom-ism" clothed in minute detail AMERICA EVE is the title for you.
   The research into the period, the individuals and their culture is superb, but the minute details recorded on every page lead to boredom. Evelyn Nesbit's story was shocking in 1900 and pathetic by the time she died in 1967.
   Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County Novel



4. Neither of the names in the title were familiar to me, but I was intrigued that the Gibson Girl had been a real person.
   
   Using up the youth of pretty young girls is not a new thing. Evelyn Nesbit lived it in 1900. The book is sometimes a bit flowery, but the story is gripping.



5. When a historically minded person speaks of the "trial of the century", meaning the 20th century, several come immediately to mind: O.J., Leopold and Loeb, Nuremburg, Sacco and Vanzetti, Scopes, among others. However, the trial of Harry Thaw for the cold-blooded murder of Stanford White was the first of the century (1906), and perhaps the one with the most drama. That was because the chief witness was Evelyn Nesbit, the wife of Thaw, and the former seductee and mistress of White. The author gives us a thorough review of Evelyn's lfe, and her rapid rise to fame as a young girl. This rise is even more remarkable when you consider it happened in the first decade of the last century, before radio, television, the Internet, and supermarket tabloids (although there were some trashy papers in existence). It's a remarkable story, and moves through the high society world of New York, Pittsburgh, and cities in Europe. These people lived quite a different lifestyle than we do today, at least those of us who are not multimillionaires or celebrities famous for being famous. Evelyn had quite an eventful life, and it is retold in a breezy fashion that it easy to read. Occasionally the language gets a bit overblown, but that's often how things were in those days; sometimes events took on a larger-than-life appearance. To anyone interested in social and legal history in the early part of the last century,I highly recoimmend this book.

5 comments about There Is No Me Without You: One Wo Odyssey to Rescue Her Country's Children.

1. I'm writing this as the mother of an adopted Ethiopian child- I bought this book after a random search and it has been the most valuable book of our whole adoption journey. It's loaded with helpful background info on the AIDS & Orphan crises in Ethiopia, history of Ethiopia, insight into the cultural perceptions of adoption (especially by affluent, white Westerners!) and the very moving perspectives of the orphans themselves, and their Ethiopian caretakers. The heroine of this story is very real, and her character development was deep and insightful. I laid the book down several times to have a good laugh (or cry!) but could hardly keep from turning the pages. Whether you are adopting yourself, supporting someone who is, or just interested in learning more about Ethiopia and this heroine's story, I know you will come away inspired.



2. Author Melissa Fay Greene, who is the adoptive mother of two Ethiopian children, relates the story of Haregewoin Teferra, an Ethiopian mother who becomes the foster mother for a multitude of AIDS orphans during the height of the pandemic. Greene truthfully tells the tale without painting Teferra as a "modern day Mother Teresa," but rather as a very real and human woman who is asked by clerics to take in one abandoned orphan after another. A grieving mother whose adult daughter died from AIDS, Teferra discovers that helping the children provides her with a means of overcoming her grief. The individual stories of these "lost children" who arrive on Teferra's doorstep are riveting, as is Greene's account of the assimilation of her adoptive children into her family. Accompanying photos show children shortly after they arrived in very bad shape at Treferra's compound and then later with adoptive American families.
   Greene spares no one as she rails against the pharmaceutical companies that withheld AIDS medications from third-world countries at the height of the pandemic, causing the loss of a whole generation of parents. Despite having no drugs to help the children, hit-or-miss medical care, and scarce food for all, Teferra does her best to feed, clothe, house, and educate the orphans put in her care. Although one might think that this book is a "downer," it is a very uplifting page-turner that relates the indominable spirit of one Ethiopian woman and her many foster children.



3. Melissa Faye Green is an excellent writer. She is a true artist painting a vivid picture of scenes, and weaving historical, political and social aspects of the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is an incredibly powerful book. It is not easy to read due to the difficult emotional toll it can take on one, but I felt morally obligated to read it, so that I wasn't just shutting out the devastating misery suffered by so many millions. She portrays the human face of this awful disease with poignancy. It is an inspiring and human story of one woman's efforts to alleviate her own and others suffering. God bless Melissa for opening our eyes.



4. This was a wonderful book! Having myself been to Addis Ababa recently (July 07) with my daughter to pick up her adopted Ethiopian baby boy (4 months old), you can just imagine how this story of one woman's love for so many orphans resonated with me. The book is a quick read -- something interesting in every chapter. The author intertwined Haregewoin's up and down story with bits of Ethiopian history and the unwinding spread and theories of HIV-AIDs plus added her own experience with H. and the adoption her own Ethiopian children -- which made the reader come away with a true cultural experience. H. is truly a "Mother Theresa" figure and an inspiration to all women. Thank you, Melissa, for introducing us to her. I really enjoyed having the photos of many of the children and their adoptive families to relate to. I will be sure that my daughter reads this book and I have suggested it to my book club in Boulder, CO which will read it in the fall. -- Gayle Weiss



5. I like what the story is about, however the book has so much detail it is hard to get through the first chapters.