5 comments about I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God.

1. I just finished reading this book and highly recommend it.It is an inspiring true and personal testimony of a wealthy traditional Muslim woman who came to the faith through vivid dreams from God. As she journeys from Islam to Christianity, her salvation leads to her to a wonderfully intimate relationship with Christ. She is dedicated and obedient in all details of her life, big and small , and openly shares her struggles with temporal things, a sharp tongue, and pride and how she learns to overcome her flesh and walk in a true relationship with the Lord. It is void of the shallow Christianity that is so prevalent in our society today, and I found that very refreshing . It left me desiring a deeper level of intimacy with God as well as causing me to evaluate my own obedience and faith in Him . The presence of the Lord she experiences is rare, but so is the faith and trust that she has for Him.
   
   Her simplistic faith, untouched and tainted by modern Christianity and its rules and doctrine is a beautiful testament of how the Spirit will teach us all we need to know about Him. As He gives her dreams, leads her into the Scriptures and speaks to her she learns His word and how to obey Him. Her obedience, even as her life is threatened, is encouraging. I love a part in the book where she tells the Lord she doesn't have what it takes to be a martyr, so she asks Him to make her death quick and painless! I laugh because I have often prayed that myself.
   
   
   Being a Muslim living in the middle east, coming to the faith in Christ was worthy of death. She was ostracized by her family and threatened with her life, yet she held steadfast and unwavering to the Lord in spite of it.
   
   This book was originally written in 1978 but has been republished and includes an after word from two missionary friends who were close with her and were used to disciple Bilquis in her walk with the Lord. The author is now with the Lord, but has left behind a shining example of what a true relationship with Christ is for today.
   It is an easy read and one that would make a wonderful family read aloud. I will definitely be adding it to book our pile to read to my children.
   
   Stephanie
   www.ahighandnoblecalling.blogspot.com



2. I love this book. It has become a friend over the years. It is written in such a way as you are sitting down and talking with a dear friend and she is telling you about her adventure.
   
   What a life changing book it is. Read it.....and pass one along to a friend.



3. This is one of the most amazing books of a biography that I have ever read, on the power of GOD to show his LOVE for His children.



4. I am currently taking a course on Islam and the anstructor thought that this book would be an interesting read as to how women in that society were treated from their perspective. My wife and I read the book together in ONE DAY, she read it out loud as we drove around running arrands and then as we arrived home we finished that evening. Neither of us wanted to put the book down as it had us captured from page one.
   This book was obviously written by a well educated woman raised in the Muslim faith who started on the journey to Christianity through a carefully thought out spiritual process.
   I would call this book a Must Read for Christians of today as we have lost this simplistic view of our faith that this woman had and our willingness to defend it to the loss of everything.
   The book is yet in a very simplistic writing style that it reads much like one of Kipling's stories that the author quotes and obviously was raised on in Pakistan.



5. Bilquis' story of her search for God and the way He found her shows the depths of his love for lost sinners and the powerful way he draws men to him. As the story unfolds, you can see how God is working out everything in the background, through dreams, events, chance encounters and situations to orchestrate the salvation of her soul. This is especially revealed in the Afterword written by Synove Mitchell, the missionary that Bilquis' first consulted, the despair that was going on in her spiritual life at the time, and her fervent prayers to God to show her meaning in her ministry.
   
   After her conversion, Bilquis learns to walk with God, to feel for his Presence and to follow his leading. This part is very humbling for me because I have not yet learned to walk as Bilquis has, perhaps because I have too much material, Bible study notes, commentaries, preaching, programs, that I have not learned to lean solely on God, and what he wants me to do. I pray that I can develop the sensitivity that Bilquis has, about moving in his will, staying in his presence and his fellowship and then obey. Even though she was shunned by her family, threatened by the villagers, and almost had her house burned down, Bilquis learned to trust only in God and his timing. She was bold in her witness, she did what God told her to do, and was used by him to bring other villagers to Christ. Bilquis also recounts times when she grieved the Spirit, when she let her old self get in the way, and her immediate sense of being further away from God.
   
   Servants and neighbors observed the changes that God made in Bilquis' life after her salvation. Whereas before, she was imperious, prideful, and hard to please. She became gentle, gracious, and giving. After years of observing her, her Muslim servant received Jesus as Saviour because she too wanted to know God, and asked Jesus to come into her heart. They both "have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Peter 2:3)
   
   So it can be for you too, if you want to taste of the heavenly gift, then just ask God to show Himself to you. While visiting a hospital, she met a doctor who told her "there is only one way to find out why you feel this way. And that is to find out for yourself, strange as that may seem. Why don't you pray to the God you're searching for? Ask Him to show you His way. Talk to Him as if He is your friend.... Talk to Him as if He were your father."

5 comments about Love Sick: One Woman's Journey through Sexual Addiction.

1. Love Sick: One Woman's Journey through Sexual Addiction is a beautifully written account of one woman's journey through sex addiction. It's not meant to be a clinical self-help book, but it does encourage intraspection. It also helps readers understand exactly what sex addiction is about. It's not about the sex. Sex is more like a drug of choice to numb the pain. Sue makes this clear in a riveting manner in this great book. I highly recommend it!



2. I read lots of books on addiction and recovery.
   
   All I kept thinking about when reading this book was - what the heck was the point of writing this book? In most cases, these types of memoirs are usually written as part of the recovery - however, this book read more like a manifesto of all the men this person has gone through.
   
   There is no warmth, no explanations, no sympathy and NO honest attempt at recovery or even of really finding out what is happening to this woman.
   
   Also, this book is sooooo slow - every once in a while, an intersting tidbit, then back to boring again.
   
   The only saving grace is a look at the 12 steps.
   
   Skip this one.



3. I loved this book. i couldnt put it down and got so attacthed to Sue. Shes a great writer. Supposdly a lifetime movie is coming out on the book sometime in April



4. Sue William Silverman's LOVE SICK is the author's first person account of her experience as a sex addict. This book written by an amateur writer wanting to share her experiences could have been excruciating. Silverman, however, is clearly a professional author, and the book is written professionally. She presents her work in segments which alternate between the retelling of episodes from her years of sexual addiction and her rehab hospitalization, in her early 40s, as she finally makes an attempt to overcome her addiction and at the same time to save her life. I feel there are both positives and negatives in the book.
   
   On the positive side, Silverman presents herself in an honest and open manner. This is commendable as it must have been very difficult to provide to a readership of strangers the truly painful details of most of her life; although it also seems to be a part of her recovery program.
   Also, I gained a lot of understanding about sexual addiction, one of the most intersting points being that, according to Silverman, she and apparently many other addicts do not actually enjoy sex; rather the addiction seems to be more about the feeling that being able to attract someone sexually validates to the addict that he or she is attractive and worthwhile. And, I confess to some personal ignorance. I was never really sure that sexual addiction was actually a real phenomenon, having believed to a great extent that it was merely a convenient excuse used by people caught cheating on their significant others. After having read LOVE SICK I no longer doubt the reality of sexual addiction.
   
   On the negative side, the writing, though professional as I mentioned, seems somewhat histrionic. I realize that this subject is highly and painfully emotional to Silverman, but from a reader's perspective I would have preferred a little less drama and more straight reporting, particularly in the segments dealing with the author's month in rehab. The parts of the book (probably two-thirds of it) which deal with Silverman's hospital experience become repetitive. I imagine that the days themselves of her stay were quite repetitve, but that does not translate particularly interestingly to a written account.
   
   To summarize,I found this book, while informative and interesting at times, to be somewhat dramatically overblown at others; and it became repetitive enough that I skimmed the hospital scenes over the last half of the book. Not bad, not real good, 3 stars.



5. I usually do not write book reviews, but I thought it was important to add a review of this book so that other people don't waste their money. This is the worst book I have ever read on addiction. Basically, the author describes her pain regarding her sexual addiction and describes scenerios she encountered in detail. The book reads more like [...] than a self-help manual. If you are looking for a self-help text or a text to assist patients with this problem, this is definitely not the right text!!!!!

5 comments about Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad.

1. I don't remember the last time I read a book that made me laugh out loud. As I read this book, I laughed often as I recognized myself and my family within the pages.
   
   In this collection of essays, Dumas describes her experiences while growing up in Iran and her life in the U.S. Dumas' writing is honest, light, and laced with humor. Her stories are simple, yet powerful. This book is a fabulous reminder that our similarities far outweigh our differences- regardless of our cultural background. I can't wait to read "Funny in Farsi."



2. Laughing Without an Accent is Fizooreh Dumas' follow-up to her first book, Funny in Farsi. Both serve as anecdotal memoirs of situations Dumas faced as an Iranian growing up in the United States and eventually marrying a Frenchman. The book covers a vast time period; the youngest story is from when she was a six-year-old girl living in Iran, the oldest from events which probably took place mere months before the book was published. The stories are in no particular order; some reference events that took place in others.
   
   The vignettes are curious glimpses into a culture that is foreign to most Americans. For example, the first chapter of the book deals with Dumas' attempts to have her book translated into Persian (the major language in Iran). The author was passionate about those in her home country reading her works as they were written, so she went about seeking her own translator rather than relying on the lowest common denominator. She recounts the roadblocks that were thrown in front of her, as well as how well the book was received once it was actually published in Iran. It's a wonderful beginning to establishing a relationship with a foreign culture, rather than fearing and vilifying it.
   
   Some of the anecdotes are not so foreign, such as parents buying gifts for their children that the children abhor. Through these stories, Dumas illustrates that while she is from a different culture, the distinctions aren't as numerous as the similarities. That is what is important about this book, and why it is crucial that Americans read it: understanding is the beginning of acceptance. In the book, Dumas describes her family's reaction to and treatment during the Iranian hostage crisis. She speaks of their horror at the situation and her subsequent friendship with one of the hostages. In some ways, Dumas is brave; in her own way, she is standing up for the normal, everyday Iranians who only want to live their lives in peace. At the same time, by insisting her books be published in Iran, she is showing them that Americans aren't a people to fear. It is a phenomenal thing for one woman to do, and she does it incredibly well.
   
   Perhaps the best element of Dumas' work is her sense of humor. It is apparent that most of the anecdotes are intended to be humorous; she fully expects the reader to laugh along with her about the nuances of her culture. However, it is not a malicious laughter - Dumas respects and loves her background, and she is not trying to make fun of it. It is charming and affectionate, full of love and life. Both Laughing Without an Accent and Funny in Farsi are funny and sentimental without being cheesy. The vignette style makes them incredibly easy to read, and the message is equally relevant in today's tense atmosphere: we are all different, yet we are the same.



3. One needn't have read Mrs. Dumas' first book, Funny In Farsi, to enjoy this take on the ethnic translation into American culture, but it would certainly help to get you into the mood. Knowing a bit of the family and its ways means you can start smiling, even chuckling, before the stories unfold. An occasional outburst of pure laughter also happen. Mrs. Dumas, in this sequel, shifts the terrain a bit, with a heavier focus on Iranian ethnic life amidst the bits and pieces of American life. An occasional downward spin on some of our habits and mores is fair game, but doesn't spoil this never-ending story of confused Iranians coping with the "New World." After all, this "New World" is now Mrs. Dumas' as well.



4. While not laugh-out-loud funny it is amusing, enjoyable book. So many of us can see pieces of our own family dynamics in her stories of gifts that you pretend to like, food you serve they won't eat, and those incidents you laugh at only in hind-sight. Her last chapter where she spends time with one of the Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days is wonderfully poignant.



5. I heard the author on NPR and immediately wanted to read her book. She did not disappoint. She provided a much-needed antidote to the current stereotype of people from Iran. She is smart, sensible, and very amusing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about how her family has successfully adjusted to living in the United States.

5 comments about My Way Out: One Woman's Remarkable Journey in Overcoming Her Drinking Problem and How Her Innovative Program Can Help You or Someone You Love.

1. This is not a book that reveals insight for women struggling with alcoholism or alcohol overuse... an insightful "way out"... it is a program that uses toparimate (Topamax). Some people find that they can drink moderately called "Controlled Drinking" by addiction experts when using Topamax. That is also discussed in the book.



2. This is a good book, insightful and helps you out if you hace a problem. The only bad part is she oushes her own vitamins. I did the whole program.
   It gives you the runs, but like anything, takes willpower. I would buy this book if you are at wits end but will do anything.



3. This book is nothing but a short booklet telling you why you should buy her $500 hypnosis CD set. There is barely any inspirational story at all behind it! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!



4. Do not waste your life, or your loved one's life, on this book. 'My Way Out' (MWO) puts you on the wrong path. I wasted $[...] on MYO's recommended self-hypnosis CDs, which were no help at all (and for which I cannot get a refund).
   
   I wasted hours of my time listening to these CDs, only to end up feeling despair because the CDs did nothing either to stop the cravings or end the depression. Talk about anguish! I began to believe there was 'No Way Out' for me, only for other people.
   
   It turns out I'm hypoglycemic--and if you crave alcohol, sweets or caffeine, then chances you are too, or else you are on the fast track to getting there--and the routine physical at your doctor's office doesn't test for hypoglycemia, so don't feel safe simply because your doctor tells you you check out okay. If you have energy highs and lows during the day, then like it or not, you're on your way to trouble. I didn't want to believe it either, but truth is truth.
   
   Larsen's book (Seven Weeks to Sobriety) has real answers. Self-hypnosis isn't one of them.
   
   
   .



5. I have purchased from Amazon for years and this is the first time I have been compelled to leave a comment on a product.
   This book was absolutely worth every penney. The way these women were described and how alcohol dominated their life described me exactly.
   There are suggestions made for prescriptions and supplements and I didn't need all that. Reading the book got me started on the right track.
   Thanks a million to the author.

5 comments about Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life.

1. This biography is not great literature. It's centered in the most complex and violent regions of our times but rarely scratches the surface. Noor's diplomacy in describing people and events - always the high road, even in the midst of deceit and betrayal - is maddeningly constant and obscures rather than reveals. So what's to like about the book? It's an extraordinary story of a young western woman who embraces the east: it's people, culture, religion and thought. It's the story of her love for King Hussein, who in a world of the powerful, is largeless powerless but for his integrity in the struggle for peace. Her perspective, is that of the Palestinian Arab. Their voice needs to be heard. This book is a thoughtful start.



2. Unfortunately the autobiography is boring and somewhat distant and impersonal. Actually, overall the writing is uninspired and quite frankly, flat. Queen Noor, obviously a beautiful, intelligent, well-educated woman uses the book as a platform for spouting some pretty blatant untruths about the modern history of the Middle East. I guess I should have expected that, but it was disappointing nonetheless. I might have gritted my teeth and gotten past her politics if the love story was interesting. But it wasn't simply because the writing was so unemotional and disconnected. As I read the book, it was as if I could hear someone speaking in a monotone voice and it was almost sleep-inducing.



3. Leap of Faith is interesting from the young all American becomes Queen standpoint. It really is amazing that a fairly regular young American woman gains the attention of the King of Jordan and becomes Queen.
   
   It is too bad she was not willing to be more real in her telling of a great story.
   
   The book ends up preaching about Queen Noor's view of the political world and quickly becomes tiresome and boring.
   
   It could have been a very exciting story given her exciting life but she had to go preach to us instead.



4. Here is a glimpse into Middle East history from someone who was there! My own family members have enjoyed reading it as much as I have; I think shall too!



5. I must admit; I didn't get very far, but this book is a self serving pack of lies by an apologist for the intransigence of the Arab world. For example, she refers to the "forced migration" of 1948 without ever mentioning that the ones doing the forcing were Arabs who promised their people that if they would get out they would "push the Jews into the sea". Nor does she mention the origin of the name "Palestinian" (hint: it is a Hebrew name).
   
   The saddest thing about the Arab world is that 1000 years ago they had the most advanced civilization on earth, and entirely due to problems of their own making they now preside over one giant hell hole.
   
   But if she came out and admitted this the Hashemite family would be in danger of losing their position of privilege in Transjordan.
   
   I would recommend that anyone who reads this book should also read "Warrior" by Ariel Sharon. At least he knows the history of Israel, Syria, and Egypt.

5 comments about Apples and Oranges: My Brother and Me, Lost and Found.

1. What a remarkable read. Families are always complicated and sometimes wonderous
   and Marie Brenner has seen it, felt it and shares it all. I can't wait to get into bed each night
   to treat myself to a few more chapters.
   
   I'll hate to see the last page coming.



2. Written with heart, wit, and honesty, Apples and Oranges explores the complexities, absurdities, and hidden bonds of a difficult sibling relationship. Brenner dives into dark waters and comes up glistening with a special truth. It made me laugh and cry.



3. Marie Brenner tells us right away in her author's note that she is untrustworthy, with her comment that "conversations, events and dialogue have been reconstructed." Reconstructed events? Come on. Not only that, but she doesn't seem to care about accuracy even to the geography of the area of Central Washington she's describing, such as calling the Wenatchee River the Columbia. Maybe this could be excused if she told a good story (and it was marketed as fiction) but she tries to cover her lack of a true story by fragmenting the chronology, dating some chapters, leaving others without dates, and jumbling the whole mess. There is a lack of insight or attempt to draw the reader closer to either of the characters. By the end, you can see why her brother was so annoyed with her.



4. While her journalism has always been great, this memoir is a small masterpiece, must reading for anyone who has a sibling, or doesn't. Thanks to Marie Brenner, Carl Brenner will not die. He becomes an unforgettable character. So does she. Sensitive, witty, poignant, absolutely elegant. I cannot recommend the book too highly.



5. This is a really uninteresting chronicle written by an elitist intellectual who makes no effort to connect with her audience. She seems to find her own navel more intereting.
   
   
   Very sorry for her loss- but is this really something which needs to be in print?

5 comments about Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail (Oprah's Book Club).

1. This story definitely will keep you reading on and on into the night. I was turning the pages trying to find out what would happen in the end.
   The first of the book is bittersweet, but has many moments of joy. The second half, however, is a terrible account of incarceration in some of the worst conditions possible.
   I really liked this book because the story telling kept my interest. The main character of the novel is my only complaint. I know this is her story, but sometimes she seemed like she was telling a story of how she saved her family almost totally by herself. This part seemed a bit contrived since there was eight of them in jail. I think another reviewer said they would have liked to hear more about the siblings and their contributions. I think this is what I might have wanted as well, but seeing this was Malika's telling of the story, I assume she was answering for herself and what she was thinking.
   Aside from the fact, I found the story very Malika centered at times although there were eight in jail, I can definitely recommend it.



2. I read this books some years ago and still can't get it out of my head because of how incredible the real life events were. For a Westerner, the tale is imazing. As a woman, I was dumb-founded by the sentence given to an entire family by the Moroccan Royalty for a crime that none of them committed. The book really opened my eyes about the differences between democratic societies and those ruled by royalty dictators. This is a book I always recommends to others to read.



3. This book was just amazing. The story she tells keeps you on the edge of your seat. Truly spine tingling. It's a book that provokes alot of soul-searching.What's life really about? How do people survive such things as those described in this book? A good book.



4. I thoroughly enjoyed Stolen Lives. The ordeal Malika Oufkir and her family suffered is astonishing. It really pained me to read through her true accounts of riches to less-than-rags. The Oufkirs were fortunate and strong to have survived through it all.
   
   I felt that the writing was fine. Even if it was not, the story was so powerful, I would have enjoyed it anyway. There are many books out there that are fluffy, shallow, and very well written. I prefer to read works that are deep, educational, and so powerful that they leave a lasting impression - like this book!



5. Incredible story. I just recently returned from Morocco, and while there wondered how many such prisoners are still lingering in the country's prisons. The people of Morocco and kind and friendly, as a whole friendlier than in most countries I have visited. Not once did I hear an unkind word or saw a grumpy face on people I encountered. Absolutely lovely. With that in mind, in the story of her 20 years of imprisonment and the subsequent "Freedom" describing the return to life outside a prison system, the kindness and forgiveness she expresses are much easier to understand.

5 comments about Inconceivable: A Woman's Triumph over Despair and Statistics.

1. This book, is great !!! I read it in two days, I couldn't put it down is just what I needed to know, all I can say is that so far I lost wheight, my allergies are gone, my sadness and anxiety are better, no babies jet .. but I feel am getting closer to my miracle....



2. I wanted someone to connect with, someone who's been where I have, I suppose. While I felt for her and her husband, it's just her situation which didn't match with mine. I thought I would be reading about someone who went through IUIs, IUIs with meds and IVF cycles.
   The author is much older than me and has a specific situation with FSH levels. For most of us women in our thirties that's a non issue.
   The healthy diet and nutritional information sparked my interest however I still believe everything in moderation is key.
   If you're on a journey where male infertility is an issue or your on the IVF path, this is not for you.



3. I stumbled onto Julia's books and her website while browsing on Amazon. She had commented on someone else's book, and it brought me to read about her books and website. I am generally a slow reader and rarely finish a book. I started reading "Inconceivable" and found it an easy read and highly enjoyable! I carried this book every where I went and read, read and read. I finished it in one week! - which never happens for me. In general, we eat very healthy and organic, but this book, Julia's story, brought me to another level. It is soooo worth the reading! Now, I am almost halfway through "The Fertile Female" her second book, and again, am carrying it around with me every where I go! It's one of those books that you can sit down and really, really get into and you feel like you're right there in the story, too. I highly recommend BOTH of Julia's books. I've also ordered her Imagery CD and some Conference Tapes from her website Fertile Heart. They just arrived yesterday. I have not been struggling with infertility, but more "obstacles" in trying to conceive our second child. I've had a miscarriage and my second ectopic pregnancy this time around, meanwhile, I'm just getting older... now 42! So, anything I can do to preserve my fertility, and in general just be the healthiest I can be - is well worth doing. Besides all of that - I've just really, really, really enjoyed reading her books and following the exercises. They're very peaceful exercises - I LOVE IT!!!



4. I bought this for my sister-in-law, but since I'm a pregnancy/birth junkie I read it before sending it to her. I think it's a wonderful reminder that western docs do not know everything there is to know about fertility and infertility, but they tend to act like they do and present no alternatives.
   
   My sister-in-law just had her first baby a few months ago after 10 years of trying. The few years of Western fertility treatment did not work and she hadn't yet gotten around to the acupuncture I was urging her to get. It happened naturally after they came out to visit my hubby and daughter and me.



5. Although the author is struggling with secondary infertility she still is suffering, as we all are. I saw I was not alone in what I was feeling and she opened up my mind and heart through her journey. I found it very helpful and I read in 24 hours cover to cover.

5 comments about How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life.

1. A lovely little book for anyone who loves Audrey, not just as an actress, but for all the human goodness with which she became synonymous.



2. This is such a wonderful book and a staple for how to deal with everyday things that life brings on. Audrey Hepburn was not only beautiful...but very wise. There is so many great quotes in this book...definitely a must read!!



3. If pop star Pink sings "Where oh where have all the smart people gone, where oh where could they be?"... then this book cries "Where oh where have all the LADIES gone? Where oh where could they be?" If ever there is a role model for a renaissance in being a lady (not to be confused with a bombshell)... it is Audrey. Her grace, aristocratic sophistication, refinement, depth, humanitarian spirit, and genuine posh-like glamour was real as much as it was regal. In a world of cheap bombshell images the statement: that which is least seen is most beautiful is truer than ever. Audrey was an archetype of an era where being a lady was respected and advocated.



4. A lot of people misuse the term "hero." Lots of people think it's an athlete, an actor, or a singer. I regard Audrey Hepburn as my hero and a great role model. She was a rare and unusually timeless beauty with her gamine looks and a gorgeous accent, often mistaken as British, that also belied part of her time in Nazi occupied Holland. With the grace of a dancer and a princess to add to her intoxicating manner of speech, she had consistently excellent taste in clothes, impeccable hairstyles, and an approach to living that more people in this world would do well to adhere to.
   
   Hepburn isn't a hero because of her time on screen; that's just an admirable sort of glamorous display. She fought the resistance as a brave young girl with her mother during WWII, helping the allies escape to freedom. Later in her life, when her career as an actress had more or less played itself out, she took her fame and used it to help give aid to children of third world countries who were starving as she and her fellow Dutchmen had all those years earlier. She was generous, humble, uncomplicated, and beautiful beyond the physical sense. Sure, she chain smoked and was insecure, she had that one crooked tooth and insisted she had a square face, but her physical beauty came from the simple brightness inside of her that was often illuminated by those large, exotic brown eyes. Je ne sais quoi, indeed! Audrey was a woman who knew how to be the consummate woman by keeping her approach to life simple and uncomplicated, yet managing to make people place her on a pedestal of goddess-like status. That is a gift few people possess, but she was able to utilize it with seemingly little work. Melissa Hellstern's book takes several quotes by Hepburn and friends, lots of great b&w photos, and turns them into something of a positive handbook to help women, regardless of any age, learn to possess simple, optimistic, life-affirming class.



5. I gave this book to my mom for Mother's Day and haven't stopped hearing how much she likes it. I highly recommend it as the perfect stocking stuffer, especially for the price on Amazon. Just ordered two more for my sisters.

5 comments about Tough Choices: A Memoir.

1. I am a big fan of biographies, but after reading this book, I came to a conclusion that biography is more interesting when it's written by a third party. When a person writes about his/her life, the author tends to write all the "cool" stories, and there is nothing I can learn about the real person who has failed, became angry and upset, and surviveed from it. I am sure Ms. Fiorina is an extremely interesting and strong person, but I could not feel it from this book, which is a collection of stories to show how great she is, and that's just about it.
   
   In addition, I was a little ticked about her opinion on law school being a place to learn all the old stuff and not creating anything new. As a law school graduate, I remember the excitement of reading cases like Brown vs. Board of Education and Wade vs. Roe. Law does create new things too, and it seems that Ms. Fiorina could not see that after studying the law only one semester. It make me question though... Ms. Fiorina majored history as her undergraduate study. Isn't it the ultimate study of learning the "old stuff"? Her opinion of law school seems to me is just another self-serving "execuse" and not the real reason.
   
   Anyhow, it was like reading a biography of a robott. Very shallow and not interesting at all.



2. The fabulous story of one bright-young-girl growing into the top executive in a world class Fortune 125 company. Intriguing to read about the roadblocks she faces in corporate America as a woman rather than a member of the good-old-boys network...and my oh my, how WELL she did it indeed. Extremely well written - I could not put it down. This should be required reading for all teenage girls in America - and the boys could learn a thing or two too. I nominate Carly Fiorina for President of the United States! She could do it and do it well!!



3. Having worked at a Cambridge based business school for a little over seven years as an administrative assistant, the story of Carly Fiorina really caught my interest, because I was curious about the gender dynamics and or biases in the business world, if indeed there really were and are any. But according to Fiorina's intepretative slant, there are. To a certain extent, I believe her; she was a controversal CEO, and in reading some of the reviews, there do seem to be some people who have an axe to grind in regards to her leadership, especially in HP's acquisition of Compaq, among some other happenings.
   
   With a background in medieval history and philosophy, one would not think that that would be a stable foundation for a life in business, but it was always her obedience to her parents and those around her that prevented her from flourishing into what she ultimately became, and I think that is ultimately what Fiorina's core message is to her readers, that people have to follow their own instincts. People can not always follow the path that others have laid out for them, no matter how good intentioned it may be. The person's individual instincts must come first.
   
   Yet with the judgements and bickering aside, Tough Choices is actually a good memoir and very well written, lucid, direct and not overdone with protective hyperbole; the memoir is not suggestive of a pity party or a woman who is trying to find redemption through all the chaos of criticism. What was really conveyed was how Carly Fiorina rose through the ranks to become the CEO of Hewlett-Packard in the first place.
   
   She gives illuminating details of her various stints at AT&T, Lucent Technologies and all the various offshoots until she was recruited by HP. She also details her family life, her numerous trips abroad (the meeting in Japan with the assigned geisha brought a smile to my face), to the various firings she had to commit to in order to see the industry through. And there are those moments where she writes about her encounters with sexism. They were not indicative of the companies that she worked for, just certain people who unfortunately did not know any better. That may sound weak, but it is true nonetheless.
   
   Overall, Tough Choices was a fine read, and I learned something from it. When a person is in a position of authority, irrelevant of gender, not everybody is going to be pleased. Sometimes it is just what is best for the company? CEOs have to look down the road, not at just the moment, and Carly Fiorina did that, to the best of her ability until the Board decided that new leadership needed to be gleaned from a pool of likeminded candidates. Lastly, I would not take the totality of Tough Choices as one hundred percent truth, as memoirs and autobiographies can always be manipulated so only one side is conveyed. I am sure there were plenty of screw-ups that were not acknowledged, but as a basic memoir, Tough Choices was a worthwhile read.



4. Carly is truly an inspiration- and a talented writer! I enjoyed reading about her story on how she got to where she is in life, and she has alot of funny anecdotes and stories mixed among some amazing insightful advice to keep it all interesting.



5. I found this book in a used book store, and decided to read it after hearing all the criticism of Carly from various acquaintances who work or worked at H-P. For those of us born and raised in what came to be known as Silicon Valley, the rise and fall and rise again of the Hewlett-Packard Corporation has been interesting to watch. (Disclaimer: I never worked at H-P, and just follow(ed) it as an investor, and as a resident in the area)
   
   In her book "Tough Choices", Former CEO Carly Fiorina clearly has scores to settle, which get in the way of what might have been a fascinating story.
   
   To Fiorina's credit, she does not have a ghostwriter, and her book, unlike the works of Jack Welch and Lee Iacocca, has fewer trite nostrums and pretentious pontifications. Her insights into the business world are fascinating and enlightening.
   
   However, while Carly Fiorina clearly does have interesting corporate war stories, she appears to have forgotten that utterly bogus "affirmative action" policies were at least partly responsible for her rise to power. She should be bitter. No one wanted her just for her mind.
   
   And let's face it Carly, Compaq was a dog, arf arf, given what H-P paid for it.
   
   Ultimately, while the book is often insightful, some of it is undeniably a self serving story with little evidence of honest insight. There is simply not enough honest responsibility on Carly's part for some demonstrably poor decisions. For example, Ms. Fiorina calls some unidentified directors "amateurish and immature." Indeed, the H-P board later was racked by scandal and resignations. But Ms. Fiorina sidesteps her own responsibility. She was chairman during most of her H-P days, with the power to remake the 10-member board. She brought in only two fresh faces while accepting several Compaq directors who gained H-P board seats after the 2002 merger.