5 comments about Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass LookBig, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer.

1. I'll be honest upfront that I haven't finished reading this book yet. I'm giving it three stars not because I'm not enjoying or connecting with the book but because of how it is written. What's up with the footnotes. I've read disertations with fewer footnotes. It's really disappointing because otherwise I'd be totally into the book.



2. Jen Lancaster's latest book is laugh out loud funny. I picked it up on a whim, and laughed (truly) our loud just reading the teaser at the back.
   
   Lancaster starts by describing the horrific foods she endured through her childhood ('healthy and flavorless' she says) until she ate away from home and discovered butter and cream and FLAVOR!!
   
   The years pass and the pounds add up, until the doctor points out further weight gain and the results this wreaks on one's body. As Lancaster says, "...what good is finally being able to afford a pedicure if I lose a foot to adult-onset diabetes
   
   Lancaster shows the way she conquered weight gain to become fit again and we get to laugh with her along the way. From Atkins to Jenny Craig to Weight Watchers, we see what works and what dedication it can take.
   
   Lancaster's wit and style of writing kept me laughing from start to finish. This is the first non-reference book that has footnotes (!) which allowed greater enlightment...it was like a friend whispering into my ear at a party, giving me the backstory on various guests.
   
   Lancaster starts the book with a story about someone telling her what a fat bitch she is, and it doesn't phase her. She accepts that she is who she is. She ends with a similar story, but her comeback to the insult this time is, "No, I am a fit bitch."
   
   I would recommend this to any friend who wanted a laugh. "Such a Pretty Fat" reminds me it's all worth laughing about to keep perspective.



3. This book was very funny, and very real...you really feel like you can somewhat relate to her. Great read!



4. ...or loved someone who has. This book will resonate with everyone who has been a serial dieter, tried everything on the shelf, blamed yourself, your metabolism, your boyfriend, your husband,your doctor, Oprah, and your dog. Jen writes in sometimes harsh, sometimes vulgar, but ultimately hilarious prose about her struggle to shed the pounds. (I agree with other reviewers that at moments her barbs toward others go too far and alienate the reader rather than drawing them in...she should be careful of that in future books.)
   
   In a refreshing twist, it doesn't appear that she ultimately reached her weight loss goal, but she did end with a healthier lifestyle and sense of her own body.



5. When I decided to buy Jen Lancaster's book, I had never heard of her or her writing before. After having a bad day after a lifetime of struggling with a bad body image, low self-esteem and an eating disorder, I went to Barnes & Noble to find a book to take my mind off of my life (a favorite escape of mine). I saw this on display and decided to give it a try.
   
   What I didn't know is that I had in my hands a hilarious yet deeply insightful and even beautiful book that would change my thought process forever. I remember thinking at some point while reading, "Why does she make this diet thing such a big issue? Her life is perfect." And then I went through a mini-enlightenment: my bad body image had everything but destroyed my relationships with my family, friends and loving boyfriend. Jen, unlike me, was a strong and intelligent woman that had the sense to realize that "until you figure out your insides, nothing on the outside matters."
   
   Even though she has the perfect life and an adorable husband, she approaches her autobiography in a down-to-earth, yet never self-deprecating fashion. Her book is refreshing in today's culture of the pursuit of pointless perfection. In this far from serious book, I learned very serious life lessons of what's important and what isn't worth my time even thinking about.
   
   I hope Jen is still fat, drunk and happy. She is an inspiration to all.

5 comments about Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.

1. Shipping took longer than expected but the book was in new condition as was stated



2. As a young adult I had read articles on the book. I knew the story. I saw the movie made from the book. However, I had never read the book itself.
   The experience of reading the words of Anne as she lived for two year in hiding with her family, and others in hiding, was entirely different than just knowing the story. Reading another persons personal words as they were living the life that inspired them to write is a most intimate experience.
   In my adult life I am glad to have had the experience of actually reading Anne Frank's words. I recommend the reading of this book to young and mature persons who wish to understand what transpired in our world history on an intimate level.



3. I've read this book ten times and it never gets old. Every young adult should read this!



4. I have finally, at the age of 33, gotten around to reading Anne Frank's diary. There is little point in adding another glowing review. Everything has been said. But after reading some of the negative reviews, I feel compelled to respond. It seems there are two primary criticisms (Three if you count the ridiculous idea that the diary is a forgery, which I won't dignify). The first is that Anne doesn't talk a lot about the war or the holocaust. To this, I can only say, that's all for the better. She was a thirteen year girl living in total isolation from the rest of the world. She really had no special expertise or light to shed on these subjects. There are many excellent history books on both of these subjects. The second criticism is simply that the book is boring. She talks too much about her day to day life, her thoughts, her feelings, and so on. To this I can only say, what part of "Diary of a Young Girl" is ambiguous? The annex was her entire world. What do you expect her to write about?
   
   What a few don't seem to understand is that this is not a "book about World War II", or even about the holocaust. If that is what she had written about, the diary wouldn't even be a footnote in history. This is the story of one young girl, in her own voice, trying to figure out what it means to live, to grow, and to be human in the most depraved and inhumane circumstances. She wrote about her hopes, her dreams, her fears, and occasionally about peeling potatoes. But the thing that some people don't see is that even when writing about the most mundane topics, she was actually writing about people, about how they endure and falter, about how they come together and how they fall apart. And despite the enormous injustice she endured, she always made the case for optimism, for hope in humanity, and for love of life. I don't know that I can agree with her, having adopted a more cynical outlook, but that just increases my admiration for her and my shame in myself for not living the gift of live to the fullest.
   
   The other thing that stands out is the maturity of the writing. After reading just the first entry, I was blown away by the eloquence and clarity of Anne's writing. I could hardly believe that I was reading the prose of a 13 year old girl. She does write a lot about the trials and tribulations of being a teenage girl, but the voice of the writing does not feel childish at all, except perhaps in its optimism. The world lost a great talent and a brilliant soul to those murderous barbarians.
   
   This is a difficult book to digest, and two days after finishing, I'm still haunted by it. Anne's optimism, faith, and courage inspired me throughout, but made the knowledge of what would come at the end all the more a bitter pill to swallow. All that we can do is to honor her by making sure her story and the story of millions of holocaust victims are never forgotten and never happen again. So far, we're not doing so well with that.
   
   And there, I've done it. I've written a review. I didn't intend to, but I did. So go out and read it, if you haven't.



5. I knew that the Diary of Anne Frank was the second most purchased book in the world, the Bible being the first, but I still wasn't sure if I wanted to read it.
   In our eighth grade class, our teacher is big on the Holocaust. And when she first mentioned that we would be learning about it, I was excited; to a point. I know that most kids my age think 'ooh blood and guts and gore' and think it's cool or funny or a joke. They all watch horror movies that almost make them immune to real life experiences that involve real horror or real tragedy.
   So before we started learning about it, I wanted to know more in depth about how it was like to be a teen during the Holocaust. So, I summed up the guts and checked it out at the library. When I started reading it, I couldn't stop. Anne and I are so similar. She's always happy-go-lucky despite the terrible circumstances; she's very curious, careless, and sometimes a trouble maker. And even though I'm not Jewish, I think it's extremely easy to worm your way into her shoes. You learn so much, and it's really emotional, knowing that Anne Frank, this person you've grown attatched to, and her family, everyone except her father Otto Frank, has been killed. Slaughtered innocently by the Nazis, a cult led by Hitler that cornered them just because of their religion or their looks.
   I think that if anyone wants to learn about the Holocaust, this is a must read; it's an amazing journey that might not end so happily, but Anne never ceased to hope. It has such vivid details of everything that sometimes it's hard to believe that something like the concentration camps and Hitler and everything existed. The fact that it's in diary form makes it all the better.
   This non-fiction diary is amazing, and I think everyone, at some point, should read it.

5 comments about Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.

1. This book was needed for a college course I am taking and I never got it. I just hope the one I purchased for the second time gets to me before I need to read the book.



2. People often associate comic books with childrens' fiction, as if the medium itself is inflexible. Some of us the comic lovers know that is not the case. And case in point Persepolis - where the emotions of a little girl in the politically and socially charged Iran takes us through what would have been a blind journey. I think pictures don't necessarily paint a thousand words, it paints many, and it leaves the number to the reader. While written words force a description on your mind, a picture leaves a lot to your imagination. It lights the spark with the image, and the image takes on its own life in your mind. This is what I felt while reading Persepolis, where just with two shades, Marjane Satrapi gives us enough fodder to ruminate in the visual fields of our imagination. I could see the drastic transformation of one of her neighbours going from a mini-skirt to the veiled burkha.
   
   Marjane Satrapi is gifted and trained no doubt, and it shows in the depictions of emotions that are otherwise hard to describe. You may also want to look for books by Dupuy and Berberian, that tell of personable tales in their lives or fictitious characters drawn with similar dexterity.



3. With Marjane Satrapi's animated film playing in theatres and available on disc, I almost jumped at the chance to read her book, the part-comic/part-memoir of Satrapi's childhood in Tehran, Iran.
   
   To avoid confusion with more current events, `Marji' (as she was called as a child) recalls her upbringing in a Marxist family, the fall of the last Shah regime, the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and Iran's war against Iraq in the 80's. While Satrapi's words are powerful enough to get in your head and stay there, her simple black-and-white drawing style captures the laughter, the tears, and the raw emotion felt throughout the story. Though only an individual account, the story itself is quite vivid in describing how Iran had left a world of tyranny and chaos--only to wind up in another. Though controversial in its own right, "Persepolis" is still a riveting book for those seeking intelligent reading.
   
   This comic is unrated: Violence, Adult Language, Adult Situations.



4. I feel I learned more about the history of Iran through the eyes of a little girl who was practically forced to become an adult by the age of 14 than most textbooks. Marjane Satrapi, or "Marji" captured my attention, thanks to the successful marriage of her "crudely-drawn" panels and approachable narrative. While I have yet to read the sequel, I feel I know this individual on a personal level as the book fills us in on her deepest fears and hopes and conflicts.



5. Although this book is written like a comic book, don't take it lightly. The story is a deep and meaningful one. It is a pretty fast read but not as fast as you'd think...I highly recommend it!

5 comments about Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.

1. I have just finished Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession by Anne Rice and I found it to be a quite powerful conversion to Christ beautifully written. As someone who was a fan of so many of her books and was quite pleased with her two books on Jesus I was looking forward to reading this book.
   
   A large section of the book starts with her experiences growing up Catholic in New Orleans where the local culture was decidedly Catholic and centered around parish life. She writes about her fascination with the church as a child and her interest in architecture, statues, stained glass windows, and all that made up most Catholic churches of that period. It reminded me of what Pope Benedict said about biblia pauperum . "The bible of the poor",comprised of non-literary works, such as icons, images, hymns, windows, etc. Before she could read she was able to learn about the Church and the lives of the saints to some extent. This interest in sacred architecture and statues was also something she was interested with throughout her life, ever her 38 years as an atheist. It was also something that was a possible anchor that later helped her back into the Church, though certainly not the deciding one. I have read many conversions stories of how these images and the sacramental nature of the Church later had an effect on bringing people back to the Church. She speaks of this time with much love about growing up in this time period where pretty much every person she came in contact with was Catholic. She gives her reflections on the traditional Mass and the Latin hymns she learned to love and gives us an insight into this particular time and place of Catholics in America and her desires at one time to become a nun.
   
   Though all is not idyllic as she enters school which she hates, though she does not hate the nuns who taught her and holds them in very high esteem. Ironically it was reading that made school the most difficult for her and it would take her quite a while to really become a reader. She really pours herself in her writing as she describes her experiences and her family and the good and the bad situations that occurred within her family. Two of her aunts were nuns and her father had gone to seminary and so the Catholic view of life permeated most of her childhood. The Catholic schools she went to were quite good, but like man schools of the time a real introduction to scripture was lacking with much memorization of the Baltimore Catechism. While this type of memorization is a great first step it must be followed up with a greater understanding of theology, scripture and Church teaching.
   
   I must say though that I was quite surprised by what her real first name is and can easily understand why she told the nuns her name was Anne and got her sisters to call her that also. Regardless of the Catholic culture she grew up with, like so many when she left to go to college it was not long until she no longer practiced her faith and then moved onto atheism. The transition from a childhood faith to ownership of that faith is often a difficult transition and a surface understanding of the faith is usually not enough. The intellectual vastness of the faith is something that unfortunately few seem to grasp and the Church gets reduced down to laws and rules.
   
   The thirty eight years of her atheism is not really covered in depth. She takes great care to make this book a spiritual biography and only deals with events that would make her once more think of God and the route along the way that brought her back to the Church. She does deal with her vampire novels to some extent and the worldview they came out of that was directly related to her loss of spiritual life. But this book is not about her and her triumphs as an author, but of her journey. The last section of the book deals with the events that brought her back to the Church and I must say there were often tears in my eyes as I read what she had to write. Her conversion was a real act of humility as she put aside her doubts and to truly put her trust in Christ. At one point she writes "And why should I remain apart from Him just because I couldn't grasp all this? He could grasp it. Of course! It was love that brought me to this awareness, love that brought me into a complete trust in him ..." She also discusses what she felt was her call to write of Christ which have resulted into two novels so far and the intense reading of the Gospels and other books. The famous poem of Francis Thompson the Hound of Heaven plays a part and she describes herself as Christ haunted and felt that she was being pursued by God. Her insights into much of the skeptical biblical scholarship lead her to a quite orthodox Christology that you can see in those two books.
   
   There is much in this book to recommend it and oddly for a conversion story I found it to be a real page turner. As a conversion story it is quite moving and her efforts to follow Christ and her recognition of herself as a baby Christian shows a surprising humility. There were many things she wrote that I as an ex-atheist could readily relate to. Also interesting was an awakening to the world of faith around her that she had really not seen and how Hollywood and others manage to not see it either. That being said I had a few quibbles here and there in what she wrote. It is quite obvious that throughout the book she favors women's ordination. She once wanted to be a priest and when told she couldn't she figured that this would change at some point. A priest told her at some point that at one time theologians debated whether women have souls (which is pretty much mythical). Her son has same-sex attraction and it is evident that she does not understand the Church's teaching since she seems to confuse condemnation of homosexual acts as condemnation of those who have the cross of same-sex attraction. The same goes for her understanding of sexual morality to some extent. She has an excellent understanding of Christology and hopefully she will come to a greater understanding of ecclesiology Though even when touching on these issues there was not a "me against the Church" attitude, but an evident willingness to come to a greater understanding and that following Christ was of the greatest importance.
   
   So despite my quibbles I highly recommend this book because it is also a book on Christian discipleship, on living the faith and letting Christ lead you even into the unknown.



2. This book is for Anne Rice fans first and then memoir-lovers and Catholic/Christian apologists. The first few chapters share her experiences growing up in a devoutly Catholic neighborhood. The Archbishop's name was as often heard as the mayor's. She eloquently describes her Catholic childhood with its' many scents, images and disciplines. The non-Catholic reader will SEE why many Catholics can hear, live, breath, eat and drink the gospels notoriously without having read them.
   
   Anne shares insight into her own visual/audio methods of learning. Her faith was formed largely before she appreciated the written word and thus we EXPERIENCE her Catholic childhood in the first few chapters. She is a right-brained artist. She writes like she hears and sees -scents, images and textures- and thus can write 5 times as fast as she reads.
   
   One poignant lesson was her realization that the key Christian tenant is to love everyone, one's enemy, family, etc., and she later explains how she fell in love with reading the gospels.
   
   Anne openly admits that her return to Catholicism is easier in her post-child-bearing years. She struggles with the "conservative church's" "obsession" with sexuality and gender. (Though Sunday homilies and the Vatican's administration doesn't reflect on or deal with sexuality even 1/10 of what does pop-culture, must-see t.v., our culture, etc. Maybe it seems the church is obsessed with sexuality because the church offers a stark alternative to what our cutlure's obsession with sexuality offers. The culture is clearly obsessed while the church is hardly obsessed.)
   
   BUT! Her daily devotional life is in no way compromised by intellectual struggles. And her point that we must love one another, and ultimately God and the Eucharist amidst disagreements is much more prominent than her struggles with returning to an ancient faith. It is clear in her memoir why she MIGHT find Theology of the Body "heartbreaking." (How can an eccentric artist who values the unique in life, whose passions transend gender, accept what looks like the expectation that we either be a suzy-homemaker or the Marlboro man? = Fair nuff, however misunderstood.)
   
   Anne makes it abundantly clear that although she thinks the church may change its' views on gender roles the same way it dealt with an Earth-centric universe, what is most important is that she still turns to God in the Eucharist at mass and in her daily life. God is everywhere.
   
   I raced through this book in two sittings. The book offers profound insight into decades spent as an atheist and a thoroughly drawn-out conversion experience, but the cognitive functions of an artistic romantic genius and her outlook on Christianity are what interested me most. Anne, thank you for writing this book.



3. After having read Anne Rice's "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" and "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana" TWICE, I was, needless to say, first in line October 7th to pick up her new memoir,"Called Out of Darkness: a spiritual confession." I was not disappointed -- and am now anticipating a second read.
   
   As a professional writer for more than 30 years, and an avid reader since childhood, it is rare that I take the time to reread novels or non-fiction books. Reading and research have always been one of my most treasured activities -- and I do not make my choices lightly.
   
   Brought up as a Lutheran, I, too, separated from the church during college -- primarily when I discovered that the minister I had grown up with, who taught me the Catechism, performed my confirmation and presented me with my first communion -- had been sexually abusing both young girls and boys in my own confirmation class and had continued to do so for years. When the abuse was discovered in my freshman year, the church simply sent him (and his wife and three children) on to another church in another state. I was appalled! Although my parents tried to explain to me that the pastor was only human and that it should not affect my faith in Christ -- I literally "threw the baby out with the bath water."
   
   But I was also quite miserable -- I had lost something very precious and felt myself floundering, trying to figure out what, if anything, I had to hold on to. I spent many years trying to find answers in many places. Finally, I decided that I did believe -- but could never find a church I could adhere to. And the doubts persisted.
   
   Now in my mid-fifties, I have spent the last few years fascinated with the life of Christ -- and my library reflects that fact. In May, 2005, I had what I would call a "spiritual awakening" (when words in the gospels suddenly jumped out at me and produced a significant transformation within me) and since then have been avidly pursuing the subject.
   
   I must say that none of the many books I have read about Christ (both fiction and non-fiction) have captured me, mesmerized me, inspired me . . . as much as Anne Rice's portrayal of the young seven-year-old Jesus in the first of the series, and that of the 30-year-old Yeshua in the second. I actually remember closing my eyes after finishing "The Road to Cana," and praying that Anne Rice would write quickly so that I might live to read the last of the series! (No pressure there, Anne!) That is how entranced I was.
   
   Now, in reading her memoir, so many pieces have fallen into place for me. This is the woman I wanted to get to know, to understand. I wanted to follow in her footsteps as she sought, suffered, questioned . . . to reach the point where she could portray and bring to life (in first person -- an incredible feat) both the Son of God and the Son of Man.
   
   5 stars for all three books mentioned -- for Anne's courage, authenticity, the willingness to address tough issues of this time, her impeccable research and her magnificent gift of writing to encourage, inspire and enlighten.
   
   (On a personal note to Anne, I wish to add my sadness at the passing of your young daughter at an earlier time and the more recent passing of your beloved husband, Stan. I send blessings to you, your loved ones -- and especially your beautiful son, Christopher.)
   
   I am anxiously awaiting number three in this incredible series!



4. In Called Out Of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession," her first ever biography, Anne Rice recounts for us her life's journey with her personal faith. And what a journey~~and life~~it's been. This book is not so much a straight autobiography as a memoir, the "spiritual confession" of the title, a focus on her devout Catholic childhood, her subsequent break with faith in late adolescence, and her eventual, momentous return to faith and the church after thirty eight years as an athiest. With loving attention to detail she brings to life for us the world of her New Orleans girlhood, an upbringing largely consumed with a rigorous belief in God and a passionate love for Jesus and the rituals of worship. (As a girl Rice even had her father convert a room of their house into a shrine.) Along the way she shares with us her growing frustrations with the traditional, limiting notions and expectations of gender and the inequality of women in society and the church. Telling a priest that she wants to be a priest herself, a shocked Rice is told that not only is this impossible, but that there was a time when the church actually debated if women had souls. Later she entertains the notion of being a nun. After she leaves New Orleans and moves to Texas after her mother's death, a growing and fierce desire to know more of the (church forbidden) greater world through books, existentialsim, philosophy and films contributes to her increasing disillusionment and total break with faith and the church. In the subsequent decades Rice marries the poet Stan Rice, has and loses a daughter to leukemia, becomes an alchoholic, then abandons drink forever after the birth of her son Christopher. And, oh yes--writes a book called Interview With The Vampire and becomes a world famous author, the greatest writer of her time. All the while she maintains her athiesism, but after her return to New Orleans in 1988 she gradually begins to question and have doubts about her own disbelief. A number of things conspire to inspire this rebirth of faith: a more relaxed, less confining and judgmental church, the acceptance of her by religious family, friends and community, a fascination with the fervor of interest in Jesus during the 1990s, her intense study of the survival of the Jewish people throughout history, her realization that she doesn't have to have all the answers to her inner conflicts since "God knows the answers," among other phenomena. Finally she professes her renewed faith in 1998 and returns to the fold of the church she had loved so much and left decades before. In 2002 she vows to "give her writing over to the Lord," writing only for Him and abandoning~~but never disowning~~her earlier "light seeking" work.
   With "Called Out Of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession" Rice has given us a fascinating memoir that is richly evocative and moving. Some of my favorite passages involve her childhood with her family in the New Orleans of the 1940s and '50s. She was a child in love with sensuality and spirituality who lost her faith eventually, though I suspect her belief was never totally gone. The single most eloquent quote for me was her admonition that it is imperative that those like the doubting, troubled adolescent Rice to "never stop talking to God--that was my biggest mistake. Through it all keep talking to God." Amen.



5. Of all genres of books, memoirs may be the toughest to review. After all, how is a reviewer to evaluate the life experiences of another person? What is the measure of a good memoir and what is the measure of a poor one? Ultimately, as a reviewer, I can judge only the power and effectiveness of the writing, the truthfulness of what the author claims as fact, and, more subjectively, the personal impact of the person's life-story. And with these criteria in mind, I turn to Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession by novelist Anne Rice.
   
   The fact that Rice has rediscovered the faith of her childhood is well-documented; it is seen most clearly in the transition of the subject matter of her novels. Gone are the stories of vampires and in their place is her multi-volume account of the life of Christ (click to read my review of the most recent entry in the series, Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana). In this book, a confession of sorts, she explains why she walked away from her faith to begin with and how, decades later, she recovered it. She says in the first chapter, "I want to tell, as simply as I can--and nothing with me as a writer has ever really been simple--the story of how I made my decision of the heart. So here is the story of one path to God. The story has a happy ending because I have found the Transcendent God both intellectually and emotionally. And complete belief in Him and devotion to Him, no matter how interwoven with occasional fear and constant personal failure and imperfection, has become the true story of my life."
   
   Called Out of Darkness gets off to quite a slow start, buried in the details of Rice's earliest days growing up in ultra-Catholic New Orleans. She was raised in an extremely devout Roman Catholic family and she expends a great deal of effort in describing this period of her life. Though I found the first few chapters burdensome, I understand their importance; Rice wishes to set the stage, really clearly set the stage, for the return of her faith later in life. Despite the Church playing a crucial role in her early life, she soon pushed it aside. It was as a young adult that Rice walked away from her faith, not because of scandal or deep-rooted doubts, but because she wanted to know more of the modern world than her church would allow her to see and to experience. Like so many young people, she found that her faith could not survive her college years. It was not until she was fifty-seven that she would find it again.
   
   As we'd expect from Anne Rice, Called Out of Darkness is largely well-written though it is perhaps a tad verbose or melodramatic or unnecessarily atmospheric at times, and especially so at the beginning (e.g. "The sky during these trips was often bloodred, or purple, and the trees were so thick that one could only see hundreds of fragments of the sky amid clusters of darkening leaves. The color of the sky seemed to me to be connected with the song of the cicadas, and the drowsy shadows playing everywhere on the margins of what was visible, and the distinct feel of the humid air. Even in winter the air was moist, so that the world itself seemed to be pulsing around us, enfolding us, holding us as we moved through it."). But Rice is a gifted author and she more than compensates for occasional verbosity with prose that is at times good and at times even exceptional.
   
   Some of the most interesting passages in the memoir have Rice describing her own books, explaining and interpreting the characters and the themes. There is much of her and much of her life story in these books and she does a great job of showing how her characters have always been a reflection of herself. In this context we understand that, once she rediscovered the faith of her childhood, she was able to retire her faithful old characters and turn to new subject matter.
   
   In the book's final pages, Rice describes what her faith looks like today and how she lives it out. She bewails the way Christians disagree among themselves about what she considers petty issues. This was of particular interest to me. A few weeks ago I reviewed Crossbearer, a memoir by Joe Eszterhas. One thing I noted in that review was that Eszterhas had discovered Roman Catholic faith, but had done so in a pick-and-choose manner, accepting what resonated with him and rejecting what had not. To some extent the same is true with Anne Rice; she found herself unable to consent to the Church's teaching on several issues. Of great concern to her are the issues of gender, sexuality and homosexuality (though, ironically, she says that Christians ought not to have such an interest in these matters). "Try as I might," she says, "I can find nothing in Holy Scripture that supports this contemporary obsession with sex and gender on the part of our conservative churches." She makes the rather audacious statement that "Jesus Christ Himself cared nothing about gender at all" and that he insisted upon equality for all people. This is true, in a sense, and Jesus did revolutionize the way men and women were to perceive one another. However, while Jesus insisted in equality of worth and value, this does not necessarily mean that men and women are to have identical or interchangeable roles. A look to the New Testament epistles will reveal what Jesus says through His people about how men and women are to serve in the church and it will reveal what Jesus says about sexuality. The emphasis on these subjects in both Catholic and Protestant circles proves their critical importance; the emphases on these subjects in Rice's own book proves their importance.
   
   Called Out of Darkness will undoubtedly appeal to the bona fide card-carrying Anne Rice fans and to those who are interested in spiritual memoirs. Even to me, one who has read her works only sparingly, this was an enjoyable memoir and one I am glad I read. It is an interesting glimpse into an interesting life and, at least to this reader, sounds a warning against what seems to be a natural human tendency. It shows once again a faith that submits to some kind of transcendence and that gives its adherent peace and comfort but that, at one point or another, resists the extrinsic authority that seeks to shape and define it, whether it be the authority of Scripture or Church or, in this instance, both.

3 comments about Led By Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide.

1. God bless Immaculee! I have read all her books and got one signed at a conference in Phoenix. Being in this woman's presence is truly a gift. Ilibagiza delivers a message that is as strong as her mountain of faith, yet the truth of what she endured is almost too horrible to comprehend. I recommend Led by Faith to anyone who works with survivors of war trauma. Read it to learn about the power of spirituality, the miracle of intention, and the nobility of humanitarianism.
   
   Thank you Immaculee, for continuing to write and speak.



2. Led by Faith; Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide is the page turning follow up to Immaculee's first book Left to Tell; Discovering God Amist the Rwandan Holocaust. Led by Faith is life changing book which is written in a very simple, personal style. Immaculee is an incredible woman of faith and a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide. During the Genocide she and 7 other women hid for 91 days in a tiny bathroom while their families were being brutally murdered. While in the bathroom, Immaculee prayed and eventually came to a place where she was able to forgive the people hunting her.
   
   In Led by Faith, Immaculee talks about how she went on after the Genocide and how she applied the faith she found in the bathroom to every day life. She also talks about how she miraculously met best selling author Wayne Dyer who promised to publish her book on their first meeting. Immaculee has inspired me and profoundly changed my life. In addition she gives insight as to what happened to the killers after the genocide and how Rwanda adjusted when over a million refugees re-entered the country.
   
   Led by Faith is an important book as is Left to Tell and I have no doubt that anyone who reads Led by Faith won't walk away disappointed. I highly recommend Led by Faith to anyone who is looking to gain perspective in today's ever changing world.



3. Following up her incredible,life-changing book, LEFT TO TELL, this volume reveals Immaculee's intense, profound and deeply moving spiritual journey after the horrific Rwandan genocide that she survived by God's providence. It shows the spiritual fruit of those 91 days of constant prayer and suffering she endured in that tiny bathroom packed like sardines with 7 other women.
   
   She emerged from those 91 days of terror as a spiritually transformed woman, who was about to encounter unspeakable grief at the knowledge of the carnage that happened in her country, and to her own family. But with her deep faith and prayer life, we see in this book how she was able to abandon herself to Divine Providence, and draw ever closer to the God whose love she came to deeply experience and trust in, even in the face of such horrors.
   
   This book is filled with many inspiring stories of how Immaculee experienced God's mercy and strength to face so many new challenges and difficulties, as well as stirring stories of others who also were survivors of the Rwandan holocaust. It is reminiscent of other spiritual classics by people who have gone through incredible times of darkness and suffering (like Walter Ciszek's powerful HE LEADETH ME)and how they learned to draw close to God in that crucible and be spiritually transformed by a deep spirit of faith, prayer and charity that countless others benefit from when they read or hear the stories of these heroic souls.

5 comments about An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir.

1. I first discovered this book in Oprah magazine, excerpted as an essay and what struck me besides the absolute beauty and starkness of the language was the understanding, the grace, the simplicity of the words and the complexity of the words all at the same time.
   
   I will just quote Elizabeth here at the beginning of her memoir:
   
   "A child dies in this book: a baby. A baby is stillborn. You don't have to tell me how sad that is: it happened to me and my husband, our baby, a son."
   
   And that, my friends, is the beginning of a book that takes your breath away with sadness, with laughter, with hope, and with the ultimate faith in life.
   
   Is it a book for parents whose children have died? I don't know. I am reading it. I put it down several times a day. I will read it. My husband may not. He doesn't like sad books anymore. He doesn't like books or stories where babies die. He doesn't find comfort in that. I somehow still do.
   
   And because I first discovered Elizabeth in The Giant's House, a novel that sings, I know that I cannot be disappointed in her writing. And because Ann Patchett and Alice Sebold love McCracken's writing, well then, that also says a great deal. And because I think, Elizabeth's first love is of the literary genre, it too is evidenced here.
   
   But of course there is a paradox because the book, however lovely, is here because her son is not. And that will always be the real tragedy.
   
   Do I have any disappointments about the book? Only one. When I picked it up, it was lighter than I expected, and I realized in that moment, that I wanted it to weigh a healthy eight pounds. I wanted to hold it in my arms and rock it. And that perhaps is all that is left to be said except for this:
   
   Go and buy the book!



2. It's easy to write a book about a baby's death; the minute we hear or read "a baby's death," the subject matter alone will evoke the stock emotions we know that come from something so traumatic - heartache, despair, tears, senselessness, depression...the list goes on infinitely.
   
   What's not easy is writing that story in a way that gets at the heart of the true emotions beneath the ones we so easily rely on. What Elizabeth McCracken does so wonderfully in her memoir "An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination" is unflinchingly real and will break your heart and make you hope all in one breath. It's not just the painful story of her baby's death; it's also the true, minute details of thought, of feeling, of reaction that most people don't talk about. It's not just the painful story of her baby's death; it's also the story of moving on yet holding on, of loving but learning to let go, of learning to accept the new beautiful things in your life (like the birth of a beautiful baby boy) while learning the ongoing process of forgiveness. It is the epitome of how LIFE GOES ON and how we should never forget what we've lost but embrace it, accept it, and take pockets of it for good memories to help us when the sadness and heartache invades.



3. Elizabeth McCracken is an award winning, happily single author in her late thirties. But when she meets Edward Carey, they fall in love and get married. Both have wanderlust and it is in France where she disover she is expecting their first child. They spend an idyllic nine months waiting for the birth of "Pudding", the pet name given to the unborn baby boy.
   
   However, tragedy strikes at the eleventh hour. McCracken's son is stillborn.
   
   How does one deal with such sorrow? How do you go forward?
   
   An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination is the story of that pregnancy and loss, written after birth of her second child, a little more than a year later.
   
   "This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending."
   
   I felt like I was privy to McCracken's journal, reading of the joy, anticipation, hurt, anger and grief that she and her husband went through. She is unwavering in her honesty, sharing her most intimate thoughts and emotions.
   
   I haven't (yet) read any of her novels, but was captured by the way she uses words to paint vivid descriptions.
   
   " Just then another would-be renter showed up, a yellow-clad lawyer from Boston, with wooden skin and leaden hair and the official dreary insinuating underfed brittle aura of a number 2 pencil".
   
   Whether you are a parent or not, this is a personal and moving memoir that will touch you.



4. I've never had a baby. That may be in the cards one day, but it's not something my husband and I have planned for anytime soon. So you might ask: how can this book, about a woman who loses her unborn child, speak to me?
   
   The answer? I don't know. But what I can tell you is that this book is amazing. It is simple and beautiful; a tribute to a child that didn't quite make it into the world. It is a work of enduring and unconditional love from a mother to a child. Though I haven't been a mother, I have been a child and I have seen the quality of that love firsthand. It pours from each page, love and grief mixed into one.
   
   However, somehow the book is still joyful and full of hope. On every page, as the reader takes in McCracken's unfathomable sense of loss, there is also hope. Don't get me wrong - it is sometimes difficult to read. I found myself tearing up more than once. But the book is so unflinchingly honest, so real, that it feels like real life. There are all the emotions present, mixed in with the grief.
   
   I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is beautifully written, honest, emotional, and full of the wonder of life. It is McCracken's tribute to her unborn child, so that she, and everyone else, will always remember what she had and what she lost.



5. I wonder if when Elizabeth McCracken writes on page 112 that she "flipped through stacks of magazines until I found a copy of O, with a cheerful, childless Oprah Winfrey on the front" if she knew that Oprah gave birth to a stillborn boy when she was just fourteen years old?

5 comments about Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation.

1. This is an excellent review of history from women's viewpoints. The recearch was very well done and events factual. I felt as if I were reliving those times with the women who shaped them. Luisa Adams especially showed her mettle in very dificult situations as, of course, did Abigale and Dolley Madison! Thanks Cokie for bringing them to life for me.



2. I must be the only one who found Ladies of Liberty difficult to read. The ladies and their lives were very interesting or would have been but the way Cokie Roberts presented it. Jumping from one to another sometimes it would be on Abigail Adams and then jump without notice to another lady or it would go on several pages about a different set of ladies and then jump back to Abigail Adams which made it very hard for me to keep up let alone finish reading.
   It would have been easier and simpler and less messy to devote parts or chapters to one lady and then moved on to the next. It was messy and disconjointed and I gave up after a few chapters. If you like that style of written then you'll love this book. If not you won't.



3. Naturally, these seeds of women's liberation were, in fact, the passionate, intelligent, issue-focused women that Cokie Roberts presents to us. The book is a little confusing in its intentions; I had expected these ladies that Ms. Roberts documents to be solely five of the first first ladies of the United States (or in the case of Thomas Jefferson, key women of his family). And the chapter headings identify these rather well-known women: Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, Dolley Madison, Rosalie Stier Calvert, and Elizabeth Monroe.
   
   Roberts does spend a good deal of her conversation telling us what important roles these women played. [I particularly appreciate the writing of Abigail Adams, which Cokie's book serves to remind me of from my reading of John Adams.] But, in my humble opinion, the sadly-and-essentially unpromoted characteristic of Ladies of Liberty is its most important quality: its descriptions of several great 'ordinary' women of the early post-colonial period--some of whom achieved little notoriety and few of whom hobnobbed with big pols:
   
   ...
   
   For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
   reviews, please visit my site [...]
   
   Brian Wright
   Copyright 2008



4. Now I know why high school American History classes were such a snore. Up until now, history books have largely been written by men about only the men who founded our proud nation. Abbreviated, often sanitized versions of how events came to pass seem created to portray the good guys and the bad guys in ways that prove who was right or wrong. They were often dull and statistical, sweeping any nuance or thrills tidily under the rug.
   
   One could not finish the course without knowing that Martha Washington was our first First Lady and that Abigail Adams was a strong woman who helped her husband John, our second president, throughout his career. Dolley Madison may be more famous for the lunchbox sweet cakes named after her than for her powerful influence on our nation's capital for over two decades both as the wife of the unpopular fourth president, James Madison, and as the Grande Dame pillar of society as his widow. Did we know that Eliza Hamilton, wife of Alexander Hamilton, was perhaps the first American political wife who would stand, looking adoringly at a philandering husband as he admitted adultery? Not likely. What we think of as heated debate and political mudslinging today would pale compared to the harsh words in the press or uttered during debate that too often led to duels in misty meadows and murder on the steps of Congress.
   
   As Cokie Roberts neared the publication deadline for her first book, FOUNDING MOTHERS, it became clear that there was a vast, unplumbed treasure trove of historical information in the form of personal correspondence by and about the strong women of the new nation. These letters from and to the women who shared the dangers and privations of disease, separation, lethal epidemics and often near-starvation as one war moved into another crackled with never-before published descriptions, facts and insights into the momentous events that formed our new nation.
   
   Researchers had no problem finding copies of treaties and legislation, even rough drafts of such treasures as the Articles of Confederation and the Bill of Rights. But these had been, for the most part, carefully written, edited and preserved in formal language --- the meatless bones of a new democracy. When these same brilliant men, such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, corresponded with their wives and friends, the true picture of the times flowed from the pages.
   
   In LADIES OF LIBERTY, we learn firsthand, in their own words, of the devastating effects of measles, dysentery, yellow fever and childbirth complications. These famous and very capable women were pregnant most of the time, often losing at least half of their children to one constant threat after another. Many were pregnant nearly a dozen times, perhaps seeing only three or four or fewer children grow to maturity. If they themselves survived all these pregnancies, they often moved across country or sailed to foreign lands as their husbands served as ambassadors or emissaries, enduring months of seasickness or bone-rattling stagecoach rides.
   
   In one vivid chapter, Louise Catherine Adams --- who, with her husband, John Quincy Adams, had spent six years in the court of Czar Alexander of Russia --- is summoned to Paris by her husband, who is there on business at the end of his term in Russia. She packs their belongings into a sleigh along with their seven-year-old son, a nanny and two men of dubious background to travel across Europe in the dead of winter. The trip took two months at a time when Napoleon had escaped Elba and returned to France, turning Europe upside down in a new war. Her husband awaited her in Paris, completely unaware of the dangers she was facing and was in fact attending a theatrical production the night she finally arrived after a journey that would have killed a lesser woman. Mr. Adams's account of this incident is a brief footnote, including a review of the play as he acknowledges the arrival of his wife and son. Louise's vivid description of the freezing conditions, crude accommodations along the road and their terror at swordpoint of marauding soldiers brings to life what life was really like in 1816 Europe.
   
   Would we have learned that Theodosia Burr, daughter of the infamous Aaron Burr, would play such an important role in our nation? That the Ursaline nuns of New Orleans were invaluable help in nursing the wounded and taking in orphans during the famous battle of the War of 1812, but had been educating women, slaves and native Americans in their schools --- unheard of anywhere else in the country --- since 1727? Sacajawea, the famous Shoshone Indian teenager who gave birth to a baby while serving as an interpreter for Lewis and Clark on their Northwest exploration, could neither read nor write. But Lewis and Clark did, describing in ever-growing admiration the skill and importance of her presence to their mission.
   
   A favorite chapter is Dolley Madison's account, through letters to friends and her husband, of the attack and burning of Washington and the President's house during the War of 1812. What? The British came back and burned down Washington after the Revolutionary War? Where was I the day they covered that in class? And did I ever hear about Dolley Madison delaying her flight to safety as the British arrived at the door to rescue the portrait of George Washington and see that it was spirited out of town under cover of darkness?
   
   The only criticism I can aim at this fascinating account of these exciting historical events is that I sometimes became a little lost in the timeline. I did a fair amount of glancing back to orient myself to locations and dates as each absorbing tale unfolded surrounding the dozen or so women covered in the story.
   
   But LADIES OF LIBERTY brings stuffy old American History crackling to life through these priceless correspondences. Cokie Roberts modestly states that all she did was find them and pull them together into a book. For this we are grateful, Ms. Roberts.
   
   --- Reviewed by Roz Shea



5. This book gave me an amazing incite into how much women have always been involved in the political process. In today's world it is thought that the current wives of the Presidential candidates are forging new inroads, but it is apparent that women have always played a pivitol role in politics and in their husbands campaigns. Thank you Cokie!

5 comments about Thin Is the New Happy.

1. I mostly liked this book. It was funny, entertaining, and at times, sad. Frankel writes well. This is a book you can breeze through. I could relate to Frankel's body image and self-esteem issues. Her obsession with her weight is something many women can relate to.
   
   While Frankel uses a lot of self-deprecating humor, she also gets a tad preachy at times. Preachy may not be the correct word. Long-winded may be a better term. There is a section where she goes on about how she is a "striver" and has "dreams" (unlike some people she once knew)! I think that's something readers can deduce on their own: She went to Dartmouth, she worked for years at a major woman's magazine, she has written many published novels.
   
   It seemed that Frankel was/is on a quest for self-actualization. For most of the book she seems open, forgiving, and willing to admit her flaws, but she is a tad snobby and self-righteous. When she meets, Z, an acquaintance from junior high that used to tease her unmercifully about her extra poundage, she speaks about him in such a mean-spirited way. She claims that she isn't any better than Z, but you get the overwhelming feeling that she does think she's better. She snottily proclaims him as "just a bundle of skin, a thoughtless consumer of earth's oxygen." I lost all respect for Frankel at this moment. (I wanted to drop the book, but I kept reading.) I can't help to view her as mean-spirited and unforgiving at the moment she trash-talks Z, who is now a 40- something year-old man. This entire section where she speaks about Z was a huge turn-off. Her views of a certain "soulless state", her snobby views that Paris and London are "predictable destinations". I had to laugh near the end when Frankel described a trip to Disney World in Orlando and Fisherman's Wharf. How terribly pedestrian, Frankel! You can almost forgive the author for rudely talking about Z. She was wounded by his words. But, I have to wonder how a person could be so unforgiving to a person that was 12, 13, or 14-years old when the transgressions occurred.
   
   Overall, this was an entertaining read. I wish the author the best of luck with her efforts to be at peace with her body.



2. I've been a habitual dieter since the 7th grade. My weight has always gone up and down. Thankfully for the past several years, I have been able to maintain a healthy weight. This book hammers in the idea that dieting just doesn't work. I am a true believer. I found myself nodding in agreement and/or laughing through the entire book. Well written and a fast read. I've already passed it on to those I know will benefit. A definite must for anyone who has struggled with their weight and wants a different outlook. Bye Bye Atkins, South Beach and Weight Watchers-Hello Valerie Frankel!



3. A brilliant book by a great author. So many women, I dare say all, will relate to much of what Frankel writes about- her struggle with weight and body image first and foremost, but also: school bullying, sibling issues, relationships, sex, the world of magazines and fashion, the sad death of her first husband and first one true love (written about with such candor and honesty), her up and down relationship with her mother (although becoming close as adults, she wonders does she really know me?), online dating, re-marriage, loving again, and step-parenting issues such as adoption, developing a fashion sense, comments men make, and her ultimate decision to try to be on the Non-Diet for once in her life. All written about with incredible humor and insight.
   Though she doesn't pretend to be an expert on any of these issues, she does throw in research and/or conversations with experts throughout. Readers will leave the book with nuggets of wisdom about every topic, like having many conversations over cocktails with some incredibly wise girlfriends. You'll feel better about yourself after reading this book, and realize you're not alone in your obsessions about your stomach or sneaking peeks in the mirror 184 times per day.



4. Valerie Frankel speaks about things that she endured that I absolutely relate to. This book is about my mother and me!
   
   I was put on my first diet at the tender age of eight. (I have photos from that time proving that I was not heavy.) I remember at age 15 having to speak to the masses at Overeaters Anonymous. There were many diets between those two, as well as many (way too many to mention) afterwards. I was also put through hell in school like Ms. Frankel, although with me it was weight and religion!
   
   Her insight and humor made this an enjoyable and cathartic book for me. I too went on the non-diet and go to the gym four times per week, having a similar outcome as she.
   
   This is the first book of hers that I've read, and I can't wait to get my skinny fingers on others! I'm going to give a copy to my mother for Hanukkah!



5. I read all of Valerie Frankel's novels, pretty much as soon as they are published, and enjoy them immensely. But I think this is my favorite book of hers so far. She's so brutally honest. This book is both hilarious and heartbreaking, and I found myself nodding along in agreement while reading, recognizing myself while cheering for her.
   Definitely recommended!

5 comments about Staging Your Comeback: A Complete Beauty Revival for Women Over 45.

1. This is just a great book. I found it at a time in my life when I really needed some help. Christopher has a unique way of writing that makes you feel as though he is sitting right next to you while you're reading, he really cares about you and he's not afraid to tell you exactly what he thinks. We all should have a friend like that, and that's what I feel I've gained with this experience, a new friend. He gives you information and a plan to carry it through, not just makeup and hair, but your total self, right down to cleaning out your closet and your makeup bag. He encourages you to eat right and get moving, stand up straight and be proud of who you are. This book is a must for anyone who wants to age gracefully and look good doing it.



2. ORDER THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! It's excellent! Around 55 I couldn't figure out how to dress my changing body, much less what to do with my thinning hair and forget the makeup...everything at the cosmetic counter was geared for a dewy 20 something. Now I know how to dress for my shape and what kind of makeup to use so I don't look like a circus clown. I'm starting to feel better about myself. Aging gracefully is just a matter of changing our outdated ways and this book outlines in detail new techniques for us old broads.



3. This book, graphically lavish, grabs you from the beginning and delivers. Hopkins is straightforward, endearingly honest, wickedly witty, and an expert in his field. He delivers the goods -- chapters on finding your "authentic self," things we need to do and the ones we must never, hair, clothing, makeup and stunning makeovers. Lots of books offer this information: Hopkins gives more. He isn't holding anything back -- he really does want you to bask in the beauty and self-confidence inherent in all women. So many "beauty self-help" books don't live up to their potential: this one does and it's worth every penny.



4. I'm only 32, but when I saw Christopher promoting his book on TV I knew I had to have it! I know the target audience is for ages 45 and up, but I had already fallen into the same ruts described on pages 11 and 12.
   
   Below are several reasons why this book truly delivers on teaching how to stage a comeback:
   
   The most important feature of the book is that it covers the major subjects thoroughly enough for the reader to attain success, but it is not bulky or overwhelming.
   
   The journaling aspects of the book are very helpful, indeed necessary, so that the information being given can "sink in." The questions asked are right on the mark, so there is no time wasted.
   
   In reading the pages, I could sense that Christopher really wanted the reader to succeed -- he has added a personal warmth that makes this much more than a cold-read textbook.
   
   The book addresses common objections (that keep women from looking their best), teaches how to wear hair/makeup/clothes/accessories to the best advantage, and helps the reader identify their style.
   
   After reading the book, I could begin to easily see what didn't work for me AND WHY! Shopping is now a lot more fun, since I know how to look for the things that suit me and walk out having purchased items that I'll wear again and again.
   
   Even younger readers can benefit from Christopher's timeless advice.



5. This is by far one of the most helpful books for women well over 40. It is right on the money for style tips and practical advise, dealt with a very knowlegeable yet gentle hand. This man truly appreciates older women. It gave me the tools, and did a lot as far as adjusting my sagging self-esteem (as well as body parts lol)- bringing everything back up to where it should be. Most books are trite, frumpy, too trendy and sound desparate - whereas this book helps you embrace who you truly are, at any age, and rejoice in that. Well done. Wish I had found it before I wasted money on other similar texts.

5 comments about Escape.

1. I recommend the book for it's content, not it's style--the writing is pretty awful, most notably for it's frustrating redundancies and lapses.
   
   Preconceived notions you have about the quaint, if misogynistic, polygamists of the FLDS church may be turned on their heads when you learn first-hand what it's like for women and children who are literally trapped in a community, committed to living lives they have little control or influence over.



2. Love the book, I haven't got all the way through it, but it's hard to put down. Well written and real.



3. Polygamy fascinates me, so I didn't hesitate to pick up this book. To quote the cover: "I was born into a radical polygamist cult. At eighteen, I becme the fourth wife of a fifty-year-old man. I had eight children in fifteen years. When our leader began to preach the apocalypse, I knew I had to get them out." This book is mostly an autobiography, but it's an alert about the inner workings of the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the shocking and often news-worthy side of the Mormon Church).
   
   The preface details the night of her escape, but chapter one begins with her birth. The author tells of her relatively normal, though somewhat abusive childhood; how she raised in a "royal" family of FLDS and taught religion from her very first breath, always aware of her priviledged position on Earth. Chronologically she records her life, her marriage into an extremely disfunctional family and the power struggles within her house and her community. As her life became more restricted and the rules of her religion more extreme, she felt the need to escape and devised a plan to do so. The book continues through their assimilation to life outside the cult, how she obtained full custody of her children (According to FLDS law, mothers have no right to their children, but bear them only as gifts to their husbands and as paths to salvation for themselves.), and how she finally found love.
   
   Introduction over. I didn't finish the book. After 235 pages I had had enough. The book covers a very interesting subject and an amazing story, but the writing is just awful. I felt like I was reading an 8th-grade book report. It was a facts-based, unemotional retelling of what happened. "We went here. I said this. He said this. We had sex." The author seems completely unattached. What's worse is she fills the historical account with modern commentary, telling us why what so-and-so did was wrong or how this event that happened then contradicts her expectations now. The memoir is filled with contempt. Rather than a victor's story of "I am stronger because of what I survived," this story is a bitter victim's tale of "I'm better than my past and I never should have gone through this." I consent she has reason to feel this way, but her story would have been so much more effective if she had offered a personal, but objective view instead of telling the readers what to think.
   
   Final Thoughts: I'm going to keep looking. I want to learn more about the topic, but am thoroughly disappointed with this book. There has to be a better one available.



4. Apparently the author put together a conglomeration of hallucination, exaggeration, retaliation, and called it ESCAPE. From what? Why? Perhaps it gets more sales (don't buy it). There are too many conflicting stories and tales which led me to say it should be in fiction.



5. This book provides a graphic documentation of how tyranny, masquerading as religion, can create some of the most pathological societies imaginable, defeating laws and mores that prohibit simultaneous polygyny, slavery, extreme physical and mental child and wife abuse, arranged marriages, nepotism and cronyism, among other abuses. Through a combination of incessant brainwashing and bullying, a few old men run the lives of everyone in these communities of FLDS(Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints), in which women and children are considered and treated like mere chattel. Children are considered inherently devilish, thus justifying constant physical and emotional abuse to beat obedience into them. Women have virtually no say in whom they marry, most being married to men 2,3 or 4X their age and forced to remain pregnant for most of their reproductive lives. Thus, the long term domination strategy of this cult is to outreproduce the rest of the world, aided by occasional God-induced holocausts that spare them. The hypocritical leaders try to enlist state and federal financial support for their huge families by claiming they aren't actually married to these women, when it is convenient to do so. If women attempt to escape this cult, they are hunted down like escaped slaves. Nontheless, a few do attempt, and a very few succeed in escaping. The author's sister did escape before being forced to marry an old man, but was forced to marry a young man she did not love who helped her retain her freedom against great odds. This experience dissuaded the author from making a similar attempt until 15 years after her forced marriage to a powerful psychopathic older man, emboldened by her mother's escape a few days earlier. It was only the ascension of an extremely tyrannical man to the position of chief prophet(and profit), and the ever escalating demonstration that her husband had no regard for her except as a baby-making machine, that induced these 2 women, as well as others, to try to escape this cult, knowing they would be severely punished if they failed.
   A few reviewers have complained about poor writing and editing, boringly repetitive stories, contradictory statements and too many people to keep track of. Well, with umpteen competing wives per man and umpteen children per wife, the latter criticism is hard to avoid. If the other criticisms have some validity, I did not find them noticable and they were more than outweighed by the nitty gritty description of the deplorable psychological conditions in this pathologically xenophobic community and by the description of how the author's escape finally brought national exposure to the insanities that ruled this community and which began the unraveling of the hold of the power elite over this community.
   One of the most memorable revelations was the incident involving the sadistic elementary school principal who heard the commotion from a teacher-sanctioned party in a room. Without even consulting the teacher, he began kicking and otherwise brutalizing the children. The teacher was too cowed to explain the situation. Because of his family connections, this principal retained his position despite strong protests from the parents. Another of the unbelievable stories was the reponses to the 9/11 attacks and the later Southeast Asia tsunami. These were cheered as the beginning of an attack by God on the wicked of the world(everyone not a member of FLDS), which would ultimately result in the destructiuon of everyone except FLDS members.