No comments about Matt Talbot.

4 comments about Crack Wars: LITERATURE ADDICTION MANIA (Texts and Contexts).

1. Avital Ronell examines drugs addiction & mania in this amazingly well written and concisely beautiful book. A book-as-object, containing installations, special sections and poetic-philosophic passages, Crack Wars is sure to please the patient reader. Draws from Flaubert, Heidegger and Derrida...contends that this "culture inspires and supports destructive play only to punish it." A must read!



2. Ronell's book is a tour-de-force on many levels: for its lucid and startling close-reading of -Madame Bovary-, for the densely glittering energy (and humor) of her prose, and above all for its insight -- never before so comprehensively and convincingly argued -- into addiction as a symptomatic structure of the modern condition. (The addict, she points out, embodies a peculiar challenge for thinking about the inside/outside, mind/body relation. Emma Bovary takes us farther into questions of expenditure and circulation.) This is a must-read not only for those interested in Flaubert's novel, but in the history of subjectivity more generally. Even in its craziest moments, the book is provocative and perceptive.



3. This book is revolutionary. If you've ever wondered what an artist (Avital Ronnell is a former performance artist) might be capable of coming up with if they became an academic (a professor) but were still devoted to the idea of performance, this is the answer. Think Kitaj and how his paintings is a form of interpretation of other artists' work in referencing them in the theme of his own work. In other words, Avital Ronnel's "Crack Wars" and its "analysis" of Madame Bovary is possible because it is from a field of study that is unique in that it is devoted to the study of an artform (literary arts) while itself operating in the same medium as that artform (words). The creativity exhibited in "Crack Wars", which is its most powerful proposition, shows that an interpretive "analysis" can be offered on a work of art ("Madame Bovery") without even wanting to answer the question, "What does is mean?". Much of the creative thrust seems to come from the way in which Ronnell re-metaphorizes certain elements or metaphors related to (current) drug use and applies them in the exploration of other facets of society that alters or simulates (ex. taking a "hit" or "scoring" of literature). What this does is to expand the reading of "Madame Bovery" to a whole crop of metaphors and their current exploration whose consideration in language may not have been in circulation at the time of its writing. And though this work may be on the edge of "literary studies", Ronnell is by no means a marginal figure. As head of NYU's dept of Germanic Languages, Ronnell co-lectured a graduate seminar last fall with Derrida (she is in the "Derrida" documentary with multi-colored bobby-pins relaying an interaction with Derrida's mother). Consider the language of the extensive quote below.

   "Madame Bovary I daresay is about bad drugs. Equally, it is about thinking we have properly understood them. But if the novel matches its reputation for rendering its epoch- our modernity - intelligible, then we would do well to recall that epoch also means interruption, arrest, suspension and, above all, suspension of judgement. Madame Bovary travels the razor's edge of understanding/reading protocols. In this context understanding is given as something that happens when you are no longer reading. It is not the open-ended Nietzschean echo, "Have I been understood?" but rather the "I understand" that means you have suspended judgement over a chasm of the real. Out of this collapse of judgement no genuine decision can be allowed to emerge. Madame Bovary understood too much; she understood what things were supposed to be like and suffered a series of ethical injuries for this certitude. Her understanding made her legislate closure at every step of the way. She was her own police force, finally turning herself in to the authorities. She understood when the time had come to an end [...] for Madame Bovary opens herself to an altogether different history of intelligibility, in fact, to another suicide pact, cosigned by a world that longer limits its rotting to a singular locality of the unjust."




4. 
   Just when you thought literary crit. was doomed to its staid exsistence, Ronell arrives on the scene. A critic (whose name escapes me) once said that while we can pick up a book, books can throw us across the room. I'm still recovering from the flight and trip this little book sent me on...

No comments about Stop Alcohol Addiction! Subliminal CD.

5 comments about A Room on Lorelei Street (Golden Kite Awards (Awards)).

1. This is a gripping novel about a high school girl who leaves her alcoholic mother and rents her own room. I loved everything about it.
   
   The main character, Zoe, is so well drawn she seems almost real. She has flaws, but she has a big heart and a lot of drive. I really wanted her to make it on her own, and found it difficult to put down the book until I got to the end and discovered her fate.
   
   The language is gorgeous, but it's not one of those beautiful books where nothing happens. A lot happens, with page-turning suspense througout the novel.
   
   I also liked reading about the vivid supporting characters-- the mean yet realistic grandmother, people at Zoe's school, the creepy guy who Zoe sees at work.
   
   This is my favorite teen novel of 2005.



2. Mary E. Pearson's A Room on Lorelei Street is gripping and well-written, a bleak story with streaks of hope. A Room on Lorelei Street is the story of Zoe, a 17-year-old girl burdened by a difficult family. Her father is dead, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, and her mother pretty much lives inside the bottle. Her beloved younger brother has been sent away to live with a more stable aunt and uncle, who have no room for Zoe, while Zoe is left to care for her irresponsible and needy mother.
   
   One day Zoe sees a sign advertising a room for rent in a gracious home on Lorelei Street. She is unable to resist the lure of getting away from her mother, and of being in a place that's all her own, clean and quiet and safe. She rents the room (more of a studio apartment) from the quirky but kind Opal, and finds it everything she has dreamed of. However the ties of family and guilt are not so easy to break, and Zoe struggles with continuing demands from her family. She also struggles financially, not really able to afford living on her own while working part time while attending high school. But she's not willing to go back, either.
   
   This book made me think about all of the things that I took for granted growing up: clean clothes, abundant food, parents to attend any plays or recitals that I was in, siblings who lived in the same house. Zoe is painfully in need of someone to care about her, to put her needs first, to be what family is supposed to be. When Opal attends one of her tennis matches and cheers for her, it brings tears to Zoe's eyes. She considers it the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for her. How sad is that? How many kids are there who have no one to care about them?
   
   The ways in which Zoe acts out are not surprising, given her background, and are treated matter-of-factly by the author. The looming menace of what she will or won't do to earn money to afford her Lorelei Street haven is more disturbing. Toward the end of the book, things get increasingly difficult for Zoe, and the fragile ties tethering her to the community snap one by one. What keeps Zoe going are a few precious memories of her father's belief in her potential, and her own unquenchable sense of possibility.
   
   Zoe is a strong character, a teenage girl facing situations far beyond her years. Her landlady, Opal, is delightful, glowing with enthusiasm, despite the hardships in her life. The small, depressed town of Ruby, Texas is almost a character in the book, too. Ruby is beaten down and insular, without much economic potential, but the stars still shine overhead. And there are still beautiful rooms on Lorelei Street.
   
   This is a book that will make you think. About the connections between people. About what kids need from their parents. About what makes some people keep going, while others give up. About where responsibilities to family end, and responsibility to self beings. Mary Pearson's writing is spare and elegant, with just enough detail to make the scenes pictured painfully clear. I think that it will particularly resonate with teenagers, male or female, struggling to find their place in the world.
   
   A Room on Lorelei Street won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award for fiction published in 2005. This is the only major children's book award given by the writer's peers.
   
   This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on July 18th, 2006.



3. No wonder this young adult novel by Mary Pearson was honored with SCBWI's prestigious Golden Kite. You're drawn to Zoe from her first inappropriate outburst in English class, then amazed by her resilience as you're swept deeper and deeper into her story. The characters could be people you know--their quirks, their messy personalities, their coping mechanisms. You want to reach into the pages and give this gritty girl some gasoline money. With an eye for detail, Pearson pulls many threads through this teen survival story--keep an eye on the bulldog! Clever, whole, moving. Makes any reader yearn for a room on Lorelei with a landlady like Opal.



4. Zoe is determined not to be like her mother. So she sets out on her own and rents a room in an attempt to get away from the things that drag her down...then she becomes that which she despises.
   
   This happens so often in families. Kids are always saying "I'm not going to be anything like my parents." Yet, that's what they know, so that's what they become. And most don't even know it.
   
   The real beauty of this story is that Zoe sees what she's become, acknowledges it, then takes steps to change. She's heading into the unknown, and has no idea whether she'll be okay. But she takes comfort in knowing that this is the right direction.
   
   Such a stunning and courageous message to send to kids. Well done, Ms. Pearson.



5. A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson was over all a worth while novel. It is based on the life of a teenage girl struggling to cope with a highly dysfunctional family. It finally comes to her moving into a rental room to escape the emotional abuse of her mother and grandmother. Barely making it by, some of her methods are a little less than honorable. The author does an amazing job with making the reader feel as if she or he is truly in the mind of a struggling teenage girl. The figurative language is captivating and voice is realistic. Characterization is well developed but some of their actions are very dishonorable and then never reconciled when the reader is led to believe that they will be. In the end the majority of the conflicts from the beginning are left hanging along with some new ones. This left me feeling like I wanted to keep flipping pages that weren't there. Other than the abrupt ending, A Room on Lorelei Street was a great source of entertainment.

3 comments about God Grant Me The Laughter: A Treasury Of Twelve Step Humor.

1. I just read this book and find it not only funny but thought provoking. It made me think of some of the things that were going through my head early in my recovery. As a recovering addict/alcoholic I find it refreshing that someone besides myself can find humor in some of the past (and sometimes present) behaviors. I would highly recommend this book to other people in recovery.



2. A lot of funny items within the book.It is a really great way of carrying the AA message.



3. Most likely anyone who's been around the rooms on a regular basis for more than a few months has heard most of what is in here...And that which they haven't heard is otherwise predictable. Unfortunately, most "recovery humor" is best suited to the feeble and middle brow humor of 60's and 70's Readers Digest, and this book is no exception. It's just plain corny and it's really not very funny. Addiction and recovery can be so dark and edgy; it would be nice to see some of that reflected in the literature and humor.

No comments about Preventing Drunk Driving.

5 comments about The Next Better Place: A Memoir in Miles.

1. I ENJOYED THIS BOOK VERY MUCH,HOWEVER I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED ABOUT MR. KEITH'S DATES. HE SAYS THESE EVENTS TOOK PLACE IN 1959, WHEN HE WAS 11 YEARS OLD. HOWEVER ON THE "AUTHORS NOTE" PAGE IT GIVES HIS YEAR OF BIRTH AS 1945, WHICH WOULD HAVE MADE HIM 14 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF THESE EVENTS. ALSO HE MENTIONS SEVERAL TIMES THE SONG FROM THE MOVIE "THE MAGNIFICANT 7". HOWEVER THAT MOVIE WASNT RELEASED TILL THE EARLY 1960'S. NO BIG DEAL. JUST BAD PROOF READING BY THE PUBLISHERS.



2. Smiling ghosts of Mark Twain and Jack Kerouac hover over many pages of Michael Keith's "The Next Better Place." This captivating book places Keith squarely in the same row with America's finest writers of the road adventure story. Which is to say that "The Next Better Place" is so much more than a memoir-cum-novel of a precocious son traversing America's great expanses with an ageing picaro of a father. Keith knows when to embroider his book's perfectly intoned dialogue, tremulous details, and charming teenage bravado with both lyrical pathos and hints at the perverse. The greatest American road novel, Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita," also came to mind as I devoured Keith's book, and I can only hope that Keith will soon reward his readers with another one.



3. I would normally give this book 5 stars, except I have a strong sense that this book is a fictional fraud.
   
   It's the story of an 11 year old boy who hitchikes the country with his alcoholic, dead-beat father in search of a better life in California. Of course, California is no better than any other place they've been and they take buses back to Albany where his mother lives with his two sisters, only to ***spoiler*** go back out on the road again with his father at the end of the book.
   
   The book is well written and engaging, but only if the book is true, which I doubt. The book often states what a good storyteller the father is and how good said father is at making up things to get what he wants out of people. The author continually expresses his desire to be on the radio or in movies, not to mention how often he embellishes stories, so I wouldn't be surprised if the book was just one big lie.
   
   From the outset, the author states how he went 2 entire months without a bowel movement, which I don't even know is medically possible, much less didn't land him in the hospital. Plus he recounts in great detail names, places, and events that happened 40 years ago. And somehow, all these events involve sexual predators, thieves, and other ne'er-do-well's. Never any average people. Nah, I don't think the book is true.
   
   But if it is true, it's really well done.



4. This wonderful hitchhiking odyssey is all thumps up (or outstretched as the young boy would tell us). What a romp across 1960 America. It's the kind of book I'd love to see as a movie. Sure lends itself to the big screen because I have read few more visual stories. This is fun all the way to California and back! What a roll of the camera . . . and sentence.



5. This is a wonderful book. "A road trip with an alcoholic father and a child? Must be a downer," you'd think. Not so. Never sliding into self-pity, the author just lays out a personal cross-country saga in mesmerizing detail. At times heartbreaking, this book is ultimately an inspirational story of survival by a child who deserved better. I've read a lot of travel narratives, and this is as good as they come.

2 comments about Practice These Principles And What Is The Oxford Group?.

1. Here is the full text of the chapter "Hitler and Buchman" from the book Christianity and Power Politics by Reinhold Niebuhr, the eminent theologian who authored The Serenity Prayer. This appears to be a word-for-word reprint of Niebuhr's criticism of Buchman that first appeared in The Christian Century magazine, October 7, 1936, pages 1315 and 1316.
   
   
   HITLER AND BUCHMAN
   On returning from Europe, Frank Buchman, Oxford group revivalist, is quoted by a reputable New York paper as having said: "I thank heaven for a man like Adolf Hitler, who built a front-line defense against the anti-Christ of communism.... My barber in London told me Hitler saved all Europe from communism. That's how he felt. Of course I don't condone everything the Nazis do. Antisemitism? Bad, naturally. I suppose Hitler sees a Karl Marx in every Jew. But think what it would mean to the world if Hitler surrendered to the control of God. Or Mussolini. Or any dictator. Through such a man God could control a nation overnight and solve every last bewildering problem."
   In this interview the social philosophy of the Oxford group, long implicit in its strategy, is made explicit, and revealed in all its childishness and viciousness. This philosophy has been implicit in Buchmanite strategy from the beginning. It explains the particular attention which is paid by Mr. Buchman and his followers to big men, leaders, in industry and politics. The idea is that if the man of power can be converted, God will be able to control a larger area of human life through his power than if a little man were converted. This is the logic which has filled the Buchmanites with touching solicitude for the souls of such men as Henry Ford or Harvey Firestone and prompted them to whisper confidentially from time to time that these men were on the very threshold of the kingdom of God. It is this strategy which prompts or justifies the first-class travel of all the Oxford teams. They hope to make contact with big men in the luxurious first-class quarters of ocean liners.
   
   
   A NAZI PHILOSOPHY
   In other words, a Nazi social philosophy has been a covert presumption of the whole Oxford group enterprise from the very beginning. We may be grateful to the leader for revealing so clearly what has been slightly hidden. Now we can see how unbelievably naïve this movement is in its efforts to save the world. If it would content itself with preaching repentance to drunkards and adulterers one might be willing to respect it as a religious revival method which knows how to confront the sinner with God. But when it runs to Geneva, the seat of the League of Nations, or to Prince Starhemberg or Hitler, or to any seat of power, always with the idea that it is on the verge of saving the world by bringing the people who control the world under God-control, it is difficult to restrain the contempt which one feels for this dangerous childishness.
   This idea of world salvation implies a social philosophy which is completely innocent of any understanding of the social dynamics of a civilization. Does Mr. Buchman really believe that the dictators of the modern world create their dictatorships out of whole cloth? He does not know, evidently, that they are the creatures more than the creators of vast social movements in modern history. The particular social forces which create dictatorships are on the whole the decadent forces of a very sick society. The sickness of that society is the sickness of sin; and if a word of God is to be spoken in such an hour as this let it be the woe of Christ upon his Jerusalem or the prophecy of judgement which an Amos or Jeremiah pronounced upon their civilization.
   
   THE PRODUCT OF THE QUIET HOUR
   There is unfortunately not the slightest indication that the prophetic spirit of the Bible has ever entered into this pollyanna religion by way of the quiet hour. Several times Mr. Buchman has confessed that the word of God which he heard in his quiet hour was the slogan: "An international network over spiritual live-wires," whatever that may mean. In other words, the world is to be saved by a vulgar advertising slogan rather than by a genuine priestly and prophetic mediation of the judgement and the mercy of God upon a sinful world.



2. The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living that WorksMaking Known the Biblical History and Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous: A Sixteen-Year Research, Writing, Publishing, and Fact Dissemination Project, Third EditionNew Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A. (2d ed.)Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.'s Spiritual Roots and Successes
   
   It is a pleasure to recommend this book. In the first place, it was Bill Pittman's AA The Way It Began that first started me on the chase for the real Oxford Group connection to A.A. He listed a host of important books, and I began researching, writing, and speaking about A.A.'s Oxford Group roots. Then Bill's publishing company did the first edition of my Oxford Group book. Shortly, Bill asked me to write a book about A.A.'s real connection with Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. And he and I collaborated on the appropriate book Courage to Change. At that point, I decided to publish my comprehensive Shoemaker-AA-Oxford Group study, New Light on Alcoholism; and Bill became Director of Historical Information at Hazelden. Bill was a collector of Oxford Group books and understood the link to A.A. Finally, my research revealed that there were several major sources of A.A. ideas; and I published Turning Point which covered all I knew about at that time. Meanwhile, Bill approached Dr. Bob's daughter Sue Windows with the idea of combining an Oxford Group book--What is the Oxford Group--with his ideas of the "principles of A.A." I give this book a limited approval only because it does not cover the six major roots of A.A.--the Bible, Quiet Time, Anne Smith's Journal, Rev. Sam Shoemaker, the Oxford Group, and the spiritual books early AAs studied. Further, I do not agree that the principles of A.A. are simply those of the Oxford Group. I believe that the Twelfth Step principles are those which the early AAs learned from the sermon on the mount, the Book of James, and 1 Corinthians 13, as well as the Oxford Group's Four Absolutes, and the life-changing Oxford Group ideas in the 5 C's--Confidence, Confession, Conviction, Conversion, and Continuance. I believe both Bill and Sue Windows were students of the Oxford Group--AA connection. And there have been far too many "Hitler-Buchman" diversions in discussions of A.A.'s Oxford Group roots, and far too little discussion of the Oxford Group's emphasis on the Biblical ideas which were part of the Twelve Step picture. I believe readers will profit from this additional study on its positive note by two people who knew what they were writing about.

5 comments about Moderate Drinking: The Moderation Management (TM) Guide for People Who Want to Reduce Their Drinking.

1. If you're an alcoholic, read no more -- go hook up with AA or another abstinence organization. This isn't the right book for you. (The author apparently is an alcoholic; the consequences were tragic.)
   
   But one size doesn't fit all. AA is an outstanding organization, but there are millions of people who will never attend an AA meeting, but who still need to reflect on and reduce their drinking.
   
   The AA model can be like selling sexual abstinence to teenagers -- sometimes it works; but if it doesn't, they at least need to learn safe behaviors.
   
   This book offers good advice on moderation, and a good starting point for self-examination. In that spirit, the author's tragedy should serve as a reminder that you also have to ask the tough questions -- questions that this book admittedly sidesteps. Still, it's better to face the problem from the perspective of moderation, than not to face it at all.



2. This is a great book for: 1.) Those who really don't have a problem with booze or 2.) Those in denial about their drinking ( as was the authour who not only committed a drink driving offence on her "programme" but admits to years of secret intoxication ). When alcohol causes trouble it's time to grow up. I did without this appailling book. AA drove me nuts but Jack Trimpey's "Rational Recovery" was so simple, safe and effective. Let finally reiterate to you a point I have already made. Ms Kishline who exposes "Moderate Drinking" manages to KILL two people whilst on her programme by Drink Driving. Not a very good arguement huh? Her programme is simple wishful thinking. If you have not got a drink problem "Moderate Drinking" is unnecessary. If you're a big boozer eventually you're inhibitions will be lowered enough to binge. Simple



3. Don't do this if you have a real drinking or substance abuse problem. If you're just drinking a little too much but aren't an addict in ANY way, go for it. But if you REALLY have a problem with any addictive behaviors this will just enable you.
   
   I know an AA who was sober for 10 years in AA and was visited by one of his old using partners that practices HARM reduction and Moderate Drinking only for 2 or 3 years (but is a billionair anyway so hasn't much accountability in her life). This AA decided to try this new approach. Within 3 months he was arrested for cruising in a public park, lost his partner of 3 years that he adored and his job was reviewing him for his lack of attendence. Truly tragic. And he rationalised all of it that it was all someone elses fault in each situation and actually became abusive towards other friends. This person had come so far in his 10 years sober and had become a reliable, much more honest and caring person as a result of the 12 steps (I saw it personally). Maybe he didn't see the great change in him but others did and now he's a selfish, lying, manipulative Addict that rationalizes all his behavior.
   
   And by the way the people that refer to "percentages" about AA in their comments are full of it! You can't have "percentages" on alcoholics anonymous because no one is registered or has their progress checked so you're just trying to falsly justify yourself by putting down the program. The people this works for are most likely just "Heavy Drinkers" which AA does take into account. Heavy Drinkers aren't alcoholics. And there are also some alcoholics people that manage to get sober on there own, but they usually end up being sort of narcissists that never get over there own self-centerdness and inability to be honest. Like my friend described here who has become someone I don't want to know anymore. Maybe there are other answers out there but I'm not impressed with the results of THIS program. Like the woman who wrote this book that killed people while drunk driving... IMPRESSIVE! And to answer people's comments that she had been in AA for 1 month... means she didn't have time to do the steps so never "worked" the AA program. Going to meetings for a month doesn't cut it. If you care about yourself or your loved ones that have addictions don't enable them with this. And I'm not excluding the fact that there maybe other ways to get and stay sober than AA but fooling yourself that you can "Manage" your addictions while still using is just tragic.
   
   Use your common sense people!



4. I am an ex-drinker.
   
   I recognised about 10 years ago that I had a "drink problem", and have tried most of the methods for either quitting or moderating alcohol consumption.
   
   I think the whole concept of "moderate" or "controlled" drinking is a total joke. Drinking is about relaxing and letting go, so what would even be the point of drinking if you are at the same time trying to estimate your BAC, and keep a disciplined count of how many drinks you have had. It flies in the face of reason and sanity.
   
   I recommend all people grappling with the problem of heavy drinking to buy, read and practice what is preached in this book. I have.
   
   Then when you are ready for the 100% abstinence solution, you will not be distracted by wistful longings for a half-way house solution that does not exist.
   
   If you can drink moderately, you would not even be on this site and reading reviews of this type of book.
   
   kevin



5. Having seen the aftermath of Ms Kishline's accident, I decided to buy the book to see if any of what she said could work.The concept of a controlled alcoholic has always been very intriging to me.
   I found the book excellent and I truly believe the concept could work for anyone who catches themselves in time before becoming a full fledged alcoholic.
   Those of us who know better, don't try it. An alcoholic can never drink, in spite of our best intentions. Yes we can cut back, quit, whatever but it won't last.
   Still, it was a fantastic book and I'm glad I read it.

1 comments about Couple and Family Therapy of Addiction (Library of Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment).

1. During my graduate school studies, this was one of the required textbooks for one of my classes. For myself, this was not dry or boring and I plan to continue using it as I begin working in the field after recently completing my degree.