5 comments about The Liars' Club: A Memoir.

1. Mary Karr's writing is beautifully poetic, simple, yet amazingly eloquent. This book is a treasure. Not only because it's so well-written, but because of the personal nature of it.
   Karr doesn't allow me to feel like I'm imposing on her private memories. She is only being open and true to those memories. This approach only draws respect from the reader.



2. If you are a fan of child rape then this is the book for you. Otherwise you may want to try something a little lighter. Briged Jones Diary is good for a few laughs. Anything by Terry Pratchett is amusing.



3. Mary Karr shhots from the hip, creating a superficial narrative that expounds a kind of confession. People like this-- that is, average readers. Set out in the world she claims, in Book World(2008) Bill Matthews beat brain cancer by having a heart atack-- (lie) She also misspeaks regarding Keats(Book World 2008)-(liar) As I said, she shoots from the hip-- in no way is an academic, does not check her sources, writes anything she wants, because, perhaps, she has branded herself a liar already. Her work is, frankly, weak, poems and prose. Those of you who "love" it should reach higher in regrd to your reading. Or not. Stay on the low plain of writing like Mary Karr's.From what Kevin saio



4. I just finished reading this book, and it is one of the most un-put-downable memoirs I have ever read. Karr grew up in the lower middle class of a depressing town in Texas. The story revolves around her family life as a very young girl - ages 6 to 9 or so. What first strikes you is Karr's voice. Tomboyish, able to hold a grudge, thirsty for love, stubborn as a mule, Karr unflinchingly admits her own foibles and those of others, but also cuts through the novel's events to the beating, loving heart of her family.
   
   Her alcoholic/manic depressive mother is beautiful and educated in a town where neither attribute was common. Her father, a working man with a talent for bombast, dotes on both his children, but particularly on Karr, whom he dubs "Pokey." After her mother leaves her father, Karr and her sister choose to live with her mother, more out of a sense of feeling obligated to protect her from herself than anything else.
   
   Eventually, the family finds its way back together again, and the story is satisfyingly whole. Though few doubt that at least some of a memoirist's work must be imagination (Who among us can remember such detail about their life as a 7-year-old?), Karr has a knack for taking down some of her more relatable thoughts and experiences. The people she writes about, their conversations, their weaknesses, have the ring of universality.
   
   Worth reading, and one of the best examples of the genre I've come across in a while.



5. I read this book when it was first published; and re-read it this week for a book club discussion of "reader's choice." Mary Karr is a poet with a hard-knock childhood. Is it any wonder she wrote a memoir that is beyond belief in every sense? The sentences jump off the page. Oh, that I could write like this.

No comments about Seeing Red.

5 comments about Labor of Love: The Story of One Man's Extraordinary Pregnancy.

1. This is truly an inspiring story about real family values. Very well written it gives an insight of a man's journey to find his true identity, of a family fighting for the right to have a baby and society partly not being ready to accept the fact that "family" can be defined in more than one way. But more than anything else it is a book about love.



2. I really connected with this book. I'm what you would call a "typical person" with a "typical family". But the story really inspired me to be more and taught me to appreciate people who are more. His journey and his perspective are both full of virtue and love. I simply couldn't put it down.



3. This book will surprise you with its depth of humanity and inspiration. The story is captivating and well told- an excellent read. There's so many details in this book not previously known to the public. A lot of people will see themselves in Thomas. At the core of it, his story is universal in his fight for love and family.



4. What a great book! I had previously seen the Oprah episodes featuring this extraordinary family and was attracted to reading this bio once it passed into my hands because of the medical anomally the pregnancy's circustances created. In that respect I got my money's worth, but I also discovered a more humanistic theme throughout the book. There is probably no other family in the world like this one, but Thomas Beatie creates a story that tells about universal struggles which all people face, whether they be straight, gay, transgender, young, old, male or female. To me, it is the story of a person's desire to have a family in their vision and to live their life boldly, no matter what opposition there may be and to inspire others to do the same. Labor of Love: The Story of One Man's Extraordinary Pregnancy



5. I have a different perspective on this amazing story because I knew Thomas years before he became his own man and met the love of his life. It's very easy for people who never met the Beaties to stumble over the 'fantastic' elements of their life, but what I witnessed first-hand was a sincere person humbly and fearlessly living out life as he found it. Thomas is an honest and kind person who only went public to help society to grow; But mostly I think he wrote this to help those struggling with painful identity issues to have some hope and dignity in their own lives. I salute his and Nancy's courage! If you have an open mind, a sincere heart, and are willing to outgrow your preconceptions, then this book will expand your life. We should ALL have love like this family has found. Aloha!ALOHA Where You Like Go?: From Survival to Satisfaction by Honolulu Taxi

5 comments about Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson.

1. This book is awesome. I read it after my mother passed away and I was only 16 yr. This book taught me so much and I carry it as a sort of life guide...when I feel I'm forgetting the lesson I just refresh myself. This is my most prized book and I still have it near after 10 yrs. Buy this book for any youth you love that has lost or is lost in the world and it will brighted their mind to see that there is more.



2. It has great condition and price. but adding shipping fee, I'm not sure
   If it was good deal....



3. This book is amazing. I can't believe I'm almost 50 years old and not read it yet. It should have been required reading in High School. This book has depth and perspective but also it is written with an amazing, easy to grasp style that makes it a classic for almost any age. I immediately bought two more of Mitch Albom's books plus another written by Morrie Schwartz himself. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to be gripped by a story about life and happiness, and to be introduced to an author who is in a class by himself.



4. I enjoyed this so much the first time that I am rereading it. A heart-warming story about a former student paying homage to his favorite professor at Brandeis University. The book will tug at the heart and feed your soul, making you return for daily servings. Through Morrie's physical struggles with Lou Gherig's disease, Albom gives us the meaning of life through gentle reminders of what really matters - living life, appreciating friendships, looking within for life's rewards, not outwardly through material possessions. Told simply but poignantly, this book will stay with you long after you put it down



5. I'm a little late in getting to read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It was written 11 years ago and yet the messages are still powerful today. If you haven't read it, pick it up and join in an amazing journey with Mitch and Morrie. If you have read it try a reread. We have all changed our roles in life over these past years, and you will be reading it with different eyes. Today with all the political and financial changes read this as a way to ground and stay on focus. Enjoy!
   "We have to learn how to die in order to learn how to live" Morrie

5 comments about Fever Pitch.

1. Brillant book... Almost wet my pants a few times. I relate a million percent to the obsession...
   
   Its football... Its my life... And I am American...



2. Nick Hornby's warm autobiographical book deals with his life as a football fan from 1968 (when he was a teenager) until 1992, especifically as he supported his beloved Arsenal during that time. There's some good insights about football culture (for a true football fan, football is not really an entertainment, a concept that is probably hard to understand in the US, where sports are just a part of the entertainment business) as well as football tactics (there are few good passers in the sports, he says, as hard as this might be to believe to outsiders; Liam Brady, one of his favorite players, was that rare player, a great passer). Each of the chapters (so to call them) deals with a particular football match that he remembers during that period. And along football, he also makes comments on his relationships, be it with his family or with girlfriends. What Hornby tells is the story of traditional English football in its last throes, a time when hooliganism ruled, but when it also was a genuine, integral pastime of the English people. When the Premiere League was established (in 1992, the year this book ends), and the megamoney and the huge tv contracts came along, and some clubs (like, say, Arsenal) did not put in the field a single English player, it became more of a commercial business and less of a cultural phenomenon. And while I like football, it's hard not to come out from reading this book with the impression that being a football fan at the level Hornby was is not a colossal waste of time.



3. This is simply put, a great book. I have been a fan of football for a few years now and have to admit I am always interested to read or hear about people experiences. More importantly I was always interested in how people picked their team and the life of an English fan. This is a very well written version of how someone became a life long football fan. It will keep you laughing and show you exactly how important football and sports in general can be to people.
   
   1 Warning: Do not buy this book simply because you enjoy Nick Hornby. This is a book about a football fan, not a novel. That being said if you enjoy football, or sports, and a good witty read, this book is for you!



4. I pretty much hate all forms of football. The fact that I read a book about football (to the British, that is: the rest of the world calls it soccer) from cover to cover, smirking, chuckling and at times laughing out loud, attests, once again, to the talent of Nick Hornby as a wordsmith. This book is witty and clever, incredibly insightful about obsession and definitely worth a read!



5. A 2007 summer reading list mini review
   
   If you are so passionate, it's scary about sports you must read this book. Many reviewers have said here and elsewhere that a rudimentary understanding of British Football is imperative to enjoying this book. Quite simply, they are wrong. All I knew about soccer in Britain, prior to reading this, was from watching Bend it like Beckham. However,I had no trouble following the book, as obsession translates for itself.
   
   When Hornby tries to take partial credit for Arsenal's championship seasons simply because he attended their games I related. I still feel partially responsible for the White Sox winning the World Series in 2005. The previous 2 seasons the Sox had excellent records at home but were 0-8 when I attended. The sign that states welcome to the ballpark was modified adding except Dave Roller. But that did not stop me. I bought my first and only multi ticket plan and the White Sox went on their winning journey (musical pun intended).
   
   I encourage obsessive fans of any sport to put the lessons of Fever Pitch in their arsenal (again pun intended) of sports literature.

5 comments about The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange.

1. The Elfish Gene was a fun story that made me think about the question: what is a nerd? Webster's dictionary equates a nerd with a gearhead, a person who is extremely interested and knowledgeable about computers, electronics, technology, and gadgets. But Dungeons and Dragons is a card and board game. It has absolutely nothing to do with modern technology and computers.
   
   And I must add that people who bury themselves in other interests, including role-playing games, politics and football statistics, to the exclusion of outside social interactions, and sometimes personal hygiene, are also nerds. And that's Barrowcliffe's point too. This does not make them bad people. It just means that their social circles are drawn almost exclusively around their interests. That's fine for young children, when they're safe in someone's living room playing a board game, but as Barrowcliffe reminisces, it becomes a strange obsession for adults, an odd deviation from what he calls a "normal" path of a child life, school, work, and death.
   
   But Barrowcliffe takes the obsession further, by saying that his infatuation with Dungeons and Dragons was equal to a drug addiction. Not that role playing is an illegal or illicit act, but the game, like drugs has the highest highs and lowest lows, and those highs and lows drive the rest of your life. Even a knock at the front door becomes an exercise in a demonstration of role-playing bravado. And like drugs, these games provide an escape from a less pleasant reality.
   
   Barrowcliffe described himself as socially awkward and in his words "un-cool," but he did not know how to get the keys to the kingdom of "coolness" in his working class neighborhood. But he is cool in the role playing world, for instance, when his parents allow their home to be a host dungeon for thirty gamers fueled by Mom's sandwiches and scones. He tries to fit in with the best of the gamers, even allowing them to call him Spaz, hardly a flattering nickname. But he is also clever, for instance, when his mother knits him a stuffed Kermit the Frog, he later realizes that the figure more resembles a powerful mythical lizard, and therefore, tries to make the un-cool cool.
   
   I recommend this book to parents who are raising game-playing nerds. And caution them. An obsession with a role-playing game is far from a measure of intelligence. It is an activity that might stimulate some learning, but an obsession can take one away from life lessons, such as those learned in school or at work. Even the brightest of nerds have to earn a living one day and they have to interact outside their own social circles.



2. Mark Barrowcliffe's "The Elfish Gene" (no connection to Richard Dawkins) is a story about obsession. Not just any obsession, but the kind of seductive inner-world obsessions that are common to men - a positive force for the species, but dangerous for those on the edge of the male personality curve tending towards Asperger's-like behavior or mental illness ala "Zen and the Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance."
   
   Growing up around the same time as Mark, I remember the delight of D&D from that era (although the author dwells overmuch on the original rules which were quickly forgotten once the 1st edition AD&D manuals came out) - and like Mark, I also remember how my hobby also dovetailed with fantasy in all its forms: Books (Tolkien & Moorcock), Music (well, maybe not Hawkwind, but certainly Rainbow and Rush) and Occultism (Aleister Crowley and H.P. Lovecraft being the most popular.)
   
   I guess what sets Mark's gaming story apart from everyone else's (besides the fact that it's set in Britain) is the extent to which he let his obsessions eclipse him, and the unusual amount of self-loathing that accompanies his retelling. Too much of anything is rarely good, but it's clear that once one gets past the general build-up and introductions that Mark's fantasy hobby life was a rich source of creative and social pleasure for him as an unremarkable kid growing up in working-class England. His self-loathing, however, is mainly in retrospect - taking the form of a man who feels a need to distance himself from his past in order to prove that he's a Well Adjusted Adult Now who can Look Back On His Past And Mock Himself For It.
   
   "The Elfish Gene" includes a fascinating character study of Mark's two best friends - Billy (the rationalist pedantic wit) and Andy (the socially domineering dungeonmaster) along with key issues of Great Concern to any young man growing up - betrayal, adolescence, girls, adulthood and the 800lb gorilla called Reality. Of important note is that Mark's Cure, which not all of his friends discover, is to find an outwardly-directed life as compelling as his inwardly-directed one beginning with the opposite sex. It is interesting to note that while Mark gradually slides towards normalcy once discovering this, his relationships with women seem rather shallow, not rising anywhere near the level of his fantasy life. This differs from his best friend Billy, whose own gaming obsessions indirectly lead to years of personal misfortune only to eventually become Born Again - giving the appearance of trading one obsession for another.



3. For the record, I have never played Dungeons and Dragons. What's more, I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to even start playing.
   
   Fortunately this didn't keep me from understanding the basics of what is going on in "The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange," which is basically all about coming of age in 1970s England with the help of then-new-and-impressive Dungeons and Dragons. Mark Barrowcliffe gives the constant impression that he was intensely annoying and possibly insane, but it's a fun little read about the passionate obsessions of youth and the appeal of ubergeekery.
   
   In the summer of 1976, Barrowcliffe was aspiring to be cool and edgy, with a burgeoning interest in the opposite sex. Then he discovered wargaming in school.
   
   And by attempting to weave more fantastical stuff into his wargames, he inadvertently fell in with a new school club that was playing an utterly new kind of RPG -- Dungeons and Dragons. Soon Barrowcliffe was not only a gaming fanatic for anything fantastical, but was also enamored of "Lord of the Rings," Michael Moorcock, Led Zeppelin and anything else with a faraway fantastical edge. Suddenly everything else in life went to the wayside to make room for a strange world of dungeonmasters, elves, magic-users and primal bad guys.
   
   Unsurprisingly, that level of obsession tends to cause a bit of annoyance -- from family, friends, and members of the opposite sex (well, what do you expect when you greet a "slattern" with a cry of "What, fair maiden?"). And Barrowcliffe soon discovered the downsides of D&D as well as the upsides -- including oblivious parents, dabblings in chemical "magic" and an egomaniac dungeonmaster -- as he struggled through an adolescent's rapidly changing world. Hoo boy.
   
   "The Elfish Gene" is fundamentally a book about "growing up strange" -- it's definitely saturated in Ye Olde Role-Playing Games from beginning to end, and Barrowcliffe's obsessions are undeniable ("I'd already begun to suspect that the D&D system might not be the EXACT recreation of real life that I'd taken it to be"). But in many ways, it's the adolescent journey of a highly imaginative adolescent who's struggling to find his place in the world, and uses D&D (and many accompanying games) as the doorway to that.
   
   And Barrowcliffe is fearless in exposing all the dorky, dumb things he did as a teenager. It takes some real guts to show the world that you were once immature, irritating, enslaved by the concept of "cool" and tended to dress like a total dork. Fortunately he's able to strike a nice balance between self-deprecating mockery (both then and now) and rosy-hued nostalgia for the 1970s, his hometown and the feeling of being an overenthusiastic young boy ("I think the idea that women might fancy good-looking, well-adjusted men who are nice to them is too much for the average fantasy-head to bear").
   
   But despite his adrenaline-charged forays into strange worlds full of mystical beings (and apparently a lot of ethereal maidens), the real drama here is in the real world. Barrowcliffe roams through shops, makes (and loses) friends over his beloved D&D, and has it shape every single part of his persona. Most shockingly, he gets kicked out of his first group by the chilly, egomaniacal Porter, and though he finds a haven with older gamers there's still plenty of tension and conflict. Call it a cautionary tale for people who try to misuse their dungeonmaster power.
   
   But despite the clashes between gamers (usually because of Porter's inexplicably dislikes), Barrowcliffe crams the book with funny story after funny story. You can't make this stuff up -- chemical "fireballs" in a bathroom, RPGing with cosmetics, purple prose, teenage Nazis, and the distinct lack of breeks. And he has a knack for funny, wry prose in any situation ("I will make your flesh sing a song of ecstacy such as will echo through the caverns of your soul. Happily shalt thou spend thy sweet seed." "Right, cup of tea?").
   
   "The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange" is an off-kilter, ubergeeky memoir of adolescence in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, and Mark Barrowcliffe knows how to keep it fun and interesting.



4. As a 30-something male who spent a good deal of my teen years playing wargames and role-playing games, I'm squarely within the target audience for this "growing up geeky" memoir by English novelist Barrowcliffe. However, much as I desperately wanted to revel in the trials and tribulations of his '70s Coventry youth, I just wasn't ever able to connect with them. It's kind of obvious to say, but when a memoir doesn't work for me, it's because I'm not really enjoying the company of the author.
   
   My problem lay in the combination of his obsession with D&D and his total social ineptitude. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware of the obsessions of youth and had my own ones, however that never really turned me into the complete idiot that is Barrowcliffe at ages 12-15. (To be fair, he repeatedly admits with hindsight that he was an exceedingly annoying and foolish kid -- but that doesn't make his antics any less cringeworthy.) Maybe the problem is that he only had one obsession, whereas all my gamer friends have multiple obsessions, ranging from sports to music to cars to politics to art, etc. By this standard we were more "well-rounded" than Barrowcliffe and his cohort, even though we were still generally social outcasts. The difference was that we generally didn't worry too much about it, and made plenty of good friends through other interests. So my experience with gaming kind of contradicts one of the book's main themes, which is that "normal" kids don't play RPGs and engage in imaginative play.
   
   It's also somewhat illuminating to me that he basically ditches D&D after reinventing himself as a heavy metal fan, and immerses himself in a different social space. None of the gamers I know ever really stopped gaming by choice. For us, there was never any problem gaming on Friday night, going to a punk show with a girl on Saturday, and playing football on Sunday. It wasn't until we reached our 30s and had more career and family commitments that we had to let go of RPGs, simply because it was impossible to schedule regular 8-hour gaming sessions.
   
   And for all his elaborations on how D&D dominated his life, Barrowcliffe rarely succeeds at explaining what makes it so compelling. Quite the opposite, his descriptions of gaming sessions sound utterly awful. Then again, I didn't start playing until I was in my late teens, and the overall tenor was a whole lot more mature than the chaotic, backstabbing sessions described in this book. Some of the gaming stuff he describes is amusing, but mostly it's just kind of sad. In the end, I guess the book is perfectly fine as a memoir, I just had a very hard time relating it to my own D&D experiences. Certainly there are some funny anecdotes, interesting stuff about the early days of RPGing, some quite good stuff about coming of age in England in the '70s, as well as a rather heartbreaking story of friendship lost. But mainly, the book just made me wish that one of my old gang of gamers could find the time to DM a cool mid-level campaign for us.



5. Barrowcliffe, Mark. "The Elfish Gene", Soho, 2008.
   
   Retrospective and Aware
   
   Amos Lassen
   
   Coming from Soho Books is Mark Barrowcliffe's, "The Elfish Gene" which takes a look at the adolescent male with his insensitivities, insecurities, and selfishness. Our male here is British and the book looks at those oddities of British life in the 1970's. Early male maturity is a series of wonders, sorrows and joys when boys become men physically and begin the road to adulthood. Many run from the reality and wretchedness of life and lose themselves in imaginary domains ("Dungeons and Dragons", for example. They, in this way, can achieve a sense of status and power.
   This is Barrowcliffe's memoir of recovery from an addiction to an imaginary world. It is at times funny and at times sad but it is always interesting. Gaming can become addictive as we all know and there is not a lot written about it. Barrowcliffe looks at gaming in a fresh and literate way and is style is both funny and light. As he describes the game of "Dungeons and Dragons" there is a great deal of excitement. As he rolls the dice not only the writer gets rush but the reader does as well. The humor is self-depreciating and his take on coming-of-age is wonderful.
   When e was twelve years old in 1976, Barrowcliffe had the chance to become "normal". He chose not to and while his peers rebelled, he was busy, along with twenty million other boys at that time, pretending to be a wizard, an evil priest or a warrior. He and his generation surrendered to the fad of role-playing and at that time they became outsiders. Today, these same boys are the leaders of the world but then they were geeks, Barrowcliffe gives us their story in a way that is both nostalgic and relevant.

3 comments about Sarah Palin The Real Deal.

1. Although this small book is not a biography in the normal sense of the word it does give the reader a quick overview of Governor Palin and the impact she is having on the 2008 Presidential election. It highlights her political accomplishments in Alaska and explores her personal and political history. I believe it is an attempt by the author to help the reader to understand the sociological factors that shaped Palin's personality and her political philosophy. I found it to be a quick, interesting and informative read. I highly recommend this book as a way toward acquiring a more balanced insight into this amazing woman.



2. Finally, a book that comes out and gives us the personal story about Sarah Palin and puts her story in the context of this election. At last, I can hear the truth behind the rhetoric that the biased media throws our way on a daily basis. This book is jammed pack with heartfelt stories about the woman behind the political candidacy as well as documented information behind the landslide of partial truths being served up at a rapid pace.
   
   G. Robert James has done a fantastic job at personalizing this amazing, courageous woman. Before reading his book, I was intrigued by Sarah Palin but now I am in awe of her. If you want to finally read the facts and not just the blitz of negativity the left-wing continues to spew, buy this book. You won't regret it! It is short and to the point. You can read it in 30 minutes or less. And what is 30 minutes to learn the truth about a viable candidate in inarguably the most important election this nation has ever faced.



3. I read this trite bit of pseudo lit in less than thirty minutes and came away feeling as if I had just survived a poor attempt at being brainwashed. G. Robert James has managed to fill a hundred or so pages with un-detailed, un-supported and un-ending streams of partisan cheerleading masked as a biography. This is nothing more than propaganda in hard cover and I, for one, ain't drinking the kool-aid. This "book" (for lack of a better term) provides absolutely no new information and seems to be culled from items picked up from the Alaskan governor's own press department. The writer of this tripe offers no critical insight and presents absolutley no substantial data on Mrs. Palin (just what are the exact names of the colleges she attended? What was her G.P.A.? What people specifically inspired her while growing up? How does she define the separation of church and state? Why does she believe Capitalism is a better form of economic organization than Communism?) If I wanted to injest pablum, I'd read one of those glossies at the supermarket checkout counter!

5 comments about Society's Child: My Autobiography.

1. then get that person this autobiography.
   Even if u don't agree w/this artist's opinions u sure will respect them and learn from them.
   I picked up my first Ian cut that was "17". Being a decade older than her and coming of age slightly b/4 the sixties peaked the phrase Society's Child was just something I associated w/her appearence on the first SNL which I remember vividly.
   Now after reading this work I understand the meaning of the words and only wish I had delved into her 'oeuve much sooner instead of just mouthing 17 w/her.
   I can see this work being required reading in American Literature programs for the next century.
   JI's honesty is not questionable,even if her choices might be. None the less they are honest and we do learn from them.
   As one who had NO artist talent I was still able to appreciate and admire it in others.
   I would question what the artist must sacrifice and what price they must pay to reach and hold on to their heights.
   After reading this book I now have a better idea.
   In all it was a bittersweet experience for me because it seems this god given talent is a beast that must be fed at all cost and the glow of fame is more self immolating than enlighting but the pure joy of the art is also irreplaceable and will be beauty forever.
   Am I can glad I can't do it? I really don't know since I never had the gifts to be faced w/that ?
   Am I glad that if it happens so I can enjoy and relish in the beauty of it...
   You betcha' I am Caribou Barbi.



2. This is a fascinating and honest recounting of the experience of a gifted writer/performer -- the kind of "good read" you get immersed in. After you read this, you may well feel you've been given "permission" to allow the artist in you to emerge.



3. This book was amazing. Janis Ian was faced with one obsticle after another in her music endeavors and her love life. Listening to her music, after reading her autobiography, adds a tremendous insight into the words of her music. Janis is "a real trooper" and I have the utmost respect for her as an artist and a human being.



4. As a long time fan of Janis Ian, I was interested in her professional journey and the influences for her work. This book covers that and so much more. It happens that I knew Janis' father very well having worked with him for several years. The Openness that the author demonstrates is both courages and enlightening. I had no idea of the struggles that she has overcome. The writing is so personal and yet universal that I felt like she was telling her story directly to me. This is a great read.



5. Wow! What a great autobiography. Janis Ian describes her home life, her development as an artist and her rise to fame at a very, very young age which thrust her into very complicated world filled with expectation. We are witness as Janis endures her family falling apart, a series of abusive relationships, industry and management dysfunction and fraud which, even after toiling for years and producing numerous albums, eventually left her bankrupt. Each period of her life is artfully written with brevity, reflection and humor and she gives a very interesting inside account of American music culture during the 1960's-70's. Janis is frank in addressing what has clearly been tragic, but the thread throughout is her tremendous faith and fighting spirit to preserve herself and her integrity as an artist. What an inspirational book to read in turbulent times. Janis, thanks for sharing.

5 comments about Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia.

1. By now what might be called the deadly-disease memoir is a standard literary genre: the successful, happy man or woman laid low by a fatal ailment, soldiering on against all odds. Thomas Graboys' new book about living with Parkinson's disease silences cynicism about yet another entry into the sweepstakes. Besides being a man of much more than average gifts, material wealth, looks and success, he writes from the perspective of someone whose entire identity was shaped by being a medical doctor, a brilliant cardiologist, someone whose life's work was to take care of others. All this is now lost to him and he admits, with frequently bruising candor, the emotional cost to him and his family.
   
   Dr. Graboys' particular case of Parkinson's, as he explains, involves actual dementia, and although the book was written with the aid of a co-author, nevertheless the signs of mental difficulty are evident in the short-windedness and occasional repetitiveness of the writing. Several dozen pages are devoted not to Graboys' own writing but to passages contributed by his siblings, his children and their in-laws, passages the author did not screen in advance of their inclusion. What would be defects in another book here are in themselves touching, clear evidence of the author's ongoing struggle to maintain some sense of self-worth and productivity. He does not spare himself, dissecting in painful detail the ravages his progressive disease, and his occasional denial of its seriousness, has inflicted on his second marriage. (He did not reveal to his spouse at the time of his wedding that he was already suffering from Parkinson's, and it is perhaps significant that his wife does not contribute any writing of her own.) By the end of this volume the reader is shattered, drained, but also moved and uplifted by Dr. Graboys' resilience and optimism in the face of the darkest odds.



2. I was inspired by reading Dr. Graboy's story. The one thing I found disconcerting was his continued driving. I know he wants his independence but even if he drives only to two local places he could injure himself or someone else on the way.



3. Fascinating memoir of the same illnes my relative is enduring. I intend to share this with everyone i know who has a loved one with lewy body dementia. We must all live life to the fullest now, while are brains are healthy. Dr. Graboys' story is one of how love and humanity are possible beyond that, long into this illness. Beautiful!



4. Tom Graboys offers sensitive and poignant insight into a devastating disease that afflicts millions as patients, family and caregivers. Being married to a fellow academic physician, world renowned and respected, who suffers from Parkinsonism, I miss my spouse's wise counsel as the "go-to"- person described by Graboys, who continues to be a comforting, wise healer. This book fills that gap a bit by honestly describing the agony of the disease and how to cope with certain loss of self as previously known.



5. Any general-interest library or health collection needs LIFE IN THE BALANCE: A PHYSICIAN'S MEMOIR OF LIFE, LOVE, AND LOSS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA. The author is both a doctor and patient, at the peak of his career at age forty-nine when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Parkinson's and dementia. His memoir is revealing and insightful - and considers Parkinson's from the rare vantage point of both patient and doctor.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Faith in the Fog of War: Stories of Triumph and Tragedy in the Midst of War.

1. I had seen Chris on a local Atlanta Christian TV program promoting this book. Since I have a military ministry helping wounded Marine Families,and am interested in the spiritual treatment of PTSD, this man and his book interested me. It gave me more insight of our military's war experiences and
   how those who believe in God were able to face the daily grind of war with more strength. I liked his parallel comparisons of war experiences and Bible
   verses to help him cope with what he was doing in Iraq.
   I recommend the book we all need to understand what war is and how it effects our military (all volunteer)men and women and their families.



2. One of the most eye opening situations one can be in is on the battlefield, with one's mortality at stake. "Faith in the Fog of War: A Soldier's Stories of Triumph and Tragedy in the Midst of Battle" is the memoir of a U.S. Soldier who served in the Iraq war, and his reflections on his faith. His experiences are poignant and enlightening. "Faith in the Fog of War" is especially recommended for Christians and anyone concerned about the Iraq war.



3. This book changed my view of the war in Iraq, what is happening over there and what it means to me. Chris brought truth into my life through his stories and the applications he draws. The sheer honesty he exudes is inspiring and refreshig.



4. This book is a literal testimony of God's power and love. Chris' straightforward account of just about everything that happened in the front lines will enable one to be transported to Iraq and experience battle in God's presence without dodging the impact of war - from the distinct sound of bullets flying over his head to the honest human emotions that stirred in his heart will make you laugh and cry. Chris has vividly narrated how God carried him through it all. It's absolutely encouraging and inspirational and it would not take long for one to realize that God really authored this book. Chris was just a mere instrument so that we can see and feel His love and power in all and every given moment. We will be doing ourselves a favor for reading this book especially if we want to recognize God's presence in our lives...whether you're a believer or yet to be one.



5. A book and devotional written with the raw point of view that is War, barest of human condition coupled with the life of a Christian's walk of faith. Chris brings new perspective to the many faces of war and the perspective observation through the "Christian len" looking at our own individual lives. His writings allow each of us to apply that view to our own lives with the soul searching questions he includes in each chapter and we find ourselves asking at many points in our lives. Reading his writing had me stopping and taking into account many areas of my own walk of faith and what it means to me. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a devotional with the meat of what we need to be asking ourselves in our daily lives as Christians. A must read. A Must HAVE for those Christians serving our country.