2 comments about Clara Barton: Professional Angel.

1. Elizabeth Brown Pryor eloquently told the story of Clara Barton digging deep into who exactly Clara Barton was and the many areas in which Clara was an agent for change in society.



2. I enjoyed this biography of Barton as it covered more than just her years as a Civil War nurse & battlefield angel. Pryor gives life to Barton, exposing her touching little secrets (she liked to take a nip now and then, had a romance with a married man & dyed her hair) as well as her less-than-saintly personality (she was fiercly competive with other reformers like Dorthea Dix and really like being in the spotlight). Her two major accomplishment -- her battlefield nursing and the founding of the American Red Cross -- came about through stubborn sacrifice and a real dedication. She got done what she did because she was relentless in achieving her purposes. Her pushiness knew no bounds: she called on neighbors and politicians, asked for favors, used emotional blackmail and wasn't always sweet as pie about it all. Pryor's admiration for her subject is evident and she reveals Clara as a modern woman who used any and every resource available at a time when no one was inclined to support such activity. I came away from this book liking Clara Barton, even with her halo slightly tarnished.

5 comments about Uplift : Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors.

1. All breast cancer patients should read this while going through treatment. The stories provide hope during a difficult time in a woman's life.



2. This book is organized well. Each topic has its own chapter so women going through one procedure don't have to hear stories about other procedures. (Sometimes, less or more.) The various entries provide advise, support and realism that only real breast cancer patients and survivors can. It was like having my own personal support group between the covers of this book at any time I needed it! A great tool for women going through treatment. It also provides insight to friends and family that want to know how they can help their loved ones. Lots of good practical ideas!



3. As a breast cancer survivor myself, my observation is biased. The book is actually a handbook for women going thru treatment, and beyond. I only wish this book had been available 15 years ago when I was going thru treatment. But its here now, and I certainly would recommend it for anyone going thru treatment, or as a gift for a friend or family member to give to a loved one going thru this very emotional disease. 5 stars isn't a good enough rating....but it's the best one you have.



4. Once again, Barbara Delinsky's updated version of her original UPLIFT book provides survivors and their loved ones with courage, hope and humor about a dreadful disease that strikes one in eight. As a survivor and contributor to her latest effort, I am in awe of the women who shared their experiences with such insight and candor. Thank you, Barbara, for championing this cause. Stay well, my friend.



5. This book is a "must read" for anyone who has a family history of breast cancer, is currently undergoing treatment for it, is a survivor, or is close to anyone who has breast cancer or has survived it.
   
   Breast cancer, while predominantly a "female disease" does strike men (it also strikes transgendered individuals, especially those on female hormone regimens).
   
   The need for a book with a title like "uplift" becomes apparent when we stop and think about the place of the female breast in modern culture. Mass media and many aspects of our culture fixate on breasts in such a way that many women feel defined by their breasts. Consequently, breast loss can have a profoundly diminishing effect on a woman's self image.
   
   In some locations, the emphasis on breasts has become extreme. I live in Kansas City, which is second only to Hollywood for the number of breast augmentations done per year (both in actual numbers and per capita). In the late 1990s (while in KS), I had a girlfriend who was so striking that my buddies referred to her as "that goddess."
   
   But she didn't see her incredible beauty. She agonized over the fact she was small-breasted (an A cup). Not only was she beautiful, she was intelligent, articulate, and entertaining. If you had a list of the 1,000 most desirable characteristics a woman could have, you could check off one after the other in her case.
   
   Despite her looks, brains, and personality, she was immensely insecure. She even chewed her nails down to the quick. The problem, in my opinion, was she succumbed to false comparisons that left her feeling she was somehow deficient because she wasn't carrying around huge levels of silicone, saline, or adipose tissue on her chest.
   
   One time, she asked, "What do you see in me?" I was so stunned by the question, and so incapable of knowing even where to begin, that I couldn't reply quickly. She took this as confirmation that she wasn't "woman enough" and said so. That's about on par with saying Lance Armstrong isn't "biker enough." Yet, this idea dominated her self-image. She typifies what many women go through, even without breast cancer. Imagine the feelings after losing a breast or two.
   
   How could this woman, with so much going for her, become emotionally impoverished over what is basically a minor cosmetic attribute? Especially when, only a few generations ago, women in America bound their breasts in an effort to hide them? That's a good question. It's one to think about.
   
   In the meantime, think about how devastating it must be for most women to lose a breast or both breasts. That is one of the many issues facing women with breast cancer. Men with breast cancer don't face that particular issue, but they share all of the other breast cancer issues with their female counterparts (including, for most men, the loss of hair).
   
   Of course hearing "You have cancer" is devastating to anyone. While cure rates today for most cancers are high (if the cancer is caught early), we still think of it as "the deadly disease." Most of us want to survive, so we avail ourselves of modern medicine in an attempt--one that is usually successful--to beat the cancer. But the process is grueling, painful, scary, exhausting, and risky. With breast cancer, there are additional emotional pressures--especially for women.
   
   Uplift takes us through every stage of the breast cancer victim's long ordeal, and it even follows up with survivors five years after. The book is essentially a well-organized collection of thoughts of people who made the journey, along with some thoughts contributed by those who traveled with them. Delinsky's commentary helps the reader keep those thoughts in perspective, and she does an excellent job of prefacing the material in each section.
   
   I don't know how much material Delinsky actually sifted through. But the result of her labors is a mix that is variously uplifting, instructional, and insightful. There's nothing sappy or boring in any of it.
   
   For example, how do you feel after reading this excerpt from a woman who talks about hiding her bald head from her husband of thirty five years. She'd let him see her only in a wig or turban (towel wrapped around her head after a shower). The pressure apparently got to her one day, after she let him in the bathroom:
   
   "...but suddenly I decided to just take the stupid towel off my head, and I immediately started to cry. Mike held me, smiled right into my lashless eyes, and said, 'So what?' And I thought the best I'd ever heard was 'I love you.'"
   
   Uplift brings real power to people who are fighting breast cancer, whether on the front lines or in a supporting role. Those who've read Uplift can stride into this ferocious battle, this fight to the death, with greater calm and a deeper well of reserve to draw from. Those who are in supporting roles will not have to clumsily grope their way through, but can instead understand how to be a powerful ally to the person they don't want to lose.
   
   Most books have one or two strong chapters that stand above the rest. I can't say that about Uplift. It's all strong. It's all good. It's all worth reading again.
   
   Unfortunately, I won't have the opportunity to re-read my copy any time soon, because it is going to a breast cancer survivor and then on to make its rounds. Yes, the borrowers will eventually buy a copy for their own bookshelves, but my copy will be gone for quite some time.
   
   It looks like I'll have to pony up for a second or third copy, so I have one on hand. But that's not all bad, either: all of the author's proceeds will be donated to breast cancer research.

5 comments about EMT: Beyond the Lights and Sirens.

1. Pat Ivey is a fantastic author; her style of writing keeps the reader involved-almost attached to the story. You feel like you are standing right there with her in the memories and scenes. Beyond The Lights and Sirens was the first book that I had ever read from cover to cover and enjoyed every page. EMT: Rescue was just as great; in twenty-two years, I had never read a book thoroughly, as I did these. I've been an EMT for six years, and I didn't even read my EMS texts from cover to cover. I have never began a book that kept my mind involved as well as Ms. Ivey did. If she would happen to read this, I'd like to thank her. I recommend this book to anyone that has put their heart into EMS, and their community. Thanks Pat!



2. I'm an EMT with a rual volunteer squad in the same county as Pat Ivey is. I've worked with her numerous times and the same compassion she shares in the book she shows on scene. "EMT: Beyond the Lights and Sirens" shares the heart that Pat has for her community. It's true, it's not just the lights and sirens that make up a rescue squad, it the heart of compassion of the heroes that volunteer their time to serve their community.



3. Another bomb. I'm an EMT in one of the top rated systems in the world. This book, is not the best I've read. Although Pat and Ed are outstanding EMT's, they make the job sound like you just drive there, get on-scene and be a cowboy. I disagree with the reputation they give all public safety personnel.



4. This book was given to me by a friend of mine when I passed the Virginia EMT test. I was 17 and a litte unsure of myself, and the reason I became involved in EMS. 7 years later I still answer the call that Pat so eloquently describes in this book and her other book EMT: Rescue. Having met Pat last year at the annual Virginia EMS Symposium, I was even more impressed with the way that she handled and presented herself to the many people that came to listen. Her book is one of the best that I've read concering EMS and life in general. Thank you.



5. Pat Ivey takes you far and beyond the title of EMT or cardaic technician. She takes you "beyond the lights and sirens." She lets you experience not only the adernaline rush of working in EMS but also the emotional stand point of the system Working in the system myself I have found the book to be a great inspirational guide. To know that everybody looses patients and people just die sometimes. She also gives you the motivation to do as much as you can in EMS. Excellent author and an excellent plot. GREAT BOOK PAT.

5 comments about Kate's Journey: Triumph Over Adversity.

1. EXCELLENT BOOK/STORY OF A REMARKABLE WOMAN'S RECOVERY FROM A DEVESTATING CONDITION. I HAD READ THIS BOOK A WHILE AGO AND PURCHASED THIS AS A GIFT. VERY HARD TO PUT DOWN READ IN 2 DAYS!!! KATE IS A TRUE INSPIRATION TO ALL.
   ANY HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!!!
   KATES 2ND BOOK IS EVEN BETTER!!!
   KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT WORK KATE!!!



2. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as it not only is a true story of a very remarkable woman, but it is also very educational and enlightening of what a stroke victim endures. Very hard to put down--a must read!



3. Working as a chaplain with people who have suffered from strokes this book was recommended to me. There are many people that I minister to who are trapped within their bodies and I wonder the effectiveness of my prayers, monologues, reading scriptures and news article to them since they can't respond. After reading this book my eyes were opened. To see what Kate went through and what she experienced in a trapped body I am encouraged to continue to be there and communicate with those who are trapped within their body. Excellent book. I would recommend it to not only those who work with people who have had strokes but to anyone who wants to know more.



4. If you only get a chance to read a few good books a year; you should make this one of them. Kate Adamson has an unbelievable story to share. Suffering from a devastating stroke at the age of 33, Kate fights her way back with sheer grit and determination.
   
   This is an inspirational story for stroke survivors, caregivers, and anyone else that has been touched by a stroke. Even if you haven't been touched by a stroke, it's a powerful read. Kate tells her story with honesty, humor, and courage. I give it two thumbs up and highly recommend it.



5. Ever said, "I have a terrible headache?" Did you feel it was the worst headache you've ever had. Then you must read Kate's Journey.
   
   This book should be in the home of anyone that has ever had a headache, in the library of every neurologist, and in the hands of every therapist or any health care official that encounters stroke patients.
   
   Kate's Journey delivers hope through an amazing story of recovery. In a clever and ingenious way, Kate interjects humor in the story of her recovery from a devastating stroke and the complete disruption of the life she knew.
   
   Kate's Journey provides the key to not living a self-fulfilling prophecy of hopelessness when you or some you love is told there is, "No Hope." Kate's Journey provides the warning signs of stroke to those who may be experiencing the onset of a stroke and are totally unaware, and incredible insight to family members and friends of those whom may have already suffered the tragic disabilities of stroke. Think you're too young? Think you're in great shape? Read Kate's Journey before it's too late.
   
   Wondering how I could ever read a book about someone's stroke, quickly turned into wondering how I could ever put the book down. It was witty and filled with Kate's actual thoughts. I was now getting first hand the pain and thoughts that were going through the mind of my own husband. He was now living Kate's Journey, her nightmare of paralysis and the inability to speak.
   
   I recommend reading Kate's Journey, a story of recovery and hope, in lieu of books that deliver a message of acceptance of a devastating fate. I prefer the "Never Give Up" message contained within the pages of Kate's Journey; a story of bouncing back against all odds. Which would you rather read? It could happen in the blink of an eye. Stroke -- paralysis, complete devastation. Will you be next? Maybe not; if you read Kate's Journey Triumph Over Adversity.

   I have found Kate to be as outstanding as her book.

1 comments about Iconoclast: Abraham Flexner and a Life in Learning.

1. Professor Thomas Neville Bonner who is a distinguished historian and has authored several books about medical education has produced a real literary gem in "Iconoclast-Abraham Flexner and a life in learning". Abraham Flexner and his brother Simon were true giants in reforming medical education and introducing scientific medical research respectively in the USA at the beginning of 20th century. Abraham Flexner's life story is traced with marked clarity and precision of details in this remarkable book. Professor Bonner informs us about his fascination with Abraham Flexner's work in the Introduction by reading his first book "The American College" followed by the famous "Flexner Report- Medical Education in the US and Canada" published in 1910. He then takes us through Abraham's early years growing up as the youngest son of poor Jewish immigrant parents in late 19th century in Reconstruction Louisville, Kentucky, his graduation from high school, attendance at the newly opened Johns Hopkins University and coming back to Louisville at age 19 to become a teacher at his alma mater, Louisville Male High School. Thereafter he becomes principal of his own highly successful preparatory school. At age 42, he " breaks free" from Louisville and enrolls at Harvard and subsequently at Oxford in Britain and then at Berlin University in Germany. On his return back to the U.S.A, he is commissioned by Henry Pritchett of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to survey 155 medical schools in North America. Flexner Report was a scathing critique of the deplorable conditions of the then extant medical schools and catapulted him into an education specialist status overnite.After being hired by the Rockefeller Foundation, Abraham Flexner was in a unique position to implement medical education reforms, start full-time plan and improve university-hospital affiliations by being able to disburse huge sums of Rockefeller largesse.Bonner points out the immense influence Abraham Flexner enjoyed being at the helm of an epochal reform movement in medical education. He was an author, a negotiator, a highly effective fund-raiser and a philanthropist. He established the Instiute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ which became an intellectual powerhouse , through the philanthropy of Louis Bamberger and was solely responsible for Albert Einstein's immigration to the USA. Abraham Flexner's long life was a multi-faceted and highly eventful one. Professor Bonner has done an admirable job in writing this thoroughly researched and definitive biography which will serve as a highly dependable reference work for future researchers. He writes with great clarity and conviction. The book reads like a novel with tremendous intrigue and drama. I recommend this book as a required reading for medical students, physicians and medical educators.General public will also find this book extremely enjoyable and informative

4 comments about Look up for Yes.

1. This book was recommended to my by the teacher of my CNA class in Fort Collins, CO. It was a very moving book... After being a CNA for 6 years now, I was finally able to read it. It refreshed my purpose and drive for going to nursing school. This woman truely has drive!



2. I thought that the book was exelent and that Julia could have talked more about her family and more about Goldwater. Overall she did a fantastic job at writing this book.



3. A nurse recommended the book to my sister. She said it changed the way she treats patients. My sister read it in one afternoon. It makes you think and reminds you to count your blessings!



4. Those who weap because they have no shoes should meet this woman who has no feet, no hands, no voice, no normalcy. And yet she greets the day with poetry and refuses -- against odds few people could bear -- to loosen her grip on reality, on the future, on hope. Where some autobiographical writers might seek our pity, Julia demands our respect. Where some labor to generate tears, Julia aims to generate cheers -- and at times outbursts of profanity. Her story is a fast, easy-to-follow read packed with flashbacks, present-day tales and, the most essential element of all, hope

1 comments about When It Gets Dark.

1. I read the book because I was helped by reading Mr. DeBaggio's first book "Losing My Mind". "When It Gets Dark" was just as inciteful. I have recommended both books to others and have given several copies as gifts. The books helped me see Alzheimers Disease from the perspective of my husband. I learned that it is very important for me to make the adjustments in our relationship and not get upset by every change in his behavior. I learned that humor helps both of us and that I can do some things I felt I would have trouble doing for him.

4 comments about La Clinica: A Doctor's Journey Across Borders (Literature and Medicine).

1. The call of the healer what David Sklar heard when he left his New Mexico home to cross the border. "La Clinica: A Doctor's Journey Across Borders" is his story. With nothing left to lose in his hometown, he answers a letter to volunteer in a run down medical clinic in Sierra Madre in Mexico. His stories tell a tale of a man driven to heal, and who heals in an area with a totally different culture and a language he lacks a mastery in. A moving and inspiring story, "La Clinica" is worth reading for any.



2. I am a person who does not read many books, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading "La Clinica". I had to read it for a class, but am very thankful that my teacher picked this particular book. I am a pre-med student and I was able to relate to this book. However, I feel that anybody, not just medical students or doctors, will really enjoy this book. It is a complex story with extreme meaning put into each memory that David Sklar relives. I would definitely recommend this book to any reader. Two thumbs up!!



3. La Clinica is an excellent read! Dr. Sklar did a amazing job of blending together his time in Mexico, his personal life, and his experiences in Emergency Medicine. My husband and I read the novel together and neither of us ever wanted to put it down! We couldn't wait to read the rest of the novel!



4. "La Clinica" was a wonderful read, juxtaposing and weaving the
   various times of Dr. Sklar's life, from his childhood to his
   internship to his Clinica days to his affiliation with the University
   of New Mexico as head of its Department of Emergency Medicine, when
   he and his wife were separating. This is the story of
   what Freud once distilled as the two things most important in a man's
   life: meaningful work and a meaningful relationship with a woman. And
   in Dr. Sklar's case, we see his earnest attempt to make sense of both
   when each is turned topsy-turvy, to remain grounded as best he can
   under the circumstances. At La Clinica's best, the reader, young or
   old, will be called to task to examine his or her own life, asking,
   depending on age, either, "Is this the path I wish to take?" Or, "Why
   or how did I come to take this journey?"

5 comments about Country Doctors Casebook: Tales from the North Woods (Midwest Reflections).

1. As the daughter of a semi-country doctor, I grew up with the experience of having a father who always seemed to be on call. Dr. Macdonald's anthology of cases was an excellent read, and after the first story I immediately called my mom to share it with her. We both had a laugh over it, and I am going to recommend that she buy it, along with my 2 older sisters. I enjoyed reading the stories, and they are set up such that you can read for as long or as short a time as you want. A must-buy for any child or spouse of a physician!



2. I thought this book was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed this book... you'll laugh out loud and you'll cry as you see everything through the eyes of one rural Minnesota doctor. I'm couldn't wait until his second one came out! Read it!!



3. I got this book because I too come from Minnesota and work in health care, but once started on Dr. MacDonald's A Country Doctor's Casebook Tales from the North Woods, I was hooked. The author was what we would now refer to as a family practitioner who worked in a small rural community near Duluth from 1947 to 1980. His charming collection of stories is a delight to read, and I literally read the book from cover to cover over about three hours without putting it down. The tales of the doctor and his patients pull the reader through the pages without tricks of style, just the author's natural talent for telling a simple story: the life and death struggles of members of his community, the happiness of new lives begun, the suddenness of unexpected death, incredible courage in the face of adversity, acceptance of the setbacks of life, amusing vignettes of simple people living life among their neighbors.

   FOR THOSE WRITING PAPERS in English, creative writing, journaling, journalism, history, and sociology, this would make a nice format to follow or a good bibliography entry. The author has used his own life experiences to create a history of his practice, community, and time.




4. Dr. MacDonald's book is a welcome remembrance to those who lived in Northern Minnesota in the 40's & 50's. His stories of survival (and sometimes not surviving) are very descriptive and detailed. When he tells of a trip through a swamp he carried his wife through to help a patient, you almost feel as though you are sloshing through the mud with him. His stories are NOT about heroics that he performed on helpless rural Minnesota residents, although he certainly could do that as well. They are about the heroics of those people he cared for. This story has it's humorous parts as well as parts that make you cry for the brave and futile attempts at life of his patients. I am grateful to Dr. MacDonald for this book, and I hope to see more from him in the future.



5. A Country Doctor's Casebook: Tales From The North Woods is an anthology of autobiographical stories by Dr. Roger A. MacDonald, a physician who has served the people living in a remote region of northern Minnesota during the years after World War II. Vignettes of sickness, compassion, feuds, dangers, births and deaths make A Country Doctor's Casebook unforgettable and very highly recommended reading.

5 comments about The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead.

1. And what a trip! I was mesmerized by Shields' adroit juxtapositions of facts, quotations, personal anecdotes and sheer musings. In perfect counterpoint, his logical, reasoning reporter voice succumbs to his non-linear, subjective yarn-spinner meanderings, and so it goes -- the thrust and parry of right-brain-then-left-brain advances, leaps, detours, and backtracks. I have to agree with at least half of what he says was written about him on the wall of a ladies' restroom, "David Shields is a great writer and a babe to boot." (The former is definitely accurate and if he inherited even a little of his father's self-described magnetism, I'm sure the latter is equally true!) Thanks for this wonderful, unforgettable book.



2. When I told my wife the title of the book I was reading she responded "Why do you always read depressing books?" The startling thing about this book is that it's not depressing at all, although it joins my short list of books that look life and death squarely in the face. (See my review of Anne Roiphe's "Epilogue" for another). Shields combines a plethora of facts about our mortality with an ongoing account of his relationship with his 97 year old father. The book is extremely personal and hugely informative at the same time. It is chock full of statistics or all sorts (did you know that 72% of Americans believe in angels?) and full as well as wonderfully touching anecdotes about his father and family. His father, at 97, still rages against the dying of the light, but in three sentences, Shields explains his differing view and also the reason his book is so engaging and even uplifting: "Aging followed by death is the price we pay for the immortality of our genes. You [his father] find this information soul-killing. I find it thrilling, liberating. Life, in my view, is simple, tragic, and eerily beautiful."



3. Funny, factual, cerebral, yet often moving without tear-jerking effects. Beautiful tributes to his father and the lessons learned through their lives together and in parallel.



4. I was very excited to read this book after I read a review about it in Esquire. I can unquestionably say the best part of the book is the title. After that, the book is a ridicolous post-modern memoir / "what is life about" tome that has no coherent structure, is extremely boring, and is clearly written by someone who felt the need to prove he was some sort of "insightful" writer.
   
   I rarely stop reading books and I gave this book three (3) separate tries but I could not get past page 80. It is just a boring read and the author tries to use this absurd Joycean time pattern structure of moving back and forth through different parts of his and his father's life that prevents the book from having sort of flow.
   
   I recognize Mr. Shields put a lot of work into this and I hesitate being so critical, but this book was extremely disappointing and I was actually upset I wasted $20 on it.



5. It kind of puts you in that river that sweeps you toward the end. It gets you thinking of all the things that can go wrong and lead to the stopping of your heart.
   
   That said, there are plenty of interesting facts on every page. All this with a twist of sad humor.