2 comments about Life After Heart Surgery.

1. The book was very inspirational to not only those who have or about to go through heart surgery but to all with health conditions or to leaders and managers who want to mentor perseverance. The book is written about a man struggling to beat the odds and does so with a positive attitude.



2. What a gift that David has given all of us that have gone through heart surgery. My father had open heart and this book would have been nice to have at the time. He has always told me that he wished that there was a book that he could have read before or after. Being able to read about the kinds of things to expect and how family and friends can help is a great tool. Life is never over and Mr. Burke is living proof that you can do anything no matter what genetics you have been given. Very informative and what an inspiring story. Worth the read.

No comments about The NHS: Beginning, Middle and End?: The Autobiography of Dr John Marks.

No comments about Morgentaler: The Doctor Who Couldn't Turn Away (Goodread Biographies).

1 comments about Mrs. Charlie: The Other Mayo (Minnesota).

1. I really like this book. Edith Mayo still is a great inspiration; she was dedicated to her family and the care of the patients at Mayo Clinic.
   The book is well written and I pick it up often for a bit of inspiration.
   Edith could be "just in the next room", still praying and reaching out for those who need help.

5 comments about Sunburned Faces.

1. Jeneil Palmer Russell's story of her travels and travails in an Ethiopian orphanage was both eye opening and heart wrenching. It's honest language made plain the concrete reality of culture shock. Ms. Palmer Russell explored the ideas of philanthropy, volunteerism and mission work in a very approachable manner. Her story is a must read for anyone interested in truly touching the lives of others.



2. I found this book to very interesting and enlightning. A wonderful story about how this young girl spent her time in a very harsh environment. She was so descriptive I felt like I was there with her. This was a hard book to put down especially when you realized this was fact not fiction. I would like to read more from this excellent author.



3. Any review I can give this book cannot do it justice. I read this book in one sitting and I was truly touched. Forget the fact that Jeneil and I have been friends for years before and after her sojourn, and that I witnessed her transformation from girl to woman - this book reached me at my core. The trials, the tests, the testiments, the connections, were all honest, real and revealing. It gave me a better understanding of Jeniel and her faith in God. While reading I found myself thanking God for Jeneil, for bringing her through, for touching her hands to serve. The range of emotions I felt were God sent and I found myself cheering, crying, laughing with her and the other patients and workers on their daily travels. I highly recommend this book to anyone who years to see humanity and God wrapped into one text.



4. Once you have read one page in the book "Sunburned Faces", you will be hooked... The Author's writing is amazing, she has the ability to bring you with her, on her journey through Ethiopia. You will not be just reading a story... you will be living it.
   You will no doubt do a major reality check on your own wants and needs... and believe me, your desires will be challenged as you read on... and realize the things that you already have, and take for granted. We really are a country of people that are obsessed with material things, always wanting bigger and better things. You will probably feel very selfish as you read about how the people in Ethiopia live from day to day. People young and old are very sick without the medical care that is needed... for them to survive. They are hungry, without the food that they need... to survive. They are totally dependant on mostly volunteers to clean, nurse and feed them .
   The Author of this book is truely amazing in many ways... she never asks God for anything material for herself, only for His guidance and a clear picture of His Will.
   Being a very young woman in a place where she knows no one... cannot turn around and just go home when the going gets tough... shows remarkable strength, belief and her trust in God.
   Also amazing to me, and most likely many others... is the fact that she doesn't have any desires to get rich off of her book... she will send all proceeds from her book right back to where her story comes from. She is definately the most unselfish young woman that I have ever known through the reading of a book. As you read "Sunburned Faces" you too will feel that you know her personally.
   Janeil Palmer Russell, Thank you for sharing your experiences with the world.
   Sincerely,
   Janice A. Russell
   (No relation to Jeneil, with the exception of being one of God's children)



5. This is my second time reading Sunburned Faces. The first was soon after Jeneil came back from her term in Ethiopia. She was my roommate in college and is one of my best friends. I must say that she is an amazing woman. To meet her, you might think that she is quiet and intelligent, and not the type to travel to Ethiopia for three months to work in an orphanage. But her spirit, her faith, and her love for God allow her to be fearless. Sunburned Faces details her journey, day by day. A journey that most of us would not make. You see how she almost did not make it. But what a testimony that she did.

   What I like the most about Sunburned Faces is that it's as if Jeneil is right there with you. It's funny because as I've been reading it, I've gone longer without calling her. I forget that I haven't talked to her because she writes just like she speaks and it's like you're right there listening.

   She is so honest. She does not try to impress you with all the brave things she has done. She does not try to make you believe that she is someone that she is not. She simply states the facts, for good and for bad. I love this humility. She makes you believe that you can do something brave. And that God will work it for good in your life.

   I love my friend to life, but that's not why I recommend her book. Sunburned Faces causes you to step back, to get perspective. It grounds you. It makes you realize what's really important. It makes you cry. And it definitely makes you laugh. (Thanks for all the poop details, Jeneil!) It truly makes you wonder and ask questions about things you take for granted. And to ask forgiveness for ever taking anything for granted. To really question your purpose and whether you're fulfilling God's important will for your life.

   Since Jeneil came back from Ethiopia, she has worked and prayed to get this book published. It has been a long and frustrating road. But it has never been for her own glory. She wants to tell her story so that you can experience what changed her life. The proceeds from this book will not go to buy her more things. She only wants to pour the money back into Ethiopia to help more children. I am so glad that Sunburned Faces is now available to everyone and I pray that it makes a difference in others' lives as it has in mine.

   Read Jeneil's journal of her time in Ethiopia and get ready to be challenged and blessed!

No comments about Bronson I Knew.

5 comments about Finding Magic Mountain: Life with Five Glorious Kids and a Rogue Gene Called FOP.

1. Carol Zapata-Whelan has a compelling story to tell, but the author jumps back and forth between time and place in a very confusing manner, talking about the struggles to get her son into college, back to the past, when she was dealing with one chronically ill child and just beginning to suspect that her second child was also stricken with the same genetic disorder, a debilitating disease for which there is no cure.
   
   While the book meanders way too much in some places, perhaps that is the true nature of being the parent of five beautiful children who are struggling to live with an unpredictable and chronic disease. There is no clear path from A to Z, as there would be in an autobiography written by an adult dealing with their own chronic or terminal illness. The real beauty in this story is how a family finds a way to go on living in the face of undaunting odds and challenges.
   
   
   "FOP - Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva -is a rare genetic disorder in which bone forms in muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues. Bridges of extra bone form across the joints in characteristic patterns, progressively restricting movement. FOP is a disease in which the body produces not just too much bone, but an extra skeleton that immobilizes the joints of the body." - Official description of FOP from The International FOP Association.



2. I want to say first off I very much admire people like Carol Zapata-Whelan, who took on her son's rare genetic disease head-on, and in the process certainly helped many others with the same disease and similar ones. I know a child with the most severe form of OI (Brittle Bone Disease) and I admire anyone working for cures to genetic bone disorders.
   
   However, I wish the book had not strayed quite so much from Vincent's story. Perhaps the author could write other books, ones about her family's mix of Irish and Argentine culture, or about college admission processes, or about many topics, but they all should not have been included in this one! The part of the story about Vincent's college decisions shows how hard it is to find a college for a child with a disability, but there is just too much about each college he's considering, and about how he didn't get into Stanford!
   
   Also, I wish Vincent's journey was told about more in order of how it happened. Flashbacks and back and forth time periods work better in a novel than in a medical memoir! I would also have loved to read more medical information on FOP---more of a history of its discovery and more about how it affects the body.
   
   These are all quibbles, and they don't really take away from what is here, and I would certainly encourage anyone with an interest in this topic to read this book!



3. Carol is a wonderful writer who tells an inspiring tale about her family's incredible journey through a relatively unknown disease. Her words are encouraging. If you've ever dealt with a chronically ill child or need help in triumphing over adversity, you'll love this book!



4. This book is a chant to life. The basic values of humanity,love, honesty, compassion and courage are to be found in Carol Zapata-Whelan's story. Knowing from the outset that she is fighting an unknown adversary who changes faces and steps like a demon, blinding his oponent, Carol shows grit from the opening of Magic Mountain up to the end of this dramatic narrative.



5. Amazing read. Couldn't put it down and yet I wanted it to last. Bought 3 more copies and gave as gifts because the lesson was so important.

No comments about Clinic of Hope.

5 comments about Nightingales: The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale.

1. Overall, this very insightful book gives precise information on Florence Nightingale. The author gives incredible information about Nightingale and her immediate and extended family as well as friends. However, the author goes to the extreme several times presenting peripheral information that has nothing to do with Nightingale as in the case of her cousin suitor and spends pages discussing the Crimean War--none of which contributes to the "curious life" of Nightingale who was truly an extraordinary woman, especially given her time. Perhaps the author is trying to estabish certain things, but at times, the reading is tedious as one just wants the author to get on with it.



2. I was looking forward to reading this because of the good reviews I had read about it, but frankly, I couldn't get past about page 50. I will perhaps try to get into it again, but the narrative did not hold my interest and was rather dry & academic in my opinion.



3. I received the book within a few days of the order and it was in perfect condition. Excellent service!



4. What I love about Gillian Gill's biographies is the obvious extensive research of her subject. I had finished reading Gill's second biography on Mary Baker Eddy and was so impressed I knew in the Florence Nightingale biography I would find a well-researched and well-written history of a very complex woman. Gill's subjects are not always easy to understand, but through Gill's research you gain at least a clearer idea of the woman behind the "Lady with the Lamp". A wonderful biography worth reading. I especially enjoyed learning more about Nightingale's family and how important they were in creating Florence Nightingale.



5. I found this read a bit on the dry side and at times almost pedantic. I am glad I read it, but it didn't really keep my attention as I had hoped.

No comments about To Myself a Stranger: A Biography of Rose Hawthorne Lathrop.