5 comments about A Tuscan Childhood.

1. What amazed me about this book is that in spite of the author's English silver-spoon upbringing (sometimes it's hard to figure out which castle she's in at the moment) she gives the reader such an intimate portrait of the country, the scenery, the customs and the people of Tuscany. When you read of all the artistic and literary nobility that her parents had entertained, it's hard to fathom how she found the opportunities (and she did find them...) to relate so well to the local people. I have read many books written by authors who lived with and among the rural peasantry that don't give any better or more appealing feel for the country. I would hate to have missed this book!



2. This book really takes you to Tuscany, as it was for British ex-patriates between World War I and World War II. Everything is here - the people, the landscape, the food. Highly recommended!



3. Kinta Beevor, author of only this book, comes from a family of writers, including her son, the reknown author, Antony Beevor. It must be a genetic feature that families produce wonderful writers.
   She draws you into her world, like a welcoming friend. You will experience historic events and the world as it was in Tuscany in the 19th century and the early 20th century. You will get to know many of the distinguished and famous persons who visited the Waterfields and best of all, you will become acquainted with "Aunt Janet", the famous English writer, Janet Ross.
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Tuscany and in warm and inviting family experiences and how they are influenced by world events.



4. The only book Kinta Beevor ever wrote, it was perhaps the only book she could have written. Her obvious love for her magical childhood in Tuscany (esp the years before she was shipped off to England for school) shines forth from every paragraph as she recounts her life as one of the benignly-neglected children of a pair of English aristocrats who owned a 15th century castle, the Fortezza della Brunella, as well as a villa above Florence.
   Centered around two very different periods of the author's life, the rural castle and the more urban villa, A Tuscan Childhood is full of famous people (her parents were part of the literati), beloved peasant farm workers, nursemaids, and Aunt Janet, upon whose death the villa falls into the hands of Ms. Beevor's mother.
   Toward the end, in diatribes against Mussolini, the Allies, death taxes, and everything and everyone else, an old lady's peevishness with changing times mars what is otherwise a lovely and evocative piece of writing.



5. Prior to her death, Kinta Beevor wrote only one book -- A TUSCAN CHILDHOOD -- which would have been better titled "My Life in Tuscany" as it really is the tale of her connection to Tuscany over period of 40 years that included her childhood. Beevor, whose maiden name was Waterfield, was the daughter Aubrey the artist and his wife Lina Gordon, both British ex-pats who lived and worked in Italy during the first half of the 20th Century. The family owned the fabulous 15th Century Fortezza della Brunella which the family called "the castle" and Lina inherited Poggio Gherardo which was almost as old. Both properties came with extensive farm lands. As a result the Waterfields lived lives of comfort -- socializing with the rich and famous (D.H.Lawrence for one) and feeding them to-die-for meals and sending their much neglected children back to England for schooling.

   Though I became weary of name-dropping, I found Beevor's book an enjoyable read. Her mention of various rich and famous folks is as natural as can be--just tiresome in the same way a story told over and over by an older person can be. She says her son encouraged her to write down what she could remember, and I suspect he did so after he heard her stories several times. Fortunately, someone had the good sense to publish the book for a wider audience.

   Ms. Beevor obviously loved Tuscany--her father's castle where the family restored and maintained a beautiful garden on the roof, her mother's house which Beevor's mother gained the use of on the death of her Aunt Janet, and the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Beevor's description of the sea as the train approached Aulla for her summer vacations from school in England is as well written as anything Lawrence ever wrote, and no doubt she was quite knowledgeable of his works given he was a family friend.

   After WWII, faced with death duties on the Poggio Gherardo following the death of Beevor's brother John, and huge expenses owing to the damage inflicted on both properties during the war (the retreating Nazis and the encroaching Allies made a mess, the latter found an autographed photo of Mussolini in the castle and wrecked havoc) the family was forced to sell up and return to England.

   Beevor's book contains passages that reminded me of bitter-sweet scenes in "The English Patient", the "Jewel in the Crown", "Tea With Mussolini", "Out of Africa", "Room With a View" and other works written by European ex-pats returned to their home of origin. Ms Beevor was undoubtedly well read and understood the withdrawal of the British Empire following WWII, and in her closing chapters she shares her thoughts about the effect of that withdrawal on Italy. Italy of course was not a colony, but the British had truly made themselves at home in Italy before the war (and may have done so once again).

5 comments about City of One: A Memoir.

1. This book moved and enlightened me. Cournos' story of surviving what every child fears most--the loss of both her parents--is raw, vivid, and remarkably compassionate given that she became a foster child through willful neglect on the part of her extended family. Cournos succeeds in transforming her own particular journey into a roadmap for others who want or need to understand what it is to be an orphan. Brave and beautifully done!



2. As a psychiatric social worker this book gives an excellent perspective on the foster care system, how we would knew it and what it has become. In addition the book Dr.Cournos writes sheds an enormous light on the alienation of family and the reasons that alienation might occurr. It is a sad tale with a shinning light ending. As a mother who has almost lost a child to cancer, this book has inspired me to look ahead and consider all the possibilities, as Dr. Cournos has. It is a book that all should read.



3. As a psychiatric social worker this book gives an excellent perspective on the foster care system, how we would knew it and what it has become. In addition the book Dr.Cournos writes sheds an enormous light on the alienation of family and the reasons that alienation might occurr. It was a sad story with a shinning light ending.



4. It didn't occur to me that I would be so touched by Francine Cournos's book. I have an interest in child welfare issues, which is why I read it. She deals with a much bigger issue than foster care -- she writes about the voluminous effect that the loss of parents can have on a child throughout his or her life. Brava, Dr. Cournos. Thank you for sharing your life with us. This is a must-read for anyone who works with children in any arena.



5. As a writer, and as someone whose own experiences of childhood loss and its aftereffects closely parallel those of Dr. Cournos, I found City of One both deeply moving and comforting. We who have the hole where the loving parent should be, we who deal with the myth and the anger and the quest for wholeness, understand every word. Not only does Dr. Cournos evoke the pain of the loss, but her honesty and her search for the strengths that can come from a tragic early life goes beyond judgment and pathology. It goes to the things that define our lifelong sense of who we are. I highly recommend this memoir to anyone who wants to understand or who struggles with these issues.

5 comments about The Summer of Ordinary Ways: A Memoir.

1. This is a nicely written book, a beautiful memior of chilhood on a farm. It starts slowly but by the end I loved her writing...



2. I didnt pick this book randomly off the shelf, I work in Sleepy Eye MN, closely with the people. I did not grow up in Sleepy Eye, but in another small farming community. I know some of the people who she is talking about, although I do not know her or any of her immedate famliy. There was a huge uproar here about this book when it came out and I had to see what it was all about, of course!
   
   What I found was someone I knew, a girl raised with the same type of envirnment I think most of us were raised with in small midwestern farm towns. The local stories, small town attitude, where everyone knows everyones business and you are judged by your last name, relatives and great-grandfathers history 'all those Haalas are crazy'. I found myself and my friends in her stories, my sister, my parents. Its a story about life, the memories of a girl and a kid becoming a woman the fast way, by becoming a mother. She made me feel I was with her @ the nuns retreat, when her dad shot the puppies, on her uncles bike. I was rereading a story I already know. It was creepy, but comforting. I think thats talent.
   
   I really enjoyed this book, the style is different, jumping around, even mid story, to different, semi-related stories, different then what I'm used to, I guess. Her discriptions make me see the tree, the barn, her uniform, blue and white on the steps of St. Marys Catholic School. Beautifully discripted. Definately not the brutal, horrible book some people 'couldnt even finish'.
   
   If you grew up in a small town, or in a large close-nit family, you will relate to Nicole. A glimps of snipits of small town life, real or imagined by her, is truely what this novel is.



3. In my long reading life I have rarely come across a book written in such compelling and poetic language. I have just read Nicole Lea Helget's memoir in one sitting and can scarcely catch my breath. And to those who might question the authenticity of the book, please remember that a child's interpretation of happenings may not always agree with that of an adult who was there, too, but that does not make the child's recollection any less true. Just think about the mysteries and taboos in your own childhood!



4. This collection of beautifully written short pieces work together to give a view into a difficult Minnesota childhood. It's a stark story, and slim in several ways. Pages aside, it lacks context, and the landscape is almost missing, which is odd for a farm story. The writer's gift with words is considerable, and the final chapter left me gasping (what a tour de force). Did I like it? yes, I did. Still, I have to ask, as a child, was there no laughter? Was her entire childhood taut and poetic, all smashed grasshoppers and bleeding animals? It seems in a family like this, there might have been at least some laughter. I guess that is another area where the book is slim--I didn't sense the fullness of a life when reading it. Perhaps she will write a longer exploration of her life, or a novel. If she does, I'll definitely read it, as she is quite a writer.



5. I agree with the earlier reviewer, as far as mean people and animal cruelty go. I could hardly finish the book myself, not only because of the animal cruelty and abuse but also the author's total indifference to it. I don't particularly care to read about people abusing and killing animals (killing a mother cow because she wants to keep her calf, and shooting 13 puppies because "they are ugly"), and basically that is what a lot of this book is about. Not a very good or interesting read, author is whiney and self-absorbed - don't waste your time with this garbage.

5 comments about Pig Boy's Wicked Bird: A Memoir.

1. I grew up in neighboring Illinois not far from `Pig Boy'. So, in reading this lovely memoir I found myself transported back into my own childhood memories of growing up. I was tired of reading at the time and therefore hesitant to give this memoir a chance. When I finished, I found that the author had reignited my passion for reading. This memoir will make you want to read again...to write again. The author truly captured the very humorous and.... yes poignant business of growing up, families and the unique value that every person brings to this world. Get this book, you will be glad you did.



2. First of all, I really enjoyed this book. I was skeptical going in, thinking it was just another outbreak in the rash of memoirs that has erupted on the best seller lists. This one is different. On the surface, it's a coming of age story, a story about self worth, self awareness, and the impact of family (the family in question being "the seven D's" - all of Doug Crandell's brothers, sisters, and even his parents have names that start with D.) But it turns out that what the story is really about is the three D's: disability, disfigurement, and just being different.
   
   Two of the author's fingers are essentially severed in a childhood farming accident, leaving the boy disabled, disfigured and different. This leads to an awareness and an appreciation of those three D's -- that turn out to be everywhere in young Crandell's world: his mother who is "no longer a woman" due to a hysterectomy, a man with cerebral palsy who connects with the author, the runt pigs destined to be destroyed but saved by Crandell, a grandmother with a humped back, a sister with scoliosis, even the oldest brother is left changed by a never fully explained abduction reminiscent of Mystic River. (Most everyone in the book is marked in some critical, defining, and not always obvious way. Some, like the landlord's son, are, to quote John Lennon, crippled inside.)
   
   Sherwood Anderson and his collection of grotesqueries, Winesburg, Ohio is the influence pointed out by Doug Crandell for helping him sort out his confused world of being marked different as well as leading him on the path to becoming a writer. What I noticed were the influences of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and in particular Carson McCullers. For a story of the Midwest, Pig Boy's Wicked Bird has a distinct Southern Gothic feel. (One person's physical characteristics are described as "crooked," "twisted," and "warped" in the space of a single paragraph). Like The Member of the Wedding, or even Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms, these disabled, disfigured, and different people will live with you forever.



3. There is a distinct nostalgia in Pig Boy's Wicked Bird. The peculiar power in this depiction of an American family is relevant to anytime, place, or condition. The author uses beautiful language and rhythmical sentences to creat a compact telling of this humorous and poignant memoir. The business of living can be lonely. The reader can make profitable use of the insights illuminated throughout this story.



4. Doug Crandall, former little Pig Boy of the Heartland, brings us a heart-rendering, oftentimes snorting food-out-the-nose-from-laughing memoir of friendship with farm animals and dealing with life's tragedys. Poetically written by the now grown up Mr. Crandall, even city girls like me can appreciate his love of family, roots and Jimmy Carter. If you love crusty old men, goofy dogs and little piglets, you'll love this story as I did.



5. There is a wealth of people out there who have grown up in a family that doesn't seem just right. Television for a lack of decent material exploits the dysfunctional family as it exaggerates the flaws of family life in America. "Pig Boy's Wicked Bird" by Doug Crandell tells a different side of the story. Yes, life is full of absurdity and tragedy but what comes out of this book is a recollection of our own past growing up and as weird as it seemed...it was wonderful too. Intelligently written and a delight to read I give it 2 thumbs up and a nub for good measure! This is a great life story!

5 comments about Orphan: A True Story of Abandonment, Abuse, and Redemption.

1. I must have said "Oh my Goodness" or it's equivalent at least 10 times throughout this book. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down and read it straight through without stopping for any reason. It took me one hour. This is a horrifying book. It appalles me that anything like what happened to this boy could happen to anyone, let alone tons of kids in orphanages. I'm glad things are a little better now a days but we still have more work to do. This book is NOT for children and only select teens who are ready for something as horrifying and sickening as this story.
   
   I commend Roger for living through what he did, I probably would have just given up.



2. Orphan is a testament to good triumphing over evil and how one boy grew up to be adopted by the world. Author Roger Dean Kiser is a 54 year old, happily married father and grandfather who now calls Brunswick, Georgia home, but he once was a beautiful child longing for love and attention, a hug or a pat on the back; a prayer or a kiss goodnight. Things too many of us take for granted.

   Little Roger also had beautiful eyes and wonderfully original ears that made him truly unique. Unfortunately he didn't know that and no one ever told him when he needed to hear it the most. What he did hear and on a daily basis was that he was unwanted, unloved, crazy and wouldn't amount to anything. That's pretty much what every child raised in the orphanage in Jacksonville Florida was told. But because of Roger's wilful spirit, uncommon wit and boundless curiosity, his guardians punished him with particularly cruel and unusual punishments. In a nutshell, they tortured him.

   From beatings for trying to free butterflies to being forced to eat a personal letter that Kiser found that was hidden from him under the head matron's bed, there was no rhyme or reason to the punishments. Yet, within Roger's small frame of reference, this behavior seemed normal. And instead of spouting 'poor me', the young boy kept searching for, if not love, small doses of recognition, kindness and compassion.

   Like so many children lost in the system, Roger had to find his own way to freedom. Although Orphan promises us he eventually does (no doubt, there will be a follow-up memoir) Kiser mostly deals with his years at the orphanage and ends with his experiences in Juvenile Hall at the age of 13.

   I'm a tough cookie, but tears definitely dotted the pages of my copy of this memoir. I also heard myself laugh. Kiser has a way with words and knows how to spin his tales for maximum effect. Besides the obvious joy at his surviving such a brutal childhood, I suggest Kiser's gift is short story telling. The book is actually made up of short stories in chapter form. Because they are chronologically laid out, the result is a success.

   Orphan was a roller coaster ride with all the expected hills and bumps you would expect, but a few less bumps would have made for a more satisfying story. Human nature, I guess. We want, no, we need to know people we care about are all right. And care about Roger you will. Reading Orphan, I wished that I could have entered Roger's little world, hug him, and tell him he was beautiful and that God loved him even when everyone around him didn't! The most satisfying part of reading Orphan is the knowledge that in writing his memoir, Roger Dean Kiser, Sr., has been rewarded ten-fold, with large doses of recognition, kindness and compassion. He deserves it




3. I had read some of Roger Dean Kiser's work on Heartwarmer's. Reading about his entire childhood in this book filled me with such a deep sadness. I can't imagine enduring the kind of physical and emotional torment that he grew up with. Roger is such a fine example of the triumph of the human spirit. It amazes me that after surviving his childhood that he could become a loving husband, father and grandfather. He's not filled with hate, rather he's determined to wake us up to prevent more children from suffering the same abuse. We can all learn a very important lesson from his life.



4. I have read many non-fiction books in the course of my life. This is the only book that has actually made me cry, and I am not exactly sure why. I am not talking about the crying of normal tears. I am speaking of the type of tears that (slowly) glass over the eye until a tear falls out onto the page. You stop for a just a moment and realize that your hand is now covering your mouth, and a almost whimpering sound is now coming from deep in your throat. If there was ever a book written that makes the reader feel that they are the child that is actually being abused; This is the one!



5. In the style of A Child Called It (the bestseller by Dave Peltzer), Orphan is told from the viewpoint of a child who endured nearly unspeakable horrors in a Florida orphanage and somehow emerged, spirit intact, to not only survive but tell his story with unflinchable honesty. The book is divided into three sections: Before, During and After,with the majority of the book (the During section) devoted to memories of the orphanage. With no one to love him and with repeated beatings, abuse and pain to love forward to, I find it miraculous that the author, Roger Dean Kiser, Sr, actually managed to make a life for himself after enduring the indignities of orphanage life. His memoir reveals in vivid detail how orphans were seen as societal rejects and throwaways and treated as objects, not people. While he was often beaten severely till he passed out, Kiser emphasizes that "it is not the physical pain that endangers orphans the most. It is the mental pain caused by stress from years and years of being neglected, pushed aside, disregarded, unloved and made to feel undeserving..." While I'd recommend this book as an eye-opening, even inspiring, read, I do wish there had been more detail in the After section of this book, the part that dealt with Kiser's life after he left the orphanage. This section seems rushed and abbreviated and there is little explanation of the life he made for himself as an adult - or how he got the courage to rise above his painful past to do so. He notes in the book's introduction that he has a wife, son and daughter-in-law and yet he doesn't note how he met his wife, how she felt about his past and if it affected his present life. After learning so much about his early life in the orphanage, I was left with plenty of unanswered questions like: How does a person who suffers so many blows to his self-esteen find the confidence to make a new life? Did he/does he suffer from painful flashbacks or memories today? Would he describe himself as happy or at peace now?

5 comments about The Little Monster: Growing Up With ADHD.

1. I read the book in one day. It was very engaging and I went through the whole array of emotions as I read it. Reliving alot of similar moments for I am a Mom with twin boys that have been diagnosed with ADHD. I love to read, however the books on ADHD that I have read have been of little value. As Robert shares his story and his perspective it helped me understand my boys even better. The book may not have all the answers, but it did share some of the discoveries that Robert made on his own. In order to find ways to improve their self esteem, it helps to understand how society tears it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand a person with ADHD traits.



2. This book was phenomenal!! It is the story of my life and I am glad I am not alone.
   I encourage all adults who think or know that they have attention deficit to read this.
   The book encouraged me to accept me for who I am and start my own chapter for ADHD in my own city.



3. The Little Monster: Growing Up With ADHD
   The Little Monster by Robert Jergen is a great read! The book takes the reader inside the head of Dr. Jergen, who has ADHD, and lets the reader see and feel what is like to have ADHD. This story will both touch and delight you as you read it. Most importantly though, this book will both teach and give you hope whether you have ADHD or are a parent or teacher for someone who has ADHD. Dr. Jergen gives the reader workable solutions to everyday problems as well as other referral sources for parents and teachers. When Dr. Jergen entered into his doctoral program, he discovered and wrote this, "The question became, not how to "cure" my ADHD, but how to utilize it."



4. I found this book to be very useful in seeing the world from an ADHD child and adult's perspective. But the author seems to feel that the entire world needs to shift to accommodate what seems natural to him. It seems that everyone must tolerate and indeed celebrate behavior that makes life unpleasant and difficult for the non-ADHD person who has the bad luck to work with an ADHD adult.
   
   I came away from the book feeling sad for ADHD children and their parents and their poor teachers who have delivered into their classrooms the "gift" of an uncontrolled child. And I am profoundly grateful that I don't work with an ADHD adult.
   
   It would have been nice to read more about how the author tries to accommodate others and less about how the world must warp to fit him.



5. I highly recommend this book to parents, teachers and anyone interested in learning more about ADHD. I am actually currently taking my Masters in Special Education and this book was a wonderful source of information. It is a very powerful book where the author talks about his personal experience growing up with ADHD. All parents of kids with ADHD should read this book because after this experience they will definitely understand better their kids' behavior. I congratulate the author for sharing his personal experience and for showing through his writing how parents and teachers have a crucial role in developing kids' self - esteem

No comments about The Boyhood Memoirs of A. E. Hotchner: King of the Hill and Looking for Miracles.

5 comments about Recollections of My Life as a Woman: The New York Years.

1. Diane di Prima's "Recollections of My Life as a Woman" is a must read for anyone who loves her poetry. I found it to be incredibly insightful and enjoyable to read. Understanding her life definitely helps demystify some of her poetry, like LOBA, for instance. She is such a diverse writer and woman. Everyone who reads this will benefit from it no matter what.



2. This is a wonderful book, presenting a brilliant vibrant picture of a cultural movement and time, the Beats/Hippies, and a woman who embodied all the artistic and humanistic values in an incredibly pure form. To me, the book (and the woman) are inspiring in their dedication to the values of art, spontanaeity, love, and Zen naturalness. An invaluable read for women artists, especially, and also for artists in general, and people interested in a certain world view and life style.



3. I found this book to be captivating. I felt as though I was right along side her on her journeys. The eras she lived through were so richly detailed. She had so much hope and energy. I never wanted this book to end.



4. Diane di Prima is one of the most foremost and noteworthy female writers of the Beat generation and the 20th century. She has been affiliated with such writers as Jack Keroac, Allen Ginsburg and Robert Creeley. She wrote and inspired in a mans world bringing to life a new female perspective in the 1950's. She continues to write extraordinary poetry, essays, and amazing prose. Her writing style is original and still refreshing to read fifty years later. Diane in her latest book Recollections of My Life As a Woman : The New York Years, an autobiography, goes on to embrace all aspects of her life as a woman. It was an amazing book. I enjoyed it, and I think most will, even if your forte is not beat generation history. It's a good read for others who want to learn more about the beat generation, and it's a great book because of the excellent narrative, and the obvious love she has for writing as well as life it's self.



5. At the end of the book I cried because it was over. That happened once before at age 10 when I finished Black Beauty. This book hit nerves in me that hadn't been touched since On the Road. DiPrima's brilliance, toughness, honesty and forays into the unknown make me want to find her phone number so I can talk to her... this rare woman!

5 comments about The Stones Applaud: How Cystic Fibrosis Shaped My Childhood.

1. I really enjoyed this book, and read it in 2 sittings. The author was a courageous young woman and I'm amazed what she accomplished in such a short life. It is written in a pleasant conversational way that I felt like I knew her a bit when I finished.
   
   The one thing I wish it had was a more in depth study of the authors family (Theresa also had a sister who had CF, and died a few years after she did). Her family went on to have a few more children (were her parents aware of the risk?) after her and her sister were diagnosed. I was also curious to how it affected them emotionally, I wish maybe her parents could have touched on this a bit more, just because it was so interesting I would have loved to know more, particularly how her sister struggled as well.
   
   I also recommend Breathing for a Living by Laura Rothenburg, my favorite book.



2. I think Teresa Mullin achieved her goals in writing this book. It's a truly eye-opening account of what it's like to grow up with a severe chronic illness---how much she had to fight to be able to even be given a chance to do things we all take for granted. I was especially horrified by the account of the sadistic sounding head nurse at her prep school, who seemed to enjoy making her feel out of place. It was sad but telling to read about her delight in very ordinary things like pulling an all-nighter with friends studying and then going very early to Dunkin Donuts---something most of us would not count among life's big events.
   
   I also realized how the emphasis on finding the genes for genetic diseases might distract those who would otherwise work to make everyday life for people with the diseases better. Mullin felt it might have been not that hard to find a way to better fight lung infections and loosen secretions, but so much of the time and money went into finding a cure, and not into finding new treatments. That must be a huge dilemma.
   
   I don't know anyone personally with CF, but I do know quite a few children at my sons' inclusive school that are living with severe chronic conditions, and this book will affect how I see them. I wish the best for Mullin's family. I think her parents should also write a book. They would have much to tell about their life with two children with CF---their younger daughter Susan's story is overshadowed here, naturally, as Teresa was away from home so much, but I would love to know more about her, and about how the parents decided to have more children, and about their work on the behalf of CF. I want to thank them for having this book published.



3. Teresa's book about her life is excellent. She's a strong-willed, brilliant person who conveys her experiences without a hint of self-pity. She's articulate and honest, and she opened my eyes to the shortcomings of preventative medicine and its neglect of those who are already living with disease. She also reminded me that you can't take a break from fighting injustice. Every day she fought it, through exhaustion and other people's ignorance. Teresa seems to have had a tireless spirit, and I hope this book helps people remember to continue Teresa's fight against medical complacency and the marginalization of chronically ill people.



4. The book is full of brio, and evinces an emotional maturity that may come only from an early intimacy with one's own mortality. Teresa comes alive again on the pages, with a rare, first-hand account of life with cystic fibrosis that will earn her immortality among her readers.



5. Teresa's words are filled with insight, purpose, and pure honesty. The Stones Applaud offers the healthy an eye-opening account of life as we've constructed it, and offers the chronically-ill a champion for their cause. Highly recommended.

5 comments about All the Fishes Come Home to Roost: An American Misfit in India.

1. I wish this author would write MY memoirs someday, because I really love her voice. The "plot" of her life is quirky, to be sure, but she tells it with such warmth and grace, I could not put this book down.



2. As I read Rachel Brown's book it reminded me of how we took apart novels in college. If this had been discussed we would discuss how her abused mother felt drawn to, felt the need for a father figure. Is it remarkable Baba becomes her God? (A name meaning father in various languages). The mother drives away husband and daughter searching for the good father she didn't have. Religion then becomes the search for all of our inadequacies. Such high concepts in an autobiography make me feel all that discussion in school was not just BS. Overall great read, and great fun on any level.



3. Rachel Manija Brown, All the Fishes Come Home to Roost: An American Misfit in India (Rodale, 2005)
   
   I'm not a big fan of memoirs, but I have to admit, once this one gets rolling, it's a great deal of fun. Brown, who grew up on a backwater ashram in India among what Nicholas Basbanes has called (referring to book collectors) the gently mad, writes of her formative years with an incisive wit and a truly twisted sense of humor. Any book that makes one chuckle and cringe simultaneously is doing something right. This book does it all too often.
   
   More than anything, I find it unfortunate that I found nothing here hard to swallow. Religious wingnuts worshipping a dead guy in a diaper? Check. Pervasive physical and emotional abuse at a Catholic school? Check. Rampant prejudice? Check. Crazy drivers? Check. (Though it is tough to believe that there are worse drivers than those in and around Boston.) Adults who treat kids like they're idiots? I remember that one all too well. Brown reminds me of me as a kid, in many ways. Early and voracious reader, picked on a lot, much preferred being alone to the company of others. My parents were less crazy, but it's not too hard to extrapolate.
   
   Because of this, and because of some of the less glowing reviews of the book I've seen, I wonder if there isn't more of a vertical market for this book than one might expect in our current memoir-crazy society. If you, too, are that kid, then I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you were the person who picked on that kid... eh, maybe not for you. *** ½



4. I hate to disagree with my Fellow Readers, but I found this to be an insufferable diatribe about how intelligent the author is. Yes, we know she was an early reader. Yes, we know she had a terrific vocabulary by the age of 7. I was so tired of hearing how bright this child was that I found it hard to finish the book. As an American Educator, I found her mother's quote insulting as well; "American schools don't know how to deal with kids as bright as you are." Give me a break; we are trained to enrich as we are trained to remediate~her experience shouldn't be fodder for such an unfair generalization. Maybe she should have elected to edit her mother's comment or leave it out altogether. At any rate, I have better things to do with my summer vacation than finish this essay. I did enjoy some of the snippets into Indian and ashram life so if you can get by this author's attempt to hit you over the head with her brilliance, it may be worth your while.



5. I heard about this book from a friend and read it out of curiosity. Brown really has a way with words and a gift for evocative description. However, from the very first, I was struck by her deep-seated resentment and bitterness, and the impression that as a child she wasn't much fun to be around. Although Brown tries to be funny, I find it hard to forget that she is vilifying real flesh-and-blood human beings, not her own imaginary characters. True, she changes their names, but I doubt this makes them hard to recognize by the people who know (or knew) them.
   
   This is not a story, but a series of episodes that are linked together by Brown's need to condemn her parents for taking her to India to live in an ashram with a collection of oddball spiritual seekers. When it comes to plot in the Aristotelian sense, there is no "there" there.
   
   In this work, Brown is critical and derisive towards everyone, while portraying herself as a special, heroic, and misunderstood victim. Reading between the lines, she needs to rationalize her own bratty and hostile behavior towards everyone around her except, I think, one kid named Walter. I can understand a child being self-centered, and utterly devoid of compassion or tolerance, but it's hard to understand these traits in an adult looking back on her life.
   
   Given what's happening in today's world, I was especially disappointed by Brown's gross insensitivity to the principles of religious tolerance. I'm not a religious person myself, but I respect the beliefs of others, and especially their Constitutional right to religious freedom in America. There may be abusive nuns and priests, but that doesn't give anyone the right to abuse a religion that encompasses millions of sincere Catholics. It's just plain wrong to make fun of people -- even those who follow the teachings of an obscure Indian guru -- based on their religious or spiritual convictions.
   
   In addition, I was quite disturbed by Brown's veiled implication that one of Meher Baba's disciples touched her with sexual intentions. If the disciple touched Mani inappropriately, then this is a very serious charge that should be addressed by her parents and the entire Meher Baba community. If he didn't touch her inappropriately, then it's very wrong of Brown to make this implication. Brown is honest to the point of cruelty throughout the book, so why the sudden coy ambiguity surrounding such a serious issue?
   
   This book was not a page-turner for me, but I kept hoping for the kind of insight that often arrives to people who make an inquiry into their own lives and behavior through the medium of writing. I'm very sorry for the suffering that Brown went through as a child and hope that writing and publishing this book was a way for her to find personal healing. It's just too bad she had to hurt so many other people in the process. In some cases this was revenge, but in other cases she was exposing innocent people who never meant her any harm to contempt and ridicule.