5 comments about The Road to Nab End: A Lancashire Childhood.

1. One thing that poverty didn't diminish is Woodruff's powers of recall. Though, as soon as he becomes literate, one senses he'll inexorably transcend his meagre beginnings which ring most vividly in this tale. I loved the regional patois as much as the rising political conscience of the working class boy. The years roll by with the daily grind, humilities accompanying the unjust disenfranchisement of workers; Dickensian conditions that were worse in Lancanshire than other industrial zones. Woodruff's effortless prose is as tough as his father's persistent presence and as nuanced as his mum's mercurial mood shifts. Fortunately for readers,'Nab's End' is no end, but a beginning to further tales from post adolesence. Having just closed the covers on Roy McFadyen's, 'at A Cost', I opened Woodruff to discover a parallel story in times bedevilled by poverty and dire economic depression. If you want to visit the comparison and find, at a pinch, an even more extraordinary childhood,'At a Cost' is published and distributed by its author @ 15 Maryann Street, Golden Beach, Queensland, Australia 4551.



2. I came upon this book after hearing brief snippets of it serialised BBC Radio 4 and the World Service.
   It had added interest for me as I know Blackburn (at least modern Blackburn) very well, it was later a surprise to discover I knew virtually nothing of the town.
   The book is evocative and stirring as you follow the authors journey from early childhood to his 16th year, when he finally leaves a deprived, economically and spiritual broken town for London, in hope of work and a better life.
   The journey in between is a rich array of colourful and long forgotton characters and ways of life. Most striking by far is the harshness of past societies in which the poor were virtually ground into the dirt and totally at mercy of commerce. Yet still the love and joy of these kindly, caring and sweet natured people shines through, it took a great deal to make them lose all hope. One cannot help but to think that these poor and hardworking forbares made more than a little of the muscle in the British national psyche.
   The Authors journey is one of love, loss and curiousity, his intelligence is meant for better things than the dust and grime of cotton mills but so hard worked are his people and he that this realisation is a long time coming.
   Highlights characters are Grandma Bridget and the lovley Aunts he visits in Summer. Quite a journey and very much a joy to read.



3. This is a wonderful book which, as an Anglophile, I loved reading. Just a word to those who feel it some of the terms are American. Remember, please, that the author is now living in the US, and new terms become automatically one's own after a while. And yes, there is a sequel to this book!



4. You don't have to have been born in Blackburn (as I was) to appreciate this wonderful true story of a childhood in poverty with all the wit and humour and honesty of the working class. Their hopes for a better and fairer future are vivid and the story ends with an emotional desire from the reader to know how and if this young man succeeds as he takes his steps away from Lancashire. Inevitably the reader will read the sequel Beyond Nab End which is even better but read this first.



5. William Woodruff and I have something in common; we were both born and reared poor in Lancashire, doubly lucky as Mr Woodruff puts it. The book itself is a reader, you pick it up and you can't put it down. There is always something else you want to read in the next chapter. It is a shame the book had an ending to it as it leaves you wanting more.

   Like one of the other reviewers I was a bit disappointed when the text was dumbed down, probably for our American cousins, as little discrepancies showed through the text. For instance, stating ten pennies instead of ten pence (we would have said it 'tenpunce') and the absolute glaring mistake of calling a tanner 6p when it should have been 6d and a dodger is 3d not 3p. Little details like this tend to eat at me.

   The book was easy to read and if you know a little about Lancashire, specifically Blackburn, you will find it fascinating.

   Tim Brimelow 19 May 2003

5 comments about The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine: A Young Woman's Autobiography of a 20-Year Tale of Trials & Tribulations.

1. As a positive psychologistEnchanted Self: A Positive Therapy (New Directions in Therapeutic Intervention , Vol 1) I am always on the look out for inspirational writings. All the better if they are truly the story of a person's efforts to make the most of her life. That's what we find in The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine...We really get to see how day after day after day a person can struggle and succeed against what seem to be terrible odds. I actually had a chance to 'meet' Shirley in a teleclass we mutually took. I was so impressed with her actual being, not just her writings. She is very special and has a message for all of us: Don't give up! You have purpose and there is a way. I always try to give my clients that same message in some fashion or other, whether I try to infuse hope by my words, or share via my books, such as my new book,The Truth, I'm a girl, (I'm smart and I know everything)where I try to re-invest adults with the courage and fire they had as kids and at the same time help kids keep the fire.
   
   Even though this book is long, I still highly recommend it. You may want to randomly even open a page for a new dose of 'fairy dust' giving you encouragement to make the most of your life!



2. As a life and personal coach, I encourage my clients to read about people who face challenges and tragedies and manage not only to survive, but to thrive. Shirley Cheng's biography, "The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine," is such a book.
   
   Shirley's life could have turned out very differently had she and her mother been cowed by the appalling behavior of doctors, teachers, landlords, social services employees, lawyers and even friends. Instead, their courage and willingness to confront rather than accept ill treatment, led Shirley, a blind, disabled woman, to create a life filled with meaning and singularly lacking in self-pity or bitterness.
   
   Reading of Shirley's physical pain, her increasingly weakening body, the slipshod way she was handled by school aids who were supposed to be helping her, the legal wranglings over her care, would make anyone scream in frustration. Even worse was the way Shirley was treated by an endless list of so-called professionals. Hardly anyone listened to Shirley or her mother regarding her pain, her intelligence or her thirst for education. The indictment of so many people who should have been on Shirley's side, is a sad commentary on our medical, social service and educational systems. In addition, Shirley's father evidently was a manipulator and a cruel man who refused to use his money for the benefit of his daughter. The hardships she and her mother faced feel unendurable. Yet they were endured. And despite poor medical care, despite teachers who seemed uninterested in helping this talented student, despite unfeeling "friends," in two countries, this mother and daughter fought and won many more battles than they lost.
   
   Unlike Shirley, few of us seem to have the innate ability to face every day and everyone with a smile regardless of our own painful circumstances. Yet we can read her story with an open heart and choose to integrate her positive outlook and determination into our own lives in a way that will serve us and those around us. After all, this is the reason Shirley wrote the book. She hoped that her story would inspire others to treat everyone with respect, to stand up for what we believe in and to reach out to those less fortunate.



3. "She was running toward a glistening stream with fish of all colors flying out of the water. With laughter escaping her lips, she chased a white butterfly amidst the green field of wildflowers. Her black hair glowed with a halo of brightness, with sunrays dancing about her. The blue sky was accentuated by a shimmering rainbow..." ~pg. 116
   
   Shirley Cheng is the author of Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells. She is a highly imaginative writer who has access to beautiful inner worlds where she creates mythological tales and beautiful stories.
   
   In "The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine" we are able to access an extremely detailed portrait of 700 pages explaining Shirley Cheng's life and how she became a writer. As if observing her life as an angelic protecting presence, she writes of her life's struggles and challenges she faces due to many people in her life seeming to show a general insensitivity to her condition.
   
   As a child she is diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, but this is only the beginning of a long journey filled with therapies and medications, not to mention medical complications due to medication side effects. As Shirley Cheng seeks to make sense of why certain medical problems keep occurring, she faces life with a refreshingly honest and hopeful approach.
   
   "Picking up a book, Shirley began to enter into a different world, a world that she could escape to from her surroundings. After the first quarter, she had begun to increase her reading and writing volume. She read three books a day, averaging five to six hundred pages." ~pg. 375
   
   After spending the entire morning reading Shirley's work out on my deck in the sun, I can recommend anyone to do the same. This is a world where you can not only view the outer struggles of the poet's life, the inner world is also revealed in creative flourishes I started to look forward to finding throughout the writing:
   
   "The strong wind whirled, bringing dancing flakes in its invisible arms, equally distributing a thin layer of snow to other places of the frozen land. Small spheres of shimmering, crystalline flowers alighted upon the earth from their silvery home above, while the sun slept peacefully below the horizon..."~ pg. 6
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



4. Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (3/06)
   
   
   This book is about the young life of Shirley Cheng, but really it is the story of two remarkable women, Shirley and her mother Juliet. It tells of the trials, tribulations and obstacles that they had to overcome. Shirley was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when she was 11 months old. Juliet then started her quest to find treatment for her daughter. Shirley's childhood was spent between America and China, looking for new
   medicines and treatments. Several times Juliet had to fight for custody of her daughter when doctors wanted to do things she did not approve of.
   
   The first goal in Shirley's life was to get an education, this did not go smoothly either. Between school administrators that would not listen to them, and aides that were very cruel, Shirley persevered and gained her GED diploma. She was also asked to speak at the graduation, an honor she embraced. Besides the arthritis, Shirley also suffers from several other diseases including heart problems, severe constipation, multiple allergies, asthma and blindness. It is through faith and sheer determination that Shirley has been successful.
   
   What will Shirley accomplish in the rest of her life? She has proven that she can do anything she puts her mind to. The love and joy that mother and daughter derive from each other is a precious thing to behold.



5. This is a complex story written in an easy to read, conversational fashion that is disarming, yet sometimes astounding in its micro-details (ie., telephone conversations you get word-for-word); Shirley Cheng seems to have the memory of a titan. Nevertheless, at times you feel some information is missing--must be missing, because why else the poor treatment by one person after another, one agency after another, one doctor after another, one medical aide after another? But then it hits you--these people, these agencies, these medical "professionals" are really, in many cases, THAT awful! The truth is that American medicine, American government schools and American government agencies all too often think they are GOD. But they're not.
   
   In fact, this book poignantly shows how the enormity of the misuse of power, such as trying to take an ill and hurting child away from its primary source of love and security--its mother--in the name of doing what's "best" for that child, is downright horrifying. And rightly so. The medical establishment is one of the biggest offenders in Shirley's life, and we can probably all relate. (No one is saying, incidentally, that there aren't good people to be found in these arenas of public service, and thankfully, Shirley and her mom find some good people, too.)
   
   If nothing else, Shirley's story is triumphant in that her mother rejects what she knows to be wrong for her child, fights the nightmarish resistance of said "establishment" and wins in the end. But the book is also more than that; it is the tale of a sensitive, intelligent, and observant girl who happens to be painfully disabled; she suffers enormously but has the extraordinary gift of a mother who is sold out for her well-being, hook, line and sinker.
   
   Did the mother make mistakes? Of course. She trusted the wrong people, particularly a relative who was no less than criminal, it seems to me, in her actions. But Juliet Cheng's gift of love to her daughter is something that many able-bodied people never get. She is the epitome of the selfless mother/caretaker extraordinaire, shining the light on the lives of quiet, exhausting devotion that mothers like her live daily.
   
   Overall, the author does an amazing job of keeping the reader's interest; I think the book could be shorter, but I honestly cannot say it was ever boring. When you finish the book you will feel an affinity to this Shirley Cheng and her mother, Juliet. You will admire them both, and hopefully, thank the Lord that your "trials and tribulations" have not been as devastating. If you are interested in a story of hardship and happiness, of personal triumph against horrendous disadvantages, of the experience of being female, Chinese, disabled and blind and yet achieving your dreams in an adopted country--then read this book. The level of success that Shirley achieves is remarkable and inspiring--no less than her achievement in writing this book. Her work and courage alone get five stars in my book.
   
   Shirley Cheng is a talented and bright-hearted young woman who is by no means finished achieving. I look forward to her next accomplishments!
   
   Linore R. Burkard
   www.LinoreRoseBurkard.com
   Inspirational Romance for Today's Woman of Faith

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!

2 comments about Displaced Person: A Girl's Life in Russia, Germany, And America.

1. Ella writes what she remembers about her childhood and gives us a chance to understand what life was like for a girl dealing with World War II and the aftermath. The details of everyday life help you understand what it took to survive. She writes with honesty and gratitude for those who helped her. It is an inspiring story. God is good - all the time!



2. I think this was a great book. It answers alot of unasked and unanswered questions. It also talks about the effects of war. We met the author at a time share and she gave a talk about the book. She was very interesting to listen to. My Dad read this book too. He agrees with me that she didn't leave anything out. I did wonder why I couldn't get a straight answer from distant relatives where our relatives were from. When a country or state boundary line has moved other places people write on there family tree death or birth record that when the people were born they live in X which is call Y in 2006. I never thought they were not telling the truth because they were afraid the communists would find them.
   
   If you want to read an interesting book about Russia and Germany about WWII this is the book for you. The section about life in America was vivid about living with her parents but when she was more integrated into American life and not living with her parents the information was slimmer. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to live on a cotton plantation in the South.

5 comments about Slackjaw.

1. This memoir is funny,clever and engaging. Knipfel is an interesting guy to say the least. If "Slackjaw" hadn't come highly recomended to me, there's no way I would have read a book about a mentally-ill, guy who tried to kill himself several times before going blind. However, since I did, it was rewarding, humorous, proud and never depressing.



2. The book is most interesting. Knipfel knows how to tell a story; he tells in a sarcastic way the story of his life. Very important book for rehabilitation teachers for the blind and social workers.



3. Jim Knipfel is an idiot, truly. He's the type of person that delivers stories on characters like Werner Herzog and Ed Gein, very self-aggrandising, and, most significant to his idiot status, fails to understand anything at all. Want to be like Jim Knipfel? Quickly read a story in the newspaper, spend the next ten years watching The Nanny, then write a story based on what you read in the newspaper, and then assume the role of expert on the whole thing.



4. I like this book. I like Jim Knipfel's writing in general. He's quite good, and seems to be a naturally gifted author who's learned the ropes from his years as a columnist. In a strange sort of way, I consider him to be yet another link in the line of writers first described in the 1950s as the Beats. He measures up to many of those great truthsayers, and I always look forward to more work from Mr. Knipfel.

   Long may he linger.




5. Slackjaw is an entertaining memoir about the author's past. Jim writes with raw honesty and the book has a contagious personal quality that makes it hard to stop reading. Even though people may go through different hardships than the author, he writes in a way in which all people can relate. Through all the hard times, Jim takes the time to look at the ironic, hilarious details that make life, life.
   This book is highly recommended...

5 comments about Beauty Before Comfort: The Story of an American Original.

1. I live across the river from Chester, WV; however, I did not grow up in this pottery area. This book helped me to understand what life was like in an area that was once part of the pottery center of the world. I do not feel that the author denigrates the citizens. The story is a memoir. It is her view of her grandmother's life circumstances. Poverty and joblessness are still part of this area's history; to deny this is also to deny the kind-heartedness and character of its people.



2. Well, I don't know what the negative reviewers were reading, but they clearly took some offense to components I did not see in this beautiful book. Having grown up in the mountains of North Carolina, I am always on the lookout for books about life in Appalachia, and "Beauty Before Comfort" has to be one of the best in recent years. The honesty, reality, humor--they recall Dorothy Allison's "Bastard Out of Carolina" and the poetry of Kathryn Stripling Byer. Glock deserves a place at the table of strong, stunning Southern women writers.



3. I found the the story excruciatingly boring, virtually pointless. After Jean marries Don, the next sixty years of their lives are dealt with in ten pages. Ms. Glock may be a gifted writer, but she is a poor storyteller.



4. Allison,

   You're a great little writer. That you evoked this much emotion from people reading your book says that you have the gift of telling a story passionately. You have stirred up some powerful emotions that goes to the heart of your ability to write. When people who can't spell or put a sentence together are moved to write a review of your book, you're doing something right. Either they love you or they hate you, but they are reading you.

   I went to school with your mother, until I was one of the ones who got out of Hancock County when I moved to California. Your mother must be very proud. I sure would be.

   Your book brings back many precious memories, even memories of some of the hardships grabbed something in my heart. You have written a very accurate description of the people and the area, and you have been able to tell it like it was while also conveying a loving image of your grandmother and the times.

   This is your first book. Incredible!!! I gave you four stars because I'm saving that fifth one for your next book.

   Sharin (Fletcher) Bowers




5. I came from an industrial town in Tennessee, and Allison Glock's wonderful story of her grandmother, who lived in that kind of environment, really resonated with me. Aneita Jean Blair's life is not the kind that usually gets the full biographical treatment, especially from a granddaughter.

   The second outstanding part about this book is the writing. Lines such as "Just walking through the house required lurching effort," written about the death of a family member, make the story more real.

   Having read some of the reviews here on Amazon, I cannot understand the hostility that some people convey about this book. My favorite line from an angry reader was this one: "I think if you right (sic) a book you should actually know what you are talking about."

   That line--complete with spelling that shouts ignorance--says it all. Allison Glock does know what she is talking about, and tells it very, very well.

5 comments about Fumbling Toward Divinity: The Adoption Scriptures.

1. Imagine growing up not knowing who your real parents are. Would you wonder who you resemble in the family tree? Could you deal with being ignorant to your family's medical history? And most importantly, would you wonder where you belong? In a new book from Craig Hickman, the author takes readers on his journey of discovering his true roots.
   
   In the new memoir "Fumbling Toward Divinity" from Harvard graduate Craig Hickman (Rituals), the author takes readers into his journey of the search for his biological parents. Along the way, we learn of the African American writer's homosexual lifestyle that includes a marriage to his Caucasian partner. The apprehensive author not only worries about finding his biological family but if they will accept his alternative lifestyle.
   
   As the story unfolds, readers are right there with Hickman as he researches his roots in libraries, government buildings, and online and treks along U.S. highways with help from his adoptive family, his husband Job, and his newly discovered Uncle James. By the time he meets his religious, biological mother in Georgia, readers will come to know him and cheer him on as he takes on the task of finding and getting to know his real family.
   
   "Fumbling Toward Divinity" is a well-written and unique book. Written in third-person format, Hickman meshes a poetic, scriptural-like, and a journal-like writing style that is quite interesting to read. Many readers will feel a kinship with the author as he shares his trials, triumphs, pain, and joy of self-discovery. However, the meticulously written memoir, which almost reads like a diary, is so detailed that it may turn off readers who do not know him intimately. "Fumbling Toward Divinity" is still well worth the effort and will be received with open arms.
   
   Emanuel Carpenter
   [...]



2. This book is an awesome read! I could feel Craig Hickman's passion and emotions. His voice really came through because of his mixture of dialogue and precise detail of people and places. His word choice was fabulous! I loved the pearls of wisdom, quotes, and insights that he included. Upon reading Fumbling Toward Divinity, readers should begin a journey of self-reflection that leads to healing and/or growth. This book is a must read for those who, in some way, have gone (or are planning to go) through the adoption process, who are struggling with self-identity and/or self-worth, and/or are having problems with family relationships. While this book is a record of Mr. Hickman's life, it is so powerful that it can serve as a therapeutic tool as well. Fumbling Toward Divinity can help many people reflect, reevaluate, regroup, refocus, heal, and grow.



3. 
   Craig Hickman, an adopted child, decides he wants to know who his birth parents are. After a long and arduous search, Craig locates his mother Jennifer who was forced by her mother to give him up at birth. Craig discovers that he has twin sisters, aunts, uncles and a grandmother who rules the clan. At various functions, the adopted family, the birth family and Craig's husband, get together to learn more about each other.
   
   Mr. Hickman has written a stunning memoir about what it means to be an adopted child searching for his roots. He uses many styles of writing to help us not only understand his feelings, but to be there with him. In one chapter, when he has finally discovered his birth family and is going to contact them, he uses stream of consciousness very effectively so that his angst, fear and happiness shine through as his thoughts meld onto the page. Poignant poetry is another method used by Mr. Hickman to bring readers into his world. Letters written to his new family also give us an inside track to his real thoughts and feeling.
   
   While discovering his roots is the main thesis of the book, Craig also covers many other subjects such as homosexuality, marital issues, problems with in-laws and family love, as well as family discord. It is a book well worth reading more than once.
   
   Reviewed by alice Holman
   of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers



4. This is one of the very best books that I have ever read. I had the pleasure of reading some of the manuscript before Fumbling Toward Divinity went to print. I knew then what I know now, this book is mind blowing. Craig Hickman can write circles around the best. I love it when a writer can conjour up all kinds of spirits, get my heart pumping, and leave me wanting more. I laughed, I cryed, and I am still jumping for joy! Craig Hickman really shows us the recipe for life is... one cup of love, a tablespoon of trust, throw in some forgiveness and hope, and a heep of honesty and then, only then, can we really begin to live. Because, are'nt we all just Fumbling Toward Divinity anyway? Thank you Craig for this tasty treat! Peace, Ife Franklin.



5. That Craig Hickman is a very bright man, well schooled, a fine investigator, and a man with a mission is obvious from the moment you open this excellent book. Given his credentials as a performance artist, poet, cultural activist and author it is apparent he has the courage and conviction to write this book about the agonies, frustrations, and of course the joys of adoption, of gay relationships, of the search for identity when that identity is locked away with unknown birth parents. The crown of this input is that this book is actually a memoir, a shared body of information that required more diligence and investigation than the toughest of PhD dissertations.
   
   For this reviewer Hickman's FUMBLING TOWARD DIVINITY: THE ADOPTION SCRIPTURES is uneven. The first portion of this memoir is inundated with names, histories, paths, and intricacies that make the reading a bit tedious. Yes, it is written well, the language works, but it is the placement of the narrator in the third person (a time honored if beleaguered tradition of writing memoirs) that subtracts the immediacy of the information to the story - and it is the story here presented that is the fascinating aspect of this book.
   
   Once Hickman connects with all aspects of his families (birth, adopted, partner's family) then the grace of the writing is secure, the development of the avenues of the journey become warmly fascinating, and the book jumps into the welcome arena of entertainment. I'm not sure if the substance of the book could have been altered in any way to make the entire volume as interesting as the latter half, but to the casual reader of literature (not those with whom ready identification with any of the multifaceted aspects of the author invite identification) the telling gets a bit trying at times.
   
   Hickman's prose is up with the best of writers. If he occasionally calls attention to scripture-like verbiage, if key thoughts are repeated every other sentence for effect, if information is revisited a bit too often, then that is a style that Hickman may be in the course of developing. Future books (and it would seem there WILL be future books) will finesse some of these sidebar distractions.
   
   There is every reason to believe that Hickman may evolve into another James Baldwin (a personal favorite author of mine), but it will take some forays into fiction to test those waters thoroughly. So why only 4 stars for this book? It is out of optimism that Craig Hickman has more to say and more talent with which to say it. I think he is a fine writer and certainly is deserving of our attention. The 5 stars seem destined to come. Grady Harp, April 05

No comments about Bronx Boy: A Memoir.

5 comments about The River Lock: One Boy's Life Along the Mohawk (Memoir).

1. The following review of Stephen Haven's The River Lock appeared in the August 15, 2008 issue of Image Update, a biweekly e-mail newsletter from Image, a quarterly print journal that explores the relationship between Judeo-Christian faith and art through contemporary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, painting, sculpture, architecture, film, music, and dance:
   
   Stephen Haven grew up in Amsterdam, New York, a small, upstate town along the Mohawk River--or, as he puts it, Exit 27 on the New York State Thruway. In The River Lock he tells two stories: that of his youth in Amsterdam, the son of an Episcopal priest--and the parallel story of his return to his native town, years later, as a forty-six-year-old seeking to reconnect with his roots. Readers in search of a slick, racy memoir won't find it here. What they will find is a quiet voice, able to move from vernacular toughness to lyric poignance, recounting classic stories of adolescent angst while slowly, patiently, endowing them with the detail that makes such tales come to quirky, individual life. Haven is of course a poet and the director of the Ashland University MFA program, so it's no surprise that the book can take a lyric turn. But however poetic, this volume is still prose, with its own rhythms and arcs and twists. There are sentences worth pausing to re-read. "My dog Ishmael--yes, my father, a Melville man, named her Ishmael--used to swim in the Mohawk in the summer and would come back smelling like the dead...." A "PK" (preacher's kid), Haven never fully abandoned Christianity even during his youthful escapades. Some of the most beautiful moments in the book involve a changing portrait of his father, with whom he was, by and large, very close. Always the river remains with him, psychic anchor for his hopes and memories. Early in the book he writes of trying to hear what the river has to say to him: "If only I were listening, I thought I might shoo away the dull weight of any single hour, and whatever brought me there, whatever flash of violence once shook me, might breathe with grace and light against the moment's trespass." The River Lock does shoo away a couple hours, bringing to the wounds of one man's life--and to ours--grace and light.



2. One's hometown, the city one grows up in, has much to do with the development of one's character. "The River Lock: One's Boy's Life Along the Mohawk" is author Stephen Haven's recounting of his childhood in Amsterdam, New York. Looking at the culture of the town and reminiscing on Haven's past filled with drugs, sex, and violence, "The River Lock" is intriguing and highly recommended for community library memoir collections.



3. There are certain things that only other former Amsterdamians can understand. I truly enjoyed this book, and understood where he was going with it from the beginning.
   
   In the beginning of the book, he talks about staying in the Best Western, that had formally been the Holiday Inn. This is the nicest hotel in town, though no longer a Best Western, it is where I stayed during a visit last year. As sad and sick as it may be, our hotel room bed still had a Holiday Inn tag on it(after a dozen or so years, and two changes of ownership). This was something I found to be "so Amsterdam". Things in that my look different on the surface, but under it all, it's still the same.
   
   I found this book to be an easy read, and read it in it's entirety last evening. The book is well written, and Mr. Haven creates a clear picture to the life he lead while living in a town of limited possibilities.



4. I couldn't wait to get a copy of this book and read it. I had read some of Haven's poetry, and it is great. I read River Lock in one sitting and plan to read it again, so that I can review it in more detail elsewhere.
   
   I'm not sure Haven ever knew where he was heading with this book. The book seems purposeless and almost pointless. The endless telling of adolescent tomfoolery wore thin rather quickly. Frankly, I am tired of stories of people's first sexual experience, first period, first time drunk, etc. It's not that these experiences shouldn't be written about, but it takes an exceptional writer to write about them in a way that's interesting and meaningful. These stories are so common now, they have become cliches.
   
   The book has better moments like the chapter titled PK. Occasionally, Haven's poetic skills break through and there are sentences and paragraphs that are like pearls in pig muck. At times, however, Haven's writing borders on cruelty. This is particularly true when writing about the little Tucci girl's sexual activity. It's not that writing about sex is bad, but disclosing such information about a girl, when everyone in Amsterdam, New York knows who she is, is not great writing. It's simply bad taste.



5. Stephen Haven's memoir, The River Lock, is an introspective telling of the trials, tribulations and warm hearted escapades of an adolescent coming of age in upstate New York. Stephen's father is a respected rector at a local parish; Stephen's youthful indiscretions often conflict with this pious background and a somewhat laissez faire upbringing. There are a number of amusing childish pranks. There is also an element of danger as Stephen tends to wander between two distinct circles of friends and comes in contact with elements of alcohol, drugs and violence. There are many forks in the road.
   
   This is a story about childhood and about growing up. It is a story about the choices that we make and the forces that shape our lives and remain with us. It is a fond reminiscence to which most can relate. Stephen Haven writes with a sense of humor and a sense of place that make this a novel that will stay with you. Highly recommended!

2 comments about Aspargus Dreams.

1. Neurotypical people read books by people with AS to find out about the condition or gain some illusive insight. As a person diagnosed with AS myself I just read them as most people would read any `normal' persons auto-biography... for interest and enjoyment and because, for a change, I can identify with the experiences the main character describes.
   
   Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at 12 and sent away to a residential school for young people with autism, this is the tale of the next 5 years of this girls life, the characters she meets, the emotional struggles she faces, and her rebellion against a misguided and inflexible system.
   
   However, Jessica makes clear herself in the introduction that this book is not about naming and shaming people from her past. Names are changed, characters are composite, and she describes the experiences rather than the events, in a way that I at least found meaningful and compelling. My only disappointment was reaching the end and still wanting to know what happened next.
   
   I don't think you'll learn much about AS from reading this, but it is still a worthwhile read in my opinion.



2. In a tone that brings to mind bubbly teenage girls, Jessica Peers recounts five years at a National Autistic Society residential school in the United Kingdom. The back cover of this book suggests that the book will give insights into Asperger's syndrome. On that point, it seems to be wrong. However, it does give a lot of insight into institutional life.

   Peers has a talent for wryly amusing caricature, whether in drawing (her cartoons appear throughout the book) or in sketching out people's character in words. Not everything in the book is amusing, though. There are some truly harrowing scenes of physical and emotional abuse by staff, as well as the usual detached brusqueness that crops up in places like that. The funny descriptions offset the often-heavy situations enough to make it readable to me without causing too much pain, and I almost wonder if the author had the same idea herself.

   One thing that struck me was how much the actions and social dynamics of the people in the book reminded me of the dynamics in every disability-segregated setting I have ever been in, whether there were autistic people besides me or not. This book is one more that convinces me that whether you call it a group home, a psychiatric ward, special education, or a residential school, some things never change. There are particular spins on things depending on what the setting calls itself and what kind of person is placed in it, and this book is no exception. But its descriptions of life there are surprisingly wide in their applicability.

   One thing this book is not, though, is all that insightful about what autism is. It claims to provide insight into autism, but it really doesn't. It describes situations involving a lot of autistic *people*, including the author, but in truth it has ended up more about life in that particular place than about a particular condition. It also contains the common misconception that people who appear "more autistic" are necessarily less aware of their environment and therefore less suffering from what happens around them. People should know that before buying this book -- the real focus is not necessarily the same as the apparent focus.

   This is not a problem, though. There are a lot of books out there already that discuss "autism from the inside" ad infinitum. This book describes institutional dynamics from an autistic point of view, which is much rarer, and to my knowledge this is the only book by an autistic person that takes place *only* within such a place.