5 comments about The Years of Tears.

1. This is a truly inspiring story. I could not put it down. The story is exceptionally well written. The experiences of the main characters will make you cry, then smile, and then cry some more. It is very emotional, yet so easy to read. It is full of complexity; and you will be thinking about the story for many days afterwards. This is one of the best books I have ever read.



2. The biography of Carlos and Gabriel shows two boys who overcame all adversities to become the good souls they were obviously meant to be. The Years of Tears touched many of my own childhood memories to remind me that I am strong, and that I also developed alot of character from my experiences. Never is one horrible experience better or worse than another, so I am able to relate to both of these young men. Thank you, Edwin Abreu, for bringing back to me the realization that I can and will accomplish all that I set my mind to.



3. Once I started reading "Years of Tears", I did not put it down until I was at the last page! I wanted to know what would happen to Gabriel and Carlos next; would they receive any kind treatment after all the cruelties they endured? I always "knew" of orphanages, but I really didn't know the extent of the weak-minded authority figures that could be so cruel. The strength of the boys character, and their love for each other in the face of all they lived through is truly a miracle.



4. The Years of Tears describes the early life of two abandoned brothers trapped in a punitive, church run social welfare system. The cruelties inflicted on the two boys by those who use and abuse their power over them are vividly depicted. A few bright spots involve the unexpected kindness of strangers, but the overall picture is dark. The relationship between the brothers, particularly the protective and caring behavior of the older toward the younger,is inspiring. This story will surprise you, haunt you and involve you.



5. With all the recent church abuse cases you mostly can only guess what is was like for the children of abuse and left on their own, and with no parents to ease the pain years later. Now you can read a heart felt detailed account of two boys left alone to find their way through a church oprhanage. Great story about growing up alone and how they came through it all.

No comments about His Son: A Memoir.

2 comments about Today I Am A Boy.

1. The topic of this book as stated is highly misleading. Yes, Mr. Hays traces some of his experiences on becoming a Bar Mitzvah at age 66. However, he digresses so much from this theme that it was downright annoying!

   I was really looking forward to reading about a 66-year-old man's journey into spirituality and rediscovery of Judaism, rather than a name-dropping autobiography.

   What little Mr. Hays did write about his spiritual journey back into Judaism was sparse, and even his way off-topic autobiographical sections didn't include much of his family's, friends',or peers' reactions to his becoming a Bar Mitzvah, which to me would have been very interesting.

   He also didn't talk much at all about contemporary Jewish renewal and problems of assimilation and how others might, as he did, find meaning in a religious path they've ignored or rejected.

   Why, instead, should I care that he went back for a school reunion and one of his class members won the Nobel Prize? Why should I have to wade through the life stories of some of his uninteresting relatives who are not even marginally part of his spiritual story?

   In this catch-all manuscript, Mr. Hays also tangentially subjects the reader to an entire fantasy theatrical piece he has imagined about a grown-up Anne Frank (for which I wouldn't buy a ticket, BTW).

   What we also get is too much information and commentary about the 12- and 13-year-olds in his class, including an inappropriate (IMO) dwelling on one of the pubescent girls about whom Mr. Hays admitted over and over he had major sexual fantasies.




2. This is one of those books that you could borrow from your library, or from a friend, but you will likely need to buy your own copy since there are so many passages that are either so wise, so funny, or so meaningfully touching that you will need to use your pencil in order to happily jot checkmarks, brackets, and asterisks throughout the book. I know that I did.

   David Hays has a surfeit of academic, personal, and professional accomplishments. In his sixties, he was semi-retired, kids grown, had good health and a happy family life. His mind is unquestioningly fertile (yet organized) and he seems to embrace new experiences. As a child he gazed into a mud bubble, and glimpsed eternity. As an adult he throws himself into the grass in his back yard, in order to look more closely at the earth. His life was full, and meaningful, but he does not brag, and he is likable from the outset.

   Rather than rest on his not inconsiderable laurels, he decides to become a Bar Mitzvah, joining a class of local eleven and twelve-year olds - in order to devote himself to study with his congregation's rabbi, Doug, for more than a year. It is this journey - and there is a steady unfolding, with no outburst of religiosity - that forms the starting point for this wonderful narrative.

   Hays has an ability to tell you a lot about himself by telling you about other people. He respects himself, and he respects others. He is never boring. His parents, in-laws, grown children, grandchildren, his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and his classmates are interesting to him, and worthy of reportage. He lets you in on these people and their lives and their histories with unstinting (and never maudlin) respect, even awe. In doing this you find out a lot about Hays and his subjects. Their privacy is never violated, and their dignity is sustained.

   There is uncloying, laugh-out-loud humor throughout. Family lore emerges, and it is often funny. Hays delights in his wife Leonora's knack of elegantly summing up a situation with a trenchant malapropism. Of his new-found fervor for religious study, she says, "He hooked, line and sinker!" Of the Bahamas: "It's a third-war country." He also shares his family history, including a terrific (true) story, "How my family saved Israel." His feelings and observations as a sensitive member of his class (of the kids at recess he marvels, "They always know where to go.") - and his relationship with his wonderful rabbi - are a pleasure to watch unfold.

   Hays includes a piece on Anne Frank that is dramatic, thoughtful, and not at all funny. It is appropriately included, given that the concerns of an adult approaching his bar mitzvah are different from those of a child. And at one point, he attends a Harvard reunion - which maybe could have been left out of this book, with no loss of substance to this great story.

   In all, a wonderful book.

5 comments about Listening for the Crack of Dawn (American Storytelling).

1. I first started this book when my mom read it to me when I was very young.
   Now it is one of my favorites. It is hillarious, exiting, and touching all at the same time. If you want a book to read to your kids this is it!



2. My son recommended this to me, when I had complained that I wanted a book that was cheerful. The first chapter was definitely the best of all, and it is what kept me reading through the rest of the book, which was also good.



3. I've read this book at least two dozen times. I read it once for myself, and each year I read it to my new batch of 7th graders. Everyone loves it. (There are a few parts I don't read to my students.) Every time I pick it up, I fall in love with the characters and am so glad to be part of their lives again! It's funny and sad and is so amazingly real. One year my students wrote Mr. Davis, and he replied. Mr. Davis and I corresponded back and forth for a few letters, and he was seemed like a great guy.



4. These stories get played on every long car ride our family makes, and all of us (from the first grader on up) are rapt. Davis uses his gentle voice and sly humor to paint unforgettable portraits of beloved relatives, local eccentrics, and lost friends. The stories are fresh and moving each time we hear them; in fact, the repeated listenings increase our appreciation for the mastery of Davis' telling.
   
   This is family entertainment of the highest order.



5. I don't think anyone can listen to Donald Davis tell his Different Drummer story and not be touched by it. Just it alone is worth the price of the set of cassettes. You also get to hear LSMFT (yes, that's the title of the story), which has a nearly perfect ending. Each is a story so good that you wish you could forget it, so that you'd have the pleasure of listening to it again for the first time.

No comments about When I Was a Kid and Other Mishaps.

No comments about A Boy from the Valleys.

No comments about The Hawthorne Scent.

No comments about A Plant Once Uprooted Can No Longer Hug the Ground.

No comments about View from a Grapevine Swing.

1 comments about My American Education.

1. I was not very satisfied with my purchase of this so-called "book." It seems as though the author wanted to write a book but did not want to dedicate the time. On the positive side, the author did find a good way to keep his old homework assignments from gathering dust.