5 comments about Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography.

1. This is Sharon Osbourne Laid Bare. A very honest account of a tough life. Raised by a tough father, with strong links to the London Underworld and a mother who simply did not care, Sharon's story is one of survival and triumph. Meeting and managing Ozzy turned it all around for her but their married life was littered with his infidelities, heaving drinking and constant drug abuse, whilst she battled weight problems & family issues. She held it all together and I admire her for her dedication. I came away from the book with great admiration for her tenacity but also found her crude and not a very nice person (certainly not one that I would like to spend company with). What I missed here was how she dealt with her own childrens struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, which were skimmed over. Surely, this played a huge part in her daily life and forced her to question her own parenting style. All in all, a fascinating read but missing some important detail to complete the picture.



2. I recieved the wrong book with the correct sleeve, so basically i got ripped off. The book was used and it isn't worth my time to send it back. Thanks alot, Amazon.



3. I really enjoyed this book! I learned alot more about this incredible woman.Fun read too!



4. This book is very interesting, I love Sharon and she's had quite the odd life. If your interested in the Osbournes I'd recommend reading Sharon's book.



5. Nothing too much to say about this book except you should really like Sharon to pay the hardcover price for this read. It is interesting if you're really into learning about her life and her start.

5 comments about Sepharad.

1. Sepharad, the modern Hebrew for Spain, is unlike any other book I have ever read. And, it is extraordinary. Munoz Molina, a highly respected, award-winning Spanish writer, has written a novel comprising 17 short novellas; each stands on its own and, yet, there are interwoven themes and characters throughout. The book is told in a variety of narrative voices; sometimes it is Molina himself -- the writer writing about the writing of this book -- and sometimes it is an unknown voice telling a story to another person. Part of the thrill of reading this book is in anticipating and then figuring out who is telling the story contained within a particular chapter.
   
   What is the book about? Well, let's see. Not an easy question to answer. As the title suggests, it is a book about Spain's Jewish diaspora of 1492 and what has resulted in response to that exile. It is about displacement and a sense of otherness. It is also about the Holocaust. It is about Stalin and the systematic purges of the Russian population. In short, it is about history and the effects of exile. The characters are both fictional and drawn from real life; Primo Levi, Jean Amery, Leon Trotsky, Franz Kafka, Eugenia Ginsburg all make appearances in Molina's astounding book.
   
   This is not an easy book to read. You will not pick it up and think to yourself, 40 pages in, Oh, I get it now; i see where the plot is going. In some ways, there is no plot. Or perhaps more to the point, the narrative arc is one of complex, winding paths circling an end point rather than a straight line heading towards a destination. But, if you're prepared to do some thinking and to work hard at your reading, you will be rewarded BIG TIME. There is so much here. So many deep and fascinating thoughts.
   
   I have to be honest. This is not a book for everyone. You have to be a dedicated reader and you have to work hard. You will DEFINITELY be rewarded. The words and thoughts will stay with you long after you have regretfully finished the final amazing chapter.



2. From everything I had read about this book, it was a novel relating how jews who had been expelled from Spain in 1492 (the Sefardim) faired during the second world war and were affected by the Shoah. Though there are two stories about people going to Auschwitz and one about going to the Gulag (and the comparison of how little difference between Hitler and Stalin), most of the stories relate to a man who used to live in a small town in central Spain, and some people he knew or made up to be from there.
   
   Though this is not a novel, it is more of a pastiche of stories that have some interconnections and people between them. More than anything else, this is the story of exile, and how people don't leave who they are when they move to another country. People may always be looking to go somewhere that they think is better, but they never lose their love for the place the came from. This is especially true for people who have been driven out from their homes, so that the Spanish Republicans who crossed over to France, have the same memories and dreams as the Jews who were exiled by Ferdinand III in 1492.
   
   The stories (each chapter can be read independently) are all about the strength in people that they don't realize they have. People find the strength to go on after being exiled, or shipped off to a concentration camp. The memory of lives lived and those not lived still stir peoples emotions even fifty years after the time when decisions are made.
   
   The translator should be congratulated for the way she was able to keep the tone of the stories and the ambiance of the words.



3. Sepharad is a thoughtful and poignant embodiment of the consequences of totalitarianism in various forms in 20th century Europe, of the exile from roots and from the self that totaiatrinism creates, and of exile in general. Technically it is remarkable for fluid changes of point of view. In the same page a character may be called he, ("He watched us from his balcony", I, ("I returned to my balcony...") and you ("You look down form your balcony on the family across the street.") - all so smoothly I hardly noticed it. This technique echoes the theme of the vulnerability of identity



4. Munoz Molina has crafted an utterly brilliant novel that weaves a number of different stories together into a tapestry both sad beyond words and strangely uplifting. His work evoked memories of Solzhenitsyn's finest passages about life in Satlin's camps. Munoz Molina demonstrates how the human spirit can rise above degredation and despair to find dignity and hope. A wonderful achievement.



5. I've never read anything quite like Sepharad. I thought a bit about W.G. Sebald's work while reading this wonderful book, however, Munoz Molina -- or his exceptional translator -- is more of a poet. The stories that comprise this novel are all about displacement -- enforced and circumstantial -- in a way that is clearly unique to post-WW II Europe. They are stories of wandering while standing still. I was very moved by the book and intend to recommend it to all of the intelligent readers in my world.

5 comments about Creating Myself: How I Learned That Beauty Comes in All Shapes, Sizes, and Packages, Including Me.

1. Have to agree with previous reviewer who astutely points out that title/premise of the book is completely misleading. As presented here, Tyler may have had many problems--but, at least by her own admission, body image issues were not among them.
   
   And as unfortunate as her other challenges were (being the child of fast lane druggie music scenesters could not have been helped things), her "it's all behind me" attitude, while admirable, seems a mite premature, considering the repetitive nature of her previous substance abuse troubles. . . and the fact that she's not yet 30.
   
   Still, an interesting read for Aerosmith/Cyrinda Foxe/Seventies pop culture fans, most of whom will come away glad that they were raised far from the glam rock limelight.



2. I commend Ms. Tallarico for writing her memoirs. I'm sure it wasn't easy. But what I noted was her extreme impatience and lack of compassion for her mother, whom she lived with...but acceptance and gratefulness for her father, Steven Tyler. She criticizes her mother for not "getting it together" after her father dumps them off the boonies for several years, supposedly due to lack of funds...then finally divorces her when he wants to marry someone else. Mia asked repeatedly to go live with her father...but nope, that wasn't a good idea. However he remarries and has two more children...and it's okay for them (and his new wife!) to live with him. Mia never mentions whether she felt the injustice of this, but she mentions the injustice of plenty of other things that happened when she was child. Despite her mother's pleading to her husband, there wasn't much money in the household, or maybe it was spent for drugs...there was something very out of character there for her mom, this glamour girl who thrived on attention, to stay stuck in the woods for years without much contact with anyone. Why would she put up with that? Mia doesn't delve her mom's psyche, though it would have been interesting.
   
   Once she's divorced her mom gets it together enough to move back to New York, then Mia begins to run wild. Drugs, alcohol depression, cutting herself...her dad helps out from a distance or sends someone else to do it, and Mia seems impressed by this. She acknowledges she would have liked her dad around more while growing up - but he had an excuse, he was on drugs, touring, or in rehab...like a lot of children with divorced parents, the one who isn't there is sort of up on a pedestal. She gives the impression that it would have been so much better to live with her dad on a day-to-day basis than the hell that was living with her mom...I don't know. As she keeps saying, "be careful what you wish for."
   
   The memoir seems spotty in her younger years. I also find it a bit difficult to believe that every day she rode her bike into town to get the bus for school, climbing out her window because there was so much snow she couldn't get out the front door. She mentions her mom taking her to school and stopping at Burger King on the way. They're going through the drive-thru and her mom says don't roll down the window, I'm going to open the door. Her mom says if you roll down the window, it's so cold that it will break...well, if her mom is in the driver's seat, you would think Mia would be in the passenger seat (she doesn't mention otherwise) so her mom would be the one to order...nope, Mia has decided she wants to order and rolls down the window (hers, you would think, or else she would have had to reach across her mom's lap and the steering wheel), and it breaks. So how was she planning to order breakfast out of the opposite window? Her mom also picks her up at school in a decrepit $200.00 station wagon, which embarrasses Mia. Anyway, I didn't know what to believe - riding her bike to the bus every day, or that her mom drove her to school. She's vague. Mia also said that her mother had flowers in her hair at her wedding. But in the photo section, a picture of Cyrinda and Steven getting married shows: no flowers in her hair.
   
   Once married to Dave Buckner (no photo of him!)and living in California, she thinks she might be pregnant (they have not used bc for six months). However, she cannot get an appointment with a female doctor at Kaiser for four months. The alternative is to see a "clinician" which she doesn't want to do. She knows no doctor. Mia has tons of friends, but doesn't call on anyone for advice. INSTEAD, she flies to NY to see her sister Liv, who gets her in to see her gynecologist. Her pregnancy test is negative. She could have easily bought one of those herself in CA. She flew across the country to take a pregnancy test. Back in CA, she starts to bleed, calls a doctor (male) referred to her by the NY doctor, who tells her she probably had a miscarriage.
   
   Mia created a myspace page, and is inundated with mail from women who have or used to have low self-esteem. She wants to help other people, with her story, which is good. However, as much as she has been through, that she shouldn't have had to go through, she's still a little naive when it comes to relationships. Substance abuse tends to delay maturity. And despite the title regarding beauty and sizes, I didn't see any mention of her hating her body or obsessing over food. So that's a little misleading for those who may want to read her journey through that jungle.



3. Creating Myself: How I Learned That Beauty Comes in All Shapes, Sizes, and Packages, Including Me- By Mia Tyler. This is an amazing book that takes you on a journey of self discovery, real hurt and real people living life. This isn't a "tell all book" about her dad or life as a rock stars daughter, it is about how we as humans make mistakes, learn from them and if we are lucky enough we grow from them. Mia is a great story teller and a great role model. You can feel her pain and her triumphs. Great book all around.



4. I want to start by saying that I did enjoy the book. I am a fan of Steven Tyler so I decided to buy the book, and I have read about Mia in her moms book, however into the book I realized there are alot of similarites in my life and Mia and those kept me reading until the sun came up.
   
   My only problem with the book and its the reason i didnt give it 5 stars is because she seems to have no problem exposing her mom for the terrible parent that she feels she was, however she never even goes into why when she calls her father and asked him to live with him he said no. Why after the rehab could she not live with him? Where was he at any time? Why does she say that he did not like Dave as soon as he met him however he wanted her to marry this loser at his concert? Where is the parenting there? she seems to be a daddys girl, and I dont fault her for it, so am I, however this book is riddeled with horrid details of bad parenting on her mothers behalf, but pretty silent when it came to Steven Tyler. I understand he had a rock band, but she is his child, and if the Rock Band was more important than his daughters life and saftey why is this not an issue with her as much as it was her mother? Im sorry Mia, I have also been where your mom was, being divorced when you didnt want to be and being paralyzed from it, im fortunate not to have a child, but I cant imagine that I would be a good parent right now.
   
   I love a book that makes you feel, and this book made me feel... So thank you Mia...
   
   I went to Mia Tylers myspace page. I loved the pearl she speaks in the book " Not everyone who **** on you is your enemy and not everyone who gets you out of ****is your friend.... LOVE IT.
   
   Again Thank You Mia, for telling your story for helping others and for keeping me into your book from cover to cover..



5. What can I say? I normally LOVE memoirs...and try to read as many as I can. I suppose Ms Tyler's attempts suffer by comparison. I didn't like this book. To me the writing felt rushed and all over the place. I feel that the author treated some of the subject matter like "fluff"..even though addictions and suicide and " cutting" are ENORMOUS problems. She seemed to think her stint in rehab was more of an 'annoyance' than her dad's attempt to really get her some professional help. Lisa in CT

No comments about Led By Faith 4-CD set: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide.

5 comments about Kiss and Tell.

1. Miss Shannon Tweed holds absolutely nothing back! From her childhood to the present she represents what it takes to make your life what you choose. A terrific mother & longtime lady love of Gene Simmons.
   
   This one is most definitely not to be missed!
   
   Miss Dark



2. I really enjoyed reading this book, an in fact read it in a day and a half. Shannon has a personality all on her own, without Gene, but the two together, make a great family. Easy reading, and very lighthearted...



3. Strictly a lightweight book, but interesting if you're a Shannon Tweed fan. Too much time on her pre-teen years and not enough on her film sex goddess years. But her rise to Playboy Mansion hostess is interesting and then her story kind of fizzles out after she meets Gene Simmons. But the middle hundred pages are fun.



4. This woman's confidence and intelligence are admirable. She has incredible insight into maintaining a healthy, long term relationship based on love not obligation only. An honest and interesting read. a great book!



5. First, why would'nt Gene Simmons be in the book? He has been the focal point of her life for at least half of it. For those who like pictures, this book will please you. I like an autobiography that gives more details & the individuals deepest held beiefs. There simply was not enough of that here. But, this autobiography does give some clear insights into the Canadian born playmates upbringing in Newfoundland, her later career in B movies, the Playboy experience, & her life with Kiss star Gene Simmons.
   
   On the positive side her meeting the latter at the Playboy mansion clearly changed her life for the better. She stopped abusing drugs & alcohol for him. He basically is a good guy who deserves credit for saving her life. But, if you want to see the deeper interaction & dynamics of their relationship with each other & their two kids, you should watch their show "Family Jewels."

5 comments about Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram.

1. In October 2008 I listened to a program on NPR, "To the Best of Our Knowledge" about women in war. One of the audio articles was an interview with the U.S. soldier who saved Dang Thuy Tram's diary from being destroyed and who was instrumental in having the diary translated and published as "Last Night I Dreamed of Peace".
   As a U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War I am aware that I am one of the enemy Thuy hated with such passion, and someone who was in part responsible for the painful life she and her comrades experienced. This book brings a different perspective than most books on the Vietnam War, and portrays America as aggressive invaders of the country she loved. Thuy vividly describes the violence, anguish, dedication to duty and cause, and sadness associated with war. Happiness isn't included in the book, and the book does not have a happy ending. However, it is an honest and thought provoking study of the Vietnam War and the human affects of any war.
   Peace.



2. Kim Mai Guest gives an authentic presentation of Tram's diary, making the book very accessible. I especially like hearing the names of places and people pronounced accurately and hearing the depth of feeling in the author's voice.



3. The story behind this story is more germane to me.
   It shows the common thread of conscience and patriotism that cultures & mankind share.
   Neil Alexander a photographer/film maker is working on a documentary that adds a whole new dimension to this story.
   [...]



4. ...to use Blasé Pascal's phrase, relating to his rhetorical question concerning his right to kill another man, just because he lived on that opposite bank. Dang Thuy Tram's diaries are an important addition to that small group of Vietnamese books concerning the American War which have appeared in English, and include Bao Ninh's "The Sorrow of War," and Duong Thu Huong's "Novel Without a Name."
   
   Alain-Fournier was another great writer whose life was cut far too short by war during the very early months of World War I. Both he and Thuy died at the same age, 27. Alain-Fournier's literary reputation was established prior to his death, Thuy's has finally come, posthumously. The strength of her diary is the immediacy and authenticity of the comments. She was quite optimistic at the beginning, but with the mounting casualties in her unit, and the relentless bombardment from the Americans, she turns more pessimistic, and foreshadows her own death. For those portions I would have given her a 5-star rating, but the frequent interjection of that leaden communist rhetoric, and the vague treatment of the personnel struggles within her unit, and the party, I decided to give only a 4-star rating, preferring both of the books above. Also, there were the issues that were only briefly discussed, and were of essential interest - her medical work. There was never an adequate description of her clinic, and the availability of medical supplies. Malaria, and what the GI's called "jungle rot," (fungal infections) were unmentioned yet must have been a significant portion of her work. She mentions in passing the poison that was Agent Orange, but again gives no real description of the effect it had on her unit.
   
   Tim O'Brien, probably the greatest American novelist to come out of this tragic war, was in the infamous Americal Division, in Quang Ngai province, the unit that Thuy repeatedly called "the American bandits." He might have actually have been on one of the patrols that she had to face. The Americal's bases were on the lowlands, near the coast, and the mountains loomed to the West, where Thuy lived, and were a constant source of fascination and beauty - the light was never quite the same on those mountains. One of O'Brien's novels, "Going After Cacciato" explored the fantasy of one soldier finally having had enough, and deciding to walk away from the war, through those mountains, all the way to Europe. I shared that fascination with those mountains, during the same time Thuy was in them, and even had the same fantasy about walking away from the war. I was in a tank unit that spent four months, in late '68, in the next province south, Binh Dinh. One of our jobs was the road "security" of Highway 1, and on several days, we would sit, overlooking the South China Sea, at the boundary between Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh province, only 2 to 5 miles from Thuy's clinic in the hills.
   
   Thuy spoke many times of her desire for revenge against the invaders of her country. An honest and understandable emotion from those who suffered years of misery, and the loss of so many friends. This emotion was shared by her compatriots, and has now been dissipated as they welcome American tourists to their country. I would have loved to have discussed this transformation with her in a tea house in her beloved Hanoi.
   
   Finally, how many more diaries like this are currently being produced in Iraq?



5. Dang Thuy Tram's chronicle, in its English materialization, is perhaps the only Vietnam-related book to touch all sides of that tragedy. It was difficult to keep the incredible passage of her pages, the back story, in the background of this much-anticipated war diary.
   
   In March 2005, just prior to the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, two Vietnam veteran brothers gave a nondescript and scarcely attended talk at Texas Tech University's Vietnam Center. Their presentation was about a diary penned by a Viet Cong doctor that had been kept for 35 years by ex-Army intelligence officer Fred Whitehurst, one of the brothers. His Vietnamese interpreter had advised him to spare the war booty, "Fred, you can't burn this, it already has a fire in it."
   
   Thuy's first entries began in 1968, just after the Tet Offensive. "Operated on one case of appendicitis with inadequate anesthesia. I had only a few meager vials of Novocaine to give the soldier, but he never groaned once during the entire procedure. He even smiled to encourage me."
   
   Unless readers can lay out the original diary next to its English brethren and are fluent in both languages, it will be difficult to determine whether the latter resembles the writing of Thuy or of the publisher's dramatic editing. The narrative is thick but raw, and only spared by entries of exuberance and jubilation by Thuy amid her combat tour to treat and support wounded Communist soldiers. "Oh, Thuy! Overcome these pains in your heart. Be joyful...You cannot live with sentiments alone, you stubborn girl? Furthermore, unless one is a Vietnam veteran, the battlefield context of time and place will be hard to comprehend. Footnotes appear on nearly every other page.
   
   The English translation of Thuy's diary, ironically enough, was done by a former boat person who had fled Communist Vietnam in the late 1970s. He had to enlist the help of his father, a reeducated former South Vietnamese. Last but not least, there is a long introduction--a drawn-out overview of the war--by an antiwar Pulitzer-prize winning journalist.

5 comments about Redeemed: A Spiritual Misfit Stumbles Toward God, Marginal Sanity, and the Peace That Passes All Understanding.

1. Like any AA story of redemption, this one satisfies with its power of grace and devotion, supplied from of all places, the much maligned Roman Catholic Church. Kudos to Heather for sharing her story, even if she does veer off into some strange doctrinal commercials at times.



2. I have had a deep attraction to the Catholic Church over the past year. Sure I've made spiritual retreats with Catholic friends, read Thomas Mertons The Seven Storey Mountain, and it doesn't hurt that one of my favorite records in the last 9 months is from a Brooklyn hipster rock outfit called the Hold Steady who write songs that depict the "beauty in forgiveness and redemption, especially in regards to the Catholic Church." (npr.org - The Hold Steady: Rewards And Redemption)Separation Sunday
   
   Heather King's Parched is a piece of spiritual testimony that not only shares her conversion experience, but also shares some insight about why these experiences are essential in order for many people to live a full life. I've also wondered like King, how some people can get along just fine without any concept of God, spiritual awakening, or even the slightest amount of religious conviction and seem to operate just fine? Meanwhile, as Redeemed depicts, the people who attain to grow in the spiritual life trudge through an existence marred with the constant realization of character defects, sins, shrouded in moments of despair and frustration.
   
   Fortunately Heather King equates her trials and tribulations with her triumphs over adversity by living in the spiritual life. It is the humble triumph over these spiritual adversities that instills hope in the heart of the reader and encourages us to seek the redemption that can satiate us all.



3. Heather King's book is a gem for anybody looking for grace in their own lives. I am a cradle Catholic and to read about Heather's embrace of Catholicism and reverence for its attitude towards life and mystery was truly refreshing. She shares her own story, struggles, obsessions, and insights with her readers. After reading her book, I felt more connected, understood, and whole as a person and as a Catholic. Heather has a tremendous gift of radical honesty and an eye for humor in what seem to be dark situations. She has an intuition for grace and a wonderfully poetic way of seeing daily life and expressing its beauty. Redeemed is a wonderful book in which I found part of myself and part of God.



4. This book is a logical followup to Parched by Ms. King. Her sense of humor comes through at all times and even though I have never met Heather I feel she's a good friend. Along with the bumps and bruises in life she has obviously acquired a lot of knowledge. Books like this one give me faith in mankind and help me get through another day. Thank you Heather King and someday I hope we can meet!!



5. This is one of those books that came along just when I needed it. Heather King has a wonderful ability to make you laugh and think and just quiet down long enough to really hear someone else's perspective. You don't need to share her beliefs to be enriched by the honesty, humor and bravery, not to mention the beauty, of her writing. I've loved reading both of Heather's books, and I can't wait for more.

5 comments about Spiritwalker: Messages from the Future.

1. This is such an amazing book! I was luck enough to be living in Hawaii while reading it (much of it takes place there). This is really engaging and inspiring to wonder whether it really happened (supposedly it did!).



2. I am skeptical (and for good reason), whenever I see books about Indigenous Life ways, written by white people.
   As such, I have overlooked this book for many years, when at the library or bookstore, and looking for books about the ways of the Ancestors, and Indigenous Wisdom.
   However, after happening across Mr. Wesselman's video interview on the Conscious Media Network website, [...], I was convinced enough to read this book for myself.
   I found him (in the interview) to be genuine enough, and I was also intrigued when he mentioned the story of how a very well known Hawaiian Spiritual Elder & Kahuna, Hale Makua, came to one of his lectures, and said that he (Makua) had spoken with the Ancestors about Hank Wessleman and his book, and that THEY (The Ancestors) said that everything in this book is true, and gave THEIR blessing to Mr. Wessleman and the writing he is doing, and to continue the work.
   If not for hearing this, I would not have believed this story either, for who can prove or disprove this very subjective experience that Dr. Wessleman has had?
   Also, in regard to one other reviewers objections: Hank mentions himself that he was translating this direct experience into his own words, and way of speaking (the syntax and word choices etc.) are all his, but that the essence of what was said, was all theirs.
   
   In regards to the buildings and ruins: The oceans rised, perhps 300 feet, so wouldnt most coastal cities be submerged, and then what was left above water rusted away after 5,000 years?
   
   Even if its all a novel, the message of our civilizations imminent and RAPID decline, is no joke, and it would be good for people to take head of this, and focus on what matters:
   On learning how to live as a natural human being, without need of "the system", and also to heal ourselves, and our families, and communities.
   
   Thats what really matters, not all this media hype about the latest brittney spears gossip, etc.
   Here's some related food for thought from a Hopi Elder that was given to the world several years back, which is even MORE pertinent today than it was in the 90's:
   
   "You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered . . .
   
   Where are you living?
   What are you doing?
   What are your relationships?
   Are you in right relation?
   Where is your water?
   Know your garden.
   It is time to speak your Truth.
   Create your community.
   Be good to each other.
   And do not look outside yourself for the leader."
   
   Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a good time!"
   
   "There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart, and will suffer greatly.
   
   "Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.
   
   "The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from you attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
   
   "We are the ones we've been waiting for."
   
   -- attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder
   
   Hopi Nation
   
   Oraibi, Arizona



3. I don't believe the author is telling a true story. It sounds like he's intelligent enough and did some decent research before trying to publish this to a naive audience. Even as a fictional account, this book falls flat for me. The writing is tedious at times and repetitive.
   
   There are things that don't add up. For example, it's 5000 years into the future, and there are accounts of Iesu (Jesus) and Kotama (Gautama Buddha) still being recounted by 7 foot tall, burnt sienna skinned, blue eyed Hawaiians who live on the Western Coast of the United States. Only, it's no longer the United States, and modern civilization has all but disappeared, or at where he's located. And the Hawaiians don't seem to remember anyone other than 'the navigator Cook'. He uses italicized words like 'enjins' and 'siti' to describe engines and cities. I think he's pulling the reader's leg and trying to infuse a certain je ne sais quoi by using seemingly foreign words in italics.
   
   He also loves the manipulative, suggestive open-ended question formula to evade rational explanation but nevertheless leave the reader assuming a conclusion that is never proved (e.g., Could it be that I had passed some test during that first altered-state experience back in Berkeley and was now granted access?) Could you ask more leading questions that beg the answer without later answering them in any meaningful way...?
   
   Finally, he likes to stress his scientific, intellectual, rational, disbelieving nature and training. He doth protest too much.



4. Spiritwalker is the first book of a trilogy. The next two books are "Medicinmaker," then "Visionseeker."
   
   In Spiritwalker, Hank Wesselman beautifully illustrates his initial, extraordinary visionary experiences with using a writing style which is easy to follow and often peppered with humor. The concepts presented in the book -- such as out-of-body consciousness and shamanism's healing methods, etc. -- are thoroughly investigated and explained to the best of the author's ability, with the Western, scientifically-oriented perspective in mind. Hank's "inner scientist," stemming from his previous education in the Anthropological field, compels him to come up with rational and logical reasons as to how and why these extraordinary experiences are taking place. Using scientific reasoning and traditional Hawai'ian beliefs, he is able to explain (was able to explain to me, at least) what would normally be unexplainable.
   
   The content of the entire trilogy generally includes: 1) his first encounters and reactions to his initial out-of-the-ordinary experiences, 2) his understanding and explanation of these experiences through a scientific and traditional Hawai'ian Kahuna's perspective, 3) an extraordinary account of his repeated "journeys" to a possible future Earth, seeing it through another man's eyes, and 4) several undeniably relevant and important proposals which connect his experiences to our present time and global situation.
   
   I appreciated Hank's openmindedness and sincerity when he approached his difficult-to-explain/understand experiences. Both his experiences and perspective inspired me to look at my life and future in a new way. The Spiritwalker trilogy has made a significant difference in my life. I highly recommend all three books.



5. Given that the original hardcover came out in the early 90s, it's amazing how prophetic this book has become. I noticed today a science article on MSNBC about the Greenland ice cap. It may completely melt in 200-300 years and raise the world's ocean levels by at least 23 feet! That doesn't even take into account melting of Antarctic ice. Is this book a true story? I don't know. I do know that the future 5000 years from now may very well be as described in Spiritwalker.

5 comments about No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley.

1. Not everyone who is a fan of the late great ledged knew that his strength came from his wife Ms. Rita Marley. After reading No Woman No Cry, I felt like reaching out to Rita and giving her a high-five, then a great big hug for her strength and courage.
   
   Not every wife of a musical legend would have stayed by their side to the end and still carried herself as a lady. I applaud Rita for bearing her soul in this book. She did herself, her husband and the ledged of his name a great good!



2. I really enjoyed this book as I read it at the time of the 30th anniversary of the marvelous album "Exodus." Rita Marley reveals a different side to the Bob Marley story, seperating myth from the man,fact from fiction and adding to the legend of his life with unknown tidbits. Her first person account deals with her life primarily as she was Bob Marley's wife. I was unaware of the hardships that they endured before "making it." Their early years were quite trying. Than later when they achieved a certain success it seems Mr. Marley needed the attention of many other women but Rita dutifully stood by her man. I enjoyed the book and her account, in Jamaican-style-English of Bob Marley's rise to International fame. If you like Bob Marley you need to read this book for a better understanding of the man and his music. Rita Marley is to be commended for her contribution to the Bob Marley legacy.



3. I read this book this past summer and loved it - it was the first book i read about bob & i am glad i chose her book first....Rita went thru alot, i definitely see bob differently - i sense she did sugar coat the book at times, the book makes me respect Rita more and bob less. His woman had plenty of reasons to cry.



4. No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley is an awesome testimony of a woman of strength and virtue. I am a huge Bob Marley fan and Rita Marley told her story with love, passion compassion and truth, concerning her relationship with Bob Marley. Through her story she makes you feel as if you want to comfort, applaude and cry with her all at the same time. She reveals the very core of her struggles with Bob, his fame, his affairs, the business, the family and his death, and her life after Bob. And she writes not as a bitter woman but a woman who knew her destiny and her role as the wife of Bob Marley. I LOVED IT!



5. THIS BOOK WAS EXCELLENT! THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER LETS YOU KNOW JUST HOW STRONG THEIR LOVE REALLY WAS. BEING A JAMAICAN WOMAN MYSELF, I KNOW HOW OUR JAMAICAN MEN CAN BE. BUT RITA HAD ALOT OF HEART STAYING WITH HIM ALL THESE YEARS EVEN THOUGH HE BLATANTLY FLAUNTED HIS WOMEN IN HER FACE. THE ONLY GOOD THING WAS HE MADE THEM PLAY THEIR POSITION BECAUSE NO ONE COULD TAKE HER PLACE. THIS WAS THE BEST AUTOBIOGRAPHY I HAVE EVER READ!

5 comments about Another Place at the Table.

1. I wish this book was much longer--I wanted to know more. The story of a family with the resources to have a luxurious easy life, but chose to open their home and hearts to children who had less than nothing. The selflessness of this family is amazing. I just couldn't have done it. I couldn't have divided myself into so many pieces and have coped with the disorganization. But, I wholeheartedly admire the people who can. Such an inspiring story. Don't miss it!



2. What an amazing book this is. I was thinking about fostering children and this book was so helpful in my decision. Kathy writes with honesty and although I'm usually not one to cry, through the joy and pain in this book I cried three different times. I couldn't put it down.



3. This book is fantastic! It offers a realistic view of what raising fostor children is like. It shows the good and the bad, yet I have never wanted to be a fostor parent more!



4. This book is about Kathy Harrison's real life as a foster mother and the story about a couple of the children that came into her home. She talks about her true emotions and feelings as she tries to hold these "shattered" children together with, as she puts it, just love and "band aids."
   
   Augusten Burroughs (author of Running with Scissors) said about this book...."Shocking, brutal, heartbreaking and ultimately redemptive, This is the riveting and profoundly moving story of a hero, disguised as an ordinary woman. And like every hero, it's the children she is out to save."
   
   Unlike Augusten I did not find the book "shocking" but honest and realistic to what every foster mom goes through. I could not believe how close our stories were as I read this book. You could have taken out the names of her children and drop in some of mine, tweak their story a little, and it wouldn't ring any truer then what we have seen and gone through.
   
   I cried as she wrote about letting Lucy go to an adoptive home. She loved Lucy but not in the same way as the children she adopted. She wanted to keep her but also wanted Lucy to have that unconditional, total love she deserved. The pain of letting Lucy go tore open those feelings and what we went through with two little boys I had for three years.
   
   She writes about her desire to reach ever child that walked into her home and the heartbreak when she realized love, food, clothes, a home, and safety wont/cant heal all their wounds.
   
   She talks about the times caseworkers have such caviler attitudes to their lack of action that keeps a child in the system longer then need be, or keeps them off the adoption list longer. It reminded me of the unfelt and off the hand "sorry" and "oh, well" I have heard so often. But like her, I don't know how to change things, nor do I have the time to try because there is "another child coming through my front door that needs me."
   
   I understood as she talked about the times she stood tall and strong when she felt the weakest, because it was best for the children. Telling the emotions every foster parent feels behind closed doors. The love she has for the strength and unbelievable timing her husband had at being there when she needed him. I understood the times she wanted to yell at a parent for smoking around the baby in her care but struggles with what is good for the baby and the need to keep the communication open between them. The honest hate she felt for some of the parents that have abused the children in her care but at the same time struggle as she realizes that most likely the bio-parents were children in the same situation when they were young and haven't learned anything different. The hope that what she was doing would change things in some way screamed what every foster parent prays is true. It made me think she had a hidden camera in my home that could read my thoughts and feelings I never let others see.
   
   The hardest part of the book, for me, was the roller coaster of emotions they went on as they tried to adopt Karen. She is elegant in relating the fear of loosing a child that, in your heart, is already yours. A feeling that can't be explained or even come close to being logical. She maps out the joys of moving forward, the pains of more hold ups, the relief that the children are in your care, but the lingering dread that things could change in an instant. She revels how everything is devastatingly out of our control and we have to stay on till the ride is done.
   
   She is most honest about not being a saint, or perfect, or even close to perfect. I laughed so hard when she wrote about the attachment case workers visit. She says she remembers her weakest moments (when she said something she shouldn't of or didn't handle a situation the right way) when people call her a saint; so do I. It only takes one or two human reactions to realize we are not saints or perfect; but she honors us with "a warrior" doing our best.
   
   However, she also shows why we keep doing what we do for these children. The ability to see more in these children then others do and the wonderful feeling we get when the children reach not their potential (because it is rare we get to see this) but better then when they came to our door and father then others thought they could. This might be a simple smile, or a giggle, a sentence everyone understood, going a week with out an out burst, a day with out harming themselves, or the ability to care about something other then themselves for a second or two.
   
   I could go on and on but if you want to see what it is like to be a foster parent....read this book! If you are a foster parent and want to know you are not alone....read this book!



5. I loved this book. As a therapist who has just written a book about a teen girl in foster care I think it's important to focus on the incredible work that foster parents do. They are our unsung heroes! Thank you Kathy!!!!! For a fictional, uplifting account of the journey of a teen in foster care (inspired by the foster children I've worked with in the past) check out my soon-to-be released young adult novel, RETURNABLE GIRL. Maybe it will inspire you to bring a child home.