3 comments about Healing Michael.

1. This book was wonderful. Having lost my mom in January of this year it helped in some ways to greive. The entire book can help each and every person that reads it to go in the right direction to healing or getting help. Hope there is another book to follow. Micheal keep up the good work and thanks for the help.



2. With candid clarity this first time author, a basketball folk hero, recalls his heart wrenching descent from carefree honors student to self-imposed exile. His harrowing account of panic attacks, pharmacutical dead ends, and varying reactions of others to this condition are only a few of the aspects of the disorder the author covers hauntingly. His odyessy from the death of his beloved mother to hopelessness, helplessness, and redemption hard won is compelling and inspiring. The authors joy to emerge in a loving and fulfilling life as a husband and father is contagious. It is a goal for which the reader will cheer. That he also emerges as an award-winning newspaper columnist is a promise to the reader of the craft of this compulsively readable account. This self-examination serves as a MUST READ BOOK for those who suffer from this life-stealing disorder and the people who love them. BRAVO!



3. This easy to read book is nothing short of sensational! For those of you who are looking for great non-fiction to read, this is the one to order. If you have ever suffered from phobias, fear, panic attacks, and depression and felt that there was no hope for you, "Healing Michael" brings bright rays of hope to you. I never knew what agoraphobia was truly about, but Mr. Rizzuto does a fantastic job of setting the scene for a 30-year journey through the trials and tribulations of the suffering agoraphobic. The book gives insight on what the disease is about, how one can struggle through time against the symptoms of the disease, and how to ultimately deal with and defeat his inner demons. If you have ever experienced any type of anxiety, then this book can help you back to a productive lifestyle. Congratulations to Mr. Rizzuto for giving us an inside look at what goes on inside a mental institution, what one must do to overcome anxiety disease, and the gift of hope for our everyday lives. This is a must read and I will be telling friends about "Healing Michael." I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am looking forward to more books by Mr. Michael J. Rizzuto.

No comments about A Life Downunder (Charnwood Large Print Library Series).

No comments about The Dear Frances Letter.

No comments about Cold Fusion.

3 comments about Acknowledged A Man.

1. After reading this book I was so greatful for the excellent care hospitals now give.I am also thankful for all this family has done.



2. It is an excellent resource which can help us all to deal with the difficulties of life and use them to create a better world where the wounded are cared for with heart, not just hands.



3. I read with intererst the story of the Del Buono family as they fought for services for their son/brother. Barbara obviously has tremendous faith courage and strength. Her husband and children, esp. Mary, are also amazing. As the mother of a brain injured son I also am caught in the maze of TBI--and it is not pretty. Barbara has done a good job describing nursing home situations. Even though Nick's nursing home experience was years ago conditions in these homes, at least in Indiana, for TBI survivors has not changed enough. Reading this book has helped give me the strength to continue to fight for services for my TBI son.

1 comments about Egg Woman's Daughter: A Tanka Memoir.

1. Mary Chan was born in 1950 in the Portuguese colony of Macau to a very poor family of boat dwellers. The family were not English speakers and yet Mary became fluent in the language to the extent that she was able to write her auto-biography and travel internationally as an inspiration to others more fortunate. Whilst cursed with a spinal deformity and near blindness from soon after birth she was blessed with a healthy brain. She exploited that major asset as perhaps only someone so physically handicapped could.

   The tale is told in simple English and is a basic chronology of her lifetime with a lot of family history. Father Edward, an Irish priest, enters her life at the age of 5 soon after the family moves to Hong Kong where their fishing boat is permanently moored in Aberdeen harbour. Father Edward becomes a "guardian angel'' to Mary and dramatically changes the course of her life for the better. Whilst her eyesight is beyond repair - even her grandmother's traditional Chinese treatment of rubbing incense ash and mud into them didn't work - there is a ray of hope that her hunched back can at least be straightened a little.

   Mary wins a place at a Catholic girls school where her hard work studying English pays off with excellent results, even mastering Braille in English and Chinese. She finishes college and finds work sewing soft toys. Despite the difficulty of commuting as a blind person to her work place (how do you cross Hong Kong's dangerous roads safely and how do you know what route number the approaching bus is displaying?) she is feeling a degree of independence. Now aged 21 Mary is admitted to The Duchess of Kent Children's hospital to undergo spinal surgery, thanks again to Father Edward's influence in these matters. After painful surgery and nearly a year in hospital with her spine in halo-pelvic traction, her body held rigid with steel rods pinned into her shoulders and thighs, and even her head held in a metal frame, she emerges with her deformity almost cured. This high point in her life is destined to be short lived as at the age of 27 a viral infection paralyses her from the waist down committing her to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. It is hard to imagine how challenging every apparently simple task can be when one is so handicapped. At one stage her wheel chair is rolling down a gentle tarmac slope with her feet being badly gouged as they drag on the ground caught below the footrests. Of course, she had no way to notice.

   Her adult life is a triumph of determination and will power over the challenges posed by her handicaps. Mind over matter, she wins the battle with the trip of a life time pilgrimage to Lourdes followed by other exciting and mind opening overseas trips. Mary tells her tale eloquently and simply without attempting to exploit the reader's sympathy for her plight. It is a wonderful story. It is also one that will make any able-bodied person realise how fortunate he or she is.

No comments about New Hope.

No comments about What Am I Getting Myself Into?.

5 comments about Being Brett.

1. I must start by saying I couldn't put this book down... but at the same time, it was not a particularly rewarding read. The endless littany of hospital tests, misery and physical deterioration seem to be written more as a therapeutic exercise for the writer, rather than to tell the story of this young woman and her illness.
   
   I do believe this book offers wonderful and valuable lessons in dealing with terminal illness: how to mentally prepare; how to have rewarding, meaningful, poignant conversations; how a family and loved ones can begin to cope with the loss of someone dear to them. I lost my mother to cancer 15 years ago and wish, wish I had conversations with her as Brett did with her parents.
   
   But we as readers aren't given a whole lot to like about Brett. Her her fighting spirit, her smarts, her relationship with Beth, her ability to endure, yes. But for the most part she comes across as a self-indulgent, miserable, tormented artist, deep into her moody poetry, journals and bizarre drawings. More upsetting to me was my impression that she never seemed to show her parents -- who endured such terror alongside her, always giving her their undying love and commitment -- any genuine appreciation or gratitude. Her parents were always left feeling like they should have said it differently, should have done more, should have been more sensitive to her needs. She never told them, "You're doing it just right. I love you for the way you are dealing with this. I love you for going through this with me."
   
   And beware: The book relives in agonizing, neverending detail the hospitalizations, tests, misery, pain and setbacks that Brett endured(let me add that I have known several terminal cancer patients, none of whom suffered anywhere near what this poor young woman endured. I also know a 20-something gal who went through a bone marrow transplant in about 1996 with nothing that even remotely resembled the misery and suffering Brett experienced. Her setbacks are not the norm. I think this book could really alarm other cancer patients and their families... please know that it isn't always like this!).
   
   To me, the protagonist heroes of this book are Douglas, Holly and Beth, and Brett's younger brother and sister, all of whom I really loved, each of whom did an amazing, perfect job in dealing with such a terrible experience. I finished the book thinking so much more of them than of Brett.



2. Overall I found this book somewhat difficult to read. The author refers to himself as "he." And he refers to every male from his son Nathaniel to various doctors as "he." Most of the time I had to guess who "he" was talking about! Wasn't this book edited?
   
   The more I read, the more disapointed I became. I found nothing to love about Brett. My impression, given the information in the book, was that she was a spoiled, willful, self-centered, selfish brat! I just have to be honest about this.
   
   I am a cancer survivor, but I had several young friends and family members who battled cancer and lost. None of these people acted like Brett. I have little use for people who call God as a witness (take his name in vain)repeatedly and never feel or show remorse and who ironically refuse to believe in God. It is so tragic that some folks wait for DEATH to open their eyes! And how wide their eyes will open!!!!
   
   There seems to be a lack of history. The reader never gets any kind of reason to like Brett. There is never any thing said about why she was a "good" person worth remembering. By the way she acted, I could only see a self-absorbed person. Her parents exhausted themselves mentally, physically, emotionally and FINANCIALLY to be there for their daughter...and yet Brett is constantly taking vacations around the world and having fun. When she gets her $5000 backpay from Social Security she doesn't give any of it to her parents but rather she spends it on a trip to Florence, Italy with her lover. Over and over again the reader is told by Brett that she doesn't want to suffer. And she is so rude to her family by telling them to "Get over it!" She offends her family by having a yard sale and selling family mementos such as a watch that her grandmother gave her and a figurine that her mother bought her overseas. She further offends her family by giving her lover Beth power of attorney. How can knowing someone for a couple of years equal the love and care from a family who has known you from birth? A family who isn't going to move on to another relationship?
   
   I got this book because I am a fan of Holly Hobbie and I enjoyed reading her book, "The Art of Holly Hobbie." I feel compassion for the family over the death of their firstborn child. However, I had hoped this book would be about an heroic death, but instead I found it to be an example of the self-centered generation and world that we live in. Are there no real heroes to write about anymore?



3. Douglas Hobbie has probably done the best job possible in conveying to another human being what the loss of a child is like. I shudder to think what the rest of his days are like, knowing his beautiful Brett will never be there with him face to face again. Even though I knew how the book would end, I found myself hoping again and again that the treatments would work, all their pain and suffering would be relieved. A heartbreaking tale, and yet one that must be shared, so more of the world can have a piece of Brett in it. For Mr. Hobbie, his family, or anyone out there that has lossed a loved one, I would just like to quote Flavia Weedn, "We can't feel saddened over the loss of those we love without first remembering the joy they brought us. The real loss would have been never having had them in our lives at all". Be happy for the time you had with her and the memories you will carry with you always. And kudos to Beth, who stayed with her through thick and mostly thin. Their love for each other shines throughout the book.



4. I was deeply disappointed in this book. I thought it went on and on and on with out getting anywhere. While I was saddened over the writters daughter, he isnt the first to have a sick child nor, will he be the last. Way to much oh poor me. Do not waste your money on this one. I might check it out of the library if it was the only book available. On second thought I probably wouldnt.This author was totally self absorbed. PLEASE feel sorry for me.I hope he has a day job.



5. I have not read the book, out of fear. My daughter is age 24 and also has Hodgkin's Disease and is having relapse problems also. I wonder if you could send this to Mr. Hobbie and ask him to contact me by email. I need to talk to someone who went through this agony. I am hoping he can help me and my daughter with his past experience with this disease. I am truly saddened and sorry for his loss, and God knows, I know his pain...but am desperate for a letter or advice from him. Need to know if chemotherapy and radiation are advisable for the second time. First time, didn't work. PLEASE HELP!! I am so afraid to read the book.

2 comments about My Search for Bill W.: Biography.

1. Mel's book My Search for Bill W. is one of the two best Bio's written about Bill W. Any student of spirituality, philosophy, and thought movements in America should make room on their shelves for ALL of Mel's books. Mel's works are exact, insightful and a banquet for the soul. I'm glad I stumbled upon the first book and I'm extremely grateful I've read them all, over and over... I'd be a damn fool if I didn't say; Thanks Mel!



2. From a recovery point of view, this book will not change your program or anything. It's one of those quick knock-offs that someone did when they needed money. I liked Mel B's work on "Pass It On" and the book about Ebby, but she really sold short on this one. You could simply read the chapter titles in this book and you've read the whole thing. And while vaguely illustrating her points, Mel wanders off into conjecture and personal opinion, and admits that's what she's doing!