No comments about Go to Hell and Make a U-Turn.

1 comments about Goals in Sight: The Story of John G. Hodson Sr. and the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America.

1. This book is full of inspiration and hope. What an amazing story. The MSAA does amazing things for people with Multiple Sclerosis. I have given this as gifts because it is invaluable information all MS sufferers need to know.

1 comments about Heirlooms.

1. Sharon P. Baumgold was actively engaged in pursuing her award winning career as an educator, when in 1995 she was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (A.L.S.), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease". In response to this death sentence, she wrote: "I have plenty to say, and now I know that I must hurry to write it. I have seen things that no one else has, true of us all, but not many of us get a curtain call. So, this must be my reward. Every significant feeling I've ever had, event I've experienced, or decision I've made has been documented in a letter to someone. That is probably because I have spent my life seeking validation for every tear, turn, and whim, from age five to age almost fifty. I have written in order to think, a pattern in which I can now find solace."

   Heirlooms is about family legacies. The sixteen chapters of part one include photographs of the heirlooms and describe the role of cherished objects in Sharon's family history, revealing the souls of those heirlooms and the values that influenced her life. These principles have served as a lifeline during her final four years during which she faced the challenges of a hereditary illness on its path of increasing paralysis to death. From the Introduction to Part One: "It has been four years since my diagnosis and three since I left teaching. My life has been full. I tell people that I have been having a lot of fun and accomplishing quite a bit for a dead person. Bulbar onset A.L.S. patients usually die at the shorter end of the two to five year prognosis. I was never a gambler, but I have beaten the odds on survival." The final heirloom was not discovered until late 1995. And until that point, Sharon thought she knew everything there was to know about her family legacies. Symptoms had been creeping into her life without her recognizing them as such. When her father was stricken, she knew of no family history of his disease. But five years after his death, Sharon was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ("Lou Gehrig's Disease"). In part two she narrates the strange early symptoms, the diagnostic process, and her struggle to remain teaching. Part two continues with a description of her life after leaving the classroom. Details of her physical decline are subordinate to those of rearranging priorities and meeting new challenges. Much of her story is told through letters that she wrote and some that she received. Four poems are integral parts of the context. Three are her own work. The other was written to her, and the author's has given permission to include it. In March, 1999 Sharon visited a local high school to "talk" about having A.L.S. The students sat quietly and attentively for an hour and asked sensitive questions. At no time did anyone look at her like she was a freak, a problem she had going out in public as the disease took its toll. "Teens are still the best people in my book", she said. Then in June, 1999, Sharon was the "guest author" for a class in a new college course at her alma mater. The instructor wanted to have her come tell her "story" about A.L.S. and her writing. So, she wrote a few pages of presentation to have read aloud for her, and then Sharon's used her voice synthesizer to answer questions. At the end, she said "I had a wonderful time", and it was these experiences that were the motivation she needed to write Part Two, The Final Heirloom: A.L.S.

No comments about Donald.

2 comments about After Shock - A Memoir.

1. I had the distinct pleasure of doing some informal editing on this book and with this author. I was fascinated by the facts of electroshock therapy as told by a former patient. And I was charmed by the author's down-to-earth, conversational style of writing. Working on this book made me appreciate the luxury of my own mental health, and how dramatically a careless diagnosis can change it. I recommended After Shock to my book club, and it was enthusiastically given thumbs up. After you read this book, the whispered stories you hear at family reunions about Aunt Mary (who is "a little odd") will never have quite the same meaning!



2. This is the story of an adolescent girl's survival following electric shock treatments to enforce compliance. In a stark narrative, the girl recounts dysfunctional family dominance that forces her to escape further brain damage, death or suicide. The story moves through her experiences as a child in an adult psychiatric hospital where the patient/staff differences are often blurred. When "disowned and disinherited" by her dysfunctional family, she moves into adulthood, assumes a new identity, acquires and then loses a surrogate family through cancer, and becomes a psychiatric professional nurse, and ultimately achieves a Ph.D. in psychotherapy. Her professional life involved patient care, psychiatric training for psychiatrists and nurses, psychoanalysis, and sexual abuse by her own therapist. But there was always a need to cover up her early history and the daunting implications of possible brain damage from her early electric shock. She married a gentle physician, and with her own motherhood, found it imperative to go back to the memories and losses for a reconciliation with her past through successful treatment. The story is poignant, often funny, often gritty, and always compelling.

1 comments about Every Single Good Day.

1. If you have ever experienced Alzeheimers you will relate to this families plight.

No comments about West to the Dawn: An American Woman's Adventures in Thailand Heal Her Wounded Soul.

5 comments about Hitting The Wall : Memoir of a Cancer Journey.

1. Author and breast cancer survivor Barbara Glacel presents Hitting The Wall: Memoir of a Cancer Journey, a personal memoir that offers hew own experiences and coping strategies for dealing with the many aspects of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Reassuring the reader that she is not alone, Hitting the Wall covers the gamut of emotional experiences, the need for hope and support, the daily difficulties in adjusting to hospital stays and treatment side effects, and more. Recommended reading for its insight and message of empowerment.



2. Hitting the Wall by Barbara Pate Glacel was the first of the many breast cancer books that I have read as a caregiver that made me both laugh out loud and cry. Sharing notes and letters to and from friends and family during her struggle with breast cancer treatment, Barbara Glacel exposes her ordeal with honesty and compassion. But beyond being able to indentify with the emotional aspects of her struggle, I came away from reading this book with many good tips, ideas and resources to share with my own mother during her fight against breast cancer.



3. I found the book to be very detailed about little things that some books might not think important. As a breast cancer patient, I found helpful advice to give me advance warning about many things that might have been troubling. It was written with humor and a personable style that made it enjoyable.



4. Barbara skillfully captures the essence of a breast cancer survivor's journey. Even though each of our stories is unique, she takes us through the various phases of her illness in a way that we can identify with, while at the same time marvel at her courage and strength. Her ability to navigate the health care system of a foreign country, with all it's complexities, while at the same time build her own international network of support is remarkable. Barbara's nobel efforts to become an advoate for other military families struggling with cancer are worthy of our admiration. Her honest self revelations are balanced with grateful praise for her family, friends and medical team. She gives readers an inside view of living with a disease that all women dread, in such a way that we gain hope from her persistent pursuit of wellness and normalcy. I finished Barbara's book on my own 5th year anniversary of "hitting the wall" - an appropriate way to celebrate! I highly recommend this resource to other survivors, friends and family of women faced with breast cancer, as well as medical professionals caring for them.



5. Dr. Barbara Pate Glacel has provided with her personal book a wonderful tool for the reader to use in their understanding of cancer. Her writings are so clear and emotional that one finds him or herself caught up in her intense struggle to first come to terms with her disease, and then, also her treatment. How I wish I had this book years ago when my father was dying of cancer. It would have enabled me to have helped him in his own fight, providing comfort and knowlege and yes, humor too. I totally recommend this book to anyone who has cancer or who has a loved one who is "Hitting the Wall".

No comments about Beyond the Tears and Laughter: Insights from a Manic Depressive.

1 comments about There's Nothing Like a Breast.

1. This book is a "true story" of one woman's struggle with breast cancer and her reasons for having reconstructive surgery. I believe that it is a good read not only for those who have had breast cancer, but also for the spouses and significant others of those dealing with breast cancer. It specifically deals with a single woman's struggle to maintain her sexuality, and also deal with the constant reminder of the surgery and all the trials and tribulations that came with the diagnosis of breast cancer. Some parts are somewhat sexually explicit, and this might bother some people. I think it took a great deal of courage for her to tell details of how all of this affected her life in so many ways.