5 comments about Thanks for the Mammogram!: Fighting Cancer with Faith, Hope and a Healthy Dose of Laughter.

1. This book is awesome! I had breast cancer over 3 years ago. Several friends tried unsuccessfully to find "good reads" to help me along my road. I found this book recently and loved it! It is an actual experience with truth, humor, and insight. I have gone to Amazon to find as many copies as I can. I want to be ready to hand someone a copy if the need arises. Be prepared to shake your head in agreement, laugh outloud, heavy sigh, and cry.



2. "Almost everyone - whether it's your friend, neighbor, coworker, wife, mother, or sister has been touched by breast cancer. The cancer survivors I've talked to over the years say that what helped them through their ordeal was faith and often humor." ~Laura Jensen Walker
   
   What is more healing than laughter when you are faced with a situation you can't control? Even science has shown the healing power of laughter. Cancer isn't funny, but somehow the author finds a way to heal through her own vibrant wit. Many of the chapters are rather serious until the end when she gives the punch line.
   
   This is a book about courage, hope and humor. Laura Jensen Walker demonstrates her ability to face the challenge of cancer and fight it with faith, hope and "mild/laid back" humor.
   
   I learned a lot about reconstruction, chemo and was amazed at how Laura's husband stood by her through the entire process.
   
   "How to Lose Thirty Pounds in Thirty Days: The Chemo Diet Way. The original Slim-Fast liquid diet. (But not one I'd recommend.)" was an interesting chapter to be sure. This spells it all out, tells you what chemo is all about and it isn't fun especially if your nurse forgets to give you "zofran." Yes somehow Laura finds a way to appreciate the effects of rapid weight loss even when it is the result of chemo.
   
   If you want to understand what a cancer survivor goes through, this is the book. I recently read "Knowing Stephanie" which I can also recommend for the detailed information and pictures.
   
   The last chapter on what really matters was also quite inspirational.
   
   You may also enjoy:
   
   Mental-pause
   Through the Rocky Road and into the Rainbow Sherbet: Hope & Laughter for Life's Hard Licks
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



3. This is an incredible book. Laura Jensen Walker has beautifully and sometimes humorously, written about her breast cancer journey. I read this book in the hospital following my breast cancer surgery (3/01) and have been very inspired by Laura's writing. This is the first book I loan out to others when they are first diagnosed. I highly recommend "Thanks For The Mammogram" !!
   Karen Lange, Asst. Mgr., FriendsInTouch.net (an online breast cancer support site)



4. I have never been diagnosed with breast cancer, but I am certain anyone facing this disease would want a copy of Laura Walker's "Thanks for the Mammogram." Mrs. Walker remarks that this book was the hardest thing she ever had to write. Like any good memoir, it takes in the uncomfortable, even embarrassing moments as well as the lighter and uplifting ones.

   Walker includes a lot of detail, from procedures like reconstruction, chemotherapy right down to the day-to-day patient care and how she felt emotionally. But this is not a gruesome story--instead it is intended to help anyone else along the road to recovery. The best chapter "Where do I go from here" gives eight important points (such as taking charge of your treatment, talking to your family, dropping the Wonder Woman cape for women who do it all) and also useful addresses and a list of books.

   This book is interesting reading for any woman, but if you have a loved one facing this challenge or if you are a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, you should get this book. Nothing I have read comes close to this book for frankness and assistance.




5. Breast cancer is a big deal. Serious stuff. Many women die from it. Other women endure masectomies. Why make light of such a heavy topic? Simple: humor is healing.
   
   Laura Jensen Walker has something to say about breast cancer. She's a survivor. She has faced this beast, and now is able to articulately help readers smile in the midst of a tough time.
   
   In "Thanks for the Mammogram!" Jensen tells her story. Most of the book details a narrative of her diagnosis, treatment and how she survived. However, in reflecting through the most difficult of moments, she draws us in ala Erma Bombeck into candid silliness. It is as practical as it is funny.
   
   Boldly bringing humor into a discussion of cancer marks this book as a standout among its peers. Having lost my mother to lung cancer and flipping through too many solemn tomes of pop-psychology, I read through Jensen's book refreshed. I wished my mom could've read this book. At a certain point, cancer is cancer, and anyone with any cancer would enjoy "Thanks for the Mammogram!"
   
   Each page is a different view of her situation. For example, she spends a delightful chapter on the end of her chemo, and how she and her husband (a 'Disnoid') celebrated this landmark at Disneyland. We read of her struggle to find a decent book to read (unless Mickey Mouse's various adventures appealed to an adult woman, that is).
   
   The chapters are in very chewable chunks--none too long.
   
   With chapters like, "To Baldly Go Where I've Never Gone Before" (a consideration of Capt. Jean Paul-Luc Picard, Michael Jordan and other sexy baldies, she looks for the upside of a hairless head), you, like me, might find a new way of seeing what so many people go through.
   
   She admits her fears, but pushes also the benefits of having a realistic, yet positive view of dealing with breast cancer. Jensen explains her husband's point of view in the whole matter (even letting him write a chapter, "Her Body, His Pain"). She walks the reader through the process, citing how she related to people who had or didn't have cancer.
   
   I fully recommend "Thanks for the Mammogram!" by Laura Jensen Walker. It is a very worthy gift for those whom you love who have cancer, or know someone who does.
   
   Anthony Trendl
   editor, HungarianBookstore.com

1 comments about Bob Flanagan: Supermasochist (People Series).

1. For most people who do BDSM or any of its components, the motivation is fun and hot sex. For Bob Flanagan it was a way to exploit the body that was betraying him through illness and make himself as much of a master of it as he could be. Six interviews are the bulk of the book -- each accompanied with pictures from his life. This is also a brief collection of his art and an interview with his partner. Three years after this book, Bob Flanagan's body would give out and he would pass into a better world where I hope that the only "pain" he feels are those that are good for him. It is a moving and distrubing account of his struggle with illness and his attempts to make the world more aware of and accepting of others like himself.

5 comments about Miracle in the Making: The Adam Taliaferro Story.

1. The book "Miracle in the Making" is an inspirational story about Adam Taliaferro, a former Penn State football player who was paralyzed in a game. He was told he would never walk again and this books lets you travel with Adam in his personal story of his road back after being completely paralyzed. This boo is a truly motivational book in which i recommend anyone, not just Penn State fans, to read.



2. This truley is an excellent book. I grew up in the same neighborhood with Adam, attended the same HS (graduate a year after) and every bit of information (names, dates, etc) are all correct. All the information about his character is completely true, he really is an inspirational person. Growing up in a huge suburban high school with him, it really was a very competitive atmosphere. Everyone seemed to love him because he was one of the brightest (one of the highest GPAs of his class, scholar athlete and best athlete in the school) along with being one of the most modest, down to early people ever. If someone had the will to succeed it is him. I recommend this book to anyone overcoming obstacles, down on their luck,athletes and basically anyone because it is the type of book that you can not put down.



3. After finding out that Adam Taliaferro couldnt walk again ever. His father and mother urged him to push on. His spirits were high always no matter what. This is a triumphant story about courage and self-determination and a little help from some up above



4. This book is good for anyone whether you are a football fan or not. I personally am a football fan, and I would especially recommend this book for those football fans out there. This book is inspirational and well documented. It is also at a good price now, and it is a quick read.



5. All too often in today's world of youth sports; parents, coaches and players miss the meaning of sportsmanship. Having been involved in youth sports for 14 years, I have witnessed over bearing parents and tenacious coaches. I suggest they keep a copy of "Miracle in the Making" in their equipment bags. This book highlights the true meaning of a parent/child relationship and a coach/player relationship. Adam is the definition of courage, kindness and strength. His family's support during his recovery is awe-inspiring. The writers did a terrific job of bringing me along on Adam's journey to recovery. I will be on the sidelines cheering; watching as Adam wins the biggest game of his life!

2 comments about Deaf Peddler: Confessions of an Inside Man.

1. Deaf Peddler-Confessions of an Inside Man
   By Dennis S. Buck

   When I read this story I couldn't help to think of the old movie "Rebel without a cause", for that is what on the surface appears to be. Although I could never understand his motivation or choice. Yet as a Deaf person I could understand the pressure and rejection he felt from the hearing society. Of the one steady job he did have, he wasn't given the opportunity for training like his peers. When he did work with someone who understood his Sign Language they corrected him and although he had the education he was still held back. Maybe this was his reason to take to the street out of frustration thereby acting out the hearing worlds perception of Deaf people.
   But in the end the wayward son comes home to the Deaf Community and realizes that Deaf people are not single entities like hearing people. That Deaf people are not whole who live outside of our community. When Deaf people strive, we strive for all Deaf people.
   This is not the best book I have ever read, nor is it the worst but I am glad he came home and that his book is now added to Deaf Culture Literature, and for that reason I give this book 5 stars.




2. For anyone interested in Deaf culture--or, for that matter, anyone who has encountered peddlers selling those ABC cards in airports--this book is an excellent choice. Buck gives a perspective most of us would not otherwise have the opportunity to hear. He discusses his reasons for choosing this way of life, and also describes in detail what his days were like. I highly recommend the book.

5 comments about The Magic Castle: A Mother's Harrowing True Story Of Her Adoptive Son's Multiple Personalities-- And The Triumph Of Healing.

1. This book was incredible in helping me to understand the torment and coping mechanisms of children who have been abused. Many people are too quick to judge and condemn rather than try to understand someone who is having difficulty coping with life. Carole Smith's book has opened a door for people who want to understand.
   
   Carole Smith is an incredible parent...a REAL parent who shows how to love when it isn't easy.
   
   Alex Smith is an amazing young man who had the courage to look within and come to terms with events over which he had no control. I applaud his courage and honesty in the face of more trauma than anyone should ever have to endure. His story will help many others.
   
   As caring humans we need to take a hard look at the "safeguards" we have in place to protect children. Thank God for people like Carole and Sam Smith who are willing to reach out to wonderful souls like Alex Smith.



2. this book is a little unbelievable.the horse connection is just unbelievable.its impossible to believe that such things can happen openly.however, the book is written well and kudos to the author for taking on such a challenge .the author is an angel for adopting alex when he was as wild as an animal .on the whole , the magic castle is worth a read but some people might not believe the things that happened to alex.



3. I know NOTHING about MPD and would not even begin to comment on that aspect of the book other than to say it was enlightening. That being said, I don't know if I believe the stories of abuse this child supposedly went through. It all seems a little far fetched to me.



4. If you're interested in learning more about Multiple Personality Disorder, this is NOT the place to start. To go a step further, if you're interested in learning more about the "experience" of MPD, this would be an option, but I wouldn't recommend it as a first. Why? Glad you asked:

   Although the book shows interesting information and honestly reflects on Alex's experiences (through his adopted mother), it is filled to the rim with motherly love and saturated with a seemingly overzealous adopted mother. This book is really about HER experience, not his. It's about HER taking the initiative and acting the heroine when she discovers her adopted son was the victim of Satanic Ritual Abuse and suffers from a severe dissociative disorder (MPD). It isn't until the end of the book that some pictures and therapy are discussed. So if you want to learn about a multiple's journey to triumph, save yourself some time and money (and occasionally difficult reading) and get something else.

   If, on the other hand, you're looking to see things from a foster-mom-who-doesn't-know-anything-about-MPD's point of view, this could be the book for you. I became tired and irritated as I tried to crawl through the pages that were dripping with, "Oh, my poor baby! Save him!" and "If you won't, I WILL!!" Pu-leeze. Once again, if you've read them all and you want a new one, here it is. Otherwise...you might very well get more information (and less sugar) from the back of a cereal box. :v(




5. This book is very graphic and very gruesome. I was very disturbed by the things I read. The abuse this child suffered was horrific, and you get to hear the details from the child's viewpoint. I found the stories of abuse to be so vile and horrifying that I even though this book was a gift, I am donating it to my local library. I read it once, and would never read it again because I found it so upsetting. To think that such evil exists in the world makes me physically ill. So be forewarned that this book is very disturbing, gruesome and upsetting.

5 comments about Dancing on Quicksand: A Gift of Friendship in the Age of Alzheimer's.

1. Marilyn Mitchell has done an extrodinary job depicting the life and heartwarming stories of David Touff. Marilyn focused on herself just enough; not too much, but enough to let the reader understand her as the loving caregiver that she is. As the reader becomes acquainted with David throughout the book, they feel wrapped up in every emotion he experiences. My father has Alzheimer's and there is never "one size fits all" formula when it comes to caregiving. From the time I finished this book, I am still carrying David in my heart!

   Marilyn is an extrodinary person and writer. She gave of herself far beyond what the average caregiver or family member could even imagine doing. David was blessed indeed to have had the years with her as his close friend.




2. I came to this delightful book from the perspective of a daughter helping to care for my dear mother in the last 5 years of her life with Alzheimer's. Oh, how I wish I had read the book 7-9 years ago for its insights about relating to someone with dementia. Yet I think readership of this book should not be limited to people interested in this growing health problem. The book is a guidebook to enjoying life more fully, especially in the city/area where you live, as the author and David did with the many field trip pleasures of Denver. If you feel that a key ingredient of a good story is how people transform one another through their relationships, you will find yourself instantly captivated by Marilyn's and David's encounters and ensuing bond. They each possess charm, wit, and intelligence. Marilyn has an endearing ability to put herself in David's shoes, trying to understand his shrinking world and helping him uncover his genius. Marilyn's gift for language and her perceptiveness gives this book an energy that carries you to the end and leaves you regretting you're on the last page. You counter the regret by sharing this gem with others.



3. Dancing on Quicksand was an incredibly inspirational book. Reading it has made me want to be a better person, listen more carefully, to love others unconditionally, to work harder at loving others where they are. In a culture where we want to get rid of anything difficult, it was refreshing to see what Marilyn Mitchell gained by sticking with David and loving him through his illness. Although this is a book about a person who has helped someone with dementia, it is far more than that. It is a book about what real love looks like. I am just about to open up my copy one more time and read it again. Thanks Marilyn for sharing this rich experience with us!



4. Mitchell's remarkable account of her relationship with David Touff reminds us, regardless of whether dementia is involved, to be respectful and mindful in our relationships with each other. This well-told story is inspirational and informative, and is of especially great use to anyone dealing with how to relate to anyone whose faculties are fading.



5. Mitchell's remarkable account of her relationship with David Touff reminds us, regardless of whether dementia is involved, to be respectful and mindful in our relationships with each other. This well-told story is inspirational and informative, and is of especially great use to anyone dealing with how to relate to anyone whose faculties are fading.

5 comments about Inside the Halo and Beyond: The Anatomy of a Recovery.

1. Like many of Maxine Kumin's devoted reader/fan/friends, I came to her poetry through Anne Sexton's poetry/life.

   However, as wonderful as Sexton's poetry is, and I love Anne Sexton's poetry, Maxine Kumin's poetry and prose can well stand on its own considerable merits.

   Inside The Halo is a wonderful, gutsy, thoughtful book.

   Having had some "orthopedic trauma" myself, though nowhere as severe as the accident Kumin survived, I can attest to the abundant truth she tells about the frustrations and joys of rehabilitation, and the "tough tenderness" of the best therapists.

   Kumin also speaks movingly of how her amazing husband, children, and grandchildren rallied to see her through.

   This is a difficult book to write about, because words like "uplifting" have become debased with casual use.

   However, I am of the unshakable opinion that all doctors, nurses, therapists, and lovers of great writing would find something real in this fine book.




2. Putting thoughts into words is the salvation of many, particularly Maxine Kumin, who describes her recovery from paralysis in "Inside the Halo and Beyond." I was recently paralyzed myself, so I keenly identified with the account of her rehabilitation. Yet I felt pangs of jealousy because she walks again and the chances are nil this will happen to me.

   Still, this book deserves an all-star rating for Kumin's eloquent and starkly honest description of her connections to poetry, literature, current events, international suffering, nature, equestrian riches, gardening, familial and friendly relations. She evokes empapthy and compassion without resorting to sappy sentiment or references to God. She explains, "My agnosticism eroded eventually to the skeletal remains of atheism and there I still stand. I'm not sure whether I should envy or pity the faith of others. Yes, it would be nice to have, but it seems a luxury of pietism I cannot afford."

   Her love of words is eloquent: "I've always been a galloping reader, racing for information, hurtling past intervening advertisements or cartoons, breathless and fascinated with language."

   It's a fine book.




3. Maxine Kumin has given us a gift. "Illness, disability, the specter of permanent damage... are deeply personal, immediate, and terrifying," she writes. Indeed. This chronicle of recovery from a cervical spinal injury sustained after her horse bolted is a courageous foray through the intense first ten months of recovery.

   More than a story of pluck and resilience this book delivers joy in its reaffirmation of what nourishes us: loving relationships. Relationships with husband, son, daughters, and friends--both old and newly formed in recovery-- and relationships to the land, to its bounty. It seems impossible for someone so connected to life to ever give up on it easily. Kumin narrates, in journal form, her struggles and how she didn't quit.

   Kumin's life unfolds in this book. We see the stoic formed when her adored father "hovered in the doorway" when she was ill as a child; the horse lover who takes "deep pleasure" in seeing her horses in action; the gardener describing cauliflower and broccoli lovingly planted in May from seeds started on living room windowsills; and the poet who says of her farmhouse, "All of my doors are held open by stones."

   The mother and wife are here, too. Kumin's daughter, Judith, spends months with her mother. It is comforting to read of a supportive, caring, daughter/mother relationship that flourishes during a time of great stress. Kumin is not afraid to tell us about moments of guilt and despair: "How I feel about my accident is quite simply that I screwed up everybody's life by living through it."

   All this is written within a flowing narrative style that is groomed by this writer's cumulative knowledge of what is important in language and life.

   Maxine Kumin is one of my favorite poets. I cheered when this well-paced chronicle led to a spring when this writer was finally back in the "peaceful kingdom" of her farm in New Hampshire. I am grateful the author has offered a book that allows us to witness her struggle as she looked inward and reached out.




4. Maxine Kumin has given us a gift. "Illness, disability, the specter of permanent damage... are deeply personal, immediate, and terrifying," she writes. Indeed. This chronicle of recovery from a cervical spinal injury sustained after her horse bolted is a courageous foray through the intense first ten months of recovery.

   More than a story of pluck and resilience this book delivers joy in its reaffirmation of what nourishes us: loving relationships. Relationships with husband, son, daughters, and friends--both old and newly formed in recovery-- and relationships to the land, to its bounty. It seems impossible for someone so connected to life to ever give up on it easily. Kumin narrates, in journal form, her struggles and how she didn't quit.

   Kumin's life unfolds in this book. We see the stoic formed when her adored father "hovered in the doorway" when she was ill as a child; the horse lover who takes "deep pleasure" in seeing her horses in action; the gardener describing cauliflower and broccoli lovingly planted in May from seeds started on living room windowsills; and the poet who says of her farmhouse, "All of my doors are held open by stones."

   The mother and wife are here, too. Kumin's daughter, Judith, spends months with her mother. It is comforting to read of a supportive, caring, daughter/mother relationship that flourishes during a time of great stress. Kumin is not afraid to tell us about moments of guilt and despair: "How I feel about my accident is quite simply that I screwed up everybody's life by living through it."

   All this is written within a flowing narrative style that is groomed by this writer's cumulative knowledge of what is important in language and life.

   Maxine Kumin is one of my favorite poets. I cheered when this well-paced chronicle lead to a spring when this writer was finally back in the "peaceful kingdom" of her farm in New Hampshire. I am grateful the author has offered a book that allows us to witness her struggle as she looked inward and reached out.




5. Pulitzer prize winning poet-naturalist Maxine Kumin chronicles a period of nine months, from the horrible horse-and-carriage accident that left her with a 5% chance of survival, and an even tinier prospect of ever walking again, to the time she is once again able to scramble up steep hills on her farm in New Hampshire again, albeit with difficulty. Hers is a statistically improbable recovery brought about not just by discipline and determination, and certainly not by faith (she is an atheist), but by love -- her family's love of her, and her own love not just for husband, children and grandchildren, but for horses, dogs, birds, vegetable garden, the seasons, and above all art and her craft. A passionate biophiliac, Kumin's love of nature can not be separated from her love of others, or her will to survive. This is an inpsirational book at so many levels. I completed it within hours of getting my hands on it, with my husband (a medical doctor) urging me to keep going, because I was reading it out loud to him and to my thirteen year old son. Inside the Halo... is wise, upbeat, gorgeously written and utterly inspirational. Someone you know scheduled for an operation? Had an accident? Run into some discouraging news? Forget the card. Send this book.

5 comments about Because Cowards Get Cancer Too: A Hypochondriac Confronts His Nemesis.

1. I would have liked to have known John Diamond. This book is not pretty about him versus the medical establishment, but it is real, it is truth, it gets to the heart of the matter and that's life and death and what you will do to keep on living. I admire his courage. I admire his family and friends for being there for him. I have not read anything like it and couldn't put it down. God bless you, John.



2. Unfortunately, while I'm writing this, John Diamond has already died--a couple of months ago, actually, after a long & exhausting 4-year fight with cancer. I should probably not use the word "fight" though--one of the basic things that the author stresses in this book is that dealing with cancer is not a fight in any way: it's living with the circumstances that you're dealt with, & since you really have no choice, you can't be considered a brave person. Still, after finishing this book, I would have to (partly) disagree with J.Diamond. Humour can be a great weapon & also a very brave behaviour. And John Diamond never lost his sense of humour, up until the very end. At least that's what I felt while I was reading the book: that I was listening to a brilliant, down-to-earth, realistic & yet hopeful person talk about his experience. How cancer affected him, his everyday life, his thoughts, his feelings, & how it affected his family life, too.

   John Diamond, in this book, does fight but in a different way: he fights alternative medicine that doesn't have a basis in scientific research. He uses lots of well thought out arguments & makes a case in favour of orthodox medicine & the treatments it offers. John Diamond also gives new meaning to the phrase "living life from day to day", not in any new-agey kind of way, but just through the belief that life has a lot to give even when this disease is taking away so much.

   "Because cowards get cancer too" has been a very interesting read for me. An intelligent, informative, full of details book about living with cancer. But also a funny (sometimes out-loud funny) read that's sure to help & even guide lots of people in their own struggle with disease. In this way, even though it's surely not enough for the late author himself & for his family, John Diamond lives on through this book.




3. This book was incredible: as soon as I finished reading it, I read it again. I don't know how to describe it, because although it's a book about one man's experience with cancer, it's much more than that. There are parts in it that are actually funny, mainly because the author has a very sharp sense of humor. I enjoyed this book because it was so honest and so immediate -- I felt that I knew this person -- and I was amazed that someone could write so well about such a painful subject. And amazed, as well, that he could keep going through everything he went through without giving up; I know I could never have done it. This book makes you appreciate life more for having read it. I read almost 200 books in 2000, and this was in my top five.



4. I was deeply touched by this book. Having watched my mother and my wife die of cancer, and knowing that I too will likely go by the same route, the subject is part of me. And being a writer who always longed to write his masterpiece, I feel such an identification with John Diamond who here does indeed write his masterpiece, an unlikely tale from the heart, mind and soul without a trance of cant or any phoniness. I hope he knows how good this book is. It is-believe it or not-a comedic master work, the funniest book I have read in quite a while. He uses humor tempered with rationalism instead of pathos to confront the horror of being torn apart by cancer (and its treatment). I can see Shakespeare reading this and sitting up straight with the realization that not only can this man make those words dance, he can engage our heart.

   John Diamond is a print and broadcast journalist, a well-known Londoner whom I had never heard of before I picked up this book. Obviously he is a very funny and keenly insightful man who sees things that others miss, a magical wordsmith who did his best work when others might rightly have restricted themselves to wallowing in self pity. He contracts cancer of the tongue and throat at probably the most joyous time in his life with a successful career in full swing and a brilliant second marriage not ten years old. He has two little children under four years of age and he himself is still in his early forties. And then he learns that he has cancer. Within a few months time he loses his ability to eat and to speak and to even breath properly.

   One of the terrible ironies of this book is the fact that Diamond wrote newspaper columns on the fraudulence of the alternative medicine industry, and put his faith entirely in the hands of the medical establishment. There is something of the spirit of English rationalism and the belief in science that allowed him nonetheless to see his treatment as something positive. Because he was relatively young and had a keen desire to stay alive he was motivated to take the treatment. As he says, he really had no choice. He had a responsibility to his wife and his children and his parents to do whatever was necessary to stay alive. And so he went under the surgeon's knife, he subjected himself to radiation and eventually to chemotherapy, all the while getting worse and worse. As he himself writes on page 91: "No wonder the alternative quacks get away with their fairy dust treatments: you die just as quickly as with the real thing but you feel better about it." He had "the real thing."

   Nonetheless he can laugh and make us laugh with him. The scene where he tears out the tubes and IVs sticking in him in an attempt to escape the hospital is hilarious. On page 122 he's describing all the gadgets and tubes, etc. he's hooked up to: "There was also a tube connected to a catheter shoved up my urethra and carrying away my urine. (Here's a tip for the gents in the audience. If anyone ever asks if he can poke a catheter up your urethra and leave it there for a few days, tell him no. They will say it doesn't hurt and express surprise when, on pulling it out a few days later, they have to scrape you off the ceiling. Avoid.)"

   Any man that can see the humor in such horrific circumstances, is a man worth listening to, and a man we can respect and admire. John Diamond is such a man and this is a beautiful book.




5. this is my sixth cancer autobiography in the past couple months, so I have some basis for comparison. diamond's story is certainly the most grisly (head and neck cancers are horrific), the funniest and the most moving. he tells his story with unapologetic humanity, avoiding "hero" speak, entering into his disease from a cerebral path. regular people may find more in common with diamond than world-class cyclist Lance Armstrong--and take greater solice from him.

3 comments about Deaf Hearing Boy: A Memoir (Deaf Lives Series, Vol. 2).

1. This is a memoir of a boy with normal hearing who is raised by two deaf parents. It reveals the problems and prejudice faced by this subset of individuals and one boy's never say die techniques of overcoming them. It demonstrates as well the problems, both internal and external of the deaf community. It is a very touching and visceral account of the author's trip from infancy to adulthood in very challenging circumstances which ultimately results in strength and resilience of character. It's a quick read and well worth the time.



2. R.H. Miller provides very descriptive detail with every sentence. This wonderful book is an autobiography of R.H. Miller's life as he remembers it as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults). A fascinating book that you can hardly put down.



3. The second volume of the Deaf Lives series, Deaf Hearing Boy: A Memoir is the true story the author, born in 1938 as the oldest of four hearing boys to deaf parents. Deaf Hearing Boy chronicles growing up in changing times, and the author's own experience as the sometimes unwilling liaison between his deaf parents and hearing grandparents. The end of World War II brought poverty to the family, as returning soldiers displaced his parents' jobs and they had to resort to scraping by on the family farm. Deaf Hearing Boy chronicles an era when small farms gradually faded from the landscape, and cultural connectivity began to erode the isolation of deaf people. It tells of prejudice against the deaf, from fathers who would not let the author date their daughters for fear that the author carried a gene for deafness that would be passed on, to misunderstandings within the family and more. And it tells of a young man's abiding respect for his parents, despite the problems unique to a deaf couple striving to raise hearing children. A compelling testimony drawn directly from heart and memory.

2 comments about The Deepest Wound : How a Journey to El Salvador Led to Healing from Mother-Daughter Incest.

1. The Deepest Wound: How A Journey To El Salvador Led To Healing From Mother-Daughter Incest by Linda Crockett, is a powerful and personal testimony of her own life journey that draws parallels between healing from sadistic parental abuse and recovering from political torture. An insightful journey to how the scars of terrible, repeated trauma can be accepted, and adapted, without sacrificing one's ability to pursue hopes and dreams. The Deepest Wound is profoundly candid, deeply moving and highly recommended reading.



2. This incredible journey of what happens when "Mother" is the abuser and father disconnects setting a tiny soul adrift is the most powerful I've ever read. This book is a must read for: Anyone who doubts the depth of destruction that can be caused by those entrusted with the gift of a child; survivors who need to recognize emerging symptoms and understand that they can confront their pain and follow Linda's new paradigm to healing; friends and family who contemplate approaching or accompanying a survivor on their journey to healing; therapists and doctors that seek to enter the dangerouis minefield surrounding survivors; and, watchers, for whom this book may instill the courage to intercede on behalf of a child.
   It takes courage to read this book. Those that do will never take a shallow view of childhood abuse again.
   At the close of this book, readers will recognize the author as a remarkably courageous woman who shattered myths and created new pathways as she fought her way from Hell to healing.