1 comments about LEARNING TO WALK AGAIN WAS THE 'EASY' PART.

1. "Learning to Walk Again was the "Easy" Part" was an amazing story of a teenager who suffered a Tramatic Brain Injury (TBI), spent 42 days in a coma and emerged as an infant who had to re-learn every ordinary skill again. This book is very important in light of these facts: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there are 1.1 million TBS reported every year. About 400,000 require medical treatment while 235,000 require hospitalization. Every family with a TBI should read this book. Those who have been injured are likely to be motivated by Sherri Debbrecht's story! It shows how families can and do share their burdens and are able to overcome great obstacles.
   
   This book is "must" read for those in search of motivation and inspiration!

5 comments about Writing Out the Storm.

1. Rebecca merriman was my High School teacher at one time. I read her book and was touched by it. She is a special lady. True to the heart. very helpful to others. Shes an inspiration to me. I love you rebecca.



2. If there is any book that shows how keeping a journal can save your life, it is WRITING OUT THE STORM. Yes, it's a hard one to read, yet Rebecca Mitchell Merriman's enthusiasm for life & her attention to detail shine through. Yes, it is full of the angst & turmoil of mental illness, yet embedded in each & every chapter are the kernels of redemption & surcease, until she can no longer control her illness.

   That Rebecca Mitchell Merriman survived to tell her tale, with a lot of help from the steady companionship of her husband & their feline offspring, is undoubtedly the result of her untutored discipline at writing out her storm & the restorative power of spirit. She has gone through her trial by fire & lived to tell of it.

   Very well done, both for the book & the mental disease survived!




3. Rebecca's book helped me to better understand the manic-depressive people in my life. The journal style gave (me)the reader a day to day view of life as a manic-depressive person. Her story is insightful, honest,heart wrenching, but also uplifting.

   Rebecca's story helped me to understand that being manic-depressive is an illness, but that a ill person can still determine a path of health for their life.




4. Rebecca, I can't tell you how much insight I've gained through your beautiful, genuine, poetic words into the state of mind of family members and friends who suffer from mental illness. For many years, sufferers have gravitated to me because they seem to sense that I understand their plight and have compassion for them, having grown up in a family afflicted with a range of chemical imbalances.

   Often, I've been deeply wounded by the words and choices that those closest to me who are operating from various platforms of mental distress have leveled at me. But, after reading your book which so eloquently and precisely states and chronicles your mood swings and behavioral variances, I now better realize how insignificant my external role has been in evoking negative responses from affected loved ones. What a relief for me, as one standing on the outside of this illness looking in, to discover through your account how the internal chemical triggers work in determining the subsequent behavior. From your revealing journal entries, I could clearly discern that your choices were chemically, not morally determined or driven. Also, what a comfort it was for me to hear you speak lovingly about those in your life, such as your husband and mother, who have been stable and loyal advocates during your recovery. I am greatly impressed with the virtues of strength, honesty, wisdom, compassion, and abiding faith you have skillfully woven throughout the pages of your compelling narrative.

   Please know that whether or not your book becomes a best seller, you have lit a torch from the baptismal fires of your own crucible that casts an illuminating brilliance on a shadowy subject for all of us whose lives are directly or indirectly affected by chemical imbalance. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart for your inspiring, precious, and heroic gift, Rebecca, and may you, like the sturdy red and yellow spring tulips mentioned in your book, always stay firmly rooted in the solidity, richness, and wellness of your sacred middle ground.

   God Bless,
   Stephanie McIntosh




5. Rebecca Merriman writes from the heart. She tells us that manic-depression is both an exhilirating and frightening roller coaster ride type of mental illness. It affords its suffereres with an oversized dose of happiness, confidence, and risk-taking only to plunge them into the depths of darkness and despair. Merriman writes with a "no holds barred" approach, opening the door to this mystifying disorder from which so many people suffer.

   Drawing from her journals, Merriman shows through her writing how words helped put her manic depressive world in order, especially after her psychotic breaks and subsequent hospitalizations.

   For anyone suffering from manic depression or who knows someone touched by this discorder, this book is an easy-to-read and enjoyable story of what can be a devastating, and sometimes deadly, illness. It offers hope by showing, from first hand experience, how the medications and counseling available today to manage it can help people live healthy lives.

   Carol Smucker, RN, PhD

No comments about The Story of My Life (Library Edition).

3 comments about Forth and Back: Coping With Deafness.

1. A thoroughly heartfelt as well as informative book from a talented author. I felt like I knew them.



2. A deaf child raised by very loving family. The author taught her deaf child to speak and hear. She not only treat her like a normal hearing person, she allows her to learn signs with her deaf friends, and speak with her hearing friends, family and relatives.
   Highly recommended for parents or relatives of deaf child to read this book that help take a right path to raise deaf child.



3. Truly a labor of love. This book is a wonderful chronology of a mother coping with a child's deafness in the days before ADA.

2 comments about Making Sense of the Unfeasible: My Life Journey With Asperger Syndrome.

1. While autobiographical, the aim of this book is not so much to tell a story as to raise awareness of autism and what autistic people can achieve in life. It's a bit overwhelming at first, bursting with ambition and enthusiasm, but it settles down very quickly into a highly compact description of the first 30 years of Marc's life. I think I enjoyed the appendices on large numbers, the universe, and the art of joke telling at the back most of all though... What did the sine say to the cosine that wasn't making sense? I think you're going off at a tangent... Oh dear, oh dear.



2. This book is an inspirational Godsend. Fleisher, like so many people on the autism/Asperger's (a/A) spectrum was misdiagnosed. Unlike many of his fellows who have been misdiagnosed with psychiatric labels, he was misdiagnosed with mental retardation. He was 11 years old before an astute professional realized that he had Asperger's Syndrome.
   
   Asperger's Syndrome is the spectrum partner to autism. People on the spectrum will show an overlapping in behaviors, regardless of their place on the continuum. Asperger's, as with any form of autism is a sensori-neurobiological condition that affects responses to sensory input; sensory integration and communication. It is as varied as there are individuals who have it.
   
   Fleisher, a truly gifted man with an extensive background in mathematics opens his world of special interests and talents to others in this outstanding book. I loved it when he blew the whistle on "holding therapy," a ghastly method which I truly abhor. Fleisher does an exemplary job of explaining why this method is undesirable for many people on the spectrum; he turns the tables by posing the question of how much a neurotypical (NT) person would hate it. Who would want to be forced to submit to something that brings an array of sensory input and can often be viewed as punitive, restrictive and in some cases painful? It is such a refresher to see another person call this quack nostrum for what it really is.
   
   Donna Williams, another scholarly author with autism says that all this method accomplishes is to "teach the desired response" so as to be released. Her books together with this one and Edgar Schneider's works are ideal for intellectuals with autism. This is a book I heartily recommend.

2 comments about The Rustling of Leaves: An Adventure of Recovery.

1. Before I read The Rustling of Leaves, I had a few preconceived notions of what this story would tell. I thought It would be another one of those same old "rags to riches" tales that are so often told among various people in recovery. I thought it would be the average run of the mill epics that are often predictable and lacking any real human experience that has been done time and time again. I was wrong.

   Throughout the book, I found myself held captive by the honesty of Mr. Costanzo's situation. His battle with booze, the courts, the prisons and ulimately himself, was a reflection a man who had managed to survive through an incredable amount of pain and misery. He basicaly was in a place where he had no choice but to surrender to the people, places and events that led him to helplessness and a ten by fifteen foot cell in Folsom prison. He was locked up with nowhere to turn, except to his God and his wife. Thats when started to realized all the problems he caused himself and all of those around him were a direct result of his unwillingness to let go of his own will. That's when he finally stated his long spiritual path that led him to the love that he knows today. The message this reader received was hope. The way Costanzo outlined his understanding of the twelve steps his never ending relationship with God, was moving as well as entertaining. The most effective and lasting memory I have of this book is the timeless love story between Mr. Costanzo and his wife Ginger; it brought me to tears.

   In my opinion, this book would not only be help for those who are in recovery, but to the average reader that's looking for a story that will bring hope to the hopeless, faith to the faithless and joy to the joyless.




2. This book is of interest because it reveals the obsession of the mind of a man that is a recovering alcoholic. In the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book there is a section that reveals that the "disease" of alcoholism and drug addiction is the obsessive "thought process" in the individual. Mr. Costanzo, by giving the readers his life experience of this phenomena, assist others who might find themselves becoming obsessed. This book was a joy to read. An exciting adventure into the mental and emotional process of a recovering alcoholic who moves away from "the program of Alcoholics Anonymous" and begins to "take his life back for himself," rather then depending on a Power Greater than himself. He travels back to emotional hell and comes back to warn us of the pitfalls. I think any person on a spiritual path would enjoy this book. Certainly anyone who is in recovery from either alcoholism or drug addiction would find the pages an eye-opener in regards to their own life in recovery... it uncovered some of my own difficulties in my recovery process.

No comments about Once a Pickle.

1 comments about Shifting Ground.

1. In her recent autobiography, "Shifting Ground," Ruth McVeigh, documents the joy and the heartbreak of being married to an undiagnosed, unmedicated bipolar for 22 years.
   
   The 22 years weren't all bad. Ruth and Derry truly loved - and probably still love - each other despite the turmoil. Their life together was a whirlwind of adventure as they traveled to Guyana for Derry's job as a forester, or to Ireland on vacation. They always managed to find wonderful places to live - Ruth describes the breathtakingly beautiful Canadian scenery so well, you'll feel that you've been there.
   
   But the beauty was often overshadowed by Derry's depressions and manias. Ruth tells of the irratic behavior and careless decisions that estranged first her children from a previous marriage and then Derry's own children. Knock wood, none of their children have inherited the illness.
   
   The book is fascinating to me for a number of reasons, including the fact that the author founded a popular Canadian folk festival. She even got to meet Phil Ochs, a famous folk musician who happened to be bipolar! The list of musicians she mentions meeting at various points in the book is a veritable who's who in folk music.
   
   All-in-all, "Shifting Ground" was an excellent look into the lives and relationships in a family affected by one member's bipolar disorder. I recommend that every spouse of a bipolar read this book. You'll see your family there, and hopefully avoid some of the mistakes Ruth and Derry made. I hope that any bipolar who reads the book "gets" the cautionary tale contained in it; namely, that bipolar disorder is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. If we misbehave, if we are abusive or irresponsible, the people who love us *will* be hurt, and quite possibly driven away.
   
   I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

3 comments about Eagle Doctor: Stories of Stephen, My Child With Special Needs.

1. On the very day in August, 1986, the author gets bit by a water moccasin in Mississippi while on a canoe trip, Stephen Rondell was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with multiple disabilites. As a nurse, she found him two years later and spent the next eleven years willing him to live.
   
   The emergency room doctor had told her that fateful day that "God must want you for something." Indeed, He did. She helped this disabled young child to grow and develop into a human being. He had celebral palsy and epilipsy, along with other life-threatening illnesses. There is a person here named David who could have been her Steve.
   
   She adopted him and helped him learn how to cope and get around in this hectic world of ours. She had an endorsement for this informative and needed book by Patch Adams whose work with all kinds of disability, from physical to mental, as a work of art. I found a person four years ago dressed as a clown complete with Patch's trademark big red nose who told me that he actually works with Dr. Adams in his travels and work with children. I wa upset by a scene in the movie, but he told me that was pure Hollywood added to get movie goers, not the truth.
   
   This is a story of miracles of faith, hope and love. It shows how a group of dedicated professionals work together to accomplish much more than any single individual ever could. Chrissy has been a nurse for twenty-five years and is now an expert advocate for human rights. Stephen's story will inform parents of disabled children and encourage all who go through this kind of stress that it is all worth the effort and strife.
   
   It is the story of a child's lifelong struggle with serious disabilities; his sweet spirit enrishes all who reads this revealing account in the life of Steve and Crissy. It can be used as a primer for caregivers of children everywhere.



2. A powerful and touching book, showing this author's unconditional love for her child. Superbly written. Highly recommended.



3. "Eagle Doctor" is a truly wonderful book. I instantly felt the extraordinary love and compassion that the author has for her son. This book pulled at my heartstrings from the very first page, like no other book has been able to accomplish. I was unable to tear myself away from Stephen's incredible stories; making me feel like I was almost a part of his life. A superb book for all ages to enjoy, full of inspiration & the joys of the Miracle of Life.

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.