1 comments about Friendships in the Dark: A Blind Woman's Story of the People and Pets Who Light Up Her World.

1. This is a wonderful true story of a woman who was born blind and her journey through life. Many of her friendships are with animals (especially cats, and her guide dog Lear) but there are human interactions too. If you want to sit back, relax and have a great read - quick and easy but definitely worth the time, this is the book for you.
   
   Phyllis Campbell is a remarkable woman - taught at the VA School for the Deaf and Blind, plays and teaches organ/piano, knitting, does computers (OK, that isn't in the book) and much much more. She puts most of us to shame.
   
   I read this several years ago and now want to reread it. Definitely worth the time - and will absolutely make you smile.
   
   Ruthann McCaulley

No comments about Searching In The Dark.

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.

No comments about No Longer Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolfe.

No comments about A Sky for Arcadia.

2 comments about Girls. . . Just Let Your Mascara Run.

1. Lillian Elizabeth Anne takes readers on an exhilarating ride of emotions experienced at various stages of womanhood. Sharing from her personal journey, she offers a slideshow of slices of life that elicit feelings ranging from joy to sorrow. She creatively and effectively injects humor.This encourages the reader to "let their hair down" and not take life so seriously,as the book title suggests. As a baby boomer I enjoyed the ride. I was encouraged to embrace all of life and its rich intensity and view it through the eyes of faith. Woman of all ages will enjoy this fun narrative!



2. After reading this book, which is very entertaining, I found myself remembering things that otherwise I would not have remembered. But even more ineteresting, it challenged me to think of things in ways I had not thought of!! I feel this book should be read by all, and especially those in the impressionable years of 12-25. The writer has a wonderful sense of humor and an honest and heartfelt desire to help others. It would make a great gift!!!

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 The Mountain of Dreams: ****'s Adventure - Book 1.

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 Flying Solo: Reimagining Manhood, Courage, and Loss.