1 comments about Hidden in the Shadow of the Master: The Model-Wives of Cezanne, Monet, and Rodin.

1. It was a sad revelation to see how these brilliant artists treated their models who became their mistresses, the mothers of their children, and they eventually married them,--but gave them little credit.
   
   It was also a sad revelation how little they were appreciated and how little their art was able to reap for them financially.

5 comments about A Paper Life.

1. 
   Tatum's courage to overcome horrific abuse is very inspiring and this book chronicles that journey. Some may question the validity of the abuse she describes in the book but anyone who's had abusive parents knows she speaks the truth and is not exaggerating.
   
   It's very telling that the first thing Ryan O'Neal and John McEnroe said when this book was released was "Tatum is crazy". That's the classic response abusers always give - it's a dead giveaway.
   
   Thank you, Tatum (and Griffin, Redmond and Patrick), for this book and the hope it provides to all of us who've survived being attacked and violated by our own parents.



2. this is a very important book. what an extremely sad life. she suffered so much at the hands of horrendous parents and a drug-addled narcissistic hollywood culture that to this day still destroys everything that it touches. then (surprise) she marries a complete prick in mcenroe who does everything to destroy her. what an important expose on the hollywood culture that continues to destroy so many people. they sacrifice any chance of love and normalcy to be famous and get the cash. her father should have been arrested and/or institutionalized a long time ago. this is a great book because it completely destroys the hollywood myth and exposes it for the horrific juggernaut that it is- all smiles and lies and phoniness hiding the reality of addiction, emptiness, abuse and wholesale prostituion of the soul. before these people get a chance to really live they dive head-first into a profession and a culture that rapes their souls and treats them like financial institutions. they are rendered soul-less and rutterless, trees without roots, standing on the pier as their lives sail away from them. once you miss the train it can be hard to get where you need to go. in other words there is absolutely no substitute for being loved, protected and guided by parents who know the meaning of love and aren't using their children to get rich and become famous.



3. It takes true courage to disclose these intimate details of a person's life, especially if you are in the public eye. Seeing her in the news again brought me back to when I read this book and her life she has lived.
   
   I hope she finds the peace she is seeking soon. This book will help you understand her more and not judge her. Movie stars are people too.
   
   It will bring your compassion out when reading this book.
   
   Merna Throne
   
   Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!



4. Four days ago, June 2, 2008 before I started reading A Paper Life, I read a few of the reviews for the book. But even reading those didn't prepare me for some of the gut wrenching, heartbreaking periods of time that this strong and courageous woman has been able to endure.
   
   It seems to me that Tatum wrote her autobiography in a way that goes deeper than any film created could have ever done. I think her writing is full of unbridled honesty from a wild child. It's a tough book; she's had a real life. A private person has opened the door of her personal and professional life with her feelings, memories, excerpts from her own diaries, plus included photos. I felt as though she wrote as honestly as she would have in writing her own diaries, but with consideration for her audience. She possessed a cathartic key and unlocked the story in her heart and mind writing this book. The fact that she is a Scorpio and has allowed the world to read what she has revealed is a gift within itself. (I'm a Leo.)
   
   I had never seen the film, Paper Moon. I ordered it off of Amazon yesterday, ten minutes before I found the movie split in scenes on www.youtube.com. I just watched a few scenes, saving the movie until it arrives on DVD. Now I'm glad I never had the opportunity to watch it until now. I couldn't have appreciated it as much as I do now. I saw enough to know that it's everything Tatum said it is, "The film itself is a diamond, a work of art, just as beautiful and poignant and evocative today as when we made it." (p. 7)
   
   My favorite quote of Tatum's within her book is a confutation: "What I've learned is that love definitely doesn't mean 'never having to say you're sorry.'" (p. 279) I couldn't agree with her more. It rings true in my life. Do you remember the comic strip Love is ... ? That's what this quote first brought to my mind when I was considering the original source. One cartoon read "Love is... never having to say you're sorry". Also according to Wikipedia, it's also a line from the novel and film "Love Story":
   
   "The quote appears twice in the film. Once toward the middle when MacGraw's character Jennifer Cavilleri says it, and again as the last line in the film, repeated by O'Neal's character Oliver Barrett IV as a tribute to Jennifer." I'm glad I ran a Google search on the quote, because I'm assuming the latter is where the confuted quote came from.
   
   In the book Tatum stated, "The twelve-step community took me in, embraced me, as the AA saying goes, loved me until I could love myself. A lot of these twelve-step slogans are true. Miracles can happen." (p.272) I hope that she never forgets that, especially right now. Just like Sean said, "People make mistakes." (p. 279)



5. If even HALF of what she wrote (because there is always three sides to a story) is true then I think Ryan O'Neal is the worst type of father that there is. Reading this story made me realize why todays child stars (think Britney Spears) are in such a mess. Read this book and get the scoop on how it was to grow up as "Hollywood Royalty". It is definitely not the fairy tale story that you expect to read. I need to take a shower after reading this book.

5 comments about Madame Curie: A Biography.

1. This book should be on every Mother's list of gifts for her daughter. What a beautiful portrait of a mother by her daughter. In this age of "feminism" this should also be a must read for women in general. Madame Curie was in a class of intellectual genius by herself. She is one of the most outstanding woman scientists ever - and she was Polish!
   She is a great example as a human being, a woman, a mother, a "Polack", a scientist, a wife. Needless to say I was very impressed by the book. The thought that this was written so beautifully by this woman's daughter never left my awareness. This book certainly made this half-Polack extremely proud of his heritage.



2. This is one of the books that will remain closest to me...the kind of book I would definitely have on my own children's bookshelf. I unfortunately had to stop reading the book midway because the library wanted it back, and I was also going to be out of town. Three months later, I still felt compelled to go back to the library and finish off the remaining two or three chapters.
   
   The book is a detailed account of Marie Curie's personal and professional life. And who better to tell this story than Eve, her own daughter. The genius in Mme. Curie was a direct result of her dedication to hard work and an amazing work ethic. From a peasant Polish family, she faced many challenges and postponed her own education and worked for a wealthy family to help pay for her older sister's education. Such was Marie's spirit and selflessness - which extended to her research and her work in science.
   
   Her creation, radium, was the ultimate criminal that led to her untimely death, when she felt she still had a lot to accomplish. The lady was indeed a noble gift to the science world.



3. I say that for a biography was pretty good. There was a few boring parts that made me want to put the book. I wouldn't have read this book for pleasure. I had to read it for a physics project. I gave the book 3 stars because I did not necessary enjoy this because it was for school.



4. Madame Curie is a touching and honest biography. It tells the perserving story of Marie Curie, a native Pole who would seem out of place in France and--being a woman in a more prejudice timeframe--in the scientific community in general. Although this was the case, it did not stop her from becoming one of the most prolific and important scientists in the realm of physics and chemistry.

   Within this book is held the tale of a woman who worked almost every single minute of her life in either the laboratory, the classroom, or her own home. But she never faltered under pressure and endured inhospitable laboratory conditions (she was originally working in a shed to help discover radium, the element that created the field of radiation cancer treatment and spurred the field of nuclear science.

   As a biographer, Eve Curie remains factual in content, allowing the reader to form an unbiased opinion of her mother. She buttresses the book with personally letters to and from Marie Curie, which add a first hand account of certain aspects of her mother's life.

   A must read for anyone looking for a heartwarming story.




5. The book is a reprint of the biography written by Marie Curie's daughter, Eve Curie in 1937. It is a book which should be read by all - especially aspiring scientists. Marie Curie was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in France, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize and the first person to receive two Nobel prizes. The work she accomplished under the most difficult situations for a scientist is truly inspiring. When asked why she and her husband, Pierre Curie did not patent the procedure for extraction and purification of radium, something which would have made them very wealthy, she said "No, It would be contrary to the scientific spirit." How refreshing, since in today's world the first thought of scientists is patenting their discoveries.

5 comments about Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown: Notes from a Single Girl's Closet.

1. A nifty idea, but the writing is sloppy and the author is not nearly as funny as she thinks she is.



2. Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown is the story of Halpern's particular closet. If you've ever found yourself opening up your closet just to marvel at all the clothes you've amassed over the years, you know what I'm talking about. In little vignettes, she illustrates the major (and minor) moments of her life and what she wore on those occasions. She tells us stories of: the men's boxer shorts she wore when she was a teenager, desperate to hide her curves; the six-inch heels that, at 4'11'', she couldn't live without; the $4,000 Vera Wang gown that Halpern bought after a breakup; and the Juicy Couture drawstring pants she practically lived in, in 2001 and 2002.
   
   Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown follows Adena's story from her childhood outside of Philadelphia, through college in New York, to her move out to LA to live with an old boyfriend, and to work. Halpern and I grew up in the same area (though not in the same decade), so it was fun to recall the sites of her shopping sprees and know exactly what she was talking about. Along the way, Halpern goes through countless breakups, a few jobs, and a particularly ornery (but loveable) personal stylist. But her closet is a constant dependable in her life.
   
   Halpern stories are funny and relatable, though not particularly newsworthy. But I don't think there are many people who can say that they weren't picked on in middle school for something they wore, and Halpern recounts some wardrobe malfunctions that would make Janet Jackson proud.
   
   The narrative of this memoir is told in a variety of ways: from the first person (as might be expected), to the third person. The third person narration, which is used in a story about a favorite pair of black drawstring pants, was a little bit disconcerting to me.
   
   But this book was the perfect chick lit, nonfiction way to pass an afternoon. It makes me want to go and consider everything in my closet...



3. Fun to read when going to the beach for a weekend or on a plane. Very much a girly book. Not a whole lot to the story line, but a good read.



4. I thought this book was "okay." Very simple writing and easy to read. The content (to me) wasn't all that interesting. I was surprised that this book actually "made it" to become a book. However, I read it for my book club and I would say 1/2 of the group (12 of us) really enjoyed it. So, it's really a matter of taste.



5. I was so happy to see this in the Amazon box. But I have to say I really had to push myself to read it. It just didn't catch my attention.

5 comments about Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary: Reflections by Women Writers.

1. I'm betting the editors of the recently released collection of essays called Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary were assuming the presidential political landscape would look a bit different today, at least from a marketing point of view.
   
   If the primary race was over and Hillary had become the Democratic nominee after Super Tuesday, as many expected would happen, they probably sensed that this baby would be a best-seller.
   
   There isn't a lot that's particularly revealing about Clinton in Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary. It's more a volume of essays about how the various authors feel about her and view her in ways (usually) not covered by the main stream media.
   
   I was a little surprised at the critical and sometimes flip tone of some of the authors. Some of the essays ponder who is the real HRC? Is she a dog person or a cat person? Is she better or worse than Lady Macbeth? What did she like to snack on in the White House?
   
   (Can you imagine the outcry if someone had written a similar volume about any of the men candidates?)
   
   While entertaining and well-written, I'd like to look at Hillary in a 31st way.
   
   What would her candidacy have looked like if she hadn't married Bill?
   
   What if she had married someone else, kept her name and was still Hillary Rodham? If we take the Bill Clinton lens off the glasses through which we scrutinize Hillary, what would an objective look at her candidacy be? I have a feeling it would be much more charitable in terms of her experience, her personality and her judgment.
   
   To be sure, there are plenty of more serious essays in the Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary, but I was saddened that the publisher was more concerned about having people write about Hillary's hobbies, or lack thereof, than taking a real look at this woman and what has propelled her to this place in life.
   
   No, it wasn't meant to be a biography, but when we write about women candidates in this way, do we continue to diminish them, as well as ourselves?



2. Whether you love Hillary or hate her, no doubt you've got a strong opinion about the woman. But the emotions evoked in you by Hillary Clinton probably speak less to Hillary's character than to your underlying attitudes about strong, independent, self-reliant women. So goes the premise of THIRTY WAYS OF LOOKING AT HILLARY: REFLECTIONS BY WOMEN WRITERS. (And, um, pretty much anyone who's been overwhelmed by the misogyny and racism permeating this year's election cycle, natch.)
   
   In THIRTY WAYS OF LOOKING AT HILLARY, thirty prominent female journalistas wax poetic on what Hillary means to them. No aspect of Hillary's life and character is too mundane or sacrosanct: everything from Hillary's infamous pantsuits to her marriage to Bill (or "secret pact," as some paranoid pundits might call it) and her every-changing coif goes under the microscope. As a result, some of the pieces are rather fluffy (Mimi Sheraton's "How Hungry is Hillary?: Reading the Culinary Clues" and Susan Orlean's "Political Animals: Is Hillary a Cat Person or a Dog Person?" spring to mind), but it's all in good fun. In this vein, Patricia Marx's satirical "From the 1965 Eyrie Yearbook" is especially entertaining; it reads like a transcript of an SNL segment. (Hello, Amy Polar!)
   
   Most of the thirty essays, while entertaining, are far from frivolous. While many of the writers tackle seemingly trivial topics (pantsuits, hairstyles and surnames, oh my!), these are usually circuitous routes to grander points; the way in which changes in Hillary's wardrobe correspond to her increasingly moderate (pandering?) political positions, for example, or what Hillary's favorite books reveal about her child- and adulthood. The pieces of Hillary expounded upon by each individual author also say a great deal about that author; in "Hello, My Name Is...," Cristina (no "H"!) Henriquez speaks eloquently about her conflicting identities as an Panamanian woman born and raised in America.
   
   While I expected that most of the thirty essays would touch upon the misogyny that's colored this campaign season, not all of the writers deal explicitly with the anti-woman backlash that Hillary inspires in so many men (and not a few women). However, there are a few great pieces on the subject, including an essay by the always-awesome Katha Pollitt ("Hillary Rotten: Sexist Sticks and Stones") and must-read from Leslie Bennetts ("Beyond Gender: The Revenge of the Postmenopausal Woman"). Though I'm not familiar with all of the contributors, most seem somewhat feminist-minded, with the sole exception of Robin Givhan ("The Road to Cleavagegate: What Do We Want Female Power to Look Like?"). Givhan, you might recall, is the Washington Post reporter who "broke" the Cleavagegate "story." (Scare quotes because it's neither breaking nor a story. "This just in! Hillary Clinton, the female Senator from New York, HAS BREASTS! More on this shocking development at nine!") She spends much of her essay defending her own misogyny, arguing that it's perfectly a-ok to judge Hillary - and, by extension, all women - on her physical appearance. What's next, repenting to the Fashion Gods for wearing scrunchies and headbands after 1991? I don't agree wholeheartedly with every sentiment expressed in THIRTY WAYS OF LOOKING AT HILLARY, but Givhan's was the only essay that truly strikes me as out of place.
   
   The other twenty-nine essays, on the other hand, represent a diverse and enjoyable read. At the end of the book, I found myself wistful for '70s Hillary, in all her radfem blamer glory. 2008 Hillary, not so much.
   
   Full disclosure: I voted for Kucinich in the primaries. I'm not crazy about Hillary or Barack, but I'll most likely vote for the Democratic nominee in November. Unless it comes out that Barack eats puppies or Hillary is a closet Ann Coulter fan. And, for the record, I'm disgusted with the misogyny and racism emanating from either side of the Dem aisle.
   
   P.S. Dear Mimi Sheraton - If your Boca Burgers resemble "miserably limp, grassy-tasting little disks that might be produced by Rubbermaid," then you're doing it wrong. Unless you're rubbing defrosted Boca Burgers on your lawn, ain't no way they come out tasting like grass. As for the so-called "limpness," the only time I've cooked up a limp Boca Burger is by over- or under-cooking it in the microwave. Grilling and pan-frying them, not so much. So stop hating on the Boca Burgers when it's clearly the cook's fault. (Yeah, I'm a vegan. What of it?)



3. Is there anyone who is neutral about Hillary Clinton? It isn't even as simple as you love her or you hate her, although there are plenty of people who do simply love her or hate her. Many of us want to like her or used to like her or liked her during the brief period between finding out about Bill's Oval Office tryst with an intern and the moment she uttered "vast right-wing conspiracy." Quite a few people would love to see a woman as president but can't bear the thought of that woman being Hillary Clinton. What is it about her? What is it about us?
   
   Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary gathers thirty essays by women who think and write for a living. Most of the pieces here take the subject seriously, notwithstanding a trivial piece by Susan Orlean on whether Clinton is a cat person or a dog person and a mock high school yearbook page by Patricia Marx ("pet peeves: bad punctuation, martial law"). Some essays seem frivolous at first, but turn out to be quite thoughtful, such as Mimi Sheraton's look at Hillary through her taste in food and Lauren Collins on Clinton's apparent lack of hobbies.
   
   Several writers have written about Hillary Clinton before and stand by their controversial opinions such as Robin Givhan on Clinton's cleavage. On the other hand, Judith Warner all but apologizes for her 1992 biography, Hillary Clinton: The Inside Story: Revised and Updated, which at least one reviewer called a hagiography.
   
   There are no right-wing hit jobs in this collection, but Laura Kipnis does a survey of Hillary biographies (many of which fall into the hit job category) and finds they reveal more about the authors than about Clinton. Rebecca Mead examines how women presidents have been portrayed in movies and TV.
   
   Deborah Tannen explores the double standard that women in authority face in the most even-handed piece in the book. Letty Cottin Pogrebin observes that for women leaders, widowhood is a plus. Susan Lehman speculates on how fifteen years as a corporate lawyer formed Clinton's outlooks and habits. Lara Vapnyar gives us the Russian view of women in power (not favorable).
   
   The writers here ponder Clinton's name changes, her changes in appearance, her vote to go to war in Iraq. They consider her marriage, her career as a lawyer, and the compromises she's made as a politician. You may not come to any new conclusions about Clinton, but Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary will give you some original angles on a very provocative subject.



4. I was a little bit shocked at the negative ways to look at Hillary Clinton, but there were some balanced articles, especially Dr. Deborah Tannen's, that I thought were informative and eye-opening about the double standards women face. There were a few positives, but not enough for someone who wants a review from the perspective of someone who has actually experienced this campaign, and thinks it has been as revealing about our pervasive sexism and the media's mysogyny, as it has been about political issues and campaign styles.



5. I PERSONALLY LIKE HILLARY CLINTON BUT THIS BOOK GETS IT'S CREDIBILITY FROM THE FACT THAT THERE ARE PRO AND CON HILLARY REVIEWS.
   DO I THINK SHE COULD MAKE A POSITIVE CHANGE IN OUR COUNTRY AND THE PATH ON WHICH IT IS HEADED....ABSOLUTELY.
   THE FACT IS THAT IF BILL CLINTON COULD RUN AGAIN HE WOULD HAVE WON AND I JUST FEEL HIS EXPERIENCE ENHANCES WHAT SHE ALLREADY BRINGS TO THE TABLE.
   GOOD READ!!

1 comments about Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance.

1. I was very excited about this book when I found it. As a woman of faith, I thought it would be interesting to see examples of women who had combined their feminist viewpoints with their faith. How they battled a world dominated by men with their religion as well. However, the book did not live up to the promise. The book is made to feature five women: St. Teresa of Avila, Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Emily Dickinson and Dorothy Day. While each story is compelling, it is all to brief. Each women have one chapter each, which gives basically a brief life story. It does not really go into depth how these women implemented their faith into their quest for women's right. It seemed more of an overview, designed for a class to discuss. Not for the solitary reader.
   
   Also, I was not pleased with the use of the Imago Relationship Theory in the book. This is a book about feminism and faith, not about couple therapy. Just didn't seem to fit the book.
   
   The little chapters on the women are interesting, however I was hoping for a more in depth discussion, than the overview presented in this book. Maybe in the future, the author will go back to this topic and revisit these women in better detail.

5 comments about A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (The Western Frontier Library, 14).

1. This book arrived in top condition and in time. In a college book store this book cost a lot more, so I am very pleased to be able to buy it from this seller.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the descriptive way the author wrote. I have been through Colorado and have seen the beauty she described. Also enjoyed the story because there wasn't a lot of violence and if there was any sex, it was only in our imagination which is the greatest kind. I was amazed at how the lady rode for miles in rugged wilderness without seeming to get lost. The fact that she could subsist on meager food was also interesting.



3. I bought this book while visiting Estes Park, CO...hungry for books about life in the West that may not be so readily available here in NJ. I found it to be one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read! Isabella's descriptions of the Rocky Mountains and the climate through which she travelled are vivid and gripping. But more than that, she gives a detailed and honest account of what life was like for settlers on the frontier. How she managed to ride thru the mountains where the only "trails" were tracks of wagons or animals, when often those were covered with the seemingly constant snow, boggles the mind. Her love for Colorado sings out in every word she writes. I too was deeply touched by its beauty, and hope to return again, this time with an enriched appreciation due to this wonderful recounting of Isabella Bird's journey.



4. For many years I saw this book in National Park bookstores and passed it by thinking it would be an example of the overwritten, rather tedious journals of other Victorian travelers. When I finally found it at a used bookstore and rather reluctantly bought it, I was surprised to find out how exciting and relevant her story was.
   
   Because I live in Colorado, I recoginize and travel through many of the places she describes. Just this weekend as we traveled along Highway 67, my husband and I remarked on the likelihood, that this was the same route she'd taken out of Colorado Springs.
   
   Her accounts lend life to the grey, weatherbeaten cabins, abandoned roads and rusting rails that we see. Even though many parts of Europe and the US were relatively modern at the time of her adventures, it is surprising to read just how primitive and precarious was the life of many Colorado settlers.
   
   Even if you aren't from Colorado, read this book to become aquainted with a Victorian woman who found a way to live life fully. Read it to learn about life in the west. Read it just because it's a good read.



5. Did you ever read any of the BEANY MALONE novels by Lenora Mattingly Weber? In them I first read about Isabella Bird and her remarkable life in the American West. Beany's older brother, Johnny Malone, is a teenager when the series begins, a young Denver boy with a remarkable passion for unearthing the memoirs and daguerrotypes of Colorado pioneers and taking notes on the old-timers who settled the state. Their colorful lives make his ordinary life seem rather pastel, so he often sinks into a nostalgia of the past, while his family members tease him about the dreamy look in his eyes. He helps a veteran journalist, Emerson Worth, complete his magnum opus, OUR CITY HAS DEEP ROOTS. And among the pioneers Johnny obsessed about was none other than Isabella Bird, so when I found this book on a recent trip to Boulder, I added it to my rucksack.
   
   If you are reading on horseback, as Isabella Bird did, this is perhaps the ideal book to carry with you. She was a woman used to the English-style horse with its Ascot breeding and high carriage. What she found in Colorado were, naturally, the horses of the West, more perfectly adapted to the mile-high atmospheres, but slung somewhat lower than anything she's been used to and slightly swaybacked. Bird adapted quickly, and the fun of her autobiography is to see her taking in her stride a series of calamities and hardships that would have Job complaining bitterly! No matter if it's an insect infestation or tumbling right through a sheet of ice into zero degree river chills, for Isabella Bird it's all part of a day's fun. Travel writing in the 19th century was, of course, the leading genre of prose. From no other source were English-speaking readers able to find out more about other people's lives, and the curiosity was immense.
   
   You'll like Isabella, and her crazy love affair with Colorado. She remains very much a lady, but will challenge your preconceived notions of what a lady is and isn't. Most of all you will thrill to follow the course of her journeys up and down the mountains through which, now, there are some better trails but still the same amazing sunrises which she describes with the thrill of one for whom every day's an adventure.

2 comments about A Regular Guy: Growing up with Autism.

1. I couldn't put down "A Regular Guy." I was very moved, I laughed, I cried, and I was educated. Having a disability or being with someone you love who has one is not easy to understand for those of us who aren't in that situation. I thought Laura's book brought that experience to light with all the joy and pain. While it's apparent that it has been a tremendous struggle for the family, it's obvious that the love the family shares has made them so much stronger and a tighter unit.



2. I loved this book. The story of the Shumaker family's journey with Matthew, their autistic son, was so fascinating and well written that I felt as if I was part of the Shumaker family as I read. I couldn't put it down and ended up finishing it in one sitting. Life with Matthew is not always easy, but Ms. Shumaker's descriptions kept a smile on my face as I traveled the journey of adapting to a full and rich life with a son who is very special. I highly recommend it.

5 comments about Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports.

1. Wow, I loved this book. I remember reading an excerpt from it somewhere online several months ago and I was so engrossed in it that I finally had to buy the book recently. And I was not disappointed - the entire book was incredibly easy and engaging to read. The only minor exception was that the last third of the book kind of got away from what made the book so interesting the first 2/3, but overall I would still give the book five stars without a thought. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading a book as much as I did this one.



2. the only few words i can use to describe this book is that it was a truly....inspirational and fantastic read. great book, i was so engrossed in it that i finished it in two days. runners and non runners alike can enjoy it. running for women has come a long way. i have read it once and will read it again. go ahead people buy it....you will never regret having this book in your collection.



3. As a woman born in 1980, I really had never grasped the concept of what the generation before my birth had done. I never really understood what the world believed about the abilities of women. Katherine Switzer's story is powerful and amazing. I'm so glad I could grow up believing that I could do anything. The book is well written and powerful.



4. This was hands down one of the most inspiring running books I've ever read. Kathrine's foresight into the sport of running amazes me - we can thank her not only for bringing the women's marathon to the 1984 Olympic games but also for today's modern marathon "comforts" that didn't exist when she first hit the streets of Boston.
   I read this while training for a marathon and her story kept me going during those long and painful runs. This book is a must-read for any runner, male or female.



5. If ever there was a real-life Wonder Woman, it's Kathrine Switzer...whose brave pursuit and promotion of running events have benefitted countless millions who want to similarly express their joy for the sport. This fun-to-read, fascinating autobiography beautifully communicates the voice of its author: enthusiastic, funny, passionate. It's a must-read for marathoners and entertaining for anyone else who's ever shared in the excitement of witnessing and/or participating in a sporting event.

5 comments about Welfare Brat: A Memoir.

1. This is a very good read. The chapters are relatively short so you are able to cart this book to appointments and feel confident that you won't be left mid-chapter. There aren't subtle details that you need to keep track of so if you need to set the book aside for a few days you don't have to worry about suddenly forgetting who a character is or anything like that.
   
   Because she covers six years of her life, some events of the story seemed to be cut short. There is also a lack of detail in some of these events.
   
   She shows a lot of the prejudices and discrimination that she received as someone on welfare such as: "Keening with shame, I no longer wonder why people hiss the word 'welfare' and landlords deny us apartments. We are an infestation (pg 59)."
   
   I really wish she would have given more details about the apartments she lived in, the food she ate, conditions of the neighborhood, etc. She DOES give these details... I just wish there was more!!!
   
   I was also a little disappointed in the way it ended. I hope she comes out with a second memoir that chronicles her college life and after, and also how she and her family got to the Afterward.



2. Mary Childers delivers an eye-opening account of what it's like to grow up poor. In her distinctive, engaging style of writing, Childers describes what it was like to try to assert her own identity, and initiate her pursuit of academic excellence, even when it was not highly valued by her family.
   
   Vacillating between loving and loathing her large brood of brothers and sisters, Childers describes the process by which she forged a path that was very different from that of her family. Childers' unusual spirit allowed her to achieve academically and socially, however, the author does not leave out the harsh realities of trying to achieve in a world that likes to insist that all it takes to "make it" is hard work, when in reality, the odds are stacked against those in poverty. Despite Childers' sharp intellect and determination, she is still mired in a school system that does little to impart the social capital required to navigate the college application process, or understand how to pay for tuition and so forth (this is indicated when Childers describes the application process while in her senior year of high school).
   
   Throughout the memoir, Childers is working--whether it is taking care of her siblings, or working retail jobs after school. So is mostly everyone else in the Childers household--even Sandy Childers. Despite Sandy being portrayed as a slightly less than likeable mother, she never stops raising her children, never walks away from the responsibility she has to them as a parent. Say what you will about the fact that she was on welfare and had numerous children--unlike the men who helped create Childers' brothers and sisters, Sandy never walked away from her kids.
   
   Overall this is a really engaging book; depending on your own experiences, it can also be very eye-opening. Childers is truthful, and a courageous writer.



3. From the beginning of this book I was impressed with Mary's different-ness and singleminded determination to rise above the vicious circle of the welfare existence. She never ceased to impress me with her work ethic and her higher aspirations.
   
   I have to admit I never felt any compassion for Sandy, her mother. Even when Mary reasoned that she had so many siblings because Sandy kept getting pregnant in hopes that this particular guy (whatever guy at the time) would hang around and meet his committments. After two or three times of trying this method and failing, wouldn't any halfway smart woman close her legs or have her tubes tied?
   
   Another reviewer wondered where Mary's mentor was, that usually people like her have someone in her corner offering motivation and help. Not necessarily, though. For Mary to do what she did for herself completely on her own, even in the face of occasional ridicule by her mother, is a testimony to her resolve and will. My husband is another such person, and he had no one in his corner either - the success he's achieved has been completely on his own.
   
   Like that same reviewer, I also felt the end of the story was wrapped up a little too swiftly and neatly. I also felt a little cheated out of further details about her disturbed brother Ralph, such as, what diagnosis did doctors give him? Reading about Ralph in particular broke my heart; he was so clearly neglected and ignored.
   
   Ms. Childers writes in a compelling way, and I appreciated her overall honesty and unglossed account of her childhood.



4. Many people who overcome poverty are too ashamed to talk about it, or just want to leave it behind. They write autobiographies that gloss it over. Then there are those who milk it for undeserved rewards, romanticizing and embellishing a tough start, as in A Child Called It. Mary Childers seems to have written a completely different kind of book, in the hope that others will understand what it was like not just for her, but for any struggling welfare family.
   
   There's nothing whiny or pleading about Childers' account of her youth, yet I squirmed with discomfort reading it. Too many children to feed and her mother produced another, with her teenaged daughter's boyfriend. Childers as a teenager watching someone else's baby so she could earn enough money for a root canal. Did people really live that way, in America, and recently? Her voice is compelling.
   
   The reason for only 4 stars is the rushed ending. Childers writes, as an adult, of forgiving her mother and believing that she had tried as hard as she could to raise her children well. Bullbleep.
   
   That part was not convincing at all--rather, it sounded like the stuff Childers was forced to say to get people to believe she was two years older in order to get a job. My opinion is that Childers wanted us to believe in her forgiveness just as she wanted people to think she was qualified for jobs she shouldn't have to hold.
   
   And then, why was Mary so different from the rest of her family? In my experience, when a child escapes a bad family there is usually a "compassionate witness," one adult who believes in the child and helps that child to want more. There was no such person in the book, and it is hard to believe there was none in her life. Maybe there was more than one; in any case, no clear reason was given for why Mary Childers wanted to and was able to overcome her beginning.
   
   Just the same, it was a riveting book, one that mostly made me cringe, sometimes made me smile, and always made me think.



5. Even if Mary Childers' childhood was only half as horrific as the one she describes in her memoir, she deserves the Medal of Honor for having the mental and physical courage to transcend her beginnings.
   
   The book is a riveting description of the worst that life on welfare has to offer, but Childers doesn't explain what factors helped her break out of the cycle of poverty. Was it the moral tenants she was exposed to in her Catholic background? A few good teachers? Caring and involved school counselors? Her exposure to "normal" life via The Fresh Air Fund? Or was she just born with "the right stuff"? Her writing displays a chilling lack of introspection and gratitude for those who may have helped her. But maybe that is all part of being a "welfare brat."
   
   Nonetheless, I think this book should be required reading in the schools. Certainly it is a strong argument for federally funded childcare facilities that might help give children of even the most dysfunctional families a glimpse of the possibilities for a better life.