5 comments about Jackie: Her Life in Pictures.

1. Despite her need for privacy Jackie Kennedy was a major target of photographers when she retreated to private life. This is a great collage of her moments being herself in New York City and elsewhere. Whether she was just walking in Central Park or throughout Manhattan, Jackie's poise never left her. The pictures prove it.



2. The texts are good but particularity the photos, there are a lot buy it!!!The photos chosen by Spada are remarkable in their ability to portray both the remarkable strength possessed by Jacqueline Kennedy .
   Jackie: Her Life in Pictures" will be money well spent



3. This book had pictures that I have never seen before and I thought I had seen them all. Worth every penny



4. I was captivated by this book. James Spada has compiled several well-known photographs with many photos I had never seen. He does not try to analyse or to delve into the behind the scenes. He presents the photos with a paragraph or two, and lets us glimpse into Jackie Kennedy Onassis's life. I was entranced by the pictures of her youth and the pure beauty and joy in several ungarded moments. A beautiful tribute.



5. I really adored this book - it is so much more than yet another reprinting of the famous pictures of Jackie. The photos chosen by Spada are remarkable in their ability to portray both the remarkable strength possessed by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, as well as her frailties that we can all relate to. While many people have seen the countless photos that have been published of Mrs. Onassis from her birth to death, Mr. Spada managed to select mostly photos that are little-seen, as well as photos that needed no text to give the reader a better sense of the people portrayed in the book. The text that does accompany the photos is well written and restrained. Purchasing "Jackie: Her Life in Pictures" will be money well spent.

5 comments about In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story.

1. I just finished Ghada Karmi's captivating autobiography. She is honest, poignant, funny and reflective. She takes you back to pivotal moments in history, while at the same time drawing you into her and her family's personal struggles. Many readers who have also grown up with traditional parents, whether they be Catholic, Muslim or Jewish, will be able to relate!
   
   But more importantly, she offers an insightful view of a much misunderstood dilemma. For anyone who has wondered, "Why don't the Palestinians just stop fighting?", you owe it to yourself to read this book!
   
   I admit to fact checking Karmi because I assumed since she was Palestinian, that some of the information she gave could have been exaggerated. She mentions the massacre at Deir Yassin, the bombing of the King David Hotel, and the booby trapping of the dead body of a British soldier. I was shocked to learn that armed Jewish groups did indeed carry out these and other acts of violence before 1948. What we are usually taught is that Israel always respects human rights, but the Arabs do not. Karmi gives another point of view.
   
   Yet she does not paint all Jewish people with the same brush. She differentiates between her Jewish friends she holds dear, the Jewish faith she respects, and the state of Israel which has robbed her of her homeland.
   
   This book is well worth your time!



2. In Search of Fatima is a beautifully written story, a true story, written by a woman with a real gift for writing. The whole experience of the Palestinian Catastrophe, know as the Nakba, comes alive in this book on a very personal level. The fear of the Palestinians as the events unfold during the years leading up to 1948 are so vividly expressed that you feel that you are there too, sharing the feelings of foreboding and horror.
   The second section of the book describes the difficulties in settling in a new country, with totally different customs, language, weather, everything. Her mother, incapable of adapting to a new life, makes a truly pitiable figure.
   
   Although this is the story of one person,the experience of the 1948 Nakba was shared by three quarters of a million others, yet we rarely hear about the terrible suffering inflicted on so many. This book fills a huge void.



3. This is truly an outstanding work. The search and confusion of identity is made even more difficult when one is a Palestinian refugee. Add to this the issue of gender and Ghada Karmi assertion of herself and her rights and you get a fascinating indeed thrilling mix. The first third of the book deals with the exodus from Jerusalem ..it is very moving and sad to see the events rushing to make little Ghada and her family refugees. In the next part we see Ghada the British emerging and finally with all the contradiction between home, school (with mostly Jewish friends) and the society at large especially with backdrop of the 1956 Suez war. The third and final part is the return and the contradictions of identities and the battle to assert herself as a single woman working for the cause. Ghada's move from the completely apolitical to the activist as part of her search of identity is very well nuanced and gives us a great insight into the meaning of being a Palestinian refugee.
   
   Ghada Karmi is a gifted writer. This work is fascinating enough even if it was given as bullet points in a PowerPoint presentation, but this is hardly the case. Karmi has a facility with prose and is able to get into great detail to transform the readers into her life; this was very much the case in the fist part of the book, the exodus from Jerusalem. You can almost picture Ghada abandoned dog as their car sped away from the house never to return.
   
   This is a thrilling work on par with Leila Ahmad Border Passage. Leila Ahmad an Egyptian American was not a refugee but here Tri-cultural experience in Egypt, England and America and her search of identity and issues of gender are very interesting and highly developed. Another highly recommended work of a Palestinian American is Nadia Captive of Hope, deals with exodus and gender issues and less so of identity.



4. This book is like a narrative of two different lives: the end of one and the beginning of another. Two lives that are not independent of each other though, as remnants of the one may not be overpowering to the point of eliminating the other, but are certainly powerful enough to haunt it, shape it, give it its final form.
   
   Although in essence totally overwhelmed by emotions, Karmi manages to almost detach and distance herself from her own being, leave her body and float above everything and everyone. That way she describes people, situations and feelings in a detailed and factual fashion, devoid of the empathy that would crush the reader, immerse him in a whirlwind of unfulfilled expectations and unrelieved tension, and ultimately leave him feeling nothing short of miserable and exhausted.
   
   Throughout the entire book, there's a marked emphasis on Karmi's relationships with other Jews, the friendships she formed and her refusal to see them in any other way than as individuals with traits that were or were not compatible, likable or acceptable to her. She almost goes out of her way to make clear that Jewishness never hindered her from befriending someone and not only that, but in an unfamiliar environment such as London was in the aftermath of the second World War, Palestinians and Jews that found themselves stranded there were entities that shared the misfortune of exile, and as such could indeed relate to one another. Moreover, the fact that Judaism was as much a respected as a familiar religion for Muslims, much more so than Christianity, played a role. As did the writer's initial stance, adopted by her parents and passed onto her from an early age, that it wasn't so much the Jews that were responsible for the Palestinians' fate and the violent takeover of their country, as ultimately the British, who as custodians of Palestine had the obligation to protect and safeguard the interests of the indigenous population. Instead, they forsook and betrayed them, and disposed of the Palestinian land -that was never theirs to dispose of in the first place- as served their purposes at the time.
   
   Karmi experiences an internal conflict, wavering between her British identity and her Arab origins, desperately longing to be accepted by and fit in either society. She often describes the war that rages inside of her, the opposite forces pushing and pulling, on the one hand the need to put everything behind her and lead as normal a life as possible, and on the other the need to seek out her roots and fight with all her might the injustice that was meted out to her.
   
   This book is so much more that a simple memoir, as it goes deep inside the mind of people who experience exile and dislocation, and gives a picture of the psychological turmoil they find themselves in and the void they will probably never be able to fill.



5. This is a wonderful book that shows the humnan tragedy of becoming a refugee. In this case, the book talks about a refugee of the 1948 war for Palestine. While the book explains how the creation of the state of Israel have shattered the lives of three quarter million palestnians, it tells the story of one of them. The story of personal conflicts that face any palestnian refugee now, then and in the future:
   - Can I return to Palestine and where is it now?
   - How can I stay palestnian and at the same time contribute to my current non-palestnian community?
   - Do I have the capacity to forgive israelies for what they did to my family and country?
   
   While Ghada's responses to these questions were positive, and she insisted to find an answer to these questions, it is the role of each palestnian to find his/her own answers. Also, it is the role of non-palestnians to understand the palestnian refugee before addressing their plight. Therefore I highly recommend this book.

2 comments about Conscious Femininity: Interviews With Marion Woodman (Studies in Jungian Psychology By Jungian Analysts).

1. Five years ago, listening to a group of remarkable women discussing the ideas of someone named Marion Woodman, I was intrigued. I wanted to read her work. Where should I start?
   
   Everyone in the group recommended that I start with Conscious Femininity. It is a wonderful introduction to the ideas found in her other books. In the interviews that make up Conscious Femininity, Marion Woodman speaks about an emerging feminine consciousness that will change the face of our patriarchal society, about relationships, about addiction, and about the masculine and feminine energies within each of us.
   
   Conscious Femininity, because of its interview format, gave me a quick glance at several different facets of Marion Woodman's work. After reading Conscious Femininity, I was able to decide which of her other books I wanted to read next. I have since read most of them. (The writing in Marion's books is extraordinarily rich -- sometimes I'll just read one paragraph and then stop to think about what she has said -- so reading any book of hers takes me a long time.) Conscious Femininity provided the wonderful overview that got me started.



2. Marion Woodman is amazing. She talks about a global conscious femininity that everyone can relate to. For those who are struggling with their feminine creature, due to their social upbringing and our society today, this is a MUST read.

5 comments about Memoirs of a Sex Industry Survivor.

1. This book is fantastic! It was riveting! Once I picked it up and began to read, I could not put it down!



2. I read this book recently and it was such a great read! I am a sexual abuse survivor myself, and this book really shows how one thing leads to another in the sex industry. This is a good book to read if you are a survivor yourself, or if you are curious how it is women (and some men, too) get into the sex industry (pornography films and magazines, strip clubs, prostitution, etc...). If more people knew how this cycle really worked, more women and children could be saved from a devastating life-style. Through this book, I learned that just because a person working in the sex industry smiles through his/her job does NOT mean they really want to be there. It's not so much a choice at that point - too much harm has already been done, and they feel as if there is really nowhere else to go. THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ!



3. 
   
   This book was great...next to Lap Dancer and the fairly
   new release..Dance to Despair , memoirs of an exotic dancer..
   it was one of my favorites...these women ought to get together
   and go on the Ophra show...you all have incredible stories
   that I think would intrigue the public....



4. This is a good story about how the sex industry can tear a woman apart, and how past sexual abuses can influence ones acceptance of the sex trade. HOWEVER it is horrible delivered. The whole book could have been just one chapter of Juliet's story. It was so redundant. She kept repeating the same thing, her stepfather wanted her body, she doesn't want to marry Patrick, she was molested, okay we get this but she will tell the exact same peice of story in one chapter, and repeat it verbatim in the next chapter. IT got to the point when it seemed as if she were just whining about her situation.
   
   I purchased the book from Barnes and Nobles last night, Im on page 73 and I keep putting the book down and trying to pick it up and go on. But, its just not interesting.
   
   I will return the book today and pick up something else.



5. Through the experiences of Juliet you are able to see just how easy the sex industry exploits womens lives. This book deglamorizes any notion you may have assumed about the sex industry.Through the life of Juliet you get a first-hand look at the horror that many of it's victims suffer through.This book gave a voice and light to the nameless NHI's who have died and were able to get their voice heard through the writing of Anne Bissel.Exposes the industry for what it is and the true dangers of the life. Describes prostitution as a dangerous addiction that needs to be evaluated and confronted.Great book I cannot wait until her next one.

5 comments about My Daughter Susan Smith.

1. This is a tragedy that is repeated many times with different results throughout this country. There are many outside influences that contribute to behavior patterns. Many people ignore or refuse to acknowledge the problem or source. Others cannot find helpful advise when they seek help. (examples, bill clinton, jimmy swagert; 2 different types, same type of problem.) It is sad that these things happen. The book confirmed some thoughts that I had about the boy's father. Also someother things were confirmed about her childhood. Mrs. Russell needed to speak out and this how she knew to do it.



2. Linda Russell sounds like a complete freak and a disgrace to society. No wonder her daughter ended up killing her kids. I mean what idiot would get married a gazillion times, marry some man who is so depply troubled that he ends up taking his own life, and then getting with another man who is very unmoral and doesnt have any character at all. He sexually abused his own stepdaughter and refused to stop! what a creep! and then Linda Russell cared about this man more then Susan so she tried to "cover up" his actions instead of acting in the best interest of her daugther. Linda Russell is clearly a piece of white trash and I feel so sorry for her daughter, Susan Smith, because people don't have any control over who their mom is. It was so disgusting the way she blamed David Smith. While he might not have been the perfect father Linda Russell was probably one of the worst mothers you could ever had. It makes me sick when I think about this idiot trying to make a profit off the deaths of her grandsons. All she does is let the public know what a horrible person she is. While Susan was the one who physically let the car roll into John D. Long Lake Linda Russell was fully responsible for her daughters impaired mental state which ultimately lead to the deaths of her grandchildren. I know she must go through a lot of pain everyday but if anyone deserves this kind of pain she does. She should be the one behind bars for life.



3. This book made me sick. How dare this woman basically blame David Smith for the murder of Micheal and Alex? Susan is the one who sent those babies into the cold, dark water of John D. Long lake to die. David lives every day, including yesterday, which would have been Alex's 13th birthday, without his sons. It is this woman's daughter who is responsible - no one else. Don't waste your money on this piece of trash.



4. I don't think a Grandmother should write a book that is going to make her money about the deaths of her grandchildren. Her daughter is a murderer & just because a book was written saying different isn't going to change anything.



5. This book is pathetic. Linda Russell has spent her time blaming everyone else for what her daughter did. There is no doubt that some of the people in Susan Smith's life behaved very inappropriately but in the end it was Susan who decided to murder her children and then lie about it. I really believe that she murdered her children because she still thought she would have a chance to be with Tom Findlay.
   
   Linda Russell has no difficulty in blaming other people for what her daughter did but leaves herself out. Ms. Russell was pregnant and married at a young age to a very unstable man. She did not choose to get out of this situation but decided to bring two more children into it before he killed himself. She then married another man and stayed with him even after finding out that he had sexually abused her daughter on a number of occasions. Maybe if she had taken more responsibility for her own life those beautiful little boys would still be alive.
   
   Ms Russell indicates that Tom Findlay is not an honourable man. I believe that he was very truthful with Susan and do not see how this makes him dishonourable.
   
   How much did she get paid to write this junk? The only good that could become of this book is if she has decided to donate all of the profits to an organization that is interested in the protection and of children.

5 comments about The May Queen: Women on Life, Love, Work, and Pulling It All Together in Your 30s.

1. To be fair to the editor, women are doing many things in their 30s, so it's probably difficult to turn this topic into a cohesive book. Having said that, this book was disappointing. Some of the women have interesting stories to tell, no doubt about it (example: one of the authors is the granddaughter of the Rosenbergs, executed for treason) but with most of essays, it isn't clear what the heck the stories have to do with being in your 30s ... similar essays could have been written in 20s or 40s, or even other decades. I got the feeling these were interesting authors who were struggling to adapt pre-existing work or themes into the "30s" theme. There were a few standouts in this book, but overall I thought the writing was uneven. If you are interested in books regarding being single in your 30s, and children and whether to have them, etc., I strongly recommend "Maybe Baby", an anthology of essays by writers which is much better written.



2. Thank you for sharing some amazing voices, Ms. Richesin really put this book together beautifully. I especially loved the quotes before each essay. Thirty something and finding my way, with so many other women, I could really relate. I am looking forward to more from her and her writers, thanks for the inspiration.



3. This was a pretty mediocre collection. A few of the essays are interesting (I liked the one about the woman who begins a search for a sperm donor, and the one from the former sex worker) but too many just go nowhere. I felt the contributors spent too much time talking about husbands and boyfriends and not enough on the topic of the book. And although the editor did a decent job gathering a racially and ethnically diverse group, she apparently didn't even try for any diversity in terms of sexual orientation; all of the contributors are straight (well, one apparently is bisexual but she spends zero time talking about women). Overall, not that strong of a collection.



4. Turning 30 wasn't as I had hoped. Being the youngest of three by a gap, I was used to feeling young and always younger than everyone else. As I entered my thirties, I felt depressed whenever the ages of a football star, actor, or big shot manager appeared in an article. They were such big successes and not even 30. There I was, in my thirties believing I had accomplished little outside of raising a family. After all, anyone can become a parent and not anyone can become a CEO or best-selling author.
   
   Reading each story, my reactions ranged from "I've been there!" and "I remember that!" to "Never been through that, thankfully, but I understand." And "OK, maybe being 30 had good points."
   
   In reading books like these, a collection of true and intimate stories, you sense that you're there listening to a best friend or being a fly on the wall hearing stuff that you would otherwise never hear. Great collections do just that and The May Queen succeeds. Any gal in her thirties will feel less solitary while reading the stories.
   
   Flor Morales shared her experience of going back and forth between El Salvador and California where her family shamed her for cheating on her husband, an alcoholic. She proceeded to tell her tale of crossing the border for good to pursue a better life with another man.
   
   In my twenties, I wanted to climb the corporate ladder as high as I could go. But my expectations started toppling after my second child arrived when I was 29 and not a manager. Slowly, I began to change wanting instead to climb the family ladder with an occasional nudge from a career success. It turned out, from reading these stories and others about us Gen-Xers, we struggled with the "having it all" in our twenties and as we matured, we came to appreciate life more as we understood successful careers were nice to have, but not something that made life completely meaningful.
   
   In "My Missing Biological Clock," Megham Daum pondered her lack of interest in becoming a mother in spite of society's pressures of "having it all." So every story isn't about horrific or incredible things that happen to others and not us.
   
   Ayun Halliday's "A Random Sampling Age Thirty to Forty" resembled a list more than a story, but what an insightful list! Read a random sampling of things that happened between ages of thirty and forty and compare those to things that happened between ages of 10 and 20 and 20 and 30. This fast-read will instantly cheer up anyone struggling with having lived three decade of their lives.
   
   With 27 stories of varying lengths in over 250 pages, busy women in their thirties can easily read a story in between feedings, during lunch break, traveling somewhere exotic or whenever they find a moment to simply take pleasure in a good story. As a mom of three with my own freelance business, it was effortless to take a break to read one story at a time and feel another ounce of appreciation for life in my thirties.



5. At the ripe old age of 30-something a woman has to say good-bye to her maiden consciousness, of the young girl and younger time. There is no guidebook for this rite of passage, but this collection of personal tales are an indication that - the 30's are the decade to pull it all together what you have learned of who you are before 29 ... and making stepping into your own.

5 comments about I'm Still Hungry.

1. First, I admire Carnie Wilson. She is talented, gutsy and outspoken, as well as intelligent and poignant, not to mention very humorous. She prides herself on telling it like it is, which I really appreciate. She's been through a very public ordeal with her weight (and is still going through it, and probably will for as long as she remains in the public eye). I find Wilson's weight struggles to be fascinating, and some of that is because she is almost brutally honest about her failures (as well as her triumphs), not to mention her extremely complicated, extremely deep dependence for, and love/hate relationship with food. I can certainly relate to much of what she has gone through.
   But, the fact is, "I'm Still Hungry" is, at heart, a very shallow book. I have to ask myself why, since Wilson, herself, is anything but shallow. I can only conclude that Wilson, having undergone the very drastic, life-altering surgery of gastric bypass, must now feel that it is simply Not possible to allow herself to view this operation as anything but wonderful. Oh, sure, she Does talk about several of the downsides of the surgery, but she always gets back to how *great* it was to have it, and have *fabulous* it is to now be so much thinner (despite some conflicts). I believe her - but not completely. Her giddy tone cannot hide something even more trenchant: the deep and abiding love of food she (still) harbors. Weight-loss surgery has *not* taken this love away, nor, one feels, an even more troubling desire to binge on the very goodies she is not really permitted to have anymore, save for the tiniest of amounts. The book's title says it all: Carnie Wilson is *still* hungry and, lest you believe the form this hunger takes is mainly symbolic (for new life experiences and so forth), the book opens with a striking dream Wilson had, in which she is running through fields and streams of...food. I've had similar dreams, myself (prior to going on major bingeing sprees). Not only that, but Wilson dedicates her book to the "old fashioned buttermilk donut". She's tongue-in-cheek about it, which, for me, only serves to undermine her seemingly flippant, jokey dedication. The fact is, Wilson is strongly attached to food, always has been and, I think, always will be. Therefore, I take great interest in her struggles and the road she is on. She chose gastric bypass because she truly felt she had no other choice. I honor that, of course, (and the courage it took) but I also think that for a person who loves food as much as Wilson does, it might end up being a decision that comes back to haunt her. Perhaps WLS was the Only decision that she *could* make, if she wanted to survive (Wilson's first book, "Gut Feelings" definitely paints this portrait). "Gut Feelings" is, in many ways, a much more serious, in-depth book than this one is. Yet, Wilson is much further along on her gastric bypass journey at the time that this book came out. She knows, in fact, that she really Is still hungry (very hungry), and frankly, all the glee and glamour (and dishy photographs of Wilson) in this book Cannot disguise a sense of something very much like desperation coming through. A woman who is desperate to control and reign in her driving appetite for food. A woman desperate to believe that she really Really has made the absolutely Right decision by going for the surgery (and, perhaps she Has, but the right decision does not always mean that things, in fact, will always turn out just right - or even close to it). Yes, she lost the weight, but now she must eat really tiny portions - much more so, than if she had been able to lose weight by being not bingeing on food. Of course, without this operation, she probably would not have lost 150 pounds. Or got to pose for Playboy (I'm certainly ambivalent about this particular "triumph", but I can well understand a formerly fat girl's desire to "show them all" that she can be beautiful and desirable...and *thin*). I'm sure she honestly believes that the surgery has been completely worth the pain and setbacks. I really hope, for her sake, that it will continue to be so. She is now, at the time of this review, struggling to stop gaining more weight, and trying to lose the weight she has already gained. Clearly, gastric bypass does Not take away cravings - not for life, anyway. I came away from this book with a hollow feeling inside. It's almost like the after-effects of a food binge. There is crazy/giddy energy, and then: a real let-down. Carnie Wilson truly got to have the thin body she always wanted (it must have often been hell to always be the "fat sister" next to slender, fashionably-attired Wendy, whom she loves dearly, it must be noted). Carnie Wilson got to pose for a famous men's magazine. Moreover, Carnie Wilson knows what it is like to lose half a person, in terms of weight. But now, Wilson has to struggle with regain (something whcih almost All morbidly obese people experience after weight loss) and she also has to force herself to eat like a mouse. For life. This, for a woman who could and did eat with gusto. She is *still hungry* and I think she always will be, even if she manages, somehow, to get back down to her lowest weight, after the surgery. Gastric bypass is, after all, at the end of it, just another diet. And we know that diets more often fail than not. I think her story, far from being the bon-bon of glee this book tries to present, is, instead, a very sad one in many ways. I think Carnie Wilson is a strong, strong woman and I admire her for that. However, I wish that someday, medical science will have alot more to offer fat people than the miseries, compromises and limitations of gastric bypass surgery.



2. Great book. Carnie Wilson's experiences, obstacles, bariatric suggestions and emotional ups and downs are presented. It gives a realistic view about what to expect, how to feel and the journey after weight loss surgery. Highly reccommended!



3. I recommend this book to anyone interested in WLS surgery, or knows someone who is having it. Carnie gives great information on what to expect after surgery, how she coped with issues the doctors don't talk about and kept me uplifted and excited about having my surgery. It was a quick easy read and I plan on having my husband read it so he will understand how and why I am choosing to do WLS.



4. As with her first book, I was dissappointed. There is little quality in this book when it comes to GBP. While there is information in there about some struggles and what it was like for her, the "meat" of the book was about her posing in playboy, and being in love. The crude language remained, although it was not as bad as her first book, "Gut Feelings." I was going to sell these on eBay, but I think I will just give them away!



5. I really enjoyed reading about Carnie's experience because I have also had WLS. She offers great ideas, although I caution you that one should always talk to his/her own Dr. and not just taking her advice. Anyway, my complaint with her book is that she is sooooo inlove and sooooo happy all the time. It seems as if this was a panacea. Yes, I am happy and I have had great results from WLS, but it isn't all peaches and cream. In fact, there are many days that I don't even want to face the world. She seems to glamorize the surgery too much and she talks about her wonderful, fantastic, amazing husband too much! Enough already- we get it you're happy!

5 comments about Unshackled: A Survivor's Story of Mind Control.

1. This book is the best I have read on this subject. Mind Control by trama of little children growing up into adults for use by the power elite is just as sick as it gets. It appears this practice is not uncomon and is a criminal abuse of humanity behind the smiling faces of those who are in the know. I wish Unshackled was the only testamony of its kind, but there are many more cases like this, and countless others who were abused by trama and just dumped as duds. All for power and perversion. If you want to know more, this book is a very good read. A+.



2. This book is not an easy read, but it does contain some interesting information that makes it worth buying and reading. If you are into conspiracy theory it is a must have.



3. If I didn't already know that a lot of what Ms. Sullivan speaks of actually goes on, I would think she was an absolute nut. Sadly, most people do not inform themselves beyond the traditional mass-media outlets, and so do not know about things such as MK-Ultra, Project Bluebird, Larry King and the Franklin coverup, or Project Paperclip, all of which can be easily researched via the internet. These people will no doubt write this story off as the rantings of a deeply disturbed person, which I suppose they are in a way. This is a horrible tale of cults, unspeakable childhood torture the specifics of which I will not mention here, but they are unbelievably horrible, and this woman's struggle to get her life and mind back. It is told in a necessarily fragmented way, as she is still struggling to piece the whole picture together, and so it's not Hemingway or anything, but it is clear, concise, and easy to read, with extensive notes (from mainstream, respected sources) following each chapter. If the person who says she is Ms. Sullivan's daughter is who she claims to be, then I completely understand why she is so disturbed by her mother's book, it's a real headful for me so I can just imagine how it is for someone who lived this hell. As fantastic as it seems, this stuff really happens, it really does, and the sad thing is that it sounds so crazy that people just don't believe it. That's why it is allowed to happen. Of course I don't know if her particular story is true, but knowing what I do I am inclined to believe that it is. If you think this is crazy then do an internet search on the topics I mentioned, then order this book and educate yourself.



4. I have read a number of books by survivors and the horrific accounts of abuse all seem believable to me. I'm not sure who Emily is only hoping that it is not another means of disinformation. My cousin's wife had a nervous breakdown due to past ritual abuse. This is happening and it is real, make no mistake. Sad but true. If you really want an eye opener read this book. People need to start pulling their heads out of the sand.



5. Kathleen Sullivan is a very different person than when I first met her. Today, she is well organized, educated, and intelligent. When I first met her, she looked like the walking dead. Her eyes were blank and seemed to look right through me. I saw a very scared woman who didn't know if she was going to make it to the next day or the next hour. I felt very sorry for her, a single mother alone most of the time, taken advantage of at any given moment by perpetrators, especially her father who was also her "guiding counselor." I'm proud to have been her husband and supporting partner during her journey out of hell into the light she lives in today. During the hardest part of her recovery, I cried many tears because of her sorrow. I met and comforted the scared little children inside her. I wanted to lash out at anyone who would want to harm her. She did not deserve the grief, abuse, terror, and torture she endured for decades. I can attest to the grief, tears, sorrow and terror she relived, almost every day, as she wrote Unshackled. When I read the finished manuscript the first time, it was as if Ms. Sullivan was letting her light shine towards those who had never cared for her. I was amazed that her heart was still open to her former abusers and other detractors. I'm glad she wrote Unshackled. I give it 5 stars because it is quality work with far-reaching truths.

No comments about Unrelated Kin: Race and Gender in Women's Personal Narratives.

1 comments about Willa Cather Living: A Personal Record.

1. Ideally, a biography is meant to give the reader a true feeling of what the subject was really like. For Willa Cather, there is perhaps no biography that does this better than the account of her life by Edith Lewis, who knew, and lived with, Willa Cather for well over 40 years.

   At 197 pages (in the original edition) this book is short by biography standards; yet, reading it, I came away with a greater feeling of what Willa Cather was like than in all of the other biographies on her that I have read.

   We get great personal details in such passages as: "I think Willa Cather never got so much happiness from the writing of any book as from the Archbishop; and although Shadows on the Rock is of course altogether different in conception, in treatment, and in artistic purpose, it may have been in part a reluctance to leave that world of Catholic feeling and tradition in which she had lived so happily for so long that led her to embark on this new novel." (Pg. 155)

   Or, "...Willa Cather had a great distaste for luxury hotels...She was extremely gloomy and discontented, even resentful, the first day or two [at a particular luxury hotel], as if she had been cheated out of all the things she had come back to Aix-les-Bains to find. It was not until we removed to the plain, old-fashioned Grand Hotel down in the town...that she recovered her happy spirits." (pg. 159-160) (Indeed, Cather loved her extremely austere, pastoral summer cottage at Grand Manan, Canada; which was purposefully rustic and simple, but where she spent a great deal of time.)

   Or, "When her [Cather's] brother Roscoe's twin daughters were babies, and she went out to Wyoming to visit him, she never tired of playing with them. She played with children, not as if she were a grown person, but as children play--with the same spirit of experiment, of adventurousness and unreflecitng enjoyment." (pg. 169)

   Or, "She was a little tired that morning [of her death]; full of winning courtely to those around her; fearless, serene--with the childlike simplicity which had always accompanied her greatness; giving and recieiving happiness." (pg. 197)

   This biography is recently back in print (I had to scour and search to get my edition), which begs the question: how could such a fine biography--written by Cather's life-long friend and house-mate--written on perhaps America's finest writer, have gone out of print in the first place?