5 comments about Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir.

1. In this her most recent book, Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun and author of twenty-five books, continues to think out loud about just what it means to know, love, and follow Jesus in our crazy, contemporary world. This is the third book by her that I have read, and I have come to appreciate her spirit and gift to do what good writers do, which is to connect with the every day experiences and aspirations of her readers. Using her own spiritual journal entries from across a four year period, she pushes, pokes and prods at the various dimensions of Christian living. In particular, I appreciated three themes from this book that also recur in her other works.
   
   Chittister writes from very much "inside the box," the box that is the Roman Catholic Church. But no one likes to be boxed in, much less a feminist like her, and so one theme from this book is what I would call institutional frustration with the church. Our Christian institutions and churches often purvey a sort of "god of the system" that asks us at some level to sublimate our deeply personal identities to the group identity. But then we risk forfeiting conscience and becoming what she describes as "institutional robots." So, we try, often with very limited success, to change the institution for the better. Others just want to leave the church out of frustration. In the end, Chittister pictures herself as a "loyal member of a dysfunctional family" (p. 135).
   
   A keen scholar like Chittister is also full of provocative questions about important issues like women's ordination, the place of gays in the church, global justice, and, as a member of a Benedictine community, obedience to the institutional church. But critical questions are just what the church often suppresses, obscures, or responds to with superficial and ideological answers. We can acquiesce to this, too, out of fear of being wrong or even punished. But Chittister does not want to live the Christian life asking other people's questions or accepting their answers, so she keeps asking, seeking, and knocking: how does the Christian relate questions of personal conscience and intellectual integrity to churchly fidelity?
   
   Personal failure and struggle are also prominent themes for Chittister. The problem, it would seem, is to foolishly accept perfection as our standard or goal. But that goal is an oppressive one, and a set up for failure, for no Christian this side of heaven will ever reach it: "The problem, of course, is that we fail. We know ourselves to be weak. We stumble along, being less than we can be, never living up to our own standards, let alone anyone else's. We eat too much between meals, we work too little to get ahead, we drink more than we should at the office party. We're all addicted to something. Those addictions not only cripple us, they convince us that we are worthless and incapable of being worthwhile. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy of the worst order because it traps us inside our own sense of inadequacy, of futility, of failure" (p. 195). Instead, we ought to view failure as "among the best friends of the soul" (p. 91). Rather than subscribe to the unattainable, we should come to appropriate the "sanctifying nature of mistakes and calculations" (p. ix).
   
   Chittister begins her book with a well known story of the seeker who asked the monk just what they did in the monastery: "Oh, we fall and we get up, and we fall and we get up, and we fall and we get up again." Beyond the institutional frustrations, the stymied but important questions, and the realization of but limited progress, she encourages us to hear God's voice to keep going, to "find the me in me" (p. 111), and to cultivate a sense of being at home with yourself because of the extravagant love and grace of God.



2. This book by Sr Joan Chittister is inspirational and confirming.
   All believers who wonder, once in a while, if it is all true - no matter what comprises the "all", will find solace and consolation in this book. Sr Chittister answers your doubts and fears by putting hers on the line. Written beautifully, as are all her books, this one has you saying 'Yes, that's me!' over and over. I would recommend it to all who are interested in their own personal spiritual growth.
   
   Jeanne MacCoy, San Leandro, California
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   



3. Joan Chittister always has the best sense of melding together the human with the divine, the natural with the supernatural, reality with theology. She's done it again.



4. I only wish I had the option of a "0" star rating. This book disrespects and disregards the teachings of the Church. This was particularly frustrating to me since I converted to Catholicism only a year ago. I have dedicated myself to Christ and His Church and try my best to align myself with it completely. The Church and all of its teachings (particularly regarding faith and morals) are true - as Catholics we agreed to submit to those teachings when we made our Profession of Faith at Confirmation. The stand the Church takes on the issues discussed in this book and the stand the author takes are polar opposites. I have never been so saddened by a book - and sad for the author who seems to have fallen away from the Catholic Church. What she says is completely heretical - a term that I don't use lightly. Complete lack of regard to the teachings of the Church is denying the truth of the Church. She should not be writing as a Catholic unless she actually is Catholic. As far as I am concerned, she has already left the Catholic Church. This is evident in her answer to the question: "Why do you stay in the Church?" Her answer: "Why do I continue to align myself with an institution so closed, so heretical, so sinful? Because Jesus stayed in the synagogue until they threw him out. That's why." She is in no way aligned with the Church. This book (if it is not already) should be banned by the Church. I pray for Joan, that she may convert back to Catholicism.



5. Five stars for heresy!!!!! Well Sr. Joan, if you think its important for women to be priests, you better find another Church. It ain't never going to happen in this Church. The book is a brilliant treatise on what is wrong with most nuns who do not wear habits. If you want to know how feminist nuns convince themselves they are still Christian READ THIS BOOK!

No comments about Ladies of the Night: A Historical and Personal Perspective on the Oldest Profession in the World.

5 comments about Still Life With Rice.

1. This book was recommended to me, and although I was warned about some of the "weirdness" of the approach, still thought it might be worth reading. I was disappointed on many levels, and would not recommend this book to anyone else.
   
   First off, this is not a biography in the strictest sense. It should be treated as historical fiction. The author takes the voice of her grandmother and is clearly making up a number of details (some slightly disturbing, like grandma's sexual encounters). Some of her history, however, is inaccurate.
   
   As has been mentioned elsewhere, the author isn't the best writer. As an example, at one point she is talking about the U.S.-run refugee camps around Pusan and describes numerous hardships such as being sprayed with DDT, fighting rats, cold showers, and dangerous electricity. And then to finish it off, she writes the line, "The worst hardship, however, was the lack of privacy." What?!?
   
   I think what irritated me the most, however, was what was left unsaid most of the time. I suspect part of this is because the author didn't do her research, and part of it is because of the author's own biases. The grandmother is from the yangban class, so a member of the aristocracy of Korea. The background and connections this entails are somewhat covered in a peripheral way, but not in a conscious way. Through most of her life, the lead character is well off. And when she does suffer hardships, the obvious connection between her background and the experiences and results are stripped out. It didn't come as a shock to me that such a wealthy landowner wasn't happy with land reform.
   
   Another issue here that is important to 20th century Korean history but are completely glossed over is that grandmother collaborated with the Japanese in China. This is skirted around, but there is nothing respectable about selling opium to the Chinese, even before acknowledging that the Japanese are the suppliers. There is mention that this made her a little uncomfortable, but it didn't get in the way of her greed. When they return wealthy to Pyongyang, their neighbors know about what they did in China. Again, no surprise when this comes back to haunt them; the core of the military in the north was formed from people who fought against the Japanese.
   
   All this, taken with the occasional historical inaccuracy and the grandmother's fanatical approach to religion at the end of the book took away all trust I had in the author to tell me a "real" story. Because the grandmother seems to present certain events as "miracles", you have to figure out for yourself how events really played out. When you find out that other male relatives are still around later in the book, you can only guess what role they played during the late 40s.
   
   In the end, the author's search for her Korean identity leaves us with a negative impression of what it means to be Korean. I think that's a disservice to Koreans and Korean-Americans.



2. This book is amazing. It really brings the Korean culture into sharp focus. The North Korea-South Korea divide was tragic and this story is beautifully told tying in the war, family, love, divide and salvation. I recommend that you also purchase In the Absence of Sun.



3. Summer reading doesn't have to be a chore. This book was required summer reading for my 9th grade communications students at an international school in Korea. While "required" might turn some off, I was pleasantly surprised at the novel's readability. It is the poignant memoir of a Korean woman who survived the Japanese occupation and civil war of her country eventually making her way to America to live in California. Her grandaughter tells the story through her grandmother's eyes, and it is truly amazing how provocatively she relates the private wishes, dreams and feelings of this woman of a different era. What is most impressive is the feelings invoked on the reader of the applicability of this woman's story to the nation of Korea as a whole. I hope that the wish related at the end of this fantastic memoir comes true!



4. This is truly an incredible journey: A true story that reads like a gripping novel: from a mother trying to cast out the worms that gnaw at her daughter's stomach, to trying to cross the shell of a bridge from North Korea to South Korea during the war, with children in tow. It will make you appreciate everything you have: your family, the food on your table, the clothes on your back. It will make you want to read the sequel: In the Absence of Sun, which details the family's struggle to smuggle family out of North Korea--unbelievable! There can't be a more oppressive country on the planet. Helie Lee draws attention to this divided country that is often overlooked.



5. and this is one of them. This is a good quality book written from an interesting perspective. I highly recommend.

5 comments about Narrative of Sojourner Truth (Dover Thrift Editions).

1. So often we find out how important a piece of text written hundreds of years ago can change the way the human species views the world as well as themselves. The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is such a novel. Not only does it show the harshness of human error, it also illuminates the strength and compassion that exists within all of us . I now realize how iggnorant I actually was before reading this novel. I had no idea that cruelty to slaves was so prominant in the northern part of the U.S during the early 1800s. The reader can feel the raw emotion radiating off this extraordinary women who faught so hard for racial and sexual equality. Sojouner(or Isabella) is so commited, she even fasted for three days just to improve herself spiritually. It is acts like this as well as the numerous occasions where she seeks to help others that will leave the reader in awe. I would suggest this book to any body interested in America's history and anybody who is looking for a little inspiration in their lives. This narrative is part of America's young yet vast history and should never be forgotten.



2. Provided a valuable insight into some of the thinking of slaves even while experiencing inhumane treatment and searching for their own identity. A woman of courage, foresight and well ahead of her time.



3. In a world that still suffers from the blight of slavery, mainly in Islamic nations and northern Africa, and Sudan, but also through the sex trade in nations like Thailand, this book is a great nonfiction account, especially for grade and middle schoolers, but also for all who think slavery is a thing of the past.



4. I can never tire of learning the depts of suffering black woman had to endure. It gives me even more pride for my people and much hope for a better tomorrow.



5. very much a must read
   the way the words flow
   with your thoughts
   as if you were really there
   to me it is a must read
   nice book

5 comments about Cancer Vixen: A True Story.

1. I loved this book! Have been waiting for M.A. book since read "Who the hellis SHE anyway?!"
   My mom survived ovarian Ca and also could appreciate this book. Saw her tear up and laugh all within a couple of pages. I work in Women's health and have shared this with many intrepid women and they say it has helped too.
   Now want to try the restaurant...
   Thank You M. A. M.!



2. This book is truly excellent. I laughed and I cried. If you enjoy comics, intelligent ones, this is a gem. Will Eisner in heels. A fantastic book. I loved this work.



3. I found this book incredibly entertaining ...simply a great read! It rocked my emotions from sadness, to laughter, to disbelief and made me feel extremely fortunate by the end. The cartoons are creative and oh, so humorous. The comedic relief was provided by Mom who could be my own. The story is a triumph over breast cancer and sends a powerful message to all women and families.A must-read, whether you are afflicted with breast cancer or not. You won't be able to put it down.
   Barb



4. I have purchased this book 3 times, 1 for myself and 2 as gifts. I don't even know how to describe how great this book is. Not only is it an amazing story of survival, but it has a lot of great information in it. Highly Reccomended!



5. A breast cancer comic book? YES. Ms. Marchetto has given us all the gift of the story of her experience in a very accessible form.
   
   One thing that stands out: the poignant interactions with her fellow cancer patients nearly brought me to tears.
   
   Thanks for writing such a great book.

5 comments about Five Men Who Broke My Heart: A Memoir.

1. In Brazil, books are so expensive you'd think there was a ban on them, and few modern, non-Brazi authors get translated and brought over. So, when I saw the Portuguese version of Five Men Who Broke My Heart in a tropical small town nook, I had to grab it and run for my life from the Brasileiras circling around the last few candy-red jackets.
   Sue's story is universal. It serves to empower those of us who need righting through example; and sends us on a trip in a relationship-Delorian to the core of what went wrong, and what could've been avoided. Sue does her teaching through a hands-on vivisection of her most bumpy landings on love's concourse, and in the process, she opens not only her own black box but ours as well. That's because as soon as you delve into this book, you'll realize, "Hey, that's ME in the Wonder Bra!" You'll see your mistakes and the snaking paths you could've straightened, or at least know how they went into making who you are now.



2. For anyone who's ever Googled an old boyfriend or done a drive-by of his apartment, this book will make you laugh out loud, nod with recognition and maybe even cringe a little (but in a "good" way -- we've all been idiots for love). With fearless honesty and "Seinfeld"-ian wit, Shapiro autopsies her five most significant relationships, and in the process, gains fresh insights into her relationships with the "other" men in her life: her father, brothers and adoring husband. If you have a pulse, you will recognize yourself on every page and scribble down many of her priceless one-liners to e-mail your friends (sample: "Damn Brad. He knew how to push my buttons. He'd programmed my buttons" and "My cherry lip gloss left rings around the filters of my Pall Malls, a pre-teen middle-aged divorcee"). RUN to your wallet, remove your credit card & buy this book for anyone who's going through a break-up (even if that's you). Because despite Shapiro's semi-torturous road to True Love, she gets there, and it will give you hope that you will, too. (You'll also never forget the Aunt Shirley story and "The Marriage Fluffer"). Filled with humor and heart, this book rocks!



3. I could not stop reading this book, i did not want to put it down. The whole time it made me think about my own life and review my past and present relationships. She is a great writter who speaks about real life issues. I loved this book and it has inspired me to read more of her writtings.



4. An awesomely brave woman, this Susan Shapiro. And to write it all down and splay it all out for the public; bravery at its finest. This is the kind of book that I just did not want to end.



5. So much of what you find in a book is what you bring to it when you read it. I liked this book a whole lot--enough to recommend it to several friends because I thought it was a good example of looking honestly at your past to see how you got where you are now. Several times I wanted to shout at the young Susan, "Grow up and quit being so melodramatic!" But that's what I wish I could shout back through time at my own young self, as well. In the end, you are what you are, and what you've done has made you into the person you are today. I identified with Susan's propensity for choosing the wrong man and for shutting down good relationships for bad ones. She does grow up, though, and this walk through her youth was honest. She doesn't pull any punches, even for herself. It was very well written, if sometimes a little frustrating (it's really hard to watch people make mistakes in slow motion). If I had a daughter, I'd give her this and "He's Just Not That Into You" as good instruction manuals.

5 comments about Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life.

1. As a child, Harriet McBryde Johnson never thought she would live a long life. At least that is what the telethons on television kept saying. However, she has. Yet, this is not a "triumph over disability" story. It is a story of a woman who is living her life fully. From a law student schooling the University of South Carolina on the subject of civil liberties to experiencing a disability-themed conference in Cuba, the reader is taken on a journey in which he or she just might view disability in a different way by the end of the book.
   
   This book was really powerful for me. I was born with Cerebral Palsy. However, it has not been until the last couple of years that I started feeling comfortable with myself as a person with a disability. I read this book as part of a class I took this semester and I'm very glad I did. Stories like these remind me that disability is not a negative and that we are worthy of full, rich lives.



2. The chapters in this book are arranged chronologically, but each is a discrete story. The episodes varied enough so that I was never bored: Ms. Johnson protested telethons, resisted a search of her dorm by the Secret Service, ran for office, served as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention, visited Cuba for an international conference on people with disabilities, argued in a jury trial, and more.
   
   Her views on disability as a civil rights issue aren't presented in a didactic way; they become clear to the reader as she confronts her opponents. I liked being privy to the details of her experience, even though she presents herself as nearly always right. While I read I was thinking that she came off as SO sure of herself that I would find her overbearing and a little obnoxious in person. However, she acknowledges the thorniness, and clearly isn't out to be the reader's best friend.
   
   Other than that note, I felt myself in good hands. I have a better understanding of what it's like to need and live with a personal assistant. I was familiar with the basics of disability rights, but the book got into nuances I hadn't considered-- the pressures and trade-offs in Cuba, where genuine intentions for equality butt up against severe economic limits, for example. And it reinforced ideas that non-disabled people glide over: most of us will be disabled sometime. Disabled people aren't necessarily more "terminal" or "suffering" than the rest of us, because frankly everyone suffers and dies. And if that sounds depressing, don't worry: some of the stories in this book were so funny I had to read bits out loud to my spouse.
   
   This is a four- instead of a five-star review because I didn't feel I quite got a fair view of the author's opponents; it was just a little too one-sided, although that enhanced some of the humor. But the book was still well-written and fascinating. Definitely worth reading.



3. This new book by Harriet McBryde Johnson, a civil rights attorney in Charleston, SC and disability activist, is a must read! Her book, Too Late to Die Young, provides insight into aspects of her life and career, but the author states upfront that "This book doesn't have a tidy message." Ms. Johnson is a gifted writer with a provocatively tilted perspective that is worth hearing. She accurately describes herself as a story teller in the great tradition of southern story tellers. I knew her stories were worth reading when, early on in the book, in describing a German doctor's bedside overnight care, she wrote "Now I remember how he kept vigil at my bedside so my parents could sleep and then fell sleep himself. As I listened to his deep, barrel-chested rumble, I imagined he was snoring in German." Later in the book, Harriet, after having noted that her normal viewpoint of most people is at crotch level (due to her posture), described her first impression of someone she met: "It's love at first sight - at my first sight of his shoes." Wonderful!
   
   This easy to read book (a mere 258 pages) includes the bulk of the text of Unspeakable Conversations, a 2003 New York Times Magazine article she wrote that described her conversations with Princeton Professor Peter Singer about his beliefs that the severely disabled, in some circumstances, can justifiably be killed. Interestingly, she is conflicted about the accommodating and courteous man versus his "evil" ideas. She acknowledges that she stands outside the radical mainstream simply for having engaged Mr. Singer in a conversation. Sundry other topics this self-described "crip" covers are her personal crusade against telethons, her atheism, her battles with the Secret Service, caustically amusing anecdotes from the 1996 Democratic Convention in Chicago, a trip to Cuba, and battles with a New York Times photographer who wants to shoot her nude ("nekkid" in her parlance) and does -- but not for publication, and many more amusing and unsettling stories.
   
   If you want to read a sweet story about a courageous and noble fight against disability that profiles an individual who overcomes great obstacles to achieve self-fulfillment, this IT NOT the book to read. Johnson`s book isn't about her disability (adamantly so)...but the fact that she is disabled inescapably colors her stories in powerful ways. You won't necessarily fall in love with Harriet, her politics, or all of her causes, but I think you will love her passion for what she believes, what she does, who she is, and why she does what she does. Ms. McBryde is a new and profound voice (at least to me) that is worth listening to.



4. While I disagree with a fundamental premise argued in the book, I do recommend it for many reasons. First of all, the author can write! She has filled the book with interesting and unusual experiences, described them with wit as well as passion, and she challenges people like me on some basic assumptions and conclusions. I do hope readers of this book will follow up with Peter Singer's Writings on an Ethical Life (referred to in Harriet Johnson's book) in order to hear Singer's opinions in his own words.



5. This has been a good year for disability rights in terms of publications. First, Mary Johnson published Make Them Go Away and now we have Harriet McByde Johnson's much anticipated Too Late to Die Young. Read together these texts provide a powerful one two punch for the disability rights movement in an era which has seen the courts gut the Americans with Disability Act. Both authors have been champions and leaders of the disability rights movement and each are gifted writers.
   
   Harriet McBryde Johnson is a gifted story teller--although I wanted to savor the text and make it last I was too spoiled to do so. I read the book cover to cover the day I received it. Now, I am going back to re-read each and every chapter. Each story told resonates at some level regardless of the subject matter. What truly struck me the most was that my life is not so different, that I am not so unsual, and that the bigotry and discrimination I encounter on a daily basis is no different from what other disabled people face. I am not the only one that is subjected to unwanted attention and grossly inappropriate comments. I am not the only one that found Christopher Reeve comments about disability offensive. I am not the only one who is treated poorly when I travel on an airline. In short, discrimination against the disabled is rampant and it is heartening to know others are experiencing and fighting against this. To know that I have two gifted authors on the side of equal rights lets me not only feel better about myself a feel less alone but know the future, in spite of the courts, will be better than the past.

5 comments about Love and Consequences: A Memoir of Hope and Survival.

1. I didn't know the book was fiction until I went to review it. I'm disappointed that the author couldn't be honest about this, but the story is still good. I have a sister who lives in the Bakersfield area, who raised two African American children in grinding poverty in a very bad neighborhood. There are many things about the story that rang true from what she has told me. The question for me: does the story move us forward? I think it does. I feel more compassion for poor people and the circumstances that lead them to crime and the gang life. Maybe I'm naive, but I think that's a good thing despite the deception by the author.



2. This is ridiculous, anybody who been involved or even been around this life on the outside edges would be able to tell right from the beginning where she says the thing about using K's for c's. becuz they would know that C's would not be spelled with a K, but a cK. so right from the beginning it prooves that she is ignorant of what shes talkin about. c's become cK=crip killer, there is many different parts of the language that gets changed, not just c's, so if that is all she bothered to change to the "blood speak" (just typing that made me roll my eyes) then its even more ignorant becuz she couldnt even bother to find out what language really gets used n what it stands for, just uses someone elses life as a frame to make her own picture look better and thats sad.
   
   Books like this make me sick, for real, cant people just write somethin real, or somethin fiction and admit it. you cant get away with lying like that forever. its sad also, that she robs other peoples lives, when in reality there IS many white kids as the minority in the ghetto, but it aint a myth. But people like her faking it, takes away from the reality of their situations, like its just some concept to be used for your own good and not someones actual life and suffering. What a pathetic thing to do, now being upper class and priveleged is so hard that people gotta pretend they had a different life to get acceptance?
   
   Her use of the slang wasnt even on point, that should tell you straight up at the start what kind of suspect book you have.



3. This is a well written, most engaging story and it is so unfortunate that the author chose to label it as a true memoir which caused the publisher to recall it. BUT give her a chance... it should be read, not "banned"! (I chose to read it anyway because I'd heard the NPR interview with the author and was intrigued. And, I certainly was not disappointed at all in the book.)
   I think the author has a real gift to tell a story with feeling. Her descriptions of events and people are indeed well crafted. She has a talent for painting pictures with words. This tale of a youth growing up in the inner city is a fascinating, believable and captivating one. And, if you "read" the book on CD, you'll be treated to not only a well-written story but a well-read one as well. It's truly a "hard to put down" book. I hope she writes more, honestly!



4. Memoir or Fiction it is a wonderful and interesting book. Read it and see.



5. I started to read this book even thought I was aware that it was not, in fact, an autobiography. I stopped after the first chapter because I felt I had been duped. Wish I could get my money back.

5 comments about Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams.

1. This is a somewhat disappointing book about a fascinating woman during a fascinating period of our history. The book was highly recommended to a friend of a member of my book club, but the women in my club agreed that the author failed to make Abigail Adams "come alive." The writing was tedious, especially in the first half. I read "The Summer of 1787" just before this, and "Dearest Friend" pales by comparison, especially in the richness of the story telling. Nonetheless, the book contains history I didn't know or had forgotten, and I'm glad I read it.



2. I assigned this book to college freshmen and sophs.... in US History.

   I did not like how it portrayed Abigail as "long suffering," yet strong. The two did not mesh well.




3. During the history of the United States there have been many women who have sacrificed just as much or more for their country than did Abigail Adams, but not many. Thanks to the voluminous correspondence of Mrs. Adams this book was made possible and should stand as a monument to all of these women.

   In recent years the life of John Adams has been reexamined and his role in American history has again come to the forefront. Without Abigail, Mr. Adams could never have accomplished what he did. For unlike many of the other leaders of the Revolution, Adams was not a man of means. When he was away, someone had to look after the family's domestic concerns. That someone was Abigail. John became so accustomed to having Abigail to take care of home and hearth that when he did have time to see to such matters he seldom did.

   This book details the work Abigail did behind the scenes to allow John to make his vital contributions to American independence. We see a strong woman who is more than willing to take charge of a given situation and make a decision. We also see however a wife who misses her husband. Abigail and John Adams are one of the true love stories of history. Their complete devotion to each other is amazing, especially in that the longer they were together the more in love they became. In the end becoming almost one soul in two bodies. Abigail's worst hardships didn't involve the work she did but the separations from John. Separations that lasted months and then years at a time.

   Abigail is also shown in this book as a woman of strong conviction but also a woman of great contradiction. She and her husband helped make the American Revolution but she detested revolution as a threat to the social order. She believed strongly in a good education for women but still thought a woman's place was in the home. She believed the election of a Republican President would destroy the republic, but eventually became a Republican herself. Mrs. Adams was also probably a better politician than her husband was and while she had much influence on her husband, there were times when he paid no attention to her and ended up wishing he had. For example, it was Abigail who first saw the danger posed by Alexander Hamilton and it was Hamilton who in the end cost John the Presidency.

   An excellent book but not complete. A much larger volume would be required to do this great lady justice. Still, it is wonderful that there is such a book at all for the women of that era are often forgotten. Abigail once advised John to not forget the ladies. Advise we should remember in the 21st century.




4. While in college I took an American History class because I wanted to, not because I had to. In the process of writing a paper on the role of women in the American Revolution, I found so many references to Abigail Adams, that I knew at some point in the future I would have to read her biography. Well, I just completed this book and I can't recommend it more highly!
   
   With so many books regarding the Founding Fathers being touted at the bookstores recently, it's wonderful to read the story of one of the Women behind one of the Men. Though not traditionally educated Abigail's knowledge of politics, curiousity about everything, and affection for family and friends is well-documented through excerpts from her numerous letters. The sacrifices both she and her husband made for the fledgling America are a sober reminder of the courage and bravery required of our ancestors.
   
   In a time when woman were subservient to men, she stood head and shoulders above other members of her gender. Her husband wisely depended on her counsel, love and care.
   
   This is a wonderful biography that takes the reader back in time and place so vividly as to feel present at the birth of a nation and a voyeur into the unfolding political career of the second President of the United States and the woman who loved him.
   
   I, too, wish American History had been presented this richly in my grammar and high school years.
   
   After reading this book I would suggest reading "John Adams" by David McCullough, though quite lengthy, it is worthwhile to read the other half of the "conversation".



5. This is a beautifully written tale of an extraordinary 18th century woman. She was the wife and dearest friend of one US President and the mother of another. Her husband depended on her political acumen, and trusted her judgment. She was sometimes referred to as the old lady in the politics. She corresponded on business and politics with many men including Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps our first American feminist, Abigail Adams was full of contradictions.

   As a staunch revolutionary, she foresaw the need for independence from England perhaps even before her husband, John. She advocated education and political freedom for women long before it was respectable to do so.

   As practical homemaker, she worked the farm, raised the children, and handled the family finances including investments. Abigail liked investing in securities; John preferred land. They made investments in both. Her dependability in these matters secured the home front. This allowed her husband to attend the Continental Congress, sign the Declaration of Independence, serve as minister to France and then England, as well as serve as the first vice president, and then 2nd President of the fledgling USA. Without her shepherding the family finances, either the family would have been ruined; or the United States would have lost one of its great founding fathers.

   As a post-revolution political conservative, she hated the republicanism of Jefferson, although she respected him as an honorable man. She foresaw the problems with the French Revolution before Jefferson and his Republican cohorts. She did not understand the criticism of the free press. She strongly advocated the Alien and Sedition Act, passed by congress during her husbands presidency. It addressed the two of what she thought were the serious threats to the security of the USA& that of foreigners and criticism of the government by the press.

   The paradox of Abigail Adams is that she had always established her identity through her husbands achievements. The author tells us that Probably Abigail would have been astonished to find herself transformed into something of a celebrity one hundred fifty years after her death. Yet surely she would have approved of the reasons for her fame: the interest of a later age in the history of family and domestic life, as well as the history of politics, and above all its interest in the emancipation of women and the discovery of women in the past who spoke out on behalf of their sex.

   The beauty of this book is that Lynne Withey presents Abigail Adams as a real human being, not an icon. It is easy to understand why Abigail was Johns Dearest Friend.

   I highly recommend this book.

3 comments about Choosing You: Deciding to Have a Baby on My Own.

1. This book is so well written. You feel what the author feels. It is extremely powerful.
   
   Wonderful. Highly, highly recommended.



2. This fascinating and painfully honest book takes you on a journey with one brave woman as she "chooses" her child. As she tackles head-on the thorny problems surrounding such a choice ("googling for sperm"!) the reader goes with her. It's for everyone who wants children, who has children, who has decided against having children because the soul-searching and practical implications touch us all - men included. Highly recommended!



3. I sat down several hours ago to start reading this book and could not put it down. As a single woman considering becoming a mother, I found Ms. Soiseth's book heartwarming, funny and marvelously honest. Many of the books on this subject that I have read seem to gloss over the "scary bits" - the doubt, the challenges, etc. Her story was a complete picture of the experience, in all its wonderful, scary, and ultimately joyful glory!