Book Description

This is a story about home . . .

At a time when much of America is yearning to recapture the spirit and feelings of a more innocent era, comes this exceptional new book from one of our most beloved actresses: a story of one woman's journey to reconnect with the landscape of her childhood.

Though best known today as the star of the television series Once & Again and Sisters, Sela Ward considers herself first and foremost a small-town girl. The eldest of four children, she was raised by a father who helped her believe in herself, and by a mother who taught her a sense of the importance of virtues like self-respect, grace, and sacrifice. In her hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, within a tightly-knit community of neighbors and kin, Sela learned ways that would remain with her throughout life -- humble virtues that were "forged in the hearth of a loving home."

After graduating from the University of Alabama, Sela left the South in search of the excitement of cities like New York and Los Angeles, and the creative rewards of an acting career. But as she started her own family, she found herself pining for the comforts of her small-town childhood -- and searching for a way to balance her children's West Coast upbringing with a taste of a more natural way of life. She and her husband built a second home on a farm there, where she and her family could retreat several times each year, and became involved in several projects designed to restore the vitality of the hometown she remembered so fondly. Even as Sela was reconnecting with the rhythms of home, though, her world was rocked by a crisis the family had long anticipated but never quite prepared for -- the death of her mother. As her family gathered around her mama's bedside, Sela's simple journey home became something far deeper: a turning point in her own life, as she pondered her mother's complicated legacy, and came to terms with just what it was she herself was searching for.

Filled with warmth, storytelling, and laughter, Homesick is a book to treasure: an exploration of the lessons we carry away with us from childhood, and a celebration of the bittersweet legacy of home.

Reviews (19)

Homesick for one's roots!
Don't we all cling to memories of our roots? Sela Wards's sensitive, personal explanation of her longing to maintain her Southern roots while maintaining balance in her family life with a loving husband and children in Hollywood is a sign post for all us. Not the 'tell all' Hollywood insider story that will generate salacious headlines...but a deeply personal and touching remembrance of Ms. Wards upbringing and the special values that help define her role as a parent, spouse and personality. What a great read!!

Told With Grace
Sela Ward, in HOMESICK, has written a memoir full of heart, grace, and love. She tells the story of her life, of her family, of her Mississippi with an all-embracing spirituality and faith. Sentimental, but not saccharine. Strongly and confidently told, without overbearingness. Cynical people or those looking for some explicit "Hollywood tell-all" will be disappointed. Sela doesn't even identify those former actor boyfriends by name. If you're looking for "dirt" all you'll find in this book is Sela's love for the rich soil of her home. Highly recommended, not only for Ms. Ward's fans, but for anyone who is searching for their own definition of just what "home" really means.

great book
homesick is an awsome book. her life is interesting to read about!!!buy it!!!!its the best

Sela Ward Finds Her Way Back Home
Go down south with Mississippi born actress Sela Ward. Homesick is a refreshing look at the everyday life of a young girl as she moves from small town life to young adulthood in New York and then settles in Hollywood.

Sela shares the story of her family stating, "The Wards have always walked a fine line between conviction and orneriness..." She admires her father and her mother. She talks much of the way she grew up as a southern girl, the south's traditions and the legacies, girl talk sessions, cliques, church, the family restaurant, charm school and even hanging at the local Quik Stop. It's rather refreshing that the book focuses on the positives of life.

Sela speaks of her own life, though not with Hollywood spectacles on. She shares her climb to success but does not allow it to take over the entire telling of her story. Her claim to fame is only part of her. Her family, her history, her place of birth are so much more.

Homesick also touches on issues such as racism in the South, the tragedy of September 11, overindulged children and drugs. The book also details Sela's mother's death and the hardship on the family.

The book is generously sprinkled with photographs which tell a story themselves. You'll see the young Sela, the model, the actress, but mostly you'll see the real Sela Ward, the one who stood at her mother's knee and listened to the stories of her family.

A Lady With Inbred Southern Charm
The memoir of a beautiful woman who went to NY City and then
Hollywood but longed to go home again.
A person can never really go home again, as another Southerner,
Thomas Wolfe wrote, but Sela Ward tried very hard to duplicate
her upbringing,when she married and had two chidren.
This is a book of a woman who developed in Meridian,Miss-
issippi;during the 1960's and 1970's.Her family isn't perfect
but they are good people.
A younger Sela neede more in her life to express her ambitions so she moved away.What she also found was she also needed
stability and family.
Unable to have a realistic family life in Hollywood-she
and her husband Howard Sherman set about building a new family home back in Meridan, Mississippi.Here they are surrounded by Sela's close relatives and their children are
able to lead a more rustic life.As often as possible they
reside in comfort and live here.
This is unlike any Hollywood story.People respect each
other and help one another.
It is refreshing to read about a Hollywood star, who is just like other ordinary folks.Her lovely Southern charm comes
through in the telling of her Family's customs. ... Read more

Book Description

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio introduces Evelyn Ryan, an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry, and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950s and 1960s. Evelyn's winning ways defied the church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated views of housewives. To her, flouting convention was a small price to pay when it came to raising her six sons and four daughters.

Graced with a rare appreciation for life's inherent hilarity, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for fun and profit. The story of this irrepressible woman, whose clever entries are worthy of Erma Bombeck, Dorothy Parker, and Ogden Nash, is told by her daughter Terry with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit will always triumph over poverty. ... Read more

Reviews (81)

A Daughter's Tribute
This was an uplifting, feel-good book. The small-town, large family setting showcased Evelyn Ryan, who never let her life get her down. She had a troubled marriage and little money, but her talent for writing jingles (and her sense of humor) pulled her through the hard times. She won hundreds of prizes (and cash too) in the days (50s and 60s) when companies used consumers to help them advertise their products. Everything from toasters and large appliances, cars, and trips were won by this indomitable and inspiring woman.

Ryan's daughter Terry writes this story with grace, admiration, humor and love for her mother. You will laugh and cry while reading this book!

An absolute JOY to read!!!
This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read! It is charming, humorous and filled to the brim with inspiration! Evelyn Ryan was a homemaker during the 1950's and 60's with ten children and an alcoholic, sometimes abusive husband. She loved to write and was gifted with a marvelous talent for writing short, witty verse. Using this talent she was able to keep her large family fed and clothed over the years by entering contests of skill, which were very popular at the time. Often she would win just a dollar here and there but her winnings also included two automobiles, thousands of dollars in cash ( once a large enough sum to move her family from their two bedroom home to a much larger one) suitcases, watches, a supermarket shopping spree and the list goes on and on. Evelyn was a true competitor with a great sense of humor and a very positive outlook on life. Even when she did not win a prize she never let it get her down but instead just tried harder at the next one.

This book will also appeal to anyone who might have grown up in a large family during the fifties and sixties. A time when people were more reluctant to get into any sort of debt or to let anyone, even their own relatives, know the financial difficulties they might be experiencing. The Ryans went through some very tough times but their mother's attitude usually turned around even the most difficult situation. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It includes many photos of the Ryan family and samples of Ms. Ryan's contest entries. You will be delighted when you read them! I was fortunate to find this book in hardback on a sale table at my local bookstore and didn't realize until I started reading it what a treasure I'd found!

Highly Recommend
I thought Terry Ryan overall did an exceptional job sharing her mother with us. Not only is Prize Winner inspirational, it brings back Americana in the 50's. Her narrative could have been written with a bit more creativity. (Having A few less jingles would not have lessened the essence). I was intrigued with Evelyn's capricious style of handling the unexpected challenges that life can throw you. Her imagination and creativity was a true gift, a proven affirmation that you can find and focus on the positive, not just see the negative in life. Terry did a great job capturing this in her book. Prize Winner also enlightens you on the strategy used in advertising back then.

This is in response to June 4, 2004, from a reader in Maryland: I understand questioning Evelyn's ethical standards regarding entering contest's with false names and teaching her children how to lie. You were harsh and unfair though, with your comments regarding her children and marriage. In the 50's you did not have women shelters or crisis centers. Majority of women were not trained to be professionals, capable of being the breadwinners of the family. Back then, babies and marriages weren't as disposable as they are today. You can't change what was, you can only learn from it to move on. Of course Evelyn made some mistakes, who hasn't! This story offered much more though. Just think, the memories written in the books to come will be titled: "My Life in Daycare", or "The Many Partners of my Parents".

A story of family love
This is the story of Evelyn Ryan, a housewife and mother of 10 children who supplements the sometimes unsteady income of her alcoholic husband with contest winnings during the 1950's. She has a special talent for creating winning slogans, poems and jingles and wins many smaller prizes including kitchen appliances and cash but occasionally strikes it big wining large sweepstakes prizes, bailing out the family's financial situation on more than one occasion.

Written by Evelyn's daughter, it warmed my heart to read about the love that was shared in this large family. No, this was not a perfect family (are there any?) But in spite of the financial challenges that faced this family, the enthusiasm, optimism, and spirit exhibited by the mom and passed on to the children are truly characteristics to be admired.

Dysfunction made cute
As I got further into this book, I started to really dislike this woman. Already living on a shoestring with an abusive, jealous alcoholic who kept a full 30% of his pay to cover liquor, she goes on to have 10 kids all of which for a long while slept in one room. If it weren't for family, they'd have little if any food so what do they start to rely on? Contest prizes. Insipid, stupid verses she enters - multiple entries - under fake names, name variations, etc. She 'stuffed the box' so to speak. She earned the down payment on a house by entering a contest (open to kids) under her son's name and then coached the son on how to respond to questions about 'his' entry. She saves wrappers all over her house and finally, inevitably, frequents the town dump. In spite of their situation, I had little respect for her methods and at times, was glad when I heard she hadn't won. Really glad.

This was a highly dysfunctional family. I hate to dis someone's Mom, but the author put this story out there. If she felt that her Mom was a hero, then good for her, but to me, I would have kept this 'sweet' story to myself had it been my family. ... Read more

Book Description

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), the author of the classic novel for children, Anne of Green Gables, kept extensive journals for most of her life, beginning them in 1889 when she was fourteen and continuing them until shortly before her death. The much anticipated final volume of The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery caps the publication of the unique and powerfully told life-story of this gifted writer. Providing an intimate portrait of the last years of her life as well as a fascinating social history of life in a Toronto suburb, this final volume covers the years 1935 to 1942, the year of Montgomery's death. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

I've been waiting so long
These journals, are beautifully put together.I remember when I found the first one and then each suceeding volume.I knew this one was coming.I even called the author at Guelph University to ask her how much longer I would have to wait.

She said then that they had to wait for some of the people in the journals to die before they could publish them.I would guess Dr. Stuart Macdonald was one of them.

They thrill me and make me feel closer to thise amazing woman.I've read everything she's written now.The sad thing is that once this volume is finished there is nothing new to read.

My greatests thanks to L. M. Montgomery and to Drs. Rubio and Waterson for their great work.

Fascinating
Poor poor woman. I could scarcely put it down. But it brings up many questions.Why did she think that Mr. Leard, the Love of her life, was not worthy of her?Why did no one ask her husband Mr. McDonald what the heck was bothering him?Why did she not know in 5 years of courtship that something was terribly wrong with him? Poor, poor woman.The synthesis of this book is when she asks herself why a woman that she felt was mean and hateful was happy and she was not.Indeed, why?

The Life of Canada's Most Beloved Author
This is the most interesting and enjoyable diary I've ever read. It's no wonder that this was a best-seller when it was first published. L. M. Montgomery, who liked to be called Maud, was a remarkable novelist and diarist. Most of her readers love her for the Anne and Emily books, and I'm a fan of her fiction myself, but I believe her greatest literary achievement was her journals. I also believe that her best novels which will live on are the first two Emily books, Anne of Green Gables, Anne's House of Dreams, Rilla of Ingleside, and the Blue Castle. Also, of her thousand or more poems and short stories, about a dozen of them are outstanding little works which should not perish.

These early journals start when Maud was 14 and end when she's 36, a year before her marriage to the Rev. Ewan Macdonald. Maud's ability to pen a compelling narrative makes the journals read almost like a novel. She writes about her teenage years full of friendships; her year-long stay with her father and his bitchy new wife with whom she didn't get along; her college days full of classes and courtships (she would turn down several marriage proposals); her years as a teacher when she met and fell madly in love with the eldest son of the family she was boarding with; and then the dull and frustrating years of living with and looking after her aging grandmother, which nevertheless did have its happy days, including professional success as a writer, the peak of which was the publication of her classic "Anne of Green Gables." This journal is a most remarkable achievement of a most remarkable woman.

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

The journals
This is a fabulous work.As a teenager, I read all the novels published by L.M. Montgomery and absolutely loved them.The journals, though, add another dimension to her writing.I have read all 4 volumes of the published journals (supposedly there is one more to come) multiple times.These books offer a fascinating look into the upper middle class life style from the late 1800s to the mid 1930s when the author passed away.Some of issues she covers:
-a powerful look at World War I from the view of Ontario resident
-childbirth in the days before pain killers (she said a toothache was worse)
-her awe at scientific advance (when vitamins were discovered she realized why she was always so lethargic all winter)
-her husband's mental illness in the days before drugs
-meeting the who's who of Canada at the time
Absolutely fascinating for anyone who loves history!

I enjoyed this book very much
I give this book a very high recommendation and think anyone who reads it will love it as much as I did.I have read a few biographys on L. M. Montgomery but reading her own thoughts, in her own words was even more interesting and insightful.I am looking forward to reading the next journal. ... Read more

Book Description

Drawing on the diaries of a midwife and healer in eighteenth-century Maine, this intimate history illuminates the medical practices, household economies, religious rivalries, and sexual mores of the New England frontier. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

a moving account of a woman's life
Ulrich's book is a moving account in an underexplored area of American History--the lives and economies of early American women. This book is a double triumph--Martha Ballard kept a detailed diary for almost three decades and Ulrich rescued the dairy from oblivion to create a luminous work of scholarship. This book was moving and engaging beyond almost any work of history I have ever read. Nothing else I have ever read has given me a better feeling of what it would be like to live as a woman in those days. What a triumph!

the lives too often unrecorded
Thanks to gifted historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, I hear the voice of Martha Ballard as she goes about her productive, meaningful life in late 1700s Massachusetts. I also feel her shining, transcedent spirit nearby as I read. Martha's diary is filled with the cycle of neverending chores that still characterize the lives of women today. As caretakers, we cook, launder, clean, over and over again. Martha's diary also opens our eyes to the lot of our earlier sisters as they lived through (if fortunate, they lived) an 18-month to two year cycle of pregnancy, birth, and lactation.

Martha ministers to them both in body and spirit; and the entire, closely bonded community of post-colonial wives and mothers is depicted in her story.

"I returned home at 10 hour morn, find my house alone and everything in Arms. Did not find time to still down till 2 pm." How this still resonates as women try combine work in the outside world with the unrelenting demands of domesticity!

Kudoes to Laurel Thatcher Ulrich for this brilliantly edited, extremely necessary part of American history---a woman's life as told by observant, compassionate, hard-working Martha Ballard. Ulrich has included statistics of maternal and infant mortality that cause one to question the wisdom of the "heroic intervention" style of obstetrics that came later: Martha experienced only about a 4% loss rate, which stands up impressively until the days when antibiotics reduced the mortality rate to insignificance.

get a glass of water!
There are parts of this book that are so dry. Yet, there are parts that are so wonderful. The editor should have edited!

Fascinating Look Into a Dynamic Woman's Life
This is a fascinating look into a dynamic woman's life. There is a great deal of "personality" and drama in the seemingly mundane diary entries. The author is truly gifted to have seen past the ho-hum recordings of daily life and pulled out the diary's real worth. The midwife's live is rich, full, and busy! However, the author weaves in plenty of historical background, too, using the diary as a stepping-off point to discuss local history, legal and social issues of the time, women's roles in economics, religion, etc. The book is quite enjoyable and allows the reader to connect with the past from a new angle.

I have to include this note, though. In some instances, the book is really quite academic. I can imagine it being used to supplement a history or women's study class. It is not a light biography, to curl up and relax with. But, don't let that put you off :-)!

Now for background...
I picked up Ulrich's book on Martha Ballard for background and to get a better sense of life in New England during this "Dark Age" of American genealogy research. My ancestors, especially the women, are lightly documented during this time period, their lives even less known than their husbands, brothers, and fathers.

Martha Ballard (unlike many women) moved around Hallowell, Maine--not across New England into New York and then to Ohio only to be buried at the end of an exhausting life with a wooden marker to mark her contribution. Martha stayed put and recorded her accounts, the weather, her exchanges with neighbors, births, deaths, and the sensational events of her day. Without Martha's record the vast majority of her neighbors and family would lost to history with no record of birth or death, let alone the homely remarks about the pain of losing a child or frustration with a son's less than ideal behavior.

This is a wonderful book, not just about Martha's life, but of her time. It helps describe the quality of life among people, their relationships, and interdependence with one another. It adds another dimension to what I understand about my New England antecedents. In particular, it adds hugely to my dim understanding of the shadowy figures of the women...in Martha, they come to life as strong, capable, and a vital part of life in New England. They are not the silent handmaidens of history. As Ulrich points out, without Martha's diary, even her first name might have been questioned by subsequent researchers--this is certainly the case of many women, whose identity became completely submerged in their husband's.

The historical research is excellent and well-documented. The writing is solid and communicates clearly without the dry, academic yawn factor. Ulrich presents her point, then supports it. From a historian, I expect no more...nor less. It's an outstanding read. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

I loved this book
It's a very good bookclub book.

BEST BOOK EVER!
I had heard Joel tell stories before, and when I got this book as a gift, I knew I would love it. I started one night at eleven, thinking I would read a bit and then go to sleep. I finished the book at five a.m. I have read books that I couldn't put down before, but this one practically paralyzed me. I just had to keep going. It is beautifully crafted and well-told. If there is ever a rough spot in your life, this book will get you through it. Heartwrenching and wondefully funny, it is a book I will treasure forever.

A delightful experience
This unassuming little book is packed with bits of wisdom. I loved quotes like: "The Talmud asks, 'Who is rich?' and answers, 'The man who can appreciate what he has'" and "Sometimes you must follow your dreams very far to find that which is closest to your heart."

The story is also funny and heartwrenching and uplifting. Ben Izzy's profound experience is told in a very real, personal way, and as he struggled to understand the loss of everything he valued, I struggled with him.

Do not miss this book...it is a treasure.

Extraordinary Book
EXTRAORDINARY, A ONE-IN-A-MILLION EXCEPTIONAL BOOK, A MUST READ, PACKED WITH WISDOM. You will not want to put this book down. Joel Ben Izzy is a professional storyteller who, because of a mindboggling twist of fate, loses his voice and is no longer able to perform. Months and months pass and there is no sign that his voice will return. How does a person let go and redefine one's hopes and dreams? Ben Izzy utilizes the tales he was once able to tell and applies their lessons to his own life. But perhaps the greatest benefactors of his experience are the readers who take to heart what he learned about the "secret of happiness."

Thoughtful and elegantly crafted
THE BEGGAR KING AND THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS was by far one of the best books I have read in the last five years. Always on the search for that perfect novel that takes the reader through a wide range of real emotions and teaches something wise and profound with out being 'preachy,' Joel ben Izzy's book fit that criteria and so much more. I laughed, cried, sniffled, giggled and smiled my way from opening to final sentence. This would be an excellent gift book this holiday season and a welcome addition to your own personal bookshelf. I know you'll love it. ... Read more

Book Description

A stunning collection of Annie Dillard's most popular books in one volume. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

American classics. Read them.
That's about it. Everyone who loves books knows about Annie Dillard. She's probably going to rank up there with Thoreau. That's a comparison I'll bet--though I haven't checked--must be a cliche by now, in comments on Dillard, and if so I'd further suspect that the author herself would be tired of it. Still, that's probably handy as a rough indication of which literary landscape is her natural habitat. If you really enjoy reading--real reading, where verbal skill, style, and breadth of imagination count as much as the subject matter--then you owe it to yourself to be acquainted with this work.

Classic Dillard
If you don't know Annie Dillard, this is a good place to start. She has a wonderful writing voice, and constantly says things both surprising and true. After reading the entire collection, which is essentially three very different memoirs, I feel I know her very well - and yet, I know almost nothing about her.

Nature in a Different View
After reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, you will never look at nature the same way again. Her details are never ending and are so unique you feel like you are sitting in a field listening to her talk about her experiences. Her sense of care is much more deep than most people. Many citizens are uninterested about your life, but Dillard is over excited about these adventures. She is very honest throughout the book, and really justifies her thoughts well. Her feelings about religion are also a large part of the book. She believes in God, but wonders sometimes what he really does mean. Doesn't everyone do that? Her details are never-ending in that they explain everything from every dusty corner to things that you never would think about, or want to hear: "I scraped away the smooth snow. Hand fashioned of red clay, and now frozen, the bump was about six inches high and eighteen inches across. The slope, such as it was, was gentle; tread marks stitched to the clay."

This example from page 50, first full paragraph, is a wonderful illustration of how thorough she is in her writing. Instead of saying the bump was small and sloping, she decides to write with more action and feeling in the sentences. This helps the reader feel like she is actually there and enjoying the nature around her. Her interest in creatures seems to be unlimited . I have never seen anyone so interested in the concern of insects. The following passage shows this unending love of creatures: "Under the ice the bluegills and carp are still alive; this far south the ice never stays on the water long enough that fish metabolize all the oxygen and die. Farther north, fish sometimes die in this way and float up to the ice, which thickens around their bodies and holds them fast, open-eyed, until the thaw."

This section from page 48, first full paragraph, demonstrates care in that she knows so much information about fish and their habitats. This illustrates care and concern for so many in not just fish in general, but animals as a whole. So many times people ask us why, but we never really do have an answer, but it seems not to be the case for Dillard. She can justify anything with a credible answer. This passage shows her talent in answering questions to her full capability: "Is our birthright and heritage to be, like Jacob's cattle on which the life of a nation was founded, "ring-streaked, speckled and spotted" not with the spangling marks of a grace like beauty rained down from eternity, but with the blotched assaults and quarryings of time?"

This passage from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, page 242, continued paragraph, is an example of her justification. Even though she may have the story's background confused from the Bible, she does relate to "Jacob's cattle" several times. This gives the book strength and depth in that she knows her information. Religion is a big factor throughout the book. Dillard states what she thinks is equitable. Many of her statements speak that she is a believer, but she does ask what He means several times. Page 90, third paragraph, shows a great deal of Dillard's feelings: "I have never understood why so many mystics of all creeds experience the presence of God on mountaintops. Aren't they afraid of being blown away? God said to Moses on Sinai that even the priests, who have access to the Lord must hallow themselves, for fear that the Lord may break out against them. This is the fear. It often feels best to lay low, inconspicuous, instead of waving your spirit around from high places like a lightning rod. For if God is in one sense the igniter, a fireball that spins over the ground of continents, God is also in another sense the destroyer, lightening, blind power, impartial as the atmosphere. Or God is one 'G.' You get a comforting sense, in a curved hollow place, of being vulnerable to only a relatively narrow column of God as air."

The passage is extremely strong throughout and makes the reader reread the section. It is very deep and thoughtful. Dillard seems to have a awfully strong interest in the power of God. This subject and nature really brings about energy for the audience that is unusual in most authors. Annie Dillard writes exceptionally strong in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. She mentions exceedingly sturdy statements, which justify her thoughts, but she is concerned and caring for the things around her. Her details throughout help make readers more involved in the book. They feel like they lived with her during the past five years. Religion has a large impact on Dillard's view of nature. She feels that very day should be appreciated and welcomed.

Unparalleled imagery and use of language
For those who believe a declarative sentence in the Hemingway style is the nadir of literary style, Annie is not for you. For those who believe elegance of language enhances the reading experience, Annie is a joy and a treasure. Her images and allusions are the rich stuff of observation and imagination, poured straight and undiluted on the page. I'm sure she would say that this makes the act of writing sound far too easy (read "Writing Life" for a lucid rebuttal to any such misapprehension); I'm insanely glad that she endures the agonies of a writer to bring gifts like these remarkable books to us. Thank you, Annie.

Dillard's images smell of nature.
Dillard's polyphony of images creates a roundness and depth unfathomed by most modern nature writers. Overlapping images brings breath to observation. Her's are not images of nature upon the dissection table, but nature alive and exuding itself. Her observations pierce the bone and marrow of nature revealing the transcendence and sacrament that is man's experience with nature. Her writings give off the scent of true experience, true life and true thought. Dillard is quite possibly the premiere essayist of our period. ... Read more

Book Description

A MONTH OF SUNDAYS is about the seven months that the author spent asher dying sister's primary caretaker, and after her sister died, the 31 housesof worship that she visited in 31 weeks in her hope of finding an outlet for her grief and getting some answers to spiritual questions. Her houses of worship include traditional churches, mosques, temples, Buddhist, Zen, Spiritualist, Scientology, Salvation Army, and so forth. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

deep look at seekingclosure when a loved one dies
Author Julie Mars drops everything to be with her beloved sister Shirley Ann Carter dying of pancreatic cancer.Ms. Mars observed how her sibling returned to Catholicism, but worried that she waited to long and will burn in hell.When death finally occurred, Ms. Mars grieved deeply, but everyone reminded her that life goes on so she should leave Upstate New York to return to New Mexico to complete her PhD that she put on hold.Still that did not feel right to just go back to her lifestyle.Instead Ms. Mars vowed to visit thirty-one churches over thirty-one consecutive Sundays to learn more about the spiritualism and faith that Shirley discovered towards the end that gave her sister comfort that there is more and discomfit that she thought she failed to achieve the ultimate goal.

Thus the readers gain an intriguing look at a journey for more than the author's search for personal spiritualism and her sister.Instead this is a deep look at the living who need closure when a loved one dies.The various churches run the gamut of congregations to include different races, social and economic classes, etc; some provided warmth to the stranger while others enhanced her doubts re organized religion.Still all remain irrelevant as mourning is personal.Ms. Mar's journey is a memorable memoir of an individual seeking solace and worth reading especially by those going recently or expecting to go down that lonely path soon.

Harriet Klausner

glad I got it
I am just now buying a copy of this for my sister. I am ½ way through and I have to say I am moved by this book. I heard about it from a radio interview here in NY on WBER 90.5 my college station and I ran home and went to Amazon.com
I am very glad I did
If you have EVER spent time, looking after a loved one who is dieing then this is the book to reads about 5 years after. Do not read it when everything is fresh but do get it and do read it when you feel stronger. It is a nice reminder that you are not alone in your struggles
That others share your hurt, feelings and joy in life.
And for thoughts of us constantly struggling with the "main stream" faith we see used and abused around us this to will help to see it in a new light- again as one who is not a-lone in their feelings if nothing else

A very powerful book
I loved this book.Mars takes you along with her on a spiritual journey as she visits a different place of worship every Sunday for 31 weeks.She is also grappling with the recent death of her sister - who she cared for in the last months of her life - and through flashbacks to that time you learn more about why she is so drawn to going on a spiritual quest.Her honesty and beautiful writing made me sad to see the book end.I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Inside the Mind of the 20th Century
I'm not going to review all four volumes of this collection separately; what I say below applies to them all.

There are lots of reasons to read Orwell's letter, essays and journalism:

1. He's a great writer. It's a pleasure to read him, just for entertainment value. There's a little piece of doggerel from Orwell's school days that he quotes several times that is now stuck in my head:

The rain it raineth every day
Upon the just and the unjust fella
But more upon the just because
The unjust has the just's umbrella

I don't know why that sticks with me, but it's a great illustration of Orwell's use of solid, colloquial and even humorous English.

Moreover, in addition to providing wonderful model prose he occasionally writes essays about writing and language (the use of "Basic English", oratorical versus conversational English, what drives a writer, the totalitarian perversion of word meanings, etc.), which are insightful and interesting.

2. If you're interested in the Second World War (or for that matter, the Spanish Civil War), Orwell's writings amount to a sort of diary, a primary document. Even his book reviews almost inevitably contain some reference to the political and historical scene.

3. Orwell loved socialism (yes, the man who write _1984_ was a democratic socialist), but he loved freedom more. His simultaneous battle for socialism and against totalitarianism (i.e., the Soviet Union) is engaging, even -- or maybe particularly -- where he drops the ball.

...

I think Orwell's heart was in the right place -- he had seen close up (and written a good deal about) the suffering of the poor. Like many people who have their hearts in the right place, he jumped immediately to the idea that redistribution of private property and collective ownership of the means of production were the only way forward.

On the other hand, he was a writer and a man of ideas, a person who greatly prized personal freedom. His essays give an intriguing glimpse into the battle raging inside him between collectivism and individual liberty.

The First of a Terrific 4-Volume Set
I read this set many years ago, and it's great. There were better novelists, but Orwell was the best 20th Century essayist, at least in English, that I know of. Together with "Down and Out in Paris and London," "Homage to Catalonia," and "The Road to Wigan Pier," these four large volumes comprise the best of Orwell's nonfiction. As an essayist, Orwell was consistently clearminded, idealistic, honest and to the point. He is a pleasure to read, and he is one of my intellectual heroes.

I don't have a copy in front of me as I write this, but I'm pretty sure this first volume contains Orwell's unforgettable essays on the inner life of colonialism, "Shooting an Elephant" and "A Hanging". I highly recommend this set to anyone who is the least bit interested in Orwell. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The late Vladimir Nabokov always did things his way, andhis classic autobiography is no exception. No dry recital of dates,names, and addresses for this linguistic magician--instead, Speak,Memory is a succession of lapidary episodes, in which the factoidsplay second fiddle to the development of Nabokov's sensibility. Thereis, to be sure, an impressionistic whirl through the author's familyhistory (including a gallery of Tartar princes and fin-de-siècleoddities). And Nabokov's account of his tenure at St. Petersburg'sfamous Tenishev School--where he counted OsipMandelstam among his schoolmates--offers a lovely glimpse into theheart of Russia's silver age. Still, Nabokov is much too artful anautobiographer to present Speak, Memory as a slice of reality--aword, by the way, that he insisted must always be surrounded byquotation marks. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited
Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited written by Vladimir Nabokov is a rather enchanting, but poetic book about the author's early life. A recollection of his youthful years remembering is father as more liberal-minded and his mother as he describes her as very beautiful.

The author takes on a trip though time, a time soon to be shattered by the Soviet dictatorship. The author writes in a style that commands the English language, but with a foreign taste, making for an interesting read. The author's choice and usage of words will challange you so, be prepared to with a good dictionary and the meaning may be the secord or third usage.

The life style in St. Petersburg and the surrounding countryside are recalled by the author in a writing style wholly his own as he uses all the powers of an excellent writer to convey this intensely human, yet cultured story.

The book has splendid country estates, nostalgia, lost childhood and paint a rather unique picture of a loving family suddenly torn from peace to terror of the Bolshevik Revolution. We are taken on a tour de force through England for education, An emigre life in Paris and Berlin.

But most of all the book is a work of nostalgia and lost childhood written with a unique style by a master stylist of the English language.

N's powerful defense of liberty and preservation of home.
Nabokov's Speak, Memory is enjoyable and useful precisely because his experience of exile is so unique and so uniquely written. Time limits the autobiographer to dates, actual experiences and other rather black and white exegesis of life, but memory combined with the imagination fuses fiction to fact in way that compells the imaginative reader to explore his spatial-reality: what is a "colored spiral in a ball of glass" (275). This is both the way Nabokov apprehends (with emphasis on seeing) his life, and his philosophical-artistic vision towards literature-the dramatization of one's vision.

Nabokov limits himself to no such temporal and autobiographical constructs, and as such recreates and creatively illuminates his attitude towards a forgotten world, namely pre-Lenin Russia. Time, similar to Lenin, dictates his inability to return to his past utopian existance, the fantasy world of adolescent lust that the Russian Revolution crushed. Yes, we can read Speak, Memory as a subversion of totalitarianism, but it replaces the void usually created by such negitive-charged, albeit justified, criticism with the regenerating powers of the imagination.

With the intensity of spiritual euphoria, Nabokov embraces his liberating memory: "I witness with pleasure the supreme achievement of memory, which is the masterly use it makes of innate harmonies when gathering to its fold the suspended wandering tonalities of the past" (170).

Nabokov's prose is at times opaque and tedious to the fact seeking critic, but good literature as well as poetry challenges the reader to imagine more than words and dates. While reading Speak, Memory one realizes that it is at once the telling of Nabokov's life story, his reverence for and commemoration of memory told with the subtle candor of an egocentric adolescent whose profound discourse eclipses our dull, time-regulated reality with his luminous, spatially expansive immagination.

This book is worth the time it takes to read it, because Nabokov reminds the reader what it is like to lose one's home. He does not, however, lament his loss to the point of self-pity. On the other hand, Nabokov claims the significance of the individual's experience over the group's, the particular over the general.

In the last years of a century which began and ends with war, Nabokov, a literary exile of the 20th century, finds hope in the irrational landscapes of the mind, the home of the spirit, the imagination.

great memory, bad book
Obviously, I am the only philistine here, but I disliked the book, and gave up after the first 100 pages or so. The reviews here call the book tedious, irritating, haphazard, etc., yet they obviously found something to savor in it. Alas, I am not one of them. Perhaps it was the writing style that did me in, as I am not familiar with the author's other books. But I do think most memoirs benefit from having at least a rudimentary linear format. This book was like what the mind may do before you fall fully asleep - it plays hopscotch and images, people, places, etc. all tumble about willy nilly. I don't think imposing a more straightforward format on your memories necessarily destroys the beauty of them. It's just common courtesy if they're going to be out there for the public to cnosume.

Nostalgia
As a young child Vladimir Nabokov had an aptitude for mathematics. The Nabokov household had about fifty servants. As an emigre family Vladimir and his brother were in Cambridge and his parents and sisters and another brother were in Berlin. His mother by 1930 occupied an apartment in Prague and received a small pension from the Czech government.

Nabokov's ancestors had numerous and diverse contacts with the world of letters. Nabokov says that his nostalgia is nostalgia for a lost childhood not lost banknotes. The kind of Russian family to which Nabokov belonged had a leaning toward English products, Pears soap, English toothpaste. Vladimir learned to read English before he learned to read Russian.

One is always at home in one's past. Vladimir found his own French governess and his mother's governess living in retirement in Lausanne, Switzerland. The women spoke to one another then, although in the past when they were in the same house they ignored one another.

He was born in St. Petersburg in 1899. The tutor started in 1906. When he was eleven his father decided that he should attend school. His father belonged to the great classless intelligentsia in Russia. In 1917-18 the family was put into a position of utter insecurity. His father became a minister of justice and the family was lodged near Yalta. In 1919 three Nabokov families fled Russia via the Crimea and Greece. From 1920 to 1940 Nabokov spent time preparing chess problems.

The book has pictures and an index. The publishing history of the book's parts appears in the forward. The book has charm. The fascination of the study of butterflies is treated by the author. Another subject covered is an extensive catalogue of both near and distant ancestors of the Nabokovs.

"At last, words are meant to mean what they mean"
Vladmir Nabokov's Speak, Memory, is like no other autobiography I have encountered. Among its merits are his command of the language, the intimate perspective on the workings of a singular mind, and (to a lesser extent) the story.

This is a book about the most basic interactions between an individual and their environment. Whereas many raconteurs dismiss their early memories as a non-essential part of their story, Nabokov seems in some ways to have devoted his life to being true to that inner child. Much as Humbert became fixated on the nymphet Lolita after losing his first love, perhaps Nabokov became fixated on his youthful memories after being forced out of Russia, since these memories are all he has left.

He certainly devotes much of the book to early senses and feelings that do not lend themselves to a simplistic linearization of Nabokov's 'story.' For example, he devotes most of a page to describing the colors he used to associate with each letter of the alphabet. In typically fine form, he employs the perfect metaphor in describing the dull brownness of the letter 'h' as a "drab shoelace". Far from finding this too impractical, I for one enjoyed being reminded of how original thought can be when one is not encouraged to only think about important things. But Nabokov himself makes this point far more concisely when he entreats parents not to rush their children through the rituals they enjoy ("Never say 'Hurry Up' to a child").

As the author 'grows up' and interacts with the adult world, we inevitably see somewhat more quotidian descriptions of some of his thoughts and experiences. But he always remains unique. In addition to his broad range of talents, including chess and butterfly expertise Nabokov proved the exception to many stereotypes. This sheltered intellectual was simultaneously the athlete and ladies man. We may find his elitism and arrogance off-putting, but who could deny that he himself was special, or that his prominent family had played a fascinating role in Russian history? If we accept that he was special, it is hard not to honor his honesty; he could have shown false pride and revealed less of himself to the reader, but he fortunately chose not to.

This book is somewhat haphazard and episodic. Most frustrating is his decision not to write about what he at the time considered the third and final chapter of his life, his post-exile time of 'synthesis.' His unexplained switch to the second person in late chapters, when he begins addressing the material to his wife, is also somewhat distracting. It seems somewhat odd to me that given that this is a 'revisited' autobiography, he did not choose to smooth out such rough edges. On the other hand, I don't doubt that he had his reasons; a quick look at his body of work reveals that indolence is surely not the explanation.

In addition to the above reasons, I also limit my review to four stars since the recounting is inevitably somewhat slow at times. Not enough so to prevent it from being great literature, but more than enough to prevent it from being a great read. Again though, all was of course precisely as Nabokov intended it.

The only other book that really comes to mind when I think of this one is Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, although there are similarities with Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons. ... Read more

Book Description

El primer recuerdo que Isabel Allende tiene de Chile es el de una casa que nunca conoció: la "casa grande y vieja" de la calle Cueto, donde nació su madre. Esta casa, evocada por su abuelo con tanta frecuencia que Isabel cree haber vivido allí, se convierte en la protagonista de su primera novela La Casa de los Espíritus. Dicha obra vuelve a aparecer al comienzo de las fascinantes y seductoras memorias, Mi País Inventado, que ahora nos ofrece esta talentosa escritora.

Los asiduos lectores de Allende reconocerán inmediatamente a los miembros de esta familia chilena --abuelos, bisabuelos, tías, tíos y amigos--, personajes de carácter mítico que pueblan este magnífico libro. A su vez, es un retrato inolvidable de la idiosincrasia del pueblo chileno, su historia violenta y su espíritu indomable. Aunque Isabel afirma haber sido una extranjera en su propio país --"Nunca encajé en ningún sitio, ni en mi familia, ni en mi clase social ni en la religión que se me confirió"--lleva consigo hasta hoy la marca de la política y la magia de su tierra natal. En Mi País Inventado explora el papel de la memoria y la nostalgia que le ayudaron a dar forma a su vida y a sus libros.

Dos acontecimientos vitales alteran la peripatética narrativa de este libro: el golpe militar y la violenta muerte de su tío, Salvador Allende Gossens el 11 de septiembre de 1973 que la condujeron a exiliarse y a convertirse en escritora, y el ataque terrorista del 11 de septiembre del 2001, en los Estados Unidos, que sucita en ella un sentimiento de lealtad a su segunda patria. Mi País Inventado, cuya estructura sigue el funcionamiento de la memoria, recorre de acá para allá la distancia temporal en la que se acumulan las vida pasada y presentes de la autora. Esta obra se dirige al inmigrante, ya que refleja su experiencia y su lucha por mantener una vida interior coherente en un mundo lleno de contradicciones.

Reviews (8)

Destined To Be A Classic
I picked up this book because I'd heard of Isabel Allende (and the late Salvador Allende), and because I thought it would be helpful in my Spanish studies. I quickly became engrossed in the book and, as they say, couldn't put it down (except to reach for my Spanish dictionary).

Isabel Allende, author of numerous bestselling novels, was born in Peru, grew up in Chile, and then traveled with her parents to various diplomatic posts. Later, she was exiled permanently from Chile after the military coup of 1973. She writes about her native country as one who, having stepped outside her culture, can no longer return to it as a native, but sees it from the outside. She is a perpetual foreigner now, an outsider in every culture, and so she sees things others miss. In this book, Author Allende takes a nostalgic look back at her life, her family, her native land, its culture, its foibles and its great strengths. She also reveals a great deal of her own inner self, creaing a powerful bond of intimacy with her readers.

This is a book which transcends time and place. Written in a simple, conversational style, it draws the reader in, engages, delights, and amazes. And it causes the reader to think and reflect. She is able to discuss world-shaking political events in the same intimate style, and caused this reader to reflect deeply on some of the political currents of our own time. The author has a sparkling sense of humor, and often got me to laugh, though her message is profoundly serious. I believe this book will be recognized as a classic. I recommend it highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Chilenos y los Sudamericanos
La narracion es placentera y veloz para el lector. La voz es optimista a pesar de su cornucopia de penas (el golpe militar; la muerte de su hija; el destierro; divorcio; etc.) No abundan las innecesarias ornamentaciones y descifra las melancolias einseguridades causadas por la complejidad de su pasado.
Allende sostiene y siente el hibridismo que afecta a muchos Hispanos en los Estados Unidos. Es decir, ella logra concretar la nostalgia que sentia por su pais que ya no es suya y acepta cierta marginacion en un pais anfitrion al cual no esta totalmente acostumbrada. Esto compartimos muchos hispanos. Ni de alli ni de aca. Allende nos lleva con ella a Chile de una manera sencilla y personal. La honestidad de los alagos y de las criticas de sus paisanos es sincera y muchas de estas caracteristicas se pueden aplicar a los demas habitantes de America del Sur en gringolandia. El paralelo del Golpe Militar y el 11 de sept., es lo que empuja a Allende a encontrar cierta definicion que se universaliza para cualquier inmigrante en cualquier pais.

excelente libro
EXCELENTE LIBRO, LA DESCRIPCION DE LA PERSONALIDAD DE LOS CHILENOS ES MAGNIFICA. TAMBIEN SU DESCRIPCION DE SU ESTADIA EN VENEZUELA.

A great lesson for those who think they speak spanish
Excelent book. Great spanish. It remainded me of my homeland. This was the first time time I've read great spanish (Garcia Marquez excluded) from a writer who lives in USA. I gave Ms Allende's books to all my gringo nephews and nieces for Christmas.They fell so ashamed of their patois spanish. I'm happy to hear they want more books in "castellano". I highly recomend this book to all those who call themselves "spanish" teachers. No way in the book you'll find the word OK nor "de" before a verb!

Una lectora Venezolana
Me encanto el libro, no es una de sus mejores obras pero ciertamente es un gran libro que plantea un gran punto de vista muy real sobre como vemos nuestros paises. Y el shock cultural al llegar a este hermoso pais ... Read more

Reviews (65)

What a Great Memoir
I really loved Five Men Who Broke My Heart--what a great memoir Susan Shapiro has given us--so honest, so funny. Reading this one is like sitting down with your best friend as she recounts running into an old flame--like gossip, only somehow more fun. Shapiro decided to revisit all of her past loves after Brad--her old boyfriend from college and then some resurfaced in her life. The memoir opens as she is trying to decide what to wear. It's a funny scene and it sets the stage for the honest, open and very funny book. She manages to track down the other four men in her love history she considered major heartbreakers and the memoir recounts everything--the courtships, the relationships, the breakups. We finally get to the sixth guy--Aaron, the one who didn't break her heart, the one she married, and it all makes sense. Shapiro shares much with us--she is a brave woman--I don't know many who would air their secrets as she did, but thank goodness she did. This is a fun, entertaining read. Share it with your best girlfriends, they will love it.

Slingbacks and Revelation Too
The first thing that strikes you about "Five Men Who Broke My Heart" is Susan Shapiro's voice--rapidfire, witty, driven, knowing yet endearingly self-deflating. But I gradually realized how substantial, wise, and generous Shapiro's memoir is. I also came to appreciate its artful while seemingly artless structure. The dialogue is fresh. Zingers keep flying. ("We marry our dark side.") Shapiro brings to the page a colorful slew of real people that includes the five heartbreakers from her past, artsy New Yorkers who are a lot more interesting than most New Yorkers in books, and her large family in Michigan, whose members are no less intriguing. The storyline revolves around the "therapeutic" project of interviewing five exes at a particularly shaky period in Shapiro's married life. She asks the difficult questions, is sympathetic in a way she couldn't be back then, and finally sees her part in each breakup, growing in the process and renewing her attachment to her husband. Her "Love Chart" alone is worth the price of admission. Ultimately the book is a postmodern love story and paean to an unusual working marriage. It's also a peace offering to a too-intense family that said, "Go ahead, tell the world you're in therapy!" Shapiro's hard-won insights are worn lightly and with urban-femme style. Move over, Erica Jong!

Good/bad? You decide
I think the book was good and humorous, but I think I could have related better had I know the cast of characters. I'm sure the folks in her hometown will appreciate this novel. Her husband must be very secure in his manhood but very selfish to marry a woman who wants children, when he knows he is only trying to please her.

OK...
I read this book fairly quickly, and I loved her parents most of all. The author, while hitting upon a great premise (who wouldn't want to look up an ex or two from years ago and figure out what exactly happened?) annoyed me slightly with her emotional problems. I grow weary of writings where the author keeps fixating on his/her screwed-up psyche. Not sure if I read it wrong, but it sounds like she has to accept not having children at all, since her husband definitely did not want them. I don't think she touched upon this enough - wouldn't she be devastated? Or was she aware of this all along and in denial?

funny, sexy, entertaining memoir
5 Men was a funny, enjoyable read about all the intimate details of the author's love life. Shapiro manages to revisit all her most painful memories, and recount them with insight and a great sense of humor. Her writing pushes you to read on without stopping, hilariously amusing along the way. It is refreshing to read about such sensitive material in a way that makes you laugh while you learn. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

One Star For Effort
I have to say that Angela Ardis really got one over on me with this one. I was under the impression that this book was going to dive deep into the mentality of Tupac. I was looking to find out more about him, his inner most thoughts and feelings but all I really found out was how a thug puts his mack down and into action.

Reality Within Fiction
I'm not a very big fan of Tupac's music, but I absolutely love his poetry, especially after reading this book along with "The Rose That Grew From Concrete." I received this book for my birthday, and I finished it in less than three hours. The story seems so unlikely. The events that Angela Ardis decribed in it seemed so much like something that would happen in a fiction novel, but the way she describes the events, with Tupac's and her own poetry woven in between the chapters, along with the fact that this really, truly, did happen keep you hooked on it until the last page.

NOT IMPRESSED
I love Tupac for his insight I loved the book because I loved to hear Tupacs poetry, thoughts, and ideas. I hated the book because it was boring and coniving. The author must be crazy she should be ashamed for putting his secrets and others in a book to be published he would not be happy with that. This book is not what I expected - I expected more than just copies of his love letters between him and the author. Please don't waste your time!

Ear to Ear
I am a realist with no aspiration for commitment, very little interest in relationships, and a minimal amount in sex. But a friend of mine is a hopeless romantic. She always tells me stories of strange things she's done (engaged after a month, living with dude after two) and I shake my head and start advice with "You need to..." Angela Ardis reminds me of my friend of 15 years. But somehow, I managed to root for Angela even with my apprehensions about Tupac's ideas on relationships, his "queen"-wife, his poem where he drools (UGH!) and grinned from ear to ear with every letter HE WROTE. I knew the man was funny, but he's hilarious! I found out Angela is an intriguing poet, but was bored and ignored her romance stories (too cliche). I thought Tanya was entertaining and reminded me of me. I was really burnt out around the "keeping it real about his Queen" chapter. I wanted to shelf the book right there. But I hate to stop reading a book, especially this one with so much potential. So I kept highlighting my favorite lines. The beginning **** The middle * The end? Wow. I could read this book beginning AND end midnight-style (Angela knows that means 20 times) and still grin about it (minus the feces section! Girl, YOU NEEDED to leave that out!)

Another Opportunist, A Betrayal of Trust
As a voracious reader, a serious hip hop head and a survivor of South Central Los Angeles, I have always been attracted to Tupac, his warmth, his lyricist skills/delivery and his angst.

I read Mrs. Ardis' book in about 4 hours, and wasn't impressed. In fact, it felt invasive reading this man's love letters written "exclusively for Angelea" and eavesdropping on his private telephone conversations. Nonetheless, I did purchase and read the book in its entirety.

The relationship between Mrs. Ardis and Tupac seemed too contrived, and well very calculated on her part. A case in point, who actually transcribes every telephone conversation and keeps every peice of correspondence. She lost all credibility with me, when she stated her desire to become a writer. I felt Tupac was simply her launching pad, an opportunity to spark her writing career. The media's portrayal of any African-American man, including Tupac is biased, sensationsalistic and ultimately negative. To know Tupac, listen to Tupac -- his lyrics speak his truths to you.

In as many books I have read about the life of Tupac, I still do NOT get his Thug Life philosophy. It appeared shallow, destructive, not well thought out and somewhat immature. The title of this book - "Inside A Thug's Heart" lead me to believe I would gain abetter understanding of his philosphy. I expected Mrs. Ardis to challenge him to think deeper about his ability to influence young African-American men and provide a framework for their economic, social and mental development. I was disappointed yet again - with Pac and with Ms. Lovely.

The convaluted dialogue re. Mrs. Ardis and Tupac's queen, his widow Keisha was disturbing. The subjugation of all women will remain until each woman learns to respect each other. I found Mrs. Ardis niave to believe she was the only "girlfriend" in Tupac's life, outside his marriage. Incarceration is mentally damaging, does strange things to a person's mind, his letters or "kites" as we call them in So. Central L.A were just that -- a lonely man seeking comfort, support, companionship and sexual release. I would not be surprised to learn, he developed such a relationship with many other women throughout the country while incarcerated. She does not come across as special-- Tupac was simply passing time. And she although is beautiful, bright, ambitious, introspective, a decent writer, and at times unflinchingly honest, she ultimately bretayed his trust. ... Read more

Book Description

"We are foolish, those of us who think we can escape the traps of aging," writes Tom DeBaggio. "I was one of them, dreaming of a perfect and healthy old age....Now, at fifty-eight, I realize the foolishness of my dreams as I watch my brain self-destruct from Alzheimer's." Losing My Mind is DeBaggio's extraordinary account of his early onset Alzheimer's, a disease that "silently hollows the brain" and slowly "gobbles memory and destroys life." But with DeBaggio's curse came an unexpected blessing: the ability to chart the mechanics and musings of his failing mind.

Whether describing the happy days of his youth or lamenting over the burden his disease has placed upon his loved ones, DeBaggio manages to inspire the reader with his ability to function, to think, and ultimately to survive. By turns an autobiography, a medical history, and a book of meditations, Losing My Mind is a testament to the splendor of memory and a triumphant celebration of the human spirit. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

POIGNANT, TOUCHING AND EXTREMELY MOVING
There is nothing so sad as to see a person who was once consumed with a passion for life, abundant with wisdom and intellect, active, alert and filled with a wealth of personal stories, overcome with Alzheimer's. It is a condition which has overwhelming effects not only for the individual afflicted with the disease, but for family and friends as well.

Few individuals with Alzheimer's write a book about their progressive loss of memory and the associated conditions that go with Alzheimer's. Unless, you personally know someone with the disease, it is difficult to understand how it affects one's social life, their loss of verbal communication skills and their thought process. Debaggio gives reader an inside view and clearer understanding from a patient's perspective of what it is like to live with this devastating disease on a daily basis. The author's courage and strength in the face of adversity will touch readers to their very core. Debaggio deserves a standing ovation for having the heart and spirit to write such a poignant book on the subject, from a point of view only one afflicted with the disease could fully and realistically explain.

Opening Our Eyes
"Losing My Mind" is a well-written book authored by an ex-journalist gone herb-grower who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of fifty-seven in 1999. The book is a personal account of one man's struggle with dementia accompanied by an autobiography. Along with these two themes, Mr. DeBaggio inserts clippings from his own research on the disease in every few pages.
This is a great read for anyone who would like to venture into the mind of someone suffering from Alzheimer's. But be warned, the book does not contain any sparks of hope or messages of positive thinking. Readers are likely to become sad and feel slightly depressed from this book that is probably meant to "share some grief." The book is a sincere , raw and from the heart look at a frightening disease that will most likely affect even more Americans as the "Baby-boomer" generation embarks on its golden years.
This book is a must for anyone who has a family member diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. It provides insight into the moods, fears and anger of those suffering from it; this is especially important for families who have trouble getting their loved ones to open up and share what they're going through.
I salute Mr. DeBaggio for having the courage to share his inner-most feelings with all those interested in learning more about this insidious disease. May his fear abate and his arms embrace the love that his family is giving him.

A Unique Look Into the World of Alzheimer's
Highly recommended read for caregivers of loved ones with dementia, as well as everyone else with aging loved ones. You will have a new level of understanding and deeper compassion about what it is really like to be afflicted with this horrible disease. Although everyone who battles Alzheimer's is different, the insight here is so unique and so worthy of our attention. Everyone needs to help fight for research dollars from our government to combat this disease, which afflicts one in ten persons by the age of 65.

Jacqueline Marcell, author, 'Elder Rage', and host of the 'Coping With Caregiving' Internet Radio Program

Remarkably beautiful and touching!
It is a provocative memoir of a man who courageously sharing with the world some of its last moment of having a memory or human's most important asset that defined us all in this world. This book provides a glimpse of the Alzheimer's dim world besides exposing human's natural reaction of disbelief, denial, anger, fear and misery when unexpectedly been granted to such fate. The author is very open in revealing his raw emotion and perception on what he's going through and what lies ahead of him and the impact of such ailment to his loved one. The narrative is beautifully written with piercing essence; the thought and feeling expressed is real and very affecting to any soul who realise that as aging is never an option there's always possibility that we or someone we loved would be destined to such ending fate. Tragic if it happened too early. It taught the importance to make the most of every passing moment in life and to fight till the end of what's left of sanity. This book is worth reading, and gives a clearer understanding about the illness. Even though the description of the author's suffering is heartbreaking but his fighting spirit should be commendable. The humanity that he believe and fight shines and touches me through the words written.

I wish him all the best, and to his loved one may all the good memories stay alive even though he may reside in his own world one day. Well, nothing is more important than having a memory thus it should be cherished as far as we still live.

Yes, There's a thinking Human inside an Alzheimer Diagnosis
As a reader who has progressed from mild to moderate Alzheimer's [ALZ aka CRS]since January, 2002; and who is acutely aware of his own Rapid Onset in a Late Onset prognosis, I begged my Caregiver to order this for me asap, which she did. My own CRS has caused me to become unable to view complicated movies such as "Iris" and "Godsford Park" or multilayered television such as "West Wing" or "CSI." Similarly, the ability to complete reading a book more than 3 or 4 pages at a time has departed, never to return. But, like when I received "The Forgetting" by Shenk, I was able to read this 207 page saga, cover to cover, in less than a single 24 hour time span, aka "one day". My window of clarity, which happens less than once a quarter, gave me the grace to assimilate deBaggio's message, just as I was able to do before I became an Emeritus Professor in 1993.

The writing by DeBaggio is superb, his poetry shines on every page! And he has been blessed with outsanding collaborators and editors who polished his rough diamond into the superb blue white gem which "Losing My Mind" is. De Baggio does NOT record a descent to madness, but rather an ascent into a Mount Carmel of shining sanity, despite his testimony to the contrary. The literature of ALZ is overwhelmed with desciptions, diagnoses,and understandings for/of the saintly Caregivers and facilit