Book Description

When Daryl Ott Underhill sent out a general request for stories written by women about their lives, she had no idea the response would be so phenomenal. She heard from over 500 women of all ages and from all backgrounds. The authors wrote about a wide range of subjects, including friendship, love, turning 30, motherhood, losing parents, surviving the empty nest syndrome, and fulfilling dreams. Now readers can experience this remarkable collection of powerful and inspiring stories and share the heartbreak, joy, and wonder of what it means to be a woman in today's world. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

a touching collection of emotional life experiences
These are the things we all feel and think at times in our lives about everyday life experiences. These women let us know we are not alone.Great reading to close your day contently.

Daryl Ott Underhill has done a wonderful job!
Daryl Ott Underhill has done a fabulous job! This collection of heartfelt, intelligently-selected essays by women from all walks of life should not be considered a "women's book." Everyone over the age of fourteen -- if not younger -- can derive pleasure and benefit. Because it is a collection and the stories are short, it can be read at odd moments, but the reader is apt to find hi/rself continuing to the end out of pure enjoyment. Phyllis Green, Chapel Hill, NC [Author of Spinning Straw: the Jeff Apple Story]

Honest and unassuming. A delightful read.
"EVERY WOMAN HAS A STORY" is a delightful read. I was impressed with the clever and yet simple idea of compiling a collection of personal stories, crossing socio-economic, ethnic, levels of education and age bounderies. The stories are as different as the women who wrote them, and yet the common thread is that of poignancy, honesty, a struggle to survive and grow, and a touch of humor thrown in for good measure. Some of the stories are simple, others more complex. I found them all to be human, tender and touching. I was particularly moved by Paula Silverberg's "LEAP AND THE NET WILL APPEAR". The charming tale of a young woman whose courage and determination in addressing a childhood disappointment, prompted her to face the "failure", muster the challenge, and, as an adult, emerge triumphant. A lesson for us all - "Feel the fear, but do it any way". As an added bonus I found the size and shape of the book to be reminiscent of a personal journal, and reading its content made it so much more endearing. Bravo to the ladies as well as the compiler! May we expect another collection soon?

I was truly touched by it
I loved the book so much! It was so intriguing to read all the different stories that women wrote about. I've only read it once but now I'm going to go out and buy it!

I haven't been able to put this book down!
I find the stories short and sweet! They are very inspirational. They are perfect for women that have a busy life and don't have time to get into a large novel. It is great to just pick it up and read a little and put it down. I am having trouble putting it down though. ... Read more

Book Description

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., is the woman who has transformed the way the world thinks about death and dying. Beginning with the groundbreaking publication of the classic psychological study On Death and Dying, through her many books and her years working with terminally ill patients, Kübler-Ross has brought comfort and understanding to millions coping with their own deaths or the deaths of loved ones. Now, facing her own death at age seventy-one, this world-renowned healer tells the story of her life and explores her ultimate truth -- death does not exist.

Told frankly and with warmth, The Wheel of Life traces the intellectual and spiritual development of a destiny. In a culture determined to sweep death under a carpet and hide it there, Kübler-Ross consistently defied common wisdom to bring it into the light and hold it there for us to see and not be afraid. Driven by compassion, undeterred by obstacles, she tells us through the story of her remarkable life that free will is our greatest gift and that our goal is spiritual evolution.

In this, her final statement, Kübler-Ross exhorts us to live fully and to love. As she says, "It is very important that you do only what you love to do. You may be poor, you may go hungry, you may live in a shabby place, but you will totally live. And at the end of your shabby days, you will bless your life because you have done what you came here to do." Her story is an adventure of the heart -- powerful, controversial, inspirational -- a fitting legacy to a powerful life. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Conquer your fears and live for today
Kubler-Ross is a role model to be looked upon for faith, courage and love, and the greatest of her gifts is love. In the footsteps of her mentor Dr. Albert Schweitzer she vowed to live and give her life for those less fortunate then herself. In her memoirs she give us an account of her life from her years has living her childhood as a triplet and not having an identity to her years as a young woman finding her identity and her golden years lived out with the same force, determination and courage as in her youth. She never deterred from her goals and focused herself beyond what life and circumstances were sent her way. She could have stopped in mid-stream, saying that she had done enough for humanity but at the age of 63, after many disasters, went to Virginia to set up a home for children dying of AIDS. She met with much disapproval but managed to get beyond the dissent of the people and found foster homes for these children. Since 1972, I have been interested in the issues of death and dying and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has confirmed many of my ideas and beliefs. Thank you Elisabeth for taking a stand and making this world a better place.

I think of Dr. Ross over strong black coffee
I have just finished reading her book, Wheel Of Life, and recommend it highly. It is her autobiography in which she pulls no punches as per her beliefs and recounts her life of service to the dying. It is written with simplicity, passion, humanitarian concern and Love.

A significant portion of "Wheel of Life" does deal with near death experiences, out of body experiences, after death communications and messages from Jesus. But the truly remarkable aspect of the book are not these fantastic, sensational paranormal accounts, rather what shines brightest is the measure of unconditional Love she has shown to the suffering throughout her life. Her long record of helping terminally ill patients cope and grow in death through unconditional Love and significant self sacriifice gives those paranormal claims a degree of crediblity that otherwise might not exist.

Every morning as I sit savoring my strong, black coffee, I think of Dr. Ross' lesson of Love.

Look up , little mouse, the eagle is flying
Come out of your dark holes, little mouse.
Fear not, little mouse, don`t you always fear that much .
Look up, for the sky is high.
Look up ,for the eagle is flying.
Look up, little mouse, and learn the secret
of souls both humble and great.
Learn awe.

A Full Life And A Great Read
This is a wonderful book. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross has done the world a tremendous service by helping to humanize death and the process of dying, and in this autobiography she tells of all the surprises and inevitabilities that marked her own growth, and the growth of her work. Somewhere along the line, however, a few years back, Kubler-Ross adopted the role of an amateur prophet, and some of her later works deliver a confusing, inconsistent, and often strident set of contradictory neo-Jungian messages about matters spiritual. Those who think she lost her marbles will find plenty of evidence here as elsewhere to support their views. But this book is actually a whole lot more accessible, and far less preachy, than some of her other books have been. I think one would be unwise to ignore the complications entailed by Kubler-Ross's many spiritual injunctions, but one would be uncharitable to also dismiss the tremendous good that has come out of her life's work. I don't find in this book the accepting, non-ideological compassion of Stephen Levine, nor the unassuming experimental spirit of Raymond Moody, but Kubler-Ross remains incomparable as the initiating spokesperson for a humane death. Her tale is extraordinary, and this book is an exceptional, welcome, and one-of-a-kind read.

what falls through the sieve will be very useful.
I believe that anything Dr. Kubler-Ross has written is worthy of our attention, and this autobiographical book is no exception. I just finished it today... found it very thought-provoking overall. However, this particular one needs to be read more CRITICALLY than her others, and I don't mean "skeptically" in a negative sense so much as simply "requiring careful judgment"... especially the last third of the book. In this latter section, the author really gets specific about her experiences with "channeling the other side" and outlines her concept of her own "cosmic consciousness." I tried to be as enlightened and open as possible, and yet found that I could just not buy into everything she had experienced and was teaching others to experience. I am referring mainly to her ongoing relationships with disembodied spirits, her ability to conjure them up at will, and (maybe most remarkably) their apparent ability to physically manifest themselves (as in, writing things down on a piece of paper in response to her questions). She refers to these spirit-friends as her "spooks" and by her own admission at one point she even attributes the collapse of her otherwise successful marriage to her profound belief in these entities. Many people felt she had lost her marbles. She admits that a few of the experiences were proved to be the hoax of her Californian spiritual instructor, whom she calls "B". Also, throughout the last half of the book is an underlying allusion to her belief in re-incarnation.

For the first half of the book I could think of so many people I would have recommended it to, but then it suddenly arrived at a place where I think a reader has to be very selective, or adept at SIFTING through to their own concept of truth. Very critical. Be aware of that if you intend to give this book as a gift to someone.

I agree thoroughly with the core principles of what can rightfully be called Kubler-Ross's thanatology. I agree with her that death does not exist in the traditional sense, and that life in a physical body represents a very short span of one's total existence. That at the moment of death human beings maintain an awareness and can still make observations, have thoughts, be free of pain, and that all of this has nothing to do with psychopathology. That those who pass from life into death are simply passing into "a different wavelength than the rest of us." I agree that our body "imprisons our soul the way a cocoon encloses the future butterfly, and when the time is right we can let go of it." She says that the butterfly is then free to return "home to God... which is a place where we are never alone, where we continue to grow and to sing and to dance, where we are with those we loved, and where we are surrounded with more love than we can ever imagine." I wish that this last sentiment was more emphasized in the book, rather than appearing in the next to last page. Because it seems inconsistent to me that if the spirits return home to God (which I firmly believe), then what are we to make of the ones that were roaming around in the elevators, appearing in the author's bed, and in the flower-garden etc.? Maybe we should just leave those sort of spirits alone instead of trying to make them our pals? Hey, our lives ARE definitely going someplace! Life is indeed a sort of "wheel". But God, and God alone, is at the wheel. ... Read more

Book Description

Enormously visceral, emotionally gripping, and imbued with the belief that justice is possible even after the most horrific of crimes, Alice Sebold's compelling memoir of her rape at the age of eighteen is a story that takes hold of you and won't let go.

Sebold fulfills a promise that she made to herself in the very tunnel where she was raped: someday she would write a book about her experience. With Lucky she delivers on that promise with mordant wit and an eye for life's absurdities, as she describes what she was like both as a young girl before the rape and how that rape changed but did not sink the woman she later became.

It is Alice's indomitable spirit that we come to know in these pages. The same young woman who sets her sights on becoming an Ethel Merman-style diva one day (despite her braces, bad complexion, and extra weight) encounters what is still thought of today as the crime from which no woman can ever really recover. In an account that is at once heartrending and hilarious, we see Alice's spirit prevail as she struggles to have a normal college experience in the aftermath of this harrowing, life-changing event.

No less gripping is the almost unbelievable role that coincidence plays in the unfolding of Sebold's narrative. Her case, placed in the inactive file, is miraculously opened again six months later when she sees her rapist on the street. This begins the long road to what dominates these pages: the struggle for triumph and understanding -- in the courtroom and outside in the world.

Lucky is, quite simply, a real-life thriller. In its literary style and narrative tension we never lose sight of why this life story is worth reading. At the end we are left standing in the wake of devastating violence, and, like the writer, we have come to know what it means to survive. ... Read more

Reviews (154)

A TRIUMPH OVER TRAGEDY
Like her wonderful novel The Lovely Bones - which I've also reviewed and which you must read - Lucky is a harrowing, heart-wrenching book about the worst possible thing that can happen to a woman. Alice Sebold tells the raw story of her rape ordeal and her subsequent struggle for recovery with an honesty and warmth which is compelling. Lucky reads almost like a novel itself at times, with gripping moments of suspense, particularly during the court trial scenes.
Alice Sebold was the innocent victim of an unforgivable crime - but she doesn't ask for our sympathy or pity in these beautifully written pages. She earns our respect and admiration for the courageous way she tells how the traumatic events changed and shaped her life; how the naive college student would eventually become a hardened, determined aggressor herself in her brave fight for justice against her attacker. Sadly, this natural reaction to her personal violation came with a price - destructive behavioural damage that brought a later downward spiral into drugs. What the author didn't know at the time is that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; an anxiety syndrome that emerges following a psychologically distressing traumatic event such as rape, which she battles to overcome.
Can someone really, truly, get over something so savage and brutal as rape is the numbing thought you're left with long after you put the book aside? The past can never be forgotten, but Alice Sebold has managed to crawl from the wreckage and move on with her life to a happier future that has brought her international fame and acclaim. That says something about the human spirit - and everything about this remarkable woman.

A Story of Survival - Incredible.
In this thought-provoking, chilling memoir, Alice Sebold recounts the events of her rape and the aftermath of that tragedy. While strong enough to go through with the trial and conviction of her attacker, Sebold's emotional state was deeply affected for many years after. Her memoir follows the events that occurred after her rape and the things she attempted in order to escape her pain.

Sebold captures this period in her life with great intensity and literary skill. Not only does the reader become informed of the actual events of the rape and the events following it, but we get a look into Sebold's home life and her personality before the night that would change everything.

This story isn't just about a college girl's rape and her survival story. It's a story about her life: her family, her friends, her childhood. Sebold explains how when she was younger all she wanted was to be hugged by her parents, but she would settle for something as simple as a touch because she was offered nothing more (and sometimes not even that luxury). It's about growing up in a dysfunctional family and getting through it. It's about surviving not only bad experiences in life, but surviving and coping with continuing bad situations.

A great read - highly recommended to anyone.

A Must Read!
A must read for clinical psychologists and students interested in the sexual abuse topic.

Yet again I'm left disappointed ...
I was a bit underwhelmed with 'The Lovely Bones' - started out great, lost me entirely by the end - but I expected great things of 'Lucky'. Yet again it starts out well, the opening chapter is horrifying, moving and completely unputdownable - but as we move away from the actual rape and its immediate aftermath all Alice Sebold's faults as a writer surface again. She seems unable to select material which will be of interest to the reader and fills pages and pages with irrelevant detail of her family life and unnecessary background detail. The book comes alive again when she spots her rapist in the street but in between I found myself losing interest. We all know the argument about real-life not being as tidy as fiction - but in this case it WAS tidy - the rapist was identified by Alice, caught and punished (a much more satisfactory ending than that of 'The Lovely Bones', ironically). I wish the book had been more scrupulously edited to focus on the essential elements of her story rather than filled up with padding. I felt cheated at the end of the book - at the beginning I felt that I would be with Alice throughout her every step of her journey to find justice and recover from the trauma she suffered but somehow this connection was lost and by the middle of the book I had no idea what she - or indeed anyone else involved was thinking or feeling. What a shame as this could have been a truly great book and an inspiration to rape survivors everywhere ...

A real tale, full of sound and fury
This book is so many things, but the one that comes first to mind is "brave." For Seabold to have written this is amazing--the courage it must have taken. But that aside, it is well-written. I read "Lovely Bones" first, and then this one. While the premise of "Lovely" was great, I found "Lucky" to be a better book. Don't get me wrong, I like both of them, but "Lucky" was by far the more "real" tale. Try them both and then decide for yourself.

Also recommended: McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood, A Boy Called It ... Read more

Book Description

Wait Till Next Yearis the story of a young girl growing up in the suburbs of New York in the 1950s, when owning a single-family home on a tree-lined street meant the realization of dreams, when everyone knew everyone else on the block, and the children gathered in the streets to play from sunup to sundown. The neighborhood was equally divided among Dodger, Giant, and Yankee fans, and the corner stores were the scenes of fierce and affectionate rivalries.

The narrative begins in 1949 at the dawn of a glorious era in baseball, an era that saw one of the three New York teams competing in the World Series every year, and era when the lineups on most teams remained basically intact year after year, allowing fans to extend loyalty and love to their chosen teams, knowing that for the most part, their favorite players would return the following year, exhibiting their familiar strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and habits. Never would there be a better time to be a Brooklyn Dodger fan. But in 1957 it all came to an abrupt end when the Dodgers (and the Giants) were forcibly uprooted from New York and transplanted to California.

Shortly after the Dodgers left, Kearns' mother dies, and the family moved from the old neighborhood to an apartment on the other side of town. This move coincided with the move of several other families on the block and with the decline of the corner store as the supermarket began to take over. It was the end of an era and the beginning of another and, for Kearns, the end of childhood. ... Read more

Reviews (105)

Wait Till Next Year Review
....

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR is a story about a girl growing up in the suburbs on Long Island. What could be a boring life story, Doris Kearns Goodwin makes everything exciting, and a story worth telling. The book is an autobiography of her life. One story of hers that I especially liked is the author explaining her plan for her neighborhood to be safe if they got bombed by Russia. She explained that underneath the local stores were connected basements, large enough to fit her whole neighborhood to fit it. She would bring Monopoly, so she wouldn't be bored, and most importantly, her baseball cards.

The main character, the author, was a girl who thought differently than most young girls. She had many questions on religion, current events, and her family history, all at a young age. She explained things with comparisons like how when the Dogers left Brooklyn and Jackie Robinson retired, a chapter in her life closed.

I would recomend this book to almost anyone. Many people can relate to it. If you either grew up in the suburbs, lived with a sick loved one, or had a love for baseball, you should read WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR.

A must read for all!
Doris Kearns Goodwin is famous for her biographies, especially the Pulitzer Prize winning, NO ORDINARY TIME. Her new book, though, is not about someone else's life, it's about her own. "When I was six, my father gave me a bright-red score book that opened my heart to the game of baseball." Goodwin begins to recall the game that was her childhood into this "score book". Although the cover of her memoir, WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, is not bright-red, it serves it's purpose well. Goodwin writes a "play by play" account of her life from the time she first recieved that score book till the end of her childhood at age fifteen. Underlying it all is her passion for baseball and the New York Dodgers and her hope that they will win the World Series. The author attributes her love of narration to baseball. Every day, Goodwin would recount to her father, using the system he taught her, that day's game as he got her ready for bed. As well as a sign of her father's love, this ritual introduced her to the art of storytelling. "It would instill me in an early awareness of the power of the narrative, which would introduce me to a lifetime of storytelling..." This book is filled with poignant stories about the relationships between the author and her family and friends. It also draws on the many experiences of Goodwin's from her first trip to Ebbet's Field, to her hero, Jackie Robinson. There are stories about her religious experiences as a Catholic, her obsession with James Dean and how, at first, television brought her neighborhood together. The significance of the era is portrayed well. For me, this book was particularly interesting because of my own love of baseball. Just reading it made me long for those hot summer days when major league baseball is played. I can also simpathize with Goodwin over how many times her team came close to winning the World Series. As a Cleveland Indian fan, I have been waiting my whole life for the Indians to be crowned champions. They have not one a World Series since my Dad was born, in 1948. This theme of resulted in the title of her book, a popular saying among Dodgers fans,"Wait till next year". Not only did the story amaze me, Goodwin is an extraordinary writer. Her writing clearly and smoothly tells her story. I could almost hear her narrate the book while once in a while two characters would have a conversation. I could visualize it all too. WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR is a passionate, well written, captivating book. A must read for all!

For Baseball lovers.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. She paints a picture of her childhood home Rockville Centre that is wonderful. She describes the baseball games with such detail. I honestly could not put the book down. I liked the way she discussed historical events throughout the book.

Surprisingly delightful!
Memoir of Doris Kearns' younger years, as an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan. Although baseball was her obsession, the story is about much more than baseball - it's about life in the 50's, childhood spent outside or at the corner soda shop, the importance the community had at that time, and the troubles and changes that adolescence brings.

Great memoir, and incredibly well written and told. I thought the book was excellent, even though I glossed over the baseball parts of it! Read this for my library book group, I never would've picked this one up on my own.

A wonderful treat
I enjoyed this book the first and second time I read it. Doris Kerns Goodwin writes about her early years in post-war Long Island with grace.
This memoir reads like a charming novel - the details are wonderful, the characters are people we come to care about, and young Doris is someone you will smile with and cry with.
I've recommended this book to friends and students (I teach adult ed creative writing workshops). Everyone thanks me. If you want a good book by a good author check this one out. If you're considering writing your own memoir study WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR to see how it should be done! ... Read more

Book Description

Based on her childhood diaries, Lori Gottlieb’s book chronicles her preteen battle with anorexia nervosa. A precocious chess-loving student with a straight A average, young Lori aspires to supermodel thinness in an attempt to reconcile society’s conflicting messages and to gain her parents’ attention. ... Read more

Reviews (109)

As Amazing as "WASTED"!
Because I struggled with an eating disorder in high school and college (I'm now in my mid-20s), I've read a lot of memoirs on this subject with particular interest. A friend who also recovered from anorexia recommended STICK FIGURE to me, saying, "You'll see yourself in this girl. And you'll LOVE her as much as you want to help her." What she meant wasn't just the very realistic depiction of obsession and distorted thinking that occurs with an eating disorder, but the fact that because these are real diaries, we see the whole girl, not someone looking back and talking only about how many hours it took to eat an apple. In other words, we see a girl who's funny and smart and as impossible as your average adolescent, who just HAPPENS to also be falling into a devastating illness. (I wonder what the author is like now -- she was HILARIOUS as a kid.)

Most books about anorexics depict them as being incredibly controlling, compulsive, and monomanical about dieting - which they ARE - but that's usually ALL you see. Here, as in another great memoir, WASTED, you realize how complicated this illness can be. At times, Lori seems so "normal" -- even MORE "normal" than her friends and their dieting mothers. And you can really see how she's influenced by the attitudes around her, even though they don't "cause" her anorexia, they definitely contribute and add wry commentary on our media-driven culture.

Most people gave this book five stars, and if I could give it six stars, I would! I TOTALLY disagree with the two people who thought the book didn't depict Lori's recovery realistically -- I LIVED her recovery and really related to the book's ending -- it isn't all neat and tidy. If they thought she saw herself in the mirror and suddenly ate again, then they clearly missed what was going on in Lori's mind. What's so compelling about this book is how subtle the messages are -- you're in the mind of an adolescent, you're reading her journals, and every line seems to have some significance without hitting you over the head with a profound "epiphany."

Even for people who have no experience with eating disorders, I highly recommend this book. All the people in her life-- her parents, her brother, her friends, her teachers, her doctors -- actually make this a FUN book to read (tragic, too, obviously, but you'll laugh even as it's sad and frightening). The people in the book are "out there" yet so real at the same time (I think we had the same teachers!). It's not quite the Addams Family, but the Los Angeles family Lori grew up in isn't quite the Cleavers either.

If you loved "Wasted," you'll love "Stick Figure." And you might even learn something -- about yourself, about eating disorders, about the confusion of being a female teenager, and about the ridiculous pressures of our society -- along the way. But mostly, you'll just want to read it over and over again.

A very unique perspective on anorexia
This story is the memoir of a Beverly Hills woman's descent into anorexia at the age of 11. Her mother's constant "real women don't eat dessert" attitude, her perfectionistic nature, and the realization of how much power she could get by not eating were the main factors I saw that lead to the disease.

Strikingly first person, the story is written based on Gottlieb's childhood diaries. Therefore, it has a very unique tone to it. Her attitude that the rest of the world is crazy gives the reader a sense of what could be going on in the minds of other young girls with anorexia. It is exceptionally poignant; humorous at times and heartwrenching at others.

I literally wanted to jump in the book and knock some sense into her parents, based on the way they were "handling" Lori. Her mother's comments made me jerk with agitation at some points. Of course, it was 1978 when much less was known of the disease. Fortunately, the support today is much stronger for the families of anorexics, who can then better support the terrible situation of their loved ones.

What surprised me the most about this book was how Lori was such a brilliant student. In my mind, smart people don't get anorexia. It certainly shifted my thinking about who the prime candidates for this disease are.

I would recommend this book to anyone who deals with girls as young as 10. It is amazing how early anorexia starts, and this book gives a great new perspective on the disease, and of some of the warning signs.

Almost a mockery.
I have read many books on eating disorders. While I somewhat appreciated the lighter side of this book, as eating disorders are very serious issues, it almost seemed as though she was mocking people with eating disorders. That's just how it came across to me, and I'm not sure why. The story didn't seem to have a real ending- she shows no signs of complete recovery or destined to a life in hospitals. I feel like it was written just as a "me too" type of story- everyone wants credit for their own little story to share.

read Wasted instead
it was entertaining, but not what i expected. i was so excited to buy it, then very disapointed. read Wasted instead.

Interesting, but this is not an authentic diary
I defer to a previous reviewer who stated, "This book was no more written by an 11-year-old than it was written by my Himalayan cat." This book sounds like an adult desperately trying to sound 11. I also found the book lacking in any real or useful substance. It's more like a Juvenile Fiction book--interesting while reading it, but ultimately forgettable. In absolutely no WAY is this book as "amazing as Wasted!" (by Marya Hornbacher)!! For an infinitely better book than "Stick Figure," I highly recommend "Diary of an Anorexic Girl" by Morgan Menzie. Really insightful, funny at times, and beautifully written. ... Read more

Book Description

Karen Hughes has worked beside President George W. Bush since, as she says, "the motorcade was only one car and he was sometimes the one driving it." As counselor to the president, she brought the working mom’s perspective to the White House, often asking of President Bush’s policies, "What does this mean for the average person?"

Yet the move from Texas to Washington was hard on her family, and in a controversial, headline-making decision that reverberated across America, she chose to place family first and quit the nation’s capital to return to Austin. There, Hughes continues to advise the president, where the kitchen wall calendar marks the State of the Union message side by side with her son’s orthodontist appointments.

In this disarmingly down-to-earth, warm, often funny, and frank book, Hughes looks at her unique career in George W. Bush’s inner circle and the universal concerns of balancing work and family. Ten Minutes from Normal—the title comes from the campaign trail––is a remarkable blend of the story of a "normal" woman who rose to great heights and an insightful look at American politics and America’s forty-third president.

This is a book for the legions of women and men everywhere who are seeking new inspiration for how to remember their priorities and achieve balance in their lives. Most important, in a post-9/11 world, Hughes redefines the very notion of what is "normal" as something special and precious, never to be taken for granted in America again. ... Read more

Reviews (107)

Watch what she does ...
As you might expect from a former communications director, Karen Hughes' book "Ten minutes from Normal" is all spin. She writes with total conviction, but her observations are often at odds with the observations of other administration officials who have written books. For example, Hughes says that George Bush "asked questions that went right to the heart of the matter" and had a "laserlike ability to distill an issue to it's core." In contrast, Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill (as told to Ron Suskind) said he was clueless and disinterested.

Hughes' choices of what to include and what to omit from the book are sometimes curious. There are only a couple of lines that obliquely hint about how her conservative mother influenced her future political leanings. She describes a pineapple dish she served at a dinner party 15 years earlier and names scores of people she's met in her career but most of us have never heard of (who cares who was in her exercise and Bible-study groups). At the same time, she mentions nothing about what most readers would consider important issues that might have been discussed by top administration officials before September 11, 2001, such as terrorism and Al-Qaeda. You'd think Condi would have mentioned it many times during her briefings at the mandatory morning Senior Staff meetings. She also doesn't say much about the 2000 election considering how unique it was in the history of the country. She mentions the process of recounting the votes (which she calls "re-creating") but says nothing about the thousands of black voters who were unfairly purged from the rolls by Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris.

There are no new revelations in the book that might be of interest to a follower of politics. Hughes says she has no knowledge of who was responsible for the smear campaign against John McCain in the South Carolina primary, or who exposed Valerie Plame, the CIA undercover agent. She does confirm that Condoleeza Rice talked to Bush after the first plane struck the twin towers but doesn't mention if the discussion involved Osama bin Laden or "My Pet Goat." She does concede that Bush needs two days to prepare for a major speech whereas Clinton would make changes right up to the minute he gave the speech.

Hughes admits she can't sing but doesn't seem to realize she also has no sense of humor. This is clear from several instances in which Hughes says people didn't "get her jokes," such as "message ADD." When she characterizes Bush's selection in the 2000 election as "a resounding 49 percent victory," you're not sure she meant it as a joke or whether she's somehow serious. Even her son Robert has this figured out in his diary inserts (the only honest and genuine parts of the book). One unintentionally amusing piece of the book is the juxtaposition of the eight and ninth pictures that show Hughes wearing the same blouse and pant suit in photos taken a year apart. Fashion aside, it's surprising how someone who is so detail oriented and careful in the selection of words didn't notice the similarities in the two pictures.

Hughes grouses because Democrats characterized Bush as inarticulate and inexperienced during the 2000 election. Then she describes how hard her staff worked to characterize Al Gore as a flip-flopper who would do anything to win the election. Later, she says the Bush administration staffs were "remarkably collegial" (obviously Rumsfeld and Powell didn't get the word). She's angry because the terrorists aren't "constrained by the facts" and because they "hate everyone who doesn't think like them." Karen, please ... look in a mirror.

This book reaffirms the old adage, "don't pay any attention to what politicians say, watch what they do." You'll get more satisfaction from reading "My Pet Goat" than "Ten Minutes from Normal."

Karen Loves Herself
I read a review that said whether or not you are a Bush person would decide if you like this book or not. Well, I am a huge supporter of the president and I have to say, this book falls short. I found it hard to swallow how highly this woman thinks of herself. I do think she was a good communications advisor to the president and I guess that is why I was expecting more. For the money, you are much better off with David Frum's The Right Man. If you can pick this up at the library, it might be worth your time, but if you are spending money, I recommend looking in another direction.

Behind the scenes at the White House
I sat next to Karen Hughes at a breakfast during the time she was working on this book, and gave her an old Lauren Bacall autobiography I had just finished, insisting that she not trouble herself with returning it to me. She did, of course. I liked her at the time, and her book only reinforces the impression. She is a very forthright and intense person, yet in a very winningly feminine way. She is also a deeply religious person, and not shy about letting you know it from time to time, but to my mind she strikes just the right balance.

She deals with several topics of wide interest here. She began as a reporter and migrated to politics, as the communications chief for George W. Bush, so the interface between government and the press is a constant theme. The whole book is also a study in women in politics, not only because of Hughes herself but because Condoleeza Rice is her good friend and probably appears more often than anyone outside Hughes's family or Bush himself. (I am thinking of the ways in which Rice and Hughes actually influence our nation's governance throughout this story, and also the issue, for Hughes, of balancing family life with an all-consuming job-not just a women's issue of course.) The style and personality of the president is another overriding theme.

There are two other themes that are important but not so continual: the 2000 presidential campaign and the events after 9/11.

I mention all of this because I think the cover might narrow one's expectations: "Karen Hughes, Counselor to the President, Wife and Mother. The Woman who left the White House to put family first, and moved back home to Texas." Yes, the family is key, but there is so much more. I might add that her government ranking was equivalent to that of a three-star general. She is no lightweight.

Here's a nugget on the hard core side: "Ironically, the reluctance of nations such as France and Germany to join us in challenging Saddam probably emboldened him [Bush] and made war more likely, not less."

More personally, she lofts a great quote from Martin Luther King: "Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve."

This is not high literature, and doesn't pretend to be, but it's an important book for anyone who would like to understand a little bit of the background of our times and see a more personal side of the current administration.

I like Karen Hughes, but this book falls short.
Karen Hughes is a role model for a lot of women trying to balance career and family. She is a genuinely good person, and this book just exudes pleasantness. I would recommend it highly for women. I think she had women in mind when writing it. She was speaking to them.

So, as a man, it was not my favorite book, but it had some very admirable points. I think it gives a great insider perspective and insight into some moments of recent importance in American history, including the 2000 campaign, the Florida recounts, and September 11, 2001.

I like Karen Hughes, but I found some of her more autobiographical passages from growing up to be somewhat boring. I could have done without those, personally. Some people will definitely enjoy them, however.

I do give her points for her candid discussion of her faith. It takes courage as a national public figure to go on record like that.

While this book didn't quite win me over, the world definitely needs more people like Karen Hughes.

Ten Minutes From Normal
An inspiring read that gives one an idea what it is like to be in the White House and next to power. The difference is Ms Hughes gives it a much more personal flavor with humorous stories and her personal philosophy. It should be a must read for " Bush Bashers" as at least they can get a first hand understanding of the character of the President rather than base their judgement on spin and often times data that lacks supportive facts. I closed the last page and thought that it was an unsual woman who could balance family, faith, friendship and still survive and be at the top of the players in the jungles of Washington. Additionally, some lagniappe is her faith that weaves through the book and gave me food for thought and the realization that we have some people of excellent character in the White House. It is an easy fun and informative read. ... Read more

Book Description

"What is woman's place? That's been the hot question of my adult life."

Renowned news correspondent, Cokie Roberts, explores significant issues confronting women on the cusp of the new millennium, such as the balance of work and family, the diverse roles of women, and the connection and distinction between different generations of women. She addresses these critical topics through the lens of her reporting career, melding her personal experiences with the experiences of other exceptional women she has met.Sensitive, straightforward, and perceptive, We Are Our Mothers' Daughters celebrates the diversity of choices and perspectives available to the women of today, but ultimately affirms a bond of female solidarity -- a vital, powerful interconnection among all women, whatever their background. It's an important message, delivered by one of America's most respected and eloquent journalists.

Reviews (33)

As flavorless as a rice cake
Catchy title and format (every chapter is a different woman's role), but fails to deliver anything of real substance. Although this is not a true memoir, at times it reads like one. Some of the autobiographical sections are very interesting. Cokie comes from a privileged background. She grew up in a very educated family, and she had lots of contact with a very large and loving extended family. The second fact is not very common to find nowadays, and i read in envy. I think some people dislike reading about happy childhoods, and criticize anything that strays away from Angela's Ashes.

But i digress. Cokie talks about facts and people that i had never heard about, and to me that is the main benefit of the book. I plan to read the autobiography of Esther Peterson, for example. However, as interesting as some of these facts were, i don't think they can save the book.

What i found most annoying about the book is the crude generalization that takes place when she writes about how women are connected through time. Where did she find that soundbyte? It's hard to connect to women in their 50's who make $500,000/year if you are a 24-year old high-school dropout on welfare (and that's not even including race into the equation). Also, all that talk about women being superwomen is empty of any true value. While i have to admit it is admirable that her mother cooked the entire banquet for Cokie's wedding by herself while taking care of a toddler grandson and dictating a speech (i freak out when more than 4 people come over for dinner), not everybody is made that way. In fact it is very good that not everybody is so capable. Cokie herself admits defeat when she acknowledges how she has missed many important occasions in the lives of her children. She, like millions of women out there, did it the best she could, but instead of admitting that, she proceeds to gloss over it, like it was no big deal after all. Contradictions abound, so caveat emptor. Do not expect deep commentary or analysis.

Summarizes the accomplishments of women in the last 150 yrs
This book made me laugh out loud and made me weep. I have never seen such a thorough summary of the efforts of women in the past 150 years. Woven into this historical perspective is the story of a women who prizes her friends. We are biological daughters of the women who gave us life--but we are philosophical daughters of the women who made it possible for us to vote, to have a career, to own a business, to borrow money.

Cokie Roberts has ever so gently thrown down the gauntlet to all working women: someone made it easier for each of us--what are each of us doing to make it easier for those who follow us.

Read this book and ask yourself what you have done with your woman power.

We Are Our Mothers' Daughters
Veteran journalist Roberts intersperses her memoir with vignettes of women she's gotten to know in three decades of political reporting. She grew up in Washington and Louisiana, the daughter of U.S. Reps. Hale and Lindy Boggs, with an extended family that provided strong female role models. Two of the women she profiles here are Esther Peterson, a consumer advocate in the 1970s, and Dorothy Height, former president of the National Council of Negro Women. Roberts also speaks of her career and motherhood in the years before employers provided maternity leave and subsidized daycare. Finally, she asks, "What is a woman's place? For most women it's many places, different places at different times." This lively recording will be popular among public library patrons

Beautiful work by Ms. Roberts
Beautiful work by Ms. Roberts. A treasure for all women to read and enjoy. The essays are poignant and well documented. This is a book that should live on through history and handed from one woman to another.
recommending also: Founding Mothers,Secret Life Of Bees,Three Junes,Lonely Hunter,Nightmares Echo

For all Women
This is a gentle book of celebration. Cokie Roberts is an attractive lady from a large family of achievers. She shares part of her life story with the reader and writes valuable information in the form of essays, about amazing women past and present; many of whom we have not been aware of.

I thoroughly enjoyed this easy to read book. I recommend it as encouragement to all women especially those hiding their talents.
Mostly though, it is a reassuring book in that we women are reminded to appreciate each other, ever learning, ever discovering new ways to contribute, even if our best efforts go unnoticed for a time; willing to step back or go forward as the need arises, and always share the credits.

With all due respect to the author, I find the title to be unworthy of this fine book. I am my daughter's mother; some women have no daughters, some daughters have no mother to encourage them - anyway perhaps I haven't gotten the point. Do read this book, enjoy it, and give it your own title! ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (7)

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!!!
I found it very hard to close this book! I was riveted to Chief Mankiller's every word and finished her book still wanting more. Her knowledge of Cherokee history and legend is vast and taught me many things I never knew. Also, her strength and enduring spirit is inspiring to me as a Cherokee. She succeeded, through her own life story, in instilling a new sense of pride in me that has made me become more involved in keeping native american culture alive and well. After reading her book I truly felt proud to be Cherokee. She should be an inspiration to us all. Highly recommended reading!

Our Uncommon and Common Cherokee History by Mankiller
I spent a whole weekend not just reading but absorbing this work of Wilma Mainkiller.On Sunday I could only describe feeling wonderfully enriched by the experience both personally, as a Euro- and Native American person and also as an American. All of us have been denied major parts of our comon American history with the repression of Native American History. The mid section of the book is purely historical, and so much of it was news to me! (I thought that I knew Native history and yet it would prove that I had alot to learn that weekend.) The interection of Cherokee and African American history is fascinating ! It is a reoccuring theme. What history books cover that? The focus is usually Euro-American to Native American, or Euro-American to African-American. At a personal level the experience was tremendous. Putting personal information together with her history, I learned that I have a matrilineal clan affliation (bird). I feel that as the result of her work I myself ,my family, and descendents have connected with something that would have otherwise been lost. Generations ago, two orphaned Cherokee boys were adopted by a white family in Georgia. One later went "white' the other "red". This is not just my personal background. This is a metaphor for so much of American history. Truely, Cherokee culture is the best kept secret in America today, as the author writes. It is our common cultural heritage, like jazz, like democracy. I relish reading other works by this author ! Doris Hale

Excellent account of the history of the Cherokees
First of all, I would encourage anyone who is interested in the history and culture of the Cherokees to read this book. The average American is taught very little about the native peoples who inhabited this land before the white men took over. The first reviewer, gsibbery from Baton Rouge, LA, shows the mentality of most whites today. The native Americans have been trying to share their views and feelings for years but most people do not care to listen, and in general, do not care about the circumstances these people have had to endure. I commend Mrs. Wilma Mankiller for the effort and time she spent in writing this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it and have shared it with others. I think we all need to try to see things from another's perspective sometimes. It was a great book!!

Interesting
I enjoyed reading about Wilma Mankiller and her activities to better the lot of her people. She is obviously a very strong woman with deeply-held beliefs and convictions which she does her best to apply in everyday life. Still, there was more than a hint of modern-day victim mentality, which considering the culture that she has come from is sort of insulting. The identification with the past generations of Indians does little to help her cause. Tradition and heritage may be important to some people, but it's hard not to scoff when you hear her say "I feel the pain of my ancestors". Maybe she does, in a small way, but it's also a clever political tactic that I don't altogether approve of. Native Americans need to learn to move forward instead of always moaning about how they were forced under by superior numbers. So much of this seems like whining that it can be a little hard to take in places, especially considering that Native American culture before the whites came was no less brutal than that of their oppressors. Still, this was an interesting sojourn into a little-known aspect of American politics and culture that few are aware of. All in all not a bad book, although it could be better.

An enlightening version of Cherokee history and a woman.
The author does an excellent job of reviewing Cherokee history and explaining how the Cherokee individual has assimilated into today's American culture. It was pointed out that education has always been highly valued in the Cherokee tradition and the tribe has remained alive and well because culture never dies when there is communication. The Cherokee people highly value the history of their matriarchs. Women were respected and valued in the tribe. That tradition has surfaced in this century with the leadership of Ms. Mankiller. On a personal note, it was enlightening that Wilma shared much of her personal life with us, the readers. She is blessed to have found a life-partner with Charlie. He comes from a good family. I used to watch the Soap boys play basketball in school. Thanks for a good book about a great people. ... Read more

Book Description

Sheila Walsh reads a condensed version of her struggle to find a truth strong and real enough to set her free.Read by Sheila Walsh. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Powerful Testimony & Book
A few years ago I found a new copy of this book at a used book store for a decent price. I gave it to my dad for Christmas because he's an avid reader of non-fiction, especially biographies & autobiographies. I wish I'd read it first before I gave it away. I eventually bought a copy from Amazon & read it recently (4/04). I'm glad I finally read it myself.

Sheila Walsh got saved when she was 11 years old. On the outside, she was a successful Christian talk show host, singer, & author. But she had ghosts from her childhood that she had never dealt with properly. At what seemed like th peak of her success(age 35), she stepped down from her spot as the co-host of the 700 Club & checked herself into a Christian Psychiatric Ward in Washington, D.C. That was probably the best thing that she did for herself. From there on out, God began to work on the the things that had tormented her for so many years. Today she is happy, healthy, whole, & restored. her life is truly a testimony to what God can do if we surrender totally to him.

Thank you, Sheila, for writing this book. My prayer is that your books, sermons, & music will continue to touch many people as they already have. God bless you, Sheila Walsh!

WONDERFUL -- speaks to the heart
I have struggled with, at times winning and at times losseing, depression since I was a small child. I am a strong full-faith Christian. Believe it or not, and a lot of people don't -- you can be both. Sheila breaks that ground and opens her heart and her soul for the good of us reading. She has hurt sooooo much; and come soooo close to the edge of darkness. This book speaks to the heart and damaged maind of every depressed reader; I have cried on each page; for her and for me. It is a great read for the non-depressed to illustrate that a real and active Christan can still be attacked. The support the book offers for fellow depression suffers is excellent. It is not a total explanation of depression, nor of "seeking help" but it is a personal journy that empowers other to walk the path. It is not all you need to read; but it is a read support.

A light in the dark
It has been a few years since I read Sheila's book, so I don't remember a lot of specific details about it as much as the feelings I had about it. I got the book after attending a Women of Faith conference where I heard Sheila speak. Part of what Sheila shared with us was about her struggle with depression. I was deeply touched by Sheila's story, as I could relate to many aspects of it. I began struggling with depression while I was in high school. My life seemed to be going well as I was an honor student apparently headed for a good college and career. But inside, I felt like I was falling apart. It was hard for me to share what I was feeling as I was also dealing with denial and shame. While I was never hospitalized as Sheila was, I always had the feeling that I was just barely hanging on. Fortunately, I was able to find some answers in books I read, but as I tried to share what I was experiencing with other people, I encountered as much misunderstanding and condemnation as compassion and understanding. So I could relate to Sheila's feelings of isolation, and her need to hide her true self from the world.
As for Sheila's book Honestly, it was like a light in the dark for me, to hear from someone who had experienced something similar to what I went through. It helped me know I was not alone, and played a role in my healing process as I read it and reread parts that were most significant to me. It was also encouraging to see how God was using Sheila's painful experiences to enable her to minister to others, a concrete example of how God can take the bad in our lives and transform it into good.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with depression, shame, and feeling like they have to hide their true self from other people. It is helpful to hear from others who have shared these feelings, and we can learn from their experiences. For those who may not be going through these things, I would recommend this book as a tool to gain some understanding of those who are, and to better know how to respond to others' pain with compassion.
Just as an added note, for those who may think depression is just something to be "fixed", I went into it as an atheist, and came out with a rock solid faith in God. The pain of depression can be helpful in that it may cause us to question our perception of reality, to be seeking something more, and to see our need for and be more receptive to God's love and compassion. In this respect, depression can be a catalyst for spiritual, emotional and mental growth.

Honestly
I would like to retract the review that I made earlier this evening. My review was honest and true, but I fear much too hard after thinking about it. If one person is helped by this book, then it will be THE ANSWER for them.

Honest
I have just completed reading Honestly by Sheila Walsh. After hearing her CD Hope, it was my hope that this book would be anointed by God to bring healing to those who had gone through something similar to what she had gone through. It was my hope that it would give direction and maybe even some answers to God's silence during times like this. I was able to relate to many notations in her book, because I have spent time looking for help and have read many of the old classics. Especially Dark Night of the Soul. Many phrases in her book spoke to my heart and let me know that she had been where I am and have been for a long time. Though her writing was honest and she bared her life to her readers, I do not want anyone to be misled that this book offers THE ANSWER. She gave some wonderful recommendations for getting help -- find a Christian counselor, talk to Christian friends, don't shut people out. Sheila Walsh was very fortunate in that she did not feel foresaken or deserted by God. She is very lucky in that she continued to experience God's presence in her life during her time of recovery. ... Read more

Reviews (106)

Like a Picture From an Old Life Magazine
Mary Karr has nailed the language, smell, taste, sounds, colors and feelings of a childhood in Texas and Colorado in the 60's and 70's. She tells us the story that only a child raised on adrenalin can tell - one of humor, fear and alert, honest observation. Her memories are sharp and clear and exactly what a child would have chosen to note. This is the painfully honest and extrordinarily funny (as only the truth can be) story of two little girls trying to raise their alcoholic parents and the pasts that led the parents to that point. What is so wonderful about this memoir is that, in spite of the tribulations these little girls go through, their love for their parents and their willingness to protect them surpasses all other emotions. If for no other reason, read this book for the language. I've heard people say that it's exaggerated or embellished for this book. I can tell you that she must have a memory like a steel trap because she brought back words and sayings from my childhood that I had long forgotten. If you are only going to read one memoir this year, forget "Angela's Ashes", forget "The Color of Water". They both pale in comparison to "The Liar's Club".

Strength out of misery
Mary Karr grew up in an ugly place, the refinery/swamp town of Port Arthur, Texas, and in an ugly situation, with a mentally unstable mother and a hot tempered, hard drinking father. Yet out of such ugliness, she extracted great beauty in order to write this dazzling memoir. Despite Karr's dysfunctional childhood, her writing is completely devoid of woe-is-me whining or psychobabble.

Karr has a gift for spinning a tale, perhaps inherited from her father or honed at gatherings of his friends in "The Liar's Club," a group that met to drink, play cards, and swap stories. And boy, the stories she tells! There's the stories about her mother's manic/pyschotic episodes, including one time when she set her children's belongings on fire, another time when she attempted to drive the family off a bridge, and a third time when she threatened her lazy husband with a gun. Karr also tells about her inconsistent relationship with her father, who suffered a difficult life but emerged, if not unscathed, then unbroken.

Most remarkable about the book, though, are not the amazing stories but the matter of fact, even at times hilarious tone in which they are told. The woman telling these stories is no victim; she is a survivor. A miserable childhood did not cause Mary Karr to surrender her spirit, but rather forged her in fire and made her stronger.

Funny writing, down-to-earth style
I thought I was sick of daughters-with-crazy-mothers (often from the South) books, but this one sucked me in with its wit and candor. It's hard to stop and feel any sympathy for the narrator because you're laughing so hard. Definitely a great summer beach read. Other good crazy-mother books: Sights Unseen, An Egg on Three Sticks, Blackbird.

Disturbing Fiction
This book is fiction, not a memoir. The author writes that her mother was in a hurry to marry her Dad because she was already 30. By the time Mary's older sister is 9, Mary's grandmother moves in with the family. Mary Karr writes: "It must be terrible to have cancer at age 50". So, the grandmother was 50 at the time and the mother was (at least) 30+9+9 months = 40 years old? I don't think so!

I liked the way Mary Karr tells the story - for a while. I really enjoyed the tall tales her father made up in the first third or so of the book. After the second sexual abuse scene, however, I had thoroughly enough of the despicable characters. No need reading somebody else's nightmares stated as a fact.

Wow--just Wow
If you don't own a copy of The Liars' Club, your collection is incomplete. This is by far the smartest, ballsiest, sassiest, best-written memoir I've read. Karr takes normal words and turns them into pure emotion and eye-opening description. Never have I come away from a book feeling as though I've lived that life, experienced those situations. This book is the exception.

Karr takes us into her life growing up in Texas, the daughter of an odd set of parents and the product of too much time and too little to do with it. She tells of family tragedies and heartache so plainly, so matter-of-factly that the reader comes away with a sense of belonging to the madness that was Karr's life. What's more, deep into the book, one realizes that quite possibly, the title of the book may be revealing a private joke Karr is playing on her readers. The seed of doubt is planted, thus enhancing the story and the experience.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. It's worth a second and third read. I'm awaiting Karr's third book with the same patience as a kid on Christmas Eve. ... Read more

Book Description

2 cassettes / 2 hours and 20 minutes
Unabridged
Read by Academy Award-winning actress Claudette Colbert


"A wise and beautiful book." - Harper's

A modern-day classic: here are Anne Morrow Lindbergh's elegant and wise meditations on youth and age, love and marriage, solitude, peace, and contentment, as she set them down during a brief vacation by the ocean.

She helps us to see ways to reconcile our most deeply personal needs with obligations to family, friends, lovers, and work, ways to separate loneliness from replenishing solitude, and ways to find solace in the simplest of daily tasks.

Gift from the Sea is marked by a greatest and simple wisdom, lifting listeners out of the rush and worry of daily life and opening a path to inner peace and self-realization.
... Read more

Reviews (44)

Self-help without the jargon
This title was a recent selection for a book discussion group that I helped organize for my library. As the only male in the group, I felt somewhat compelled to offer token protest to the selection of this classic example of a "woman's book," but actually I was intrigued by it. Everything I had read about "Gift From the Sea" praised its meditative quality and I had to admit that the promise of that rather appealed to me.

I wound up reading the bulk of the book on Mothers' Day, which seemed quite appropriate, given that among the many issues Lindbergh addresses here is the need for mothers to find a balance between their own needs and those of their children and husbands. The need for time to one's self, a "room of one's own", the need for a spriritual dimension to one's existence--well, it seems so obvious that these needs have to be met if a woman--if any human being--is to be fulfilled and to be able to meet her (or his) responsibilities with joy rather than with dread. But the lessons that Anne Morrow Lindbergh taught in 1955 still need to be voiced in 2000--perhaps more than ever. Lindbergh seems prescient when she speaks of the dangers of the "life of multiplicity" which had already taken root in the immediate post-War era. We know all too well that it has not gotten any better in the past 50 years and that women's lives in particular have become more stressful and, to use Lindbergh's word, "fragmented" in the past half-century.

What distinguishes Lindbergh's book from today's current crop of self-help or New Age sprititual books though is its lyrical quality. Her careful, belletristic prose is soothing and, yes, meditative in and of itself. Reading it seems to bring about the very centeredness and balance that she seeks to describe.

Although she includes no bibliography (and rightly so, as this is not a tract), I would hope that many of her readers would be inspired to seek out the works of some of the writers she quotes in the context of these essays. She does the world a great service in suggesting how Rilke, for example, whose poetry may seem impenetrable at first, can actually speak to the concerns of our own lives.

A true gem!!
I had no idea, when I found this book in a little beach bookstore recently, that it was written in 1955. Had I known, it probably would have dissuaded me from buying it. I now know how fortunate I am to have not known!

I believe that books, words and people come into our lives at the time they are most needed, and Gift from the Sea certainly fits that bill for me. While small bits of it may be dated, most of it speaks as clearly and truly to modern day woman as it would have to 1950s women. In fact, with so many women in search of their most authentic self these days, it may even be MORE relevant to today's woman! It is a delicate and thoughtful essay on solitude, couplehood, inner peace and the wonder of nature. I can't imagine anyone not being inspired and uplifted by reading it. Truly, a gift for the soul.

Gifts From the Sea
Quila Mackinnon, a twelve-year-old girl, is just crushed by the death of her mother. Now she is only left with her father and the old light house on Devils Rock. Everyday, her father works in the light house while Quila cleans not only the house but the light house too. One morning Quila decided to go out onto Devils Rock. Breathing in the deep blue sea air was nice until she saw something. As she started down the large rocks, stepping onto the cold wet sand she remembered her father telling don't go down to the waves where they will take you away. Quila sat there shaking when suddenly yelled out, "Papa, Papa!" Her father came running out saying, "What is it?" "A baby Papa, I found a baby."
Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, the author, has a wonderful style of writing. I liked it because she used a lot of description and detail. She can tell in good times and show in good times as well. Find out if they keep the baby and what happens about having no mother!

Franny

Five... Cinco... Cinq STARS*****
This is THE book for your feminine lifetime. It is not only a journey.... it's an adventure... and a healing. (+ reality check!)

The perfect gift for Moms
Even though this book was written in the 1950's, it's subject matter is as current and relevant as if it was written yesterday. This is a small, sensible, gem of a book on the often overwhelming and thankless task of being a wife and mother. No, it's not a feminist rant, just a realistic look at what it means to sacrifice yourself for others. This book would make the perfect gift for every mother with young children...trust me. ... Read more

Book Description

Were It Not for Grace gives twelve prominent Christian women the platform to share their stories about how God has had his hand on their lives. The heart of each of these ladies bears the indelible fingerprint of a God who has pursued them, healed them, and held them in their times of trial.

Be enriched, moved, and inspired by the personal testimonies of these high profile, wonderful women of God:

First Lady Laura Bush
Condoleezza Rice
Kay Coles James
Joyce Wright
Leslie Parrott
Joni Eareckson Tada
Beth Moore
Kathy Gallagher
Jill Briscoe
Joyce Penner
Nancy Alcorn
Anne Paulk
... Read more

Reviews (4)

INSPIRING PERSONAL STORIES

Leslie Montgomery is a skilled interviewer and advocate for the Christian faith.With "Were It Not For Grace" she has gathered the testimonies of 12 women who openly and honestly share their experiences with the healing power of God.They relate how they found strength andcourage in the face of adversity, as well as a renewed enthusiasm for life.

Looking back on the time she spent with these women the author says, "There is seldom a day that I don't reflect on some powerful point one or more of them made."Listeners will have the same experience as they listen to this affecting reading by voice performer Sandra Burr.

There is little in the human experience that is overlooked whether it is death, sexual abuse or depression.All of the women are outstanding figures including Laura Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Anne Paulk, and Joni Eareckson Tada.

This is an audio book you'll want to hear over and over, as well as share with your friends.

- Gail Cooke

Were It Not For Grace
Reading each of the stories in this book touched me in some way.I could relate to a lot of what the women felt or thought, regardless of whether I had experienced their particular struggle or pain in my own life.Their strength both amazed and inspired me.

As a woman pursuing, for the first time in my life, a relationship with God, this book has had a profound impact on me.I enjoyed it very much, and it brought out many different emotions, and definitely engaged me, which, to me, is a sign of a wonderful book.

Very Educational...
Leslie's interview with these women was completely awesome.The stories these women were willing to tell of their lives and how God inspired, touched and led them through their hardships is truly amazing.

This book has definitely opened my eyes to not only the miracles of God but also into the lives of real women and with real problems just as we all have.It has helped me in my daily struggles as well to know there are others out there that have made it through similar troubles and experiences I have and am continuously going through as well.

The stories portrayed in this book have definitely opened my eyes to the inner workings of a woman's mind and how they look at life and God.I have had several questions concerning women's thought patterns in certain areas such as homosexuality, sexual and physical abuse and the stories these women have told of their lives, struggles and how they got through them through their faith and with the grace of God is truly inspiring and a miracle to say the least.

My heart goes out to each and every one of them and I pray that they continue their walk with God and that they continue to receive God's blessings.

Leslie did an awesome job with this book and definitely deserves the highest rating she can receive for this.I cannot wait to read the second installment of this as well.

Were It Not For Grace
Were It Not For Grace is a powerful book featuring First Lady Laura Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Beth More, Kay Coles James, Joyce Wright, Leslie Parrott, Joni Eareckson-Tada, Kathy Gallagher, Jill Briscoe, Joyce Penner, Nancy Alcorn, and Anne Paulk.

The author gives an entire chapter highlighting each woman and a difficult circumstance they have overcome through their faith.Issues addressed include; Accidently killing someone in a car accident, the death of one's parents, prejudice, death of a child, giving birth to a preemie, depression/suicide, sexual abuse, when your mate has a pornography/sex addiction, living with a man in full-time ministry, sexual dysfunction, eating disorder, and lesbianism.

There are very few women who could not pick up this book and find stregnth within it's pages for her personal life.The most powerful story is Condoleezza Rice's where she states emphatically that ... Read more