Amazon.com
For those who like the Grinch more before his transformation by the Whos down in Whoville, and those who don't automatically think of George Bailey's encounter with the angel in It's a Wonderful Life every time they hear a bell ring during the Christmas season, New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts, writing as J.D. Robb, has teamed with three other gifted writers of romantic suspense to produce four intriguing tales of holiday upheaval. Claire Cross's "A Berry Merry Christmas" sends Holly Berry, a technophobic elf, to spread a little Christmas cheer to orphaned Natalie Sinclair and her Uncle Drew. When Natalie requests a new mommy for Christmas, little does Holly suspect she's the ideal candidate to fill the role--and to become a loving wife to Drew, who finds himself believing once again in the magic of Christmas. Only Santa Claus--"Mr. C" to Holly--can make all their dreams come true.
In Dee Holmes's "The Unexpected Gift," Sabrina McKay is spending her first Christmas since her divorce alone in Pine Falls, Vermont, with her young son. She finds the best gift of all not under her Christmas tree but passed out cold in her front yard. Investigating her son's report that "there's a dead man in the yard," Sabrina discovers former bad boy--and her girlhood boyfriend--Zach Danforth. Together again, they realize the true meaning of Christmas and the rediscovery of a love never lost.
Jake Rimsa discovers that the packaging doesn't reveal the true value of the gift inside in Susan Plunkett's Christmas Promises. Roped into giving Marne York, his ex-fiancée, a ride home for Christmas, Jake finds little evidence of the polished, pampered, starry-eyed young woman he left behind when he joined the FBI. Instead Marne has become a fierce advocate on behalf of battered women and a woman who has learned, in the most horrifying way possible, to take care of herself. And Jake uncovers in Marne the long-buried passion she believed forever dead. Together they seek a foe determined to make Marne pay for her interference, and they find the greatest gift of all--love between equals.
In the final story, only Nora Roberts can combine Christmas and an escaped serial killer with a grudge and still make it sizzle! Lieutenant Eve Dallas returns in Midnight in Death. When her first Christmas with her new husband Roarke is interrupted by reports of the naked, mutilated body of the judge responsible for convicting serial killer David Palmer, Eve learns that her name appears on the list of others to be killed. Since she was responsible for arresting Palmer the first time, Eve is back on the case. But Roarke is on her case, exhorting Eve to join him under the mistletoe for a little Yuletide cheer and to let him bring his considerable connections to bear to locate the hiding place of the monster threatening their happiness. Together they capture the psychopath and the spirit of Christmas. What a way to start the new year! --Alison Trinkle
Book Description
Four tales of holiday love and danger from Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb, and bestselling authors Susan Plunkett, Dee Holmes, and Claire Cross.
Customer Reviews:
Romance + the Christmas Season = A collection of Great Short Stories!.......2007-08-09
I must admit that I initially bought this book for the JD Robb short story about Eve and Roarke, two characters that I have come to love reading about,and if you are a lover of the "In Death series", you won't be disappointed. However, I am happy to say that I really enjoyed the other three short stories, all of which were by authors that I had never heard of, but am seriously considering seeking some of their other works, especially Susan Plunkett.
The first short story, "A Berry Merry Christmas", was probably not my favorite of the four, but I enjoyed it immensely. It was about a clumsy, yet good natured elf, named Holly, who is having trouble doing anything right. So imagine her delight when "Mr. C" (AKA Santa) gives her an opportunity to redeem herself by helping complete a seemingly easy task before Christmas, and she doesn't intend to fail and believes that even she is up for the challenge. Afterall, how hard could it be to bring happiness to a young orphan, who has lost everything in a fire, the result of faulty christmas lights (Natalie) and her lonely uncle, Drew? Will this holiday bring magic,joy and love to all?
In the "The Unexpected Gift" by Dee Holmes, a recently divorced woman, Sabrina, finds her ex-lover, bad boy Zach, in her yard, apparently suffering from a night of "fun". Will this holiday season find these lovers rediscovering each other, or will their fears prevent it?
What happens when an ex-lover returns to find out why you stopped loving him? In Susan Plunkett's "Christmas Promises", you find out what regret, pain and secrets can do to a relationship. After four years with no explanation, Jake feels that the least that Marne can do is talk with him and tell him why she broke her Christmas promise. While battling their own individual demons, they try to locate a traumatized young girl. Marne has to decide if her past will haunt her forever, or allow Jake back into her heart.
And finally, in JD Robb's Midnight in Death, Eve Dallas is being pulled away from the holiday festivites to locate a crazed killer who she once caught. What more can she handle after trying to find the perfect gift for a man who has everything and owns most of the planet, her sexy husband, Roarke. As usual, a serial killer in 2059 New York is not easy to find, especially if he is systematically destroying everyone who he feels is responsible for his incarceration. And wouldn't you know, he intends to save the best, Eve, for last.
I definately enjoyed these short stories and recommend them to anyone who wants something quick and entertaining to read.
Great Stories.......2006-10-23
Like most reviewers I purchased this book for the JD Robb story, but found myself enjoying all the stories.
In the first story A Berry Merry Christmas you have a delightful tale about a Christmas Elf who is sent to help a single man raising his orphaned niece.
In the second story, The unexpected gift, you have a divorced mother and her 5 year old son. The son discovers what he thinks is the body of a dead man in their yard. Only the man is not dead and he is Sabrina's old boyfriend.
In the third story Christmas Promises we have two lovers reunited after several years as they work together to find a missing child.
In the fourth story, Midnight in Death we have the 8th book in the In Death series. Eve and Roarke's Christmas is interrupted when she has to find an escaped murderer. Things heat up as Dr. Mira is taken hostage.
All of these tales were great and my only complaint was that they weren't longer. A good book!
Great!.......2006-03-25
I am an avid reader! I love mystery/thriller/romance/suspense, pretty much anything! I particularly like JD Robb, which is why I bought the book in the first place. While the story from her was short, I expected it so was not disappointed. The other stories were good too!
Bought this 6 years ago and STILL enjoy the stories!.......2005-11-11
Like most other reviewers, I bought this anthology for the extra "In Death" story ("Midnight in Death") by JD Robb/Nora Roberts. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by the other 3 stories and how uplifting they were!
In Claire Cross's story, we have to have our belief in magic and Santa Claus as "Mr. C" assigns his elf, Holly Berry, to help fulfill a young girl's Christmas wish for a "new mommy". This story is very funny and wondefully warm and touching!
The Dee Holme's story is great to show how strong Sabrina McKay is in spite of her recent divorce and hard time taking care of her 5 year old son due to the very little to no assistance for her ex-husband. Sabrina is not afraid to go after what she wants including the boyfriend from her youth who seems to not want her.
In the Susan Plunkett story we have a darker side of life with a woman and her ex-fiance being thrown together by family after four years apart. They join forces to find a missing daughter of a battered woman and find danger and joy together.
Finally is the always intriguing Lt. Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke to try to track and stop a serial killer that Eve put away 3 years ago and is now systematically killing everyone who put him in prison from the judge on down. It is a race of wits, determination and time.
All four stories are enjoyable in their own way!
Very enjoyable anthology, well worth the money.......2005-10-29
From the back cover: 'Tis the season for passion and intrigue--in four festive Christmas novellas by four outstanding authors...
In JD Robb's "Midnight in Death" Lieutenant Eve Dallas must postpone her first Christmas with her new husband, Roarke, to hunt for an escaped serial killer--but she and Roarke still manage to find ways to celebrate.
Susan Plukett's "Christmas Promises" brings a woman and her ex-fiance together after four long years as they search for a missing child--and make up for broken promises of Christmases past.
In Dee Holmes's "The Unexpected Gift" Sabrina McKay and her five-year-old son are coping with the first Christmas since her divorce and her son finds a 'body' in the yard--and unexpectedly they rediscover the true spirit of the holidays.
In Claire Cross's "A Berry Merry Christmas" a mysterious nanny has a special message to deliver to a young orphan and her uncle who long to feel the joy of Christmas in their hearts once again.
And my review:
All of these stories were good. I normally don't like Christmas murder mysteries, but JD Robb's story was so engrossing that I couldn't put it down.
My favorite, though, was "A Berry Merry Christmas". I admit it, I'm a sucker for lighthearted fantasy, and the story of an elf who didn't quite fit in just warmed my heart.
Highly recommended!
Book Description
Receiving a diagnosis of autism is a major crisis for parents and families, who often feel as if their world has come to an end. In this insightful narrative, a courageous and inspiring mother explains why a diagnosis of autism doesn't have to shatter a family's dreams of happiness. Senator offers the hard-won, in-the-trenches wisdom of someone who's been there and is still there today—and she demonstrates how families can find courage, contentment, and connection in the shadow of autism.
In Making Peace with Autism, Susan Senator describes her own journey raising a child with a severe autism spectrum disorder, along with two other typically developing boys. Without offering a miracle treatment or cure, Senator offers valuable strategies for coping successfully with the daily struggles of life with an autistic child.
Along the way she models the combination of stamina and courage, openness, and humor that has helped her family to survive—and even to thrive. Topics include: the agony of diagnosis, grieving and acceptance, finding the right school program, helping siblings with their struggles and concerns, having fun together, and keeping the marriage strong.
Customer Reviews:
Sue Senator gets it right.......2007-03-19
Sue Senator's autism book is not just another parent's story about facing autism. She has something to say, useful information to immpart, and she is not looking to find or share a miracle cure. She is a little ahead of the curve on the autism epidemic - her son is nearly grown - and thus her perspective is very useful for parents with younger children (and typical siblings) wondering about the future and coping with diagnosis and the larger issues of long-term advocacy.
Excellent, uplifting book!.......2007-02-24
After reading countless books on autism, mostly about theories and treatments, this book is a breath of fresh air! It was so encouraging to read an honest, open life story of a family living with autism on a daily basis. It doesn't give false hope, nor do the family members act like little stoics. They're just real people who are dealing with life every day, and who try to find real happiness in just taking life one day at a time. I admire Susan Senator's positive attitude. She admits that she has a tough time, but picks up the pieces and goes on from there. I thank her for sharing such a personal story; it will help countless families.
good read for young families .......2007-02-16
This is a good read for young families first struggling with a new diagnosis of Autism. Also good for families with siblings, with advice about how to care for their needs.
Parents of autistic kids and any who work with autism need this.......2007-01-07
Parents of autistic kids and any who work with autism need MAKING PEACE WITH AUTISM: ONE FAMILY'S STORY OF STRUGGLE, DISCOVERY, AND UNEXPECTED GIFTS: it provides important keys to coping and discusses the challenges of raising an autistic child. Susan Senator raised a child with a severe autism spectrum disorder along with two other normally-developing boys: her strategies offer invaluable coping insights and shows how the entire family changed and adjusted.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
so-so........2007-01-05
I enjoy most all books on Autism. Everyone has a wonderful story to tell, and I love to hear what they do for their children to help them thrive. Susan seems like a wonderful mom full of courage and gusto. I did not like how the book jumps around from one point in Nats life to the next and back again. I appreciate progressing time lines. I apreciate how she accepts her son as he is. That is lovely. But knowing what I do about autism, I wish she would have done more in the way of biomedical treatments to find someunderlying causes to some of his symptoms. Some things CAN be cured with these kids-you don't just treat the symptoms-you are missing the big piture. Other things CAUSE syptoms-they are the result of something. Not everything is just chalked up to being the way the autistic brain works and that is that and there is nothing you can do but "train the child" how to act. You are cheating your child if you do not try to figure out what makes him tick from his head to his toes. maybe the Senators did this on some levels, but they did not talk about it much. They seemed to just like to medicate the problems away whenever possible. medication can be a wonderful life saving thing, but sometime you lose the real person when doing so. I know first hand-I was medicated for depression when there was an underlying phyical condition that caused it and was cured when that was addressed and taken care of. I never got the sense that they did a whole lot of digging that way-just accepting that Nat was Nat. I was left wondering what might have been for him. Maybe something a little different. Maybe not. God bless them for being so caring and accepting and strong.
Book Description
Cradled All the While is a beautifully crafted memoir in which the author recounts the story of her mother's death from cancer. In the midst of career and child-rearing, Corse becomes her mother's primary caregiver, but her story is a spiritual journey that will nurture the faith of people of many religious backgrounds. The themes encountered throughout the book parallel the issues dealt with in practical grieving resources; here, however, they are played out in the lives of a real family.
Customer Reviews:
A beautiful memoir .......2007-02-28
This book is a moving account of Sara Corse's mother's death not as a moment in time, but as a culmination of life's journey. It is wonderful to see someone be able to look past the stress and burden of caring for a dying person and realize the emotional rewards. Sara is down to earth about her and her mother's relationship and demonstrates that you do not need a perfect relationship to fully appreciate one another. There are many ways that this book can touch the reader: daughters can relate to the many dimensions of a mother-daughter relationship; caregivers can be inspired by Sara's fortitude; those who lost a loved one can learn a way to fill a void. Death is a very difficult subject to discuss and the fact that this book presents it in such a beautiful way is a gift in itself.
A Psychologist's View on the book and reader's guide.......2006-03-07
"My mother's final gift to me was given when she was beyond believing that she had anything left to offer anyone, and was received when I was long past expecting anything from her." Thus ends the prologue to the author's moving personal account of her mother's cancer experience, and the way in which the illness transformed their relationship over time. In this memoir, Dr. Corse intertwines flashbacks from her own life with the unfolding story of her mother's illness, illuminating the complex web of family relationships within which she struggles to understand and cope with her mother's dying. Memoirs about personal loss run the risk of leaving the reader feeling depleted or emotionally manipulated. Dr. Corse's book does neither. Her book is about the redemptive and transformative power of caring for a dying parent, leaving the reader feeling hopeful and inspired. This book is for anyone with a disappointing relationship with a parent who has died or is dying, and for everyone who seeks grace and healing in their relationships throughout life. The reader's guide, available free at www.councilforrelationships.org/articles/staying-centered_2-20-06.htm, offers a vehicle for reflecting on and discussing the book's themes related to dying, caring, and healing. The guide is organized according to topic, referencing specific sections in the book, and contains thought-provoking questions suitable for book clubs and for students in psychology, psychiatry, pastoral counseling, social work, nursing, and religion.
Substance and style!.......2005-06-13
When I recently picked up this book again to re-read it, what I remembered best about it were the author's impressive honesty and the insights that gave me into my relations with my own mother.
This time I was struck by how gracefully she handles the language and tells her story. Ever since my Jane Austen kick a few years ago I have found myself putting down books that I believed had something to say because I didn't like the way they were saying it. Not so here. This book is thought-provoking, and it is also a pleasure to read (but not if you're looking for something light-hearted!). I think it would appeal to a wider audience than those especially drawn to it for its focus on grief and on mother-daughter relations. I hope the author will write more.
Recommended for anyone with a mother.......2005-02-01
I found this to be a beautifully written book. To be able to take care of the dying is a tremendous gift, a blessing, and Sara found unexpected grace and healing in it. I found it only made me appreciate my mother even more. I wanted to tell her how important it was to me to be able to take care of her now that she is older, and she mustn't prevent me from doing so. If your relationship with your mom is troubled, all the more reason to read this book. Most of us don't want to face the inevitable, but when we do, some surprising things can happen. An excellent book for anyone with a mother...particularly someone in midlife with an older parent. Thank you Sara, for this book.
A Courageous and Honest Memoir.......2005-01-04
As the author of this beautifully written book says, "The curtain between life and death is a gossamer veil." With insight and honesty, Sara Corse gazes through this gossamer veil as she recounts her experiences caring for her mother, dying of cancer. Part memoir, part reflection on the meaning of life and death, this book mainly gives a moving account of her mother's last months, but through the use of flashbacks and discursions, Corse shows how the tenderness and pain of this final illness are woven into the larger complexities of a mother-daughter relationship. Corse understands the anguish of losing a parent in the context of her own sometimes anguished struggle for a personal identity and a meaningful faith. For those facing the death of a loved one, this book will be a comfort and a help. For anyone seeking understanding in the presence of the mystery of death, this book will be a deep river of wisdom.
Book Description
An Unexpected Joy
Parenting a child with a disability can be isolating and devastating. We want so much to do everything for our children, but what do you do when nothing works? Worse, what do you do when your child is diagnosed with a permanent, incurable disability?
In An Unexpected Joy, author Mary Sharp, a family doctor and the mother of three, candidly shares her defeats and her victories in handling her son's battle with autism. After shock, denial, despair, and bitterness, Mary has found room in her heart for laughter and grief to coexist. Even more, she has come to see her son Nic as a gift in her family's life.
Customer Reviews:
Perspective, humor, and honesty. .......2007-08-22
The life and world Dr. Sharp writes of is incredibly isolating, but the moments of grace experienced give insight into all of us. Her experiences mirror my family's, but she found the words we have struggled to identify due to exhaustion. Sleep is not for the weak, it is for the survivors. Those with special needs children will, hopefully, see themselves and know they are not alone. Those with friends with children with special needs will see their friends, and know in some small way just what a blessing their relationships are to these families. Those who have limited interaction or understanding of special needs families may gain some understanding and compassion for those so challenged. And those who provide help, via therapists, babysitting, house cleaning, dog walking, anything, may finally know just what angels they are.
author hates homeschooling????.......2007-02-11
I enjoyed this book up until chapter 3 when the author launches into a diatribe against homeschooling. She describes her "visceral anger" about homeschooling, creating some of my own anger.
An excellent book.......2004-02-18
A friend from church gave this book to my wife to read. Roughly two weeks before that, my son was diagnosed with a mild form of autism. This struck a big blow to me as a father. After reading the book, my wife told me I needed to read it. While I read it, I was transported into Mary Sharp's world as she raised her son. It dealt with many of the issues and questions we had about ourselves and our future. Though not a "text book" like some other books that deal with Autism, "An Unexpected Joy" deals with the emotional struggles that they faced. I could definitely relate as we have been facing the some of the same issues. I would recommend this to any parent, especially those with "normal" kids, because it helps you understand those special ones.
Average customer rating:
- Unexpected Miracles
- Really enjoyed this book
- disturbing synchronicity
- Nothing very unexpected or miraculous here
- This was no gift.
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Unexpected Miracles: The Gift of Synchronicity and How to Open it
David Richo
Manufacturer: Crossroad Classic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books | Adolescent Psychology | Applied Psychology | By Topic | Child Psychology | Clinical Psychology | Cognitive | Counseling | Creativity & Genius | Developmental Psychology | Education & Training | Ethnopsychology | Experimental Psychology | Forensic Psychology | General | History | Hypnosis | Industrial Psychology | Logotherapy | Medicine & Psychology | Mental Illness | Movements | Neuropsychology | Occupational & Organizational | Pathologies | Personality | Philosophy of Psychology | Physical Illness & Psychiatry | Physiological Aspects | Psychiatry | Psychoanalysis | Psychobiology | Psychopharmacology | Psychosomatic Medicine | Psychotherapy, TA & NLP | Reference | Research | Sexuality | Social Psychology & Interactions | Statistics | Suicide | Testing & Measurement
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ASIN: 0824517296 |
Book Description
Filled with stories and examples, and combining insights from psychology, religion, and poetry, this books shows how synchronicity--meaningful coincedence--works in daily life, in dreams, and imagination.
Customer Reviews:
Unexpected Miracles.......2007-05-30
Mr. Richo provides a wealth of information on the subject of Synchronicity. His work in this important field of study provides those of us who speak and write on the subject with a broader context upon which to help people who want to learn to understand the gift of synchronicity and learn to believe in the possibility of a lifetime filled of miracles.
Really enjoyed this book.......2005-09-10
If you wish to unlock an interesting part of your self and see the energy of the world in a different light....read this book.
I love the exercises that you can do at the end of each chapter. It really helps you reinforce what you have read
disturbing synchronicity.......2002-01-06
I have believed that alot of this stuff is hocus-pocus. And yes I have read some of the other "originals" mentioned in another review. However I picked up this book and found that one of David Richo's favorite Shakespearean quotes has long been mine also - from the Merchant of Venice. I thought that interestingly weird! Since then I have thoroughly enjoyed his books and am making friends with the idea that perhaps this cynic can learn something. I didn't give it five stars as I'd like David Richo to write another book that goes more deeply into this subject! I DO think, however, that the reader would benefit from buying and reading this book.
Nothing very unexpected or miraculous here.......2000-11-07
Maybe I've read too many books covering this same territory, but this one doesn't seem to me to have very much new to offer. There's a great deal of wisdom here, but all of it's cribbed directly from well-known sources and, while well enough written, the work is compiled without much original contribution by Dr. Richo. The underlying ideas are a blend of classic Eastern philosophy, Jungian psychology, Christian and Buddhist ethics, and Joseph Campbell's mystical anthropology, all packaged into a kind of pop New Age format complete with "practice" exercises and an advertisement on the last page for Dr. Richo's tapes and workshops. None of this is to say that the book isn't thought-provoking, but only to suggest that readers who are familiar with the source material may find Unexpected Miracles derivative and a little dull. The most useful purpose the book could serve perhaps is to stimulate people who haven't read the originals to experience the rich rewards of doing so.
This was no gift........2000-10-26
David Richo is obviously intelligent and armed with a stunning vocabulary. However, this said, he never manages to get beyond the academic and esoteric when discussing synchronicity. Although he is quite informative when speaking about different religions and metaphysics in general, he is unable to explain clearly how we as individuals should go about understanding, creating and applying synchronicity in our daily lives. There are "lessons" at the end of each chapter, but these seem almost an after thought. I was very anxious to get my copy of this book, but was more than just slightly disappointed when I finally was able to read it.
Customer Reviews:
A satisfying ending to a much loved series! .......2007-05-12
I appreciated the respectful way the characters in this series interacted with each other, even when their philosophies were so different - it's so much more realistic that the hostile bickering that's often prevalent in other romance novels. Like Grant, I was prepared to view Morgan negatively based on her workaholic attitude. She was so desperately in need of a conversion! Her moments of epiphany - seeing and disliking herself in Grant's mother, and realizing that no one is indispensible no matter how hard they work - were very poignant. Learning not to put a carrer before faith and family is an important lesson for all of us!
All-in-all, this was a wonderfully presented, easy to read, and very satisfying trilogy!
A Great Read.......2006-07-14
This book is the third in the Sisters and Brides Trilogy by Irene Hannon and a great ending to the three. The main character is the one of three sisters that receive an inheritance from their great aunt and in order for the sisters to fully receive their inheritance they must do what she has stipulated for 6 months. This sister is a work-a-holic who must go co-own a cottage in New England and volunteer for children's camp. While doing this and through various events and getting to know the person she co-owns the cottage with, she starts to re-evaluate her life and what's important to her. It's a great story of growth, love and how God uses unexpected events to reveal amazing blessings! I highly recommend it and the two other books of the trilogy: The Best Gift and Gift from the Heart.
Book Description
An inspiring healing narrative as seen through the eyes of a caregiver and her mother who has Alzheimer's Disease. After ten years of in-home caregiving, the author, Sherry M. Bell, Ph.D. was forced to more her mother into a nursing home. Despite their close relationship, she immediately discovered that knowing how-to-visit did not come naturally. Sherry urgently sought new and different ways to improve communications with her mother. Her search led to numerous insights and heart-rending stories based on first-hand experience and current research.
The concepts in Visiting Mom are universal-family members of all ages can learn new and better ways to visit and communicate with leders in their own home, in senior apartments, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, hospitals or in a hospice. The opportunity to visit mom is best understood as a gift.
Customer Reviews:
Extremely good place to start.......2001-03-23
I am a psychiatrist who has referred this book to many families to help provide examples and insights regarding the care of parents with dementia. This is not a "perfect" book with cookbook instructions of what to do and when to do it. This is initially a painfully frank discussion of the author's experiences with her mother's illness and the author's ambivalence regarding the illness.
The latter portions of the book offer examples of strategies in dealing with parents with dementias, with dealing with emotional reactions to parents, and with dealing with the institutional resources often encountered. As Rosethorn notes in her excellent 4star review, it is a quick read and isn't universal in approach or application to the plight of parents with dementia and their children's reactions. Yet the examples can be a good starting place to formulate more appropriate and specific strategies in individual situations.
Valuable, practical guide to caring for Alzheimer's parent.......2000-11-01
Sherry Bell's Visiting Mom is a practical guide to caring for a person with Alzheimer's, including coping with the difficult decision to institutionalize a parent. Sherry's concern for her mother's well-being and happiness is evident throughout the book, and she offers some very specific suggestions for making the visit more productive and more pleasant for all members of the family. Her agonizing over the ultimate decision to put her mother in a nursing home is a reminder that this action induces guilt in everyone, no matter how hard they have worked to maintain a good quality of life and to look out for the parent's best interests.
The suggestion to create a Memory Book was a particularly strong one, one that would give the patient something to focus on, and would help the caregiver direct the conversation toward topics that give the patient pleasure. I also liked the suggestion that tapes of music be used to calm the patient and help them reminisce about happy times in their life.
I wish this book had been available when one of my family was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago. This disease was new to us, and we expected some general confusion and slowing down, but did not know other symptoms that characterized the disease - the paranoia, the sense that people are stealing from them, the hiding of objects. This book is a fully realistic look at the progression of the disease, and would be extremely helpful for people caring for newly diagnosed patients. I recommend it highly.
Hate to be the lone dissenting voice here..........2000-10-29
...but the book was a wee bit of a disappointment for me.
On one hand, it is an intimate and endearing record of one woman's experience with an Alzheimer's parent. Sherry was the kind of daughter every mother would be proud of and grateful for. She stood by her mother through the whole experience and provided support in every way. And that was my favorite part of this book - the story of how Sherry handled different problems and remained her mother's number one cheerleader and support.
But as far as the practical wisdom I could glean from the book - there was not enough of that for me. The book is a quick read - and I found the second part of the book a little slow and impractical. The treasure bag was a cute idea, but not one that would be useful in our circumstances.
Of this type of book, I'd more highly recommend "The Alzheimer's sourcebook for caregivers" by Frena Gray Davidson. That book was a little more polished and had more tidbits and details on getting through the day when the depression and exhaustion starts to swamp you.
"Visiting Mom" is an important book and has received glowing reviews from everyone here - so maybe it will be the book that speaks right to your heart. But other than a few lines here and there, it was not the book for me.
An uncertain future, with a flashlight for guidence.......2000-10-11
Wow, what a book now written! No only are practical suggestions given but the heart of a daughter's love is woven throughout this book. Obviously this mother/daughter relationship is close, as is ours. I read, with tears falling, some of the observations of her mother changing. I related it to what my dear grandma is now going thru. Soon, our family will know what the Drs. have in their files about my grandma. I want to share this book with my mom yet I'm waiting for just the right time...there will be one. I have been taken on a journey as I absorbed this book. I now have a better understanding of what may come, of what I should expect. The appendix in the back is a wealth of information to pursue over time. The service Ms. Bell has provided is too great for words! For families watching a loved one failing mentally...this is a must read. It shows compassion and practicality. Obviously, written by a loving daughter. The glimpse of "Visiting Mom" is indeed a gift. Thank you!
You aren't alone.......2000-10-06
One of the most painful elements of dealing with illness in a family member, especially a parent, is the feeling that no one else understands, no one else knows or cares what you're going through. For that reason alone, Sherry Bell's book is worth reading, as she provides her touching, often funny, often painful story of her mother's struggle with Alzheimers. Even more valuable, however, are Bell's generalized comments on pain and loss, which will move and inspire anyone who is watching a loved one slip away.
Average customer rating:
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Extraordinary Encounters With God: How Famous People in History Experienced God in Unexpected Ways
Walter Walker
Manufacturer: Vine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1569550018 |
Book Description
Thirty stories of famous people throughout history who had an unexpected encounter with God.
You've heard about the people and how they changed the course of history… But you've probably never heard the most extraordinary part of the story!
Stories include: Alexander the Great, Emperor Constantine, Joan of Arc, Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Blaise Pascal, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Catherine Marshall, Martin Luther King, Jr., "Pistol" Pete Maravich, Capt. Scott O'Grady, and many more.
Book Description
Captures the simple, joy-filled experiences of everyday living, Andersons words emphasize what is, and is not, important in lifes brief journey. It is one of those rare books you pick up, turn to any page, and find yourself there.
Average customer rating:
- A Must Read
- Gifts indeed
- Why Must We Suffer? A Tale of Spiritual Redemption...
- I've Read Great Stories
- Catholic Literary Revival
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Gifts Unexpected
Stephen Hand
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0738810568 |
Book Description
Gifts Unexpected is a story about a young girl caught and longing in world of divorce, drinking, drugs, sociopaths, a troubled mother and separated, self-centered, father, and who encounters an intriguing, self-sacrificing, hermit-Priest.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read.......2005-06-06
Stephen Hand has a writing style that readers of James Patterson would admire in this quick read. This book was interesting and does everything well you would ask for in a story. Without going into details that would give away the book the story centers around a few yet vital people. They are writen well and you do feel as if you know them. The story is new and different. This is a book that will take chances rather than play to a focas group. This was worth my time and a must read.
Gifts indeed.......2002-10-20
Gifts Unexpected is often a ragged chronicling of contemporary realities which threaten to extinguish our hope. With the same palette of honesty, however, Stephen Hand restores an arid landscape to a promise of health.
By undertaking the decencies that others have laid down, Father Joseph acts as human ark to keep others afloat until they can sight safer harbors. As the delighted father he might have been secularly, Fr. Joseph becomes for the child, Evelyn, the trusted sanctuary she longs for and which she comes to cautiously share. For those in the cemetery, he is loyal friend as well as "Father". With a love berthed in Christ our ultimate mirror, Fr. Joseph is able to reflect a valuable Lisa to herself once more. In a too-small conspiracy of care, he is tender second 'mother' to the helpless, dying Antoinette. Even in his relative invisibility in the world which is winked at by the Bishop, Father's quiet charities become the object of hopeful question, but also of hatred -- a hatred surmounted by love that is willing to lay down life for a friend.
Gifts Unexpected makes the stomach hurt, the heart race -- and is impossible to put down.
Why Must We Suffer? A Tale of Spiritual Redemption..........2001-11-24
In his apostolic exhortation Salvifici Dolores, Pope John Paul II writes: "[...] what we express by the word `suffering' seems to be particularly essential to the nature of man. It is as deep as man himself, precisely because it manifests in its own way that depth which is proper to man, and in its own way surpasses it. Suffering seems to belong to man's transcendence: it is one of those points in which man is in a certain sense `destined' to go beyond himself, and he is called to this in a mysterious way."
This insight on human suffering is one of my favorite passages from the prolific writings of our current Holy Father. It is also the theme of Stephen Hand's novella. In fact, human suffering is what makes Gifts Unexpected both so enjoyable and so compelling to the reader; these are real characters who suffer through the modern afflictions of divorce, loneliness, drug and alcohol addiction as well as urban poverty. Yet through it all, they either find God or remain hopeful in God's salvific promise. In short, the plot is noble in its simplicity: the temptation to despair strikes, a struggle ensues within the hearts of the main characters, and through the grace of God they persevere until finding solace within God's mysterious love. Through it all, the experience of suffering unveils a depth in the characters as the reader encounters an elderly hermit priest, a young girl on the verge of adolescence who struggles with her parents' divorce, the girl's alcoholic mother and the father who abandoned her.
The story revolves around Evelyn, the young girl mentioned above, and Fr. Joseph, the hermit priest. The two meet in a cemetery where Evelyn goes to play because her mother is too busy for her, and where Fr. Joseph prays for the souls of the deceased. Fr. Joseph is a retired priest who has received permission from his bishop to live in the cemetery's abandoned priory. Recognizing Evelyn's need for a father figure after her father abandoned her, Fr. Joseph takes Evelyn under his spiritual care. He endeavors to provide Evelyn with some adult guidance and companionship, without judging the dysfunctional family situation from which Evelyn sprung. In such a way, as Evelyn's mother pursues alcohol and unsatisfying relationships, while Evelyn's father degenerates further into reclusive depression, Fr. Joseph helps Evelyn come of age.
Many avid Catholic readers, myself included, have followed Stephen Hand's journalism for some time. This novella was my first encounter with this Stephen Hand's fiction, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it surpassed even the high standards Stephen exerts in his journalism and editorials. In reading this work, Stephen's older readers will also find themselves surprised to discover Stephen wrote this novella about a year before he took his famous stand for the Catholic Church against those who feel the Church has sold out since the Second Vatican Council. For not only is hostility against the present Church almost non-existent, but the principal religious characters remain unshaken in their fidelity to Rome. In fact, by their example these same characters personify Pope John Paul II's message of redemption through human suffering. Thus in the chronology of Stephen's writing, this work definitely foreshadows his subsequent total rejection of integrism, as well as his radical return to the Catholic Church in her totality. In short, even though Stephen wrote this work before Traditional Catholic Reflections came into existence, in terms of fidelity to the Catholic Church and the spiritual embrace of the Pope John Paul II's pontificate, this work represents TCR Stephen Hand at his most insightful.
In summing up, the reader will enjoy this wonderful story in which, through the everyday experiences of human characters, the redemptive suffering of God's heavenly grace confronts and vanquishes the spiritual death brought on by sin and evil.
I've Read Great Stories.......2000-11-03
The confusion of human frailty, the demands of human technology, the technology of an overwhelming city, the desparate struggles towards vague dreams of how life ought to be stage this story. The harsh meddling of the only natural environment capable of flustering a well entrenched city integrated with the even harder to understand fury of people earning their daily bread, and the evil that peers out of the natural darkness as it meets the power of the human heart disguised in ordinary lives of people I've known, rather characters I've known with different names and details make familiar this social dynamic. I can't yet believe I wasn't really there in some way -- I've read the great stories and this one may bear witness to the best. Michael and Lisa once were; now, their daughter Evelyn was coming to be. It is tough for Lisa alone raising her child. The forces, altogether natural, manmade, and spiritual, here agitate against the fulfillment of anyone's rational dream. Whatever was supposed to happen in the lives and defunct marriage of Michael and Lisa refused to happen -- yet the dream never had quite disappeared, and young Evy remained and grew more life-like daily. Her advent into post-childhood excitement and hope strained against the stasis of her split-apart family. The ancient Fr. Joseph, "holed up" in his primitive "digs", had something to say (although sparse in word) ... and do (in the sense of stepping into the realm of an almost invisible form of Catholic action) ... about this impending total fracture between mankind and life -- he and his invalid partner in divine mystery, Antoinette, who puts together the puzzle as it ought to be. Read it for yourself.
Catholic Literary Revival.......2000-10-20
Gifts Unexpected:
In Gifts Unexpected, Mr. Hand traces the lives of a young girl and her divorced parents. We are immediately confronted with people are who are morally ambivalent. Stock "good" and "evil" characters might do for a fantasy piece or detective story, but a serious novel must deal by and large with people who evince a quantity of mixed behavior. This is not to say there are no saints (or devils). We witness a truly holy individual in the guise of the urban hermit priest named Fr. Joseph. Even then, saints are not people who tread the ground without getting dust on their feet or who are utterly deprived of the human mannerisms that we find so congenial.
On the other hand, a less than saint-like character is Juan, the operator of a bar in a bad part of town. His establishment is frequented by loose women and he sports tattoos in doubtful taste, but he also does a good turn for a infirm old lady who rents a room above his bar, who is one of Fr. Joseph's spiritual charges. To describe such ambivalence is not to endorse it. The question is not one of the object but of its treatment. A believing Catholic and a liberal atheist can both approach the topic of suicide with all its grim facts but draw from it very different conclusions. This was clear in the divergence of Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene, two very modern novelists, who were once good friends until it became clear to Waugh just how infected Greene was with the worldly spirit that was spreading in the post-war Church. Piers Paul Read says of their reactions to Vatican II:
Waugh saw it as a total disaster: "Pray God I will never apostasise".... Greene, on the other hand, appears to have entered into "the spirit of Vatican II".... [and embraced] Karl Rahner's notion of "anonymous Christianity" in novels such as A Burnt Out Case and The Honorary Consul. Beyond Evil
In the hands of a devout writer like Mr. Hand, complex characterization helps us to understand ourselves through the lives of others. One is reminded of Fr. Frederick Faber's wonderful sermon "On Not Taking Scandal." While we should never "give scandal" to others through our behavior, Fr. Faber was also telling us that to be a Christian is not to go about clucking our tongues about others' bad behavior like the Scribes and Pharisees. While we must judge situations and respond appropriately, we cannot judge a person's hidden intentions or always be fully aware of why they act the way they do. In Gifts Unexpected, the dysfunctionality of the divorced parents is now considered so normal as to be mundane, yet their lives are set on a course for spiritual self-destruction. In considering their faults, however, we may well reflect on our own past actions, especially if we are converts or reverts to the Faith.
The approach to evil in a Catholic story is neither to ignore nor to wallow in it, but to move beyond it. The debauched modern who wants to share his spiritual misery with others exults in the idea of triumphant evil, like the seventeen remakes of slasher films where the immortal psycho-killer rises again and again to claim more victims in an on-screen orgy of blood. The film-makers seek to mock death. Because they cannot truly cope with the fact of evil they must ridicule life and virtue. By sharp contrast, Gifts Unexpected preaches a message of redemption. Mr. Hand puts the following words into the mouth of Fr. Joseph, who is consoling a mother on the loss of her child: "When evil temporarily prevails, our hearts rebel, and we cry out to the Heart of the universe. Our hearts do not lie when we cry out against such evil. This rebelling, this outrage, this collapsing into tears and thirst for justice is the proof that the Promise, the Gift, is true; it is proof... that evil is an intrusion into God's good creation, and not something normal." The Catholic understands the classical concept of tragedy. It is the idea that the goodness inherent in the person or the action transcends any material loss that may be suffered. This stands at the very opposite pole from the prideful self-pitying that is the raison d'être of modern "art," wherein the individual denies reliance on anything greater than himself and thus even self-destruction, as an assertion of one's own "empowerment," is preferable to dependence on some outside, greater good. Undoubtedly the theologians are right when they say we create our own Hell.
In contrast to the modernist mood, Mr. Hand's objective is to "work Traditional Catholicism back into the world via stories." He has succeeded admirably in a book whose strength lies in its powerful understatement, its realistic suspense and its honesty. Gifts Unexpected is a heartening revival of that Catholic literature which was a respected and influential force in the days when all action, including cultural endeavors, was seen as part of the overall missionary imperative. ---Matthew Anger (c)TCR, 1999
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Witness in Death (In Death)
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Interlude In Death
