The Couple's Guide to In Vitro Fertilization: Everything You Need to Know to Maximize Your Chances of Success

The Couple's Guide to In Vitro Fertilization: Everything You Need to Know to Maximize Your Chances of Success
Average customer rating:

Great "first" book to read.

Good general process description but forgets to mention the exceptions

The BEST book for beginning IVFers!! :)

Good Info, But Trite and Patronising

Wonderful book! A Must-Have for IVFers!
The Couple's Guide to In Vitro Fertilization: Everything You Need to Know to Maximize Your Chances of Success
Liza Charlesworth
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books
Fertility | Reproductive & Sexual | Medicine | Subjects | Books
Fertility | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 0738208973
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Book Description

A wise and compassionate guide to getting successfully through one of the most expensive and stressful fertility treatments.

Despite the fact that it is an expensive, complex, emotionally draining, and often last-ditch fertility treatment, there are now over 250,000 couples who consider in vitro fertilization (IVF) every year; more than 125,000 couples decide to undergo it. While dry, clinical information is available, there is a gaping need for sisterly advice from someone who's been through the process herself.

From evaluating care and preparing for the complicated process to understanding egg retrieval and embryo transfer; from tips on taking medications and coping with hormonal surges to dealing with the emotional aspects of the grueling IVF process, Liza Charlesworth's The Couple's Guide to In Vitro Fertilization offers knowing, sensitive counsel. Full of hard-won personal wisdom and the most up-to-date medical information explained in layman's terms, this invaluable guide is sure to become recommended reading for couples trying to conceive and their families alike.

Customer Reviews:

Great "first" book to read........2007-08-23

Gave me really good information. I was pretty clueless when I picked up this book. Explained everything to me in simple terms. Loved that it has a glossary in the back to reference. Wouldn't read this if I was already familiar with the process though.

Good general process description but forgets to mention the exceptions.......2007-01-07

Liza does a good job walking you through the process but she fails to mention that not everyone feels/ reacts the same for each step. I found the HSG test to be extremely painful and had a horrible reaction to the progestrone shots. I wish everyone the best of luck with IVF and just remember everyone's body is different.

The BEST book for beginning IVFers!! :).......2006-09-05

I wish I would of found this book first! It's an easy read with so much valuable information. It covers everything from IVF lingo to sample cycles AND gives great commentary from women and men who have survived & succeeded with IVF. I couldn't put it down & constantly found myself sharing interesting info from the book with my husband. You won't be disappointed with this one!!!
Best of luck to you!

Good Info, But Trite and Patronising.......2006-05-02

The book is filled with good definitions about the winding road that is IVF-fertility treatment is packed with acronyms, abbreviations, and science, and the author does do a good job of explaining what all of the acronyms and abbreviations are. The book flows well and has wit, but the constant underlying message is one of success! IVF succeeds! Just keep your legs in the air/take to bed rest/keep thinking smiley happy positive thoughts and it always works! As someone who's been through a few rounds of IVF and ongoing still, it's not that easy for most people. IVF is hard enough without infusing constant messages of false hope-I feel the author is irresponsible in suggesting that IVF can be otherwise.

Wonderful book! A Must-Have for IVFers!.......2006-01-09

I am the kind of person who researches and reads EVERYTHING when they are faced with an issue or problem. Needless to say, I have purchased a multitude of IVF books, and this one is one of my favorites. It goes through the IVF process step-by-step, shares sample protocols, and explains ALL the medicines. In fact, I found myself going back and re-reading several parts of the book while in the midst of the IVF process. It's simply a must-have!

Annulment: Your Chance to Remarry Within the Catholic Church: A Step-by-Step Guide Using the New Code of Canon Law

Average customer rating:

Navigating the Complex Case for an Annulment
Expiration Date Passed!
Annulment Primmer

Annulment: Your Chance to Remarry Within the Catholic Church: A Step-by-Step Guide Using the New Code of Canon Law
Joseph P. Zwack
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Marriage, Divorce and Nullity: A Guide to the Annulment Process in the Catholic Church

ASIN: 006250990X

Book Description

Here is the only book that explains fully in lay terms the grounds and procedures by which Roman Catholics who have undergone civil divorces can also have their former marriages annulled by the Church.

In the last decade alone, annulements in the United States have increased from 350 to over 30,000. At present, there are an estimated eight million divorced American Catholics, banned from full participation in the Church if the remarry without obtaining an annulment. Many of these people could obtain annulments -- yet, until the publication of Annulment, the lack of proper information and guidance has discouraged the majority of them.

This book makes available the rights of divorce Catholics under the Revised Code of Canon Law, which is now in effect. In everyday language, this authoritative handbook takes readers step by step through the process, defines the laws as they now exist, sorts through misconceptions and fears surrounding annulment procedures, dicusses the meaning and rationale behind the rules, lays out all the grounds (including the new psychological grounds), examines all factors (including costs), defines the various apporaches, and provides samples of the forms involved.

The author, a lawyer himself, consulted with canon lawyers, priests, and laypeople, -- some of whom have already used his manual with success.Annulment offers hope and solid help to the increasing number of people directly and indirectly affected by the divorce-remarriage-annulment problem. Zwack cuts cleanly through the Gordian knot of uncertainty to point the way for realistic, clear, effective solutions to this longstanding, anguished problem.

Customer Reviews:

Navigating the Complex Case for an Annulment.......2006-10-01

Annulment is a complex case of canon law that requires guidance. With the increase in requests, few Catholics have any proper counsel on just how to go about the process. A reference guide to the healing spiritual process of getting one more chance to get it right and marry in a Catholic Church.

Expiration Date Passed!.......2001-08-10

This book is an excellent example of why food is not the only thing that should be marked with "sell by" dates. In 1983 when this book was written, the New Code of Canon Law of 1983 had just been promulgated. There was no background of interpretation of it. The author here had a clear road in that he could not be faulted for misinterpretation since no one yet knew what the authentic interpretation would be. The author is not a canon lawyer. He gives a civil attorney's perspective on Catholic Church annulments and that is very much like mixing apples and elephants. As both a civil and canon lawyer, I find his dicussion of the internal forum to be dangerous. He has no degree in theology and that would be a minimum for attempting to enter into that discussion at this level of assumed authority. He knows not of what he speaks. If you are looking for a book that will help you now through an annulment process, this is not the book for you to read. It can give you a historical perspective or thought on the process, but it is not what it entitles , a "step-by-step guide". This book should be taken off the shelves immediately.

Annulment Primmer.......2000-06-11

This is an excellent basic intorduction to the questions about the annulment process of the Roman Catholic Church. It touches all the bases in simple straight forward language. I think it should be read before reading any other material on the subject, some of which are a might too technical for the layperson.

Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice: How Women are Choosing Parenthood without Marriage and Creating the New American Family

Average customer rating:

The New American Family = Not a good idea
Dan Quayle got it wrong!
More of a research paper
Single Motherhood
Excellent sociological study

Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice: How Women are Choosing Parenthood without Marriage and Creating the New American Family
Rosanna Hertz
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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Choosing Single Motherhood: The Thinking Woman's Guide
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Adopting On Your Own: The Complete Guide to Adoption for Single Parents

ASIN: 0195179900

Book Description

A remarkable number of women today are taking the daunting step of having children outside of marriage. In Single By Chance, Mothers By Choice, Rosanna Hertz offers the first full-scale account of this fast-growing phenomenon, revealing why these middle class women took this unorthodox path and how they have managed to make single parenthood work for them. Hertz interviewed 65 women--ranging from physicians and financial analysts to social workers, teachers, and secretaries--women who speak candidly about how they manage their lives and families as single mothers. What Hertz discovers are not ideologues but reluctant revolutionaries, women who--whether straight or gay--struggle to conform to the conventional definitions of mother, child, and family. Having tossed out the rulebook in order to become mothers, they nonetheless adhere to time-honored rules about child-rearing. As they tell their stories, they shed light on their paths to motherhood, describing how they summoned up the courage to pursue their dream, how they broke the news to parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers, how they went about buying sperm from fertility banks or adopting children of different races. They recount how their personal and social histories intersected to enable them to pursue their dream of motherhood, and how they navigate daily life. What does it mean to be 'single' in terms of romance and parenting? How do women juggle earning a paycheck with parenting? What creative ways have women devised to shore up these families? How do they incorporate men into their child-centered families? This book provides concrete, informative answers to all these questions. A unique window on the future of the family, this book offers a gold mine of insight and reassurance for any woman contemplating this rewarding if unconventional step.

Customer Reviews:

The New American Family = Not a good idea.......2007-04-09

This book tells only one side of the story. For example, there are some facts:

1. "A survey of 108 rapists undertaken by Raymond A. Knight and Robert A. Prentky, revealed that 60 percent came from female-headed homes, that 70 percent of those describable as "violent" came from female-headed homes, that 80 percent of those motivated by "displaced anger" came from female-headed homes."

2. Ramsey Clark in 1970, in his celebrated book "Crime in America", wrote, in discussing the male juvenile criminals who are a threat to the public, that "three-fourths came from broken homes."

The dirty little secret of this "single motherhood" phenomenon is that it doesn't produce better children than the old-fashioned family. Most criminals come from fatherless families. The poorest households are those with one parent. Children of a single mother achieve less in life than the rest, they have less sanity and they have no models of male responsibility so they tend to repeat the circle. A child needs a mother and a father (no, not an uncle, a grandpa or the guy next door but a daddy).

I know that some women are not able to get a lifetime partner who helps them raise the children. But if this happens, it's best to remain childless. Please ladies, grow up. The world does not revolve around your reproductive wishes. Everybody have wishes that cannot fulfill. Don't make pay innocent human beings for your selfishness.

Dan Quayle got it wrong!.......2006-12-24

...and so much for "Leave it to Beaver". The traditional family structure of the days of Eisenhower are officially over. Hertz makes it very clear that Mothers by choice who are single can do a fine job of child rearing. That furthermore, not only are these Mothers not anti male, they often go to extraordinary lengths to make sure that there are male figures in the lives of their children.

For anyone who wants to understand this phenomenon in further detail, this is a fascinating book. I would recommend it to James Dobson, but I don't think he would be open to its thesis.

It is not a "How to Do it Book," it is a quality sociological analysis using extended interviews to tease out many stories that outline the diverse patterns of single Motherhood that can produce a happy family and well adjusted child.

One caveat that Hertz makes clear from the beginning. This is an analysis of women who fall in the broadly defined middle class. The story of young urban teenagers, often minorities who become single Mothers by some mixture of choice and neglect would almost surely produce a very different set of stories. It would be interesting if Hertz might do a study in the future that compares social class as it intersects with "Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice."

More of a research paper.......2006-12-05

As someone who is currently single and trying to become a mother, this is not a book I would recommend. I was looking for something a bit more practical and this read more like someone's thesis. Also, I didn't identify with many of the women profiled. Their reasons or the reasons given for choosing this path just didn't ring true for me.

The one part of the book I enjoyed was hearing the different stories about how the women explained the "fathers" to the children. That was very helpful since I've been struggling with the story that I will tell.

Single Motherhood.......2006-11-17

Add another one to Hertz's Fan club! Her writing style and explanations of real life America have assisted us in understanding the thinking of today's women ...Her research shows that the family unit and the tradition of motherhood may be changing with the times but will continue to be maintained.
These women contribute greatly to American society today and so does Rosanna Hertz. A book that must be read!

Excellent sociological study.......2006-09-27

Hertz has been observing the Choice Mom phenomenon for more than a decade. As I noted in my "Choosing Single Motherhood" book, she has seen the rise in numbers of single women making this choice over the years, and this is a thorough attempt to find out the Whys. Her in-depth profiles of women who have made this choice lends itself to a great sociological look at the trend.

Another Chance for Love: Finding a Partner Later in Life

Average customer rating:

America's Free Love Crisis of the 60's
Inspirational
First be a friend, then a lover = good advice

Another Chance for Love: Finding a Partner Later in Life
Sol Gordon , and Elaine Fantle Shimberg
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Love & Romance | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Marriage | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Dating | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1593370067

Book Description

In North America today, there are 35 million singles over age forty seeking companionship. Almost all of them have experienced disappointing relationships in marriage or love affairs. Another Chance for Love is for anyone who feels as though someone or something is missing from her life; it's about finding the right partner.

In Another Chance for Love, relationship expert Sol Gordon, Ph.D., and self-help writer Elaine Fantle Shimberg take a whole new approach to healthy, successful relationships by providing readers with the proper foundation for finding happiness—avoid focusing on trying to make it happen!

Dr. Gordon and Ms. Shimberg show readers how to:

·Get to know themselves
·Place friendship before romance
·Discover what they want from a relationship
·Understand the masculine mystique
·Find "almost" Mr./Ms. Right

Another Chance for Love provides readers with the soulful guidance they need to make strong choices and live happier, more fulfilling lives.

Customer Reviews:

America's Free Love Crisis of the 60's.......2004-10-12

The too soon intimates, like those of the Baby Boomer's in their hindsight, if truthful, might have approached their lives much more like their parents, at least from the perspective of choosing a mate. So many divorces implies that the choices were less than careful to begin with, suggesting that intimacy may actually impede the process of finding "the" one with whom life can generally always be a joy, and where hardships simply make a couple closer, and strengthens their relationship. The major contribution of fantasy films that draw shallow significance and convert it into meaningful philosophy cannot aid a culture for whom gender differences are already in crisis and where men are taught by society to be patriarchal kings. Inevitably, it is women who do the growing up over the years, and realize the lack of fulfillment much like the slave society discovered the power and pleasure of freedom. Women who read too much emotion into the sexual convenience of males, and attempt to snare them into matrimony are likely to find considerable disappointment years later when life has failed them. It is as great an argument for celibacy as their ever was, and better than most. Even without celibacy, fathers rarely insure their daughters well being and physical care as they once did releasing both men and women to go it alone, and try to take care of themselves, a lottery of accidental proportions. The problem has left millions searching for what they might have had years earlier with greater scrutiny of the persons they chose, having made mountains of lemonaide from lemons. The alternative is that they might have listened to their mother, (or of lesser prominence, their father since most of those are too anxious to get rid of the responsibilities of daughters today and fall into the social traps). The possibility of finding a mate better suited to their personalities is possible, but arduous, and obviously takes more honesty and effort than was devoted to it initially, when "whole lives" are before them, and time is their friend. At older ages, the promise of love comes about slowly, if at all, and with greater appreciation for the personal values of potential mates, at least for women. Many men are seduced into searching for their youth and often find themselves victims of the younger mate's desire to start families, and discover they must do it again whether they choose to or not. The expectations of older mates nearer each other's age is among the most difficult, but also among the most satisfying of relationships since true compatibility is always the objective, and unreasonable expectations have long fallen by the wayside. To most humans, this amounts to being truly loved for your mind and heart, if you are female, and for your perspective and your faults, if you are male. Because the wildness of sex is generally not a part of the decision process, human attraction must rely upon all of our other parts to emphasize our humanity and our tenderness to carry the relationship. While oldsters may be sexually active, this stage may be the truest phase of all love for its cooperative independence where choosing such a love is a choice, and not an illusion. To finally grow old together, couples who choose to depend upon each other are always ready to share with each other, their hopes, their dreams, and their lives.

Inspirational.......2004-03-27

Sometimes it just takes a reminder that the world is full of people who want to connect with other people, and that it is possible to nurture a really close friendship that will be - in itself - very rewarding. All good relationships have a close friendship as the foundation, so what better way plant the seeds for a romantic relationship? And the more seeds you sow, the more likely one is going to thrive and bloom.

This is a good read, very inspiring, and very down to earth.

First be a friend, then a lover = good advice.......2004-03-04

This book combines inspiration with practical, sane guidance. Finding and sustaining love is always a challenge, and the older you get, you more you can become dispirited over your chances of ever finding a suitable partner. Another Chance for Love takes the unusual stance that it's actually friendship that is the answer. Seeking out, valuing, and deepening friendships with reasonably suitable individuals may lead you to a longterm, deep, and abiding love that will make your earlier quest for fireworks seem shallow. Gordon and Shimberg discuss values, trust, communication, humor, and passion (not just for sex, but for life) - among the aspects of a good friend. Relaxing into the safety and flow of an authentic friendship, they explain, is more likely to lead to something richer than if you begin every official "date" with unreal expectations.

Second Chances: Men, Women and Children a Decade After Divorce

Average customer rating:

Very Moving
Eye opening
I hated this book
God Send
Second Chances

Second Chances: Men, Women and Children a Decade After Divorce
Sandra Blakeslee , and Judith Wallerstein
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Divorce | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0618446893

Book Description

The national bestseller Second Chances has radically transformed the ways we think about divorce, and its message continues to gain greater resonance as more research on the long-term effects of divorce is completed. Based on the renowned psychologist Judith S. Wallerstein's landmark study of sixty families, this insightful report on the first decade after a breakup reveals the emotional, economic, and psychological impact of divorce -- on adults and especially on children. An instructive, reassuring, and sensitive account, Second Chances should be "required -- and eminently rewarding -- reading for anyone interested in the contemporary family" (Nancy Chodorow, Ph.D.).

Customer Reviews:

Very Moving.......2007-05-12

What a marvelous book. Children of divorce and their parents were tracked over 10 years (some for 15 years), using in depth interviews, questionnaires, and conversations with school personnel. There were some startling findings, such as that children who initially seemed to adjust very well to the divorce, could have specific kinds of problems years later. However, Wallerstein's answer to the question of whether people should stay married for the sake of the children is "of course not". Knowing what the potential difficulties are, well meaning parents and step-parents can try to minimize them.

For a reader such as myself (happily married) looking not for answers but insight into human nature, the book is very rewarding and very moving. Parents and children often speak eloquently through these pages, and there are many people to admire and empathize with. Wallerstein is very sympathetic, and non-judgmental except when condemnation is clearly deserved. There is a certain amount of repetition, which would normally bother me, but here it just reinforces the emotion and the content. Readers with a little less patience might be advised to start with chapter 2.

Eye opening.......2004-06-10

This book reports the results of several research projects conducted by Wallerstein to investigate recovery from divorce. As divorce statistics were mounting in the 1960s and 1970s, conventional wisdom held that divorce was rough on spouses and children, but after one or two years, most people got over it and moved on. Wallerstein and her team decided to see how true this was. They interviewed spouses and children who happened to live near their offices in California during the early 1970s and who were going through a divorce at the time. Then they found the same people a year later and interviewed them again to see how many had recovered from the divorce, and to what extent. At the time of the second interview, they were surprised to find out how many people hadn't recovered yet, so they checked back again with the same people after five years to see when the recovery happened. They were quite surprised to find that most people still hadn't recovered after five years, so they found the people again at ten years, and some of them even after fifteen years, and were dismayed to find that most people never really do recover completely from divorce. Some of the spouses, often who originally sought the divorce, came out ahead, but most of the children were devastated by the divorce and hadn't recovered even by the fifteen year mark, when many were already young adults and forming families of their own.

Important results from Wallerstein's research include:
--Women who are older (40+) when they divorce are much less likely to ever remarry than men who divorce at a comparable age. Women who are younger at the time of divorce often remarry.
--The age of the children plays a very important role in how well they adjust to the new family structure. Boys are especially vulnerable if they are between the ages of five and seven when their parents divorce. Girls who are young when their parents split up may suddenly need stronger connections with their fathers when they become teenagers.
--Joint custody didn't seem to be any better for the eventual development of the children than traditional single-parent custody arrangements- -but some parents enjoyed the regular time away from the kids.

My husband's parents divorced when he was three. We've been together twenty years, but until reading this book, I never was truly aware of how devastated he was by the divorce. I knew that the divorce still disturbed him, but I never understood how much or why, or why it was still so sad for him forty years later. The book also got me thinking back to my best friend in middle school, whose parents got divorced. I knew she was very upset about the divorce at the time, but I couldn't understand what she was going through. Her family decided on joint custody, and for a while, it seemed every time I would call her house to ask her to come over, her mother would tell me that she was staying at her father's. Since neither of us were old enough to drive, we stopped getting together as often as before, and eventually, I stopped calling. We found that we couldn't maintain our closeness with all of her bouncing from house to house, and we drifted apart just at a time when she needed close friends the most. After reading this book, I began to understand that to a child, divorce seems to be like amputating a limb- -if someone loses an arm or leg, they generally learn to compensate within a year or two, but they are never completely whole again.

The information and depth of research represented in this book is very good, but the story is not quite complete. In order to determine whether the continuing problems that the children had were due to the divorce or to chance, the study would have much better if Wallerstein had included a control group of similar families who did not divorce. It also would have been good to compare the children of divorced families with children who have lost a parent through death, and adopted children, and children who are raised in single parent families from birth. Designing a study to include all of these groups would be unwieldy, but it would have been nice to at least see for comparison results from other published studies that covered these groups. Overall, though, the book is quite well done, and extremely thought-provoking.

I hated this book.......2003-12-05

What a self righteous load of crap! The purpose of this book, I think, is to scare unhappily married people out of getting divorced. It details all of the different ways in which the children and their parents are still miserable ten years later. Obviously, divorce is painful, but sometimes, inevitible...Who needs to read this during such a difficult time? The truth is there are many, many ways to screw up kids...divorce is just one!

God Send.......2003-05-27

I first found this book as part of a Psychology research project.
The research that founded this book has influenced the way that government systems deal with divorcing families across America. It is one of the best resources I can think of for families that are going through divorce. Though the title states a decade after divorce the follow up has gone well beyond this. I have been divorced for 15 years - today I am purchasing a copy for my sister who is getting divorced after 18 years of marraige - This is one of those books that I have loned out and lost and loned out and lost repeatedly - they keep getting passed forward. Well worth the little investment of money and time.

Second Chances.......2003-02-04

It wasn't until recently (I'm almost 40) that I began to look at my parent's divorce as a source of some of my behaviors. I'm very functional,even successful, but sometimes wonder if I haven't been undercut by the blow of losing "home". This is an interesting read, and worth exploring by those who share my suspicion about their own lives. Knowledge is power. Good luck.

Getting Pregnant Naturally: Healthy Choices To Boost Your Chances Of Conceiving Without Fertility Drugs

Average customer rating:

Good NFP info when healthy people are trying to conceive
I don't recomend this book
Some good info, some outdated info
Where is the proof?
An alternatve guide to acheiving pregnancy without drugs.

Getting Pregnant Naturally: Healthy Choices To Boost Your Chances Of Conceiving Without Fertility Drugs
Winifred Conkling
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Obstetrics & Gynecology | Specialties | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Fertility | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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Enhancing Fertility Naturally: Holistic Therapies for a Successful Pregnancy
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Accessories:

philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0380796333

Amazon.com

Before turning to high-tech fertility treatments, the 15 percent of all couples who experience fertility problems might consider reading and trying the many conception tips in Winifred Conkling's highly helpful Getting Pregnant Naturally: Healthy Choices to Boost Your Chances of Conceiving Without Fertility Drugs. Conkling, an experienced medical and natural health writer and mother of two children (one who took a long time to conceive), differentiates between "infertile" and "subfertile" couples, and asserts that more than half of all couples who have failed to conceive in a year or more of trying can go on to get pregnant and have healthy babies. Her book describes how.

Conkling begins with a clear description of the complicated mechanics of conception and the basics of enhancing conception chances. Combining accessible and straightforward information with simple checklists, she then presents dietary suggestions (men should avoid cottonseed oil, a natural antifertility agent), herbal remedies, homeopathy, acupressure (complete with pressure-point maps), and stress-reduction techniques (including enjoying good orgasms, biofeedback, meditation, visualization, massage, and refraining from adopting a child as a means to reduce infertility stress). For each suggestion and remedy, a complete, easy-to-follow description is provided. Getting Pregnant Naturally concludes with lifestyle suggestions such as losing weight gradually (if needed) and avoiding bicycling (for men), as well as quitting smoking and recreational drugs, minimizing air travel, and limiting computer use (there may be a link between computer use and miscarriage). A 27-page appendix listing resources rounds out this highly helpful guide. --Ericka Lutz

Book Description

You May Not Have Tried Everything!

Today, many couples who experience problems getting pregnant look to the miracles of modern science for help. Yet for the more than five million Americans of childbearing age who have failed to conceive within a year or more, the good news is that as many as half go on to get pregnant and have healthy babies. Getting Pregnant Naturally is filled with dozens of little-known tips for increasing the odds of conceiving and offers the essential information any couple should have before they resort to expensive, invasive, high-tech fertility treatments --

• The most common causes of infertility or subfertility in both men and women: • How the age factor relates to ability to conceive
• Why fertility and infertility can flutuate from month to month: • How to recognize and test for the signs that ovulation is taking place
• How to change your lovemaking to increase the likelihood of conception: • How men and women can increase their their chances of conception through nutritional supplements
• Age-old herbal remedies that have been shown to increase fertility: • Homeopathic therapies that can work
• The mind-body connection:fertile ideas to boost your fertility

And Much More, Including:

Resource information on fertility centers,
natural medicine, and adoption

Customer Reviews:

Good NFP info when healthy people are trying to conceive.......2001-10-22

This book does a good job of explaining how to use the methods of natural family planning (NFP) with the goal of conceiving. I had taken a NFP course before I was married to learn how to prevent conception, and this book took that knowledge and helped me learn how to apply it to trying to conceive.

I would agree with other comments that it is not for those who are having great difficulty conceiving and are facing infertility issues.

I was not looking for information about herbs or alternative therapies, so I cannot comment on those sections of the book.

This is great for those wanting details about the physiology of conception.

I don't recomend this book.......2001-10-18

This book is OK for someone who doesn't know her menstual cycle, has never monitored BBT or cervical mucus, has never tried ovulation predictor kit... I mean, WHO HAS NOT STARTED TRYING YET. Otherwise, you won't find anything new here.

This book introduce many herbs to boost your fertility.
But NATURAL doesn't mean harmless.
Each herb is explained like "estrogen promoting" "Progesteron promoting" but it doesn't tell you WHEN of your cycle you should take it.
Don't guinea-pig your fertility.

Some good info, some outdated info.......2001-04-03

Let me begin by saying that the first book anyone should read if they are trying to conceive is Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Wechsler. This book has some good information and recommendations. I tried to conceive for 2 years. I began taking evening primrose oil daily after reading this book. About 6 months later, I discovered the website tryingtoconceive.com and learned that evening primrose oil should only be taken prior to ovulation because it can cause uterine contractions and interfere with the implantation of an egg. After discontinuing the EPO from ovulation to menstruation, I conceived within 3 months. So, I guess you could say, had I NOT read this book, I may have been pregnant sooner.

Where is the proof?.......2000-03-06

This book is for people who do not have infertility issues. It does not address any real actions for people with proven infertility. It is a waste of time for the infertile reader.

An alternatve guide to acheiving pregnancy without drugs........1999-09-07

This book in combination with Toni Weschler's "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" I gained knowledge of my body and what might jump start my hormonal problems. We have been trying unsucessfully to get pregnant for 1 year, and today I found out we're pregnant. I used an herbal remedy in regulating female hormones and 2 days later my body responded. I was due for a dose of Clomid to do the same thing I achieved on my own. I recommend these books to anyone seeking knowledge about ther bodies, and help achieving pregnancy.

Stepmothers and Stepdaughters: Relationships of Chance, Friendships for a Lifetime

Average customer rating:

A Good Read
Love prevails
Excellent stories of triumph in very difficult roles!
The Wicked Step is dead!
A little too confusing.

Stepmothers and Stepdaughters: Relationships of Chance, Friendships for a Lifetime
Karen Annarino , and Jean M. Blomquist
Manufacturer: Wildcat Canyon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Motherhood | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Stepparenting & Blended Families | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Courage to Be a Stepmom: Finding Your Place Without Losing Yourself
Stepmotherhood: How to Survive Without Feeling Frustrated, Left Out, or Wicked, Revised Edition
The Enlightened Stepmother: Revolutionizing the Role
The Single Girl's Guide to Marrying a Man, His Kids, and His Ex-Wife: Becoming A Stepmother With Humor And Grace
7 Steps to Bonding with Your Stepchild

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 1885171463

Book Description

In Stepmothers and Stepdaughters, Karen Annarino explores the increasingly common yet rarely examined connections between stepmothers and stepdaughters. This book's powerful and inspiring real-life stories offer a candid look at relationships that can be as pleasurable and painful as their biology-based counterparts. They also honor the remarkable women who have worked to overcome negative stereotypes and create balanced, loving relationships based on mutual respect, love, and self-awareness. Exploring the role of these relationships in today's increasingly complex family structures, the stories and commentary here present them as strong, loving, lifelong unions. The book offers a positive outlook for every woman who dares to look beyond the societal labels and to honor a relationship that brings its own special rewards.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Read.......2002-09-09

It was interesting and anecdotal. A very helpful guide and joyful celebration of possibility.

Love prevails.......2002-05-15

I bought this book as a gift for my friends who are steps or have steps. I think it's wonderful there is a book that highlights the positive and gives hope to so many woman perservering in this often difficult relationship. It sheds a welcomed light.

Excellent stories of triumph in very difficult roles!.......2001-12-17

This book was excellent. I have been a custodial stepmother for 13 years and have read a LOT of books about stepfamilies. This is the first one to shine a positive light on steps. Usually books about stepfamilies are designed to overcome the horrors of it all. This book reflected upon the wonderful experiences of stepmothers and stepdaughters. The ups and downs, and the wonderful relationships that develop. I first read it, gave one to MY stepdaughter and also one to my stepmother! I am both a stepmother and stepdaughter and found this book to be an awesome read!

The Wicked Step is dead!.......2001-02-19

I have one of those wonderful relationships with my two stepdaughters and I thought I was the only one. For years, I've only heard the horror stories from all of my friends about their stepchildren.

It's refreshing to know that stepmothers have warm and loving relationships with their steps. It's also refreshing to know that other stepmothers have managed to create a healthy, functioning relationship that started off less than perfect.

You read this book and see that it is possible to start with a less than perfect family dynamic and turn it into a viable, loving relationship.

Long live stepmothers and stepdaughters. Ms. Annarino is right, the myth of the Wicked Step is just that, a myth. The wicked step is dead!

A little too confusing........2001-01-08

This book was okay, but a little confusing. The book caught my attention in the beginning by the author's explanation of her own relationship with her stepmother. The author used a number of stepmothers and stepdaughters for examples; however, she did not organize her story subjects as well as she could have. There were so many stories and names given, that eventually I couldn't distinguish who was who and who did what in their personal sagas. I gave the author the benefit of the doubt and finished the book, but I did not learn much from it. I would like to remind you that the author's motivation to write the book was partially based on the fact that her own stepmother is an author and encouraged her to write it. My recommendation to the author is: don't quit your day job.

Personal Village, How to Have People in Your Life by Choice, Not Chance

Average customer rating:

Makes me realize how fortunate I am
This book will make the world a better place
The Skinny on Schmoozing
2005 Writers Notes Book Award Winner
Solutions for a Fragmented Society

Personal Village, How to Have People in Your Life by Choice, Not Chance
Marvin Thomas
Manufacturer: Hara Publising Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Personal Transformation | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices To Help You Stay Calm & Focused All Day Long
The Emotional House: How Redesigning Your Home Can Change Your Life
Personal Village Workbook: Six Steps to Build Your Personal Community
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Creating a Charmed Life: Sensible, Spiritual Secrets Every Busy Woman Should Know

ASIN: 1887542086

Book Description

Your most valuable asset is the people in your life. Does this sound familiar? You are so busy you don't have time for your friends. You get sick and no one shows up to help or express concern. You want someone in your life who really cares and knows who you are. You experience quick encounters as exciting, but at the end of the day you are still lonely.

From your family to members of your congregation, to the people who deliver your mail or serve your coffee each morning, every person you know, every person you see is a part of your Personal Village. With this insightful, funny and approachable book as your guide, you can master the skills of getting closer with the people around you, of having people in your life "by choice, not by chance."

"Too much is written about how to make money …too little is written about how to strengthen our personal communities," according to respected relationship therapist, Marv Thomas. To combat the many dehumanizing effects of 21st century life, he has created the everyman's guide to enriching our lives by establishing deeper connections with the people around us. In this groundbreaking book, PERSONAL VILLAGE, HOW TO HAVE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE BY CHOICEE, NOT CHANCE, Thomas explains how to add real value to your life by forming deeper, more meaningful relationships with the people in your life that matter most.

Customer Reviews:

Makes me realize how fortunate I am.......2007-09-26

This is an excellent book. It woke me up to the importance of having people in your life. I am not a particularly outgoing person by nature, but after having read the book, I realized I already had a group of people around me that I can call my "personal village". The book made me realize how lucky I am to have these people in my life and to try harder to maintain these friendships, but also to be open to making connections with new people.

This book will make the world a better place.......2007-01-29

This is the kind of book I want to share with everyone I know. A "where have you been all my life?" book. It speaks to my heart in countless ways.

Two weeks ago I was struggling with the winter blues/cabin fever. It was bitter cold out, and I felt housebound and lonely. I told my partner "I have to get out." He's said "Let's go walk around Green Lake." We bundled up and drove all the way from Kirkland and began to walk. Within 5 minutes we ran into some dear friends, who had also been feeling housebound (she said she'd woken up crying that morning, and her husband had said "Let's walk around Green Lake!"). Three miles flew by, and before we knew it we were hugging goodbye. I drove home feeling a warm sense of contentment.

When we got home, I opened up Personal Village to my bookmark and began to read. It was the chapter that discusses limbic resonance. It was as if it had been written just for me on that day, as it spoke to exactly how I was feeling: I had needed a people fix!

I have spent my whole life looking for, and being a part of, communities, and feeling frustrated when I'm not involved in any that are currently working well for me. This book is inspiring me to put more effort into finding what I want. I have often wished I lived in Paris during the salons. This book is inspiring me to create one!

I am extremely involved in my neighborhood, and I love what Marv says about why there is value in picking up trash and caring about the people and place where we live.

His lists of books, films, and other resources are fantastic.

If you have longed for a greater sense of community in your life, or if you have felt that something is missing, read this book.

The Skinny on Schmoozing.......2006-12-31

Most books about networking, dating, and making friends start at the point of contact: They assume that the user knows where to go to make friends. Thomas starts with the basics, from roaming your neighborhood to meet folks to the handy rule of thumb that it takes 7 visits to a new group for others to feel that you're one of the crowd.

I teach interpersonal communication, and this book has the best pointers I've yet read on how and how much to personally disclose to a new acquaintance, as one tests the waters and works toward building stronger ties and friendship.

Thomas avoids jargon and writes fluently in a down-to-earth, easy to read style. The book is well-organized. The chapter summaries and resources are a plus. Marvin Thomas has performed a much-needed service in offering this book to as a how-to manual for meeting and making friends in our fragmented society.

2005 Writers Notes Book Award Winner.......2005-05-18

Choosing the people in your life is as much karma as it is choice. The people with whom you work, associate, and love are more than warm bodies that share your space. They form your personal village, and they affect your vitality and happiness. Thomas asserts that too many of us leave this essential aspect to chance. In Personal Village, he maps the human propensity for socialization and provides checklists and thought-provoking questions toward ways that we can create positive change, embrace circumstance, and, if need be, reconstruct our core families. No longer leave your support system to luck. Learn how to build one through commitment and trust.

Solutions for a Fragmented Society.......2004-07-17

"To achieve intimacy with another, we have to begin by listening." ~Marvin Thomas

Marvin Thomas has written a fascinating book on friendship in the modern world. He is a Seattle author who earned his Master's in Social Work at the University of Washington. Through his life he has experienced the beauty of friendship and observed patterns that feed our genetically encoded desires to find relationships. He has also seen the damage of isolation and explains how we can use the "Principal of Seven" to fill our world with friends.

While we continue to be enamored with technology, we have become more and more isolated and yet the desire for friendship is still a force that drives us to seek companionship in our environments. While Marvin Thomas agrees that computers amplify the mind, he believes we cannot thrive when isolated. He also explains:

The basic universal needs
The essential ingredients of a healthy community
Why relationships need to be tended to on a regular basis
How you can find friends with similar interests
What to ask someone new when you first meet
How to keep a friendship for life

Most of us seem to keep connected with friends and family through e-mails. Marvin explores this idea and explains how e-mail can be like a journal that talks back to you. While e-mail may encourage deeper contemplation because you have time to consider what you want to say, Marvin Thomas encourages real-life relationships where you can nourish your soul through face-to-face intimate relationships.

Throughout "Personal Village" I had quite a few good laughs and many moments of enlightenment. The reading resources and movie suggestions looked tantalizing. Each chapter ends with a summary and a resource section. I loved the mention of the "Mostly Martha" movie, one of my all-time favorite chef movies.

Since I have just moved to a new community, this book was a comfort to me in a time when I felt everything was new and I didn't know a soul. After reading this book, I found myself venturing out more into my community and unlike other times in the past, I actually ventured out early and with a sense of determination. The girls at Pier 1 were discussing Josh Groban (so we talked about the concert I reviewed), the lady at the post office gave me directions on how to get back home and everyone seemed most helpful. I met a neighbor after going out for a walk and the community I'm living in seems to be much more geared towards common areas where people can meet or walk.

The advice in this book works and will encourage you to participate more fully in your community. I learned so much about basic human interaction that I'd never considered before. Marvin Thomas has filled "Personal Village" with a lifetime of wisdom and a collection of interesting and inspirational ideas to enable you to live a fuller, more enjoyable life no matter where you live. After reading his book, you may even want to start a cozy coterie or salon. My heart is dreaming of a Mystic Beach mentioned in this book. Our hearts want to find a place where we are loved, needed and appreciated.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

A MARRIAGE BY CHANCE (Historical)
Average customer rating:

DEFINITELY A KEEPER!
A MARRIAGE BY CHANCE (Historical)
Carolyn Davidson
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0373292007

Customer Reviews:

DEFINITELY A KEEPER!.......2002-11-16

We start out with a poker game and a young man who really thinks he can win. It seems like he can't wait to put up his half of a ranch.

J. T. Flannery [Jasper Thomas - grin] is tired of roaming and seriously thinking of settleing down. So he comes to Ripsaw Creek, Wyoming to look over his half of the ranch he won.

Chloe Biddleton was one unhappy camper, receiving a letter from her brother, Peter, just as J. T. was arriving. Was it love at first sight? J. T. wasn't sure but he was willing to find out.

Chloe was informing Hogan, her foreman that same morning and having a hard time containing her anger and sense of betrayal by Peter. Would Peter ever take responsibility for his actions? How could Chloe protect him? Was J. T. right in claiming Peter was acting like a spoiled child?

Where was Peter? Who set the fire? Who was rustling the cattle? Why did J. T. go and buy the Paint stallion? Who was Cleary? Was the sheriff, Micah Dawson sweet on Aunt Tilly?

Now we run into a tale of male rivelry - the usual mystery of rustled cattle and hard to contain attraction. But you sure love the gentle way of a strong man with a mixed-up emotional woman. I applaud the resolution of these characters with a marriage of passion and the determination to make that marriage last and reap the reward of love.

Oh, to have more like minded characters in our books instead of the weak minded hussies that tumble to hormones and seduction and no moral guts.

The story moves quite well and is interesting with the mystery of 'who donnit'. Hard not to read in one sitting.

Amazon.com

The Sunne in Splendour confirmed Sharon Kay Penman's place in the upper echelons of historical fiction, combining a breathtaking panoply of the past with an acute psychological observation of her characters. Time and Chance is the second part of her planned trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, beginning in the glory years of their reign. Penman conjures for us an astonishing era in which Henry battles with the Welsh and the French king, appoints Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, and, by taking a mistress, makes a bitter enemy of his wife.

Readers know the scalpel-like precision of Penman's character building from her earlier work, and the emotional lives of Henry and the troubled Eleanor are powerfully realized. As in the first book of the sequence, When Christ and His Saints Slept, conflict is ever the driving force. Henry and Eleanor's remarkable partnership was proving highly fecund, both politically, and physically, as Eleanor gave birth to five sons and three daughters, laying to rest her reputation as a barren queen and founding a dynasty that was to last three centuries. But auguries of trouble ahead were apparent: war with the Welsh; acrimonious battles with Eleanor's first husband, King Louis VII of France. But the truly destabilizing factor was Henry's decision to appoint his friend and confidant Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry had assumed that the worldly, ambitious Becket would be the perfect ally, and was devastated when the new archbishop cast off his own worldly past as he embraced his role as Defender of the Faith, swapping dissolution for piety.

As Penman vividly demonstrates, Henry saw Becket's action as a humiliating betrayal. One of the most famous murders in history followed, with further conflict in the kingdom caused by Henry's liaison with the daughter of a baron. In bedding Rosamund Clifford, Henry put his marriage and even his kingship at risk. As always, Penman handles her research lightly; the personal drama is the engine of her narrative, with each fresh scandal and intrigue delivered with a beguiling combination of relish and restraint. She is assured in her detailing of the political and ecclesiastical clashes of the court, but it is Henry II who strides her novel like a colossus--just as he did the kingdom he ruled. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

The long-awaited sequel to Sharon Kay Penman's acclaimed novel When Christ and His Saints Slept, Time and Chance recounts the tempestuous marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II in a magnificent story of love, power, ambition-and betrayal.

He was nineteen when they married, she eleven years his senior, newly divorced from the King of France. She was beautiful, headstrong, intelligent, and rich. It was said he was Fortune's favorite, but he said a man makes his own luck. Within two years, Henry had made his, winning the throne of England and exercising extraordinary statecraft skills to control his unruly barons, expand his own powers, and restore peace to a land long torn by banditry and bloodshed. Only in one instance did Henry err: Elevating his good friend and confidant Thomas Becket to be Archbishop of Canterbury, he thought to gain control over the Church itself. But the once worldly Becket suddenly discovered God, and their alliance withered in the heat of his newfound zeal. What Becket saw as a holy mission-to protect the Church against State encroachments-Henry saw as arrant betrayal, and they were launched inevitably on the road to murder.

Rich in character and color, true to the historical details, sensitive to the complex emotions of these men and women, Time and Chance recreates their story with all the drama, pain, and passion of the moment. It is Penman at her best.

Customer Reviews:

Good book, but drags a bit at times.......2006-09-04

Another enjoyable book from SKP, but I didn't find this quite as interesting as her others, and a bit slower than When Christ and His Saints Slept. It's probably just me, but I didn't find the whole Thomas Becket saga all that fascinating, albeit it is an important part of English history. I did like the fact that the author continued with the Welsh side of the story, as so many authors of English history paint the Welsh as pagen barbarians.

I am anxiously awaiting the publishing of the last in this series, The Devil's Brood, which I suspect will be the most fascinating, as it covers the period when the animosity between Henry and Eleanor heats up and the power plays for her sons. I read on the author's website that she's had health issues that have slowed down completion of the book, hopefully out in 2008.

More great work from Penman.......2006-03-31

Picks up where "When Christ and His Saints Slept" left off, after Empress Maude is (sort of) vindicated by having her son, Henry II, crowned King of England. The wily Henry has expanded his Angevin Empire (which includes most of France as well as England) by marrying the wilier Eleanor of Aquitaine.

I was a little disappointed that more attention wasn't paid to what, exactly, drove Henry and Eleanor apart. Yes, Rosamund Clifford, blah blah. But Henry's mistress barely puts in an appearance at all, and Henry's feelings for her garner even less attention. We're given one confrontation between Rosamund and Eleanor, and it's such a non-event - and so unlike Eleanor - that it sheds absolutely no light on the antagonism between them. She's Eleanor of freakin' Aquitaine! Couldn't we at least get a decent catfight? Instead we get sulks and martyrdom and the silent treatment.

Let's face it, the real lover's quarrel here is between Henry and Thomas Becket. Henry, like confused wives everywhere, is stunned when he ropes Tom into commitment by handing him an archbishop's miter and is then blown off and shown zero gratitude. Becket, who thought things were fine just the way they were when he was Henry's chancellor, quickly turns from amusing playmate to aloof and condescending wet blanket, ordering Henry around and asking him to fold his socks and make his dinner. OK, not that last part. But you get the idea. Henry mopes around, whining, "I thought he loved me! Why did he have to change?" and Becket shrugs and says, "I told you how it was going to be before you appointed me. Now fetch my slippers." And then poor scorned Henry has him killed. You know it's coming, but by the time it actually does the real shock is that the two hadn't killed each other years ago.

Ranulf, Penman's entirely fictional secondary character, is put to even more use here. He's essentially our window into Wales, and frankly these sections are even more interesting, if only because it's certainly less trod-upon ground. The competition between the sons of Owain for the crown of North Wales is fascinating, and Hywel, the poet-prince, was my favorite character in the entire book.

I love that Penman's historical novels manage to be fresh and interesting without being sensational or anachronistic. I liked this one slightly less than "Christ and His Saints", but I think only because I already know more about the whole Eleanor/Henry/Becket ménage than I did about Maude and Stephen. Still, for anyone interested in the period, you can't do much better than Penman's novels.

Royal unstoppable force meets ecclesiastical immovable object.......2006-02-14

"What miserable drones and traitors I have nourished and promoted in my household, who let their lord be mocked so shamefully by a lowborn clerk!"

Thus, in TIME AND CHANCE, is author Sharon Kay Penman's version of the angry words that compelled four of Henry II's knights to commit one of the most famous assassinations in Western European history, that of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.

The second in an ostensible series of three works of historical fiction - the last has yet to appear - about the first Plantagenet King of England and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, this volume spans the period 1156 - 1171. Woven into the plot are the four pivotal events (for historians, novelists and screenwriters, at least) of that period: Henry's subjugation of the Welsh king, Owain Gwynedd, Henry's taking of Rosamund Clifford as his mistress, Henry's disastrous relationship with Becket, and the crowning of Henry's oldest son, Young Henry, as Ol' Dad's heir apparent.

Judging from Penman's other novels, she has a fascination with medieval Wales. Here, she fleshes out much of the Owain Gwynedd subplot through a completely fictional character, Ranulf Fitz Roy, carried over from the first book in the series, WHEN CHRIST AND HIS SAINTS SLEPT, which dealt with that period of English civil war before Henry II's accession when his mother Maude, the daughter of Henry I, fought to dethrone the then English monarch, Stephen. As Sharon would have it, Ranulf was an illegitimate son of Henry I by a Welsh mistress, and therefore half-brother to Maude and half-uncle to Henry II. In any case, I accepted his presence in the first book because the main player in the series, Henry II, had yet to take center stage. Now, with the fully developed characters of Henry II, Eleanor and Becket, Ranulf's presence doesn't do much more than pad the novel to an unnecessary length and, for that reason, I'm reluctantly knocking off a star. Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor are, for me, the two most interesting individuals in history, and their dysfunctional family life provides more than enough entertainment without the introduction of a make-believe ringer.

For English history buffs, TIME AND CHANCE provides a gripping perspective on the calamitous collision between the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury, especially as the dialogues that occurred between the two men in the book, as well as the circumstances of Becket's murder, are, according to Penman, transcribed from numerous eyewitness accounts.

I've been looking forward to the release of the third book in the trilogy for quite some time, and I wish Penman would get on with it.

Lackluster depiction of Henry and Eleanor .......2005-10-08

I love this author, but I have to say I was disappointed with this novel. Eleanor of Aquitane is such a popular historical figure - however, in this novel her character is extremely flat. After reading this novel, wondering why author started mystery series based on Eleanor? Maybe I will understand when the last novel of this trilogy comes out. Hopefully her character will be more fleshed out next time.

This novel centered way too much on the battle between Henry and Becket - was somewhat tedious - would have rather Henry/Eleanor storyline had been the center focus - especially since she did not explain Thomas's behavior/point of view.

I will definately read the last novel when it comes out, hoping will portray Eleanor and Henry's relationship in more detail.

Romantic rather than Historical.......2005-05-02

I picked up this book to read about intriguing English history. But I found the matter too sketchy. The thick book talks mainly about relationships using historical developments as a mere backdrop.

It did build a few characters including that of King - Henry Fitz Empress - quite impressively, but the rest characters appeared more like fillers.

It was sketchy and the episodes not tied well.

All in all - not worth the time I put into it!

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