The Day the Voices Stopped: A Schizophrenic's Journey from Madness to Hope

The Day the Voices Stopped: A Schizophrenic's Journey from Madness to Hope
Average customer rating:

Excellent book

schizophrenia

Just Wonderful

Resonate and Inspiring

A True Hero's Story

The Day the Voices Stopped: A Schizophrenic's Journey from Madness to Hope
Ken Steele , and Claire Berman
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Special Needs | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Mental Illness | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness

Recovered, Not Cured: A Journey Through Schizophrenia

Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers (4th Edition)

I am not sick I don't need help

Getting Your Life Back Together When You Have Schizophrenia

ASIN: 0465082270
Release Date: 2002-05-07

Book Description

A nationally known spokesperson for the mentally ill offers hope and inspiration in this moving story of his decades-long struggle with schizophrenia and his remarkable recovery.

For thirty-two years Ken Steele lived with the devastating symptoms of schizophrenia, tortured by inner voices commanding him to kill himself, ravaged by the delusions of paranoia, barely surviving on the ragged edges of society. In this inspiring story, Steele tells the story of his hard-won recovery from schizophrenia and how activism and advocacy helped him regain his sanity and go on to give hope and support to so many others like him.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2007-09-24

This book presents an incredibly honest insight into the experience of a paranoid schizophrenic. Ken Steele invites his readers into the most personal spaces of his mind and walks us through his life experiences. The book left me in tears. A must read for anyone who works as a mental health provider or seeks to understand what a friend or loved one is going through.

schizophrenia.......2007-06-08

The book writtten in a simple style, is nonetheless extremely moving. It was very interesting to read how a schizophrenic views the world around him, and how we appear to him. An excellent read.

Just Wonderful.......2007-04-10

I recommend this book to all people who want to understand mental illness better or to anyone who just needs to be inspired. Ken Steele gives you such a gripping and vivid picture of his extremely difficult life as a mentally ill person, I felt like I was experiencing it with him. Never before have I been brought to tears from reading a book, nor have I ever felt so much hope that I can overcome adversity in my own life.

Resonate and Inspiring.......2007-03-24

I chose to read `The Day The Voices Stopped: A Memoir of Madness of Hope' by Ken Steele and Claire Berman because I was interested in reading a book on the subject of mental illness. `The Day The Voices Stopped' is about Ken Steele's battle with schizophrenia; along with all the work he's done to better the care and treatment of mental health consumers. Before I read the book, I thought that the book would depress me, and that I would want to stop reading when some of the really bad parts came. But as I read, I got pulled into Ken's life. The bad parts still depressed me, but I kept on reading, desperately wanting to see Ken's happy ending. The book starts with the sudden arrival of Ken's voices; Voices that are constantly harassing and abusing him. Ken jumps from place to place, institution to institution, experiencing tragedy and joy. There are moments in the book when everything in Ken's life seems absolutely dismal, which makes his recovery and triumph over his illness all the more inspiring. The book doesn't stop on the day that Ken's voices stopped; it goes on to chronicle his advocacy for the rights of mental patients, and his struggle without the voices.

I found `The Day The Voices Stopped' to be very enjoyable. Ken bears all, not sugar-coating anything in his struggles. It's a hard, truthful look into the life of someone with schizophrenia], and someone who has been constantly abused both by his voices and people around him. Ken's story is moving and inspirational. It makes one stop and look around at the world with new eyes. The story is written for Ken's point of view, sharing both his thoughts and what his voices said. He retells his story in a detached sort of view, distancing the view from his emotions he's feeling while looking back on his life.

I highly recommended this book, but not to everyone. It is definitely not for younger kids, someone should be at least 15 if they are going to read this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who knows someone with a mental illness and anyone who has a mental illness themselves. It really shows the thought process and emotions of someone with a mental illness, and helps us to relate to them better. I think it would be a good idea for a parent to read along with the book if their child is reading it, to help explain some things that the child might not understand.
The book is not meant to depress someone. It is meant to give people a window into the mind of someone who is mentally ill, to help them better relate to them, to offer hope. It's meant to move people without mental illness, and to inspire those who do have a mental illness, telling them that they can find their way out of the confusing fog in their minds. In sharing his experiences, Ken has given a voice to those who have been silenced.

A True Hero's Story.......2007-03-24

I chose to read this book as part of a group project at school. I was slightly apprehensive about the choice at first, but I finally decided to go for it and I'm glad that I did. "The Day The Voices Stopped: A Memoir of Madness and Hope" is the life of Ken Steele, told through his own words, about his struggles with schizophrenia. It details his journey from place to place, hospital to hospital and along the very edge of suicide. It describes the abuses he suffers in mental wards and how people took advantage of his position. It also describes his recovery and his life afterwards as a mental health advocate.
The book begins with the day the voices came to Ken. "The voices arrived without warning on an October night in 1962, when I was fourteen years old. Kill yourself.... set yourself afire, they said." I found this a very gripping way to begin his story. We get to see what happened from day one and what things the voices say to him from the start. I think that, by letting us in on all 32 years of his struggle, he lets us into a new way of thinking about mental illness.
I thought that the book and its content would disturb me, but it didn't disturb me at all. The only thing it did was make me think and question my own views on the issue, which I find to be a great quality in a book. The book is slightly depressing, but Steele does offer the reader rays of hope throughout the text to keep it from being one large pit of spirit lowering material.
The book helped me to develop my position involving the care and treatment of those with mental illness and helped me to understand mental illness better. He takes his current feelings out of the picture (most of the time) so that we focus on the moment and what he was going through at the time he's telling about and can understand the hardship mental illness brings to those who suffer from it and their families. I think that everyone should read this book, whether they have a direct connection with mentally ill patients or not, for this reason. "The Day the Voices Stopped" is a very eye opening book and lets us into the minds of the mentally ill so that we can have a better understanding of them. There is, however, some very adult content within the text so the book is not appropriate for children, and parents should also be there to discuss it if their teenager is reading this book. As a teenager, I felt that it was important to be exposed to this so that I don't form the wrong conclusions about the mentally ill and their care, and my parents agreed with me.
This is definitely a book that I would buy, if not for the educational value of it, but for the story itself. Ken's fight for sanity and his miraculous recovery thanks to a new line of anti-psychotics, and his later fight for rights for the mentally ill is an amazing story. I was constantly wondering where he would go, what he would have to deal with, and what the voices were going to tell him to do next. In exposing his story and sending out his voice, he has become a real hero for many people who have been silent for too long.

Cancer Talk: Voices of Hope and Endurance from "The Group Room," the World's Largest Cancer Support Group

Average customer rating:

Wonderful for recently diagnosed/those who care about them
Outstanding
most informative
Anyone knowing someone with cancer must get this book
"Cancer Talk" offers comfort and knowledge to all readers.

Cancer Talk: Voices of Hope and Endurance from "The Group Room," the World's Largest Cancer Support Group
Selma R. Schimmel , and Barry Fox
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Healing | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Cancer: 50 Essential Things to Do: Revised and Updated Edition
Cancer Has Its Privileges: Stories of Hope and Laughter

ASIN: 0767903250
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Amazon.com

When 28-year-old Selma Schimmel, a medical sociologist, was diagnosed with breast cancer not long after losing her mother to ovarian cancer, she found precious few resources to help her cope. Before the diagnosis, when she could feel a mass in her breast but her doctors weren't at all concerned about it, she demanded further testing. Her doctors mocked her, called her neurotic, said that "statistically, young women don't get breast cancer," but agreed to biopsy "for the hell of it" to prove her wrong. When the biopsy returned positive, she says, "from that point on, I understood the difference between being a passive patient and a proactive medical consumer."

A lumpectomy, radiation therapy, and nine months of chemotherapy followed. She lamented that she had no role models for survival: in addition to losing her mother, her grandmother had died of uterine cancer, and an uncle from a brain tumor. She joined her hospital's cancer support group, but as its youngest member, found "my issues as a young adult with cancer did not resonate in that room." So, while still undergoing treatment, she founded Vital Options, a support group for cancer patients ages 17 to 40.

That was in 1983. During that time, she also started "The Group Room," a call-in radio show that's grown into the world's largest cancer support group. Cancer Talk is an invaluable collection of the voices from the show: cancer survivors, nurses, doctors (much more sensitive than those who biopsied Schimmel, and some who've survived cancer themselves), social workers, and family and friends of cancer patients. They discuss the emotional issues that follow a cancer diagnosis (including difficulties facing one's mortality), how to handle side effects from treatment, and ways to manage the flood of medical bills and problems with insurance companies. Cancer Talk isn't meant just for younger people, but does include hard-to-find support for such patients, including ways to help children tell their classmates about their disease and changes in their appearance. Other discussions cover sensitive topics such as relationship and intimacy problems; how to handle fertility issues following chemotherapy and radiation, including what to do when cancer strikes during pregnancy; and how to handle health questions during a job interview when you have or have had cancer. More than 100 resources are included for more information, and most of them include Web-site addresses. This is an essential book for anyone affected by cancer.

Book Description

For the first time, Cancer Talk provides a support group in a book.

Research shows that cancer patients who attend support groups can survive longer and lead fuller lives than patients receiving medical treatment alone. Cancer Talk, based on "The Group Room®," the nation's only talk-radio cancer support show, brings hope, information, and inspiration to everyone affected by cancer. Show host Selma Schimmel, a cancer advocate and longtime survivor, has gathered the voices of cancer patients and survivors, family and friends, physicians, therapists, and other healthcare professionals to create an invaluable guide to help you:

Deal with the wide range of emotions a cancer diagnosis provokes
Cope with relationships, intimacy, and physical changes
Optimize the doctor-patient relationship and navigate treatment options
Handle the side effects of treatment
Understand legal, workplace, and insurance issues
Live with and beyond cancer

Anyone whose life has been touched by cancer will find new support from the intimate and empowering voices of the only real experts out there--the people who live with cancer.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful for recently diagnosed/those who care about them.......2003-04-11

Recently diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, I felt very isolated as most women's cancer support groups focus on breast cancer. This book let me know that I was not alone- and that what I was feeling was not only normal, but healthy. It reinforced my belief that positive thought and support are crucial elements to being a survivor. Highly recommended!

Outstanding.......2001-11-09

When I was diagnosed with lung cancer, I read countless books searching for valuable information, insight and support. Cancer Talk was far and away the best book that I read. Cancer Talk addresses the cancer experience comprehensively from the perspectives of patients, family members/loved ones, and health care professionals. The voices that are heard in this book are inspiring and life-affirming. I cannot say enough good things about this wonderful book. Reading Cancer Talk will make your cancer experience easier to bear - you will find hope and the wisdom of survivors in its pages.

most informative.......2000-07-29

This isn't just a book for people who have been touched by cancer, but, for their loved ones as well.

It will get you informed on every aspect of cancer. Help you deal with the emotions of your diagnosis, helps you cope with the physical and sexual issues. Help you to learn your options in your treatment process, and in the legal work place issues and what your insurance will and will not cover; most of all, how important it is to be in a cancer support group. This is a very important book for those who want to be well informed about this illness.

I've yet to deal with this in my family, knock wood, I was sincerely impressed and informed. Very well done.

Anyone knowing someone with cancer must get this book.......1999-09-07

Having spent almost 4 years in the cancer treatment process with my wife, I highly recommend this book. Its wealth of stories, resources, and insights will be invaluable to anyone who finds themselves trying to understand treatment alternatives and make good decisions for themselves or a loved one. I wish this book had been available to provide guidance and hope to my wife and I. I highly recommend that you buy a copy, use it yourself, or give it to someone who needs it. I have given copies to friends going through the cancer experience, and they have all expressed great appreciation for the knowledge, hope, and inspiration they received from "Cancer Talk".

"Cancer Talk" offers comfort and knowledge to all readers........1999-06-25

I happened to be reading "Cancer Talk" just prior to undergoing a biopsy for prostate cancer. The book offered me a special balance of comfort and knowledge from both clinical and personal perspectives. It helped prepare me emotionally for the procedure and the anxiety I felt awaiting the test results. Fortunately the biopsy turned out negative, but reading "Cancer Talk" was a very positive experience. I recommend this book to everyone who needs to understand more about this disease and how it affects patients, survivors, caregivers, friends and family-and I can't think of anyone who would be excluded from this list.

Voices Of Alzheimer's: Courage, Humor, Hope, and Love in the Face of Dementia

Average customer rating:

Voices of Alzheimer's
Thanks for writting this book
I am one of the people in this book
A Must-Have Book on the Subject
A wonderful book to help you understand Alzheimers

Voices Of Alzheimer's: Courage, Humor, Hope, and Love in the Face of Dementia
Betsy Peterson
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Doctors & Medicine | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Nervous System | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Alzheimer's Disease | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Losing My Mind : An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer's
Learning to Speak Alzheimer's: A Groundbreaking Approach for Everyone Dealing with the Disease
There's Still a Person in There: The Complete Guide to Treating and Coping with Alzheimer's
My Journey into Alzheimer's Disease
The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life (3rd Edition)

ASIN: 0738209627
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Customer Reviews:

Voices of Alzheimer's.......2007-08-23

A great book that outlines my ideas on facing the caregiving of someone with dementia!

Thanks for writting this book.......2004-12-24

This book is a small treasure. I keep picking it up a reading different passages. It helps me understand and appreciate my father, who has Alzheimer's, in ways that I have forgotten.

It helped the whole family, even dad picked it up to read.

Thanks for a fabulous book,

I am one of the people in this book.......2004-12-12

My name is Doreen. I am one of the people in Betsy Peterson's book. She mailed me a signed copy which I have lent to other people and they also found it very useful. I am writing this to let people know that even though the book is called Voices of Alzheimers, it is really a book about Dementia in general (my diagnosis is Pick's Disease, not Alzheimers and as the book indicates they later changed Betsy Peterson's husband's diagnosis from Alzheimer's to another dementia). So if you have a family member who has a dementia other than Alzheimers, you can also find helpful (and hopeful) information in this book.

A Must-Have Book on the Subject.......2004-11-25

This small book is a treasure of honest and deep sharing on the part of dementia patients and their caregivers and loved ones. The book is visually very attractive, the content is well organized, and the quotes--covering the full spectrum of sadness and anger to wisdom, humor, hope, and gratitude--are interspersed with the author's own moving story. Reading this has enabled me to relate with much greater understanding and confidence to those with Alzheimer's, and there is an excellent section on available resources. Voices of Alzheimer's is unique in the literature on the subject and deserves to become a classic in the field.

Jenneke Barton

A wonderful book to help you understand Alzheimers.......2004-11-23

It's a wonderful book. Its power is in the innocence and simplicity of the quotes. It moves you from complete unawareness of the disease, up through recognition and understanding.

I bought it for my husband, whose mother is in the middle stages of Alzheimers. He read it, or should I say, devoured it, immediately. Then he bought one for his sister (he didn't want to give away his copy).

It's a text book on the progression of Alzheimers, written by people who were there, and woven into a beautiful story. It brings about a sense of peace after reading it.

DROPPED THREADS - What We Aren't Told: Starch Salt Chocolate Wine; What Stays in the Family; Notes on a Piece for Carol; Lettuce Turnip and Pea; Casseroles; Hope for the Best - Expect the Worst; Tuck Me In - Redefining Attachment Between Mothers and Sons

Average customer rating:

DROPPED THREADS - What We Aren't Told: Starch Salt Chocolate Wine; What Stays in the Family; Notes on a Piece for Carol; Lettuce Turnip and Pea; Casseroles; Hope for the Best - Expect the Worst; Tuck Me In - Redefining Attachment Between Mothers and Sons
Carol; Anderson, Marjorie (editors) (Joan Barfoot; Lorna Crozier; Isabel Huggan; Anne Hart; Bonnie Burnard; Susan Lightstone; Marni Jackson; Shields
Manufacturer: Vintage Books - Canada
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

Dropped Threads 2: More of What We Aren't Told

ASIN: B000FJPOCU

Product Description

The hidden emotional territory of women's lives--from the joys of belly dancing to the agony of caring for a dying child--is revealed in the pages of Dropped Threads: What We Aren't Told. Editors Carol Shields and Marjorie Anderson bring together 34 eclectic and engaging pieces by renowned authors (e.g. Margaret Atwood and Bonnie Burnard) as well as women whose day jobs include politics, child-raising, and cattle ranching. Marni Jackson's "Tuck Me In" is an entertaining account of conflicts with a teenage son who considers shampoo a culturally imposed artifact. Perhaps the most powerful essay is "Edited Version," in which Isla James describes her dying child's last days at home....

Another Morning: Voices of Truth and Hope from Mothers with Cancer

Average customer rating:

The Meaning of Courage and Love
Must Read for Health Care Professionals
For Mind and Spirit
An author who knows how to handle darkness
The Power of Listening

Another Morning: Voices of Truth and Hope from Mothers with Cancer
Linda Blachman
Manufacturer: Seal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Family Health | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Health Care Delivery | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy
Facing The Mirror With Cancer: A Guide To Using Makeup To Make A Difference
When a Parent Has Cancer: A Guide to Caring for Your Children
How to Help Children Through a Parent's Serious Illness
Lymphedema

ASIN: 1580051782

Book Description

“To raise a child while living with cancer is to have your heart break. We have to learn how to live with broken hearts.” So says one of the mothers interviewed in this powerful, inspirational, and deeply moving book, a tapestry of voices from ordinary women coping with every mother’s nightmare: a cancer diagnosis while raising children.

It’s difficult to imagine a group more in need of attention and support than seriously ill mothers. Yet, women confronting the profound collision of mothering and cancer struggle amidst a remarkable absence of services or resources. Another Morning bridges that gap. The stories are interwoven with the author’s personal and professional reflections, drawing on her 25 years as a public health educator specializing in maternal-child health, and her experience as a mother. She explores themes of universal interest and concern for mothers: What can we do to responsibly prepare ourselves and our young for life’s inevitable losses? Can a mother ever be seen as both strong and fallible, as a whole human being?

For mothers and all those who care about them, this book is an invaluable companion and source of comfort, full of insights, guidance, and real-world wisdom.

Customer Reviews:

The Meaning of Courage and Love.......2007-07-17

With dignity and eloquence, Linda Blachman tells the stories of mothers challenged by serious illness. What they reveal is a gift for everyone: sick and well, male and female, parents and non-parents. The mothers' passion, grief and wisdom elucidates the true meaning of courage and selfless love. I laughed and cried and, in the end, regretted leaving them.

Must Read for Health Care Professionals.......2006-09-29

Another Morning is a very powerful, moving and inspiring book. As a retired manager of a radiation oncology center, I believe that this should be required reading for all health care professionals who work with mothers dealing with cancer while raising their children. I admire these mothers for their courage and the volunteers and Linda Blachman for their compassion.

For Mind and Spirit.......2006-06-03

I was able to listen to Linda Blachman at an author reading in Menlo Park. I was struck with her personal history of dealing with pain and of being a mother while undergoing excruciating treatment for her ailments. Here is an author who can listen and convey empathy without being overbearing and who can transmit the stories of mothers, leaving their voices intact.
I am a Stage IV cancer patient with two boys, ages 8 and 11. I have long struggled with the knowledge of my imminent death and how to deal with my feelings of guilt over the abandonment of my kids. Even though I will leave a very caring and compentent father in the care, I still cannot shake my guilt over leaving them motherless. Linda's book has given me the stories of mothers in the same situation and feelings. It has been a great relief for me to find a place where I can find understanding for my own feelings. Linda's book has prompted me to work on my Ethical Will (I have, long ago, together with my husband, signed a Living Will) and to reflect on my own life story and my expectations for my children. Thank you Linda for one of the most worthewhile books I have ever had the pleasure to read!

An author who knows how to handle darkness.......2006-05-01

Linda Blachman has done an amazing job of putting together deeply moving stories of mothers who have cancer. There are so few people in the field who can sit with darkness without trying to making it all better, who sit in unblinking compassion with the pain and unfairness of life.

Ms. Blachman was equal to her subject in its profundity, depth, nuances, subtleties. Her voice in the book was the perfect witness to the stories that were told: she framed them, held them, and enhanced them through her comments. She weaved the stories into a meaningful narrative, just as each story itself was a meaningful narrative. All this was done with great insight,sensitivity, generosity of spirit, respect and psychological sophistication.

The Power of Listening.......2006-04-14

I have given copies of this book to two friends with recurrent breast cancer and am recommending it to all my friends who DON'T have cancer. Over 20 years ago, Linda Blachman and I were in a post partum support group together. This was one of the first places I experienced the healing that comes from talking to others who were genuinely LISTENING. When I read this book, I was struck by two things: 1) the honesty and emotional depth of the women dealing with questions of life and death that we all face, and 2) the masterful listening of Linda and her project volunteers, who opened themselves to hear the stories beneath the stories. This book has much to give to anyone who is willing to listen.

Average customer rating:

Weakest and Bleakest
Worst. Feintuch. Ever.
My least favorite of the Seafort books
This is the one I remember.
This is the one I remember.

Voices of Hope
David Feintuch
Manufacturer: Aspect
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Adventure | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

High Tech | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Space Opera | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Patriarch's Hope (Seafort Saga)
Children of Hope
Fisherman's Hope (Seafort Saga)
Prisoner's Hope (Seafort Saga)
Challenger's Hope (Seafort Saga)

ASIN: 0446603333

Customer Reviews:

Weakest and Bleakest.......2003-05-30

The Seafort saga would not, by any stretch, be called a romp in the park by anyone. Nick himself is a hard character to warm up to, the future is not a pretty one and bad things happen to good people more often than not. However the previous 4 books were worthwhile reads. Not easy reads all the time, but worth the effort.

This book though as my title proclaims is the weakest, and bleakest of the series. The next book Patriarch of Hope is much better and redeems this one. In this book Nick is removed from his strengths and is landbound as the elected leader of Earth, off and on. He is responsible for his own child as well as a child of a friend.

We get to become all too familiar with the down and dirty slums, and down and dirty politics of the world and Nick's dysfunctional family. All the characters come across as unsympathetic and not likeable. Very little hope, very little redeeming about the plot. Drawn out, depressing and it is really hard to believe you've cared about Nick before, and harder to believe you'll care about his child in the next book.

You could probably skip this one and not miss a beat by heading to Patriarch's Hope. If you must complete the series, be forewarned, this is hard work to get through and there isn't much payoff.

Worst. Feintuch. Ever........2003-02-08

Just skip this one altogether, and go straight to Patriarch's Hope. Of all the people to whom I have lent the Hope series, no one was even able to get halfway through "Voices" without giving up in disgust.

A failed experiment, which, fortunately, he did not copy in the following two books, both of which are fine additions to the Seafort Saga.

My least favorite of the Seafort books.......2003-02-04

Voices of Hope is quite different from the other books in the Seafort series. It is told from several points of view, including that of Nick's son Philip, Adam Tenere's son Jared, and two members of the transpop culture represented in earlier books by Eddie and Annie. While the differing narratives are occasionally interesting, I found none of them as compelling as Nicholas Seafort's narratives in the other novels. Furthermore, the transpop chapters are written in a dialect I found almost unreadable. There is more violence in this book than in the others, and the transpop setting of most of the novel is bleak and disturbing. This story is gloomy even for a Seafort novel! I don't recommend it. You can skip it and go on to the next book without confusion.

This is the one I remember........2003-01-11

After reading the series through Patriarch's Hope, I reflected back on them all, and this book is the one that stuck with me. It's been awhile since I read it, but, since it's the one that I remember most, I felt I should write a review.

It is a completely original storyline. The introduction of new characters from Pook and Changman of the trannies, to Seafort's brilliant son, Phillip, really added new dimension to the series. I needed a break from Seafort and his guilt trip, this did it.

Seaforts' son, Phillip, chases after his freind into the streets of NY. The only people living on the streets now are "trannies". These people are the forgotten throwaway's of a society that has since moved onward and upward into the skyscrapers and away from the city. Only heavily armed patrols ever venture into the streets, and then, only if absolutely necessary. Basically, the streets are left alone and ignored, and barred from the rest of the "civilized" world. Once there, your on your own...and don't expect any help, cuz it aint coming.

It's into this world that Phillip now finds himself...and it's a fascinating world. There are gangs, and subcultures that have arisen out of survival instincts. How they exist together, and the society they have developed, knowing that no one gives a damn about them, is remarkable. There is ingenuity, violence, power grabs, treaties, bravery, and a surprisingly large amount of humor...probably not enough love, but, it is there also. It's a darwinian survival of the fittest society...and it's damned interesting.

Phillips obvious genius, coupled with some handy martial arts instruction he had as a child, helps him survive in this environment. He meets up with Changman, a "neutral" trader, who trades with all the gangs equally...so as not to piss of any in particular. Changman is the real interesting character in this story. He has many secrets, and is one of the more multi-dimensional personalities in the HOPE series. Pook, is a child tranny, who Changman tries to look out for the best he can. There is no overt emotion or physical show of love and affection between the two. But, as much as the streets will allow, Changman tries to do his best for the kid.

Pook is a great character also. A typical street "tough" wannabe. Just a child really, but, he wants to be feared and respected. His feelings and emotions can sometimes be hilarious as he's figuring out how to be tough, especially when this "uppie" kid just kicked his butt. He's as street smart a kid as your gonna find in any story tho...and you gotta love him.

As for the "TRANNY LANGUAGE" everyone seems to be lambasting. I think that was as important to the story as any of the characters. The more I read it, the more I followed it. Along with Phillip and other "uppies." We all learned it together. It is an extremely expressive slang. That matches the conditions of the trannies perfectly. They wouldn't be Trannies if they didn't have this language. The book wouldn't have been what it was without it. I had no problem following it, and the more I read, the more descriptive I found the language to be. It's just slang, after all, not French :-). Because of how well this language was used and flushed out, it seemed totally natural and part of this world. I think the TRANNY LANGUAGE is one of Feintuch's best acheivements as an author.

There is a hilarious review using the Tranny language below mine, I think its completely understandable, and the more you read it, the less you have to think about it. I think they key, is to not think too much about it, and just lightly read over it, the meaning becomes clear. Almost every time POOK talks, using Tranny speak...I smile.

Anyway, its a fascinating book, and the best in the series, imho. Those that didn't like it, seemed to have a common problem with it...the Tranny language. I didn't have that problem and thought it was one of the best aspects of the book.

I think this could be a stand alone book. It's been over a year since I read it...but, its so different, and the characters are almost all new, you probably don't need to read the previous Hope books to enjoy it. It's amazing I remember as much of it as I do. I have difficulty remembering the TITLES of the other books in the series, let alone any story line. Yes, I recommend this one.

This is the one I remember........2003-01-11

Book Description

In 1906 Atlanta, after a summer of inflammatory headlines and accusations of black-on-white sexual assaults, armed white mobs attacked African Americans, resulting in at least twenty-five black fatalities. Atlanta's black residents fought back and repeatedly defended their neighborhoods from white raids. Placing this four-day riot in a broader narrative of twentieth-century race relations in Atlanta, in the South, and in the United States, David Fort Godshalk examines the riot's origins and how memories of this cataclysmic event shaped black and white social and political life for decades to come.

Nationally, the riot radicalized many civil rights leaders, encouraging W. E. B. Du Bois's confrontationist stance and diminishing the accommodationist voice of Booker T. Washington. In Atlanta, fears of continued disorder prompted white civic leaders to seek dialogue with black elites, establishing a rare biracial tradition that convinced mainstream northern whites that racial reconciliation was possible in the South without national intervention. Paired with black fears of renewed violence, however, this interracial cooperation exacerbated black social divisions and repeatedly undermined black social justice movements, leaving the city among the most segregated and socially stratified in the nation. Analyzing the interwoven struggles of men and women, blacks and whites, social outcasts and national powerbrokers, Godshalk illuminates the possibilities and limits of racial understanding and social change in twentieth-century America.

The Voice of Hope
Average customer rating:

Wonderful writings from Burma's living hope

Boring and repetitive

unbelievably powerful, inspirational, a true gift

This book can be transformational

The Voice of Hope
Aung San Suu Kyi , and Alan Clements
Manufacturer: Seven Stories Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | 20th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Myanmar | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
Southeast Asia | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Freedom from Fear and Other Writings: Revised Edition

Letters from Burma

The Lady: Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Laureate and Burma's Prisoner

Living Silence: Burma under Military Rule (Politics in Contemporary Asia)

Beyond Rangoon

ASIN: 1888363835

Amazon.com

Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, or the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi has become an international symbol of struggle against repression and brutality. In The Voice of Hope, she emerges as a human being--a mother of two sons as well as an inspirational human rights advocate and all-around moral compass. Once a soft-spoken scholar living in England, this daughter of a Burmese military hero catapulted to prominence as the spokesperson for her country's beleaguered democracy movement. Even when imprisoned by Burma's ruling junta, she continued to work for freedom and human rights, eventually winning the Nobel Peace Prize and attracting the world's attention to the plight of Burmese dissidents. The Voice of Hope chronicles nine months' worth of her conversations with British-born Alan Clements, a Burma expert and former Buddhist monk. The two discuss love, truth, power, compassion, and freedom from fear as well as Aung San Suu Kyi's own brand of activist Buddhism. In the process, a portrait emerges of a profoundly religious as well as political leader, a woman who used years of house arrest to develop her meditative practice, mindfulness, and spiritual strength.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful writings from Burma's living hope.......2001-12-02

In this book, as in "Freedom from Fear" and "Letters from Burma", Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi exposes to the world the grim realities of her land and her people, seen through her very eyes. As always, she is able to jump with great ability from more personal and sentimental accounts of the situation, to hard data, from recollections of her childhood, to perspectives on Burma's future. Always filled with thrill and dense with emotions, her writings are for the expert and the ignorant alike, easy to understand, yet of high value historically and academically. For anyone wishing to know more about Burma and the struggle of her people for human rights, this is must reading.

Boring and repetitive.......2001-10-11

I have always been fascinated by Burma in all its aspects and I wanted to be more informed on the current political and social situations. The subject is certainly very interesting but I personally found the book itself very boring and repetitive: The concepts and ideas are repeated dozens of times in different chapters, over and over again. This book would have been much more powerful and appealing with 100 pages instead of 300.

unbelievably powerful, inspirational, a true gift.......1998-08-28

This book shocked me awake to the realities of countries where freedom is not enjoyed as in the United Sates. The government's repression and horrific inhumantiy are just unbelievable. But, more amazing is the dedication to nonviolence which Aung San Suu Kyi and her party follow in their democracy movement. Her manner in speaking of Burma's serious situation is so calm, hopeful, and loving that it makes one reinterpret and recast their interactions with their own worlds. One may also reflect on one's place in humanity and see that Burma's tragedy, Burma's fate, is our own and we must act now. Aung San's hope and strength are qualities we would do well to adopt as our own. I do not think it is possible for one to read this book and NOT feel urged to take some form of real action (via letter writing, publicizing the issue, etc).

This book can be transformational.......1997-10-18

I have been intrigued with the situation in Burma since watching the movie Beyond Rangoon some time ago. It was therefore with great interest that I ordered this book as soon as it was available. In "The Voice of Hope" Alan Clements brings us into the present with this tragic situation through the person of Aung San Suu Kyi and her incredible life. But what sets this work apart from histories, biographies, and oddly enough even self-help material - is the powerful integration of beliefs and action found in Aung San Suu Kyi's life and philosophy. In reading chapter seven alone, ("Saints are Sinners who go on trying") I was personally and deeply moved by the clear connectedness described between her experience with a repressive government and the need for thinking people everywhere to courageously fulfil our potential as thinking, "questing" individuals. The repressive government in Burma is shown to be an extreme and yet still relevant metaphor for intellectual repression in all its forms. And Aung San Suu Kyi's message offers specific insight together with believable emotional support for those who struggle to reconcile what we discover and know through our own searching with what we are expected to believe by others. If it helps anyone who is deciding whether this book is worth the money - I can only say that as one who buys and reads more than 100 books a year - this book has earned a unique place in my library and in my heart. I would trade every other book I have read this year for Alan Clements' latest contribution. Thank you.

Voices of Hope in the Struggle to Save the Planet

Average customer rating:

Feeling like there's no hope for the world? Then read on!
Compelling, informative, challenging, motivating, accesible.

Voices of Hope in the Struggle to Save the Planet
Marjorie Hope , and James Young
Manufacturer: Apex Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Comparative Religion | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Book Description

At the heart of the current global environmental crisis lie difficult moral choices, which are central to religion. This book explores the connections between faith and ecology, seeking to redefine and strengthen the bond between the two. VOICES OF HOPE portrays the lives of individual women and men who are searching to give life a new or renewed vision of humans' relationship to the earth, and describes actions to nurture and protect the environment launched by faith-based environmental groups. The authors' journey begins with the prophetic voice of Thomas Berry, co-author of The Universe Story, and moves onto the lives, ideas, and beliefs about the environment of key spiritual leaders, thinkers, and activists in Judaism, Western and Eastern Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and the faiths of indigenous peoples. It concludes with a series of vignettes in which faith leaders, secular environmentalists, and religiously oriented activists have joined together to sustain the environment and prevent its further destruction.

Customer Reviews:

Feeling like there's no hope for the world? Then read on!.......2001-01-30

If you need reassurance that there are still people among uswho are committed to spiritual, moral, and ecological renewal, thenVoices of Hope is the perfect book for you. Hope and Young'sdescriptions of how activists around the world are living out theirFaith and their yearning for a better world gave me a strong sense ofenergy and hope; this book will surely provide sustenance to otherreaders who are trying to live their lives centered in Simplicity,Awareness and Love -- in a world that feels increasingly at odds withsuch endeavours.

Compelling, informative, challenging, motivating, accesible........2000-08-06

Voices Of Hope In The Struggle To Save The Planet reveals the lives of individual men and women engaged presenting a renewed vision of our relationship to the earth, describing actions by faith-based environmental groups to nurture and protect the environment. Included are the lives and ideas of spiritual leaders and activists drawn from Judaism, Western and Eastern Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, and the faiths of indigenous peoples. Each chapter includes a brief analysis of a particular faith's ecological teachings and description of the environmental problems of the country where a particular activist is living. Voices Of Hope In The Struggle To Save The Planet is compelling, informative, challenging, motivating, and very highly recommended reading for environmental studies, activists, policy makers, as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in religion and environmental issues.

Portraits of Courage - Voices of Hope, A Photographic Essay of Breast Cancer Survivors

Average customer rating:

FINDING COURAGE IS COMFORTING!
Pure Inspiration for (dollar amount)? You bet!
What an inspiration!

Portraits of Courage - Voices of Hope, A Photographic Essay of Breast Cancer Survivors
Jerry Robinov
Manufacturer: J. Robinov
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

What started out as a project by photographer Jerry Robinov to prive that there is life after breast cancer has grown into "Portraits of Courage - Voices of Hope". This black and white book is a moving collection of photographs and stories of 47 breast cancer survivors. The book has proven to be an inspirational vehicle for women and men fighting breast cancer, breast cancer survivors and their support networks.

Customer Reviews:

FINDING COURAGE IS COMFORTING!.......2002-08-18

A wonderful book about courageous men and women - survivors! Must read for anyone who is going through a tough time - inspirational!!

Pure Inspiration for (dollar amount)? You bet!.......2001-11-16

When you learn that you have cancer, it's very hard to focus you mind on the future. Every minute of the day you find yourself obsessively thinking through all of the "what if" scenarios. Portraits of Courage - Voices of Hope helps you get beyond the next minute of doubt by telling the stories of courageous survivors and how they made it through their challenges. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is personally dealing with breast cancer and to their loved ones and friends. It will give you hope!

What an inspiration!.......2001-11-16

Jerry Robinov has certainly proven that there is life after breast cancer. His photographs combined with the survivor stories make a powerful combination that is incredibly inspiring! The woman and men profiled in this wonderful book are true hero's. Thank you so much for sharing your stories and your courage!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books