The Way Back: Inside the Mind of a Multiple Personality Disorder / Donna Mae Rose - Book Review

Urging her readers to believe that they, too, can overcome, Donna Mae Rose shows how she regathered her Wholeness, after experiencing a lifetime of deep trauma that shattered the core of her being.

 

Opening with a counseling session between herself and Dr Boyd, the author, a psychiatric technician, tells us of the close and caring relationship that she had with her mother all her life, the great fear that she had of her violent-tempered, mentally and physically abusive father, and the generally loving relationships that she had with her six siblings from an early age.

Her father used to take out his frustrations from his job, in which he felt trapped due to the Depression, on his small children and insecure, frightened wife. Donna’s graphic account of her father’s sexual abuse and rape, that Donna felt scarred her psychologically for life, is realistically portrayed.

The Way Back: Inside the Mind of a Multiple Personality Disorder (Outskirts Press; ISBN-10: 1-4327-0605-5; ISBN-13: 978-1-4327-0605-0) amounts to a verbatim account of Donna’s counseling sessions with Dr. Boyd. Told in direct speech, the sessions flow naturally and are easy to follow. Donna’s ostensible reason for her counseling sessions with Dr. Boyd was her marital problems with her husband, Bill. However, she later reveals that she had had a nervous breakdown eighteen years before, since when she had spent much time as an outpatient of a mental hospital, having been diagnosed as a schizophrenic. 

She describes how her loss of train of thought halfway through her second session with Dr. Boyd, and her awareness of an apparent six-month memory loss, leads Dr. Boyd to inform her that he believes that she has multiple personality disorder.  He concludes that such trance-like episodes are moments of self-hypnosis, which help her to calm down.

By externalizing her innermost anxieties and fears in the form of black bugs and red ants, Donna was able to cope with and adapt to her situation while she was growing up. Donna’s interpretation of the image of the spider, which first appeared on the ceiling of the room while she was being raped, as her eight different personalities is core to an understanding of this text.

 

Gradually, while undergoing therapy, her other personalities emerge: self-confident and caring Joyce Jordan, the only personality given a last name; promiscuous, enraged Wanda; courageous Carol, who provides a means by which she can protect her innocence; suicidal Mary; childlike Edith Rose, who is capable of expressing attachment; vivacious, outgoing Susie; sanctimonious Beth; Laura, protector of the place where all the other personalities stayed until Donna Mae started to receive counseling from Dr. Boyd; Mildred, who protects Donna when she enters consciousness; spiritually supportive Edgar, who protects Donna from the suicidal tendencies of Mary; and John, who was created to keep Edgar company. Through her acknowledgement and growing understanding of her different personalities, Donna Mae is able to reconcile herself to their existence and to integrate them gradually into her core personality.

This autobiographical account is of particular relevance to anyone who has had to endure childhood trauma and abuse, as well as to anyone who has been diagnosed as schizophrenic or who works with those suffering from dissociate hysteria. Her appreciative portrayal of Dr. Boyd as a compassionate listener might reassure a reader who feels intimidated by the possibility of consulting a psychiatrist that the best in this field are highly accessible and supportive. The Way Back: Inside the Mind of a Multiple Personality Disorder is a tribute to his healing skills.

Brave: A Memoir of Overcoming Shyness / Helen Rivas-Rose - Book Review

Battling to overcome the emotionally devastating challenge of shyness all her life, author Helen Rivas-Rose, in her memoir Brave: A Memoir of Overcoming Shyness (Periwinkle Publishing; ISBN: 978-0-9827433-0-0) shows how lack of love and understanding in her childhood left her with invisible, yet socially damning, scars that she has only been able to overcome after years of counseling and therapy. Few who have not experienced the paralyzing fear of having to cope with social situations without the necessary skills to do so could possibly in the past have easily related to such situations prior to the publication of Brave. However, in this groundbreaking memoir Rivas-Rose shows at first-hand what such an experience is like.

As Rivas-Rose writes in her prologue to Brave, “For decades, this trait [shyness] skewed my decisions about every single significant choice I made—about my work, where I lived, whom I married and even how I raised my children. That demoralizing force cheated me of what could have been a more mature, productive and happy life. If only I’d sought professional help earlier!”

Brave shows how it doesn’t matter whether you cross continents (Rivas-Rose spent years abroad in Spain and Portugal), are able to develop a whole range of skills of which most people are proud (Rivas-Rose’s knowledge of the Spanish language, for example, is phenomenal), are in loving relationships with those around you (the author’s involvement with her partner and children became marked by caring over the years), and are a qualified professional (Rivas-Rose was a qualified educator), unless you have come to terms with yourself and your being in this world, you can be so socially limited by shyness that, without appropriate counseling and guidance and a willingness to work exceptionally hard on overcoming your own limitations, you will not be able to level the barriers that you have erected around yourself, so that you can fulfill your true role in this world. That the author has been able to do so is largely due to her ultimate realization that she was able to take on the onerous task of maturing at a later stage than most, overcoming the scars left by numerous encounters with others that ended unhappily due to her inability to trust herself sufficiently to express her real needs and desires. 

Brave is recommended for anyone who has ever considered undergoing Jungian analysis for socially debilitating illness, as it is through such a means that Rivas-Rose was able to learn how to apply compassion-focused therapy to her own life, in such a way that she was able to learn how to become kind and gentle to herself as no one else, not even her parents, had ever before been. The author currently leads a fulfilling and fruitful life partly in her Kennebunk, Maine home and partly in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where her linguistic skills come in handy not only in enabling her to speak the native language, but also in her writing career. Her ability to express herself creatively in both singing and writing have allowed her to flourish during the second half of her life in ways in which she never imagined as a shy child, teenager and young adult. If you, or a family member or friend, are afflicted by shyness, be kind to yourself or your meaningful other, and acquire a copy of Brave—it might be the bravest step that you take all year!  

I am Equus: Understanding the Horse's Potential through Everyday Encounters / Duaa Anwar - Book Review

Duaa Anwar has attributed the writing of I am Equus: Understanding the Horse's Potential through Everyday Encounters (Outskirts Press; ISBN: 978-1-4327-5149-4) to the inspiration that she has received from her horse, Gerry. Basing the text on assigning attributes usually thought of as human to horses, Anwar insists that every one of her ideas is based on fact and is supported by real-life encounters. Regarding the horse’s ability to trust in us as a blessing both for us and for them from God, she holds that horses that have been maltreated by people in the past have great difficulty trusting anyone, and that hard-earned trust should never be tampered with. Anwar states, “Trust is the foundation. Establish that and you have established a solid bond with your horse.”

Chock a block full of personal anecdotes and insights into how to get the best out of one’s horse, I am Equus proffers valuable advice on caring for horses. The tone is heartwarming and down to earth. Anwar’s being a horse whisperer does not detract from the value of this work one jot, but only serves to make her far more aware of the potential of the horse—which is an awareness that she shares wholeheartedly with the reader. Her hands on knowledge of horses makes her eminently capable of comparing the advice offered, and the example provided, by others with her own experiences with horses. She clearly and unhesitatingly states where she differs from their opinions regarding the treatment of horses. Her guidelines are instructive and blended with a great deal of solid, down to earth advice.

 

Duaa Anwar, an Egyptian raised in the United Arab Emirates, was born with a love for horses. In addition to advocating classical riding and natural horsemanship through her website www.ArtofRiding.com, she has had many of her articles on horses published across the net, as well as in a range of equestrian publications. From her online experience, she has gleaned a list of website addresses of equine rescue and charity organizations, with which she concludes I am Equus.

Anwar’s writing is extremely fluent and readable, so that I am Equus should appeal to any horse lover, no matter his or her age. Her use of direct speech adds to the liveliness of her writing. Although the work is not illustrated and lacks an index, I am Equus would make a valuable contribution to any animal lover’s library. 

The Mirror Maze: A Norwegian Man's True Story of Five Years in Mexican Prisons During the 1980s / Tom Brungar and Lisa Nicole Walker - Book Review

What is it that makes tales of drug addiction and prison incarceration so fascinating to the average reader? Perhaps it is the fact that none of us wishes to go down that path, and we are plain curious about those who do. Or perhaps it is that we are inspired by a profound sense of compassion to learn more about those who have decided to dwell on the shadier side of life. Whichever motive it is, The Mirror Maze: A Norwegian Man's True Story of Five Years in Mexican Prisons During the 1980s, by Tom Brungar and Lisa Nicole Walker (CreateSpace; ISBN: 1450584578), should satisfy both desires.

“I am sitting in a peaceful room telling you an intimate story, one I humbly try to explain accurately. Perhaps you know how difficult it is to tell a story through the pen. My drama from that point lasted six years. Now it is over and if this does not lead to anything but personal therapy, the effort is well spent energy. Also, I have an intense hope that you will understand, and feel a need to transmit this message. I am imagining you in front of me right

now. We are friends. You have the time to listen and I the time to talk. We will stop the world for a while and live these images, as we go along.” Thus starts the core story of The Mirror Maze, which is the true story of Tom Brungar’s downward spiral into alcohol and drug addiction to ultimately becoming involved with a drug cartel. Once apprehended, in order to survive his incarceration, Brungar used his guitar playing and storytelling ability to enable him to endure dehumanizing conditions and prison torture, until his release six years later.

The account is multi-faceted, intertwining accounts of personal transformation, philosophical and spiritual revelations, against a background of sociopolitical issues. The mirror in the title signifies that in which Brungar considered himself, and the maze in the title signifies that through which he had to travel in order to arrive at the exit from his self-induced nightmare. Since cocaine is often served on a mirror, the significance of using such a symbol will, no doubt, not be lost. Ultimately, the transformation attained by Brungar comes in the form of his realization that “[d]uring an experience like this there is only one who can help you, and that is God.”

Although the style of e The Mirror Maze is not as smooth-flowing as one might like it to be, the memoir is well worth reading, and should prove interesting reading for anyone who is interested in the lessons to be learned from drug addiction and the perils of an overly hectic and self-indulgent lifestyle. 

For You, Czarinas of My Soul (Poems, Dramas and Fairytales) / Alexander Pushkin; Translated by Oskar Frankfurt - Book Review

In his relatively brief introduction to the writings of Alexander Pushkin, entitled For You, Czarinas of My Soul (Poems, Dramas and Fairytales); Translation Press; ISBN 978-0-615-34694-6), Oskar Frankfurt states that “the goal of the present translation is to reproduce the simplicity and the music of Pushkin’s poetry and to retain the images, the meaning and the beauty of the original verse”. Frankfurt leaves it up to the reader to see whether he or she has, indeed, managed to do so. I found it a pity, though, that Frankfurt left so much else up to the reader as well. Though he introduces Pushkin’s novel in verse form, “Eugene Onegin”, and provides some stray insights into the other pieces included in this volume, those readers who have not previously been exposed to Pushkin’s work, or to descriptions of the milieu within which he wrote, might find difficulty in appreciating the true beauty of Pushkin’s work (but then, some might also argue, a translation always remains a translation, and can never fully convey the full intensity of the writer’s own utterances in any case).

Rather than including all his commentary within the confines of a seven-page introduction, Frankfurt might also have done better to introduce each piece separately, or at least to have distinguished the poems, dramas and fairy tales clearly from one another. What I would recommend to any reader is that, unless you already know quite a bit about Pushkin’s life and times, you first read up a little, and then read this translation. Only then are you likely to be able to appreciate the merits of this work.

And merits there are, starting with the front cover, which portrays Natalia Goncharova, the wife of Alexander Pushkin, by Karl Briullov (1831). An enchanting portrait, enough to make one hunger for more details about her, but, alas, you will not find them in this volume. Frankfurt has clearly gone to great effort to transform Pushkin’s work into contemporary diction and meter, but it would have been so enlightening to hear how he set about choosing which of Pushkin’s work he wished to include in this volume. What was his motivation for embarking on such a translation? How did he come to have such a sound grasp of the Russian language that he felt sufficiently empowered to be able to translate the work of someone who is hailed in Russia as her greatest poet? What distinguishes the different genres of Pushkin’s work from that of other writers? What accounts for Pushkin’s preeminence in Russian literary history? The questions abound, but the answers are few.

The diction used in the translation itself is thoroughly contemporary and is easy to understand, so that Frankfurt has attained what he originally set out to do. However, the author would be well advised to expand on, and to contextualize, the next edition of his translation, so that the work becomes accessible to a much wider readership than that to which it is currently available.

Turkey for History Travellers / Bob Fowke - Book Review

Bob Fowke’s latest ebook in his series of travel guides come historical overviews and introductions to countries that are all well travelled by himself, Guide to Turkey for History Travellers (YouCaxton Publishers; ASIN: B008KNMTT4), is as entertaining and informative as his other guides to Spain, France and Greece continue to be. As with his previous works in this field, his urbane wit and lively cast of mind have one gasping at the unusual one moment to laughing out loud the next, so, whatever you do, do not expect this to be a quiet ride.

Fowke’s background, as both an award-winning author and an extremely popular illustrator, has placed him in a position to travel internationally, allowing him to develop close firsthand knowledge of the countries that he explores across both time and space. His lack of pretentiousness and essential modesty, as well as his versatility as a master of both the word and the visual media, are core to his writing. His consistent striving to make what some others might find esoteric or unnecessarily convoluted accessible and tempting draw his audience in.

There is an essential air of trustworthiness about Fowke’s writing―we know that we are not about to be taken in by his glamorisation of the unsavory, and that what he omits for sake of brevity is not as key and core to our coming to the understanding of the lands and cultures that he explores as are the facts that he does include. Selective as his guides might be, we definitely do not feel cheated of any of the rich tapestry that go to make up the composite picture of those that he describes. Rather, he tempts us to want to find out more, and in no way jades our palate for more extensive texts than his.

However, his guides have a definite role to play in opening up the Mediterranean lands that he so joyfully explores. And always he is aware of how best to contextualize what he has to say. In Guide to Turkey for History Travellers, Fowke takes us from a time when “rebel princes and deposed emperors were first blinded and then imprisoned as a humane alternative to death, many centuries ago before the Turks arrived” right up to the 1980s, when “[p]olitical parties were dissolved and there were mass arrests of extremists and supposed extremists.” While no one can say that Turkish history has been smooth sailing, the way in which Fowke introduces the subject is mellifluously and masterfully related by Fowke. One revels in the simplicity of his sentence structure and the consummate ease with which he can recount a tale well worth telling.

The saliency and relevance of all that Fowke has to say opens up foreign vistas before our eyes, so that, even if we never step far beyond our own front door, we can appreciate the opening up of distant shores that he offers us. In addition, the numerous line drawings and maps aid the reader in understanding where and how historical events of note took place. Whether you are (or intend to) travel to Turkey, or whether you are keen on an historical exploration of the country and its rich culture, you should find that Fowke satisfies your need for information even beyond the straightforward narrative text. For the former, he provides numerous contextualised guide tips interspersed amidst the main thrust of his text, and for the latter he not only includes a number of anecdotes in the form of travellers’ tales, but he also rounds off the work with timelines of the Byzantine emperors, the Seljuk Sultans of Anatolia, the Ottoman Sultans and important dates, stetching from Çatal Höyük in c. 8500-7500 to when Turkey became a republic in 1923.

A rich and intriguing work, as well as being delightfully witty and humane,Guide to Turkey for History Travellers is definitely well worth obtaining, no matter your intended destination in life.

Dangerous Ambition, Rebecca West and Dorothy Thompson: New Women in Search of Love and Power / Susan Hertog - Book Review

In her unassuming introduction to this biography of two noted women writers who were both born in the late Victorian era, Susan Hertog expresses the temerity that she felt in assuming to dare attempt to portray the similarities and differences between two outstanding women of their day who both felt compelled to confront the pressing issues of the societies in which they lived, the famed American journalist and radio broadcaster Dorothy Thompson both in America and as the first female head of a news bureau permanently stationed in Berlin and the strongly anti-fascist and profoundly humanitarian (ultimately Dame) Rebecca West in the UK and also on the European continent.

Biography, Hertog acknowledges, “is a fascinating game that requires intense and far-ranging research from a myriad of vantage points, the discerning of patterns, and the synthesizing of the chaos of experience into a comprehensible, meaningful, and entertaining narrative that captures the essence of an individual.” That she does a remarkably fine job of it is, no doubt at least in part, due to her ability to flesh out the lives of the two women, making them accessible to the average reader in their roles as friends, lovers and wives, in addition to that of being great intellectual pioneers and insightful societal analysts of the first half of the twentieth century.

As Hertog states, “[t]o understand these women and their men in the context of the social and political forces that determined the thrust and contour of their lives, and to draw lessons relevant to our lives and times, is the end toward which I have written this book.” Hertog’s firm academic grounding in an M. F. A. from Columbia University, as well as her previous authorship of the biography Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life have both put her in good stead for writing such an ambitious and thoroughly well-researched book as this, to which she appends over 430 endnotes and 10 densely packed pages of selected bibliography. Dangerous Ambition, Rebecca West and Dorothy Thompson: New Women in Search of Love and Power (Random House Publishing Books; ISBN: 978-0-345-45986-2) is, in addition, illustrated with numerous black-and-white photographs that provide empathetic insight into the lives of both Thompson and West.

Hertog’s affinity for her subject has enabled her to condense six years of research into a work that does her subject proud, and in which she is able, from the perspective of a woman who takes great care in her own writing to attain accuracy and meaningful insight, to provide an in-depth analysis of these two great intellectuals. The liveliness of Hertog’s spirited writing can clearly be seen in her vivid use of imagery throughout the text, which is enhanced by the authors’ own metaphoric bent. Witness, for example, her retelling of how Thompson once revealed to a friend that, prior to meeting and marrying the expatriate writer Joseph Bard, “she had lived the solitary life of a wildcat, ready to pounce on the next big story, scavenge a revolution, and feed on the carcasses of people and events.”

This lively account of two women, who, despite being separated by geographical distance, were so much alike in their undaunted spirit and in their conscientious probing of human rights issues, should find a ready audience among all who are interested in, and concerned with, both contemporary and historical women’s issues. 

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

Endless Path Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and Daily Life / Rafe Martin - Book Reviews

Jataka tales are the stories that reveal the Buddha’s previous births as a bodhisattva (one who has attained enlightenment, but who chooses not to pass into Nirvana [the state of supreme bliss, tranquility, and purity, when the fires of desire are extinguished], opting to remain in the world to help lesser beings attain enlightenment) working towards the goals of Buddhahood. Rafe Martin naturally relates to stories, having children of his own. Interest in stories is with us from an early age, with tales being used in most religions to exemplify the principles propagated by the different belief systems concerned (just think of the Parables in the Bible, for example, in terms of Christianity).

In Endless Path Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice and Daily Life (North Atlantic Books; ISBN: 978-1-55643-932-2), Martin shares with the reader original telling of the jataka stories, “versions created to speak in a lively colloquial, vernacular voice to contemporary readers.” He himself has “gained strength from an ongoing connection with the jatakas and the life of the Buddha, enough to begin to trust his own way and then to find it.” The commentaries for each story offer a Zen “take” on the jatakas and on their relevance to our daily lives and practice. Extolling qualities of generosity, morality, patient forbearance, limitless vigor, meditation, wisdom, skillful means, resolve, strength, and knowledge, the jatakas, together with their commentaries, are intended to “help us rediscover the endless path unfolding even now beneath our feet.” Clearly told in fluent and flowing English that is clearly that of an English First Language speaker, the tales are powerfully written and conveyed in such a way that we can gain the most from them.

As a skilled Zen practitioner and teacher, Martin is in an ideal position to help bring the truths of Buddhism alive, which he does with admirable ease. He also acknowledges the role played by many different communities of listeners in refining how he tells the tales and reveals the insights that he and others have gained from each one. Accompanying each jataka is a full-page illustration by renowned artist Richard Wehrman, who is also a firm believer in the Buddhist faith, moving, in 1973, to Rochester, New York, to study and practice Zen Buddhism at the Rochester Zen Center.

Endless Path is a truly insightful work, which has already received numerous accolades from other leading Buddhist practitioners. Accessible, inspired, and clearly marked by a generosity and foresight of spirit, it is a work well worth obtaining and keeping in one’s own private collection.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]     

Fear to Freedom: What if You Did Not Have to be So Afraid / Rosemary Trible - Book Review

Rosemary Trible’s relation of her triumph over being raped by an assailant in a hotel room, as well as over having her home burglarized shortly thereafter, do justice to her faith in God. She has held firm to such faith since when she chose to be baptized in the Methodist Church at the age of ten. Trible asserts that “What was meant for evil has been used for good in my life. I would not be the woman I am today without this experience, and I would not have had the opportunity to walk alongside so many women dealing with fear throughout the years. If I had not traveled my own dark road of fear, I would not be able to challenge others to travel their own journey to healing and freedom.”

The first half of From Fear to Freedom (VIM Publishers; ISBN: 10: 1-935265-09-1 ISBN: 13: 978-1-935265-09-2) focuses on Trible’s own story and steady growth in faith over the years, while the second half focuses more on her spiritual outreach to others. Trible regards her survival of what could have been a fatal car crash, following on which she had what she terms to be a “near-life” experience, as “the most wonderful experience” of her life. She regards this experience as one that served to confirm that the Lord had brought her from a traumatized, fear-ridden state to one of holistic being and wholeness. In addition to meeting with many loved ones who had passed on, she also met her rapist, who had been transformed from a life of violence to one which radiated hope and forgiveness.

Trible urges readers to practice centering or contemplative prayer, which she regards as a mainstay of her existence. She holds Mother Teresa up as an example of radical devotion to a life dominated by love and prayer. Trible also shows how, step by step, we can come to forgive another. Her text is interlaced throughout with biblical verses that she has found to be of particular relevance to her own spiritual journey, as well as with quotes from leading Spirit-filled people, such as Mother Teresa and Saint Augustine.

In her preface to this spiritually uplifting autobiography, Rosemary Trible recommends reading one chapter at a time along with the Pause and Reflect questions that form part of the appended Devotional Guide. In addition to the questions, she also offers, when appropriate, a Practical Process to explore, which is intended to help the reader advance on her own healing journey. While the questions are meant to provoke thought, the exercises are intended to help one discover new techniques to finding deeper meaning and happiness in life. Trible provides the assurance that the guide will also work well with an accountability partner, small discussion group, or prayer group as a weekly guide. A twelve-week informal study course would enable one to cover two chapters a week.

She promises that great joy can be attained by finding peace with one’s past, and by embracing a new passion for life that brings love, purpose, and greater fulfillment. Trible also includes Ten Commandments of Our Friendship, which are principles on which she agreed with her close African-American friend, Barbara Williams-Skinner, for guiding those who wish to enter into a deliberate and intentional commitment to a cross-cultural covenant relationship. Her end notes provide yet more additional insight into the sources of information that she cites in her text.

Fear to Freedom contains 16 pages of full color photographs, largely of her family, friends and colleagues, including many of her political allies, both in the White House and beyond. You can also check out Trible’s website at feartofreedomjourney.com, of which the focus is on helping women to face their fears and to find joy again. Fear to Freedom is an ideal text for any woman of the Christian faith who has had to overcome fear and trauma in her life. All resource centers for women should regard this work as mandatory stock.  

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

My Father's Places / Aeronwy Thomas - Book Review

This memoir by the daughter of Dylan Thomas is written in a simple and straightforward style, telling of the many years that his family spent living in the Boat House in Langharne, thanks to Dylan’s patron, Margaret Taylor. As Aeronwy shares in her acknowledgements at the end of My Father's Places (Skyhorse Publishing; ISBN: 978-1-61608-101-0), the memoir took her ten years to write. As with all writing that appears to be fluid, flowing and effortless, much time has been spent on making this a seamless and unstrained work.

The text is amply supplied with photographs of the family, friends and surrounds, so that, along with the easy flow of the text, the reader is made to feel at home with all the characters inhabiting these pages. While Aeronwy mentions the names of many of her father’s famous visitors, and briefly mentions who they are, the major characters are those of the local pub landlord, Crossmouse (no wonder Dylan’s characters always sound so delightful...), their hearing and speech challenged neighbor, Booda (“a fixture in the kitchen”), and numerous childhood friends. After all, Aeronwy has no need to promote her father’s work, or to persuade us that his connections were the leading literati of the day – we (should at least) know all that already.

Instead, the focus of the book is on the childhood adventures of Aeronwy and her two brothers, Llewellyn and Colm. The gentle, self-deprecatory sense of humor which Aeronwy displays throughout these pages is clearly shown in the way in which she refers to her slight twinges of sibling rivalry: “To my disgust, he smiled most of the time unless he had a dirty nappy or was hungry and everyone loved him. He was hard to resist, though I was trying hard.”

Despite their home not always being a happy one, as Caitlin was much riled by Dylan’s dalliance with an American mistress, Pearl Kazin, whom he acquired on one of his numerous tours of the States, there was always a solid and loving home base to which he was able to return. Although Aeronwy does not hide the way in which her father died, she also does not dwell on the negatives. Indeed, many a reader will long to have come from just such a home. Despite their financial poverty (few writers are given their due merit in this lifetime, as we all know), which led Dylan to write many an importuning letter, to which Aeronwy refers, their home was spiritually rich and vibrant, surrounded by books and the wealth of imaginings. The text provides valuable insights into how Dylan wrote, literally being locked away for five hours each day by Caitlin (according to Aeronwy “as her contribution to his literary output”).  Aeronwy describes how, as soon as her father “spoke every word out loud. For him, the sound of the words was integral to the poem. Sometimes his voice was loud and booming, at other times I had to put my ear to the thin door to hear his mumbles. It seemed like a secretive, incantatory rite.”

My Father’s Places is, above all, about Dylan’s children and their childhood adventures, mainly spent at home and within the safe environs of Langharne village. For anyone who loves children, dogs (their constant companion is a half collie called Mably) and the sea, this book is a must. Even if you are not yet well acquainted with the poetic masterpieces of Dylan Thomas, after reading this heart-warming and refreshing memoir, you will most likely feel inclined to rush out and buy a copy – I urge you, do.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

Ruby's Juke Joint Americana Cookbook / Ruby Dee Philippa

Part of what distinguishes national cuisine from food that is served up all around the world and that tastes more or less the same no matter where you are is the sense of pride and identity that those who are native to that country feel in their culinary skills in preparing those particular dishes. That is the exact sense that declares itself triumphantly from each and every page of Ruby Dee’s Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook (Bando Press; ISBN: 978-0-9837824-0-7). That she takes sheer delight in cooking and preparing food no matter whether she is at home or on the road with the rest of her Snakehandlers band, you can be rootin’ tootin’ sure that, as soon as she can lay her hands on some down home natural and fresh ingredients with which she can whip up a tasty morsel or two, she’ll do so. Her cookbook proves the point.

Packed with colorful photos, with a glossy format and an appealing, well-laid out spread, Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook is both entertaining and thrilling in the way that Ruby Dee has counterpoised each recipe with her own expertise in cooking the dish. That Dee has a professional grounding in concocting mouth-watering delights is borne witness to by her having built, owned and operated three well-received restaurants in Seattle. She not only offers you clear instructions on how to prepare ingredients that you’ll be able to source with ease anywhere in the US of A, but she also regales you with enticing snippets of information from her days on the road. For instance, she illustrates her recipe for Chest Nut Loaf with a pointer that could be useful for anyone setting out on a long road trip: “When we hit the road on tour, we always pack an ice chest with homemade sauces, spreads, and sandwich fixings so we don’t get homesick too quickly.” Dee’s book of culinary delights is sensibly organized under such appropriate headings as “starters” and “poultry,” and ends with seven recipes specifically aimed at Thanksgiving Dinner, followed by a comprehensive index.

In addition to providing a Bonus Recipe Card or two, Ruby Dee includes a CD with her cookbook that is billed as “Americana Music to Cook By,” including such appropriate tracks as “Deep Fat Fry” by Jim Stringer, “Eat My Words” by Marti Brom and Her Barnshakers and the track specially written to accompany this book, “Home Cookin’,’’ by the very same Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers. So, whether you’re stringing beans or shaking barns, or, yes, even wrestling that there rattler to the ground, you’re bound to find yourself at home with this scrumptious and succulent read.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

Barefoot in Baghdad: A Story of Identity - My Own and What it Means to be a Woman in Chaos / Manal M. Omar - Book Review

Despite her family’s opposition to Omar’s assuming the position of country director in Iraq with Women for Women International, a group that helped female survivors of war to rebuild their lives, she quickly took up the reins of such a position, proving her worth in her many encounters with those women whom she helped free from a life of degradation and fear. The dichotomy of her status, as both Arab and American, born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents and raised in the American South, as a Muslim and a woman, she was in an ideal position to negotiate the hazardous and diverse microcosm of Iraq, still trying to recover from the ravages of Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime. In this moving memoir, she describes how she was among the first international aid workers to arrive in Baghdad in 2003. Barefoot in Baghdad: A Story of Identity - My Own and What it Means to be a Woman in Chaos (Sourcebooks; ISBN: 978-1-4022-3721-8) tells of the two years that she spent working with Iraqi women as they struggled to create a new nation and a new identity for themselves.

Omar describes her daily battle to overcome prejudices in the society, which were present in many forms. She not only had to suppress her own misgivings about having to work sometimes in close conjunction with the US-dominated Coalition Provisional Authority, but also to persuade her Iraqi colleagues of the integrity of her intent. She asks a telling question at the outset of the memoir: “Who was better equipped to adapt within a country experiencing a period of tumultuous change than someone who had been raised with an ever-shifting identity?”

The redemptive nature of this tale, both on a personal and broader societal front, conveys a central message of hope overcoming what might so easily have been a position of despair. The uplifting and youthful approach which Omar takes to her subject matter is as captivating in the fluency and ease of her writing as it is in the way in which she is able to navigate her position among the many diverse segments of Iraqi society. No matter whether you view the US occupation of Iraq as unwarranted or as totally justifiable in terms of their acting as a liberation force, Barefoot in Baghdad should be of interest to you. Giving both an insider’s and an outsider’s view of the unfolding drama of Iraq, the memoir should prove worthwhile reading for anyone who has a keen interest in developments in the Middle East.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

How to Talk to Children about World Art / Isabelle Glorieux-Desouche - Book Review

Imagine that you are a child, agog with wonder, attending an exhibition of art from around the globe. You have as your guide a loving and well-informed mentor, who is only too pleased to answer your every question with a highly accessible and relevant answer. Would you not be thrilled?

Well, such is my response (and, I am sure, will be that of every mentor of children, too) who opens the pages of How to Talk to Children about World Art (Frances Lincoln; ISBN: 978-0-7112-3091-0). Taking key examples of art from around the world, which are all illustrated with full-page color photographs, answers are provided to all those questions that children are most likely to ask from age 5 to 13.

The helpful format of the book, starting with what art really is, and debunking preconceived ideas about arts and crafts, takes one through the gamut of featured artifacts in ordered sequence, starting in North America. The culture trail then moves to South America, and on to West and Central Africa. The art of Central Asia and South East Asia is then considered, before exploring that of Oceania and Easter Island. In place of a standard index, in keeping with the graphic nature of this guide, a world map is presented on which the origin, and a thumbnail image of the picture, of each exhibit is indicated. The work concludes with an invaluable bibliography, proposing additional reading for both adults and children, as well as visits to relevant websites, films and museums.

Details of the original source, as well as of the dimensions and the current location, of each exhibit is given as a caption beneath each photograph (imagine what you would be likely to see on an information plaque in a museum). A number of questions and comments follow, which are graded in terms of the age group most likely to ask, or pass, them. The responses in each case are informative and trenchant, with the initial topic sentence providing a synoptic answer, on which the rest of the paragraph expands. (One cannot help but compare this approach to that which is so often taken in museum guidebooks, where the focus tends to lie on an expansion of the intellectualism and knowledge possessed by the compiler of the guide concerned – children want ready access to information, and not to be bored with tedious explanations.)

The delight-filled voices of children can be heard throughout this text, ranging from the outright curiosity of the 5 to 7 year olds (such as asking, in the case of the sculpture of a Dogon couple, “Are they men or women?”), to the slightly more searching questions of the 8- to 10-year-olds (such as asking, in the case of the Mandu Yene Throne of Bamum King Nsangu, “Did all kings have such impressive thrones?”). As the inquirers themselves would, no doubt, be quick enough to point out, the questions of 11- to 13-year-olds tend, in contrast, to reflect the desire to classify and contextualize within an existing framework of knowledge (such as asking, in the case of the Fang reliquary figure, “Why did Alberto Magnelli buy this sculpture?”).

Art teachers and all those who are involved in stimulating the creativity of the young (as well as that of the young at heart) are likely to benefit from this incisive and inspirational introduction to the world of global art.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

The Spiritual Significance of Music / Justin St. Vincent - Book Review

Not an esoteric text that is accessible only to the enlightened, this paean to the spiritual significance of music is written in such a way that you might easily think that you are reading a series of articles from Rolling Stone Magazine. This collection of interviews with both music-makers and writers from around the world is aimed at finding their answer to the question: ‘What do you believe is the spiritual significance of music?’ This intimate and, at times, deeply profound study of individual beliefs about the interconnection between spirituality and music is presented verbatim in the words of each artist him/herself, without the inclusion of any questions that the editor might have addressed to the interviewees concerned and without the addition of editorial comment. Such a presentation allows the pure and authentic voice of the musician or author to emerge in all cases.

The unbiased reportage in The Spiritual Significance of Music (Xtreme Music; ISBN: 978-0-473-15690-9) allows for the juxtaposing of interviews with adherents to the more traditional faiths, such as Christianity and Hinduism, with others with those who adhere to more alternative practices, such as Satanism. The wide range of beliefs that is reflected in these pages also encompasses agnosticism and the spiritual questioning of such musicians as Michael IX Williams. Covering such sub-themes as the anthropological, cultural and historical roots of music, as well as its therapeutic and universal appeal to the emotions, The Spiritual Significance of Music should be of interest to a wide range of music-lovers.

By arranging the entries alphabetically, according either to the names of the artists, or to the names of the groups or bands to which they belong, Justin St. Vincent is able to express his lack of bias towards the musicians concerned. The reader is, accordingly, free to respond to what each of the interviewees has to say on a personal level.

The work ends with brief overviews of the main work of each of the musicians and authors involved, including their web site addresses, the details of when and where each interview took place, and the names and web site addresses of the photographer concerned.

As an indexer, I would have loved to have seen an index broadly split up into pertinent categories, expressing the major concerns of each of the musicians and writers. However, at the moment one may choose either to read the interviews conducted with those artists who have made the deepest impression on one’s life, or take pot luck and start reading at any point in the text (you might be pleasantly surprised by the serendipitous findings that you make). Of course, there are also the black-and-white photographs of each artist interviewed, so that if you are particularly interested in female music and writings, for instance, you might choose to read all those interviews conducted with women. However, no matter how you choose to read this text, you are bound to learn more about the main theme: the spiritual significance of music, as personally experienced by more than one hundred contributors, many of whom are extremely well known.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

Good Night & God Bless: A Guide to Convent and Monastery Accommodation in Europe. Volume One. Austria, Czech Republic, Italy / Trish Clark - Book Review

The index to this guide to convents, monasteries, open houses and spiritual retreats of Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy gives one but the barest outline of the wealth of contents of Good Night & God Bless. Apart from answering the usual questions of where, what and how much, a sense of cultural and historical awareness permeates the text. Want to know where Empress Elizabeth was assassinated, where to seek out the most awe-inspiring classical music or liveliest disco, or where to buy locally grown organic fruit and herbal teas?  Look no further than Good Night & God Bless: A Guide to Convent and Monastery Accommodation in Europe (Hidden Spring; ISBN: 978-1587680533).

A neat pocket guide to the best alternative tourism routes through three major European countries, this logically structured work is a soothing panacea to the overwhelming plethora of travel books that pulsate off the shelves in ever increasing numbers. Presenting her work in pleasingly demarcated paragraphs, Trish Clark describes the accommodation, ranging from the relatively simple to the discretely luxurious, provided by religious houses that have found the need to become financially viable amid the increasing commercialism of the 21st century.

A brief introduction to each country and region, including a map and a few color photographs of the most distinctive sites, is followed by a few pages on each of the leading open houses. Trish describes exactly what a tourist is likely to experience while staying there. Venturing beyond a brief overview of the services and specialties provided, she explores the surroundings of each open house in turn, suggesting which places of interest, food and drink and sporting and cultural events the prospective traveler might most enjoy.

For those of a more contemplative frame of mind, Trish describes the spiritual retreats and pilgrimages that can be undertaken in Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic. She also provides the contact details for additional accommodation, so that the array of potentially spiritually uplifting accommodation is reasonably extensive. 

Good Night & God Bless: A Guide to Convent and Monastery Accommodation in Europe is the ideal guide for those seeking more than the conventional tourist fare – make the most of your next trip to Europe by contemplating the contemplative and return home refreshed and spiritually restored. Volume Two of Good Night & God Bless covers the accommodation provided in the religious houses of France, Ireland and the United Kingdom.  

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]     

Let's Make a Difference: We Can Help Orangutans / Gabriella Francine, with Solara Vayanian

This reader on orangutans is the first to emerge from the BBM Books stable, which was begun in 2012 with the intention of providing, among other educational and stewardship aids, books geared towards teaching children about the need for caring for endangered species that, without human intervention, would inevitably die out. Although the basic reader in this case is directed at conveying a sound ecological message, which will be of dire consequence if we do little, or nothing, about it, the tone of the work is far from somber. In fact, one gains the idea that the author and her team have gone out of their way to make reading Let’s Make a Difference: We Can Help Orangutans (BBM Books; ISBN: 9781938504006) an enjoyable experience to share with friends and family alike. Getting the whole family involved is the key to expanding a positive outlook in terms of the environmental movement, after all.

All except for the single page of Let’s Make a Difference: We Can Help Orangutans, which provides a list of “some organizations that work to protect the orangutans and their homes, the rainforest”, are in full color. Many of the numerous photographs picture the young as they go about their daily activities of eating, sleeping and playing. The many different ways in which they resemble human children are emphasized both in the drawings and photos, as well as in the text itself.

Just enough is said about orangutans on each page to make you eager to continue reading, making this book really enticing. Even on pages that largely feature illustrations, an “Orangutan Fun Fact” is included in the form of an inset. An example of such a “fun fact” is “Orangutans can get mosquito bites, too! Since they don’t have fly swatters in the wild, they use branches to drive them away.”

Throughout the book, the orangutans are portrayed not only in relationship to one another, but also to their environment. The stressing of the role that humans have played in the shrinkage of their habitat, as well as what they can now do to protect the few thousand still living on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is done in such a way as to rouse the enthusiasm of children to participate in the conservation effort. From the smallest task of collecting coins to place in a money jar, through to visiting the orangutans at the Indianapolis and San Diego zoos (and even abroad, if you are one of those fortunate enough to travel to Indonesia, and are within range of a care center), the reader is encouraged to invest their resources, no matter how little, in a way that will make a difference for this endangered species.

For anyone who is keen on inculcating a love of wildlife and great causes in their kids, Let’s Make a Difference: We Can Help Orangutans, is an extremely worthwhile investment. A copy should also be made easily accessible through all school and public libraries, so that the message of conservation reaches even those whose parents are not environmentally enlightened.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

The Box from Braunau: In Search of My Father's War / Jan Elvin - Book Review

In her preface, Jan Elvin writes how, by writing The Box from Braunau: In Search of My Father's War (AMACOM; ISBN: 978-0-8144-1049-3), she got back the father she had lost years ago. As the sole custodian of her family history, she recognizes herself as one of the children of the “Greatest Generation”, who have shared an inheritance of silence and hidden wounds for far too long. This war memoir gives access to the front-line experiences of Americans who fought in what might be regarded as the most soul-destroying conflict of the twentieth century.

Jan’s father, as she came to know him, was William John Elvin, Jr., more familiarly known as Bill, a newspaperman for the Washington Evening Star, and a decorated combat veteran of General George S. Patton’s Third Army, 80th Infantry Division. When Jan was ten years old, he bought the McLean Providence Journal, a weekly newspaper with which he was associated for the rest of his life.

Jan tells how her father’s passionate ambition to write for a newspaper was first given voice in his associate editorship of the University of Michigan’s highly regarded Michigan Daily. While working in the personnel office of the local Celanese plant, however, World War II broke out, leading to him volunteering for the Officer Candidate School. Jan includes excerpts from her father’s journal that he wrote up in 1945 from notes that he had kept during his first three months in combat during the previous year. 

   

Even when enmeshed in the trials of life at the front, Bill retained a sharp sense of humor and sound outlook on life, as when he recalls fellow infantrymen getting soaked from sleeping under the stars, having neglected to pitch a tent. However, thoughts of his family were never far from his mind, leading him to write a letter, the text of which is included in The Box from Braunau, to his son, Jay, to be read only if he died in battle. Well referenced newspaper clippings from the time help to contextualize the journal entries, which are couched in a lively, credible style, marked by its immediacy. Often poetic and ennobling in tone (such as where he describes the dawn arriving “with a gentleness and assurance that changed every man from a fearsome, groveling worm to a warm, self-respecting human being”), the power of Bill’s writing presages his later prowess as a news reporter.

Returning from the ever-present dangers of the front line to a secure life in suburbia was not easy for Bill, who never fully recovered from his wartime experiences. Jan cites his war journal description of avoidance of incoming artillery, “Tight, tight, tight, and down, down, down”, as being equally applicable to his emotions. Over vigilant regarding the safety of his family, he distanced himself emotionally from them, preferring to bury himself in his work than to busy himself with their concerns. Eventually the strain on his marriage became so dire that Jan’s mother, Jane, moved out.

The aluminum box, referred to in the title, was given to Jan’s father by a prisoner interned in the German-run forced labor camp in Braunau, when his Division freed its inmates near the end of World War II.  When first brought home, he used it merely for personal notes and phone bills. However, when Jane moved out, he replaced its original contents with his army medals and the Bible his parents had given him as a boy.

Well illustrated with black and white photographs, and supplemented by a comprehensive index, bibliography and glossary, this part history part memoir is of importance to scholar and general reader alike. In addition to helpful guidelines on how to search for wartime personal histories, information sources and address details of support organizations relating to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans are listed. The Box from Braunau: In Search of My Father’s War provides accessible and informative reading for all those interested in journalism and the social dynamics of warfare.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]   

Christian Encounters: John Bunyan - Book Review

In his preface to Christian Encounters: John Bunyan (Thomas Nelson; ISBN: 978-1-59555-304-1), Kevin Belmonte speaks of his youthful intoxication with the Christian writer’s “simply wrought cadences” and “vividly conceived characters”, as well as his mastery of imagery “that has inspired writers from Thackeray to C. S. Lewis”. Both in his preface and in his prologue to this succinct, but informative, biography Belmonte describes the many acknowledgements that have been paid over the ages to Bunyan’s key work The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Aware of the pivotal role played by biographers in helping to establish the role of any great craftsman, Belmonte pays full tribute to John Brown, whom he notes to be “[p]erhaps Bunyan’s most assiduous biographer”. In fact, the acknowledgement that he gives to Brown’s work might very well apply, albeit it to a smaller format, to Christian Encounters: John Bunyan: “The impression one gets when leafing through his handsome [perhaps one should say, in this case, modestly framed], carefully documented work is that of a man who has undertaken his own pilgrimage—seeking to recover, as much as can be done, all of the sights, sounds, and settings that shaped John Bunyan.”

Those who have had troubled lives themselves are likely to empathize with the many difficulties that plagued Bunyan’s life, including his imprisonment, during which time he wrote his great masterpiece. Extremely well sourced and referenced, Christian Encounters: John Bunyan  is a more than adequate introduction to, and overview of, the writings of one of the great men of faith, who, despite many a trial and tribulation, has, nevertheless, across countless generations managed to inspire many a flagging spirit to renew the fight against earthly temptations and travails.Just how the semi-schooled son of a tinker came to write one of the most influential books in the entire pantheon of English literature provides the gist of Belmonte’s biography. Exploring Bunyan’s life and times from his birth in 1628, till his death in 1688 (for which a detailed timeline is given in the appendix to the text), Belmonte reveals all that is necessary to know about the core factors that contributed to the creation of the enduring masterpiece, including Bunyan’s many bouts of depression, to which so many creative thinkers succumb.

Kevin Belmonte holds a B.A. in English Literature from Gordon College, an M.A. in Church History from Gordon-Conwell Seminary, and a second master’s degree in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine (Portland). Following the earlier publication of his outstanding biography William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity (Zondervan/HarperCollins, 2007), Belmonte received the prestigious John Pollock Award for Christian Biography. For six years, he also served as the lead historical consultant for the major motion picture Amazing Grace.

[My thanks go to renowned online publisher, Norm Goldman, for his inclusion of this review on his http://www.BookPleasures.com website.]