Abuse Books

I read this book after seeing an interview with the editor. It was all she had made it out to be. The book opens with Claude's mother missinig. However, this is not the first time her alchoholic mother takes off without letting Claude know. In fact, throughout Claude's life, she had taken on the responsibility of taking care of her mother. Now, she realizes all she has to look after is herself. However, the pressure and lies she makes up about her mother's disappearance eventually take their toll on the young teen and during a hurricane it all comes to a head. This is definitely a gread read with a surprise at the end.

This was a fast read, with a surprising twist at the end. And it's just been named a finalist for the Edgar - the most prestigious award in the mystery field.

This beautifully written, carefully constructed novel paints a deeply disturbing portrait of a seventeen-year-old girl who becomes trapped in the obsessive compulsions she uses to cope with the loss of her alcoholic mother. I found it profoundly moving. However, it deserves an R rating--readers under seventeen should only embark on this journey if accompanied by a caring adult who can help pull them out of its relentless downward spiral.
Looking for a gentler treatment of parental absence and mother-daughter issues? For a younger audience, Danger, Long Division models an internal dialogue that encourages problem solving and nurtures resilience.

The bibliography and research notes alone justifies the price of the book. The stories of one small town and of 20th Century Globalism are artfully interwoven. Altogether, it's inspiring in a painful, eye-opening sort of way.

Contrary to "About the Author", Chellis Glendinning is a she, not a he.

Chiva paints a picture of Chimayó New Mexico, number one per-capita consumer of heroin in the number one per-capita consumer state in the United States. The book also offers a well-researched history of the global heroin trade from past to present. The picture is ugly indeed.

For those advocating legalization (of hard drugs) as the remedy to this problem, I suggest reading this and then asking yourself: is this the kind of country I want to live in? And for those that think the current plan in the war on drugs is working, I have the same suggestion. Quite obviously it is not working and will not cure the problem.

The author points out that at one time heroin was legally introduced to China. The result: over one quarter of the adult population became hopelessly addicted. In Chimayó, the supply was plentiful, with an individual dose costing $15, but anyhing not nailed down was likely to be stolen. Overdoses and shootings were common events. A friend of mine from a barrio full of tecatos in Juarez speaks of the same.

Anywhere heroin has been introduced without control to a population, usage of the drug has increased exponentially. With disastrous consequences.

The writing is good and kept me interested from start to finish. But I think the weakness of the book comes near the end where solutions to the problem are offered. There, you'll find more questions than answers.

I highly recommend Chiva for anyone interested in the drug problem or the region described in the book.

Every now and then somebody comes along who acts as a bridge or emissary between two cultures. Not as a missionary out to "improve," "evolve," or Christianize the natives, or to sell them slicker TV sets; not to study them like infusoria under a microscope; not to turn their gods into meteorology; but to listen, deeply, into the patterns of their life and language, and then--strictly by invitation within that community--to create a thing of beauty that casts a circle of illumination over what had remained hidden in the shadows cast by the mainstream.

In Chimayo, New Mexico, that emissary is Chellis Glendinning.

At one time Chimayo ranked #1 in drug overdoses in a state (New Mexico) that also ranked first in this grim category. This book is a story--personal, cultural, wrenching, hard to read in places because disturbing in its detail--of how the Chicanos and Mexicanos of Chimayo went back to their cultural roots to push the dealers out of their town, then apply the wisdom of those roots to healing the victims of the dragon Chiva, "heroin."

The use of "roots" is deliberate, because as the author makes clear, the drug problem is a product of a long tradition of colonial expansion and devastation in which a land-based people have been globalized, exploited, and thrust into poverty on soils their ancestors once cultivated and loved. From out of that soil came the remedies to combat sniffed, smoked, and injected poisons which users employ to forget for a moment that they are poor; that they have few options and scarce employment; that they are seen by the culture that has alienated them as aliens.

Whence this black-market plague of Thebes? Nations in which the United States Government has intervened to make the world safer for its businessmen: Afghanistan, Columbia, the Asian Golden Triangle, where farmers made poor by either military activity or "free" trade (free for whom?) are forced to grow opiates for sale to Europe and, of course, the United States of the Fifties, where 20,000 users would soon swell into millions.

Their supply? Substances sold by "freedom fighter" drug lords (remember Air America? Burma, now Myanmar? the Afghanistani Northern Alliance?) in the pay of the CIA--even while conservatives sold the sham of a righteous war on drugs. Just say no, except that "like a McDonald's hamburger, heroin can be had just about anywhere in the world."

Chimayo said no and meant it, and although overdoses continue, the last part of this book could be used as a manual for how healing practices implemented locally--NOT from the top down or imposed from outside--successfully grapple on many levels (land, culture, faith, mentoring, and ceremony) with a scourge of the colonialism that continues today transnationally.

This is the best short spiritual/inspirational self-help book ever written. The book explains the distinction between our Spirit, the higher part of ourselves which loves, forgives and is happy and contented, and our ego which is shallow, materialistic, discontented and makes us miserable. Once we learn the difference, we can learn to trust our inner Spirit in all aspects of our lives, including our relationships, financial decisions and our work-life. When we learn to trust our Spirit when we approach the problems and trials of life, we have released the ego's pain-filled existence and entered into a new life where our choice leads to spiritual happiness and contentment. As a Christian counselor, I give this book my highest recommendation. (a good companion to A Course in Miracles)

This is the best short spiritual/inspirational self-help book ever written. The book explains the distinction between one's Spirit, the higher part of ourselves which loves, forgives and is happy and contented, and our ego which is shallow, materialistic, discontented and makes us miserable. Once we learn the difference, we can learn to trust our inner Spirit in all aspects of our lives, including our relationships, financial decisions and our work-life. When we learn to trust our Spirit when we approach the problems and trials of life, we have released the ego's pain-filled existence and entered into a new life where our choice leads to spiritual happiness and contentment. As a Christian counselor, I give this book my highest recommendation. (a good companion to A Course in Miracles)

This is a simple straighforward look at many of the concepts covered in other books - brought altogher to present a rounded picture. It carries you through a look at what makes trouble in our lives and helps you to think about what "happiness is for you". The theme looks at the "ego" side of each of us and the "spiritual" side and contrasts how the different sides of us lead us on different paths.

After reading many self-help books over the years this one helped to bring everyhing into focus by not being so complicated. It is easy reading with clear concepts and examples for all of the parts of our lives from work to health.

Bravo to the author for acheiving "growing sobriety" and having the guts to shine an unflattering light on his earlier alcohol-fueled activities. Most of us don't have the inner strength to reveal our foibles quite so honestly. BTW - I couldn't put the book down!

Eric Gustafson's Fellini-esque travels with the rich and famous, his "bumpy road" fueled by alcohol and a need to be noticed, his desire for meaning and his ability to make life-long friends along the way--all these elements and more make "Cinderella is a Man" fascinating reading. His devotion to his friends and to telling the whole truth make him an inspiration to us all. Go ahead, give it to your Aunt--she'll love it!

I was peased to have the opportunity to read "Cinderella is a Man", so forthright with honesty, Gustafson exposed his vulnerablility and triumphed through recovery, dealing a death blow to the past!

Narcissus Louise Funk, better known as ?Cissy?, is a young teen scared to death of her mother. I'm not exaggerrating, she is really frightened and she has reason. Living with her brother Jonas and their mother in Depression-era Colorado, Cissy spends her days doing farm chores and attempting to please thier mother. Everything Cissy does, she does in an effort to forestall the rages that whirl around in her mother?s head, not unlike the sudden dust storms her mother is certain will come if Cissy and Jonas leave her by herself.

Cissy desperately misses her father. He left the family immediately after the burial of Violet, Cissy?s and Jonas? baby sister. Before Violet dies, or at least in Cissy's memory, her mother was warm and caring and and her father was attentive. In short, the Funks were an intact, functioning and "normal" family.

But now everything is different. Cissy?s mother idealizes her husband; she obsessively believes he will return. Jonas knows better, though he indulges his mother. He also is gentle with Cissy. But as time goes by, Frank, Cissy?s father, never does arrive. However, his sister ,Vera, does. Aunt Vera comes for a visit and begins to make a real difference in the household: Cissy now has someone she hopes will look out for her. At first, Cissy?s mother is not as violent while Vera is around. Soon that changes, and it becomes obvious that Cissy?s mother has nothing but contempt for her sister-in-law Vera.

After witnessing a particularly brutal act, Vera steals Cissy away from the house and attempts to alleviate the pain and suffering that have marred her young life up to this point. Things never go as expected and people are never quite who we think they are. This book takes many circuitous routes before we know whether there will be stability and happiness in Cissy?slife.

Taylor tackles very adult themes and presents them to the young reader with respect and sensitivity, never in any way condescending. This is no fairy tale and there are no magical, happy, improbable endings here, but rather what you might expect from real life: tough choices, hurt and disappointment and realistic characters with the strength and ability to redeem their lives, taking responsibility for themselves and for others, as well. A wonderful effort by a first-time novelist with meticulous detail of the Depression era and a storyline that remains captivating to the end.

--- Reviewed by Michelle Andrews

A great book about a thirteen year old named Cissy who lives with her mother Ma and her brother Jonas in the dirty thirties. This book has lots of drama. If you can't take a sad story this is not the book for you, If you can or you like grape NEHI's you will enjoy this fast read.

Thirteen-year-old Cissy Funk longs for a better life than the one she leads, with an abusive mother in Depression-era Colorado. But most of all, she longs to be free: free of the poverty and bleakness of the Dust Bowl and free of her mother. When her Aunt Vera takes Cissy away to live with her in Denver, she believes she has found her escape, and that she will finally see her absent father again. But her father is too busy with his job for Cissy to live with him, and Aunt Vera's life seems to be made up of a tangled web of secrets and lies. And Cissy discovers that while Aunt Vera may seem to be wealthy and glamorous, the life she leads is as dirt-poor as the one Cissy thought she had left behind for good. And Aunt Vera's biggest secret is the worst one of all - and it will tear Cissy's life apart in ways her mother's violence never could. This was an inspiring novel about a determined, hopeful girl struggling to rise above sorrow and poverty.

I think the book is great. A must reed for all young adults reaching the drinking age as well as all drinkers who could use a little advice. I would recomend it to all!!

Wow-- This was as they say an "easy read"-- albeit a must read for everyone who may imbibe or for those interested in fostering a program of responsible alcohol consumption .
It is comprehensive,well researched and it is of the utmost value for parent's ,educator's administrator's etc .The time is well overdue that a book has been written about what most like to ignore-- Ignorance is dangerous but knowledge aquired by this book is powerful,and requisite for all as irresponsible alcohol consumption can be very tragic.

This is by far the best reference to use to learn how to drink alcohol responsibly. Every young adult who is considering drinking alcohol MUST read this book!

It's about time someone has addressed the void in the available information on drinking alcohol in a responsible manner. This book will empower the reader with the knowledge necessary to make safe, practical decisions about alcohol.

I say it should be mandatory reading for all college freshman

Marvin Seppala has done it! He has gone where no other M.D. in recent memory has been willing to go. By writing this concise yet provocative book, Dr. Seppala has given us a window into the world of twelve step recovery programs. He shows a great respect for the ability of people of all walks of life to engage in a "mutual" support program in order to save their lives and the lives of countless others.

This book takes significant risks, particularly in the realm of spirituality. Seppala is no apologist for a spiritually-based approach to recovery from addictive disease. To the contrary, he makes a compelling case for the need of clinicians to better understand spirituality and its role in their patients' healing process. The book is essentially outlined along the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Each chapter gives the reader an in-depth understanding of the intent and the impact of each particular step; and while Seppala may be accused of being an unabashed twelve step cheerleader, he also shows the ability to employ cool reasoning in his chapter that addresses criticisms of twelve step programs. I know of no other book like this anywhere; and as a chemical dependency counselor as well as an interventionist, I welcome this book with gratitude and enthusiasm. This text has already allowed me to introduce otherwise reluctant clinicians and family members to the principles of twelve step recovery in a sound, rational and academic manner. The feedback I've received has been overwhelmingly positive.

If you know of clinicians and/or families that need a primer on the principles of twelve step recovery- what it is and what it isn't- you've found it with A Clinicians Guide to the Twelve Steps. Dr. Seppala has synthesized the essence of this elegant fellowship and brought it to the doorsteps of us all. The only significant criticism I might add is that the title is insufficient. This book lends itself extremely well to both the clinician and the layperson; I believe it will become a classic in the field.

Doug Lyons, CADC-II

Dr. Seppala's book deals with a very important and little understood topic in a wonderfully straightforward manner. The 12 step programs (Alcoholics Anonymous, etc.) are so often in the public eye from references in the lay press that these programs have become poorly understood cliches. This book strips away what you thought you knew, and fills in the gaps with well supported information on what simple and effective things 12 step programs actually are.

Any clinician, in any specialty, interacts frequently with addiction issues in their patients and in their personal lives. This book fills what is all to often a void in the educational backgrounds of healthcare providers by teaching what the 12 steps are and how an addict seeking help can find time tested and effective help in these programs. The most interesting thing about this book is the unapologetic way in which the critical element of spirituality is addressed. For too long sprirituality has been a taboo subject in the cooly rational world of medical education. This book emphasizes that spirituality is the foundation upon which recovery from addictive illness is built one day at a time.

I agree with the earlier reviewer that this book is not simply for clinicians, but is an excellent resource for anyone seeking an understanding of what is meant by a "12-step program" and wondering whether and how these programs succeed in addressing addictive behaviors.

Marvin Seppala has done it! He has gone where no other M.D. in recent memory has been willing to go. By writing this concise yet provocative book, Dr. Seppala has given us a window into the world of twelve step recovery programs. He shows a great respect for the ability of people of all walks of life to engage in a "mutual" support program in order to save their lives and the lives of countless others.

This book takes significant risks, particularly in the realm of spirituality. Seppala is no apologist for a spiritually-based approach to recovery from addictive disease. To the contrary, he makes a compelling case for the need of clinicians to better understand spirituality and its role in their patients' healing process. The book is essentially outlined along the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Each chapter gives the reader an in-depth understanding of the intent and the impact of each particular step; and while Seppala may be accused of being an unabashed twelve step cheerleader, he also shows the ability to employ cool reasoning in his chapter that addresses criticisms of twelve step programs. I know of no other book like this anywhere; and as a chemical dependency counselor as well as an interventionist, I welcome this book with gratitude and enthusiasm. This text has already allowed me to introduce otherwise reluctant clinicians and family members to the principles of twelve step recovery in a sound, rational and academic manner. The feedback I've received has been overwhelmingly positive.

If you know of clinicians and/or families that need a primer on the principles of twelve step recovery- what it is and what it isn't- you've found it with A Clinicians Guide to the Twelve Steps. Dr. Seppala has synthesized the essence of this elegant fellowship and brought it to the doorsteps of us all. The only significant criticism I might add is that the title is insufficient. This book lends itself extremely well to both the clinician and the layperson; I believe it will become a classic in the field.

I jest finished reading this book it was great, I myself Have adhd so i know some of the heartships, so if you do or don't have adhd this book is a must. I just couldn't put it down, until my mom borowed it and finished it in the same day

A friend who's son has ADHD lent me this book. I read it in one sitting. "Club Meds" does for ADHD what "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem did for Tourette's Syndrome: we get a glimpse inside the head of someone suffering from a condition few of us can recognize or understand. Written from the perspective of Jack Sutton, an irreverent, realistic young teen dealing with the effects of going off his medication when the high school bully confiscates his Ritalin, which Jack has been taking since the 3rd grade.

A good book for kids with ADHD who need a peer character to look up to, and to remind them that they are not alone with their condition. A good book for parents who want a better understanding of what their "different" kids might be going through at school AND at home. A good book for anyone who enjoys a good story and interesting, well developed characters. A side note: my 54 year old husband woke up in the middle of the night, went down to the kitchen, found the book on the counter, and started reading while eating some cereal. He read a third of it before going back to bed, then finished it the next day. Now that's impressive!

For John "Jack" Sutton, life is made up of two things--when the meds he takes for ADHD are streaming through his system, and when they're wearing off. For as long as he can remember, he's taken medication at regular intervals throughout the day to help with his ADHD, otherwise known as Attention Deficit hyperactivity Disorder. Although there are still plenty of times when his mind wanders, or when he can't answer a direct question, or when he's in his own world and doesn't even realize that someone is speaking to him, these times are fewer and farther between when he's taking his Ritalin.

Jack has a pretty close-knit group of friends: Mary, who also has ADHD, and Sam, who takes medication to keep him from having seizures due to epilepsy. Along with a few other students at Busby Memorial High School, they make up Club Meds--the students who arrive at the nurse's office daily for their mid-day dose of medication.

Jack's life isn't only made up of Club Meds, though. There's also his mother, a stay-at-home mom who has the art of worrying down to an exact science. For someone who is a freshman in high school, Jack has very little freedom. He's not allowed to talk on the phone after eight p.m., especially to Mary, who for some reason is persona non grata to his mother. He doesn't go out to parties, or stay out late, or date. And when and if he does get in trouble, which happens a lot when he deals with his father, his punishment is to have his computer taken away. Since Jack's idea of light reading is a Mac manual, this is torture. For his father, a former jock who doesn't even truly believe in either ADHD or the need for medication, dealing with Jack is something he tries to avoid at all costs.

And then there's Chuck Williams, the bully of all bullies, who gets off on tormenting the members of Club Meds. For Jack, things get even worse when Chuck starts demanding he turn over some of his weekly medication for his own purposes. How is Jack supposed to deal with everyday life without his medicine? As things go from bad to worse, it's up to the members of Club Meds to come up with a plan to end Chuck's assault.

CLUB MEDS is a great, entertaining, quick read. I've been fortunate to read some of Ms. Page's previous releases in the adult mystery market, and have to say that the same fast-paced style is in play here. A great read about being different, tolerating cruelty, and having what's mentioned in the book as "a disability that no one can see."

This is a very good book with heplful information

I did not really come to closure of the old part of my life until I read this book. Rice is incredible. The stories must be true. I felt as though I knew all these people. Thank you for taking the time to write this book.

I bought this book hoping to find some insight into a friend's crack addiction.

This book teaches you about cocaine and cocaine addiction. It talks about who can be a cocaine addict and how to tell if you or a loved one is an addict.

The real life stories touch the heart and show that you aren't the only person going through what you are going through.

All in all this is a great book for those dealing with cocaine/crack addiction.

Mr. Richards is America's greatest living photojournalist. The depth of his social commitment to his subjects is equaled only by his amazing ability to compose the picture perfectly.

Cocaine true, Cocaine Blue represents the best of Eugene Richards. If Robert Capa's maxim about your pictures being close to be good is true, then Richards work is hands down about as close as anyone is getting.

This book focuses on the impact of crack cocaine in three eastern cities -- North Philadelphia, Harlem, and Red Hook, New Jersey.

Richards seems to have none of the fear that would stop most people, because his pictures bring a viewer over the comfort line to become shocking. The scenes exceed imagination. In fact, one of his pictures in this book was challenged for its authenticity because it seemed almost too perfect... In it, a women pauses to look at her John, her hands on his zipper, with her young child watching her. On a wall behind her, a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. is displayed. Some black political leaders saw this picture and insisted that Richards must have set it up. He could only assert that he was truthful in his portrayal.

Truth is always stranger than fiction. This might be photojournalism's answer to magical realism: there is a wickedness and abandon to this world. The cover picture is another example -- the photograph shows an addict holding a syringe in his mouth. His eyes gleam in a way that suggests the insanity in the spirit of this individual.

Richards is for the most part a photographer who works inside America. Some domestic photographers lament that all of the best photographs are made in wars, and that the situations in our home communities preclude us from being able to make great pictures. Eugene Richards shows how this is false. He takes horrifying pictures in Long Island, in Philadelphia, in West Virginia, in Kansas City.

Eugene Richards, one of the worlds best photojournalist, has a gift to not only photograph well but also write about his subjects equally as well! He shows the world a part of this world many do not see nor wish to see. This is one of those photo books that a good photographer must have to essentially help to chisel a path in the photography world for themselves! Taking this style to learn and grow from! One can learn much by the raw and realness of Richard's Cocaine life pictorial!