Mental Health Books

As a mother of an adult with Down syndrome, I found this book to be amazing. I wish I had found this book years ago! I now understand why my daughter does many of the things she does. This book delves into not only physical aspects which might contribute to the mental wellness of adults with Downs, but also the psychological as well.
I was fascinated to learn that so many things my daughter does is very common with many adults with Down syndrome.
This book is a great guide to help all parents, family members, doctors and others who live, help and work with adults with Down syndrome.

I just received this book and I can't put it down. I am mother of a 17 year old daughter going on 30. This book is so informative. I am even learning more things about my daugther and I thought I had it all figured out. I think if the public were to read this book, there would be no more trouble having our kids with DS be more accepted in the public eye. Its so enlightening. Dennis McGuire is going to be at the DS conference in April. I can hardly wait to see him. I have been to one of his presentations before, he is so on the mark, its uncanny. Wouldn't it be great if all the teachers, doctors and public knew all this information.

This book has been a real life saver to us during a trying time with our adult son's health. The book is so very complete, yet gentle and comforting in its approach to issues of great concern to parents. I really appreciated their balanced approach to health issues-- medical, behavioral and life st yle. I recommend their adult Down syndrome clinic to anyone who can get to their CHicago area. We gave a visit to our son for his 21st birthday!

This is the best book on this topic I have ever seen! We will soon be responsible for my 44 year old sister-in-law. This book is unlocking some of the mystery of her actions and habits. I have already recommended this book to other parents of down syndrome children. I'm impressed enough to put this book on my keep for life shelf! Thank you so much for offering such an informative book! Keep up the good work. Jean

Adults with Down Syndrome are often misunderstood and a lack of patience on the part of the listener adds to the frustration. This authoritative book written by physicians provides accurate information for parents, caregivers, physicians, teachers and anyone needing to better understand persons with Down Syndrome. Although I have found the information very helpful in understanding some reasons why persons with Down Syndrome have characteristic needs and behaviors, I fear that the use of this information could lead to an over generalization and dismissal of behavior simply as a part of the Down Syndrome. To the credit of the authors, the book talks about this issue and appropriately supports the attitude of treating persons with Down Syndrome as individuals and looking for personal histories when trying to understand their needs. The infomation provided gives us many things to consider when trying to understand a person with Down Syndrome. I would whole heartedly recommend this book. It is about time this information came out in a very easy to read and well organized manner.

GREAT CONSOLIDATION OF CUTTING EDGE INFORMATION FOR PROFESSIONALS AND LAY PEOPLE WITH SELF HELP ADVICE.

This book is easy to read and understand even if you have very little knowledge of mental illness. Armed with the information I studied here I have started my son on a regime of fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. It's too soon to say what will happen but in just a few weeks his eye contact, memory and social skills have begun to improve. I believe every sufferer of schizophrenia should be taking nutritional supplements. Unfortunately, in the UK the protocol is to get them on drugs in order to make them well enough to be safe and that's it. I wonder what my son's life would have been like if I'd had this information seventeen years ago. If you have a mental illness or you care about someone who has this condition then find out everything you can about nutrition for the brain.

I spent the last twenty years trying to sort out my emotional roller coaster of a life and trying to figure out why I have extreme levels of many heavy metals. This book led me -- finally! -- to the answer. Seems I have a genetic zinc deficiency that causes me to retain heavy metals in my body, and a histamine disorder. And thankfully, there is a simple (not easy, simple) nutritional cure for it all. BUT PLEASE NOTE: The book did not diagnose me but led me to the Pfeiffer Clinic in Illinois. THEY diagnosed me and I am now on their program and heading toward the light at the end of a very long tunnel. If you have or know of anyone with bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, this is a must have book. The wealth of information is unsurpassed. I would know -- my bookshelves and computer are FILLED with other books who give this piece or that piece of the puzzle. This book puts all the possible scenarios in one place AND gives information I'd not seen in other sources on these topics. Nicely organized, well written. I can only thank the author from the bottom of my heart.

This book is very in depth, but if (like me) you are a lay-person looking for a cure, I would first recommend reading "Nutrition and Mental Health" by Carl C. Pfieffer. I found this was the key to finding out I was "histadelic". This book by Eva Eldman is like an encyclopedia of nutritional information for mental illness (don't be put off by the term "schizophrenia", this book is for people with mild depression, bipolar etc.). The only real thing I picked up from this book that I didn't get from Pfieffer's was that Vitamin B5 exacerbates histadelia. I'm curious why that is. The problem with this book for a person starting out on the natural healing pathway is there is way too much information in this book and it is possible you could miss your answer by going off on a tangent. It took me two years to finally stick to the simple regieme of calcium, methionine, B6 and zinc that is the key to beating histadelia. It was a catch 22 for me because I had to cure myself far enouth to be stable enough to stick to the answer I found in the beginning and stop obsessively latching on to everything else that possibly could have been the answer. I find the whole low-protein diet hard though.
Don't give up hope if you can't find a doctor! I thought there weren't any doctors in New Zealand that believe in this stuff but I was wrong! There are a few medical GP's that are pfieffer trained even down here in the remotest parts of the earth, so there's gotta be someone where you are (maybe 2-3 hours drive away) that can help!

This is an incredibly dense book. [...]. But I can not see how it could be written any more clearly. It is well written with good topical divisions and many side bars and jammed packed with information. I think of it as a "Bible" or encyclopedia on natural treatment of schizophrenia and similar disorders. I found it particularly helpful to understand the history of schizophrenia, seeing the illness as a disruption of cognitive and perceptual/sense functions. It does a great job of discussing the nutritional, toxic, and allergic/gut fungal overgrowth issues and bringing up some of the rarer issues. The knowlege I found here has already helped several people.

I found this manual a useful resource for the evaluation and treatment of our consultants.
It's also an invaluable aid for teaching psychotherapy.
As it presents personality traits as a continuum, with emphasis in healthy functional patterns and healthy personality, the comprehension of psychopatology results a dynamic process, not a cold list of symtoms.

I have found the manual very detailed and informative. A very useful resource to add to my reference library.

This is a bold and accomplished attempt by the psychoanalytic collaborative to produce a diagnostic manual that respects the phenomenological astuteness of the DSM-IV-TR, whilst asssertively departing from it and offering a personality centred nosology for categorising psychological difficulties.

The PDM corrects what has long been the bain of psychologists and psychotherapists, namely, the DSM's prioritising of discreet Axis I disorders over an understanding of how these form a part of a person's overall orientation to self, others and the world. The PDM recognises the personality, both healthy and disordered, (the P Axis) as the basis for understanding psychological problems. It further offers the M Axis, that begins to provide measurable psychodynamic criteria for mental functioning that cuts across personality style. This axis introduces a way of thinking about the developmental (maturational) aspects of our psychology as pivotal to an understanding of psychological disorders. Finally, the PDM in its 3rd S Axis, outlines the Subjective Experience that characterises the typical DSM Axis I-like difficulties. Here the PDM explores affective, cognitive, somatic, and relationship patterns associated with psychological difficulties in a manner evocative of a CBT formulation. In fact, I hope that in future editions, more of the fine cross-sectional formulations that CBT is famous for will find its way into this manual.

Being versed in psychodynamic theory is not a pre-requisite for the use of this manual, although it could help. The PDM has attempted to move beyond and integrate and systematise the divergent streams of knowledge that make up psychodynamic theory today. In addition it has employed understanding from the cognitive and neuropsychological traditions to provide a more descriptive view of the person-in-suffering than the compartmentalised DSM could. That said, the PDM does not attempt to replace the DSM, but functions as a complimentary adjunct, by providing the DSM equivalents of its own categories.

One of the strengths of this manual is that it is full of rich case illustrations. Half the book is also dedicated to the research base for the nosology that opens up and attempts to engage with the fissures in diagnostic thinking that are usually whitewashed in everyday practice.

The true test of the PDM will reside in its application, to find its way into psychological reports and formulations, and for its editorial team to continue its integrative psychological spirit that may stretch beyond specifically psychoanalytically/dynamically derived knowledge. I urge you to take this one on for size. Diagnostic systems are here to stay, we ignore them at our peril, and the PDM is a courageous first attempt to tame the diagnositc beast with the tempering of meaning and astute psychological science.

This is a long over due alternative to the DSMlV-R. The joint effort of six of the countries dynamically oriented professional organizations have led to a fully referenced and well thought out manual using a psychodynamic/psychoanalytical oreintation to understanding the patient.
Using a three axis model including Personality Patterns and Disorders,Mental Functioning axis and Subjective Experience to help the clinician organize the elements of the dynamic presentation of the patient Each axis has usefull subsets and using them the clinician can deveolpe a dynamic picture of the whole patient. This is a wonderful tool and teaching device. Kit Erskine M.S.Ed., M.S.W., L.I.C.S.W.

If you're anything like me (by like "me" I mean you're not necessarily fond of the DSMs) chances are you'd like this alternate classification. All of the heavyweight psychoanalysis organizations joined together to produce a diagnostic manual that takes into account the subjective experience of the patient, beyond the description of a general diagnosis. The reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I'd like it to have important information on transference and countertransference. Being created by the psychoanalytic organizations you'd expect it to include some notes on the Transference/Countertransferece experience in general for each pathology. But the truth is that this manual is actually useful even for therapists outside the psychoanalytic field, so the transferences/countertransference would have probably narrowed the group of psychotherapists it can reach being written the way it is.

I bought this book for myself when my father was still alive but terminally ill. The words and the illustrations were simple yet profound and spoke directly to my heart. When my father died, I gave this book to my mother who only had positive things to say about it. During my father's wake, I shared this book to a friend who just lost her brother. She found so much comfort in it that she wanted to memorize a phrase from the book. I am thankful for people like Rusty and Christa who share their gifts to help heal the world one person at a time.

When I experienced a year of loss which included the death of my husband, this was the one book that brought me peace and hope for the future. It can be read in a moment, in an hour, in a month or a year. The text is simple yet beautifully presented, and the accompanying art is uplifting.

A friend gave me this book in 1996 when my mother died. It brought me so much comfort then, and still does. The simple, and eloquent phrases and drawings together kindly provide understanding to the feelings experienced while grieving. I frequently re-read it. I was very sad when it went out of print, and purchased two used copies to give to others. I'm very happy to see that it's back!

My best friend gave me this book when my Mom died. It was overwhelmingly the most comforting words and pictures I read that day and the weeks afterward. If you want to give some comfort to someone you love, or if you need some comfort of your own, this book will give it to you. I have had it now for 15 years, and when I re-read it, it still delivers - even after all this time.

my best friend died almost 2 years ago, and i almost killed myself over it. she was more like a sister to me than a friend. our families were so close. i started seeking therapy, and my therapist read this book to me, and it really helped me. i bought the book for me, and my deceased best friends mother. its a wonderful book, and it truly helped me to get through the toughest time of my life. i read the book tonight for the third time, and realized that the feelings that its describing arent the feelings i am going through, but the feelings that i have overcome. i would love to personally thank rusty berkus for his amazing help by writing this book, and i recomend it to anyone who is grieving over any lost. god bless!

This book is practical, easy to understand and provides the keys to increased vitality. If you have an interest in Ayurveda, it is a wonderful book which provides simple steps for incorporating the ancient practices into a modern life. Dr. Simon is a gift and so is his "how to" manual "Vital Energy".

I found this book very enlightening and user-friendly. I highly recommend it.

Vital Energy: The Seven Keys to Invigorate Body, Mind and Soul is a landmark contribution to health and wellness. The author poses two important questions:

1) Why are so many people overwhelmed by fatigue, lack of enthusiasm, and depression?
2) Why are so many people haunted by the sense that something vitally important is missing from their lives?

In pursing answers to these questions, Simon focuses on the idea that "we have learned a lot about how to treat illness but not much about how to create health." In medical school he learned that modern medicine can effectively deal with the symptoms of disease without necessarily helping them to heal.

Simon states, "I learned that health and illness were the consequence of the thoughts and choices people made." This personal discovery came to him through the tension that existed between his medical studies and his cross-cultural explorations of health and wellness in various parts of the world.

Healing is a holistic concept that has global reach. The idea of healing in many cultures is focused on creating a greater sense of unity across mind, body and spirit. Simon promotes the belief that the experience of happiness and health represents an essential unity across mind, body and spirit while unhappiness and disease represents some degree of disintegration. A broad view of healing is critical for reintegrating these essential connections and David SimonÕs ÒVital EnergyÓ is an essential contribution to everyoneÕs health and well being.

Dr. Simon does a marvelous job explaining how to tap into energy that we already have. Simon begins by helping us understand our own natures using "Earth-Wind-Fire" categories. From there, Simon advises on all sorts of areas such as the best types of foods for each elemental type, best type of physical activity, etc. Simon also advises on the importance of meditation and relaxation. Vital Energy is a very interesting and informative read, and a must-have for those who seek to improve their view of life and increase their energy.

Dr. David Simon has done an excellent job in describing ancient Ayurvedic wisdom for well being of body, mind and soul. Dr. Simon has explained in simple modern language the Ayurvedic principles for invigorating body, mind and soul. Although, being an Indian, I was familiar with many of the things stated by the author, the simplicity and clarity of the whole book has value- added to my own understanding of the ancient vedic science. Author has dealt with almost all the methods of reaching the source of vital energy which is available within all of us. Author's suggestions are not only very useful but so pratical that one can use them for one's own benifit without much of complex efforts.
I emphatically suggest everyone read this book, practice the principles told methodically and ENJOY invigorating VITAL ENERGY for body, mind and soul.
Lastly, but not in the least, this book must be kept on the book shelf for day to day reference till the time the principles get thoroughly ingrained in one's own Mind-Body system.

Terry Wise tells the story of her husband's illness and her grief and downward spiral into depression following his death through the lens of therapy. She shares not only her innermost fears but her exploration of them in an honest and insightful manner. Working through grief is exactly that-work- and Terry shows us just how hard this work can be. Terry's courageous story includes her therapist, whose tenacity permitted Terry to face and work toward conquering her demons. Waking Up is a glorious account of the therapeutic process and the determination of the human spirit to survive.

This was a *profound* book written with brutal honesty. Ms. Wise doesn't just captivate you from the first page... she holds you by the gut and pulls you into her life (and death) experience. There is nothing flowery about this book. It takes you right into the heart of her grief and pain... and more, it shows vividly how this downward spiral is such a slippery slope.

I was greatly inspired by Ms. Wise's struggle to hold on and her Therapist's indominatable quest to help her find the root of her devastation. "Cali" is a therapist who defies tradition and dares greatly. She *cares* about her patients.

But above and beyond all of this, I found myself in awe (and I don't use that word lightly) of Ms. Wise's bravery in writing this book. She opened up her very soul for her readers to see... knowing that others may judge or comment or misunderstand... she decided to do this with the hopes that it would make a difference for others.

Well, in this reader's case, she succeeded. Thank you, Ms. Wise.

Sad, shocking, gut-wrenching and immensely readable. It's high time we consider suicide and depression as the serious public health issues they are -- and not as taboo topics or "out of bounds" matters of privacy. Ms. Wise's story shows us the importance of breaking down the cultural/societal barriers to open and frank discourse. Her message is equally valuable to professionals laypeople alike: Look for the warning signs (which she outlines) among patients, friends and/or family and be assertive in stepping in to help.

Well-told story of a woman's journey back to sanity from the terribly place of depression. We can forget that we only think one thought at a time, and we can choose which thought we wish to think. When we remember it, just small changes of thought and consequent behavior can turn our lives entirely around. Bravo Ms. Wise.
A. B. Curtiss author of Depression is a Choice.

My dear Terry,
I had the privilege of meeting you during your CMI presentation in Phoenix AZ this past April 4, 2005. I bought a copy of your book that day, and how I wish I would have read it before I met you -- because then I could have told you in person what I thought of it. "Waking Up" is without a doubt one of the most powerful personal accounts of therapy I've ever read. I am astounded at the honesty in your writing, and at the courage it must have taken for you to decide to get it published. What is more astounding is that I don't think you realize what a gift you've given to the world. I wish every student learning to be a therapist would read your book, and every person who's ever been depressed or contemplated suicide, and everyone who's ever been thrust into the role of care giver, and every hospice worker and bereavement counselor who is companioning the bereaved -- and everyone who just wants to read a terrific book. I want you to know that I've told all my hospice colleagues about you, I've added your book to my list of recommended readings on the Articles and Books page of my Grief Healing Web site, and I will do everything in my power to help you spread your important, uplifting, life-saving message. I am honored to have met you, and I wish for you what you are giving to all the rest of us: nothing but the best.
With love and admiration,
Marty Tousley, APRN, BC, CT
Bereavement Counselor
Grief Healing Web site: www.griefhealing.com
Grief Healing Discussion Groups: www.hovforum.ipbhost.com

When to Worry: How to Tell If Your Teen Needs Help-And What to Do About It

Lisa Boesky, Ph.D. ("Dr. Lisa") is a Child Psychologist and nationally recognized authority on troubled teens. She is the author of the new book When to Worry: How to Tell if Your Teen Needs Help--and What to Do About It.

Dr. Lisa's excellent reputation and popularity as a speaker, author and media guest result from her passion, warmth, humor and unique ability to make complex information interesting and easy-to-understand.
Very Very Very useful information! Thanks Dr. Lisab!

It's a great read, excellent info, well done! What I really must compliment
you on is giving enough information to parents that it provides utility but
not too much in-depth info where you might "lose" a parent. I think that
type of writing is even good for professionals working in the field because
we sometimes make the simple way too complicated. I just mean that your
book will be a great tool for parents and professionals alike. I will
surely recommend it to others.

I teach in a juvenile justice center school and work with kids who have developed problems that many of them will not outgrow and should have been addressed much sooner.

This book is just what parents need when it come to sorting out whether behaviors are normal teen development or something to be truly concerned about. I have many parents come to me trying to tease apart behaviors to figure out if their child is troubled or just moody, heading for danger or just experimenting within an expected range. This book, while not simplistic, is surprisingly easy to understand. I appreciated that it puts things in perspective in a very clear way. Having raised 2 teens myself, I believe that every parent can use this book as they face those tumultous years. This book goes right to the top of the book list I recommend for parents of teens. Once again, Dr. Boesky, gets to the chase and offers realistic help instead of just theory.

While currently experiencing all the facets of development with my 14 yr. old son including self-inquiry, biology, personality, teen hormones, and environment, I found there to be lots of "psycho-babble" in most books.I also found that as a parent, I too needed a "life-coach", a source to provide clear concrete paths to choose from. One's that fit. One's that helped guide this very personal and individualized process. I FINALLY found this in Dr. Lisa's book. She gave us "years" of time and research, which afforded us the TIME we needed to give to our son. This is large. And essential. A road map, with good directions. A brilliant combination.
Finlee Stevenson
Nia Dance Teacher
Mother of two teenage boys
Chairperson of National Red Ribbon Week... Annual drug prevention and awareness campaign across the country.

Drugs, sex and rock'n roll. That sums up your teenage years in four words. Okay, maybe five.

Seriously, my children haven't even reached the tween years, and I'm already thinking about what it will be like when their round angelic faces cast a more angular, petulant look the moment they turn thirteen. What am I going to do when my daughter really rolls her eyes at me. I mean really rolls them?

That's when I'll turn to the already dog-eared pages of Dr. Lisa Boesky's When to Worry: How to Tell If Your Teen Needs Help -- and What to Do About It.

This new release, issued by the American Management Association, outlines in great detail the psychoses and syndromes that might befall your teen. Without a gloom and doom tone, Dr. Lisa shares her most knowledgeable ideas about when to worry that your teens' behavior is not normal.

Does your child complain she's too fat, then happily giggle over a sundae with friends? Don't worry.

Does your child complain she's too fat, then go on a hunger strike for three months? Worry.

Does your child seem outgoing, but there are bloody tissues under her bed from cutting her arms with a razor? Worry.

Does your child suffer from an occasional bloody nose in the winter? Don't worry.

The book's fifteen chapters provide helpful descriptions, case studies and answers to the most pressing problems parents of teens face. When does my child's strange behavior need to be addressed and when is it alright to chalk it up to his growing brain and body? Dr. Lisa's insights bring to light the many astounding neuroses some teens suffer: obsessive-compulsive disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder; schizophrenia; anorexia; bulimia; and more.

I highly recommend this book for all parents who are worried -- that would be most of us!

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff and Sahm I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe, lives near Munich, Germany, with her husband and two children.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Although it involves a relationship between two men, the dynamics could very well apply to any relationship. It is very well written. I highly recommend it.

This book is very well written. The characters are rich and their reactions are real. Specializing in psychology, I may be too critical of the characterizations of the mental disorders brought out in ths book. Chemistry is a haunting, sophisticated and satifying work. This is an exceptional book that generates real emotion - it's not to be missed - it makes you want to known what's going to happen to the characters from beginning to end.

Discovering a new excellent writer is one of the joys of reading that reigns at the top of the reasons why we read books. CHEMISTRY is a novel by Lewis DeSimone that is at once intelligent, informed, eloquent, erotic, thought provoking, profound, sensitive - and important. With this his first novel he steps solidly onto the platform of important contemporary American writers. Waiting for his next opus will be haunting.

'Chemistry is about reactions, two elements coming together and creating something new...Everything connected, everything eventually a part of something else. Two elements come together, and neither is ever the same again.' Explaining the title chosen for his novel about love and relationships and the idiosyncrasies of living in the universe comes as novel's close, an epitaph of sorts to DeSimone's story of two men coming together coincidentally in a happenstance that seems so random and developing an acknowledgement of a chemistry that binds them into a journey in which each discovers not only the nature of the other, but also the nature of themselves.

Neal is a young artistic male who moves from Boston to San Francisco when his love for a bisexual cellist named Adam comes to an end. His sole contact is Martin, an older, wiser man whose sister was a close friend to Neal in Boston. Martin slowly introduces Neal to the beauties of San Francisco including a handsome twenty-seven year old Zach who spills joy and dancing from his apparent open earthiness. Neal is cautious but gradually is enchanted by the physicality of Zach and they bond. But as they approach longevity changes occur in Zach's personality and mental illness clouds their world. Zach attempts suicide and is admitted to a mental hospital: Neal is ever supportive, living between the crevices of Zach's psyclothymic personality. Martin supportive, urging Neal to care for himself, but Martin has dark secrets of an agonized past he doesn't easily share. Many events occur including one that contains the HIV specter, and Neal's role as caretaker for Zach's damaged soul gradually mutates. 'Words gave everything shape - a framework without which it would all be a hopeless jumble, untranslatable.'

As Neal confronts his own pains he realizes 'Half-lives are chemistry's clock. You can tell how old something is by how much of it is left'...'But eventually, you run out of half-lives. Eventually there's nothing left.' And coming into contact with his own mortality gives Neal a new outlook, one that is enhanced by light, by music, by memories well sifted, by living.

CHEMISTRY is a love story, one told with some of the finest erotic writing being written today: so rare it is that same-sex novels embrace sensuous moments with such passion yet retain such dignity and eloquence of style. DeSimone writes about music, about literature, about art, about altered mental states - all with such an informed stance that he must be read slowly to gather all the knowledge and beauty of expression he offers. This is not a novel to be read in bits and spurts, but instead a novel to be savored over time...and then look forward to reading again. Welcome to the pantheon, Lewis DeSimone! This is a novel as fine as any novel about gay love as is out there - and it is so much more. It deserves a very wide audience: it is superior writing. Grady Harp, February 07

DeSimone, Lewis. "Chemistry". Harrington Park Press, 2006

Love and Mental Illness

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

If you like emotion and melodrama this is a book for you. "Chemistry" by Lewis DeSimone is a love story that is bittersweet and lovely. Dealing with attraction and repulsion here is a book that you will not want to close the cover of.
Ask yourself this question, "What happens when the person you love wakes up as a completely different person"? Zach and Neal fell in love at first sight; it was a chemical attraction. Yet the catalyst that set off the romance changes as they become better acquainted. Here is a novel that deals with identity and yet by chemical means that identity can be changed. Set in the time of Prozac and AIDS we meet characters that will haunt us after the covers are closed. The passion of Neal and Zach is torn apart by mental illness; at their first meeting they are inexplicably drawn to one another but as one falls victim to an illness, the other realizes that he must grow and rebuild himself. What hits so hard here is that as we read the book, our own lives come into play and as the characters search for their identity, the reader likewise searches for his. No matter how well you know yourself, "Chemistry" will give you things to think about.
The story of two men desperately trying to find out how to love each other is extremely moving and highly emotional. DeSimone has written in such beautiful language that there were times I felt my heart begin to break as I read the trials of the lovers.
Neal is an intellectual who exerts a great deal of self control. He is the victim of an unhappy past and the idea of a loving relationship is ideal for him. He has met the guy who he thinks is the man of his dreams only to learn that his new lover suffers from a severe mental illness. His involvement into an affair with Zach can bring him to the point of codependence, something that his own controlled personality abhors.
Zach is beautiful, a true free spirit, sexy and sexual. His childhood was unhappy and abusive and his adult life has been an attempt to forget his past. As he descends into clinical depression his life becomes nightmarish for both him and his lover.
When the men meet the chemical attraction is so strong that it is almost explosive. But as time goes by and Zach loses himself in his disease and his problems, it is up to Neal to be the strong one and watch both his lover and his love for him deteriorate. As explained by Neal, "Chemistry is about reactions"...the merging of two elements which come together to create "something new...two elements come together and neither is the same again". When the two elements are two men who are lovers, the experience can be disastrous on both of them.
What first appears to be a novel of everyday romance soon tears at the reader as he watches the two men interact. Here is sensuousness, and eroticism and brutal honesty. The questions that the book poses about the nature of identity and attraction are very real and very hard issues with which to deal, DeSimone does so with tact, style and grace.
And as he does this, he makes us witness to the inner thoughts and feelings of his characters.
The book is disturbing but positively so. I can honestly Say that the identification I felt with the characters was real and that when I finished reading I was very sad that Neal and Zach were no longer a part of my life. I was wrong in that assumption. I finished the book on Tuesday and today is Thursday and they are still with me. I am prone to think they will be with me for a very long time.

Chemistry blew me away. I read a lot of contemporary gay fiction, and I would rank this among my favorites, with Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty, Matthew Stalder's Alan Stein, and Andrew Holleran's In September, the Light Changes. There's a lot to admire technically--the grace of the sentences, the tight thematic structure, the effortless plot. But what's stayed with me the most is the wisdom, the human and humane understanding that reverberates throughout the work. Like the best books, I finished Chemistry feeling that I learned something more about what it means to live, to lose, to desire, to fear, to hope...

As a professional comprehensive healing practitioner I have read hundreds upon hundreds of resources, always seeking out key elements and information written in layman's terms to share with clients, resources that help clients empower themselves. Let me tell you, they are hard to come by!

I bought Colleen Deatsman's book and read it cover to cover, then went through it again and applied every single exercise, meditation, etc., doing so from a client's point of view. Was this something I could easily and without reservation recommend to clients? Was this a resource the average person could read, understand, and apply with ease? Astoundingly, throughout the entire book, through each and every method shared by Colleen, the answer is an astounding "YES!" to every question. This is _the_ book I had been looking for. (My only complaint, and it's a small one, is the section on Energy Cord Cutting. Because of my work and research with energy cords, I have discovered that pulling and other non-cutting methods tend to be safer and more effective. - Sorry, Colleen! =p)

Because of the amazing benefits of applying Colleen's knowledge I have seen incredible results, with myself, and with clients. Numerous clients who have purchased this title have written or called afterward to tell me of their amazing results, especially when combined with treatment from an esoteric energy practitioner.

This has become the **number one book** (and CD) I recommend to clients, colleagues, family, and friends. "Energy for Life" is worth 20,000 times its weight in gold. It is a must-have resource for anyone in the healing arts, and for those simply looking for result-oriented methods they can easily apply themselves, in the comfort of their own homes.

An amazing explination of energy and how to stay connected and energized in our lives. One of the best written books on the subject I have ever seen. An absolute must for any healer, lightworker, shaman, or just anyone who wants to learn valuable techniques for taking control of your life and claiming all the power that is yours.

This is a book full of exercises dealing with energy, visualizations and so on. If that's what you were looking for, great; this is the book for you. But I was looking instead for a book not so "practical", but rather focusing on a better general management of your energy, so as to keep always in control of your energy level and prevent getting depleted when you are tired, or get suddenly angry, for instance.
I guess I will have to keep looking for that other book. Anyway, this book could be of help to you if what you are looking for is a daily exercise program to keep "fitness", energetically speaking.

"Energy for Life" is a very valuable resource for those of you looking for ways to activate your energy. So many of us are stressed out from having to figure out how to survive in today's world.

Colleen Deatsman teaches us how to thrive and not just survive. She brilliantly teaches what energy is, how to activate your own life-force energy, release blockages, stop energy leakages, and connect with the source of life.

I really appreciate how Collen takes some complex metaphysical concepts and can speak about them in a way that is easy to follow showing us how to work with energy on a day to day level in our lives.

I also appreciate her own journey as "a wounded healer". For she overcame chronic illness using the techniques she shares in her book. She knows the path that we must all walk on our healing journey.

I highly recommend this book to learn how to rejuvenate and heal. She also included a CD of guided meditations which are simple and relaxing to work with.

All in all "Energy for Life" is a gift for all of us living in today's world. It's well written, easy to follow, engaging and gives us practical ways to change our health as well as our lives.

I am interested in energy work from a metaphysical standpoint but that should not stop anyone else who is interested in raising their energy levels and getting connected with their center core. One just needs an open mind not a religious affiliation or context to benefit from the information contained within.

The CD was amazing although I wish there were other mediations from the book that could have been added to the CD which would have made this package out of this world.

As with anything else, meditations differ from person to person, I tend to prefer the more concise practices rather than the drag me out 40 minute editions which one does not always have time for. Thank goodness of the 5 meditations only one was longer than 20 minutes and it turned out to be my least favorite anyway.

Overall this book and CD are worth the price.