Breaking News Books

I came back to Joyce Williams after reading her story "The Girls"in "Best American Short Stories, 2005." This was a 1988 publication. Another reviewer has given a sample of the quality of the descriptive writing, but it is in the dialog and characterization that she is at her most brilliant.
Willie and Liberty are a pair of delinquents who take up residence in the houses of rich and leisured absentee owners. It's often very funny.
The first chapter could stand alone as a Joyce Williams short story (I suspect it originally did). Willie is enigmatic and given to statements like "we can't disown the light into which we are born" The story gradually comes to center on Liberty, who has been rejected by her parents and by her foster-parents (who are Willie's parents) and has lost a pregnancy. She poignantly tries to care for Teddy and Dot, two neglected children while fearful of losing Willie. The caste of characters becomes filled with the eccentric and outrageous. It's a wonderful caste but eventually there's too much fruit in the cake. The plot loses coherence. Williams should learn from Shakespeare (one of the few writers superior to her). In Hamlet the prince's behavior is highlighted by the puzzled reactions of those around, by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. A few people acting and talking reasonably would have added a needed touch of realism, even though it's set in Southern Florida.

"Liberty and Clem continued walking over to the Trail to hitch a ride home. The Trail had once been a meandering Indian footpath over coral and limestone rock, but was now a murderous six-lane highway that gobbled up small animals for breakfast, dreamy old geezers for lunch, and doped-up young honor students in their developer-dads' jeeps for dinner."

Joy Williams books are rife with paragraphs such as the above--packets of words like candy pop rocks for your brain, exploding in multi-flavored glory. Like "The Quick and the Dead", this book is brimming with brilliant observations, strange characters, and mythic overtones. Williams has been compared to Flannery O'Connor, and even to filmmaker David Lynch. Her details are so good, so believeable, that you are drawn into the siren song of her plots and her skewed visions of America.

Willie and Liberty are two archetypal teenage lovers. Willie is part Charles Starkweather, all manipulator. Liberty is a beautiful lost child, always accompanied by her strange white hound, Clem. Willie and Liberty, in their meanderings, meet red-neck Duane, drunk aristocrat Charlie, and the Circe-like, 75 year-old female bodybuilder, Poe...who is one of the greatest literary inventions of the past few decades.

This book would rate five stars easily, except that I found it bogging down in several passages where Liberty went into mental soliloquies.

I hope there is a filmmaker daring enough to make this into a film--Quentin Tarentino, are you listening?

Fascinating. Sui generis. Great.

oNe oF THe DaRKeST TaLeS i'Ve eVeR ReaD. VeRy DeeP aND THouGHT PRoVoKiNG...a BooK i'Ve ReCoMMeNDeD MaNY MaNY TiMeS iN THe YeaRS SiNCe i FiRST ReaD iT.

like the above review notes, there is no reason why Joy Williams isn't a widely read and appreciated author. breaking and entering is a chilling story of isolation, paranoia and senseless postmodernity. The every-word-perfect prose reminds me of Nabokov in that the book is genius just for the way she twists and fashions language into an entirely convincing, if often surreal, journey into secret inner lives. look also for her story "trains" in the vintage contemporaries anthology of short fiction.

The 1st time I read this book, I flipped it over & began again the second I finished the last page. That was 6 years ago and I have read it many times since. Joy williams tells a sort of falling-out-of-love story...very touching, very poetic, often very funny. The isolation everyone feels in modern society is an omnipresent theme & it is often explored here with a surreal exactness.

I want to just add to the 5 star reviews. As a moderate I was pleasantly surprised by how balanced this book was. The author clearly struggled with his feelings and never acted superior. As you get deeper into the book it becomes as riveting as any book I can recall. Very highly recommended.

I couldn't put this book down, and read it in one day. Martin Fletcher takes you where most reporters won't go, or can't go. You'll read of the intense competition between the networks, and what ranks as "go" or "no-go" story; which amounts to the number of people dying or killed as being newsworthy.

Stories of fellow journalists who are killed and wounded (including his own first-person account), in attempts to bring the stories of war and its victims to our television screens. How Fletcher identifies with the suffering of the victims of war in Somalia and the "Ethnic-Cleansing" of the conflicts in Rwanda and Kosovo; with his own family's suffering in The Holocaust.

From the Arab-Israeli Wars to the present Palestinian struggle, to personal interviews with a warlord, suicide bombers and refugees (one very touching story of a young girl). There'll be stories that will make you laugh, cry, and some that will anger you. But they are all presented within a very personal and moving context that almost makes you feel as if you're right there, experiencing Fletcher's witness of history in the making. And that indeed, this is a very dangerous and evil world in which
live.

This is a very different, deeply-impressing account by a very special reporter - and if this book hadn't been thrust under my nose with the recommendation to read it, I would have assumed it was the usual set of star-turn anecdotes from someone who thought they were the star-turn. Not a bit of it. Unlike some, Fletcher is never, ever bigger than the news on which he reports.

If this was only the most brilliant account of exceptional, award-winning TV war-reporting journalism, which, incidentally, it is - then that in itself that would be something. But it's much more than that; it's about the moral and ethical dilemmas that people like Fletcher face daily on our behalf in reporting serious news - and, refreshingly, nothing to do with the soulless ephemerals of providing 'entertaining' so-called, 'news' features between adverts.

Fletcher is one of the last vestiges of conscience and soul in the digital age when it comes to serious news reporting. Breaking News is likely - and rightly - to be considered core-curriculum stuff for anyone considering serious journalism as a career - but it's also likely a must-read for anyone who wants to share Fletcher's personal 'take' - and the chance to share in his very human enlightenment - through his reporting of a truly extraordinary series of world events over 30 years.

An amazing, POWERFUL, insight into the world of Martin Fletcher. I read the book in two sittings, four days ago, and I am still thinking about it. He tells his story in a 'mostly' chronological order, leaving me breathless at the end. It's an incredible journey and I am so thankful he took the time to tell it!

Hanging my boots up last year after my final trip to Afghanistan was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in my life. It was done at the insistence of my daughter and my knees. I finally had to realize that I could be a liability to those around me in a war zone. With that in mind, I was quite intrigued when friends contacted me and asked if I would read and review Martin Fletcher's book, "Breaking News". Martin was starting his career with the Yom Kipper (October) War of 1973 just as I was ending my Navy Combat Camera days with the very same war. Martin's account of this war is "spot on"! I wish he had written about this many years ago when I got asked to leave a Political Science class in college for telling the professor he didn't know what he was talking about. When the professor asked me how I knew, I replied with the only answer I could give, "because I was there"! Where were you when I needed you, Martin!

"Breaking News" is a MUST READ for anyone interested in international conflicts and what it is like to cover these conflicts as a cameraman and as a broadcast journalist. In his 35 year career, Martin Fletcher has pretty much seen it all, and this book is his very personal account of what life is like in the day to day world of the Foreign Correspondent. Part of what makes this book great is that it does not focus on world leaders, and "their" stories. It focuses on the day to day struggles of the average person caught in the middle of these conflicts. It gives an excellent account of the journalistic integrity of one man working in the trenches of so many conflicts, Martin Fletcher.

I am always reluctant to give too much detail in a book review because I hate to give out "spoilers". Once again, I will just say, "READ THIS BOOK"! Martin takes us on a journey of adventure and personal growth from the October War of 1973 to the Coup in Cyprus just a year later, to the Rhodesian War that gave us what today is known as Zimbabwe. He gives an excellent account of life in Paris for news reporters and takes us to Algiers and Iran for an insider's look at the Hostage Crisis in Tehran. From there he takes us to Afghanistan and covering the Afghan/Soviet War. He gives us a very telling account of life in Israel during the first Gulf War with SCUD missiles falling in Tel Aviv.

I could go on and on about his coverage of the Middle East, Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia and numerous other places of conflict and genocide. But, once again I will simply point out that Martin's book is really about his own personal and professional growth. There is some humor here, but there is a huge amount of sorrow and pain. One does not do this kind of work for 35 years without it taking a toll on your soul.

Martin closes his book with the following: And I can only hope that Shakespeare wasn't referring to storytellers like me when he wrote "Life is but a walking shadow...it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"! Rest assured that Martin's book is anything but this! It is a glimpse into one man's continent crossing dedicated life as a Foreign Correspondent, a glimpse into hell, and hopefully an offered understanding of "conflict" on the average person, as well as what covering such conflicts does to those who report them.

Please...READ THIS BOOK "BREAKING NEWS"!

In this important book, the authors tackle an old issue in a modern context. We might recall that Victor Hugo, in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, discussed the moral and cultural implications of the printing press. Burniske and Monke bring this discussion to the 1990s by studying the implications of Internet technology on education. The fundamental question centers on what it means to be educated in the first place. Burniske, for example, makes a distinction between being trained, the language of technology, and being educated, the language of the humanities. This book walks us through specific efforts by the authors to integrate Internet technology into their classroom teaching, but what clearly galls both of them is that deeper questions about how to properly educate students are getting lost in the hype over equipment, technical wizardry and on-line chatter. There are plenty of kids out there who can create web sites, hack into complex systems, and master the language of technology, but do these same kids know right from wrong? Can they critically read a text, or relate to the deep emotions revealed in a play or novel, or even treat fellow classmates or online correspondents with respect? These issues are the real test of education, and if they get lost in the hype, we are building a Brave New World every bit as pernicious as the one described by Huxley. Burniske is an innovator who is trying to find ways to correctly use technology in the classroom, that is, without surrendering human issues or context. Monke is more skeptical, perhaps, but a willing participant in the dialogue -- how can teachers be empowered and liberated to properly educate their students.

Students, by the way, are the real concern of these two teachers. They do not see them as products or consumers, but as a community of people who need to be nurtured, cared about and finally led to a deeper and wiser understanding of their place in the world. Burniske and Monke are teachers in the best tradition of that word. They are about shedding light on the human experience, not simply walking the beaten (and often failed) paths of traditional educational discourse. Whether you agree or disagree with their arguments, you will find the discussion worth the effort. The final chapter is riveting, but the rest of the book provides a rich context for an important, humane and caring dialogue about some very important issues confronting humanity.

I heard one of the authors, Dr. Burniske, speak at the Odyssey Bookstore in Massachusetts in July. He gave such an impressive and thoughtful talk that I decided to buy a copy of this book. I'm not an educator, but I am a parent and I found this an extremely thoughtful and thought-provoking book. I don't think you have to be a teacher to understand the stories that Burniske and Monke tell or the ideas that they develop. It helps, however, to understand some of the problems that teachers face with respect to their own professional development. If you've not been in a school recently this book will certainly help you understand why so many teachers struggle with new technology -- and why we all should be asking more questions about its place in the curriculum. As some of the other reviewers have suggested, I think this should be required reading for every parent and teacher who wishes to take part in the discussion of technology in education.

I believe this book will greatly help educators to find practical and very effective uses of this emerging technology. With the guidance of this book, educators should lose their confusion and the trepidations that I believe many of us have in the use of this potentially excellent tool. With a bit of help from their teachers, students can learn to focus their efforts and perhaps for the first time, realize they can take part in making positive and profound changes in their lives and in the lives of others that they will touch. The deep insights revealed by this book, and the practical ideas presented by Burniske and Monke will reduce or eliminate much stess by educators that do not wish to repeat the mistakes of those who have gone before us.

I am a high school (Gymnasium) teacher from Germany and I picked up a copy of this book at an education conference. We have been using computers in our school for two years now but have received little training in how to use them to aid our teaching (we have received only technical training). By looking at the case studies in this book I finally have a good, practical guide for me that I can use to help teach my students using e-mail and the Internet. This really opens up a whole new world of learning for me and my students. It is nice to finally read *by teachers* about how teachers are actually using the technology, and not just a bunch of theories on how you *could* use it. Highly recommended.

As a secondary school English and social studies teacher, I found "Breaking Down the Digital Walls" to be inspiring, thoughtful and helpful. I would like to embark upon a telecollaborative project with my students, and use the Internet for something more than research, but until now, I hadn't felt prepared to do so. This book provided me with ideas and support, and it was interesting to read - thank you!

This book is enlightening as it unfolds the journey of an extraordinary woman to her personal spiritual awakening. The author wove her journey into a story that was so mesmerizing that I felt like a silent character watching her as she reached each pinnacle of her awareness. For anyone seeking to embrace a spiritual awareness "outside of the box", this book is a must read before you step out.

Without ever preaching or proselytizing, Patricia Panahi explains her personal quest for spiritual meaning. Her experiences are unique, yet her answers can apply to all of us who seek meaning in our faith and in our lives. I find her work to be well-researched and carefully presented as she shares the insights she has gained on her journey. This is a pleasant and very worthwhile reading experience.

This book is a wonderful journey to enlightenment of one person's extraordinary life adventure. Easy to read and a page turnerr! I simply could not put it down. Funny and insitefull...it changed how I see things. It goes along so much with Tolle's A New Earth on a persoanl level seen through the eyes of a curious and persistent person just like myself. I recommend you read this and enjoy the ride through colorful Iran to the Awakening of the inner soul in Southern California. Very well written and expressed! Bravo Bravo Bravo! Looking forard to Ms. Panahi's next book!

An ordinary woman finds extraordinary potential within herself in this narrative of spiritual awakening and exploration. Feeling constrained and unsatisfied by religions that confined God in a box and presented him to believers as a "package deal," Patricia Panahi pursues an alternate path to enlightenment which begins with the Church of Religious Science and branches out into psychic explorations, visits to the Aquarian Foundation in Hawaii and the electromagnetic hot spots at Sedona in Arizona. During the course of her decades-long journey, Panahi learns surprising lessons in self-awareness from ministers, healers, shamans, and many ordinary people who help her along the path of self-discovery. Panahi believes that God is an "imminent, spiritual energy, a divine consciousness that permeates all of creation." She writes, "It's like God is an ocean and we're each a drop."

God Outside the Box presents Panahi's personal experiences in an uplifting and also sensible manner. She never hesitates to share her doubts, her moments of skepticism, and the obstacles to personal understanding and fulfillment which she had to work through in order to make progress in her spiritual development. Disappointments in careers and friendships, a stagnated marriage, bouts with physical illness and self-doubt - all of these things were trials which Panahi had to overcome, and in most cases she discovered that what appeared to be an obstacle was actually a necessary experience for her personal growth.

If you are interested in alternative avenues to spirituality, in learning the role of synchronicity and discernment in choosing your life's path--if you want to listen to the small voice inside you but aren't sure you can really hear it--then I recommend Panahi's book as a first step and a positive beginning to your own journey.

Reviewed by Dianne Salerni
for POD Book Reviews and More

Patti Panahi's story of her spiritual journey is truly an inspirational guide into "Enlightenment 101". She has overcome so many personal trials and challenges in her life and still she chose to trust God and follow her heart. Her heartwarming, uplifting story shows us that it is possible to create the kind of life that brings us peace of mind, joy and freedom to be who we really are. And Patti's story is written in an easy to read style that will surely bring a smile to your face and warm your heart. I loved this book and look forward to her next novel.

Is this remarkable, breakthrough program? No, not really. What it IS, however, is a practical, no-nonsense book that seeks to educate readers about basic nutrition, as well as the psychological barriers to losing weight. Robyn Landis cuts through the fog created by the diet industry and confronts the obsession dieters have with the numbers on the scale, arguing instead for a more healthy, balanced relationship with food. I highly recommend this book!

This excellent book helps you to understand why you get fat---the bad habits and illogical drives that cause you to eat more than you need. Getting back into a healthy balance requires knowledge, not just starving yourself. If you have the knowledge, then you don't have to starve yourself---but can actually enjoy eating, knowing it's for your good and not for your ultimate ill health. Buy this book and read it, word by word. It can open up your eyes!

This book really opened my eyes to some of the scientific facts about nutrition. Two months later, I'm 12 'fat' pounds thinner, feeling great, happily eating all day long, and never feeling hungry. One of the main pluses is I'm over the 'terminal' depression I'd been sinking into over the last few years constantly thinking that if I was going to be thin, I was going to spend every day the rest of my life starving myself! What a relief!

I purchased this book on a whim, and have never regretted it. Robyn Landis explains clearly and rationally why diets don't work, how the body uses food, and why it stores fat. She outlines a balanced, common-sense approach that involves eating small meals at regular intervals (every 3-4 hours). I appreciated the author's emphasis on becoming lean (as opposed to "losing weight"), and her emphasis on personal responsibility when it comes to health. Readers are encouraged to trust their own instincts and body signals when it comes to hunger and food.

It is possible to adapt meals to accommodate vegetarian preferences. Within days, this way of eating was second nature to me and I was very happy with the increased energy I experienced.

I highly recommend this book! If you are looking for a simple, healthy, and sustainable way of becoming leaner and healthier, "BodyFueling" may be for you.

ANNE TEACHES A VARIETY OF EXERCISES IN THIS BOOK TO HELP US TO BETTER PEOPLE. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF OPENING MY HEART, AND ANNE'S WORK HAS BEEN A LIFESAVER, NO A SPIRIT SAVER. SHE HELPED ME STOP THE CYCLE OF VICTIM=DOM AND ALLOW ME TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR MY BEHAVIORS. HER WORK TEACHES US HOW TO SHINE THE "LIGHT" ON OUR BEHAVIOR, THUS HAVING IT DISSIPATE LIKE MIST FROM A LAKE. I AM ABLE TO BECOME ONE WITH THE FLOW OF THE WATER NOW.

While some books lead you down the "garden path" as to how to go about achieveing the results you want, this book is vastly different. With its step by step instructions on how to "clear" areas of your life that are causing you troubles, this book is a must for anyone on the spiritual path to becoming a whole person. I highly recommend it and plan on keeping this one for much future reference. It's a keeper!

Thanks to Anne for her book "Breaking Free." I have read it and done some of the rituals personally to have more abundance in my life. It is a contribution of purer, positive, faster energy of goodness/God to flow to us and through us!

I purchased Breaking Free on September 23rd. I was just browsing through Amazon, and it practically jumped off the shelf at me! I sat down and started to read it, and I couldn't put it down. I was reading in the car, at lunchtime, at work! Several miraculous incidents happened to me in October that made me a believer in this book! I am well on my way to being debt free, and a few legal problems that I had been stressing over for the past 2 1/2 years were disposed of. My boss told me my attitude had changed drastically since I started in May, and I recommended this book to her. She is in the process of reading it now, and I ran out and bought a copy for my son. There are parts in the book I had heard before and disregarded, and there are many things that I read that I just never knew before, but it is making me think over everything I say and do and think. I am now in the process of finding a good job, going back to school to finish my degree and purchase my first house!!! Many thanks to Anne for her book. I know for a fact that it is changing lives everywhere.

The book was labeled as "used", but it was almost as NEW! The quality was really good, and I was pretty satisfied with this book. Also, I love the content--it provided a new, fresh perspective for social workers or counselors to work with teenagers.

Breaking Through To Teens: A New Psychotherapy For The New Adolescence is a cutting-edge psychology book by award-winning academic author Ron Taffel, Ph.D., founder of Family and Couples Treatment Services at The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York City. Breaking Through To Teens blends crucial insights into teen culture with the hard-earned knowledge of what can get through to the troubled adolescents of today's world. From the basic conditions kids need to feel "held", to clear means for breaking through parent-teen gridlock, to creating "flexible confidentiality", and getting teens to speak up, Breaking Through To Teens is extremely valuable both as a parenting resource and as a professional sourcebook of general understanding and specific techniques for youth psychologists and family counselors. Highly recommended especially for psychology reference shelves.

I enjoyed this book. It was extremely helpful to me and my work with students in a school setting. I'm also looking forward to attending his conference in New York in April 2007 as he will discuss working with the 21st century youth.

Working with teens today can be scary. With the new era comes the demand for new ways to approach the current media/Internet-hyped generation. I found this book to be very valuable in that it offers specific reasonable methods for dealing with teens, with their parents, and for family sessions.
Recommended.

A wonderful read. Well-documented and beautifully presented. It realistically evokes a time when honor fueled men to do their perceived duty without hesitation and with great patriotism.

The book via letters and diaries creates a true emotional atmosphere of World War I and those committed to serve. It would make a superb film!

Not to be forgotten the men of L Regiment. Thank you Mr Harris for the insight to a time before I was born and frankly of a different type of men who had so much to give and so much to lose but honor and duty were so important to them all. This was a wonderful book and if you lived as I did in the Hudson River Valley the memories of all of this are so important to me.

Being a native New Yorker and a lover of history I was pulled into this book. With few "unit histories" of the Great War, this one is a must for any serious reader. The unit, made up from the elite of NYC, and men of more humble backgrounds from upper NY, forged a unit while not heralded, most certainly worthy of this book. The story, while never quick moving, will be interesting for the serious reader. The unit saw serious action in breaching the Hindenburg line while attached to the British. Good for the serious student.

This book is well written, well researched and well titled. I devoured it in three sittings. While the First World War has been eclipsed by the Second World War for most Americans, this story captures a fascinating piece of America's earliest military history as a world power. I particularly enjoyed the vivid descriptions which the author used to recreate the past. The arduous conditions the men experienced in South Carolina, where they trained at a partially built national cantonment, are so well drawn it unfolds like a movie. Their surroundings in the U.S. and abroad are brought dramatically to life. The troopship's approach to the French sea coast and entry into Brest harbor, the march through the city and the French countryside complete with the smells of tree blossoms, the troop trains, the billets, etc. were all wonderful. The graphic descriptions of life in the training areas, the reserve areas, marching to the front, entering the trenches, enduring incessant bombardments, making nighttime forays into "No Man's Land" and fighting the big battles was gripping.

The author's diligent research makes this a good read and good history. This reader became convinced that what was known as the Silk Stocking Regiment was far more than spoiled rich boys playing war. When they entered the war they may have been naive, but they rose to the challenges they faced with great courage. Despite suffering terrible casualties they fought valiantly. Their parent unit, the 27th Division, did not fight with the main American forces, the A.E.F., in France. It was assigned to the British Expeditionary Forces (B.E.F.), ultimately under the command of an Australian General, but that did not dampen their fighting spirit.

These soldiers enjoyed broad public support of the people of New York, both upstate farmers ("apple knockers") and New York City socialites, because it blended men from both. The book goes to great length exploring the pedigrees of many of the men of the historic old New York 7th Regiment. It leaves no doubt that many of the men came from the highest class of American society. We are also introduced to some of the "apple knockers". The story proves to be a very interesting social history. The trials, accomplishments and valor left this reviewer feeling very proud of these American soldiers. That feeling of pride is tempered with sadness for the many lives of these fine men which were given so unselfishly.

about the industry. Tom ZEN-ner is the master of the television world! This book helped me in forming my career in so many ways. From the ins and outs of a "regular" television station and the handling of office politics. My experiences have only been enhanced from page one to the end.I'm not just a reporter. I play one on television! Thanks Tom for the insight!

I'm a college student and wanted to get into broadcasting but didn't know exactally how. This book not only pointed me in the right direction, but I believe it helped me land my fist on-air job. (in a top 20 market)... I just want to thank both of the writers for all the information and knowledge!!!!

This book reads like a personal conversation from a couple guys who started at the bottom and worked their way to the top of the world in on-air television broadcasting in a short period of time. All 11 chapters are relevant, interesting, funny, and above all motivating. I did not want to put this book down. It simply laid out a sure fire plan that anyone with a fair amount of passion, drive, talent and ambition can follow to a successful on-air career in television. The book never comes across as preachy, or makes it seem like a career in television is too difficult or unrealistically easy. It was a joy to read such a current, and fresh perspective from two guys who have a message to share and do it as well as I've ever seen. It was also nice to hear it from someone who has been through all the trials and tribulations of getting an internship, putting together a resume tape, landing a first job and building their careers to the top markets in the country. It is simply a must read for anybody in high school, college, in the television industry currently or dreaming about entering it. Because of it's motivational and inspirational tone, I recommend it to anyone entering the work force in any field.

My name appears as the last entry on the page of women inmates infected with HIV (aka Francine Rodriquez). The ACE program helped me to be where I am today. I was an ACE staff member during the years of 1996-2000. That program, along with: the inmate women, inmate ACE staff member, civilan supervisors and prison administration helped me become the woman I am today. Today I work in Amethyst Women's Project which is a crisis intervention/referral service. In this agency I work as a HIV educator/outreach worker, facilitator of Women's HIV Support Group and I work in the feild of substance abusers. My life is complete today. It was behind those walls where I was able to grow and to face many of my life issues that kept me from moving on and giving myself a better life. When I was paroled in 2000 I left behind many women whose lives have touched mine as I have touched theirs. A few of my friends have sentences that range from` 15, 20, 25 yrs. to life. Those women are not only doing time they are also living and fighting the HIV virus that resides within them. I made it out alive--not many will. The voices of those women deserve to be heard for there are many. I am just one....

What a wonderful idea and help for all women. Now will anyone here them? It sounds like a good idea but will anyone in this world here anything from the women in prison? Do we still stoop so low that we do not honor a women in prison and the help about aids is invaluable. How can we get this out into the public? Will the health of our country be changed if we hear their voices? I want people to hear there voices and make them credible. We need the knowledge and the pain and suffering which these women have to put up with and poor health care could break your heart. Many times women do things against others not for the same reasons men do, but for lack of money and a place to live. Many times they must have food for there children and diapers for there little ones, that is the heart of being a women. Sometimes things happen and they are sent to prison. Many times they already have aids but remember it was given to them by men! How can we as a group help them and hear there voices? Think of that! They are alive even in the worst conditions so I think whatever knowledge they have it should be brought out to the schools, to the radio, to the tv etc. We need to know.

My name appears as the last entry on the page of women inmates infected with HIV (aka Francine Rodriquez). The ACE program helped me to be where I am today. I was an ACE staff member during the years of 1996-2000. That program, along with: the inmate women, inmate ACE staff member, civilan supervisors and prison administration helped me become the woman I am today. Today I work in Amethyst Women's Project which is a crisis intervention/referral service. In this agency I work as a HIV educator/outreach worker, facilitator of Women's HIV Support Group and I work in the feild of substance abusers. My life is complete today. It was behind those walls where I was able to grow and to face many of my life issues that kept me from moving on and giving myself a better life. When I was paroled in 2000 I left behind many women whose lives have touched mine as I have touched theirs. A few of my friends have sentences that range from` 15, 20, 25 yrs. to life. Those women are not only doing time they are also living and fighting the HIV virus that resides within them. I made it out alive--not many will. The voices of those women deserve to be heard for there are many. I am just one....