Cohen Books

People have been telling me to read Harry Potter since I was in high school ten years ago. I finally started reading the series this weekend after my running buddy convinced me to, and I have already finished the first three. JK Rowling is really clever and witty. I know her intended audience is kids, but I think they are appropriate for all ages. As I read these books I oscillate between wondering if children can grasp everything she writes about, or whether I need to give children more credit for what they can understand.

As I ponder why I enjoy these books so much, I have come to several conclusions. First, I really enjoy Quidditch. Secondly, Rowling has an amazing ability to write child characters. I remember people from my own life who I identify with characters in Rowlings book. These stories are great not only because the story is interesting, but because they bring back memories from my own childhood. So, for any of you who were like me and did not want to read the series everyone has been talking about, start reading the series.

I'm an 11 year old girl, and I began reading the Harry Potter series when I was about nine. By far, this was my favorite one. I think I've read it about... seven times now. Definately worth it!!!

I love the Harry Potter series, but the first book in the series is a favorite. The characters are rich and fully developed. The substance of Rowling's world is well thought out and detailed. Rowling's writing is wonderful and great for all ages.

We had this on cassette tape, and just purchased it on CD. Jim Dale is outstanding! Very entertaining on long car rides.

I have to admit that I came upon the whole Harry Potter phenomenon pretty late, even though I've been aware of the franchise for about 10 years. I had always observed and respected Rowling's incredible success but I couldn't finish watching the first movie and always put off reading the books. But then last Christmas, magic happened. Well, sorta. My brother bought me the movie version of Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix. The problem was that I had never watched any of the four movies that came before it! And only in the last 2 months or so did I go back and watch the movies in order, and I found I really enjoyed them once I gave them a chance. So when summer vacation started I sat down to read the first book and really liked it.

Harry Potter has led a hard life all of his short 10 years and is on the brink of starting an equally dismal eleventh. His parents died in a car wreck when he was an infant and he was reluctantly taken in by his aunt and uncle Dursley. They treat him like dirt, relegating him to a small crawlspace underneath the stairs in lieu of a real room, that just gives him space enough to lay down and sleep. The Dursley's son, Dudley, is equally vicious to Harry. While Dudley gets every toy and luxury the Dursleys can afford, Harry never gets anything nice. His aunt and uncle think Harry is weird and has strange abilities that they cannot explain. Things change on Harry's eleventh birthday when he recieves a letter inviting him to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even though the Dursleys want Harry to be a normal kid and quit being so strange, Harry soon learns the truth about his parents. Namely, that they were powerful wizards that were murdered by an even more powerful sorcerer named Valdemort. This same Valdemort is the entity that left a scar on Harry's forehead the night he killed his parents. Harry is famous among magic users for being the only person to survive a face to face encounter with Valdemort, a man whose very name inspires fear. Now, Harry must set out on his own journey to become a great wizard, and along the way, make new friends and be accepted as a human being worthy of respect and kindness.

Who doesn't want to escape the crazy existence that is life on Earth in the 21st century, to get away from war and and the paranoia of religion and terrorism? To live in a world where magic allows incredible miracles...but also incredible evils. That's the cool thing about Rowling's story. Things are not all hunky dory in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. There aren't a lot of kid heroes whose parents were murdered in cold blood and then have a scar burned into their flesh. And let's not get into the cruelty that Harry has to endure for almost eleven long years by relatives who should have been turned over to the cops for child cruelty. Some of the things in this book are very dark. This isn't a world of magic where everything is covered in fairy dust and everybody smiles all the time and gets along with each other. It has a strong vein of realism, at least in the spiritual trials the characters face and their relationships with each other. Friendship and the importance of it is one of recurring themes, as illustrated by the bonds that form between Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I was also impressed by Rowling's ability to take a formula, (a magic school) and make it seem fresh and original. This book could have easily turned into a hack job. But the author's imagination sweeps aside any such notions and whisks you away for a couple hours of your life. A great read.

this story was somewhat reminiscent of the alanna series, what with the cross dressing to fulfill a dream. i'm not all that well versed in arabian culture, but from what i know of it this story seemed to be a valid representation. Buran is one of seven daughters, and of course in a patriarchal society this is not the best of luck as your daughters can't work or (in this case) even go out into public. She was her father's favourite and as there were no sons, her father taught her to read and write and play chess, basically educated her, and spent time with her in place of the son he never had. when buran's father gets sick he realizes that his family will be in trouble if anything happens to him, and as a result he allows buran to go out into the world, as a man, to try to better their family's fortune. she's a clever and courageous heroine. she comes up against several obstacles and approaches them with her strength of will and sharp wit.
the story was set up well and the characters were discussed in sufficient detail, or enough so that a reader of the target age wouldn't be left wondering anything. it was well written.

This book is flat out exhilarating. The suspense is so high that it keeps your eyes glued to the book from the first page all the way to the last. The plot is rock solid and I would recommend this book to anyone.

This book (based on an ancient tale) is amazing. While it is on a reading level for younger children, as a 21 year old I feel that a lot of the themes are better understood by those who are a little older. Still, unlike others who have posted before me I don't believe that anything in the books is inappropriate for younger readers. You've got to accept the material in context. This book was wonderful because it has a wonderful revenge plot, a love story, and overall theme of female empowerment. It also gives a look into a completely different culture. If you enjoy The Count of Monte Cristo (this book shows someone getting even in much fewer than 1400 pages), Pride and Prejudice, or the legend of Mulan I PROMISE you will enjoy this book. I picked it up in new condition at a thrift store and couldn't put it down once I started reading. :) I was so glad to discover it, as I'm in a reading slump because I'm caught up with all my favorite authors and definitely searching for something new!

My favorite quick read of the year! A very entertaining, romantic story.

Some of the observations about business are still true today. Venture capitalists are still looking for that unique product that will make a fortune.

There was one page I could have done without: at the point in the plot when the main character decides she's tired of pretending to be a man and is ready to be a woman, the authors got a little carried away, even risqué for children's literature, in describing the main character viewing her feminine body. I understand what they were trying to achieve, but we "got it" with a lot less ink.

I loved the "lesson" at the end of the book: you can't always just sit and wait for blessings to "fall into your lap". Sometimes you have to be willing to seek, to risk, and to work for them. Catherine Marshall encouraged the same kind of action in her book Adventures in Prayer, in the chapter entitled, "The Prayer That Helps Your Dreams Come True."

Buran is the fourth of seven daughters, living with her parents in Baghdad. She has no brothers, which is unfortunate for her parents. In the days of this story and in the place she lives, girls are not permitted to work for a living and only end up costing their parents more money, as they need to be fed and housed and clothed. Girls also need wedding dowries if they are to be married to the right sorts of men. Buran has always been her father's favorite and although she is a girl, he taught her to read and write and to play chess, and he talks to her seriously about his business affairs.

Buran's uncle is a very rich man, who has seven sons. He enjoys bragging about them to his poor brother, and describes how they will go abroad to different cities, where they will become businessmen who will bring great weath and honor to him. Buran is upset because her father is upset, but she seems to have few options to help him. When her father is suddenly struck ill, though, Buran chooses a desperate solution. She convinces her parents to allow her to disguise herself as a man and go to a distant city to set up a business.

Soon Buran's business is thriving and she is very wealthy, sending home money to her family. She has even become friends with the prince of the city in which she works, and in the evenings she often walks and talks with him, covering much distance and all possible subjects of conversation. But the prince grows suspicious and then discovers her secret. She must leave the city and go home where she will be safe. She can't stop dreaming of her prince, though.

I liked that this story was about a girl who refuses to let anyone tell her she can't achieve what she wants. I liked her relationship with her father, and I especially liked the way she was able to take revenge on her cousins and her uncle. Although this story was very empowering in one way, though, it still ended with the ultimate goal being winning over the prince.

This book is a little too "psycho babble" for me. The author gives a lot of explanations by describing moments between himself and his own children that I did not find helpful. I felt like the book could have been only a few pages long and still gotten the same message across. All he really needed to say was, "Play with your children, even during discipline."

A pleasant read with plenty of humor and ideas. The author is a nice real human being, not a miracle worker coming from outer space, teaching you how to loosen up and reconnect with your children in very simple ways.
The author offers hope and guidance to parents, helping them understand their mistakes with empathetic insights; empowers you with tools to address your own emotional issues, and covers every possible topic with lots of examples ( I loved that!)
Definitely the best parenting book I've ever read.

Will use some of these ideas in my daily life-i got 2 sons (3&1 year) and really some of these ideas weren't new, but in our busy schedule it's good to have a book like this to remind us that all the kids need are play (among all other necessities :))

I bought this book because I needed help with getting better at playing with my daughter. She always wants to play and I am busy or not in the mood. I was feeling so guilty and not a good mom that I started looking for books on how to be a better parent. After reading this book, I realized how important play is. Is not just a game but a way to build a stronger relationship with my daughter and learning what she is thinking and feeling. Through play she lets me know if she had a good day at the daycare.
I strongly recommend this book.

So many of us have become too caught up in our busy lives to remember that children need to play. This book includes great recommendations and strategies for re-connecting with our children through play. So far, it is helping us with our 4 and 1 year olds--we are finding that using a playful approach is helping us feel better about our relationships with our children.

This CD set took me from working the night shift at our town's local 7-11 straight to the lofty heights of the music business. Its a downright miracle. Its no coincidence that every single other reviewer gives this CD series 5 stars and as well as heaping on well deserved praise. If I didn't know Ty's work to be the message from God that it is, I would question the veracity of all these testimonials and wonder whether Ty or Ty's mother has a lot of email accounts. But since we know that's not true, we can go on enjoying the veritable gold nuggets of wisdom about today's music business crammed onto these CDs. I only hope that we can get Ty to turn his mighty mental powers to solving some other of the world's great challenges such as poverty and disease. If he does, these calamities won't stand a chance.

Are you tired of getting turned down by music companies? I was. I got this book from a friend for my birthday. So, I figured, `what have I got to lose?' The book surprised me. Cohen gives you everything you need to know about getting a start in the music industry. It has useful contacts and insider tips that give you an edge on the everyday musician. If you're serious about your music and want to get it in the right hands, get this book.

Ty Cohen has done it again. He has made the music industry so easy to understand and anyone can use the strategies that he provides. Cohen is able to show us all that being a musician with your own record label is possible and easy. Through a simplified process, any aspiring musician can implement these plans and put them into action within 21 days. If you are in the music industry, there is no better guide for getting a record label running on a small budget but still be successful and make money. My business is in a better place since "stumbling" across Ty Cohen's resources.

Thank you for putting together this resource for the music business. It certainly has given me some additional contact info and some other little surprises I'll keep secret.

The e book will be on my desktop to compliment some other resource books I have aquired in the last several months.

Thanks Ty for a great resource...

Lou
BackStage Pass

Great resource for any musicians out there that need to get their product into the right hands. Loaded with tons of useful contacts for all aspects of the music business from sales,distribution, legal etc. Easily downloaded and excellent customer service form Ty Cohen and his team at Platinum Millenium!

I would not recommend this book. I understand the information, but being someone who is in therapy it made me doubt therapy and placed bad ideas about therapy in my mind.

In Session illuminates how the heart of therapy lies not in the therapist's theory or dogmatic beliefs, but in the relationship that exists in session between the client and therapist. Seamlessly weaving together the information she collected through interviews, research, and her own personal experiences in therapy, Deborah Lott reveals how this crucial bond between women and their therapists requires the therapist be professional enough to adhere to the boundaries of the "approximate relationship" while also being human enough to be empathically and emotionally present as the client's unique complexity unfolds. This book serves as both a "buyer beware" book that guides women in evaluating their own therapies, as well as a poignant reminder to clinicians about the powerful healing/harm duality inherent in the therapeutic relationship. With the closing words of her book, Deborah summarizes how the therapeutic journey can ultimately be a healing one: "Only by revealing what she is really feeling about herself, her therapist, and their relationship might a woman in therapy have the profound pleasure of being truly seen and understood."

I was looking for readings on "boundaries" in psychotherapeutic relationship. Well, I didn't really understand why my therapist insisted so much on keeping boundaries between her and me. I didn't see any problems having conversations over coffee if I happened to run into her outside of therapy. I didn't have any fantasies about finding where she lives, seeking her out, but I didn't see any harms to have a socially friendly relationship with her either. Sounded like very bad ideas from my therapist standpoint. Felt like we would jeopardize all our hard work in therapy if we socialized outside of the "sanctity of the office"! Anyway, I was interested in learning what these "boundaries" stuffs were all about from someone outside of our relationship. This book not only answered my questions on boundaries, but also gave insight into all aspects of relationship between women and their therapist. Wow, what a complicated world! My hat is off to Deborah for writing this book so candidly, attributing no shame to the patients for their feelings, sexual or not. My therapist is a wonderful woman, full of compassion and warm caring for me. She's genuinely listening to me with empathy. I gradually progressed towards a complete trust in her. I told her all my shameful secrets I never told any therapists before. I found myself adoring her like a kid. Yet, despite our wonderful therapeutic relationship, I still wondered if I was weird or some thing. This book helps me to understand my attachment to my therapist and don't feel ashamed about it. It helps me not feeling "weird" about my "child-like longings" for a motherly figure in her. It strengthens my trusting in her and in myself to work out my problems. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in psychotherapy, patients or therapists.

This was the first thought I had when I started reading this book. Deborah does a fabulous job of describing the feelings of transference.

I entered therapy almost a year ago and had been to many therapists in the past. However, this time, something was different. I had never even heard of transference or knew this could happen. So, naturally, I thought again, I'm the only one stuff like this happens to.

I recommend this book to anyone but mostly to therapists. I think they should read this to understand just what we go through. Even though our transference isn't about them per se, it certainly feels that way. I guess it could be about them if their therapist crossed the line, which mine hasn't done.

Thank you Deborah. I needed this book!

Even if you are lucky enough never to experience transference and attachment issues with your therapist, there is plenty of good information here about the goals of psychotherapy, its history, subgroups and boundaries. And if you ARE experiencing transference, dependence, attachment or all three, do yourself a huge favor and read this book.

An amazing book. Highly recommended. An absolute gift to women who are trying to use psychotherapy to overcome negative pasts and/or cope with the stresses and losses of the present.

Easy to order. Arrived on time.
A funny book for us old folks. I have ordered copies for my aging friends.

This is a great gift for all your friends turning 50!
Lets them know exactly what to expect in the coming years.
No one could say it better than Dr. Suess.

I first saw this book while visiting friends in a retirement home. When I got home I immediately ordered it from Amazon and placed it on my coffee table. If you are even on the verge of getting older, you will understand Dr. Seuss' adventure to the doctor's office, and appreciate the humor he injects concerning the many tests, etc. one sometimes must tolerate as we age.

The family has given this book to friends for years as a gift on their 60th birthday. It is a fun look at the aging process and brings laughter from all who have received the book. Usually we have the friend sit on our laps and we read it to them as we would a child. Great stuff..

What more can be said? There will never be another Dr. Suess. I'm never disappointed when it comes to Dr. Suess. And Amazon has great service, by the way.

What a lovely compilation of recipes, pictures and history! It brought back a lot of memories of food I enjoyed in my younger years but had forgotten existed. There is not a large Jewish community where I now live. It's certainly leading me back to food I love and now that I know how to prepare it, it will certainly be a part of my daily fare! It's also my new coffee table book.

Belana

Great book, some recipes are not very original, but over all it contributes to the legendary Aleppian cuisine that I wish to see more materials about it to share with the world of sophisticated cuisines.

This book has awakened my love of the amazing cuisine and history of the Jews in Aleppo. The Syrian Jewish Community is rich in passion, tradition, and great food. This book opens my senses and raises my appreciation for all of it. Highly recommended view of these taste delights and the tradition and community from which they come.

This book caught my attention because I have a close friend from Aleppo, who always produces amazing food and is a wonderful host. I found the recipes fascinating not only for their visual and gustatory appeal, but for the stories and photos that accompany them throughout the book.

Not only are the recipes inside delicious, but the pages look edible! A beautiful book both visually and spiritually. To have a culinary volume include such incredible recipes and meaningful information on Sephardic customs is both heartwarming and inspiring. After receiving this book, I loved it so much that I bought 3 more as gifts! I just want to know how Poopa and her family can eat like that and stay so thin and beautiful?

I was unfamiliar with the Kindertransport that moved 10,000 Jewish children to safety from the Holocaust. This biography brings that event to life through the memories of Lisa Jura. At 14, her parents sent her to London and the book covers that wrenching journey and the next six years of her life. Growing up during the blitz in a refugee home with 31 children makes a fascinating book.
Lisa's devotion to music weaves the story together as she strives towards her parents' dream. Becoming a concert pianist seems unachievable under the circumstances, but this touching biography details Lisa's progress towards that goal. This account has appeal for both adult and teen readers.
I also recommend In The Shadow Of The Cathedral: Growing Up In Holland During WW II by Titia Bozuwa

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family

from the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
August 30, 2002

Vienna, 1938. In the city of Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Strauss, 14-year-old musical prodigy Lisa Jura looks forward to a promising career as a concert pianist. Hitler has other plans. With the breaking of glass on Kristallnacht, Jura's dreams are shattered.

Internationally celebrated concert pianist Mona Golabek, with journalist and poet Lee Cohen, has crafted a loving, lyrical tribute to her mother, Lisa Jura, in "The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival."

Jura was one of 10,000 Jewish children saved from the Nazis by the British and sent on the Kindertransport to safety from Eastern Europe. Already being compared to "The Diary of Anne Frank," this simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting tale weaves together the stories that Golabek's mother told her about prewar Austria; the gut-wrenching separation from her family; life at the orphanage on Willesden Lane; and the power of music to help her survive.

As Jura's mother, Malka, puts her on the train, she says the prophetic words that will sustain and inspire her daughter and future generations: "Hold on to your music. Let it be your best friend."

In a world turned ugly, the beauty of music becomes Jura's strength, and, against tremendous odds, with the help and encouragement of the 30 other displaced children at the orphanage, she wins a scholarship to London's Royal Academy.

"Each kid saw something in my mother's music that reminded them of what they had left behind in Czechoslovakia, in Austria, in Germany," says Golabek, a Grammy-nominated artist, "and that's what I tried to do in the story, not only to pay homage to my mother, but to all these kids and to their bravery."

The book opens with Jura's tantalizing daydream of performing in a great concert hall and closes with the fulfillment of that dream, as she makes her debut before an exhilarated crowd. And in between, the pages burst with melody: Jura pounding the cadenza of the Grieg "Piano Concerto" to drown out the sounds of bombs during London's blitz, Jura visualizing Chopin fleeing a flaming Warsaw as she struggles with the somber coda of the "Ballade," Jura remembering her mother's Sabbath candles as she plays the solemn opening of Beethoven's "Pathetique."

"My mom and her mother never cared if a piece is in C major. What really counts is the passion behind it, the image. If it's `Clair de Lune,' imagine the moon over a desert island. That imagination allowed her to survive the horrors of what she experienced, because a C-major chord will not inspire you through the horrors. It's the moonlight, the idea that maybe the composer wrote it for someone he loved. These things inflamed her imagination, and that's how she inflamed mine."

And now Golabek's book will inflame the imagination of a whole new generation. The Milken Family Foundation, together with Facing History and Ourselves, an educational organization that teaches tolerance to 1 million students annually, are working with Golabek to bring the story to schools across the country by developing a companion curriculum guide.

Plans are under way to launch the book in Austria, and make it available to teachers as part of the now mandatory four-year Holocaust education program for students.

The saga of Golabek's 18-year struggle to get the story published is almost as harrowing as her mother's story itself. "It went through many, many writings; many, many ups and downs, starts and disappointments," Golabek says.

Now the accolades and offers are pouring in. On Sept. 24, she will be an honored guest speaker at the California Governor's Conference for Women at the Long Beach Convention Center and will appear at Beth Am on Nov. 17 with her sister, pianist Renee Golabek-Kaye, and Jura's four grandchildren, all musicians: Michele, 16; Sarah, 14; Jonathan, 8; and Rachel, 7. Brandeis University will honor her at the Skirball Cultural Center next March 31.

Last week Golabek was interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition and was the subject of a feature story by Andy Meisler of the New York Times. In the planning stages is a concert next year co-sponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Museum and the Austrian government. And, of course, Golabek is considering movie offers.

On her syndicated radio show, "The Romantic Hours," which highlights stirring writings against a musical backdrop (Saturdays at 10 p.m., 105.1 FM), Golabek often quotes the poet Jean Paul Richter: "Life fades and withers behind us, but of our immortal and sacred soul all that remains is music."

"That was a quote my mother taught me, and the whole reason why I wrote this book and why I created `The Romantic Hours' was that my mother felt through words and through music our souls would be immortalized."

This is one of my all-time favorite books. If you are a musician, you will fall in love with it. The story is inspiring and moving and will make you appreciate music to the greatest extent possible.

Full of history. Easy to follow. Great read for young and old alike.

This is a story which every parent should read to their children. Talk about the history of WW2 and discuss the extremes of humanity. A book which once read you will never forget.

The author writes of her father's decent into Alzheimer's Disease (being more
and more child like in his progression of the disease and her young son growing up from a toddler to young boyhood..the opposite ends of the spectrum. A very moving book. I may reread this one.

In September 2004's Australian Reader's Digest, the story "The Unlikely Gift" had me in tears. It moved me so much that I searched out and ordered the book it was taken from - "The House on Beartown Road". I had been mourning the
death of a favourite and much loved friend who died from the ravages of a similar brain disease (vascular dementia). Although her body died recently, the soul and the entity that I loved which made her who she was, was taken from me many years ago when the diagnosis was made and the slow but inevitable slide began.

My friend Kath, whom I met in 1980, taught me joy and sharing, she took me into her family as if I was one of her own. As I am of a different background, she taught me to enjoy roast dinners and chocolate ripple cakes. She was a favourite auntie, a surrogate mother and most of all, a best friend. In the later years, I have been unable to be in her presence,
as I couldn't reconcile the angry, violent person as being the same caring friend I had known. She was diagnosed in her 60's which is much too early and didn't allow her to enjoy her twilight years with those she loved and who loved her.

Elizabeth Cohen's book is a beautiful and simply told homage to the reality of family life and in my opinion, a must read.

Few books have brought me to tears. This one did. The author writes in a matter-of-fact way about the heart-wrenching disease of Alheimer's, its impact to her life, and the lives of those around her. I didn't want the book to end. It is a quick read. Great book.

What a wonderful book. I have noticed that many who review this book are intimately involved in Alzheimers, be they professional or private care-givers. I don't have anyone in my immediate family with Alzheimers, but I read this as a potential gift to a friend who does. I am grateful that I was motivated to read this lovely, loving account of a disease and the way if effects those who are near it. The author and her family serve as reminders that love comes in all forms, and may be asked of you at the most inconvient moments. Don't wait until you have Alzheimers in your family to read this book. So much gentle learning to be done, so much joy to be given, so many miles we go, travellers through life.

I found "The House on Beartown Road" shelved in our local library (Pound Ridge, NY) under Mental Health/Alzheimer's. I don't know who decides these things, but this wonderful memoir ought to be prominently placed along with other contemporary memoirs. Elizabeth Cohen is a fine writer and she deserves recognition for this generous tribute to her 80-year-old father, Sandy, to her daughter -- one year old Ava, and to new-found neighbors on Beartown Road and to friends in the Binghamton, NY, community. Sandy and Ava of these are at opposite ends of the verbal spectrum, one forgetting language and the other learning. Elizabeth Cohen herself is there in the middle, somehow trying to work full time as a reporter, managing day care for the two people who depend on her, figuring out how to survive the winter in one of the nation's true snow-belts, and keeping her own sanity as a harrassed single mother.My own mother is 97 with Alzheimer's and I have a one-year old granddaughter, so this book is close to the bone in many ways. I tell everybody about it. I use it in the memoir course I teach. I want to keep it to survive as a classic memoir and as a year-long account by an un-self-pitying caregiver. Elinore Standard Pound Ridge, NY

This book is the best! So good, I bought 2 copies to share with people close to me so they can finally understand what my child is going through. Brad is awesome! When I wrote to him to shower him with Kudos, he wrote back to me. I love his determination and I pray my son will have the same!.

As an accomplished pianist, teacher and adjudicator I spend most of my time with individuals of all ages. Teaching and adjudicating are perhaps the most challenging of all! Like Brad Cohen, I have Tourette Syndrome and growing up as a "baby boomer", a time when extremely little was known about Tourettes, teasing, being bullied and considered a virtual headache to my teacher's made my life a living hell. All I had to turn to was my God given gift of music!
Brad Cohen grew up with the same horrific challenges that Tourettes brings with it. A teacher is someone every student should be able to turn to for support, a shoulder to lean on, a friend, when you feel your own are not there for you. Growing up in this day and age is a daunting task. Brad Cohen knows this all too well, and shows his understanding of it through his actions as a teacher. He knows what it is like to not have teachers there when he needed them most in his life. He turned having TS, a debilitating disorder into a tool of support and understanding for those lives he touches everyday. New disorders are being discovered at an alarming rate. The future teachers and classrooms are not yet equipped to handle what lies ahead for them. My niece is a teacher and she can hardly cope with the demands of her position as they stand. Teachers will need the support of people like Brad Cohen travelling to various school boards as I do as a Music Therapist to educate new teachers on how to integrate students with disorders and other issues into the classroom. Teachers' Colleges will have to provide the means to offer clinical studies in what lies ahead such as Tourette Syndrome, ADD, ADHD, learning disorders , behavioral problems and so much more. Educating our teachers as Brad Cohen has educated his students and fellow teachers is paramount if the future of our world's children will have a chance to survive what lies ahead of them. Teacher Assistant's will need to become a necessity in every classroom, and trained in specific areas. One teacher per class will no longer be enough, if those students who require extra attention are going to be successfully integrated into the classroom of the public school system.
Brad Cohen has touched the lives of so many students in his life as a teacher! They say that if you can touch the life of one person, you have done your job. Brad Cohen has surpassed this objective time and time again!
I can only hope, that more people like Brad Cohen will give of their talent's as I try to do as a music therapist, to educate and help prepare the schools, teachers' and students' of tomorrow!
I once received a letter from a student I adjudicated in a competition, and it said; "not often enough in life, do we take the time to say "Thank You", thank you sir for your knowledge and encouragement, it means so much!"
Now it is time for me to say "THANK YOU" to Brad Cohen, a teacher who has touched many lives."
To everyone in the profession of teaching, this is a book that will positively "re-charge" your love of being an educator!

Author: Raymond Vacchino M.Mus.(MT) A.Mus. L.R.S.M. Licentiate (hon.)

This book is great for so many reasons. Anyone can read this and walk away with something. If you have Tourettes (or any disability), it is such a positive, supportive, encouraging story. I wish I had boxes of this book to pass to every teacher, doctor, friend, grandparent, parent and child. Tourettes is something almost everyone in the world will encounter in some way. Disability dicrimination, is unfortunately also something everyone will encounter in some way. This book provides a unique, well written perspective of life with an uncontrollable, misunderstood disorder. I reccomend it to you.

I too am a teacher with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and have experienced many of the same things that author Brad Cohen describes in this fascinating book. All of his life, Cohen has worked to overcome his disability. Even when he became ultimately successful, Cohen has still experienced difficulties. For example, even as an adult, he has been asked to leave restaurants and other public events. A few times, however, this has worked to his advantage. While at the Olympics in Atlanta, for example, a number of patrons complained about his tics. But instead of being expelled, Cohen was reseated in a better seating area.

His parents were divorced and, for most of his early life, his father was distant from him. In elementary school and junior high, Cohen was often ridiculed and mocked by other children. Teachers mistakenly thought that he was doing his tics purposely in order to disrupt the class, and punished him accordingly. Many children with TS also have comorbid ADHD and OCD. Cohen described how hard it is to read and comprehend a book. The average person should imagine trying to comprehend a book while it is jerked around every few seconds.

In time, Cohen was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS). He was taken off stimulants, which, in common with many others with TS, only aggravated his condition. His first experience with a TS support group was not at all positive. Members of the group focused on the negative, not how to overcome it and be successful. This is not what Cohen needed to hear. In time, Cohen learned how to educate others about his disorder. Unfortunately, in junior high, there were too many individuals who refused to be educated. However, he did have a supportive principal who allowed him to speak to a school gathering about his condition.

Cohen developed socially by being involved in Jewish organizations. By high school, things got better. The students increasingly overlooked his tics and accepted him as a person. He began to dream of being a teacher.

When Cohen went to Bradley University, he learned not only educational theory but also got valuable hands-on teaching experience with children. But when he tried to get his first teaching job, the door kept getting slammed in his face. Ultimately, he had to go through some 25 principals before he found one that would hire him. "I just cannot see you as a teacher", one candidly remarked. Things seemed hopeless. It looked as if Tourette Syndrome had won over him. But he refused to give up his dream.

Finally, he was hired, and proved himself to be an excellent teacher. He at first taught second grade, and made every child feel wanted. Cohen made the following observation (p. 160) which should be a challenge and inspiration to all teachers: "If you want to feel secure, do what you already know how to do. If you want to be a true professional and continue to grow...go to the cutting edge of your competence, which means a temporary loss of security. So whenever you don't quite know what you're doing, know you're growing."

Brad Cohen's first hand account of how he became a teacher despite having Tourette's syndrome isn't great writing, but if you've ever known someone with Tourette's you know how amazing his story is. Happily most people today know what this disease is--as I was growing up with a brother who had it, no one did. If you haven't seen it, it's hard to imagine the noises, tics, cursing, and mental agony of living with this incurable problem. Cohen's book gives an intimate look at what it feels like to have your body taken over by urges that can't be controlled. He also sensitively portrays the distress and confusion of parents who try to deal with a problem for which modern medicine is almost useless. Again we see a situation where young children in the classroom can accept behaviors that the wider world can't tolerate, and Cohen's openness about his problem with these children is the secret of his success. One gets the sense Cohen's life will always be a struggle--although he has many friends there's no mention of a woman in his life, and gaining acceptance with new people is always going to be a risky business. But his courage is amazing. This book should be required reading for any child who doubts his worth as a person because of this terrible disease.