Shaw Books

My dressage coach is a Tai Chi advocate.This book combines both disciplines and provides an in-depth understanding how the human body works to influence the horses body. When both bodies are at one with each other...that is when the magic happens...
I am diligently doing the ground exercises and and am starting to communicate this to the horse, with the help of my coach...looking forward to the new riding season with a deeper sense of connection with my horse.

I bought this book about two weeks ago. I read through the whole book in two days, and am now working on the exercises. I can already feel a huge improvement in my riding. My awareness of balance and where I am carrying tension is greatly heightened, and with the exercises I am able to correct these problems.

The unmounted exercises are deceptively simple. As my proficiency increases the benefit I get from them increases exponentially.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is serious about riding, or anyone who would just like to increase the pleasure of riding.

Marvellously therapeutic!

Great book to help with your seat and "feel" for riding.
Highly recommended for students and instructors of any discipline.

I was looking for something different for the holidays, and the description certainly sounded like this book fit the bill - although I have to admit that I doubted that anyone could successfully combine the elements in the book's description into a coherent enjoyable story. I'm glad that I took the chance; Mr. Shaw has a genuine talent for spinning an imaginative, exciting and fast paced tale, however unlikely the individual elements may sound!

I think it's hard for a children's book to succeed when it lacks the exposure provided by one of the large national publishing houses like Scholastic, and this is a tragedy in many ways because writers like Mr. Shaw have to struggle for their voices to be heard, and we miss many great stories that simply never make it to the hands of the reading public. This book is superior to many of the offerings I've read from large national publishers that have been aggressively marketed over the years.

I highly recommend this book as a wonderful story for kids (boys and girls) in the 7 to 10 year age range. My compliments to Mr. Shaw for a great read that will be enjoyed by both my daughter and I for many years to come.

After finishing this book, my only regret was that there is not yet more available from Shaw. Shaw's writing style is very similar to Steven Brust, especially Brust's -- 'Vlad Taltos' books. This book is a fun, humourous, fast-paced book that will draw you in and keep you racing for the end, and then leave you wanting more.

This story focuses around the adventures of three youngsters; our man with a plan is Bennett Short, and his two sidekicks are Darcy Decker and the Pickle, aka Stanley Valentine. Bennett is a big fan of the Man in Red, and we do not mean the one with horns and pitchfork. Santa is his hero and he has a plan to sneak aboard Santa's sleigh. He wants to get to the North Pole and find out all the Santa Mysteries and write a tell-all book and make a gazillion dollars.

But as most of us know, things do not always go according to plan. Bennett and his friends do get to the North Pole and they get to hang out with Santa. However Darcy's curiosity leads to devastating results.

In this awesome little book you will find our Al Gore as a robot created by Santa, and see Santa abducted by aliens who hate Christmas and all that is fun. You will watch Darcy go from being arrogant and expecting Pickles to mess things up, to realizing that he does so again and again. Yet with all of that, Darcy never gives up and keeps striving to correct his mistakes and make up for the damage he has done.

This is in part a coming of age story, part adventure and a whole lot of fun. We watch Darcy grow and mature, and we in turn can learn from him and face the struggles and difficulties in our lives anew. The greatest power of story is that story at its best is myth, but not myth in something that is not real, but myth in the sense of the ultimate underlying reality of existence. Shaw captures the essence of that second type of myth in this and his other book Sherman Oak and the Magic Potato. In that sense, even though he has only published 2 books, he is in my opinion a great writer.

This is a book that was so fun to read I have already started it a second time, this time reading it more slowly to savor the story rather than racing through as I did the first time I read it.

This book would be a great end-of-term summer read!

(First published in Imprint 2007-07-27 in the book review column.)

This was a fun book to read. I don't normally read children's fantasy books, but on the request of a friend I purchased The Santa Mysteries and gave it a try. And I was not let down. It was a great Christmas story, but it is at its heart a fantasy fiction book. I would call it a strange (in a good way) cross between the movie Monster House, Zathura, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Raindeer.

The author states on his website that his books are for readers who liked Harry Potter, Narnia, and the Wizard of Oz. S. William Shaw was dead-on. If you like children's fantasy, this is an unforgettable must read.

This book is absolutely amazing early christian/jewish historical fiction piece. I was fortunate enough to take a class with the Author himself - he is a most educated scholar and noble man, his book reflects his knowledge and passion for christian roots.

I purchased this book hoping to get a feel for what post-exilic life was like for the Jews. I knew the basic historical dates and events, but I wanted to learn more about this relatively unknown period of Jewish history.

Sandgren's book met all of my expectations. The stories are clearly based on accurate historical research, and they are well-written. They emphasize the life of the people rather than the decisions of the powerful. The author also ties the stories together in the epilogue by highlighting certain themes that emerge from the narratives.

If a reader wants to learn more about the background or find suggestions about where to do more historical research, the endnotes will provide all that the reader wants. Another helpful feature is the detailed timeline at the end of the book.

This is historical fiction at its best.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in early Judaism and Christianity. Although many of the characters in the book are fictitious, the stories allow one to understand how real people at the time might have reacted to the events occurring in their lives. As an example, to read the biblical passages about Ezra requiring the Jews to divorce their foreign wives is one thing. But, to experience this from the perspective of a Jewish family actually having to separate yields a very meaningful understanding.

Not only is the book pleasurable reading, but it is based on solid scholarship with numerous reference and explanatory notes. One can appreciate the book as well written stories getting the scholarship as a bonus, or one can read it for the information, but in a painless format. Professor Sandgren gets an A+ on this assignment.

I've been a fan of Sarah Shaber's Simon Shaw series since it began with "Simon Says". This most recent installment is up to her usual standard. I am sorry that she killed off Simon's friend David Morgan (this is not a spoiler - the first sentence of the book is "Simon knew instantly that someone he cared about was dead.") but the story is, as always, well plotted and well told.

Cozy mystery readers who have not yet met Dr. Shaw are in for a treat. I would suggest reading the 5 books in order, because the back story will make more sense.

When the Chairman of his department and a colleague are waiting outside his room at the college, he knows that someone he cared about has died. His intuition proves correct when they tell him that his close friend archeologist David Morgan past away. Police friend Detective-Sergeant Otis Gates tells him that David was murdered and when Simon Shaw examines the house he tells the detective that David was killed with an amethyst geode that was among other artifacts that are also missing on his shelf.

The victim's sister comes in for the funeral and learns she is coming into more money than she anticipated. She makes no pretense of her happiness because her husband is an invalid and she has to work to support him and their three children. Her alibi doesn't check out but Simon is convinced his friends death is related the pending decisions as to the bones of the Uwharrie man. The acadenics want to examine to find out if the first settlers on the continent weren't those who crossed the Bering Strait. Additionally the Lumbee tribe wants the bones on the fourteen thousand year old skeleton buried. Simon decides to ignore Otis' warning and investigate.

SHELL GAME is a fascinating academic mystery as the hero uses the techniques of a teacher to conduct an investigation. Police have used his knowledge in the past to solve cold cases, but this time Simon is emotionally involved, enabling readers to see how hard it is for him to separate his feelings from the investigation. The fact that he can do so makes him an admirable man who makes a believable sleuth. The debate between academics and the Native Americans enhances a totally fascinating whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

Sarah R. Shaber's SHELL GAME is a cozy mystery with a North Carolina flavor. Familiar North Carolinian landmarks and names endear this mystery to anyone who has a soft spot for the Tar Heel state. Archeology takes the reader from the halls of academia and a small Raleigh college to local politics, the unusual Native American history in Robeson county, all the way to the wilderness of the Nantahala National Forest. Sarah R. Shaber combines humor, history and funeral customs to give her readers a unique multi-layered mystery.

Professor Simon Shaw teaches undergrads at a small college in Raleigh, NC but he has gained celebrity status as a forensic historian and solving murder mysteries. When his best friend David Morgan is found dead, hunched over his computer, death and murder touches too close to home. To make matters worse, David appointed him executor of his estate. While the police focus on David's beneficiary and financial motives, Simon's instincts tell him that David's death is tied to the discovery of the Uwharrie Man, a 14,000 year old skeleton archeological find that might completely change the understanding of prehistory as well as Native American history. Only Simon seems to understand the stakes involved and the seething hotbed of jealousies and power struggles inside academia and local politics. Can Simon figure out who killed his friend and stay alive?

Sarah R. Shaber begins each chapter with a quote from famous people from Woody Allen to Voltaire, Winston Churchhill, and others about death. Often the quotes are the last words of the cited person and usually quite humorous and/or irreverent in the face of such a somber occasion. These quotes complement and contrast with Simon's actions and emotions as a friend of the murder victim. At the same time, however, these quotes give this mystery just the right tone, adding both a seriousness and lighter relief as Sarah R. Shaber's mystery looks into some of the customs, rituals and even mundane duties surrounding death from the casserole brigades to choosing clothes for the deceased and the process of insurance policies. Despite the grave topic, Sarah R. Shaber touches just the right emotional balance between Simon's grief and inane humor. As in her previous mysteries, the use of quotes guides the tone of this mystery while adding depth to the plot.

Sarah R. Shaber's gives her fans a more personal look in to her intriguing sleuth, Simon Shaw as he struggles with his grief and to make sure he honors David's last wishes and his research. David served on a committee to decide the fate of the Uwharrie Man, whether he should be reburied according to Native American burial customs according to North Carolina and federal law or be turned over for archeological study. When certain items appear missing from David's home, Simon investigates the players, trying to determine which way David's tie-breaking vote would have gone and whether anyone on the committee had a motive for murder. As Simon begins to uncover clues, the danger mounts so that even his own life might be at stake. SHELL GAME creates a moving and sometimes humorous portrait of friendship. David's sister adds both a moving and practical side to effects of death of relatives as well as their actions and concerns. This portrait of current day death customs compliments the discussion of Native American burial customs and honoring the dead. At times, the contrast between the two can be humorous with just a touch of sadness that modern day burial rites often diverge from the person's culture and wishes.

Sarah R. Shaber does an excellent job at showing the interconnections and implications of academic research and the kinds of ramifications one theory might have outside of academics as politicians and Native American burial claims come into conflict. The addition of David's sister in the fray takes the death down to the family level. SHELL GAME differs slightly in tone than the kind of supernatural atmosphere of THE BUG FUNERAL with its question of reincarnation. Those who loved THE BUG FUNERAL, however, will find the same multi-layered approach to murder mysteries as Simon's person and profession converge to give the reader an intriguing glimpse into death customs. Academicians and others will love this author's ever so accurate and humorous portrayal of academia (at least some parts of it) with its contrast between Simon Shaw, a man dedicated to teaching, and some of the prima donna researchers who would never deign to actually teach. Whether you are a Tar Heel native, a relocated North Carolinian, tourist or just a mystery lover, Sarah R. Shaber's Simon Shaw mysteries are a treat not to be missed!

I picked up this book for a few reasons. In part, I did so because I have read William Shaw's blog for a while now and followed the journey of this book's development. In part, it was because every so often I find a good teen fiction book to be a nice change of pace. Finally, the tile just grabbed my attention.

Now to be honest I have had a few self-published books come my way and have yet to be really inspired or impressed with them. This book exceeds all expectations.

First, I would state that the writing is better than any of the Harry Potter books. It is not as good as Lewis or Tolkien, but give Shaw time and I am sure he will get there if he continues to pursue the path of writing.

The book follows a young man 'Sherman Oak' as he goes from being the most bullied kid at school, and the butt of the other students' jokes, even his two older sisters, to a young man on a quest to free not only his parents but his tormentors from school. He has been told the quest will take 'as long as it takes', yet time and time again, Sherman presses on, when a rest and wait are possible. He grows and develops as a person throughout the book.

Oak is a very well-written character; he is not flat or stifled. He becomes very real to you and you find yourself cheering him on.

Shaw does some great things with this story, and unlike many other writers today, he comes up with his own creatures and his own stories, not just retelling old tales. Some of the creatures you will meet are truly creative and wonderful. The story will draw you in and compel you to keep reading.

Most people do not know that Eragon was originally self-published, and look at the literary and film success that it has had. I believe this book has the same potential. You can purchase it in either a print or electronic format. This book will surprise you, make you laugh, make you cry, and if you cannot see some of our reluctant hero in yourself, you're clearly not getting the book. So this is a book I would recommend to a person of any age. It may be written for teens, but the child in all of us will respond to the story. Also check out the author's blog if you have an interest in writing or publishing or are just curious to know more about the person who created this wonderful book.

This is an awesome book. I cannot wait till my daughter is older to read it to her and hopefully it will be one of her favorite's and we will read it together many time over the years. I am sure if you pick it up it will challenge and inspire you ant those you share it with also.

(First Published in Imprint 2007-06-01 in the book review column!)

I first read The Santa Mysteries by S. William Shaw and decided to give this book a try. It is just as good, but fun and unique in its own way. Sherman Oak is a fantasy adventure story that takes you on a wild, woolly ride. In the book you meet all kinds of strange creatures and places. I like comparisons, and I would easily call Sherman Oak and the Magic Potato a cross between The Hobbit and The Wizard of Oz. A great read for fantasy fans of all ages.

Excellent adventure!! I'm a 37 year old Mother with 2 children ages 9 and 13. Both have read the book and LOVED it!! I'd recommend it to anybody, even adults. I felt like I stepped into the shoes of Sherman through the whole book. Very unpredictable and kept you on your toes so you didn't want to put it down!! When I finished reading it I missed Sherman and definately hope for a sequel!! Wonderful new Author, S. William Shaw knows how to keep you glued to this book!! Don't hesitate to buy it!!

The story of "The lord of the Rings" is spectacular,because it took me to a whole other world where I felt I was in the adventure myself.I believe this is one of the best books I have ever read.

The Silmarillion is one of the most stirring, well-written literary epics I have read. Every time I pick it up, I am captivated by Tolkien's mastery of language and storytelling; each chapter is written as a story unto itself, yet part of a whole that makes you want to read more. He has created a whole new mythos...just read "Of the Sun and the Moon", and you will be drawn into this world. Should be on every high-school reading list.

A long-time Tolkien fan, I have always enjoyed The Silmarillion, though it's never been my favourite. Martin Shaw's reading may just change that! Hearing Mr Shaw's rendering of Tolkien's prose is a truly magical experience. I enjoyed his reading of The Hobbit, but this text is much more moving. Mr Shaw manages both the high linguistic style and the Elvish words with dignity and makes the text come alive in a way that is simply amazing. (We can only hope that Mr Shaw has plans for The Lord of the Rings.) The decision of the publisher to release the text unabridged is also very welcome -- the mythic style and scope of the book demand that every story in it be told, and it is well worth the cumulative price of the volumes.

I used this book while studying for the NAVLE and I felt it was a good concise review. I am keeping it for review of topics while I am on internship. It is very good at reviewing the important stuff and not going into alot of fluff. The content is divided by system and that is nice. Then for each system, the first part is background info (like general anatomy and physiology you need to know about that system) and then the second part is the specific diseases of that system.

I am familiar with most comprehensive books on Small Animal Internal Medicine but I did not know the National Veterinary Medical Series (intended as a preparation for the National Board Examination). This book is an excellent compendium of all you should know on the subject but does not spoon-feed you what yo should know before hand (anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, semiology, etc.). If you are willing to brush-up these areas on your own, this book is excellent: it gives you all he information you need to diagnose and treat most internal diseases of dogs and cats in the shortest space. Read slowly, thought, it is packed with information and every line counts! At $ 35, is a GREAT deal!

The appearance of this book is rather uninspiring and with its emphasis on National Boards and Clinical Competency Tests it may seem irrelevant for students in the UK. However there are a few clues on the cover which hint at something very useful contained within; e.g. quick, accessible, reference.

There are two main parts to the book. The first provides a source of approaches to over 38 different presenting signs in order to assist in diagnosis. Each of these chapters is clearly set out with definitions, causes, clinical findings, diagnostic approaches to help you eliminate and select from lists of differential diagnoses. It is a great provider of easily understood tables of differential lists and possible tests to distinguish between the diseases. The second part works through the main conditions of each organ system and the diagnosis and treatments for each disease. This is done in somewhat more detail than the first part but there are still sufficient diagrams and tables to make the essential information readily available. Throughout the book there are sections of questions to help you revise the previous topics.

Although you may not believe that such a large topic can be anything but superficially covered in a book of this size, there is an amazing amount of information here. It's a bit like Mary Poppins' magic carpetbag, it is hard to believe how much is contained within these pages. The authors have been concise not brief. No space is wasted with in depth discussions of pathophysiology or various treatment regimes but relevant preclinical information is covered. OK so you couldn't use it for writing an essay or as a sole provider of information for internal medicine but to help prompt your memory during revision and as a speedy reference this book is far superior to any of the completely comprehensive texts. Don't forget you should never judge a book by its cover.

I am an inveterate dog-earer, often bending the pages unconciously, and I find, after reading Robert B. Shaw's SOLVING FOR X, that I've folded down the corners of 17 pages! I haven't messed up a book of poetry this badly in a long, long time.

Many of the poems in this book are metrical, and quite of few of them employ perfect rhyme. One of these, my favorite in the book, is "A Roadside Flock," a poem ostensibly about copper weather vane roosters, which concludes:

" . . . their giddy doom to pivot, / prey to the winds that flounce about the sky. / It's not the life we'd live if we could live it.
And gleam gives way to verdigris, raised high // to weather drably, exiled from the ground . . . / Feel that? A hint of breeze. Birds of a feather, / their regal beaks shudder without a sound, / and all the copper flock turns tail together."

But "A Roadside Flock" has a lot of stiff competition. I also very much enjoy "Airs and Graces," "A Field of Goldenrod," "The End of the Sonnet," "Dec. 23," "Espalier," "A Paper Cut," "Ant in Amber," "Seed Catalogues in Winter," "A Flashback," "Letter of Recommendation," "Out of Character," "Static," "September Brownout," "Other Eyes: Hurricane's," "Remainders," and "Living past 19."

I'm struck by how casual Shaw's style is, how downright funny at times, without being the least bit loose or nasty. It's a tricky way to write, but Shaw has mastered it, and I think this is his best book to date.

And that's saying something when you consider his excellent previous books or poetry: THE WONDER OF SEEING DOUBLE, THE POST OFFICE MURALS RESTORED, and BELOW THE SURFACE. But don't trust me. Read everything he's written, including his superb study of the poetry of Herbert and Donne, CALL OF GOD, and judge this intelligent, accessible, witty writer for yourself.

I am an inveterate dog-earer, often bending the pages unconciously, and I find, after reading Robert B. Shaw's SOLVING FOR X, that I've folded down the corners of 17 pages! I haven't messed up a book of poetry this badly in a long, long time.

Many of the poems in this book are metrical, and quite a few of them employ perfect rhyme. One of these, my favorite in the book, is "A Roadside Flock," a poem ostensibly about copper weather vane roosters, which concludes:

" . . . their giddy doom to pivot, / prey to the winds that flounce about the sky. / It's not the life we'd live if we could live it. And gleam gives way to verdigris, raised high // to weather drably, exiled from the ground . . . / Feel that? A hint of breeze. Birds of a feather, / their regal beaks shudder without a sound, / and all the copper flock turns tail together."

But "A Roadside Flock" has a lot of stiff competition. I also very much enjoy "Airs and Graces," "A Field of Goldenrod," "The End of the Sonnet," "Dec. 23," "Espalier," "A Paper Cut," "Ant in Amber," "Seed Catalogues in Winter," "A Flashback," "Letter of Recommendation," "Out of Character," "Static," "September Brownout," "Other Eyes: Hurricane's," "Remainders," and "Living past 19."

I'm struck by how casual Shaw's style is, how downright funny at times, without being the least bit loose or nasty. It's a tricky way to write, but Shaw has mastered it, and I think this is his best book to date.

And that's saying something when you consider his excellent previous books or poetry: THE WONDER OF SEEING DOUBLE, THE POST OFFICE MURALS RESTORED, and BELOW THE SURFACE. But don't trust me. Read everything he's written, including his superb study of the poetry of Herbert and Donne, THE CALL OF GOD, and judge this intelligent, accessible, witty writer for yourself.

Robert B. Shaw's newest book of poems, Solving For X, possesses two qualities that are not always found together: lyric virtuosity and emotional depth. Few poets write so securely in their sense of line and stanza; few poets write with as much moral insight and emotional persuasiveness. Very few, indeed, combine these two qualities so happily, as in "Ant in Amber," which I quote in full:

Ever since Fate's undeviating thumb
englobed this ant in aromatic gum,
eons of weighty chafing in the earth
have milled it to a bauble of some worth.
Nature expended quite some enterprise
in getting this poor sap to fossilize.
Now honey-hued, translucent, it displays
intact the forager of former days:
every last leg the little soldier needed
is here embalmed, or we might say embeaded.
Didn't the Greeks believe such beads were spawned
as tears of sunset, hardened as next day dawned?
Knowing the source (a long-gone, weeping tree)
makes this a different kind of prodigy-
a model instance, maybe, of renewal-
interred as ant and disinterred as jewel.
Thus in our scale of values, though we can't
be sure it would appear so to the ant.

The poem displays throughout the sobriety, lyric self-awareness, and precision of the middle style. The sober clarity of the poem is a function of the diction, especially the qualifying adjectives, and of the way in which the syntax drapes the couplets: subject/predicate/subject/predicate in lines 1-4, and then a quickening of the syntax in line five, followed by the expansive adverbial phrase with the groan-worthy pun in line 6. Never is there syntactical displacement to accommodate the rhyme. It is obvious that the poet is composing by the line and the couplet and that the form has not distorted the syntax but sharpened it. The poem conveys a sense of lyric self-awareness in the self-corrections: "...embalmed, or we might say embeaded" and "a model instance, maybe, of renewal." These self-corrections or hesitations are an aspect of the almost Ciceronian rhetorical structure of the poem, with its four line introduction, its general thesis, exposition, conclusion, and peroration in the final couplet.
For all its cleverness, the poem is not light or exhibitionistic. The final couplet combines litotes and the informality of the rhyme on "can't" to prevent the rhetoric from rising beyond the level that is appropriate to the emotional weight of the argument. Although we may notice that the amber is analogous to the poem itself, this analogy is not imposed on readers.

At some point a reader wants to construe poems in relation to the poet's intentions, insofar as they can be discerned. Some of Shaw's own ambitions for his poems might be guessed from "A Paper Cut":

Whatever first impressions may allege,
this poet's work does, after all, have edge-

Witness my finger, slivered to the quick
as payback for its disapproving flick.

Granted, I turned the page with reckless haste,
calling no halt to justify my taste.

But does the stuff deserve a second reading?
Feel free to guess. It stings, but there's no bleeding.

If "bleeding" signifies the strong emotional response of a reader, this seems to be something Shaw expects to experience in poems that merit a second reading. In any poet who seeks such a response to middle style rhetoric there is much restraint and ellipsis. "Style," after all, is not the representation of a persona's emotional state, but the representation of a persona's emotional state as he is speaking. The emotions in Shaw's poems are often reflective, their sufferings and pleasures not stated but powerfully implied.
Robert Shaw is one of the wisest and most skillful poets now writing in English, and this is perhaps his finest collection yet. Anyone with a modicum of interest in contemporary poetry should seek out his work.

After reading David Wilkerson and Lester Jacobs promote this mans life and history in the Lord---I have to read this book! Is there anyone out there that could share one with me? - Or sell me one? Publisher is sold out, so I"m counting on my christian friends out there to hep me once again..Thank you so much in advance...Christian Love

This well edited selection of George Muller's own writings is a faith builder second to none. Living without fund-raising, or even letting the needs of the ministry be known, the account of the depth of trust that Mr. Muller developed in God's soveriegn supply for over 10,000 orphans, and his reasons for doing so are practical, inspiring, and just what is needed in the face of the post-modernist onslaught. Stories mixed with excerpts from Mr. Muller's own diary and other writing bring real life to this easy to read book. One of the very best I have ever read.

George Muller was an extra ordinary man. One who trusted completly on the Lord to provide all his needs, and without asking or telling anyone what was needed. The Lord tested Muller's faith many times, but always delivered on His perfect timing. For those who don't know about George Muller; he built a very large orphan housing totally by petition to God in prayer, without asking or soliciting to anyone else, but to God alone (the Triune God of Holy Scripture). God literaly gave Muller millions; for his heart was for the children and God's will, not for his gain. Muller was so blessed by his work for the Lord and the orphans, that he lived a very fulfilled, yet humble life. This is a must read if ever there was one. Sadly, it's out of print. This book must be put back in print ASAP. May God grant us all the strong Biblical faith that of Muller. God bless. PS Also by Rodger Steer, you must read "George Muller: Delighted in God." This book is still available.

Lynn Vanderzalm's latest book, Spiritual Sunlight For The Weary, is a must read for those who suffer with chronic illnesses. She especially speaks to those who live with a very misunderstood illness called Chronic Fatigue Immune Disfunction Syndrome(CFIDS). Reading the devotionals gives us insight into the connections we have as fellow sufferers, and brings comfort to those who feel "alone" in their battle. I am so thankful to Lynn for once again helping others with her insights.

I primarily read books written by Christian authors from a Christian perspective. Finding "Meditations" was literally a God-send. It includes brief narratives written by Christians of all ages, male and female, who presently live with CFIDS. They candidly describe the devastating effects CFIDS has had on every aspect of their day to day lives. I actually found myself talking to the book, and shaking my head in agreement--feeling relieved that there are others out there who feel what I feel emotionally, spiritually, as well as physically. Each meditation ends with a brief, practical prayer to the Lord--not so much for divine healing, but for perseverance and hope.

I searched high and low for a devotional book that I could heartily recommend and this one is it! You'll love this cozy, comforting-feeling devotional and as you flip through it you'll quickly recognize that this is a book that hits reality! It's the kind of book you reserve a permanent spot for on your night table, so go get a dust rag and find a spot! Even the soft binding makes it easy to hold-- very important for a person, such as myself, who lives with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.

All the topics titles look like someone has peeked into your journal, but the words on the page speak deeply too. This isn't a "don't worry, be happy" meditation book. Rather it's like getting a letter from God that says, "It's okay.. I understand.. move a little closer so I can give you a hug."

Some Devotional Topics Include: Why this Waste? What am I Worth? Why all This Suffering? Receiving a Gift I Didn't Want.

Buy 2. You'll want to give one away to a friend and you won't want to get rid of yours for an instant.

Lisa Copen
Director, Rest Ministries, Inc.
Serving people who live with chronic illness or pain.
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