V Books

I read this book in adolescence and it has stayed with me since then--over 20 years. I have thought of Eric's story many times over the years, especially now that I have my own son. I think that I will read this book again and add it to my permanent collection. It is very touching albeit very sad.

Eric is the heartbreaking, inspirational true story of Eric Lund, a seventeen-year-old boy who is diagnosed with Leukemia just days before he is set to leave for college. This book is a memoir written by his mother, Doris Lund, about Eric's unwavering will to survive, and about how his cancer affects not only himself, but everyone around him.

When it's a story about a terminal illness, there can be no unexpected twist. As soon as I read the description on the back cover of the book, I knew basically how it was going to start and how it was going to end. But it's what happens in between that makes Eric Lund's life so interesting. What makes him different than many whose lives have thrown seemingly indomitable obstacles at them is that Eric refuses to give up. Even when the doctors, despite their greatest and heartfelt efforts, can offer only ominous warnings, it doesn't prevent Eric from living his life to the fullest. In this way, Eric isn't just the tragedy of a boy whose life deteriorates little by little. Instead, it is the motivational story of a man whose confidence, positive outlook, and exceptional will to live bring hope and joy to everyone around him.

Of course, Doris Lund doesn't leave herself out of the picture. A lot of the book is focused on her own hopes and fears instead of Eric's, on which she can only speculate in many instances. She is also honest about her rocky relationship with Eric and the difficulties that they sometimes had communicating, which is something that most teenagers and their parents can relate to. I couldn't help noticing that there are places in the book where Doris Lund interrupts the flow of her writing, perhaps with a misplaced or awkward metaphor, but then she quickly remembers that this story is beautiful and memorable on its own without too many fancy words and phrases to distract from it.

Even if you don't usually read this kind of literature, I still recommend Eric. It may be depressing, but it's not cynical, and it leaves you with the kind of hope that Eric held on to his whole life.

I have probably read this book 8 times since it first came out. The first time I read it was shortly after my brother had been diagnosed with a form of leukemia. This book is a wonderful tribute by Doris Lund to her son, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

This story is just a good read, and such a testimony of a young man struck with lucemia, his spirit his valor...emotions are stired to beyond words.

I hate to be the skunk in the five-star garden party, but I remember reading, or rather trying to read, this book when in high school some *cough* 20 years ago. I could barely get through it. Apparently I wasn't alone, because someone else had graffitoed on the (soft) cover, "This book sucks. Don't read it."

Sometimes I think there should be a moratorium on grieving parents writing about their dead offspring. Aside from one brief moment when Lund catches her son checking out girls in a hospital corridor or waiting room, I don't remember a single aspect of Eric's personality aside from "Mama's Little Angel." And although my memory is vague on this, I seem to recall the book contains a fair amount of delusional mumbo-jumbo about "God's will" ('scuse me while I barf).

If you want to read a superb book by someone who lost a child to cancer, read "Death Be Not Proud" by John Gunther. That book preserves every quirk of his late son Johnny's wry sense of humor and considerable intellect, and actually makes you regret that the son didn't live to take up the father's pen. Not only that, but Gunther deals with hard questions of mortality and loss without resorting to the kind of sticky sentimentality you'd expect from Oprah or the "women's channels" on cable TV. Cripes, even Marie Killilea's books about her handicapped (no, NOT "differently abled") daughter Karen are better than Lund's book.

The entire genre, for obvious reasons, is for the most part manipulatively mawkish, but that's what sells, I guess. If you have an "I Believe in Angels" bumper sticker on your car, Thomas Kincaide "paintings" on your walls, and every CD Whitney Houston ever recorded in your music collection, go ahead and order "Eric." You'll cry your eyes out and write a five-star review.

I applaud and respect, Ms.Brookshire. I believe from reading her testimony, that she is a woman of God, and was highly favored during this ordeal. In this book, I learned what that phrase "NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME SHALL PROSPER.

I can't believe her then Mother-In-Law, knew of her son's medical status, and did not warn this woman, this makes the mother, her son accomplice.
No wonder why they both got what they deserved.

This woman is a real "Trooper". God bless you.

this was a very powerful book she believed deeply in god and he was there for her every step of the way even though her husband treated her badly i was very happy she found someone who loved her and believe in the same things as she did i love this book

This is one I borrowed from the library but definately will buy to add to my collection. I read this leisurely in 4 days staying up pretty late on the 4th day trying to finish it. It is amazing what someone can get through when God is carrying them. I am astonished and happily excited by a story like this one. Thank You for sharing Mrs. Brookshire.

This book was awesome. I read the book in a day in a half. This book was passed to me from my Aunt. I learned a lot from ready this book. Just to wait and listen closely to what Jesus has to say. Don't jump into relationships without seeking Gods face first. From this day forward my life will never be the same. I will continue to be more observant of that gut feeling that we get, they are not always butterflies but Jesus trying to tell us something. LaJoyce Thank You So much for sharing your life with all of your readers. This is definitely what God ordained you to do. I was always taught that God allows us to go through things so that we can help others that may face similar situations and so that we can have a testimony to share with others.

Be Blessed and Highly Favored

Tjis is a must read for all females young and old to read. AIDS IS A DEVASTING DISEASE!

This wonderful book tells the remarkable story of one of the most interesting women of all time. It is wonderful "read" and as colorful as Frida herself.

I read this book when it was first published and it changed my life, the way i looked at art and the way I approached my own art. Frida was an enigmatic personality, a genius of the surreal emotions we have. I adore her and her art. The book by Hayden Herrera was so thoroughly researched that if you end up visiting Coyocan, you will feel familiar with it and the cultures that surround it. Wonderful biography, well written, well researched and what a great service the author has done in educating us on an incredible artist that would have otherwise been hidden behind the shadows of her husband.

This is a paintakingly detailed biography, yet rather than making for tedious reading, it flows smoothly from the pages...Hayden Herrera has done an incredible job with the story of Frida Kahlo, the most famous Mexican artist in history.

Written in the late 1970s' (when many of Frida's friends and intimates were still alive to interview), this excellent book combines letters (to and from Kahlo), first person anecdotes and historical records (along with a decent selection of photos and paintings), to create a sweeping portrait of a very, very interesting life.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Frida (and maybe some stuff you didn't), is in this book.

"Frida" is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys Frida's work or just wants to know more about a very interesting, opinionated, talented, brutally honest (especially with herself), yet very vulnerable) woman.

I learned about Frida when I took art history in college. I always wanted to know more about her because of her art work. She was so passionate! Although she was considered an abstract artist. Her art was very REAL. You can feel what she feels by looking at her art. This book really helps you understand what happened in her life and attached the painting that went along with that specific period in her life. Very well written.

I bought this book after re-watching the movie taken largely from this exhaustive biography. As someone who has read many bios, let me say that this is a refreshing and encouraging alternative to the fawning and excessive grocery store drivel and/or the dull and fact-filled dissertations that describe most biographies. Hayden Herrera manages to combine a staggeringly comprehensive detailing of Kahlo's life with an easy prose that makes for an engaging read. I know far more about this artist than I could've imagined and it is largely first-hand accounts either from the pages of Frida's own diaries and numerous letters or the people who were there. Herrera keeps her personal opinions regarding the events to a minimum and allows the events to speak for themselves. The life of Frida Kahlo needs no additional padding or maudlin tricks to engender a connection to anyone with a heart and soul. When the author does speculate, it comes from someone who has clearly studied her subject thoroughly and backs up her theories with a wealth of compelling evidence and sensible arguments. While her appreciation for Kahlo is obvious, Herrera does not stop short of being critical, questioning Kahlo's motives, and revealing the stark humanity and insecurity that Kahlo tried to obscure with her public persona as the confident, outspoken, provocative enchantress sporting her exotic Tehuana finery.
However, the best use of Herrera's research and the clear compassion and empathy she has for this incredible woman is when she analyses Frida's paintings. I found myself continuously turning back and forth from the detailed observations and interpretation to the paintings and trying to understand what the author is talking about. It was fascinating reading and a wonderful exploration that shed light into the depths of Frida's intensely personal art.
Two last notes: First, the version I bought does not sport Salma Hayek on the cover but instead one of Frida's many self-portraits. Apparently the publishers corrected this unfortunate decision based on movie marketing. Second, I was fortunate enough to take in the amazing exhibit of Frida Kahlo at the Philadelphia Museum just a few weeks ago and it was a moving and special day. Seeing the actual frames dripping blood, the size and grandeur of some of the works juxtaposed with the smaller works, and the sheer emotionally gravity of her art was something I'll never forget. Having read much of this biography by that time, I was able to bring that much more to that exhilarating opportunity.
Frida Kahlo was not just an extraordinary artist but was moreover an extraordinary person. Herrera's heartfelt, deeply researched, and brilliantly written biography allows those of us who never knew her to feel as if we have and to share in the universal quality of her painful work. That alone makes us better people for having experienced it.

This is a wonderful book for those who want to know more about the actors who play on Friends.

The pictures of the actors are very good.

This was an awesome book that any Friends lover would love to have in their collection. I loved reading every bit of it and had it read in a few days if that long. Very interesting stuff in there. We have all 10 seasons and watch them quite often. We will never get sick of watching, learning about or hearing about our FRIENDS!!!

This is perfect for any Friends fan. It has interviews, photos, episode guides, summaries, biographies, trivia, and so much more. This book is amazing. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it because it is just so great. The design is fun, the words are inspiring, and it is all just truly nostalgic. If you really love Friends, then you need this book!

I bought this as a gift for my sister for Christmas...she is OBESSED with the Friends show. The book had tons of great pictures, intervies, and information. I loved the picture on the front cover...all of the Friends stars look so beautiful! Then, on the back cover, it is amusing to see a completely opposite picture, all of hte Friends stars from one of the earlier seasons dressed very casually painting grafitti on a wall :-)

Any Friends fan will find something of interest in this book!

I like the Series even more after i lookes into the Book and read it.
Lots of Pictures and Information.
A friend who i purchased the book as Present also looks the Series again with the book in the hands and find always new things, that i never realized before (and he saw friends over 8 times!)

recommendable.

I loved HEART OF THE BEAST so much, I had to own a first edition. If Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres could win the Pulitzer, BEAST certainly should have. While they're both rural family dramas, Weatherford's debut novel is considerably better in every category: first-class writing (almost every paragraph is startling somehow and cliché-free), gripping plot (with truly original turning points, rare depth), and convincing, intense characters like no one I've ever known (with dialogue to match). If Weatherford keeps writing like this, they'll have to create a new genre just for her: Triple Threat.

I've never read a more compelling or vivid exploration of the emotional heritage of hatred and the suffering (and ongoing hatred) it begets. There are paragraphs so divine I keep re-reading them to my friends and myself to try to figure out how Weatherford did it (and in her first novel!).

This novel is single-handedly responsible for raising my standards for literary fiction: Now that I know it's possible to produce a story as full as this, I want it this good all the time.

What captured my interest most in this novel was the psychological journey of the main character, Iris. At the beginning of the story, most of Iris' family is dead. However, all of her dead family members linger on in her internal world, continuing to cause varying degrees of harm.
Throughout the novel, the reader follows Iris as she struggles to continue to operate her family farm, but we also witness a process much more subtle, which is the rebuilding of the main character's mind. In my opinion, this is creatively expressed in the process of recasting the family sculptures, specifically those of herself, her mother and her father. A very interesting book, full of many levels of meaning.

I could not put this novel down! When I finished, I sincerely missed Iris, Henry and the rest of the Steele clan. The author's love for her characters is not only evident, it is passed on to the reader. Weatherford breathes life into her characters by addressing their faults and allowing the reader to accept them. Each word is written honestly, intelligently, beautifully, and with tremendous passion. Never have words been more perfectly chosen and never has a story been more deserving to be told. The entire spectrum of emotions can be found on a single page, and the reader feels involved, rather than like an on-looker or outsider. "Heart of the Beast" is an amazing experiance, unique from any novel out there.

HEART OF THE BEAST by Joyce Weatherford

HEART OF THE BEAST is the debut novel by Joyce Weatherford, which tells the tale of a family that has farmed and ranched for many generations in eastern Oregon. Their history ties them to the Nez Perce Indians, who now claim that the land, known as Heart of the Beast, belongs to them, and they plan on fighting for it until they get their land back.

Iris Steele, 28 years old, is the youngest survivor of this ill-fated family. She returns home to see to her dying mother, the beautiful Elise, and to help settle the estate. Iris's father Ike and older brother Jake have long ago passed on, and she is the only one remaining that will inherit the land that her parents farmed. Upon the death, Iris locates her crazy aunt, Hanna, Elise's sister, and she arrives promptly straight from the psychiatric hospital with her "heads", sculptures of several generations of Steeles and Winters. Hanna is obsessed with these heads, and now she needs to complete the very last one, that of Iris. Hanna cannot rest until this is done.

Iris is informed about a law suit against her family, in which the Nez Perce Indians claim the land she's inherited, The Heart of the Beast, is theirs, and she now braces to deal with yet another problem. And as she readies herself for this trial, she remembers her past, her life growing up in Oregon, and the tumultuous story that was her family.

This novel can only be described as tragic. Iris's family history is filled with men and women that farmed for a living, raising horses and cattle and growing crops, from the first generation that traveled the Lewis and Clarke trail as they made their way from the East Coast to Oregon, down to her own parents. But it was not out of love that they lived on the land. It was with a hatred and a violence that is graphically described quite succinctly and with much detail by Weatherford. Iris's father was a man filled with hate, showing only disdain for his children, anger towards his wife, and ruled the land and their home with a military arm. But as Iris relives her family's history, it is obvious why her father Ike Steele was as cruel and sadistic as she knew him to be. A family history of larger than life men and women fill the family tree, and it is this history that Iris remembers in detail, as well as her own childhood and memories of what living on the land meant to her.

HEART OF THE BEAST will be one of my favorite books read in 2004. It's told on an epic scale, taken out of American history books, yet most of it takes place in contemporary times, which is hard to believe as the images one gets from reading this book reminds one of days of yesteryear, when the West was still being tamed. It is mention of songs by Prince and Ever Clear that brings the reader back to the present. However, the story of the Indians and the white men that helped build this part of the country makes one think HEART OF THE BEAST is a story that takes place in the past. This reviewer feels that anyone that loves to read a good novel is going to enjoy HEART OF THE BEAST. Highly recommended!

This book was absolutely wonderful- a beautifully written gripping story. It has marvelous descriptions of that harsh and brutal land and the people who have to sometimes be harsh and brutal to survive it. Having been there, she described Eastern Oregon to a tee, although I have no first-hand knowledge of the ranch life (thank heavens!). I chose this for my book club, and everyone loved it. I knew the author when she was in college, got in touch with her after 20 years, and she agreed to participate in our club's meeting via phone. She was as interesting as her writing. I can't wait for her next book!

The author describes in just the right amount of detail, what his residency in orthopedics was like at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. The struggle between the incredibly demanding hours of training and his responsibilities as a husband and dad are intense. Throw in some moonlighting on weekends in the ER and "you're good to go insane." A perfect summer read.

I really enjoyed this book. The author was very down to earth and had a great sense of humor. He included a number of wonderful stories about his experiences during his residency as a surgeon. I found it very hard to put this book down.

From the moment I started reading it, it was like the initial incision with the scalpel on my brain and I could not stop until I got to the end (close the incision--take the patient to the recovery)!! Dr Collins has done a great job in this fast paced easy to read manual of the 4 years of residency at the prestigious Mayo clinic revealing to us the incredibly long hours of residency while raising up a family, living from pay check to pay check(earned mostly by moonlighting), driving cheap cars(esp the Battleship, ha!),dealing with life and death decisions on a daily basis and eventually making it through it all. The doctor has a great sense of humor (I guess 'tis one of the survival tactics in the battle of life.) His scalpel sharp pen can touch the soul of the reader! You will laugh and weep through it all(as must have Patti(his wife) and the kids). It has given me a greater appreciation for doctors--they have a high endurance coefficient! A must read for all the doclings and doctors-to-be.

After making the decision to return to school after 7 years to become a cardio surgeon- I seriously doubted my own abilities. I read everything I could get my hands on concerning others and there first year experiences. Hot Lights, Cold Steel was amazing. I was able to relate with Dr. Collins and soon realize that I too may be ill prepared for like as a resident but along with anything, time, experience and studying will prove that I too can be just as amazing as he is. (Only difference- he has 12 children, whereas I only have 5). This book is a 5-star hands down.

I can tell when I am reading a book that I really enjoy, it keeps pestering me until I finish it. Read it in 2-3 days!!! Very enjoyable. I even like the binding on this hardcover, large inside margins, etc. Hey Doc, how about writing another book??????

At thirteen, Julie Edwards - or Miyax Kapugen - was married according to the agreement between her parents and those of her bridegroom. Miserably unhappy in her temperamental husband's home, Julie fled. She and a wolf pack befriended each other, out in the wilds of her native Alaska, and because of the wolves Julie has survived to find her way home. Back to her widowed father, who (to her considerable surprise) has missed her and looked for her. And then, when told falsely of her death, has mourned for the daughter he loved and now knows he should not have pushed into that early marriage.

In Julie's absence Kapugen has married again, and his new wife is a schoolteacher from Minnesota. Ellen has convinced Kapugen to give up, for the most part, his life as an Eskimo hunter. Although they still live in the village where they met, Kapugen flies an airplane and cares for a herd of domesticated musk oxen while Ellen continues with her teaching job. Julie's homecoming is marred not only by her doubts about her father's choice of a fair-skinned, red-haired outsider as his new wife, but also - far more - by her terror of Kapugen's insistence that if and when the wolf pack comes to hunt his musk oxen, he must kill them. Julie knows that Kapugen means it, because he killed one of "her" wolves before. She can't go off to high school in Fairbanks, not even when she falls in love with a young Eskimo man who will be going to the university there. She has to stay in the village until she figures out how to save her wolves from Kapugen, whom she loves despite his growing departure from the ways he taught her to follow.

Coming of age novels with girl protagonists are rare enough, if one doesn't count (and I certainly do not!) those books whose whole point is how that girl learns to accept the limits of traditional femininity as the cost of mature happiness. Books like this one, about a girl who comes of age by meeting physical and intellectual challenges thrown at her by Nature itself - and by the clash of cultures, too - are rarer still. Marvelous! Simply marvelous!

Julie was about an Eskimo girl who got lost in the Alaskan tundra. Julie, the girl learned to live by wolf ways. She followed the wolves and they accepted her. Amaroq was the pack leader and Silver was his mate. Nails was Amaroq's best friend and Jello was the lowly puppy-sitter. Kapu, Sister, Zat, Zing, and Zan were the puppies. Amaroq got shot by a helicopter flier and died. Kapu was also shot but was nursed back to health by Julie. Julie then found her father, Kapugen (Kapu was named after Julie's father.) near by. Kapugen had stopped following the Eskimo traditions and married a gussak (white) woman. Julie was not at all thrilled about this. Then she saw flying goggles hanging in the house. Julie then realized that Kapugen had shot Amaroq. Julie learned how Kapugen had changed. Then, she found out how Kapugen had started an industry in musk oxen. The caribou which is sort of like a moose or deer is one of the most eaten animals on the tundra. The wolves also eat caribou. The caribou was not going through Kangilik, where Julie was now living or where Kapu and his pack were. The wolves were very hungry and needed food to live off of. What will Julie do to save the wolves?

This one, in my opinion, is a bit better than the first one. Since this one has more social interaction, it makes time seem to fly by much quicker. It also contains the same friendly wolves, which also makes it exciting for anyone who read Julie of the Wolves.

This book is very amazing, it is just as good as it's original, 'Julie of the wolves'. I really loved reading this book, and I'm sure you'll love it too, if you love animals. Don't waste your time on another 'tundra imitation' book, get Julie of the wolves, Julie, and Julie's wolf pack now!

This book is about a young girl living in Alaska, in the village of Kangik trying to get used to her new home. She hears that her father will kill her wolf pack if they kill another oxen. She then goes back out on the Tundra to find her pack and lead them to Caribou. This book is wonderful and teaches us about Eskimos and their traditions. It is a fantastic novel telling how one girl is so in touch with all other living things. If you love learning about other cultures or love Julie of the Wolves and want to see what happens next, then you have to read this amazing book!

The story of Olive shows us how we all have strengths and those strengths are important even if they are different from others. It can teach us to be creative on how we can best use our strengths. Most of all it is a sweet story about a very sweet dog named Olive. I loved reading it as an adult and gave it to someone who also enjoyed it very much.

this is a great edition of Olive. the illustration is as wonderful as the story. it's one of my husband's favorites and he wasn't disappointed. the look of this book corresponds with the latest movie edition.

No other Christmas carol has such a hold on children's imaginations as "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer." (*see note) Even the youngest child understands the joke of this book's title.

When a little dog named Olive hears the lyrics "All of the other reindeer..." she thinks the line is, "Olive, the other reindeer" and concludes that she is in fact, a reindeer, not a dog. Hi-jinks ensue.

This tenth anniversary edition has scratch and sniff gumdrops, flaps to open, levers to pull and a pop-up scene at the end. Reading the "otto-biography" of Seibold on the Chronicle Books site, I learned that the names of his children (and their images) are tucked into the illustrations, shades of Marc Brown and his Arthur books.

Skip the video and enjoy this book. It is a charmer.

I got this for my 3 granddaughters, ages 6 and under. They loved it!

What a great book! My family and I loved the dog, Olive, that came with the book, too. I plan to read this book, and share the stuffed toy with the area school.

Rusesabagina starts his book with a most memorable entry:
"This is a work of nonfiction. All of the people and events described herein are true as I remember them. For legal and ethical reasons, I have given pseudonyms to a handful of private Rwandan citizens. Each time this is done, the change is noted in the text.
My name is Paul Rusesabagina. I am a hotel manager."
With those simple words he solidifies the ultimate strengths and weaknesses of the book.

Overall, An Ordinary Man is an excellent book, written by someone who actually experienced the terrifying happenings of Rwanda. In fact, the author is responsible for saving 1,268 people. However, he maintains that he was just merely doing his job; he was simply a "hotel manager, trained to negotiate contracts and provide shelter for those who need it" (204), nothing more and nothing less. The book is a simple read, but do not think the simplicity of his words undermines their significance. It allows his book to reach a much larger audience, and, in doing so, he is able to call out that the "tools of death [can become] reappropriated. They [can become] tools of life" (204).

In the end, Paul Rusesabagina provides us with shimmering hope, in light of tragedy. He reminds us that ordinary men have the ability to ward off evil. Ordinary men can do what is right, what is decent, and what is just. Ordinary men hold this power. He reminds us that there are good people who stand in the face of evil. There are those who can make a difference, and those are the ones who must act: because there is an evil out there. There is an evil we must all fear every day: the indifference of good men.

Like all the other book that I order at this time this book give their perspective on the affect of war. The class inwhich these books are being used is based on the affects of war from different nationallities.

Surprisingly everyone else rates this as 5 out of 5.
It is good, but not that good.
Paul's writing style is a little dry at times, and shows his limited education.
It is also a littel disjointed , and doesn't give enough insight into characters that he had known before the genocide, and they could have been expanded with further background.
The book took longer to read than it should have, and did not hold my interest or intensity as others on this subject have.
Nevertheless, it is a great adjunct to understanding the movie "Hotel Rwanda" , from which this film was based.
Still an essential part of everyone's library, but I would probably not read it twice.
Derek

My product arrived in time and in very good condition!

would definitely purchase again

This autobiography was written very well. The author was committed to getting the facts out without glorifying himself. Done very well. I appreciated being told about the genocide in Rwanda without all the gore. I understood perfectly what he was describing without seeing it on screen. I learned so much from both his experience and his trials trying to get help from other nations. Great book!

The Rhythm of Life is a book that I keep going back to. It brings back that life is made up of choices. The choices we make reflect on how balanced our life can/should be. Happiness is not brought about by the amount of "stuff" we have, but by the substance we share physically, mentally, and spiritually within ourselves and others. I've been told that a happy home consists of a good coffee maker and dog. After reading The Rhythm of Life I need to add to a good coffee maker and dog to include a good book, church, and God in your soul. Well worth reading.

This book is so thought provoking that I plan to buy 5 more copies and share with important people in my life. I enjoyed the insightfulness of Matthew Kelly--this was the first book I have read of his and have moved on to Perfectly Yourself: 9 Lessons for Enduring Happiness.

If you are looking to examine your life and ask yourself some questions about how to move forward and become a person of greater character this book is for you.

The Rhythm of Life books are awesome, in great shape and arrived promptly. Thank you!

I have incorporated the teachings in this book to my life and highly recommend it for all ages.

I am a fan, this purchase was actually a gift for a friend, the perspective while not entirely unique, almost feels like it is, because it touches on the core issues that many of us identify as the true obstacles to personal , spiritual and emotional health. 5 stars becuase of the integrity and depth of the message... you can "tell' when the message is the result of a personal desire to identify ,and more importantly "share" via effective communication practical tools to change and grow