Death Books

This book is written is such a good way to help you through the grieving process. It details what's "normal" and helps the grieving person sort out their feelings. Though nobody goes through the grieving process the same way another person may, this book gives guidance on how to cope with the feelings of loss and sadness. I found it encouraging and supportive and at the same time, it seemed to help me recover a little more from my loss.

I have used this book repeatedly - both with myself in the loss of a child - and as an offering to others experiencing loss of loved ones. It is an excellent daily aid to the confusion following shock. It is brief and to the point and offers so much hope - hope that the nightmare will come to an end and one will be happy again.

As a funeral directer, I highly recommend this little booklet. We give these books out as a gift on a regular basis to grieving families. The chapters are short, informative, inspiritional and filled with pracitical help. Those in grief find it hard to concentrate for long periods of time. The chapters are short and well catagorized to find help without having to read volumns of material.

This is one of the best grief books I've come across. I buy many of them for friends and new people I meet who are grieving.

Very consoling messages in this book. Helps one cope with the loss of a loved one.

This readable memoir of one of the darkest parts of World War II in the Pacific theater brings Lester Tenney's experiences as a young man, recruit, soldier, prisoner of war and repatriated civilian to life. Mr. Tenney's journey through the hell he describes leads us through pain, despair, hope, bitterness and ultimately to the forgiveness he found. We learn about one man's faith in family and loved ones that led to his determination to survive. Anyone interested in World War II will find this a valuable resource. My book group (women in our fifties and sixties) was moved by this book. Several bought more copies to give to friends and family.

This is a story about a terrible event in history. This is not a fun story to read but it is one that needs to be read to help us appreciate how good our life really is. There are many memorable parts to this book, I am amazed anyone could survive this.

I remember this situation when I was 10 years old during WW2. This is a fascinating read and so well written that I could not put it down. It tells it like it was..

I just finished this book, and I must say I am inspired. Lester Tenney deserves an enormous amount of respect and admiration for what he endured and acomplished during his time as an american POW.

While this is not exactly a full account of the Death March and the surrounding events filled with statistics and data, it is Tenney's first hand account that makes this horrendous event so palpable that the reader feels as though they are enduring the very same hardships.

Do not expect this to be a simple or comfortable read. While the book has some wonderful and very happy moments, namely Tenney's own postive attitude and inner strength, these moments are doubled by nearly unbearable situations that will make you cringe, as any story about one of the most horrifying events of the war should. Tenney describes in extreme detail the atrocities of the Japanese military. While this story is anything but rosy, it is indescribably important, as it tells a story which seems to be forgetten in our society. What these men suffered through was every bit as terrifying as those on the battlefield, and those who suffered during the Holocaust. Tenney does their story justice, and shows us that these harrowing men deserve every bit of respect and admiration as any other serving in an American uniform.

The story of the Bataan survivors is at the same time unbelievable and infuriating. It blows my mind the cruelty these heros were subjected to on an hourly basis and at the same time I'm ashamed to say that part of me feels like Japan got off easy with two nukes dropped on them. That anybody lived at all is in itself no small feat.

The book itself is a great read. It was obviously written by a survivor, so consequently it has that 1st person feel that I like.

I've read a few books about reincarnation, but this one has to be one of the best. It's well written and it tells it from all sorts of angles. Even the statistics are there, while it also managed to speak to my heart in a way none of the others did.

I received the book just a few days after ordering it. I immediately got an email responding to my order explaining everything clearly. The service was the best. Very responsible and reliable person!!

the book is a very fast read. It contains data from many researchers on the subject, especially how other cultures view reincarnation, which is very informative but it begs for more. The stories described are fun to read.

I ordered 5 books from Amazon on this topic. This one was by far the best. Some of the others got really boring really fast, but this book had me captivated from start to finish. It certainly was a very comforting book to read. Since I got it over a year ago, it has not been in my house because everyone I know wants to borrow it! I hope to get it back soon to re-read!

If reincarnation is real, and if we develop deep bonds as soul families, then it makes sense that at least some of the time we would reincarnate right back into the same family to work out unfinished business. This is the premise of Carol Bowman's book, Return From Heaven, and she offers numerous true accounts of children whose parents observed behaving and speaking and thinking like good ol' granddad, or auntie so-and-so. Many people, even those who don't normally believe in reincarnation or past lives, have wondered whether the infant in their arms wasn't the returned soul of an aged or not-so-aged relative recently deceased--anyone who has entertained such a thought will enjoy Return From Heaven. I found this book simply fascinating, and I'm sure that many who read it will begin to run over in their minds the behavior of their children and realize that they have been parenting and nurturing someone deeply familiar to them--their own nearest and dearest.

Richard Salva--author of Soul Journey from Lincoln to Lindbergh [UNABRIDGED]

Virginia Lanier's bloodhound series opens pretty convincingly in this book which has enough plotting and subplotting to fill three books. We're introduced to feisty JoBeth Sidden, a near-thirtyish trainer of bloodhounds who also has her own company which does search and rescue operations for local police authorities. In this debut, JoBeth is involved with an abusive ex-husband; the mysterious will of her deceased artist father; a handsome new lawyer in town; escaped criminals; missing children; a handsome private investigator; and lots more. JoBeth is even framed for the attempted murder of aforementined Bubba, her ex! While it takes a little patience to get into this book, once you do, you'll find yourself rewarded. Lanier has a flair for Southern life, and her characters are sharply drawn and developed.
I'm looking forward to further adventures with JoBeth and her hounds!

"Death in Bloodhound Red" is the first in the Virginia Lanier "Bloodhound Series." It is a great book and so different from most mysteries that I am surprised that I had not heard of the series before.

This is a series to buy all at once because once you start reading = you will not want to stop.

"Death in Bloodhound Red" is difficult to classify even though it is a mystery. It is not a superficially light book and there are parts that will make you laugh and parts that are very somber.

Jo Beth Sidden raises and trains bloodhounds and utilizes them for tracking in a small county in Georgia. Her life is rather interesting. Her deceased father became a famous artist when she was a teenager, while most of her childhood was spent in dire poverty. Her childhood though, is in many ways very mysterious.

Yet by working continually, Jo Beth has built a kennel and bloodhoumd business. Businesses and law enforcement agencies hire her and her dogs to seek out drugs and criminals.

Jo Beth is rather a tough woman because she has had to be. But she is working at addressing the vulnerabilities in her life and this dialogue is reflected as well. She is a very ardent feminist because she has had to confront countless prejuidices in her life of work.

Virginia Lanier has topped my list for new authors.

A Must read series - All of Viriginia Lanier's books. The characters come alive on each page. Her description of loving and smart bloodhounds will endear you to them forever. You can't wait to read what happens next. A true treasure of a character is Joe Beth, a woman detective and her bloodhounds.

The sub-genre of "dog mysteries" is not nearly as extensive as "cat mysteries" for reasons I will never understand. (After all, do cats really care what human beings do to each other? I don't think so.) In this specialized arena, Virgina Lanier's Bloodhound books are definately best in show. "Death in Bloodhound Red" is one of the best novels -- in or out of the mystery genre -- I've read in a long time. Yes, the plot is meandering and convoluted, the conversations are of a length only southerners can aspire to, and the language is as dense and atmospheric as the scent of jasmine on an early summer day. But what matters in the end is how completely Lanier manages to submerge us in the swampy world of southern Georgia and the wonderful profession of search-and-rescue with her beloved bloodhounds. If all the following books aren't always as over the top excellent as the first, who cares? They are all great and the bloodhounds get even more time on stage as the series goes on. What more could you want?

This is an incredible first book of a series, that sadly is behind a couple years. The books are; 1996-Death in Bloodhound Red, 1997-The House on Bloodhound Lane, 1998- A Brace of Bloodhounds, 1999-Blind Bloodhound Justice, 2000-Ten Little Bloodhounds. I'm not sure why we don't have books for 2001 and 2002, but after you read the first book and then run out and buy the next four that continue without dropping the pace and excitement, you'll mourn the gap in the series. Especially using the recommendations, its not that infrequent I get a new author 'can't put me down'er. However this was one of those I read through as fast as I can because of the tension and mystery, and then start right over again to read for the wealth of information and the beauty of the text.

I can't think of anything this book doesn't have. There is a strong female protaganist, and one that hard to work her way from the ground up as well (as I did) that I really appreciate. As a now breeder and trainer of bloodhounds, Jo Beth is a complex character with sometimes warring qualitis, but one that acts consistently within the defined pesonality. The tension with the maniacal ex husband catches you quickly, but the mystery picks up and holds you as you go on. Additionally I love a book that provides some other new knowlege and this book is rife with knowlege about 'The South', the Okenofree swamp, and Bloodhounds. I've checked some of what I learned here with a friend who has been in the swamp and the South and it's been checking out. As an animal lover as well, you really get to love the bloodhounds and the knowlege of scent tracking and bloodhounds in particular is wide and varied.

Yet Virginia Lanier sneaks the information in without any long boring solioquies. She always manages to get the right amount in to help you appreciate the story and does it in a way that goes with the story, like say explaining something to a new person, and then drives back to the plot before you could get bored. And she makes it fascinating. As I said earlier I was interested enough to talk to people till I found one that had been in the okenofee swamp, and I've got bloodhound research on my list of things to look into as well. As far as the south in concerned, I feel she does a good job of showing the pros and cons, the beauty and surface graciousness on the surface, and the misogeny and the racism underneath.

The Harding administration is buried in 20th century obscurity. Aside from the words "Teapot Dome", which few laymen know anything about, and the overriding scandal that dogged Harding's reputation after he left office, there are few people who would even know the name of the first lady.

Florence Harding portrays the image of a plain, dowdy hayseed, but the author brings her to life in the context of an amazing time in our history.

The 1920's were a time of a burgeoning economy, a rich underground economy with speakeasies, amazing jazz, racial awareness, and a recovery from World I. Florence Harding worked behind the scenes to prop her husband up to the challenge of the presidency. Recent revisionist historians have re-examined his presidency to look at his leadership, and his vision beyond the republican side of the aisle.

Florence Harding welcomed in the Jazz Age, consulted "spiritual advisors", and looked at feminist causes long before many of her contemporaries. She also loved and adored her husband, looking past his infidelities, and his out-of-wedlock children.

Warren Harding was in over his head as President. He was an innocent idealist who was thrust into a dark horse candidacy by unscrupulous men who he believed were his friends. He was also a popular and beloved President at he time of his death.

This book, however, is about his wife. She was a tirelessly driven woman, cannily intelligent, with a strength that propelled her to the pinnacle of American leadership.

It is a story few would undertake to tell, and it is riveting. While Florence Harding never comes off as likable, she is portrayed as loyal, admirable, and visionary beyond her time. There is a touching passage, as she sits next to Warren's open coffin, when she tells her husband "nobody can hurt you now, W'urrn".

She clearly understood the power of the office, and the damage it had done to her husband.

An engrossing biography, on an unlikely subject.

Writer Carl Anthony has composed an outstanding biography in his work Florence Harding. Harding Florence Harding been one of the more easily understood or admired First Lady's in this nations history, this book would have been written years ago. However, Mrs. Harding's legacy has been in the past told and retold more as a tabloid story than factual account.

When approaching this book, one needs to understand how Mrs. Harding's legacy was tainted by three men, none of which was her husband Warren G. Harding. First, Gaston Means - a grifter and one time low level FBI agent - did a master job at maligning the deceased Mrs. Harding in his book, The Strange Death of President Harding, a ghost written work that was penned by a tabloid jouranlist who sued Means when he failed to honor his obligations to the writer. In this book, Means paints the picture of Mrs. harding that is pervasive in American Pop Culture: that Mrs. Harding was clueless love lorn hag, who spent her time with mystics plotting the Presidents next moves in star charts. This is an image that the public bought, hook, line and sinker.

The other two men who betrayed Mrs. Harding were her doctor, Charles E. Sawyer and his son Dr. Carl Sawyer. The Sawyers held Mrs. Harding in their sway - she believed that they were great medical doctors, however it was the elder Sawyer's mis diagnosis of President Harding's heart condition as food poisoning. When Charles Sawyer discovered that the widowed First Lady's kidney ailment acted up, he travelled to Washington DC and demanded that Florence return to Marion Ohio for treatment at his private Sanatorium rather than seek treatment at at the better suited facilities in Washington. Mrs, Harding was placed in a cottage at the facility, and then kept at the facility by Sawyer's son Carl after the elder Sawyer died. Following Mrs. Harding's death, Dr. Carl Sawyer assummed total control of the Harding Memorial Association and maintained an iron grip on the Harding legacy until his death in the 1960s. As with all great dictators, Carl Sawyer controlled all aspects of the Harding legacy. As a result, the public never had a fair opportunity to study the Harding's, but rather were fed a steady stream of "approved" information about the couple.

Anthony's work goes the distance in seperating the negative myths from the honest truths in her life, which by any standard was not charmed. However, the author does take liberties in communicating his emotions about Mrs. Harding. He believes that she has been mis-portrayed and his passion about correcting that sometimes overstates her case. However, his book is very well documented by copious endnotes and reliable first person accounts and primary documents.

This book will never be a New York Times best seller - the public would rather believe that Harding Myths inseatd of the facts - but for those who care to learn more about the truths of the 29th President and his most remarkable wife, this is a satisfying and accurate book to read.

How to make a fairly dull and unpleasant like Florence Harding come alive is a difficult enough feat, however the author does a splendid job of doing it! Expertly researched and pleasantly told, Mrs. Harding comes off far better than she has ever been depicted before - and perhaps even better than she deserves.

I found this book hard to put down. I had not realized all the things this obscure first lady was involved with in her life. She looks like somebody's stern grandmother so when I idly looked through this book, I was surprised to find myself drawn in immediately. It is a large book, but I read it very fast as I just could not put it down. This is how a biography should be written, it is well researched and yet still reads almost like a novel.

Carl Anthony reports in his prologue that the inspiration for this project came from none other than Alice Roosevelt Longworth, one of Florence Harding's collection of mercurial and dysfunctional friends. That fact alone speaks volumes about the tenor and atmosphere of the story. Perhaps aware of America's antipathy toward "The Duchess," Anthony has given this work a title worthy of an Oliver Stone epic. The reader who gets past the burlesque title will discover an intensively fascinating narrative of a driven, unconventional woman intertwined with a malleable young newspaper editor. When, years later, the Duchess would tell her "W'urrn" that she had made him president of the United States, many of their contemporaries would have agreed.

Born in 1860 to an Ohio businessman who wanted a son, Florence was in fact raised as a boy until her fourteenth year, when her domineering father realized that what he had actually created was a feminist with an attitude. He struck back ferociously and physically; Florence eventually retaliated by having herself impregnated by a hayseeder several years her junior. Christmas Day of 1882 found the young mother homeless and abandoned. Anthony takes the time to access the options available to this intelligent, ambitious, but impoverished woman. Determined to not disappear into rural Ohio obscurity giving piano lessons, Florence makes two critical decisions that would change her life forever, for better and worse: she gave her child away, and she set her cap for the man through whom she could make her mark in the public forum. On the surface these seem like cynical strategies, but with feminist sympathies Anthony takes pains to remind the reader that American business and politics were both male bastions in the Gilded Age. There were few routes for a woman of ambition.

Florence married the handsome and randy Warren Harding and immediately took over the operation of his local paper, turning a handsome profit and expanding the couple's business ventures. Anthony lets his facts carry the story: the Harding marriage is clearly one of convenience, arguably Florence's more than her husband's. Unencumbered by children, the Duchess, as she came to be called for obvious reasons, had time to consort with the political beat writers and politicians who came to Marion. She tended bar at their poker games, plied them with liquor for information and party gossip, and strategized a grand design for her husband's career in Ohio Republican politics. Managing Warren Harding was a full time job. He was not by nature ambitious, he was not a particularly good businessman, and he was not physically or mentally well, having suffered nervous breakdowns and indications of cardiovascular disease. His most obvious flaw-and one particularly odious to his wife-was his womanizing, which continued virtually to his death, with little concealment, and occasionally on the sly with her best friends.

For two people as different as Warren and the Duchess, it is surprising that they shared one common fatal flaw: they were both dreadfully poor judges of character. For all her intelligence and savvy, the Duchess became dependent [perhaps co-dependent] upon two outright rogues, Charles "Doc" Sawyer, her personal physician, and a gypsy fortune teller, Madame Marcia, both of whom exercised excessive influence throughout the entire Harding Administration. There is a sense in which Florence becomes more insecure with her greater success: Anthony describes her as weeping on Warren's Inauguration Day because of Madame Marcia's prediction that the new president would not live out his term.

Writing about a president's wife inevitably involves detailing the president and the presidency itself. Anthony does a creditable job in paying appropriate attention to Teapot Dome and Veterans Affairs scandals, for example, but in ways that keep the focus of the narrative on Florence and other political wives--Grace Coolidge, Emma Fall, and the aforementioned Mrs. Longworth, for example. The later unraveling of the Harding Administration has obscured the activism of the First Lady; Anthony reminds us of the Duchess's emotional investment in women's rights, veterans' welfare, animal rights, and international peace.

Anthony takes the position that the fateful 1923 "Alaska Trip" was essentially the First Lady's act of self-promotion. Ostensibly, the President's lavish cross continent tour was undertaken to rally political support at a time when congressional investigation of the executive branch was accelerating. The author's narrative of the trip forms a good portion of the book and deservedly so. Warren Harding was depressed and ill as the presidential train left Washington and journeyed across the continent. After innumerable speeches and rallies, the party sets sail from California to Alaska, traveling overland to sites that have probably not seen a president since. Although Anthony debunks many of the myths about the trip, the facts are strange enough-the presidential vessel collided twice with other vessels, and several members of the party were killed in various accidents.

The great mystery of the trip among conspiracy buffs is what [or who?] killed Warren Harding. In one sense the answer is simple enough-the trip exhausted the president to the point where he either suffered a stroke or heart attack in San Francisco. That we cannot say for certain is due to the Duchess, who permitted only Doc Sawyer to treat her husband. Sawyer's incompetence is excelled only by his arrogance; when Herbert Hoover fetched a renowned cardiologist from Stanford to the president's bedside, Sawyer, who was treating the chief executive with questionable purgatives, would have nothing to do with him.

For a veteran of the journalist profession, the Duchess's management of the news of the President's death was poor, and veteran reporters at once smelled cover-up. Most likely her immediate concern was the reputation of Sawyer, and she refused permission for an official autopsy. But her greater worry was the legacy of her husband; she spent weeks burning his official papers and personal correspondence. Her podium destroyed, Florence Harding outlived her husband by one year; she died while in residence at Sawyer's "sanitarium."

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A fast (as in "easy") and furious (as in "will cut your head off with a band saw if she thinks you are cheating on her") collection of 50, 1950s hellcats running wild and taking a bite out of every thing in their path, only to be corralled and caged by a legion of clean-shaven boys in blue. These cases are the very best in vintage crime reporting.

If you are in the mood for a crime novel that is sent in the 1950s and explores the depths of degradation and reckless brutality in a woman's soul, I would suggest Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door. But if you prefer your1950s' murders and mutilations to be 100% factual, and 10 times more vicious, then look no further... this book is for you!

Do you know what they call men who are completely ambiguous to the violence and wanton cruelty that women can inflict on the world? Bachelors! Or suckers. Don't be a sucker, wise up and order this volume of female fueled aggression - it just could save your (night) life.

Vice girls: trapped in a world of prostitution and dope, for these hopeless souls prison or death is their only out. Vixens: found on the arms or penthouses of the rich, these knockouts use their charms, and in some cases--blackmail, to suck every last penny from their lust-struck patrons. Hellcats: murders, thieves, and gun molls, all fleeing the cops while heading for the next big "take down." Meet all the girl in this collection of true crime tales.

With all the intensity and drama of a dozen Eugene O'Neil plays, and sporting writing style reminiscent of a black and white DRAGNET episode, HELLCATS is sure to tickle the fancy of any true crime buff; especially those who like lurid tales of sex, violence and death --- and sometimes not it that order.

In a world where many times the entire grief process is misunderstood or blatantly ignored, this book is a cool oasis in a time of personal need. There were so many passages in this book that I could see myself going through as a widow. So many relevant points -- sometimes we try to push the grief away, to keeping insanely busy. . .

Carol Staudacher urges those in grief to slow down and think about the loss, study it, let it come in so it can faced and a healing process can begin. It's certainly not easy, but better than avoiding the pain inside. We need to take "emotional inventory" so we can deal with our individual aspect of grief, realizing that our idea of normal will never be the same. Elaine Williams

This is a very comforting book to those who have lost a loved one. I discovered it after my son died 7 years ago and have purchased copies for others after their loved ones have passed away. I think it is the best grief book that I found, which is why I highly recommend it.

This book is so healing because one picks it up again and again, just about every day, and little by little it does it's miraculous work, like an ointment.
Every aspect of the innumerable crazy things our minds seem to be filled with in the aftermath of a loss are to be found there.
The author has done an amazing job of listening to bereaved people,and describing the different mental and emotional states, with the resolutions and practices that go towards healing, so one is encouraged to climb out of the hole or pit in which one finds one's self.
The tone is compassionate and encouraging all the way.
My husband of 38 years died almost three months ago, and this little book has helped me enormously.

I like the philosophy of short one page passages and thoughts, since I have a busy lifestyle. I pick up this book, before bed at night; during a break in mid day; or whenever I have a few free moments. Each page is written but a different person----some things apply to me, some don't, but it's easy to skip around. This book is not for someone looking for deep psychological help.

We are a woefully undergrieved society in great need of good resources for those who are in need at the time during and following a major loss. This concise and heartful book will bring solace to most who read its pages.

Each short meditation is organized in the same way. The header has a "crux of the problem" statement from a griever - something like "I just can't deal with it now, it's too much to handle." or "People tell me not to dwell on it, to go on with my life." or "I wake up in the morning and I feel as if I am in a nightmare. I can't believe this has happened to me."

Below that, there is a quote from a wise sage, a short meditation and a closing affirmation supporting the meditation.

The quotes alone are worth the price of the book.

My only criticism is that I wish there was a table of context or a thematic index. It would have made it so much easier to find things.

If you are grieving and/or if you know someone who is grieving (and don't we all?) this book would be a great companion for the journey.

Highly recommended.

Good book, dragonflies are our 'mascot' for my cancer support group and we love this story.

This simple book is the best yet on the subject of discussing death with a youngster. It was enlightening for ME!

Death and Dying are a difficult concept to explain to young children. Water Bugs & Dragonflies gracefully addresses this subject with illustrations that are clear and meaningful enough to share with grieving adults. Because of this book, our family has adopted the dragonfly as a meaningful symbol representative of a beloved friend recently deceased. I highly recommend this book.

I know many pastors who recommend this book for use with children. I recently gave it to an adult friend on the death of her sister. Simply put, it is a tale of transformation told for those who are left behind when a loved one goes on to the next phase. simple and timeless.

When I first received this book, I thought there is no way this is going to help explain anything and boy was I wrong. My husband of 5 years passed away very sudden and unexpectedly and I bought this book for our two sons who are 4 and 2. I read the story to them when I first received the book. The whole concept of how the water bug's body changed once he became a dragon fly and how he could not go back into the water was excellent. My 4 year old evey requests me to read this book to him. The prayer at the end is awesome. THANKS from a worried mother!

The author offers interesting perspective to our eternal soul, and some of the passages in the Bible - especially about Jesus. He does contradict his position about Mediums and "cold readings" at certain points in the book, but all-in-all this is a good book - worth the price.

Robert Brown is a phychic sensitive who shares what he's learned about life & so-called "death" in his book "We Are Eternal".

He begins by discussing his "early years" - including the fact that he started off as a "certified skeptic" - with his original goal being to prove the non-existence of psychic abilities. From this point, he shows how & why his views changed, as well as when he realized that he actually had this gift that could be used to help others in so many wonderful ways...

Mr. Brown then goes on to discuss what he's learned over the years regarding various "major" life topics, such as:

Suicide - you can't run away from anything, even through death.

Death of Children - there is a "reason"

Disease - the need to maintain positive thoughts, the damage of prolonged negative thoughts, and the need for there to be a balance between the body & the spirit

Disabilities - we all have the "right" body for our mission

Religion - it's time for people to move away from "blind" faith, and return to their spiritual roots. He also discusses the good and the bad of some of the world's largest religions.

Some of the other topics discussed include: pets, reincarnation, karma, life after "death", and what happens to "evil" people.

Overall, I found this to be an easy, interesting read. As such, I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in spirituality &/or the "paranormal". An open mind is a must!

My husband and I lost our 20 year old son, Nathan. Our grief was intolerable.We had so many questions; where did he go, does he still exist in another place, who is with him, helping him? The day after his memorial service, we found ourselves in a book store looking for answers. We both at different times picked up the book, "We are Eternal". We thought this was a sign for sure that we were to read it.
While reading the book, We were able to find strength in knowing that he still existed, that this was not the end for him but rather a new beginning. My husband, who rarely ever reads, read it at least 20 times. We became stabalized and when we fell pray to our grief, we read it again and found strength. This book got us through and continues to get us through the toughest times of our lives.
We will never see death the same way again. It has forever changed our understanding of who we are and what we are here for.

I'm giving this book five stars because I think that unlike Beatrice Eadie and Sylvia Browne, this author is on the level and actually gets communication from the people we consider dead. Beatrice went much too heavy on Jesus Christ, who is, after all, just a man, and Sylvia is, I believe, someone who makes it up as she goes along and sometimes contradicts what she has previously written. I don't believe a word she writes. So when I come across "the real thing" I have to give it five stars.

The subtitle of this book is "What the spirits tell me about life after death". The problem is that this book does not live up to that promise. It tells next to nothing about life after death. For that, your best bet is Journey of Souls by Michael Newton, the very best book ever written on the subject, taken as a unit with his second book Destiny of Souls. Newton's third book doesn't add much and focuses on less interesting matters.

What did I learn here about life after death? I forgot. Not much. Warning bells started going off early, when the author was simply too chatty, taking too much time to tell us his early adventures in mediumship, making us wait too long for some information of substance. Whenever an author does that, you can reasonably suspect that he isn't going to tell us much.

Give me a minute to remember ONE THING that I learned from this book about life after death. He said that we fall into four different basic types - teachers, healers, warriors, and philosophers. I'd be a teacher. I am always shooting off my mouth about things. Communication is a mania with me, which is why I write so many Amazon reviews. Also, I can take a kid who is failing high school math and turn him into an A student in one or two lessons because I have a gift for teaching, by determining what the person already knows, and building on that, rather than by following my own agenda and hoping he gets it.

I can see myself spending a lot of time with the Akashic records, viewing Napoleon's battles, seeing history develop from a bird's eye view, that sort of thing. I'm always reading books now, in this stupid life. Imagine how much I'll be "reading" back home, when the "books" are what we call reality.

I wish this book lived up to its subtitle and told us much more about what our lives are like when we leave this life. I have so many questions. None of them are answered here.

If you've lost a loved one, have psychic intuitive abilities that you are trying to figure out, if you are a fan of Jonathan Edwards or James Van Praagh or Tiffany Snow or Sylvia Browne, this book will be a pleasure. Understand what it is like to live the unique life, one where no path is there to follow, and the trail blazing is left up to you. May we each be as bold!

DEADLINE's Ben Wolf knows he is dying. An aggressive blood disease will kill him within the year if he isn't treated. With treatment, he might extend his life some. Ben chooses to refuse treatment. He also chooses to keep his condition a secret from everyone except his doctor and the therapist his doctor forces him to see. He throws himself into his last year of life. He finally tries out for football. He pursues the girl he's in lust with. He tries to sober up the town drunk. He acts up in class because what does it matter if he doesn't graduate?

Crutcher, as usual, doesn't fear including issues in his story. There's sexual and physical child abuse, alcoholism, and bigotry. At some points these issues threaten to overshadow Ben's story, but Crutcher keeps them under control.

The diminutive Ben feels fear. He feels sad and he doesn't want to die. Every time his brother or girlfriend talks to him about the future he feels guilty for his lies. But, at the same time, he's a happy narrator. He's doing things he loves and making the most of his final year. He does not regret choosing not to fight the illness with drugs nor does he regret the relationships he makes. (He should regret some of his jokes.)

I don't regret reading DEADLINE. I cried at the end, yes. Ben dies. There is no miracle cure. But I thoroughly enjoyed spending time in his head, watching him do some things so right while still making large mistakes. I cried, but I felt happy. Ben worked hard to make sure the people he affected most would be able to handle his death. He made a choice at the beginning of the novel and defended it to the death. I respect him for that. I will also continue to read Crutcher faithfully, no matter how many of his books get banned.

Excerpted from In Bed With Books

This is the first Chris Crutcher book that I have read, at least I cannot remember another at this time. I am confident that I will read more of his books. He is an exciting and captivating writer. I find it very interesting that he writes in the first person of his main character, but then adds this interesting dialogue with a spiritual character. There is great depth in the dialogues and interactions between characters. The book moved me.

This book would be appealing to oler adolescents. I would package it as follows: Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were told you had a limited time to live? This novel introduces one way that a person may choose to live a limited time. The characters are believable and come alive in this well written novel. I think you will enjoy this book.

The book was really good. At times it can get slightly boring and slow, but Crutcher always brings things back up to pace again.
It's written very, very well, and the ending wraps it up nicely. Few parts are predictable, having many surprises throughout.
I would definitely recommend it.

If you have ever read the book A Walk to Remember, or even watched the movie, then you know the feeling that you get when you find out that your favorite character is dying. Intense sadness; anger; desire for change; hope that it's not true; and then finally, you just give up. You know it's true, but in the end it doesn't make it any more bearable.

In Deadline, you know from the very beginning that Ben Wolf is going to die. It is inevitable... even on the front cover it says it. The evidence is everywhere. But, since it's introduced so early in the story, you don't really think about it as more than a plot point.

So, what would you do if you were going to die? Well, I'm sure there are different answers for different people, but I know Ben's answers. He wants to make a difference. He wants to stick out. He wants to live life to the fullest; and he does. He goes out for football, despite the fact that he weighs less than a hundred and thirty pounds. He befriends the town drunk. He starts arguments in class, trying to get people to think about life and the way things are. And he finally gets the guts to ask out that perfect girl he's had a crush on.

And throughout all of this, he is the only person (besides his doctor and his therapist) who knows that he's dying. But obviously he can't keep it that way.

This book was truly amazing. It's a real page turner, from the very first sentence. Chris Crutcher isn't one to waste words; he doesn't write anything that doesn't mean something to the story, so this book isn't full of pointless banter. It has feeling. It has meaning. I can truly connect to the characters in a deep way. I felt like there was just the right amount of sarcastic humor and life messages to make this a really enjoyable book; you will laugh, you will cry... and you will also fall in love with this book.

I am a middle school teacher and read this book over the holiday break. I really enjoyed it but would recommend it for high school-aged readers. There is some cursing and references to sex, which I'm not saying is bad. As a teacher, I just know I'd have some unhappy parents to deal with if I assigned this to my 6th graders (although they would have really enjoyed the story). Great themes of loyalty, friendship, and courage.