Death Books

I found this book to have valuable insights into some ways that friends and acquaintances can show their love and support to parents who have lost a child. It's sometimes hard to know what to say or do when we want so much to show that we really care. Cathy and Frank James tell readers some of the things that friends did that gave them comfort as they share their very personal story of grief and unimaginable loss. It's been several months since I read this book but those things have stayed with me. I'm thankful that they had the courage to share their story.

I bought this for a friend after the loss of their daughter. It was very helpful.

As the older brother of an 18 year old fatal automobile accident victim several years ago, I was interested in reading about how another family in a similar situation dealt with this type of grief. The authors had an interesting method of delivering their message and sharing their feelings. Instead of telling a fluid, chronological story, they opted to share their perspectives by writing their own sections in alternating fashion. Most of the book focuses on the life of their daughter as opposed to the grief they felt after losing her, keeping the tone as uplifting as possible. I wish them well in their ongoing recovery.

Cathy and Frank James are good friends of mine. I watched their son and daughter grow up and was privileged to share with them their children's accomplishments.

Unfortunately, the price of friendship came due all too soon when their daughter was taken tragically in her youth. If I had the benefit of reading such a book at the time of her death, I, in a small way, would have been better able to help them. I now see that by their writing of this, they want to, as much as is humanly possible, to help others who have such a tragedy befall them - truly one of the most Christian acts I've witnessed in my lifetime as they lay bare their very souls attempting to do so.

I'm far from being a religious man but, this being said, I see that a force larger than them moved them to write this book.

Walt Rauch

I was fortunate enough to meet Frank & Cathy at a national TCF (The Compassionate Friends) conference and they told me that they had written a book about their daughter. I feel this is a great book for almost any breaved parent. Although you do not need to be a Christian to appreciate their story, that would only make it better for you. No one can tell the story of loss and extreme grief better than a breaved parent. Very moving story with some very good ideas on how to cope with the loss of a child. (Personal opinion, not an indorsement by TCF)

"Killing for Culture" is a fascinating look at the subject of death in film and other media. Of particular note is the history behind the "Snuff" film, an urban legend that has persisted for years of movies where someone on-camera is murdered, for real. Of course, not one single frame of a snuff film has ever been uncovered, but that hasn't stopped the legend from appearing, and re-appearing, over time.

In addition to the sections on snuff, other areas of the death genre are explored, from the "Mondo" films of the 1960s, to the present-day "Faces of Death" style gore feasts. It makes for a fascinating, if gruesome, study of the various death genres of film and video.

CREATION books has taken over the world of publishing books about cinema and this is the best one the have released. A very thourough, well researched and fascinating journey into the subterrainian world of the Mondo movie. David and David approach the subject with abject skill and make every word count even when describing films that would send the average person into a coma for years to come.

This book breaks the barriers and dispells the myths makig it an essential purchase for anyone interested in the darker regions of cinema.

Autopsies. Car crashes. Suicides. Executions. Horrible accidents. Human remains. Assassinations. Welcome to the horrifying and disturbing yet often weirdly fascinating world of death in film. Face it, most people are strangely attracted by images of violence and death - just like stopping and watching when an accident has happened.
KILLING FOR CULTURE concerns death in films. The book starts with the story of an obscure movie named SNUFF in 1976. Originally titled SLAUGHTER, this 1971 ultracheapo horror flick about a MANSON - style murder spree was considered unwatchable and remained unreleased for several years until movie producer Allan SHACKLETON got an idea: He shot a new ending, where an actress was seemingly "killed" on camera for real (though the basement special effects clearly proofed otherwise). Cleverly promoted with the slogan "shot in South America, where life is cheap" SNUFF turned out to be a huge success. This was how the concept of snuff movies (where people are killed for real) was introduced. Other feature films like EMMANUELLE IN AMERICA or LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET further elaborated on this concept. The authors review the above mentioned films and many more in great detail and with much knowledge.
Further chapters revolve around the socalled "mondo" (shockumentary) film and how this genre evolved, starting with MONDO CANE in 1962. Writers KEREKES and SLATER show in a very detailed way, how mondo directors faked and re-enacted death footage, which was allegedly "real". I found this making - of approach particularly interesting. Many of the horrifying mondo films (like THE KILLING OF AMERICA and the infamous FACES OF DEATH series) are dealt with in lengthy reviews. Considering the subject matter one might expect that the book is written in an exploitative way. This clearly is not the case.
Further chapters concern films where real atrocity footage was used - like the US porn movie FORCED ENTRY about a posttraumatic stress disorder suffering Vietnam veteran rapist, whose "activities" are interspersed with actual combat newsreel footage. The last chapter details how tabloid papers and feminists are propagating the urban legend of snuff films.
The sheer amount of facts concerning real reel death the authors have crammed in the relatively small book is amazing:
Hospital documentaries like the 6 hour long NEAR DEATH. Nauseating underground films. The famous ZAPRUDER amateur film of the assassination of president John F. KENNEDY. Autopsy films like THE ACT OF SEEING WITH ONE'S OWN EYES. Driver education films depicting the daily carnage on the streets. Incidents where people committed suicide live in front a camera - like Pennsylvania state treasurer Budd R. DWYER, who blew his brains out with a .357 revolver during a press conference after being convicted of bribery. The GIMME SHELTER concert film, where a camera by accident caught some Hell's Angels stabbing a man. (Please note that these are only a few examples of what to find in this excellent book.)
The book is illustrated with dozens of highly interesting pictures (video covers, stills, posters, ad material, newspaper clips).
And, yes, the infamous Japanese GUINEA PIG series is covered as well. On a lighter note, the authors also review a hoax autopsy film of a Roswell alien (!)
As you can image this book is disturbing, sometimes revolting and could be offensive to some. Clearly it is only for the most devoted fan of extreme and obscure cinema/film and the most hardened horror buff. But for these groups it is absolutely indispensable. I can't praise it high enough.

A much-needed, carefully researched book that looks into the darkest of cinematic shadows. I especially like that they debunk the snuff film industry. Also commendable are the copious footnotes and the exhaustive index that lists movies by their alternate titles, directors, and years of production--very helpful when scouring the video stores for "Guinea Pig 2," "Man Behind the Sun," or even "Gimme Shelter." Certainly it gets into some stomach-churning descriptions, but I appreciate the dispassionate approach to a topic usually dealt with by pandering, slavering idiots. These Creation books, man I love 'em.

Killing for Culture is the first and most sought after of the Creation Cinema series. It covers all types of death in film looking at how it is portrayed and why. Nothing is left out from the real death seen in the Faces of Death video series to the elaborately staged "real" killings in fictional films to the wanton slaughtering of animals in the Mondo series. Yes, even "snuff" films are discussed in various sections first looking at their depiction in Hollywood films such as Hardcore (1979) and then speculating on their existence.

The chapters on snuff films is definitely the most interesting if for no other reason than this is probably one of the only available filmic studies of it. Kerekes and Slater share the opinion that while there probably ARE a small number of snuff films in existence, it's highly unlikely that there was ever any sort of underground market for that sort of thing. They define snuff not as a film of someone simply dying, but as a film made for the sadistic pleasure of the viewer. In that sense, TV news clips of plane crashes and such do not constitute snuff. Along the way, they examine some films rumored to have actual deaths onscreen. Films like Last House on Dead End Street (1977) and Snuff (1974) were made with the entire cast and crew using assumed names. Thus, they are sometimes seen as obscure films made by a bunch of psycho killers. Kerekes and Slater do a great job of finding out who actually made them and how they staged what many thought to be real murders.

There is a nice history of Mondo film and it looks at various cultural implications of Italian and, later, American film crews invading other countries, exploiting and terrorizing natives, and slaughtering animals senselessly. It will make you think twice before buying the new-to-DVD Mondo Caine series.

For anyone who has read a Creation Cinema book, this is not much different. There are many black and white stills of varying degrees of quality. The writing style is fairly sloppy. Kerekes and Slater are not cunning linguists in any respect. They are, however, good researchers and excellent film buffs. Their enthusiasm for these films are evident on every page. Their descriptions of the terrible plots, acting, and directing are quite funny, but it's always clear that as technically lacking as the films are, they still love them. As a fan of "bad" movies, I understand where they're coming from.

If you like films such as Thriller: A Cruel Picture, I Spit on Your Grave, Toolbox Murders, Nail Gun Massacre, etc., you'll find this book is an amazing resource. It's great that somebody is looking at these films in a somewhat academic way without forgetting that they are, above all, entertainment. This book has been out of print for a while now and as a result the price is fairly high (and getting higher). I recommend picking up a copy at any price before it's too late. Enjoy.

this is the second in the series, drawn by frank frazetta. the pic on the cover is the good guy. there're 4 books in the series. i dont think they're still being printed out. considering book 1 was published in the early 80's. i own all 4 though. they look thoroughly read. they are all really good reads.

Great sequel, just like the others. He, in the mask of destruction, her, qwelling the beast within him. His axe, drinking the deformed enemies. Great, fun, Conan like adventure.

This one was my favorite of the four books. It picks up immediately after Prisoner of the Horned Helmet. Gath of Baal is on a quest to find and destroy the Master of Darkness and tame the power of the Horned Helmet once and for all. Towards that end, he has taken the beautiful sorceress Cobra captive, intending to use her as a guide. Cobra, through her dark ties with the Master of Darkness, is able to remove the helmet, enabling Gath to wear the helmet without the threat of its imprisonment. But Cobra soon discovers that she has lost her power, and once again Gath is a prisoner of the helmet, which both makes him nearly invincible and yet feeds upon his great strength at the same time.

Meanwhile, The Nymph Queen of Pyram, Tiyy, a high priestess to the Master of Death emerges in the wake of Cobra's fall from power. The enchantments that have maintained her unnatural youth and beauty for so many years have weakened, and Tiyy senses the existence of a girl whose spirit might sustain her forever. This girl is Robin Lakehair, the girl that Gath loves, and now the only one capable of removing the helmet. Tiyy enlists the aid of the Lord of Destruction, Baskt, a primordial shark transformed into a manlike demon by the sacred black wine of the Master of Death. Tiyy charges Baskt with task of finding Robin Lakehair so that Tiyy might feed upon the girl's spirit, finally regaining her petulant evil beauty and unholy power.

All four of the books were flawless in my opinion, but this one respresented the high water mark for me. Like the others, the battles are violent, well orchestrated, savage but not mindless. Passions are rampant and destructive, lust, envy, rage. At this stage in the series, Gath is still dark and sometimes ambiguous, not yet quite equal with Conan's drving sense of honor, but more precisely measured with the destroying appetities of Kane. I have to say I fell in love with Cobra, who abandoned most of her evil ways at the end, becoming complicated and vulnerable. Tiyy was a consummate source of malevolence, a poisoned, corrupt beauty. Robin Lakehair tended to be the least developed of the characters, because she was simpler, more benevolent character with far fewer flaws and textures. The fight between Gath and Baskt was one of the best fights I've ever read, with Baskt far and away being one of my favorite villains ever.

I could not begin to recommend this book enough, if you enjoy this type of fantasy. It's a simpler, more elemental tale that hits you like a hammer. The primary experience is the writing, the journey, and their tribute to Frazetta. I don't know what ever happened to James Silke, But I mourn the fact that there were only the four books. Based upon the background I've read, the books came along at a time in which fantasy had lost some of its allure, and though there were originally plans to do more books, it just never happened. So treasure these four, and if you get your hands on them, do not give them up.

I had been a long time away from reading fantasy when I picked this one. It brought me back into fantasy stuff. The books strong points are it's agile storytelling and it's bizarre concepts. The author isn't excessively wordy, doesn't describe the settings and actions neither more nor less than he should. Concise writing. Good. He is also a little on the twisted side, as far as his villains are concerned. The evil on them is not comic book evil, or James Bond films evil - which are "light" villains. Silke's bad guys are "heavy"; really insane and mean. They don't need to boast to be cruel. There's a lot of sexuality in the book, which, added to the violence, would make me label it dark fantasy. And good one at that. For fans of the genre (who aren't disturbed by strong violence), I recommend it.

This book is one of the best books I've ever read. The whole series is just killer. If you like in your face and no-holds barred fantasy this is the series for you. I own the series once and lost it. I'm dying to get it again. the books have everything you could ask for in a series. Action, magic, suspense, and the good guys aren't always the nicest people nor do they always survive. For any SciFi/Fantasy buff this is the series to get. Have a nice day!!!!!!!!

This love story of eternal beauty guides us in the natural evolution of our loving relationships. We are encouraged to consider the boundless possibilities of 'love' and 'relationship'. With that comes the profound responsibility to recognize how vastly important each individual is in the grand scheme of life. The combination of the scholarly and spiritual delving in this story is such a workout that I would suggest reading the book once for the love story, and again and again for an ever-deepening exploration of our relationship to one another, to the earth, and to whatever lies beyond. Of paramount importance we must learn to listen and open our hearts. Cynthia Bourgeault offers a way to follow this simple yet challenging path.

I happen to have known the author very well for several years. She is audacious in nature, and her spirituallity is mixed with great ambition. A careful look at her personal past, her three marriages, and intense desire for spiritual recognition all suggest care should be taken.

Essentially a powerfully moving love story of two aging individuals, Love Is Stronger Than Death: The Mystical Union Of Two Souls by resident teacher for the Contemplative Society and spiritual retreat authority Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, is drawn from the life and experiences of Brother Raphael (Rafe) Robin, an Episcopalian priest, author and a Trappist hermit. The ability of human and spiritual love to transcend death and open the way to joyous bliss is superbly presented in this highly recommended and heartwarming tale of building an emotional, personal, and loving relationship for the future that transcends all earthly limitations.

There are few books to compare with this one. The nature of death and the power of love are explored from so many directions that, in the end, we are given a spiritual guide through life and beyond. Ms. Bourgeault shows us that we do not need to be limited by the generally accepted truths of the major spiritual traditions, nor by those of various esoteric teachings. Her personal experience speaks in every word so that, instead of an abstract treatise on inner work, we are shown a road map marked out by someone who has been there. This is the perfect book for anyone who has recently lost a life partner. It is also the perfect book for anyone who has just found a life partner.

Who could resist reading this book after seeing that awesome subtitle of "The Mystical Union of Two Souls?" Especially when it is told from a perspective of such compelling Theology as this intimacy of love between two persons! From the beginning of the "Preface to the Second Edition" by Cynthia Bourgeault and the Introduction by David Steindl-Rast, OSB, I became aware of her depth of this "Mystical Union of Two Souls!"

Nothing said by friends who recommended and loaned me their book even slightly prepared me for the powerful building blocks of this book! It kept me leaping from one level to another, almost as thrilling as shooting the rapids or going from low altitudes in a Jet Fighter Plane up to 35,000 feet level, without getting the bends! I ran through several examples of descriptions:

Chapter 3 on the "Mystical Completion of Souls": "These building blocks come mostly from the Christian esoteric (inner) tradition-- The Fourth Way of G.I. Gurdjieff--plus Christian hermeticism coming further from Jacob Boehme. The four building blocks are: 1) The union of souls 2) The idea of second body 3) The vow, or promise 4) "The wonders."

Later in the same chapter she describes "the time of bodily life the soul has earnestly pledged itself [to another] but has not forsworn that promise." During the last few weeks of Rafe's life before his death, he began "his crash course in enhancing his second body-- primarily through practice of "true resignation!" Although she describes theirs as a Physical Love story, it is totally without maudlin, syrupy-sweet, love scenes or the usual sexuality.

My understanding was a bit illuminated from reading from both Jacob Boehme and G.I.Gurdjieff. It came again from, "the laying down of one's personal will, in order to be unconditionally present to the will of God. [Not all-together new!]

After three short chapters in "Wrestling with an Angel" she uses a profound quote from a distinguished Psychaitrist, Helen Luke, saying, "Wholeness is born of the acceptance of the conflict of human and divine in the individual psyche." Immediately, she quotes Dylan Thomas: If the principal office of "love in this life is to unbolt the dark," to release its prisoners of shame, it seems that our wedding garments in eternity are spun... Here I glimpsed her hazy picture of that second body as a spiritual body close to the description of St Paul in I Corinthians!

Cynthia stretches us into her own understanding of "The Mystical Union of Two Souls," from her deepening spiritual love for her Hermit Monk, Raphael Robin. Joyfully, Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood

May I Walk You Home? by Melody Rossi did so much for me in terms of being able to share the Gospel with people who are in very difficult times.
The times when people need God the most can sometimes be the hardest to share with them because they are so upset, angry or simply closed off. Not only in the cases of terminal illness is this book a Soul saver. I had a friend who was suicidal and without hope while going through a painful divorce he didn't want. By using the steps and ways I experienced in the book, I was blessed to be able to get my friend into the most important relationship in his life in the most important time. He is now saved; in this life and forever.
Thank You and God Bless You Mrs. Rossi

Melody had me from page one. Her story--her losses, moved me to tears. I also cried from joy as she cared and ministered to her loved ones. This book should be in every Christian's library. This book encourages and teaches people how to step out in faith and take a risk. I related to Melody's fear and applaud her courage to do what she was asked to do. I know if I have the opportunity to be an instrument to bring someone dying to Jesus, I'm better prepared for reading this book.

Death isn't exactly something we enjoy talking about, and we tend to put off the discussion until circumstances force us to face its reality. All too often, by then it's too late, or very nearly so. That's why, as soon as a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, we need to get the conversation started --- and that's when a book like Melody Rossi's MAY I WALK YOU HOME? becomes an indispensable and invaluable resource.

Divided into four sections that parallel the journey from the initial diagnosis to the grief that lives on long after the patient has died, the book wastes little time and few words. Rossi chooses to plunge right in and offer immediate support and guidance to those who are reeling from the impending loss of a loved one. And she's wise in doing so. When a loved one --- or anyone in your sphere of influence --- is dying, you need help, and you need it now. Rossi packs a great deal of information and encouragement into this well-organized, 100-page volume. Caregivers should have no problem finding the help they need at the moment they need it.

The first section describes Rossi's experiences with the deaths of her parents, her stepmother and a close friend, all within a short time span, and how life came to be defined in two segments: before and after each diagnosis. That, she says, is to be expected, and trying to live from any other perspective is a form of denial. But she believes the post-diagnosis segment also can be a time of tremendous spiritual opportunity, a time when the dying --- even those who had been hostile toward faith --- are frequently open to God's activity in their lives. They experience that activity in any number of ways, with one of the most effective ways being our willingness to serve them and try to meet their very real needs.

Part two offers the tools you'll need to care for your loved one (and yourself), and here Rossi makes the journey metaphor a tangible one by describing the equipment you'll need: a roadmap to help you keep the destination in mind, proper shoes for the rugged path you'll be walking, access to GPS (God's Positioning System) for course corrections along the way, emergency information (in a chapter that includes one of the best suggestions I've seen for organizing vital data) and "traveler's assistance," guidance on creating a support team that can include friends and family, Internet groups, local chapters of disease-specific organizations such as the American Cancer Society, and --- the one nearest to my heart --- nonprofit hospice services. Like Rossi, as a hospice volunteer, the only regret I've heard caregivers utter with regard to hospice is that they didn't avail themselves of the service sooner.

The third section includes an important chapter on spiritual warfare, something too often overlooked in other books on death and dying. Those who are dying sometimes undergo such extreme personality changes that they send their caregivers packing; a normally docile patient can become hateful and belligerent, using language that would have made them blush only months earlier. (Whether or not this is a spiritual problem, if spiritual warfare is what it takes to get you through it, then I say go for it.) Chapters in this section also cover endurance, with a critically important reminder that caregiving is a choice; a look at God's covenants and how they apply to care for the dying; and the main points to consider when making funeral arrangements.

Part four covers the death itself and the grief that follows. Two of the most important topics in the book appear here: one, the spiritual topic of forgiveness, and the second, the physical signs of imminent death. The first is vital, because any lingering unforgiveness between you and your loved one robs both of you of the peace that the patient needs now and that you will need for the rest of your life. The second will help you not only to prepare for the patient's death but also to make sense of the sometimes puzzling behavior of one who is dying.

It's unlikely that you'll pick up this book and read it unless someone near to you is terminally ill. But you may want to make note of the title --- because someday, you may be in the position of caring for someone who is dying, and when that day comes, you may find that MAY I WALK YOU HOME? has become your constant companion. For those now caring for the dying, it's well worth reading --- even if death is imminent.

--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford

melody writes with such simplicity and grace. this book gives you the practical information surrounding the dying process that nobody talks about! it also gives you the emotional support and guidance that you need as you journey through a very painful and uncertain time. the are no road maps that help you traverse through the dying process. there are alot of books that teach about the birthing process but there are not alot of books that tell us how to walk through the dying process with someone and navigate our way through our own emotions surrounding the death. this book is that road map! you will find much needed information and support in the pages of this beautiful book.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (6/07)

"May I Walk You Home?," by Melody Rossi, is a message written from firsthand experience. Ms. Rossi experienced the loss of her mother, her stepmother and father within a twenty-eight month span. God used Ms. Rossi and their fatal illnesses to guide all three in giving their hearts to Christ. Losing someone you love always hurts, but the pain is eased when you know he or she found peace with the Lord.

Ms. Rossi was given the opportunity to serve Christ and to serve her loved ones as they went through the dying process. She took them to "doctor appointments, ran errands, and made meals. She also showed them the love of Jesus Christ through her actions, prayer, and words." "Because Jesus came to the world as a servant, it makes total sense that He would use this technique as a powerful way to reach the lost."

This book is divided into four sections; each area is divided into chapters. The first section discusses the call to serve. We never know how God will use us or when. He uses the least likely. The second section is directions to lead you in your service. Having a loved one approach death will drain you spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The third section stresses that once you have begun this journey there is no turning back. You should think very seriously before you begin, for it will make demands on you. The last section discusses the "Journey's End." Ms. Rossi shares the physical, the spiritual and emotional changes that take place when death in imminent. There is a need to mend fences; there is an emotional acceptance and a physical letting go.

"May I Walk You Home?," by Melody Rossi, is simply written and easy to understand. Death is a topic most people avoid. However, Ms. Rossi offers practical guidance wrought through her own experiences. The cover is beautifully done with a leaf-strewn path. I learned much from this book and I am glad I read it. It is rewarding to know that Ms. Rossi used the knowledge she gained from the death of several loved ones to serve the Lord and assist others. I highly recommend this book to those working with Hospice, hospitals, nursing homes and those who know someone facing a terminal illness.

The author has the great benefit of having put the issues of death and survival
on a more holistic level, paralleling the individual destiny with the one of
planet earth and humanity at large.... The Miracle of Death is about liberation,
love and creativity and will transform all those who have the courage to accept
"inner experiences which have no validation in the outer world."

Evelyn Elsaesser-Valarino
Author of "Talking with Angel about illness, death and survival"
"On the Other Side of Life"
Co-author with Kenneth Ring of "Lessons from the Light"

When grief was ready to swallow me alive, this book showed up and turned everything around. It brought me comfort, hope, and validation that was nowhere else to be found. Thank you for writing this book. Thank you for being a miracle in my life.

I found this book helpful in dealing with my 15 year old son's death. Perhaps our life and death is all in the whole of how life is suppose to be. It gave me much to think about concerning life being eternal. I like it. Thanks to Betty Kovacs for telling her story.

Ruth C. Baker

I have never met Betty Kovacs, and I haven't read her book yet either, but I did attend a couple of lectures that were sponsored by the "Claremont Jung Society" in Claremont, California, I placed myself on their mailing list and received a regular mailing of their upcoming lectures and events.

In 1991 I received a mailing from the Claremont Jung Society which at first I thought would be a another list of their upcoming lectures. The brochure was titled "To The Friends Of The Claremont Jung Society." The brochure turned out to be a heartfelt personal dedication to the life and death of her son. This may seem to be a bit depressing, but it turned out to be a very touching celebration of a life, a mothers deep love, and the effect one persons life can have on us all.
I still have this brochure in case I ever forget how short a lifetime can be, and that a love felt, should always be a love expressed.

I'm a man, and I'm not ashamed to say that I cried after reading
her personal revelation of her love for her son. If we could all love each other this deep, I know this world would be much better for it. I know that her story changed me, and this change in me will have an effect on people that I interact with in the future. I may not ever see exactly what exactly my change is, or it's effect on others, but I can feel it in a deep emotional empathy towards people I love, and total strangers I meet.

Death is a very uncomfortable subject for most of us, and we really don't want to think about it much, or deal with it.
But doesn't the same thought hold true for the way we live our lives as well?

Something to think about!

Despite the popularity of shows such as "Crossing Over with John Edwards (no, not Kerry's running mate, who shows no signs of crossing over)," Western society seems to have forgotten Rainer Maria Rilke's belief that the afterlife and the living life interact, and as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote in THE LITTLE PRINCE, "What is essential is invisible to the naked eye."

It took the death of 20-year-old Pisti (Hungarian for Istvan or Steven) Kovács in a car accident for his academic mother Dr. Betty "Kicsi" Kovács and father Istvan to put into perspective Western civilization's rejection of death and the institutions, including organized religion, that cause us to fear "a consummation devoutly to be wished," in Shakespeare's words. Interestingly, Dr. Kovacs argues against a dichotomy of thought that cut off the instinctive and dream knowledge as ruthlessly as Puritans arrested women for being witches. She condemns our society's dismissal of dreams and visions such as the prophetic symbolic dreams Dr. Kovács, Istvan and Pisti's beloved girlfriend Jenny experience before and after his death. The dream imagery guided Dr. Kovács toward stunning insights about the meaning of death. Simply put, Dr. Kovacs argues that there is nothing but life, and that Western civilization's ignorance of that truth has caused a breakdown in our society.

As we begin to search for understanding of the death and horror of September 11, Dr. Kovács loving insights, which offer an alternative to our worldview although not a prescription for transformation, deserve to be heard, so that a new creativity of thought and being can emerge.

Even though it has been years passed and I just heard about this book and read it. It was a real awakener to me and my thanking God that my three children all grew up with no illinesses other than the norms. My hat off to Antoinette for her courage and the love she had and shared with Andrei. She showed me how much strength she had through all that she went through but she especially showed me that she never gave up and did it for her son who I know is still watching over her. Thank you Antoinette, I wish that people who have children would love them even when they are not ill. May God bless you and your family.

I love this book for its honesty and courageness of the Author. I recommend this book to anyone who needs help getting through lifes hills and valleys.

Highly recommend this wonderful book, for anyone faced with a cancer diagnosis, but also for those that want an insight into the life of a remarkable young mother,her son and the emotional rollercoaster ride they faced while living with cancer and how life can continue,having learnt through the lessons taught.

I was emotionally touched by the accounts of the author's personal story. As devastating as it was, I was more touched by the author's courage in overcoming such a great loss as a child's life. She is truly a real HERO in my eyes. I, a mother of two small children, and having never experienced such a loss, learned to appreciate even the smallest detail of my own children's life and health after reading this book. I recommend this book to every mother so that you can feel blessed and fortunate. This book emotionally touched and changed my Life.

It is amazing how much strenght this author has. She does a wonderful job at expressing her feelings with the readers and at the same time giving us a positive out look on life. I must say this book touched my heart like no other novel has. Her ability to share this tragedy in such a warm and touching way, teaches those more fortunate to really appreciate their loved ones. It is always a pleasure to read a book, but to read a book that leaves such an impact is a thrill like no other.

We live in a life-care community. I shall try to give this book to our health care center activities person, and to anyone I know who is having difficulties with dementia in a loved one, as well as to the active clergy of our acquaintance. The point Hill makes--requesting equal rights for the demented dying as for those who are in full possession of their mental faculties--is one that had never occurred to me before I read this book. I kept thinking (naturally) of my own mother, who for at least six months, and perhaps longer, didn't know anyone, and who seemed not to have anything at all to "get off her chest." Hill's entertaining (yes, it is) story of her wonderfully eccentric and charming parent made it clear that no matter what is happening, the person it's happening to is still somehow the same as in years past, at least enough so that it is cruel to ignore his or her need for expression. Whether there are old wounds to heal or bridges to mend is really secondary. Read this lovely essay and learn!

This is the most moving memoir I have ever read. The intimacy Sheridan Hill shares with her readers and close attention to details is breath taking. I could not put it down. Astonishing and simply beautiful.

This is a must read for the hospice community and the families they serve.

I could not put this book down, so real, taking us to that uncharted territory, the death of our mother. How do we stay present, how do we understand our relationship, how do we face death and find life?
Sheridan Hill tells her story with such detail and honesty. I am no longer afraid of death, for my parents or myself after reading this book.

Refreshing for the heart -- as eternal family values wait til the end of one's life to come to light. I want my siblings to read this. How I wish I had had time with my own mother before her passing!

I'm one of the "baby boom" generation, we who once shouted "never trust anyone over twenty-five!" And now we are in our forties, fifties, and sixties, often facing alone the crisis of the death of a parent or loved one. Our culture has ill prepared us for this passage, a society that dwells on youth and so carefully hides away death. I lost both of my parents several years back and only wish I had first read Ms. Hill's book, it would have served as a guide, and reaffirmed as well the rightness of decisions I made for the sake of my mother and father. It is not a book about death, it is a book about living and sharing to the fullest one's final journey with a parent.

I will freely admit I wept repeatedly as I read Ms. Hill's beautifully crafted tome which honors and celebrates her mother's final months. Reading it made me realize that so much of what I experienced was valid, that I was not alone in my feelings and gave me new and hopeful insights into my own life and the spiritual journey of my mother and father.

If you just read these reviews and do not buy the book, please heed her advice from this reviewer. Listen to your parents now, talk with them, share and recall all the moments, good and bad, and fight with all your passion to insure their time of passage is a time that is respectful of their dignity. Though I do hope you purchase this work even though the subject might be the last one on your mind at this moment. For someday it will occupy your life front and center and Ms. Hill is a guide you can turn to and trust.

This book weaves three incredible stories into one. All women and especially sisters can relate to Ann and her sister's story.

But what is most compelling is how Ann Pai uses metaphor to create vivid pictures and experiences for her readers. You will want more from this author, for no one else can describe the world to you like Ann. She is in turn funny and ever heartfelt. The connections in Ann's world will open your mind to a new way of thinking that you will enjoy.

Looking forward to her future works.

I had the honor to be nominated for a special award, known as the Needle Award, along with Ann Pai. There were five books total, who were nominated, and Ann's did not win. Before I found out the results, I bought her book, in part to check out my competition, and it part because I believed this would be the one to win, based on reviews and the part I read from Amazon.

Of course it was difficult to find out on the fateful morning that I had not won, but I never really expected it. I ordered the book that acutally won, but it had yet to arrive. Meanwhile, I had been reading Ann's, and was spellbound. Ann's words were beautiful, her thoughts jewels. I felt like I was listening to a friend. I, too, had lost a sister.

A few days after the award was announced, I found myself throwing a book against the wall and breaking down into tears. I was reading the book that won, and I threw it against the wall, irrevocably creasing it's catchy cover, ruining it's pages. (I'm not mentioning titles here, they are unimportant)

Why was I crying? The judges who decided this award had this to say about the winning novel: "Deasy has penned a fantastic debut novel. [New York Publishers] need more books like this and less of everything else. This is [the kind of book] that comes to mind when someone says American Literature."

Perhaps I am prudish, but knowing this was what they thought of the book, and seeing for myself the senseless sex, the drug use, binge drinking, the ridiculously recurrent use of the F word, the "by the way" type of voice it had, I couldn't help but throw it against the wall. If this is what American Literature should be, God help us.

Ann's memoir, My Other Body, IS WHAT AMERICAN LITERATURE SHOULD BE!

I have yet to read a book that touched me so much, that took an uncomfortable topic and told the beautiful truth. Notice I did not say brutal truth. Ann's book could have been brutal, it could have shocked me, it could even have sickened me, as morbid obesity sickens me, but it didn't. Because of the tender way she shared her sister with us, painted her as a person who was a "prisoner" to her body, I loved Joyce along with her, and cried at her death, at her pain and her struggle. I lost my sister to schizophrenia, another disease, which like morbid obesity, snatches those we love from us, changes them irrevocably, twists our hearts, yanking them this way and that between revulsion and seemingly hopeless love.

I cannot accept the other book as the winner. I cannot change the result, but I am a writer, and can say my piece. Ann Pai's book did what I tried to do with mine. So, here's to the first ever Fay Freimuth Award. Congratulations, Ann

Our book club here in KC just read "My Other Body: A Memoir of Love, Fat, Life, and Death" by Ann Pai. The author, who is local, came to our meeting. It is self-published so has limited availability. It is beautifully written (especially for a first book - the quality of writing ranks up there with the best) memoir to her obese sister who in the end dies of her weight problem. The three interwoven stories each evoke strong but distinctly different feelings and hold your interest through the end. In the first story - the one of their childhood, it seems that this is a story that she has had bottled up inside of her long before her sister's death and couldn't wait to get it out. The accurate and colorful metaphors of childhood and the intimacy and issues between sisters are better than one can remember them in their own childhood. In the italicized story, she succeeds at detailing what it feels like to struggle with a weight problem and compulsive eating disorder. While reminiscent of my own binge eating problem during college, the feelings are universal to any addiction or compulsive disorder. The third story was more clinical and sad but a good representation of many who are put in the position of caretaker between generations.

An overall theme in the book, she succeeds at seeing the person separate from the "problem" and exposing how society has a hard time doing that. The whole book club here loved it.

I completely enjoyed this book, not because of the subject matter, but because someone finally put into words what I was feeling. Part of the illness of compulsive eating is the aloneness. Suddenly, I don't feel so alone. Ann Pia was able to love her sister unconditionally and that is what everyone is looking for in this life. She has helped me find my own voice, by giving me words for the emotions. I would recommend this book for anyone that struggles with complusive eating or anyone that loves someone that eats compulsively.

This book grabbed my soul as it chronicles a real life tragedy unfolding in slow motion from both first person and third person point of view. Beautifully written, insightful, engrossing, and personal. Sometimes as I read it I almost felt like I was in the movie "Being John Malkovich" as I really saw life through Joyce's eyes. I can't decide if I should describe the emotions felt while reading this as being "brutally honest", or "beautifully honest".

My Other Body would be a great book club selection, and also will resonate with anyone who knows someone with (or has) eating or obesity issues.

This is a really great book. It combines philosophy and science in order to tackle a multitude of existential problems. The author's style of writing is fresh and alive, I recommend ths book to anyone interested in expanding the fronteirs of their understanding. Books I also liked are a Universe in an Nutshell by Steven Hawkings and Descent into Illusions by Paul Omeziri.

I must preface my review by stating that I have never been so excited and moved by a book that I have wanted to contact the author. That is what I found myself doing upon reading this book. This book is just what its title says. The author does not "miss a beat" describing in great detail using practically every aspect of scientific knowledge from atomic structure through logic to quantum theory---we are even given a valuable explanation of Love. This text may be challenging to read for those unfamiliar with scientific terminology. And it can also be difficult for those with a science background, such as myself. However, for me it is well worth the work necessary to strive to understand the unfamiliar terminology. (I am continually learning from this book. I am presently on my third reread).

One of the author's main messages is "not" to believe anything without first verifying it with reality, as we know it. He calls it the "Personal Explanation Principle". He indicates that religions are just such belief systems that we as people "fall" victims of; because we do not verify the beliefs with the facts, as we know them, of reality. He gives a very detailed explanation of how the New Testament can be explored using his methodology.

The author methodically and meticulously walks us through his thought processes, which took 30 years to assimilate, of delineating the structure of reality and the nature of consciousness. Included in the "walk" are many of reality's phenomena made revelatory. An example of that, for me, would be the dual nature of light. It's particle/wave duality, which is explained as "functions". Also, when the author took me on the mental journey of "Setness" an exhilaration of the magnificence of life swelled up in me.

To me this is a very important book that should be read by all that are seekers of truth. It is for all those wanting to gain an understanding of the purpose for their existence, wanting to know where life is headed towards, and wanting to know who God is.

This book will enlighten and develop one's mind substantially. You will discover that this is our objective.

And yes, I contacted the author and he responded openly.

Although Mr. Wheatley is a little verbose in sections, his documentation of Zen Buddhistic Principles found throughout the disciplines of Mathematics, Physics, Theology, etc. forms a nice reference guide for anyone tuned into that wavelength. In particular, his explanation of how Godel's Theorem and Cantor's "Confusion" shed great light on the difference between GOD's Logic and Man's Logic should be a revelation to any undergraduate level math students who encounter these ideas for the first time. Curiously, Mr. Wheatley makes many misstatements about both Zen Buddhism Principles and the Bible, however. For example, by accepting the false biblical teaching of Original Sin, he misses the point that eating the proverbial apple gave Adam and Eve the ability to make Moral Discernments in fulfillment of GOD'S PERFECT PLAN. As proof, read Genesis 1 which states that Man and Woman were made in GOD's Image. Genesis 4 shows that Adam and Eve weren't the first humans on Earth at all, there were plenty of others by then. The allegorical meaning of the story of Eden, then, isn't that Adam and Eve were the first humans on Earth, but they were the first humans with the ability to make Moral Discernments (in GOD's Image). In fact, Moral Discernment is God's Unique Gift to Man, which is the basis of consciousness, not some Math Formula. But because the wages of the resulting, unavoidable sin are Death, many people foolishly try to return to Eden by: (1) living a sinless Life (2) by removing choice altogether by passing and enforcing strict Laws (3) by attempting to do away with Moral Discernment and the resulting consequences for our actions altogether by trying to remove Shame from Shameful actions. GOD is not some ethereal Man-In-Space, but is simply the Totality of all Real Things, The Set of All Real Sets. GOD's Love manifests itself from the amazing sub-atomic relationships that underly this magic Life all the way to the grandest of Macroscopic Scales, the Interconnected Totality itself. The Zen Buddhism connection can be found by simply superimposing the 0 symbol and the symbol for infinity (8 on its side) in Mr. Wheatley's supposedly "new" formulation that 1 = 0 x infinity. Superimposing them gives you the yin-yang symbol. A potential disadvantage of artificially separating the infinity from the zero, however, is that Mr. Wheatley is able to equate the entire expression to be equal to 1. This potentially might obscure the fact that the deepest meaning of the yin-yang symbol is that it is both 2 and 1 AT THE SAME TIME. His overall equation does preserve that important meaning by utilizing a single element on one side of the equation and two elements on the other side of his final TOE equation. This may be hard to see for some at first, however, which could potentially obscure the richest meaning of this beautiful symbol/equation. A much more GODLY TOE, in my opinion, comes from Euler, who discovered that e ^ (i * pi) - 1 = 0. When someone can explain that relationship, then they can say they know GOD.

This book will change your life. You will never think the same way you did before reading it.
I have a degree in chemistry and I think this book should be read by everyone in the sciences. Without a doubt, the best book I've ever read. Why and what are two of our best friends

Mr. Wheatley has touched upon one of the most intriguing methods, through scientific study and evalution, that leads to new deductions for behavioral patterns. Many books have been written for sociological, psychological, cultural, and behavioral studies, of which I have a deep interest. However, as you are led step by step through the scientific processes of this book, one's perspective of human behavior will take on a whole new meaning. Such questions as "why do people behave the way they do?", or "How do cultural, geographical, sociological factors impact our behavior?" take on a whole new perspective for study and evaluation. This book could become required text at the college level for scientific studies. I was fascinated with several concepts put forth by Mr. Wheatley.