Death Books

This book may be small but it is a memoir packed with information. It was a very good read on many levels..family relationships and death and dying; those two are the main themes. The author writes with a hint of mystery and I liked that touch to the memoir.

( )...The only words that miss the mark of literaryexcellenceare on the cover of T.M. Shine's remarkable tale.

Thisain't no how-to anything or a cry on Oprah's wide shoulders. This is something wonderfully other.

If Elizabeth Kubler-Ross met Carl Hiaasen, T.M. Shine would be their bastard child. This book is laugh out loud funny, except when it's ripping your guts out.

Bill Moyers sells Shine short when he alliterates in his testimonial that "Fathers . . ." is "marvelous, moving and memorable."

It is marvelous and moving. Quite so. But there are whole pages you'll hope aren't memorable, because feeling their wrenching impact once is as much as a person ought to bear.

Nice going Mr. Shine. Now please remind the folks at Amazon.com that people who read shouldn't be judged by their books' covers. END

I bought this book shortly after the death of my own father, and the subsequent reawakening of my friendship with my sister. I found the emotions and the passions in this book to resonate very deeply within my being - helping me to heal, since I learned that my feelings are common, valid and shared.

This is a poignant, compelling story that those of us who are baby-boomers will soon experience ourselves, if we haven't already. Mr. Shine bears all - his personal pain, frustrations and annoyances - dealing with the inevitable death of his father and realizing the experience is bringing him close to his brothers once again and the past they share. He indicts the medical community that, he felt, treated his father as a temporary occupant of a hospital bed. Like impatient FAA air traffic controllers, nurses and doctors were unwilling to be inconvenienced by adult children who were reluctant to let the scheduled departure take off on time. A quick and fulfilling read.

I've read Shine since he wrote for The Miami Herald's Tropic Magazine. He's an undiscovered master. This book takes his readers on a painful but rewarding journey--the death of his father. It's entirely worth your time, even at double the price.

Brian Knight delivers a fun, twisty novel that is bound to give you the creeps. The book itself is impressive, with the cover art imprinted on the covers, and as beautiful as some small-press collector first editions. I had a lot of fun with this one, and you will too.

FERAL grabs hold of you with spine-chilling terror, rips out your frayed nerves and stamps them beneath its heavy heel. It's a rare thing when an author rises from obscurity to cammand such masterful control of the powerful emotion of pure horror, leading the reader into the ferocious worlds of the imagination thought left behind in the darkened closet with childhood's nightmares. Knight's Bogey Man captures that savage gleam of fright like a tight fist around your neck and wrings it relentlessly. If you're looking for a warm story where good triumphs handily over evil, where the light shuns the darkness, this certainly isn't it... But if you want a taut, gut-wrenching, emotional beating that leaves you hesitant to turn off the TV at bedtime for fear of what might just be leering out at you from the crack in the closet door once again, then buy this book!

Remember the name Brian Knight... you'll be hearing it a lot in the near future.

After being pestered by close friends that I really needed to read this Feral, by Brian Knight, I finally relented and I am so glad that I did. This is a true page turner. I am not an avid reader and it has been years since I was able to complete a full novel. This one, I started reading at work and actually would be disappointed to get customers coming in because I had to put my book down.
The first scene in the book will really grab ahold of you and keep you breathless and turning pages til it is the last page and you are crying for more. I can't sing high enough praises on the descriptive writings of Mr.Knight.
Mr. Knight truely makes the boogie man and the people who are fighting against him come to life. You will feel like you have known these people all your life, not just a cheap trick this book is definately the real deal. WOW

Feral is a great thriller bound to give anyone a serious case of the creeps. I couldn't put it down. I even skipped a meal while reading it, and anyone that knows me would tell you that's saying something.

Feral is the story of a Bogey Man that takes children, and murders parents. A child named Charity was taken by the Bogey Man, but had a chance to escape. She runs to a place called Feral Park, a playground that is home to more than meets the eye...

Highly recommended for any fan of horror, or anyone that simply wants a good book to read. It just got added to my shelf of favorites.

He comes to you when you are sleeping and if you are lucky you'll wake up in your own home. Sometimes he kills their parents and disappears with the children. Charity has had disturbing dreams and night tremors of the Bogey Man before one night he killed her mother and took her. He kept her alive because she was special to him.

Gordon Chambers has searched for six long years for Charity and he thinks by following the trail of dead parents and missing children he will finally find her at the end of the current dead trail in a small town in Washington. Sharon sees Charity in a spooky playground where supernatural events happen and brings her home because she was wearing her dead daughter's clothes given to Charity by the Bogey Man. Charity knows the only place she'll be safe from the Bogey man is in the Feral Park playground where the abandoned and abused children hide in a dimensional nexus. When Charity disappears into the park, Sharon and Gordon vow to get her back alive and keep her safe from the Bogey Man.

Anyone who wants a decent night sleep should not read FERAL. It is a frightening horror novel that needs broad daylight to somewhat keep the nightmares away. Brian Knight will appeal to fans of Bentley Little and those who like being scared out of their wits. This tale will accomplish that.

Harriet Klausner

An outstanding source of information and support for the elderly, their caregivers, and family members ... what to expect and how to cope physically and emotionally at every stage of dying. There's also lots of practical information about advance directives, benefits, and resources. In my aunt's final years, I benefitted from neighbor and hospice nurse Maggie Callanan's personal guidance. Now her book is available to help everyone. I highly recommend it.

When dealing with end-of-life issues, many people have found Maggie Callanan's (co-authored) book, Final Gifts, to be both comforting and inspirational. She has now followed up with its "prequel," Final Journeys. As before, Callanan combines a wealth of practical experience in Hospice nursing with her own remarkable blend of compassion and humor. Anyone who faces the passing of a loved one really must read this book; anyone consciously facing their own passing will hope that Callanan - or her clone! - can attend them at the end.

One of the most useful aspects is her description of symptoms of the end of life that are typical, yet which we might not recognize and respect for what they are. As the author makes clear, there is no one path for the final journey, and it behooves those nearby to recognize and respect the style of their loved one. For example, in an attempt to "be there for them" it is possible to tire the patient with too much attention, as they are attempting to rest and "wind down." Equally, it is necessary to recognize when they may need to see a certain person in order to accomplish the task of closure and resolving "unfinished business" with that person. It is necessary to listen closely to the patient without one's preconceived notions intervening. Spiritual, dietary, and companionship needs vary widely depending on the patient; it's truly not "one size fits all."

Callanan defines a problem that I and perhaps many of us have experienced: the feeling that your loved ones will find it terribly sad, almost impossible, to go on with their lives without us when we die. Apparently in many cases, one important task of the caregivers is to give the patient permission to go, assuring them that we will be all right afterwards, while acknowledging the closeness of the bond between us.

Callanan is so remarkable in her ability to convey her experiences and feelings through stories that you will be completely engaged throughout this book with a renewed appreciation of her humanistic approach to nursing. Her caring approach to both the patient and the family rescues some potentially explosive situations with people you come to care about through her descriptions. And if you can read Chapter 35 without shedding a few tears, you really need to have your DNA checked out to make sure you're really human!

Along with her first book, "Final Gifts", this latest work is required reading for anyone - and there are many, many of us out there - facing the issue of elder-care and the loss of a partner or loved one. There is a certain sensitivity in "Final Journeys" that is important and based on the author's years of work as a nurse in Hospice. Important book to read.

Of all the stages in life, that of dying appears to be the most difficult: emotions run high, tempers flare, accusations fly, tears flow all the time, or is that just my family? Seriously, it can be such a chaotic and emotional time that I think it is very easy to lose track of what can be most important: understanding the dying person's process, and coming to terms with that process.

I read Ms. Callanan's first book, Final Gifts, several years ago and it gave me great insight into how I could better relate to someone who is dying. In this book she really addresses the dying process from the side of the caregiver, and I couldn't thank her more. I read this as my own father was dying and I think I used something from every chapter to help my father pass a little more comfortably, and to help keep my family and me from going crazy with stress.

I would encourage people to read this book. Even if you don't know someone who is dying, you never know when this sort of info will turn out to be needed. God bless.

In her breakthrough book, Final Gifts, hospice nurse Maggie Callanan and co-author Patricia Kelley explored the "nearing death awareness" of last days. That book continues to be for many readers a revelation of what last moments may be like. Final Journeys takes a longer view, becoming a travelers' guide for living from the diagnosis of a terminal illness through to nearing death awareness and on to the last breath.

Like the author herself, Final Journeys is intensely practical and straightforward, flashed with humor and warmed by an all-pervasive empathy. A sampling of chapter titles hints of honest looks at difficult questions: "Don't Tell Mom She's Dying. It'll Kill Her!"; "Choosing Treatments--and Knowing Which Are Optional"; "`We Can't Just Let Him Starve to Death!': Deciding About Artificial Nutrition"; "Finding Power in a Powerless Situation"; "I Love You, Mom, and I Want to Help, but I'm Not Moving to Miami!"

From recognizing what's fixable and what's not...understanding when not to call 911...talking to the children...dealing with the out-of-town family member who swoops in ready to take charge...to an explanation of the Medicare hospice benefit and the dying person's Bill of Rights--what Callanan does is make the unthinkable manageable.

Who is this book for? For everyone who will one day die and wants to be as ready as possible. For anyone who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and for the family members and friends of that person who wonder what to expect and how to cope. For anyone who thinks calling hospice is equivalent to "giving up." For every public library (I have already suggested that my library order two). For hospice and palliative care volunteers.

Readers who have been enthusiastic about Final Gifts--and who isn't?--will welcome this companion work, which seems bound to become a classic alongside its sister title.

Nancy Evans Bush, MA
Vice President and Chair of Publications
International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc.

All I could say when I was finished was "why didn't I see that coming?" A great story by a very talented writer. I was going to give this 4 stars out of anger, because Ferrenz didn't give me MORE!!!

One writer to another -- Great job Barb!

If you've ever thought of being a horror writer, or if you ARE a horror writer, I think you'll really enjoy this book. I'm a struggling writer myself, and I couldn't believe how much I identified with the protagonist and how real the conventions seemed. The strains our solitary avocation put on a marriage seemed too familiar, too.

Since I don't normally read mysteries, I can't comment on how well it fits the format of the genre, but I will say that it held my interest, moved swiftly, and didn't disappoint.

In Edgewater, Maryland, Mary Kate Flaherty has problems with her husband Chuck and her two children over the time she spends on writing and selling her novels as well as their belief she writes trashy erotica vampire tales. Known as the Queen of Vampires with the alias Theodora Zed, her family members also resent her attending conventions though that is what sells the books and buys their luxuries like designer sneakers.

Currently, in her Theodora persona, she attends Bloodcon in Atlanta where wannabe writer Randall Valentine disparages her work as trash in a public panel. Not long afterward, her shoe is found near the corpse of Randall, who has two small puncture wounds in his neck. The police question Theodora with only fellow writer Connor Drake, who has loved her forever, on her side. When a second murder similar to the first "Vampire Killer" slaying occurs in New York while Theodora is in town, the author knows she must risk her life to uncover the identity of a murderer even as her marriage is collapsing.

Though the identity of the "Vampire Killer' seems unreasonable and Mary Kate's husband is an idiot, WORSE THAN DEATH is a pleasant amateur sleuth tale. The story line allows the audience to see behind the scenes at a convention and the impact on a family when a member attends a lot of these. The two bites are cleverly explained and the heroine's willingness to risk her life to solve the case makes for a fine reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

Worse Than Death is a glimpse into the bizarre subculture of the devotees and the wannabe authors of the horror writers convention circuit. The protagonist of this interesting and well-plotted story of deceit, infidelity and homicidal pathology is an anonymous mother and housewife, Mary Kate. She haunts the meat counter at the Farm Fresh supermarket and strip mall pharmacy blighting the tranquil tobacco country of her southern Maryland suburb. But Mary Kate bangs out pulp vampire novels in the upstairs chambers of her old house. The reader is warned early in the story of the strains in her marriage. She has kissed her husband, hugged her children and flown off to a few too many conventions. There she squeezes into thin black leather and balances on stiletto heels and joins her fellow struggling authors. As vampire author Theodora Zed she stokes the fantasies of the fans who swarm like flies to themes of sex and murder.

Barbara Ferrenz crafts a very creditable story as neck-punctured bodies follow her to city after city. There is no shortage of suspects. Her husband has grown distant. A former priest pilgrimages against her brand of Satanism. Her fans only just contain their adolescent sexuality as they gaze on Theodore's tightly wrapped chest. Her best friend's boyfriend lusts for her, protecting her even as they are stalked by an unknown killer.

The story is a quick moving engagement of the unexpected with the ordinary. In the end everything is as it should be, but nothing is the same.

Mary Kate, also known as Theodora Zed, Queen of the Vampires, is a mid-list writer of vampire romances. Theo promotes her books at weekend horror conventions and bookstore signings, much to the disgust of her husband, who would much rather have a conventional wife, and the embarrassment of her children, whose friends pass around her books at school. For Theo, promotion is just part of the job.

But, when a writer who insulted her at one of her panels turns up dead, though, Theodora has a motive and looks like a suspect. Or perhaps she's being targeted as one of the next victims. The Vampire Killer always seems to know where she is, and strange things keep happening when she and fellow writer Connor are in the vicinity.

This is a fun, fast paced mystery with unexpected twists and turns. The central characters are well drawn and credible. Mary Kate, although perhaps a bit naive, is a woman of integrity, determined to do the right thing no matter what. Descriptions of her circle of friends and acquaintances in the writing and publishing community struck a familiar chord. I am looking forward to reading more books by Barbara Ferrenz.

There are not many books out there to help children deal with grief. Jewel offers hope and encouragement in this book. A great tool for families or churches to have on hand.

Flying Hugs and Kisses is a touching book written to help children understand more about SIDS. It offers a wonderfully creative way of coping for family members who are affected by SIDS. Jewel Sample does a very good job of assisting parents (or other family members) in explaining things at a child's level. I would have to imagine that there are many families that have been affected by SIDS sending the "flying hugs and kisses" described in the story to their lost loved ones after reading this book. Well done.

Flying Hugs & Kisses is a special, unique book to help children understand
the loss of a baby. Wonderfully comforting. Highly recommended.

A great resource for families with children who have lost a baby to SIDS. I highly recommend it.

This is an excellent grief recovery tool for children. Brings awareness to SIDS that is a rarity.

This is an excellent gift book, to give to people who are suffering the loss of loved ones, personal health, and other griefs of life. It is easily read, but the theology is sound and helpful.

Excellent book for anyone going through a loss or time of grief - from Christian perspective. Beautiful pictures and layout.

I read this book 25 years ago, yet the truth rings the same today. I was very depressed at the time and didn't understand what was going on in my Christian life. How could I as a Christian be suffering with depression? Then I read this book, which used II Corithians 1:3-10 as it's basis, and found that the Apostle Paul stated he dispaired even of life. It states, how God is the God of all comfort. So if Paul the Apostle was dispairing of life and looked to the God of all comfort for help, then so should I. Dr. Swindoll goes into much greater detail, and does a very good job of driving the truth home. It helped me tremendously, know that God doesn't look down on us in our struggles, but has compassion. I highly recommend this book. I reference it in my suicide prevention website, (www.bungechord.com/suicide),and a link to purchase it, at Amazon.com of course. If you are stuggling with depression and/or in pain, this is a book for you.

I love this book! I have given copies to many people I know when they are going through something difficult in their lives and I don't have the right words of comfort for them. This book helps to make sense of why we go through some of the things we do in life. I first read it 20 years ago and it helped me through a very difficult time in my life. Everyone should read this book!

This book is (especially considering its brevity) one of the finest treatments of suffering available. It is sensitive, Biblical,and perfectly suited to pass on to anyone that is going through a difficult time. I highly recommend it.

Forever Our Angels by Hannah Stone is a collection of heart-felt and heart-wrenching stories from men and women alike that have all suffered child loss. Whether it be from miscarriage or still birth, each loss is unexplainably hard to deal with. I personally don't think it can ever be just dealt with. That child will always hold a special place in your heart and there will be days when you remember something about that day and hurt all over again.

Each story explains how the person felt when they found out they were expecting, how they started to feel when something was not quite right, and the denial and guilt when they were told the horrible news. " I'm sorry, there is no heartbeat, your baby is dead." Crushing all hopes for some that it was not meant to be, and then for others that keep their hopes up of still conceiving in the future.

Miscarriage is more common than most think. 1 in 4 women suffer miscarriage early on; that saying about making it past the 12th week is not always true. The women in this book lost the children at different times throughout the pregnancy; some had to have D&C's when it was still early enough and then others were faced with birthing their dead child.

I am one of the one in four women that have had a miscarriage and I know personally how hard it is once you've lost the little life growing inside of you that you yearn to snuggle with one day. I had the support of my husband and family, but they could not really console me because it was me that had lost the child. I wish I had found this book right after my miscarriage, I believe it would have helped ease the pain knowing that others have experienced the same kind of loss.

Hannah Stone is also the author of Remembering Our Angels, another book on personal stores of healing from pregnancy loss. Ms. Stone's novella was heart warming and can bring a sense of peace to the reader that may have experienced this kind of overwhelming pain. If you are in need of coping or needing to hear other stories to see that you're not alone, then please pick up Forever Our Angels. It will help. 5 Hearts

I ordered this book because I had been personally grieving a pregnancy loss for about five months. I must say that the stories are very personal and detailed..as though the parent were speaking to you.

It was a book that I read in two evenings and I would reccomend it to anyone who is coming full circle with their grief as it offered me some closure in that I am not alone.

The book CAN be a little sad and so I reccomend it with some caution as it may not be appropriate for someone who has JUST suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth, etc.

Finally, I have actually placed the copy of the book near the pictures of my children that I DID have because it reminds me that my losses are FOREVER MY ANGELS.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (12/06)

After suffering her second miscarriage Hannah Stone searched for a book that would help her through her grief. Not finding a book that offered the assistance she needed she decided to write it herself. She has successfully authored a book that will support other women facing the same loss and the same feelings.

"Forever Our Angels" tells the stories of parents, mothers and fathers who share their heartache with others so that perhaps their grief will give comfort and support to someone else. I found myself in tears when reading this book. I remember well the heartache of losing two children to miscarry. No one spoke of it. It was as though the children never existed. I was supposed to pick up and go on ignoring the fact that a part of my husband and I no longer existed. I wish there had been a book like this one to offer support.

The poem by Pablo Neruda expresses the grief of losing a child:

"...forgive me
If you are not living
if you, my beloved, my love
if you
have died,
all the leaves will fall on my breast
it will rain upon my soul night and day
the snow will burn my heart,
I shall walk with cold and fire and death and snow
my feet will want to march toward where you sleep,
but
I shall go on living..."

Ms Stone and others courageously offer a glimpse into what they suffered. They offer comfort by acknowledging that a child did exist. "Forever Our Angels" is written simply and elegantly. It is with honor that I recommend this book to those who have suffered a loss or those who know someone who has.

Hannah Stone's "Forever Our Angels" is a touching collection of first hand accounts from both women and men who have suffered through the heartache and loss of a miscarriage. It brought tears of comfort for me from my own personal loss, because it helped me understand that other people were as confused and lost as I was during such a painful time. While this collection certainly will not give grieving parents and answers or a cure, it does allow them to not feel alone.

The layout of the book is simple, with large text (large enough for bleary eyes to read). The accounts are concise and to the point and low on technical terms.

"Forever Our Angels" is a good message to give when you don't know what to say. Death is never easy to deal with, particularly when combined with the loss of potential and what might have been. Hannah Stone's collection wraps a blanket of comfort around those grieving by allowing them to relate to the personal experiences of others.

This is a book about pregnancy loss. Specifically, it includes about 17 non-fiction essays written as 1st-person accounts. Each of the essays is written by a real person who has experienced a miscarriage. The book begins with an an introduction by a doctor of psychiatry, as well as a preface by the author Hannah Stone.

Hannah's conviction that this is a neglected subject is clear, and she herself describes three miscarriages that she experienced. The writers of the rest of the essays range in talent and skill, and the end result has the emotional honesty of a support group, sharing and processing their losses. A few of them are so touching and so honest they're unlike anything else I've ever read.

Take "Gwen" trying to find meaning from her lost baby, Ellie: "Her short life gave me an invaluable lesson. I learned to not take anything for granted. We can say life is a miracle, but I never fully comprehended what a gift it is until it was taken from me. I know Ellie is watching over us. She is my children's guardian angel. And when we meet in heaven someday, I will finally get to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I love her."

Or "Alan" discussing his personal loss as a husband: "The conventional wisdom is that men do their grieving alone but for me, the opportunity to talk to others during the weeks following the loss was crucial. Many people came to me and said things like, 'I know there's nothing that I can say except that we are thinking of you.' These sentiments are what helped carry me through."

I feel like anything I would say at this point might trivialize these essays, and I don't want to do that. Each person's heartache, loss, and honesty deserves more than that, and Hannah Stone deserves praise for bringing this book to publication. It could not have been easy.

Stacey

I bought this book for my husbands mother. She had a really hard time coping with the loss of our son. She felt like no one understood her and she herself could not understand some of her emotions. She would call me everyday to tell me what she had read and how similar the story was to ours. When she finished the book she seemed as if she understood now. She told me that we cant try to get over what happened but to interpret it into our lives.

Forgotten Tears: A Grandmother's
Journey Through Grief
by Nina Bennett
Booklocker.com
Genre: Autobiographical Grief Memoir
ISBN: 1591137640, $12.95, 144 pp, 2005

This book is about Nina Bennett's personal grief experience over the death of her granddaughter, Maddy Hodgdon, who died during childbirth. In this book she shares her knowledge as a healthcare professional (former childbirth educator and reproductive healthcare specialist) and she shares her inspiration as she works her way through the pain.

Nina wrote Forgotten Tears to help other grandparents with their personal grief while they try to help their bereaved child, and I think to help work through her own grief. Quoting from the back cover:

"Being a grieving grandparent means seeing your own child suffer and being powerless to help while experiencing the lack of support and understanding of your might-have-beens."

I personally don't dwell on "might-have-beens," for I see no point, except to make oneself unhappy, but who am I? Life goes on and so must we. Nina Bennett certainly makes it clear that grieving is a very personal thing with no time limits.

The author currently works in the HIV/AIDS field, where she has been employed since the beginning of the epidemic. She lectures and presents workshops, both locally and nationally, on the psychological aspects of living with HIV.

Reviewed by Kaye Trout - July 1, 2006 - Copyright

Nina Bennett is a social services and healthcare professional who turned her deepest grief into something that helps others who have gone through or are going through the loss of a loved one. She wrote this book because she couldn't find many resources that focused on bereaved grandparents. She wanted to create something to help other grandparents who experience the devastating loss that she went through. This book has much to offer not only to grandparents, but also to anyone grieving the loss of a loved one. It takes a brave and special person to be able to share something so deeply painful and personal with the public. And by doing so, Ms. Bennett memorialized her beloved granddaughter forever. This book is highly recommended.

Nina Bennett's book, Forgotten Tears, starts with her granddaughter Maddy's unexpected still birth. From this painful experience, she ultimately offers a sensitive and inclusive book on the subject of personal grief. She highlights a topic not often discussed: How grandparents' grief over the death of a grandchild is indeed sometimes forgotten, even though their grief is arduous.

The author artfully shares her struggle with grief until a sense of renewal reigns. Bennett is passionate about giving her grief meaningfulness to herself as well as helping others find their path alng the grief journey.

Included are individual stories, and suggestions to permit grief to forge character through redefining normal. Anyone experiencing loss of a loved one will benefit from this foundational book on grief. Excellent bibliography and resource section.

Judy Martin-Urban, author of I Can't Remember Me, inspirational nonfiction LangMarc Publishers May 2006 www.judeurbanski.com

Written by a bereaved grandmother who is also a healthcare professional (former childbirth educator and reproductive healthcare specialist, now working in the HIV/AIDS field), this is an intimate portrayal of her own grief journey following the unexpected stillbirth of her beloved granddaughter. The author manages to weave theoretical material about grief and mourning in and amongst her very private journal entries and personal experiences, which makes this work valuable not only to mothers and grandmothers but to mental health professionals as well. The book is clinically accurate and current, incorporating material from leading experts on bereavement as well as anecdotal experiences gathered from other bereaved grandparents, so that it will appeal to clinicians as well as members of the lay public. I especially appreciate how, through her own touching examples, this author gives bereaved families permission to keep the memory of their babies alive and to continue to develop a connection with them through the years. As Lorraine Hedtke so accurately observes (...), sadness is only one aspect of the complexity of grief, and remembering is what helps us manage our sorrow more effectively. I have listed this book on the pages of my Grief Healing Web site (...) as one I highly recommend to my site visitors, clients and colleagues.

I read this book three times and never get tired of it. It impressed me both as a teenager and as an adult when I could better appreciate the force of Nikos Kazantzakis' messages. Once you start reading his novels, you won't want to stop until you have read more. His range of topics is impressive.

I read this a number of years ago. It is not a paen to freedom, but a description of the hatred between the Cretans and the Turks made virtually unabateable by regligious prejudice and historic experience.

Today, it informs my view of the unabateable hatred in the Middle East.

The book is excellent. The characters are larger than life in their strengths and in their flaws--from the Homeric captains to the pitiful (not pitiable) Hadji, the Muslim fool unable to resist Captain Michaelis' demand to drink and who thereafter spreads dung on his head in further self-abasement and repentence.

Wonderful character development, a plat that moves and develops well, and an ending leaving food for thought in the early 21st Century on planet Earth.

In the island of Crete the Teacher was born. In the island of Crete where his people remained under Turkish occupation for more than two centuries. Is there a diamond in the greek history which cannot be linked to Crete? Incredulous one might remain to extreme stories described-imagined by Kazantzakis, but then let this "Thomas" read into the history of the Cretans, their constant revolts against Othoman occupation, their "aposyrsis" to the mountains where their life displayed the attrocious but noble feature of Freedom. Was/is it really the Turks? No, Kapetan Michalis was not the man to enjoy peace, war and fighting were his nature, there abolished he the tornment of having been given life. Kazantzakis shares: I asked my mother, "How was my grandfather?" "Like your father only darker." "What did he do? " "He fought." "And where there was no war?" "He smoked his pipe and looked at the mountains."

It is the nature of man, the nature of the warrior who restrained from life, restrained because life he has been given , choses he to continue by fighting... It is in this isolation of the self, in this denial of peace that man reaches the crest of alienation, the crest of silent freedom, Death...

This book is incredible. It is an accurate portrayal of Greeks because it was written by a Greek. "Freedom or Death" is too good to be out of print. This is one of Kazantzakis' best novels, even better than "Zorba." It needs to be put back into print, by gum!

Nikos Kazantzakis is one of the most under appreciated authors of the 20th century. The fact that this book, arguably his greatest work, is out of print is a prime example of that fact. Many readers have come to the mistaken conclusion that this book is primarily about the Greek, more specifically Cretan, struggle for freedom from Ottoman rule. The subject of this book is far greater. This book is truly about man's struggle for freedom from his own shortcomings. Some may even argue that Kazantzakis is seeking not only to define his own struggle, but also to understand his father. Captain Mihalis (The primary character in the books) is patterned after the author's own father.

I've had the opportunity to read this edition, and Greek editions of this book numerous times over the years, and have never grown tired of this book. I've come away with something new after each reading. I typically find myself conserving pages (reading slower) towards the end of this book because I don't want it to end. This is one of those books that will haunt you after you've read it.

Bill Dundee's story will move you in ways no novel can, and will educate you in ways no textbook can. This is a must read for any parent and all teenagers ready to take that first drink. Do yourself a favor and read this book, then do someone else a fovor and pass it on. Dr. Bill Sheehan

Bill and Sandi Dundee are people we all know. The tribute Bill writes for his daughter and the story of their illness, is a hardline, gut wrenching story. There are many smiles, in the book, and many tears. I think Sandi would have been proud of her Dad. Bill cuts no punches in his autobiography concerning alcoholism and how the effects are multi-generational. The only problem I had with this book was that it wasn't long enough. Once you pick it up, you won't lay it down until you reach the end. One of the best books on family alcoholism I have ever read.

Not only couldn't I put this book down,It blew me away.The raw rigorest honesty he shares,so openly of his daughters death,brought tears to my eyes,and a crack to my heart.As a father of four,Bills loss is my biggest nightmare.I had the honor of meeting Bill at"The Aroma Cafe"in studio City,Ca.I was not disapointed.Come to find out he's a spiritual speaker,and working on his next book,as well as the founder of"PIIETAA" Parents involved in educating teenagers about alcohol.Thank you Bill for your time and kind words.

Bill McPhie's book searches with simple candor for a reason why. The loss of a loved one is always painful, but to lose a daughter to despair after having beaten it yourself must be a haunting experience. At first there is numbness, then disbelief, then anger. Eventually, he hopes to accept and to learn from his tragic experience, and the wisdom he gained through great personal loss is our blessing. In the darkness of addiction, Bill's book stands as a beacon, dispensing empathy and hope in equal measure. This timely book touches on a severe problem in our country, and does so with wit and humilty, allowing us a view into a world few of us would survive. There are lessons here for everyone. A must read for all parents.

I read this book twice. If you are a recovering alcoholic, or someone in your family has a problem, you must read this book. It was sad, funny, insightful and most importantly, a real life story. One we've all been through, more or less. This is not a typical self-help book. It's the painful story of an alcoholic and his daughter. Mr. McGee is a wonderful writer and he weaves his story to capture the audience. This book is a must read. Katherine Hammontre