Women Books

I am very disappointed in this study. Very little practical application in the daily lessons. I'm so used to Beth Moore "talking to me" every day in her lessons, this has been a bit disappointing. Lots of Bible verses, but tell me what I'm supposed to be getting from this.

If you feel like you have gotten off track with the path God wants you to go I highly recommend this book. I have taken each chapter and really applied it to my prayer life and the results have been amazing. When you turn to God first life doesn't seem so bad.

This is the first Omartian book I have read, and I love it. The breakdown is short easy chapters, so I can read a few minutes and still cover a topic. Great advise and insights are on every page. I also plan to use it as a reference/refresher when I need advice.

Don't order from Caesureus I hear the book is very good. Still have not recieved shipment though ordered over a mont ago!

This is an excellent book. It was recommended to me by a friend and worth every penny. Extremely motivating. I have two other books in the series that I enjoy just as much.

This is an unusual book, strange in so many ways I'm going to have trouble listing them all. I'll try, though. I will say that at some level I enjoyed this book, and if you can overcome the shortcomings that I'll list below, you may enjoy it more than I did.

For one thing, there's the issue of the author's name. This *isn't* the Michael Collins who was the first president of Ireland (of course not, he's been dead for 80 years) though the author was born over there. He's also not the astronaut who stayed on Apollo 11 while Armstrong and Aldrin wandered around on the moon. And he's also not Dennis Lynds, who has a series of detective novels featuring a one-armed private eye named Dan Fortune, and who writes novels under the pen name Michael Collins. This is the other other other Michael Collins. Very weird.

The plot of the book is pretty complex. All of the plot takes place in the late 1970s, a strange choice for the author. It works at some levels, though. Frank Cassidy is a small-time next-to-nothing, working at a burger joint, married to a woman who is at first a dispatcher for a trucking company. They have two kids, though the older one is from her previous marriage. Frank gets word that his uncle has died, and he decides to return to his hometown for the funeral. However his cousin and the cousin's wife are very angry at this.

This is where things begin to get strange. It turns out that Frank's wife, Honey, was married before, and her husband killed two people and is now on Death Row. She beats the son she had with the first husband. Frank, meanwhile, steals cars and money in order to finance their trip back home. As the novel progresses, there's not a single solitary character in the whole plot who's truly honest, good-hearted, and/or selfless. Everyone's out for themselves, dishonest, and nasty. It's sort of a cross between American Beauty and The Grapes of Wrath.

One point I think worth making is that the author isn't an American. You've got to wonder what these guys are thinking (I'm thinking of the guy who wrote American Beauty) when they move here in order to write stuff and tell us what jerks we are. I wonder if an American could move to Britain or Ireland and write a novel like this, and get it published, let alone receive awards. Needless to say, all the gushing blurbs on the back of the book are from British and Irish newspapers, which all insist (of course) that it reveals "America's long malaise".

The author *can* write, though. There's not that much of a plot, unfortunately. Instead, we get a bleak, desolate account of Middle America a quarter century ago. While the author isn't positive about anything, it's interesting to watch the characters wander through the plot. The mystery angle isn't (as is traditional) important to the book, and the solution, when revealed, seems rather forced and quick. Luckily, as I said, it's not that significant.

I enjoyed this book within these parameters. I might recommend it, but you've got to be aware of how annoying it can be at times.

This is where things get weird, however.

This book is a pleasure to read. The writing style is effortless - Mr Collins is a skillful and inventive writer.

The story follows a 1970s family who return to the Frank Cassidy's hometown for his dad's funeral. As the mystery around the death unfolds, other themes are also addressed. In a couple of generations Frank's family has moved from primary industry, mining and farming, into the service econony (flipping burgers). The novel shows the impact on families, on men and women and their ideas of their place in the world. Some people can survive in the modern world of corporate farming, of colleges which free people from their tie to the soil. It is not an easy journey but the ability of people to survive shines through, especially when the benefits of education are used to change for the better. In the background the impact of a war fought overseas is also in the air.

Ultimately, a novel about hope. Perhaps even an update of the American dream? Great book, deserves more recognition.

The hero is a pragmatist in a Godless world. The protagonist, Frank Cassidy, had not had a day off in two years when he quits his job in New Jersey to go the the Upper Peninsula, Michigan for reason of a death in the family. He steals a car and later robs a man named Melvin. Frank's brother-cousin and his wife, Norman and Martha, dread the arrival of Frank and Honey and Robert Lee and Ernie, the children.

In the boarding house where they stay there is a hint of opulence. It is learned that the body of the deceased uncle, Ward, is being held by the authorities. Honey feels they should try to get jobs in the town. Frank works as a security guard and Honey in the business office of a college undergoing a transition from a community college to a four years residential college with a Great Books curriculum.

For Thanksgiving it is decided to eat at Cedar Lodge and stay there through the long weekend. Listed winter activities are ice skating and ice fishing. In a telephone call Frank learns that his cousin Norman is collapsing. Norman upended the sheriff's car when served with papers of foreclosure. Frank and his family go to Norman's place where it is discovered the dairy herd has been killed. In the end Frank uncovers and clarifies mysteries that have always surrounded his boyhood. The atmosphere created by the author matches the subject of the search for meaning by being indeterminate, foggy, bewildering. The children are presented in interesting realistic detail.

~ Frank Cassidy learns in a newspaper of the death - possibly, murder - of his uncle, and goes back to North America to investigate any possibility of inheritance; to find out why his uncle died; and to sort out loose ends left in his head from a fire at his family farm in his childhood...

This book starts off quite promisingly. The writer evidently knows the mechanics of how to write well. But the book lacks sufficient plot after about the first hundred pages (of a 360-page book) to keep the reader very interested in continuing with it. The journey to the end of the book becomes boring, too unstimulating, too slow, too drawn out, with too much description and detail just for the sake of giving description and detail, too much describing of humdrum life, with the reader wondering if the book is going to go anywhere sufficiently interesting to be worth going on turning the pages. The characters in the book aren't made particularly interesting in themselves. The story ceases to be interesting. The reader is left in the dark for too long as to where the book is heading to, or why all the details are supposed to be interesting, or what the point of the book is supposed to be. Whilst what really happened many years before, in Frank's childhood, is revealed to us in the last fifteen pages of the book, by the time the reader gets there, he will probably have lost interest in the tale anyway.

A few specifics in the plot that didn't really seem to fit together well:
1. It seemed odd for Frank just to dump Juniper, the family pet, in someone else's car, and for that action then just to be accepted by the rest of the family.
2. It seemed odd for Frank to go back home with specific personal missions in his mind, but yet then never actually to get round to meeting up with Norman and Martha face to face for the whole time he was up there.
3. It seemed odd for Norman and Martha just to run away without saying more to anyone, after their herd was slaughtered.
4. Why Chester Green was suddenly being referred to as 'the Sleeper' didn't seem to be explained.
5. It seemed odd for Frank, not rich, not to want to salvage any possessions from either house before they were bulldozed.
6. It seemed odd and too convenient for Frank suddenly to be interrogating Baxter, his new co-worker, for information, which was forthcoming, as soon as he met him.
7. It seemed odd for Frank just to be allowed to be left alone with Chester Green in a hospital unsupervised, particularly in later visits after he had already been suspected of trying to harm or interfere with Chester Green earlier on.
8. Why Baxter suddenly ended up in the sanatorium following the window-smashing incident and ended up getting ECT treatment wasn't very clear.
9. Frank suddenly realising his mother had died in a fall many years ago, by listening to tapes, didn't really ring very true.
10. The detail at the end of the book (page 357), of Frank killing the paralysed 'Chester Green' in the sanatorium, seemed to be a detail borrowed straight out of 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest', where the huge red indian suffocates the comitose Jack Nicholson at the end of that film. That conclusion seems to be borne out by a reference to 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' in this book, just a page later (page 358).

All in all, this was not a very satisfying book, for a variety of reasons - mainly lack of interesting plot and lack of interesting characters.

Frank Cassidy lives on the fringes of society in a succession of demeaning jobs, a wife with an ex-husband on death row in Georgia, an angst-riddled stepson waiting for his father to be executed and an innocent pre-schooler, obsessed with his toy dinosaurs. Frank's edge-of-desperation lifestyle can be traced back to his childhood, his father and mother killed in a fire that erupted on the family farm when Frank was five-years old. His memories of that time are dim, shaped by the overwhelming presence of his uncle, who raised him as one of his own, and the psychological evaluations the doctor hoped would unlock Frank's fragmented memory of the night of the conflagration.

As soon as he is old enough, Frank leaves the farm behind, along with all family connections, to make his way in a hostile world with no patience for an emotionally damaged survivor. His life since then has been a series of misdemeanors, an anti-social approach to the rest of mankind. Frank views his occasional petty crimes as the natural evolution of a careful society, like car theft, his deeds "preordained statistical probability", but refuses to believe that "stupidity and desperation equate to evil". When he reads of his uncle's murder, Frank gathers his family and heads for the past, a dark trek from New Jersey to the vast, empty cold of the far north in Michigan.

Along the way, Frank telephones his cousin at the farm, arguing about the purpose of the trip and the resolution of a shattered history. For Frank, this journey is like poking a stick at a bad tooth, as painful memories surge, taunting and confusing his every action, his haunted youth returning with savage intensity. He makes his way back to the kind of town nobody would willingly return to unless called by tragedy or loss. People here live in despair, inhabiting days frozen in minimal needs and obligations, waiting to thaw. At each phase of his odyssey, Frank is beset by images and memories, the flickering light of a television screen in a starless night, black and white reruns the backdrop for a tragedy buried in his subconscious that fills him with a vague sense of guilt, a mistrust of his own motivations.

Thirty years after the traumatic events that stole his childhood, Frank is called back into the chaos of his youth, the self-destruction that has defined every rebellious action since. Both distressed and comforted by a suffering family he can barely provide for, Frank plunges into what remains of his world, forced to redefine time and place, to make a stand in this frozen wilderness, drawing courage from his own need for resolution and the love of his dysfunctional family. He does so with consummate grace, a tragic character cart-wheeling through free-associative hell on a collision course with the truth. The prose is shadowed and disturbing, a painful view of the underbelly of American life, where the have-nots gather around a burning trash can in hopes of warmth in an indifferent landscape. Luan Gaines/2005.

Thank you for your story in an honest and insightful manner.
My hat's off to you...... we need more honesty like this.

I have suffered with major depression for over 16 years now, but was officially diagnosed with depression just a couple short weeks ago. The title of this book is what immediately caught my attention. I knew I had to find a way to read it. I decided to check to see if my local library had a copy. It didn't. But I was able to get a copy from a public library in another city through inter-library loan.

I saw myself so often in this pages of this book. It made me feel less alone. Reading Ms. Thompson's book was like having an intense personal conversation. This book is extremely well written. Ms. Thompson has some great insights. I love her brutal honest. She gives an honest and complete disclosure. She talks openly about the good, the bad, and the ugly. I would highly recommend this book to people who suffer with depression themselves. But I would also recommend it to those who are struggling to understand the struggles of a friend or family member who struggles with depression. There are things in this book that caused me to think about my own situation in a new way. Some of her insights are profound. It couldn't have been easy for Ms. Thompson to write this book. After all, she was a well-known journalist. She was risking her career by writing with such brutal honesty. But I am so glad that she was able to overcome her fear of rejection. She has done all of us, especially those of us who suffer with major depression, a great service. I am so thankful for this book.

Like other great heroes, Tracy Thompson probably does not consider herself heroic. Nonetheless, she is very much a hero of mine. "The Beast" helped me soldier through the blackest days of my life, for which I will be forever grateful to Ms. Thompson.

"The Beast" is an exceptional and excellently written description of a deeply private, highly accomplished woman's journey out of a dark night of her soul.

If you suffer from depression or if you wish to better understand depression in order to support a loved one, I encourage you to read "The Beast."

I read this book shortly after it was released. My first thought was "Wow, someone understands how I feel." It is an excellent book for those around us who do not understand depression and the mental and physical problems that accompany it. I have read this book several times. I have also recommended it to many including my counselor. Tracy Thompson helped remove the stigma associated with mentai illness.

This is a book from the inside out, meaning the author writes well about the subject because it comes from within. I have read several books about depression, and this is the one that has impressed me the most. Honest, well-written, and it tells it like it is. At times I found myself disagreeing with the author's actions (but who am I to judge) as if she was a character (see, it reads like a good book, a novel even, definitely not self-help and never ever patronizing), but I always appreciated her honesty and "straightford-ness." Somehow I found this book at the time I needed it the most, when I had given up all hope of getting better. I'm still not convinced I will, but this book has me rooting for the author. I am ever grateful and thankful it exists.

If you suffer from depression, just want to know more about it, or someone you love suffers from it, please READ THIS BOOK. Most of the time, in anthologies and even some "memoirs," I think: this person has no idea what they are talking about, I can't relate. Not here. This book is accessible and, I truly believe, helpful to anyone who reads it. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It is an asset to the field. And, subject not withstanding, it's a good book on its own. In other words, as a memoir it is interesting, entertaining, and you'll slow down your reading just to make it last longer (and to me, that's often the mark of a good book and an excellent storyteller). Best of luck to the author. And for anyone who reads this book because they "need" it, I get it. More importantly, so does the author. Good luck, then, to all of us.

A beautiful story about how friendship can endure despite time, distance, and life's circumstances. I could see pieces of myself in each of the main characters. I bought this four years ago, and , sadly, let it sit on the shelf all these years. Although I haven't been able to find the time to read a book all the way through in the past 4 years, I read this one from cover to cover in 2 days! I highly recommend it! I'm now sending it to my best friend who lives several states away.

Between Friends centers around friends Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski. The two girls are born in the same town, Jillian to wealthy older parents who have long-awaited their first child, and Lesley as a result of an unplanned teenage pregnancy; despite the differences in their backgrounds, the girls become fast friends. Rather than tell their story through traditional narrative means, author Debbie Macomber draws from alternate sources, namely letters that Jillian and Lesley write to each other but also their journals, news clippings, and other correspondence. I enjoyed this unique format, which lends itself particularly well to quick and easy reading.

Jillian and Lesley were both born in 1948, and so they were teenagers in the 1960s, when they struggled to make sense of issues going in their world going on at that time, namely Vietnam. Throughout the book, Macomber does a nice job of working in historical events. Vietnam figures heavily into the plot, but other events, such as the American Legion convention and the advent of the computer age, affect the characters as well. Sometimes these inclusions were a bit predictable or even contrived (eg, one letter contained the postscript "my land, what is the world coming to that people are tainting headache pills with cyanide?"), but even so, they added interest to the story.

This was the first book I read by Debbie Macomber, but it won't be the last. Although this book is likely to appeal mainly to women, Macomber injects a genuineness and warmth into her story that goes beyond "chick lit," and I look forward to discovering what else she has to offer.

There isn't any thing about this book that I didn't like. It grabbed my interest from the very beginning and had me reading it until the wee hours of the night, I just could not put it down. I fell in love with the characters and felt as though I were a part of their friendship. I especially loved the format of this book: journal entries, letters, etc.
I highly recommend this book!

Between Friends is the story of 2 girls that became friends at the age of 5 and remained best friends all their lives. The entire book was written in the format of letters, journal entries, and newspaper clippings. It was a strange format, and yet it seemed to give us a deeper glimpse into the lives of these 2 very different women.

Lesley grew up the oldest of 6 kids in a working class family. Her dad spent more time out of work than he did employeed, and her mom had to learn to live with him and all his faults. Jillian, the only child of Judge and his wife, grew up in the lap of luxary. And yet, through time and completely different circumstances, they stayed friends. This book encompasses decades in the lives of the 2 friends, through marriage, children, divorce, death and war. At times a little sappy and at times very touching, I found this book very enjoyable.

I absolutely loved this book. This author is so very talented and this particular book truly showcases her talents for capturing life and friendship.

In Dead of Night, forensic artist Annie Kingston finds herself mixed up in deadly game with a serial killer. Bodies of several young women have been discovered in Redding, California, and Annie has been called in to draw the unknown victims for identification. The latest body has been found just behind Annie's property, and it seems as if the killer may have Annie in the crosshairs. She must now work fast to not only protect another innocent victim, but also to save herself.

Not only does Collins raise the bar for other suspense authors, somehow she manages to make each installment better. Annie Kingston's first-person narrative effectively drives this series. Annie's struggles are real and we are able to relate with her as a parent and a Christian. As a single mom, Annie must juggle the demands of family with the intense responsibilities that come from working in law enforcement. On top of all of that, as a new Christian she faces an inward battle as she learns to rely on God completely. As Annie continually finds herself in the throes of danger, it is inspiring and encouraging to watch her faith increase.

Collin's writing is edgy, engaging, and absolutely thrilling. She knows how to take readers on a journey that will have them gripping their chairs and looking over their shoulders. This series is highly recommended for fans of suspense and mysteries, as well as those who love stories that challenge and inspire. (Originally reviewed as a series for Christian Library Journal)

This is an awesome book. Brandilynn keeps you riveted to this book, very hard to put down. I can't wait for the next in the series.

"Dead of Night," the third book in Brandilyn Collins' four-volume 'Hidden Faces' series, is as suspense-filled as any novel by any author who writes in this genre. Even though her previous works are superb, Ms. Collins somehow gets better and better. Highly Recommended!
--R. C. Howe (aka 'Toby Martin II).

Annie Kingston has once again been called to use her forensics drawing expertise in another case. This time a serial killer is targeting her home town. The killings though are took close for Annie and her family. There's pressure to find out who the killer is. Annie herself is not sure as there is limited evidence. Plus she is worried about her teenage son and the rebellious stage he is going through. Evil and wickedness are rampant in this town and the prayers of its citizens are needed to help them survive.

I've also read the first two books in this series, but I'm going to review this one first. Why? Because it was one of the best suspense books I have read this year. I was seriously creeped out while reading this book. I won't lie though. The first two books in the series while very good just didn't keep me up late at night because I was afraid to sleep. But this book however, wow. I wanted to keep the lights on! What's interesting is that there is absolutely no hint of who the actual killer is throughout the whole book. While the killer does have scenes before they are finally revealed, there is no indication at all that points evidence towards them. When I found out who it was, I flipped back trying to figure out when this character first appears but it seemed like they had always been there in the background. Reading the killer's monologues in between characters was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. You get so uncomfortable and irritated and want to scream. The thinking is so twisted and evil that it's deliciously scary. The final battle between the killer and Annie was bite on your nails, cover your eyes, hide beneath the covers all out suspense. The only minor complaint I had was that the killer never says to Annie why they did what they did and that we don't find out what happens to them. But I'm actually rather glad this wasn't written. I hate "last chapter confessions" because it is so unreal that the killer wants to divulge everything before they get caught. Seriously, now I know why Brandilynn's tag line is "Don't Forget to Breathe." This book totally took my breath away.

Forensic artist Annie Kingston has a serial killer on her hands ---- hands that have no clue what the suspect looks like. But people who live in the area where the killer has been stalking female prey and dumping their bodies are in a near panic; the women are fearing for their lives and everyone is demanding that the authorities do more to catch the monster in their midst. The pressure on Annie is enormous. Not only is she called to each gruesome crime scene to sketch the faces of unidentified victims; she's also drawn into the investigation on a personal level when both a suspect and a body show up on her property.

As it turns out, these crimes are highly personal with regard to Annie. Her high-profile status, which had been secured in an earlier investigation (and, presumably, an earlier book), has placed her squarely in the killer's sights. What's more, her newfound faith in Christ rankles the killer to no end. Between each chapter, Collins gives the perpetrator an opportunity to reveal the chilling thoughts and motives that drive the violence, and it becomes evident early on that resentment toward the church and Christians is a prime factor behind the killing spree.

As if that wasn't enough, Annie's drug-abusing son is giving her fits, and a neighbor, the unmarried father of her daughter's best friend, is quietly and slowly revealing his attraction to her. Her life is complicated, to be sure, but as the investigation heats up, neither Annie nor Collins's readers can possibly be prepared for just how complicated it's going to get.

Despite all the big and little red herrings that crop up as the plot progresses, about a third of the way through the book I was sure I knew who the killer was, and it was not someone you'd ordinarily suspect. Much to my utter delight, I was wrong --- not even close, in fact. I can't begin to describe the pleasure I get from being mistaken about the doer when I'm reading a murder mystery, especially if the surprise ending doesn't feel contrived. That was the case here; Collins so adeptly disguises the killer's identity until the bitter, strychnine-laced end that when it was revealed, I felt simultaneously stunned and satisfied rather than tricked and cheated.

Collins also serves up some surprising insights and images that are only marginally related to the main plot but provide depth and texture to the overall story. In a scene in which Annie's daughter and her friend are simultaneously grilling cheese sandwiches and grilling Annie about another possible victim, Collins describes the resiliency of teenagers through Annie's thoughts: "Somehow they managed to turn their attention back to the priorities of the moment --- to cooking their sandwiches, sliding them onto plates, fetching drinks. Even as they pumped me for information about Karen --- not all of which I could give --- their demeanor settled like cellophane under heat, shrink-wrapped to fit this new reality." Images like that appear often enough to set Collins's writing apart from that of so many one-dimensional suspense authors.

Now to the faith part. As a new believer, Annie has a lot to learn, and this provides Collins with an opportunity to enlighten her readers as well. Her writing is not what you'd call preachy, but neither is the faith angle subtle. The primary "teaching" comes from a taped sermon that Annie listens to in her car, a slight variation on a device used by Christian writers who make their faith-related points through sermons delivered in church. To her credit, Collins does a good job of weaving the faith element in as a part of everyday life; it never felt intrusive or tacked on as an afterthought. Plus, it was pivotal to the plot, which made it even more appropriate for her to focus on.

For fans of Christian suspense, this one is up there in the stratosphere. In fact, I'm fairly confident that Collins has it in her to give an author like Patricia Cornwell a run for her money someday. She has that kind of potential.

I'm maybe a third of the way through the book and I just had to write a review: this book is absolutely amazing! It had me in tears by the second chapter. It is unbelievable just how wonderfully intricate we are and I commend Ms. Rose for outlining this and gently guiding the reader to shed the negativity and create his/her own dream life.

The key is, it's all WITHIN us and within OUR OWN POWER to make these fundamental changes for the better, which will indubitably improve and enlighten our lives.

Thanks for writing such a meaningful, wonderful book! I will purchase a few more copies for my friends.

I purchased this book because a phrase was mentioned in my daily meditation. I was so moved to further my inquizative, hungry mind & soul. I was very excited to receive the book and begin it imediately, as i did. I was not dissapointed as it kept me at my edge. I wanted to read more as i digested all the wonderful, hearty visions and fueling words and messages. This book lead me to my next and then to another and i realized i was on a journey of no return. Thank you both the author for providing me with the resources to feel whole and motivated and complete. :) Penny

Make no mistake about it, Know Yourself is one of the best I've ever read because it covers it all. Each stage of life, what's been missing inside ourselves, how to regain what we feel we've somehow lost inside, and the chapter on abuse is right on target. That would only apply if you've been abused and the nagging effects of it can make you feel that you're not worth much at all until you discover you are.

One of my favorite passages comes from page 46 during the written exercise part of the book. It says in quotes:
"The choice of what to put on your list is all yours. No one on this earth can create your life. No one other than you knows exactly what you love, what brings you joy, and what fills your entire being with passion. What you are about to write is the real you that lays beneath should's, societal expectations, cultural attitudes, and what you have been taught that opposes what you feel is true for you. Now, it's writing time to bring the real you to up to the surface on the following pages."

Know Yourself taught me how to turn my attitude about myself around. It did its job and then some. It has been a gift to me that I'm sharing with friends.

In "Know Yourself" Barbara Rose did an outstanding job of bringing insight where I previously had confusion or uncertainty. There is a chapter covering abuse that helped me un-do more hurt from the past than I thought it would, and for that I am grateful.

I wanted to quote directly from the book from page 98 because I feel this can help anyone, which is the purpose of this great book.

"Letting Go of Criticism
Another part of cherishing others is to, with loving compassion, let go of any criticisms made of you; blame the criticisms on illusions the people had at the time; for had they had healthy and pure minds, they would not have taken anything out on you. Instead of blaming them, cherish them for being your teachers--and for teaching you how to feel self-value despite anything they may have said or done.

Do not ever take to heart hurtful comments others make. Do not make them a part of your being. Know yourself and you will know truth.

Know who you are. What you believe in. What feels right and true for you.
If you dream of changing your career because of the passion you feel for a new field, enjoy the process; never let anyone stop you with their illusions of so-called failure or impossibilities.
Nothing is impossible.

I learned this saying: "Whether you believe you can or you believe you can't, you're right!"

If your heart is pulling you in a certain direction, then this is a part of your truth, and you must honor it.

This is where a solid sense of self comes from. It comes from knowing your truth. You can be sixty-five years old and decide you want to go back to school to become a doctor because you have always really wanted to help people. Go back to school!

Don't ever let chronological age hold you back. Many people, both men and women, have uplifted countless lives and have achieved their greatest self-actualization later in life.

Wisdom is the hallmark of a life lived from the heart, without judgment, and with compassion for all others.

No matter what it is you want to do, do it because it is a true expression of who you are. The joy you will experience by honoring what your heart and soul came into this life for will far outweigh the pain and disappointment you will feel if you don't honor your truth."

There is much more that I can quote from, much more that has helped me.

While doing the written exercises, simply and clearly spelled out in the beginning of the book, I experienced what many people call "A-Ha" moments. Each one brought more about what was holding my back into my awareness, and then following the guidance in the book I was able to un-do the old, and replace it with truth that feels much better!

I read this book twice so far, and am now re-reading it again. It's an excellent book for anyone male or female!

I'm sorry but I found this book extremely unhelpful. It was very disjointed. It wasn't even clear what you were supposed to be writing in the workbook pages. It just seemed like a stream of consciousness of trite phrases like "everything happens for a reason". Maybe it's helpful to people who have never thought beyond their nose for their entire life. I don't know. I couldn't find anything redeeming in the entire thing. I ended up just skimming the second half so maybe there was something redeeming in there.

I'm writing this as the mother of an adopted Ethiopian child- I bought this book after a random search and it has been the most valuable book of our whole adoption journey. It's loaded with helpful background info on the AIDS & Orphan crises in Ethiopia, history of Ethiopia, insight into the cultural perceptions of adoption (especially by affluent, white Westerners!) and the very moving perspectives of the orphans themselves, and their Ethiopian caretakers. The heroine of this story is very real, and her character development was deep and insightful. I laid the book down several times to have a good laugh (or cry!) but could hardly keep from turning the pages. Whether you are adopting yourself, supporting someone who is, or just interested in learning more about Ethiopia and this heroine's story, I know you will come away inspired.

Author Melissa Fay Greene, who is the adoptive mother of two Ethiopian children, relates the story of Haregewoin Teferra, an Ethiopian mother who becomes the foster mother for a multitude of AIDS orphans during the height of the pandemic. Greene truthfully tells the tale without painting Teferra as a "modern day Mother Teresa," but rather as a very real and human woman who is asked by clerics to take in one abandoned orphan after another. A grieving mother whose adult daughter died from AIDS, Teferra discovers that helping the children provides her with a means of overcoming her grief. The individual stories of these "lost children" who arrive on Teferra's doorstep are riveting, as is Greene's account of the assimilation of her adoptive children into her family. Accompanying photos show children shortly after they arrived in very bad shape at Treferra's compound and then later with adoptive American families.
Greene spares no one as she rails against the pharmaceutical companies that withheld AIDS medications from third-world countries at the height of the pandemic, causing the loss of a whole generation of parents. Despite having no drugs to help the children, hit-or-miss medical care, and scarce food for all, Teferra does her best to feed, clothe, house, and educate the orphans put in her care. Although one might think that this book is a "downer," it is a very uplifting page-turner that relates the indominable spirit of one Ethiopian woman and her many foster children.

Melissa Faye Green is an excellent writer. She is a true artist painting a vivid picture of scenes, and weaving historical, political and social aspects of the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is an incredibly powerful book. It is not easy to read due to the difficult emotional toll it can take on one, but I felt morally obligated to read it, so that I wasn't just shutting out the devastating misery suffered by so many millions. She portrays the human face of this awful disease with poignancy. It is an inspiring and human story of one woman's efforts to alleviate her own and others suffering. God bless Melissa for opening our eyes.

This was a wonderful book! Having myself been to Addis Ababa recently (July 07) with my daughter to pick up her adopted Ethiopian baby boy (4 months old), you can just imagine how this story of one woman's love for so many orphans resonated with me. The book is a quick read -- something interesting in every chapter. The author intertwined Haregewoin's up and down story with bits of Ethiopian history and the unwinding spread and theories of HIV-AIDs plus added her own experience with H. and the adoption her own Ethiopian children -- which made the reader come away with a true cultural experience. H. is truly a "Mother Theresa" figure and an inspiration to all women. Thank you, Melissa, for introducing us to her. I really enjoyed having the photos of many of the children and their adoptive families to relate to. I will be sure that my daughter reads this book and I have suggested it to my book club in Boulder, CO which will read it in the fall. -- Gayle Weiss

I like what the story is about, however the book has so much detail it is hard to get through the first chapters.

I learned to sew with this book and have had great sucess. I just bought the new book "Sew On" to progress my sewing and the patterns and projects are amazing! I have learned even more techniques with the new book and I still use my Sew Fast Sew Easy book for reference. I'm really happy with these books from Amazon.

This is a great learn how to sew book for first time sewers, very easy to understand.

This is a classic beginner sewing book. I think people will learn to sew from this book generations to come. The patterns are very simple with easy to follow instructions. The illustrations are clear and helpful. I bought the new "Sew On" book to learn additional sewing skills with more advanced patterns.

I ordered the "Sew On" book and was really impressed with the written instructions and included patterns. My daughter wants to learn to sew and I ordered her this book. When she gets a little comfortable, I'll pass along the Sew On book. This Sew Fast Sew Easy book has simple, easy to use patterns and projects that will get true beginners sewing. I highly recommend this book for true beginners. If your looking for a more intermediate book, find the "Sew On" book.

The book is probably best for true novices. I was never much of a sewer and it has been 30 years since I've sewn anything more than a button or hem. I thought I'd need to review the basics, but this book was too basic for me. i was hoping that it would refresh the basics, but lead me a few steps beyond. I can see where it would be helpful for those who are just starting out, so I can't find much fault with the book itself. It was just not what I need.

The logical thing to do would be to call the police, but fearing publicity and her past, Paige Williams doesn't call the police. Instead, she decides to move the body of famous actress Edna Sans from her hot tub to an abandoned swimming area of Kanner Lake. What about her past would possibly cause Paige to think this is a wise move and how can she ever keep her crime hidden? More importantly, who really did kill Edna Sans, and why?

Violet Dawn is an interesting book. It's not really fast paced nor is it slow paced. It's not an intense thriller, nor does it have a laid back feel. I guess the best way to describe it is a suspense/police mystery, without a lot of plot twists and turns. It's easy to read but doesn't give a lot for the reader to discover. A strong feature to the book is the inclusion of Paige's background. It was integrated in a way that really provides most of the suspense and guessing in the book. Most everything else is pretty predictable, but her past is revealed a little at a time and brings the reader closer to her.

Many of the characters give the reader someone to either like or dislike. They help bring this somewhat scattered story together into a tight fitting plot. Each seems to be doing their own thing, when in reality, they're all working towards the same goal. While each have different motivations, they each have their boundaries of what they're willing to do to accomplish their goal. Makes for a nice interesting mix and keeps the story flowing well.

The heart of the story is love. Love we're given, love we've lost, and love we never had. Also very prominent is choices, their consequences, and second chances. Finding the ones we're giving and grabbing them. God provides us each with forgiveness and a new start, we just have to take him up on it. Though Violet Dawn is the first part of a series, it is a complete book in and of its self.

If you like Christian suspense/fiction this is a wonderful series. This book (as well as most of Brandilyn Collins books) is one that you won't want to put down. While these don't necessarily have to be read in order, I would definitely recommend it.

VIOLET DAWN is another riveting suspense thriller from Brandilyn Collins. Grabbing you in the first few pages with a bizarre discovery, Brandilyn knows how to hook her readers. Though some of the twists were a bit predictable, I didn't mind. It gave me a moment to catch my breath. The characterization of the villain was a bit distracting, but oh so Brandilyn. I look forward to the next installment of the Kanner Lake Series.

I loved this book, great start to a new series, I read this book in two days. I loved the short chapters and the intensity with which the book was written with. I found myself trying to guess what would happen next...even though this book was written by christian author it was not preachy at all.
Just full of lots of suspense, will definitely be reading this series.

Brandilyn Collins' previous works have been consistently entertaining, educational, and inspiring. "Violent Dawn," the first in her current "Kanner Lake Series," is certainly no exception. It's a page-turning suspense thriller, with true-to-life characters. It is truly amazing that this fine author is able to write these superb stories, and especially so within a short time span (the first three books of this series were published within a year). We look forward to the fourth installment of "Kanner Lake" soon. Very highly recommended!
--Ron Howe (aka 'Toby Martin II') / Erskine, Minnesota

On the surface, Nancy Draper's story of her mother's battle with AIDS is a story about facing death from a dreadful disease. But looking deeper A Burden of Silence is really a story about choosing to live with compassion and empathy for others.

In a world where many live daily with fear as a companion - fear of pain, fear of what others will think, fear that they will be the recipient of prejudice - this story shows us that we can choose to live with hope, that even though we are just one person we can make a difference. Nancy has given voice to her mother who thought her only choice was silence.

The book is a loving memorial and a celebration of a life.

Nancy Draper, author of A Burden of Silence, held an audience enthralled at a recent Maine library program as she spoke about her mother's battle with AIDS. Everyone there purchased a copy of her book.

Her first person narrative conveys an intimacy between the reader and the author. It is heart wrenching when Nancy relates how her mother was infected with HIV through a blood transfusion during heart surgery. People usually think that if they have protected sex, this could not happen to them, but Nancy points out that it can happen to anyone. Her mother was an innocent victim who felt a deep shame for having a "dirty" disease. This book explains how a seemingly ordinary family handled this tragedy.

Imagine how hard it must to keep such a secret, when one has every right expect support from outsiders. Think how degrading it is to an elderly woman when her own doctor would not touch her, but made his nurse take blood. This sense of despair is what the author communicates to anyone wise enough to pick up a copy of her book and read it.

The author valiantly attempts to control her emotions, to give an unbiased account of how her family coped. Nancy's mother spent the first five years after her surgery not knowing why she always felt sick. When she was finally given the blood test that determined that the blood bank gave her HIV infected blood, she was devastated. She lived a short three years after the diagnosis.

The decision was made to keep it quiet. Nancy's mother felt that most people would not understand, and perhaps she was correct. Society tends to judge people without all the facts.

Near the end of her mother's life, Nancy and her father applied for hospice care, which turned out to be a blessing. Wintering in Florida, they would have been alone without hospice. Hospice made the last days easier to bear for this brave woman who had so much thrown her way.

Not only has Nancy Draper written remarkable narrative of coping, but she comes from a cohesive family unit. Her husband, present at the program I attended, exuded incredible support, which must make living with this tragedy a bit easier, as her own health suffered during this ordeal. Today her travels take her throughout the country in her work to reinforce AIDS awareness.

This book educates people to a greater AIDS awareness than any professional lecture could accomplish. As Nancy states, AIDS is not a dirty word, and through her participation in the AIDS memorial quilt, perhaps more people will come to realize the wisdom of her words. This book is a must for everyone.

"A Burden of Silence: My Mother's Battle with AIDS," is a gripping and tender account of a daughter's love for her dying mother due to a tainted blood transfusion. In this heartwarming book dealing with a nightmarish subject, Nancy succeeds in revealing her story with courage, compassion, humor, and unwavering love. Through this story, Nancy hopes to erase some of the stigma surrounding AIDS. Nancy explains the importance of keeping her mother's memory alive through the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. I highly recommend this book.
Richard H Frishman "Rick Frishman"
www.plannedtvarts.com
www.author101.com

Nancy Draper writes a deeply moving account of her family's pain, shame and suffering during a time when AIDS was a new mysterious disease that had the medical profession baffled and caused grave public misconceptions. A must read book.

After reading the many positive reviews on Nancy Draper's book "A Burden of Silence" I am at a loss to add anything more worthy. So I would like to go at it from a personal point of view. I have just recently met the author, but I was acquainted with her parents for quite awhile. It pleased me greatly when Nancy told me her mother liked me very much, and that she liked my writing.
The secret was kept from me as well as most everyone except the family. I only knew that this lovely, frail lady was not very well. After her death, my husband and I joined Nancy's dapper, and personable father for breakfast on several occasions following church. We still did not know what had caused her death. Now, this gentleman is gone too. I am blessed that because I knew them, I now am getting to know Nancy Draper.
This little woman is incredibly strong and resilient. She has bravely taken on many health problems of her own as well as those of her family. I can understand how doubly-difficult it had to be when she carried the burden of silence, when one of things she needed most, was to confide in others and unburden her own heart. But this was her parents' wish, at a time when AIDS was just entering our vocabulary and was so very mis-understood. This is an important, warmly written book. Susan "Sam" LeGree. Author of "Champagne in a Plastic Glass" and "Old Girl Talk"