Women Books

A good mixture of the practical and the inspirational. Excellent exercises for you to do on your own.

The subtitle says that this is a Guide for Busy Women--true enough, but it works for men too, and
just as well.

Highly recommended.

I could very easily dub this book, the best, however that is to be determined in the eye of the beholder. I can say with much conviction, that it is the book I turn to the most often for advice, straight forward answers and direction as well as a nice glimpse at a reality check.

Any writer will tell you that you don't write a best seller overnight, and this book will tell you that too. Unlike many other writing books available the pages don't contain advice at how to leave your 9 to 5 job and write the world's best novel. Instead the book is filled with useful, real advice for determined writer's to utilize and honestly get their pens on fire.

There are dozens of exercises to get you thinking and writing, with originality and flair. The book is well written and is a very easy book to devour in a short period of time. Except that you will more than likely find yourself reaching for it again and again to participate in the exercises and get you thinking on a more creative level.

A must have book for any would-be writer's bookshelf.

I had originally checked this out from my public library but found the information so useful that I bought a copy for my own personal library. Very good and practical information to inspire and motivate you to write!

I bought this book when it came out, read it, marked the heck out of it, and used its ideas a few times.

I plan to now read it again, and use it again, 3 years later.

The Power, Challenge, and Talent to Write, And Developing it, is important.

I like to write.

Always have, I guess, ever since I was in Elementary School ( early 70's ), then Junior High and High School ( mid/late 70's ), writng book reports, and then letters to the editor of the local paper.

For various reasons none of that ever translated into a career path.

I read somewhere that we are always afraid to start something that we want to make very good, true, and serious.

Rita Mae Brown once wrote: "Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts."

This book influenced the last 3 years of my blogging, on 2 blogs, and will help anyone who reads it.

This book will help you find the writer within, and find the time to write more as well.

This book offers run-of-the-mill exercises that fail to inspire one to write. If you struggle with the act of sitting down and putting pen to paper, this book will not change that. I would love to see a book out there that offers innovative exercises that not only inspire one to write, but also improves writing along the way. If anyone can recommend such a book, please message me.

Powerful, moving, honest. The best kind of writing is the kind that comes straight from the heart. You can feel the anger, pain and love flow over the pages. A story that takes you inside the heart of one who lost so much on that day and fought so hard to get to the truth of what happened and what culpability level of our government. Gripping, hard to put down, you know you should just read it. You won't regret it.

In "Wake Up Call", Kristin Breitweiser offers poignant, first-hand insight into the grave inadequecies, corrosive power struggles and chilling lack of democracy of our pre-9/11 government, as well as a piercing account of the blatant failures, deception, and exploitation of the Bush administration afterwards. Beautifully written with a generous, sensitive depiction of her personal life both before and after she lost her husband in the Tower 2 calamity (which she witnessed first-hand), Mrs. Breitweiser's thorough depiction of a country still frighteningly vulnerable to Al Quaida and other terrorists will make any reader sit up and take serious notice. The tenacity and determination of "The Jersey Girls" in the face of unspeakable personal tragedy and their ability to take on the enormous flaws of the Bush administration is an inspiration to all of us.

Although the author tends to be repetitive and her alternative energy source argument would bear much more weight if she were to drive something other than a huge SUV, this book is a must for every American citizen. It could easily become an important Political Science college textbook if it hasn't already.

K.V.D. San Jose, California

This lady is certainly to be commended for maintaining her stamina to accomplish what she did with so many things going wrong. Anyone who has the disgusting attribute to slam these ladies when they were working for others as well as themselves needs to sit down in front of a mirror. There are so many reasons and more all the time actually that there should be another REAL investigation into the whole terrible tragedy of 9-11. I fully agree with them and applaud all they have done and are still trying to do. They say "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and "God doesn't give you anything you can't handle" and I guess that would seem to be true in this case, however, as I know from my own life, no matter what kind of battle you are fighting it does take its toll on one's body. Good going to all you ladies who participated in this and what a wonderful book that was. Well written to the point I could hardly lay it down!

Kristen Breitweiser gives us a compelling view of our government through the eyes of an average citizen. She takes us on a journey thorough her life with her husband before 9/11, through that awful day and then through the aftermath. Kristen and other 9/11 widows have been fighting for truth and accountability for the attacks since that tragic day and have had to overcome hurdles every step of the way. Kristen's strength and determination is inspiring.

I usually don't go in for biographies and I believe all the attention on 9/11 has been a distraction ... that being said, this booked really rocked me. The author is completely "real" and human. Within a few minutes you are identifying with her life and her hopes and dreams. When the tragic death of her husband and thousands of others occurs, you feel her shock and pain.
This book points out why 9/11 is important. Not only do we need to come to grips with people in the world who want to do harm to Americans - we need to come to grips with a government that utterly failed Kristen, the other 9/11 survivors and victims, and all of us as citizens.
The book is riveting and revealing. I encourage anyone who cares about our country to read this book!

The Moosepath league series are fast becoming my favorite books after a lifetime of avid reading. The characters are joyfully delightful and woven into a yarn that is amusing, enchanting and at times magical. Take Charles Dickens Pickwickians, add some "Three Men in a Boat" charm, a liberal sprinkling of P.G. Wodehouse's comic situations, a little Jane Austen romance, a dash of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"'s magic; mix well and spread over a 19th century Maine landscape and you'll end up with this wonderful book. You must read it - however many stars I had to give, I'd give them all.

This book is sheer fun. I discovered it in a used book store and am buying the rest of the trilogy immediately. Before I was through with the book, I was looking into a vacation in Maine. Excellent.

Van Reid is an amazing story teller. There are many great stories within the larger story. This book was great, albeit a little slow in places. If you liked it at all, you should continue on to the other two books in the triology which just keep getting better.

Van Reid has a magic way with words. In "Cordelia Underwood" he has created each character (and there are many of them)with wit and insight. His characters understand the importance of kindness and respect. They are also, with a couple necessary exceptions, game for adventure, especially when that concerns helping a friend or rescuing a "damsel in distress" (who turns out pretty good at helping herself). There are stories within stories and intersecting adventures, and I found each a delight. They all fit together into as pleasurable a novel as I have ever read. You won't regret reading this.

Van Reid has crafted a delightfully charming work. CORDELIA UNDERWOOD actually made me, a deep-fried Southern Belle, dream of adventuring in the very New England setting inhabited by the members of the MOOSEPATH LEAGUE. I look forward with great anticipation to reading all the books in the series and sincerely hope that there will be many more escapades to read about in years to come. If you are a fan of Miss Read's English villages, Jan Karon's Mitford, and L.M. Montgomery's ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, then Van Reid's Maine missives are for you!

This is a great book! My only downfall is that I keep giving away my copies. I was attracted to this book because of the cover first of all. I Love Coffee! I was also looking for a short morning devotional. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to wake up their soul and start living their life for God. This would make a great gift for a new believer.

I did this book with a group of ladies and it was awesome. Each chapter touched deep into my life. The ladies in our group come from all walks of life and it touched each of them as well. A great book!

I am reading this book a second time, this time with a group. It never fails to wake me up, help to look deeper at things I do and why I do them.

It saddens me to see the author attacked here as a hypocrite, b/c if we get honest how many of is aren't hypocrites? Can we all say we take our own advice 100% of the time? Ye who are without sin, throw the first stone. Go and sin no more.

The author steps out of her comfort zone and gets gut-wrenchingly honest in this book. No, she isn't perfect. I don't recall her claiming to be. Read this book if you are a real woman with real sin and real redemption. You'll find it's real good.

As one of the immensely popular "Women of Faith" conference speakers, actress/author Johnson doesn't need my plug--but she gets it! Her writing is vunerable, deep, and funny. I especially liked her musings about savoring our sexuality (a topic often overlooked or avoided by the Church) and embracing our beauty. Each chapter also includes fun coffee trivia. (Side note: I led a Bible study on this book at my church, and it was a big hit with the younger women. We all loved her video presentations that were included with the study guide and students' books. They made us think, laugh, and cry, within the space of five minutes! Her "mom" segment is priceles--I can't believe she doesn't have kids of her own!) Be sure and have a journal and highlighter nearby when you read Fresh-Brewed Life, because you'll want to remember a lot of what this author says. The book is comforting and stimulating at the same time--just like a good cup of joe. :)

This book literally jumped off the shelf at me! I LOVE coffee, so I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but the whole coffee theme/book cover is what snagged me. The next thing I knew, I was at the checkout stand. That night I began reading this amazing little book and the next day, returned to purchase an armload of more copies to send my best friends. My copy now has underlined passages and margin notes all over it! I can't even begin to describe how it has spoken to me and influenced me at this point in my life. These are messages I needed to hear. Nicole sure knows how to cut to the chase and speak right to the heart. It's been an extremely refreshing experience reading this book . . . which gives "wake up and smell the coffee" a whole new meaning!

This is an awesome book. It is filled with down to earth talking mixed with bibicial scriptures to back it up. She breaks down the bible in a way that I have never thought of.

I just started a book club and this was our first read. What a start. This book really made me look at my singlehood and embrace it until God is ready to bring that help mate into your life. I recommend it for ever near or at that 30-something, single stage of their lives.

This book is a definite must for all females young and old. I was truly touched and changed in all sorts of ways. A patient of mine gave me this book to read and I bought another one and gave it to a woman that considered herself my enemy because I have the man she wanted. I love how she takes us through the scripture and shows us how God wants to mold and shape us as the unique and beautiful queens that we are. One thing that stuck out to me "There is no dating in the bible" Brings you back to the scripture: Train up a child in the way that he/she should go" most of us can't get a mate because we don't have the knowledge of what relationship is about other than being apart of your own immediate family. You got to bring some to get some.

Thank you Michelle for your guide to godliness.

I am a 24 year old single woman and I am just beginning to feel the woes of singleness. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to find someone you can really talk to. Everything I needed was in this book. If you want to be content in singleness, and if you want to be the complete individual that God intends for you to be, get this book. Michelle has great biblical and spiritual insight. She doesn't just talk about her experiences or what she thinks, she comes from the Word and writes according to divine revelation from God.

I had just departed from a 5 yr relationship when I read this.
It set my feet on a higher spiritual plateau. The title of the book was deceiving (as most of her titles) and had me thinking I was on my way to my next relationship. However, it set my sights on not just the right man, but THE MAN, the Lord!
It was refreshing, empowering and encouraging. Despite the fact that Mckinney has never been married do not let that discourage you. She comes from the only knowledge that matters and that is the WORD. Everyone has not been destined to get/be married; also, who else to minister to someone except the one who is in the same season with you...what an encouragement. Its such a catch 22 - to always hear women bemoan their singlehood and not having a mate but they have not excelled in the principle things (that is delighting themselves in the Lord and learning to please Him.)
What an embarrassment to God for women/men to continuously pursue a thing so much that we forget about all He has blessed us with and who He is and the provisions He made and the great love He has for us to send Jesus to die for us.
Its like saying "Lord, you are not enough, you haven't done enough" and throwing a temper tantrum...ok, off my soapbox - sorry.
Back to the book, it helped me to fall more deeply and more intimately in love with the Lord. Another book that helped me with this is McKinney's book - The Secrets of an Irresistible Woman A MUST READ.

Okay, yall, I suck at reviews b/c I cant seem to say what I want without telling all. LOL But I had to try with this book. My Grandmother sent me this book b/c I will read anything. I picked it up 2 days ago and couldnt put it down. I got so wrapped up in the story of Ellie, Blue, and Mabel. The chacters in the book are wonderfully written. Even the supporting characters draw you in. I love Blues and Jazz and this books makes them come alive on paper!!! You can almost hear the music swirling around you as you read!! The story behind the story is just another draw of this book. I have never been SO pleased with a book. Again all I can say is WOW!!! Go Ruth for writing such an AMAZING book. I honestly was upset when it was over....so AWESOME that I wanted more!!!

It was more of a mystery than a romance. I prefer to be more emotionally drawn in than this book provided. However, someone looking for more human relationships fiction and mystery might enjoy this more than I did.

Ellie traveled to Pine Bend, Texas, to do research for a book she was writing about Mabel Beauvais. Mabel was a blues singer who disappeared twenty to thirty years earlier. Ellie was also trying to discover who her father was. She knew he was in Pine Bend when Ellie was conceived. Ellie's mother died when Ellie was six months old. The story was a little frustrating when Ellie talked to people who knew answers to her questions but refused to tell her anything. The ending was satisfying and the answers to the mysteries were good and unexpected. Although there was some underlying sadness in the story due to so many good young men dying in the Vietnam war, leaving their loved ones to live on without them.

Regarding the SPOILERS below,I am not giving away answers to the main mysteries.

CAUTION SPOILERS:
Ellie and Blue fell in love. The problem for them was that everyone Blue had loved had died on him, so he was reluctant to love again. Why he changed his mind at the end of the book and decided to be with her and not fear losing her was not clear enough for me.

I was also confused with a few scenes throughout the book titled "The Lovers." When reading them I wasn't sure if they were a dreams of Ellie or Blue or were flashbacks to events in the lives of Mabel or Ellie's mother. At the end of the book I concluded they were of Ellie's parents, but I would have preferred knowing this earlier when reading them.

Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: five very passionate. Setting: current day Pine Bend, Texas. Copyright: 2000. Genre: romantic mystery.

This is a book that you will continue to experience long after you finish. The book is filled with love and secrets. The secrets which are uncovered lead not to unhappiness but to more fullfillment for the people involved.

Along the way, you experience the beauty and meaning of music, that special kind of music called the Blues. You find yourself wanting to hum an old song or turn on the radio and find a new tune to refuel you with a passion for life.

There just is so much in this one book. It is impossible not to love it and not to remember for always.

I really enjoyed this sensual romance as the hero and hrone fight their demons of the past to trust to love. Both have loved and lost and so are fearful of getting involved with each other, but anyone can see Blue and she are made for each other.

Interesting secondary characters create a very believable world. As always her heroes are divinely sexy, very manly, but perceptive and sensitive. The mystery element as she seeks her identity, which, if not entirely surprising. is handled well. A super read, one any lover of romance and women's fiction will really savour. She has a wonderful way with language and a true ability to capture setting and character with wonderful details.

Hadn't even heard of Ruth Wind before but halfway thru this book I'm looking for other books of hers. All the ones listed seem to be either much lighter in nature or out of print. She's a terrific writer with an ability to draw you into her characters' feelings and to the atmosphere. I hope she writes another "real" book.

I want to congratulate Lise Cloutier Steele, and Mary Anne Wyatt, for this excellent book on the devastating effects of a hysterectomy. Incredibly, the vast majority of women who have a hysterectomy do not receive adequate information about the harmful side effects of their operation before their surgery. The women's stories represent the tip of an iceberg that reveals the chilling effects these surgical procedures have had on the lives of so many women: one in three women over the age of sixty-five in Canada have had a hysterectomy. It is difficult to comprehend the thinking within the medical community that ignores the scientific literature which speaks of the side effects and is responsible for the loss of so many vibrant, intelligent, and powerful women to our society. These are other excellent resources: http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/show_hysterectomy.html and the HERS Foundation in the U.S.
Cathy Woods, Vancouver, BC
(...)

I thank Lise Cloutier for writing misinformed consent book. Many of us women have been hysterectomized and we had no idea of the facts involved, simply because doctors do not tell the facts. I had a hysterectomy several years ago at age 21 at the advise of my doctors. I find misinformed consent to be specially informative for those facing hysterectomy, and informative for the rest of us as well because it indicates many of the side effect of a hysterectomy, which many are suffering with, but are not aware of the source of their problems. I do believe misinformed consent will help many women. Again, thank you Lise.

I felt like I had "come home" while reading Misinformed Consent. I cried as I poured over story after story of these courageous women and their health problems after unecessary hysterectomies. Everything I read validated my own experience and made me see I am not mentally weak, rather, I suffer from a physical endocrine problem caused by surgical menopause. I don't need a doctor to agree with me whether I am, indeed, experiencing symptoms like depression, insomnia, weight gain, low libido, etc. If I say I am experiencing them and if all these women say they are experiencing them, then it is TRUE. Shame on the pharmaceutical companies for making a buck while destroying quality of life for women. In Misinformed Consent, I learned there's such a thing as salivary testing for hormone levels, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy and compounding pharmacists. Thank you Lise Cloutier-Steele and friends, for this very edifying and informative book. If you want to LIVE instead of just SURVIVE and if you are contemplating hysterectomy, READ THIS BOOK!!

I cried when I read Misinformed Consent because story after story validated my own experience with symptoms and doctors.
These courageous women discover it's not mental weakness they're suffering from, it's physical endocrine problems caused by uneccessary hysterectomies. Any woman considering a hysterectomy should read Misinformed Consent. Any woman who wishes to live instead of survive should read this book. Thank you Lise and friends, for Misinformed Consent. In it, I learned, for the first time, about saliva-testing for hormone levels, compounding pharmacists, and bio-identical products for hormone replacement therapy.

The courageous authors of this remarkable book have accomplished the near impossible: They have taken on the medical profession and revealed its LIES AND COVER UPS. These are real stories by real women who TRUSTED THEIR DOCTORS and were BETRAYED, physically and psychologically damaged, and abandoned by those in whom they entrusted their very lives.

I can only imagine the pain and torment these women have suffered through their experiences, and the difficulty they must have endured in reliving and writing this book. WE are the beneficiaries of their heinous experiences. "Misinformed Consent" has unlocked the door behind which the careless, deceptive victimization of women has been well hidden. These women educate and inspire..and I, for one, am eternally grateful for their efforts in giving this book to the world.

"MISINFORMED CONSENT" is THE BOOK every woman MUST read and SHARE with mothers, daughters, sisters and friends.

I had begun this book and put it down--to pick it up again was a very good idea. This author has a very readable style. A great book to read if you want
to know about the Holocaust and beyond--just like the title says--it says it all.

This book covers the return of a Jewess, at 12 years old separated from her parents from the Rheinland on a Kindertransport, to her small hometown, Stockstadt-am-Rhein in 1990. Her daughter, pregnant, goes with her, although unable to speak German, and writes from her younger, American Jewish perspective on this whole process of reclaiming her mother's past, her Heimat (homeland), her Motherland so to speak.

As you can read, most reviewers rave about this book. It is well-written, if a bit too introspective at times (these parts a reader can skip, such as the daughter's thoughts dwelling on herself and her own children). I'd like to make these criticisms for the author, that she may rewrite it perhaps, or if it should be done in a film version, some negative feedback could also perhaps be useful in making a tighter story:

1. The mother's verbatim words should be used in the text, with footnotes underneath for translation into English. Many who read this book know German and do not want to read about the daughter's struggle to make out this or that trival word. Dare I say it, the daughter might have made a better effort to know her mother's language? How else to understand her own roots, her own mother's culture, her longing for her childhood?

2. Don't introduce side issues that remain unresolved. For example, a very intriguing juicy bit is thrown in, that her older sister was sent a year ahead of her to America, adopted by another set of relatives, and now that the two sisters (her mother and her aunt) are now in their late 60's, they still don't get along. This isn't worth delving into, or at least explaining a little bit? WHy leave it hanging? Why bring it up if not to grab the reader's attention? WHy not go and interview the aunt, find out her own bitter memories or reasons for spurning her younger sister an entire lifetime?

2. Why no mention of this author's father? Who was he? How did he influence the family with his own traditions, career or job, attitudes and hobbies, personality? Reading this book, one could think that there was no father in the author's life. If we are to understand her pain as a daughter in not grasping her parents' lives, then surely some mention should be made.

3. Why not explain her mother's cowardice in not giving her own daughter Jewish names? She says she is named Fern (for a relative, Frieda) and Brenda (for another one, Brondl). This is strange to me, for the names "Fern Brenda" certainly don't indicate the great Jewish heritage that the mother wants kept.
Meanwhile, we hear that the German families are naming their kids Joshua and Sara, with no shame or hiding. Strange indeed.

4. Why not look at Germans more as people? Her impression of a silly clerk called the immigrations controller is that of a nasty Nazi, simply because he is German with blue eyes and blonde hair, and stamps their documents with authority. Don't ALL immigration people behave this way in every airport of the world? They're SUPPOSED to be abrupt, to give people unease. Does she call the ones down in Israel with their "brown eyes and dark hair" typical Mossad types? Nasty because they're Jews? I should think not, it's lame stereotyping at best.


Overall, this book needs editting by a non-Jewish, non-German hating professional editor, who can guide Fern into a more balanced presentation of her mother's beloved homeland. Otherwise, the hatred comes through with the stereotypical slights, and weakens the story's validity.

The best angle, if a movie were to be made - hopefully in Germany's Babelsberg and not here in Hollywood, God forbid - the theme of Mini, her childhood friend. Now there's a morality play full of contradictions! Wilhelmine (Mini for short), a child six years older from a dreadfully poor family of seven kids, is sent to be a servant/maid to the well-off Jews, and becomes best friends with the daughter she is meant to serve. Then her friend is sent to America, making Mini 18 and Tiddy 12 when they separate. Mini is so enraged to have lost her adopted sister and family that she spends the rest of her life documenting the Nazis, and whether they're all prosecuted. Her own grown son, nearing 50, feels himself deprived of a proper childhood or mothering because Mini devotes herself to fighting the evils of the past rather than living in the present. She is a living testament to the folly of grudges, which the author's own mother avoiding doing - she purposefully shunned nostalgia for her lost homeland and family, until her 60's.

In many respects, this daughter and her emotions, this author, is the problem in the story. She should rewrite it from the participants' point of view, either her mother's or Mini's, in the third person, and take her own petulant self out of it.

Now THAT would be a mature and interesting novel.

Hey, also, put in some of these pictures that she dwells on!

"Motherland" by Fern Schumer Chapman centers around an intriguing premise, that of a mother and daughter returning to Germany to discover what happened to the family left behind during the war, in an effort to let go of the war that plagues their relationship. The author's mother was sent as a refuge to America a year after her older sister, leaving her grandma and parents to endure the wrath of the Nazis. Feeling abandoned and unloved, the author's mother never returned until the early 1990s, still hesitant to encounter the past.

For Germans, it seems as if WWII and its legacy is always close to the surface; a feeling a guilt pervades their interactions with those from other places due to the constant association with evil they must endure. Mother and daughter certainly encounter that on their journey to the small town where her mother lived her first 12 years of life. The town, while greatly changed, is still home to many former classmates. Escorted around town by a man eager to make amends for his past actions, the two discover that the past is always present, no matter how hard one tries to forget.

Overall, "Motherland" is a quick-paced read, an accounting of the author's attempt to understand her mother. Yet at times the narrative reads as if the author is trying to hard; she was five months pregnant when the journey was made, and perhaps her emotional swings show through too much. The flow is often interrupted by liteary efforts at similes, comparisons which aren't necessary and do not add to the story. However, the story is one that the author needed to discover and one that she needed to tell. It is an interesting look at how someone who wouldn't necessarily qualify as a 'survivor' did survive, but still passed on that legacy of loss and war to her daughter.

Edith Westerfield Schumer left Germany in 1938 as a twelve-year-old. She left alone. Her parents sent her to America, removing her from the threat of the Nazis in her German homeland. Her Jewish father mistakenly believed that Hitler would acknowledge his service to Germany in World War I. However, most of her family did not survive the persecution or the death camps. Edith never saw her parents again.

She rarely spoke of her childhood. Perhaps so much loss could not be expressed in words. Perhaps she didn't know how to convey to her family what was ripped apart in her past. Her daughter Fern knew little of her heritage.

"Motherland" tells their story through her daughter Fern's perspective. When her mother finally agrees to return to Germany, Fern accompanies her-hoping to learn about her grandparents, hoping to see aspects of her mother's childhood, hoping to better understand how the Holocaust stole her past when it stole her mother's.

Through their journey Fern and Edith learn much more about each other and about the quest to reconcile the past than they expected, significantly deepening their mother-daughter bond. Fern relates with poignancy how moments from her mother's childhood are revealed during their visit. For the first time she realizes that her mother's inability to speak German without an American accent parallels her inability to speak English without German pronunciations creeping in. Her speech identifies her as different from other Americans-and other Germans. Fern learns her mother's favorite German food only to realize that Edith never learned to cook it before she was sent away. For the first time she hears of her mother's insecurities about leaving her home.

They encounter people from Edith's childhood who through their silence aligned themselves with the Nazis. Their lives still echo with hidden guilt. The mother and daughter speak with others who have never overcome their anger at the Nazis and what they suffered when they tried to help and protect the Jews. The women are struck by how people's lives have never returned to normal.

Their story provides insight into mother-daughter relationships and the role of roots in those relationships. The memoir was named a finalist in 2000 in the National Jewish Book Awards by the Jewish Book Council and a number of schools use Motherland to teach about moral choices.

Edith and Fern acknowledge that the Holocaust has now affected three generations of their family. Somehow those who carry on must remember history and honor those cut down by cruelty, yet let go of the past moving ahead with the new generations into healing.

I recently purchased your book and happened to glance at the back cover. From that point on I could not put your book down until I had read it from cover to cover. I was memorized! I AM YOUR MOTHER!
I'm a Vietnam combat veteran and used the same ploy as your mother - denial and never talk about it. My wife and three sons bore the brunt of my walled memories. And, unfortunately, in order to bury Vietnam I also buried most of my youth.
I recently retired and the unexpected free time has caused my walls to crumble and my nights are filled with nightmares. Part of my counseling is to write about my trauma. You have inspired me to take these outpourings, organize them and get them published. I intend to "look fear in the face" and share my burden with others who may face the same hardships I do. Like your mom, I want to "be here now."

Sent to a friend in distress, she said it helped her through some rough days.

The New International Version is excellent for readability and overall quality. However, because it is only 52% consistent with the original language (Old Testament comparison only) you cannot do serious bible study without using a concordance. The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Strongest Strong's)

I love this Bible...unfortunately it's the second one I have now. I loved it so much I wanted to find something similiar but didn't realize I was buying the same Bible with a different cover. Please note that the compact NIV Bible with a pink cover and the number "1" on the front is the EXACT same text. For some reason this one typically sells for less.

This is a wonderful Bible. Full of small interesting stories. Love this Bible.

This Bible has helped me with a lot of things I've been going through. I'm glad I purchased it. It is in excellent condition.

This was the ultimate book about the power of forgiveness. I loved this story and the characters in it. Susanne one day answers the door to her home only to find a teenager who claims to be the daughter of her husband. Talk about a slap in the face. The details as they come together weave a story that brings about a lot of emotion in this family as they work through the intricacies of how to deal with this new situation in their life. How can a marriage handle such a blow? How will their children handle it? The gamut of feelings in all the characters is played out in such a way as to bring this family through twists and turns that might not otherwise have happened. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. Definitely a great read.

Miralee tackled a tough topic and wove a tale of highs and lows for this family. Imagine your day starting out like any other and by the end of that day a girl has shown up on your doorstep claiming your spouse is their parent. It would be life changing.

That's what happens to Susanne when she opens the door on her birthday waiting for her husband, David, to get home. The person who drops off Brianna doesn't even wait around long enough to see if someone answers the door.

When David arrives home to celebrate Susanne's birthday she has her own surprise waiting for him. She has sent their 2 children and this other "daughter" to her mom's for the night. David then has to wrestle with the truth of his past and his life now.

Miralee did a great job bringing out their emotions and as you get to know Susanne and David, you understand why they react like they do. I for one would've flipped my lid, but then again, that's just me. Miralee kept these people, including their children, great grandfather, and grandma true to their character.

In the end the reader learns about healing, forgiveness and acceptance.

When a happily married couple with two kids suddenly is suddenly slammed in the face with a 14 year old reality, can their sanity and marriage survive the trauma?

Susanne Carson and her husband David have a marriage that is starting to falter just a bit due to their religious differences. David is so patient, and the reader cannot help but love this guy. Susanne is pretty headstrong, and sometimes I wanted to smack her.

A screech of tires and a knock on the door changes their lives forever when 13 year old Brianna announces her Mother is dead and she is there to stay with her father, David. Suffice it to say that shock and terror were only two of the emotions felt by this family, along with anger, hurt, panic and fear.

David never tries to deny the existance of a one night stand with the child's mother, but he fails when trying to explain to this wife. They both feel he was less than truthful when he kept this little secret to himself.

This is a story so possibly true, with feelings laid out for all to see through reading, that nothing is spared to the reader. One sees the emotional, physical and spiritual side to all the characters who are involved. Accepting and loving describe the children and Grandpa. Confusion seems to dominate their future when Brianna's uncle reappears in their lives. A horrible horse accident throws yet another burr into the already mixed up feelings of the family.

This first of the series is an excellent look at marriage, religion, children, sex outside of marriage and the influence of several family and friends. It also features, plainly, that old saying from the Bible "you reap what you sow"....eventually the cows come home.

I am happy to become acquainted with this new author, and will put her books right up there in my special group of authors on my "must read" list. Thank you Miralee, for this first book, and hopefully a second is on the way.

Reviewed by Leslie Granier for Reader Views (5/08)

Susanne Carson is supposed to be spending the evening celebrating her birthday with her husband David. Boy does she get a huge surprise when a ragged-looking teenaged girl knocks on the door and says her mother has died and that David is her father. Shocked and in disbelief, Susanne hopes this is a hoax or a misunderstanding, but since the girl (Brianna) resembles David so strongly, she knows it is the truth. Together, Susanne and David must decide how to handle the situation to do what is best for their own children, while not abandoning Brianna. After a life-altering decision, they learn to embrace the gift they have been given by putting their lives in God's hands.

The author does an excellent job of allowing the reader to feel what the characters are experiencing. Susanne's anger with David for his unfaithfulness and the resentment she feels toward Brianna for showing up and disrupting their lives is realistically portrayed. David's difficulties in accepting Brianna led him to become a passive decision-maker about her future. Instead, he burdened Susanne with formulating the plan on how to handle the situation. Brianna's feelings were also well-documented. She did not want to get close because her mother had always told her that her father did not want her. It's ironic how the other children (Josh and Meagan) had no difficulty accepting Brianna as their sister. It is funny how children sometimes need to teach adults how to behave.

This book will appeal to teenagers and adults. It contains a strong message of the importance of turning control of one's life over to God. It reminds the reader that we can not change the past. Instead, we must accept what has happened and decide to move forward while keeping the best interests of everyone involved.

"The Other Daughter" is a well-written book that will trigger deep emotions in the reader, regardless of which character he or she associates with most closely. It will leave readers thinking about how they might handle a similarly difficult situation. This would be an excellent choice for a reading group because there are many situations in this book that will allow for intense debate.

This was an awesome read, one that will stay with me for a long time to come, for it truly stirred my emotions right to the core of my existence.
This story was about a couple enduring trials through the unexpected arrival of a young girl at the front door. This young girl would change all their lives as the story unravels of who she is, and where she has come from. Their reactions and interactions as well as their inter most thoughts play out in a emotional drama that will make it hard for you set this book down as the story unfolds.
I felt it was the first book that I have read that really showed life from a Christian perspective.
How, you ask? It showed the difficulties that people not only face in real life situations but also what we struggle with inwardly in our Christian walk. It clearly shows the different mind set between a believer and a non-believer and how that effects our relationships.
I highly recommend this book! It certainly sets a new stage for writers of Christian novels to attain. Excellent!