Women Books

Jennie Shortridge introduces Eating Heaven with a quotation by Karen Sunde: "To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven". But instead of setting her novel in the clouds and giving us a glimpse of heaven, Shortridge sets her novel in Portland with erratic weather, and unpredictable imperfect human life. Her characters are as far from heaven as we are, with secrets and obsessions like our own.

Ellie (Eleanor Samuel the protagonist) is a food writer who experiments making traditional recipes into low-cal delights. Her love/hate relationship with food, which has sent her to a food-issues therapist, is a continuing thread of the novel. Her conflicted relationship with food is not the only difficult relationship she encounters. She struggles with romance--the men in her life: Stefan, her editor; and Henry the chef, her heart throb. She struggles with the identity of Uncle Benny--why is he so important to her family? And finally Ellie struggles with complicated female relationships in her life: her sisters, Anne and Christine, Yolanda, Benny's wife, and more importantly her narcissistic mother Bebe whose life is full of secrets.

Shortridge employs flashbacks to narrate Ellie's past. The flashbacks provide the reader and Ellie with a way to uncover family secrets. Uncle Benny, the beloved neighbor, more a father to Ellie than her own distant father, is often in her childhood flashbacks. Uncle Benny supports and cares for her in a way her own parents did not. But some memories of him with her mother alarm her: a memory of herself as a child, sick with the flu and covered with vomit, seeing her mother and Benny in the car in a hot and heavy embrace. What is the connection between this complex man whom Ellie loves and her mother?

When Uncle Benny gets terminal cancer and Ellie becomes his chief care-giver, she finds an old photograph album in his house, which reveals surprising new understandings about her paternity, her mother, and the lies her family has been living.

Shortridge knows the human condition. She displays its imperfection in the lives of Ellie, Bebe, Uncle Benny, Henry, Anne and Christine. Mother/daughter conflicts, death and dying, sibling rivalry, and out-of-control personal obsessions are part of the story. Through Ellie, Shortridge suggests love is the most appropriate response to this human suffering. Ellie, who expresses love by feeding those around her, learns to love her imperfect self, her imperfect mother and sisters, Uncle Benny and Yolanda, and Henry. The food she serves them is an opportunity for a taste of heaven. Rainy Portland, with its imperfect life, is not heaven, but it is transcendent. "To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven": a fine quotation for this very human novel.

Eating Heaven is a great book. I could not put it down. It was just what I was looking for.

Set in Portland, Oregon it's fun to read about real locations. The book details the struggle of the main character who is caring for and dealing with the terminal illness of her uncle. Humorously she is a food writer who has her own issues with food and weight. Of course, her mother is a skinny minnie who is concerned with appearances. The book has some great twists and turns and things happen that keep you wondering. Don't want to say too much about this because I don't want to ruin the ending for readers. Well worth the money to buy this book.

When I bought the book I was on a book buying frenzy. When I finally got around to reading it I had wondered why I had ordered it. I guess my preference choices had changed since the purchase date. Since I love to read and it was next up, I thought I would give it a try and I am so glad I did. What a wonderfully entertaining book. The main character was likeable, funny and real. Uncle Benny was lovable and his life, loves and losses left me with a heavy heart and tears. Each character was brought to life as if I knew them personally. The laughter, smiles and tears left me glad I gave this wonderful book a try.

Eating disorders, tense mother daughter relationships, affairs, and cancer are a powerful mix and yet so real that life pours out of every paragraph. What a combo, I enjoyed the book and finished it in a few days savoring it even when I had to go brush my teeth.
This is the kind of novel that makes me want to stay home with a blanket tucked in my own world and living the world of the characters.
Ellie the main character is lovable, insecure, bulimic, and has problems with her mother and father, and well with her sisters, as well as, with food.
She loves to cook and her dishes are unique. You will love her and you will feel for her and with her the pain she experiences when her uncle Benny is diagnosed with Cancer and she takes on the role of care taker.
The author uses food as a catalyst for feelings, moods, and even eras, its very creative and I can say I will not forget her characters anytime soon.
Splendid, deep and utterly real.

I grew up with Eloise Wilkin's Golden Books so when I saw this collection in the store I was very pleased. I ended up not buying it at the time and when I went back a few months later they weren't carrying it anymore. I was so happy to find it on Amazon. I bought it for my 4 year old daughter's birthday and she has quickly made it her favorite story book. The illustrations, as usual are amazingly beautiful! The stories are classic and unlike so many other story books, I don't have to edit any of the content. ( I often see what or shut up, ect in children's books and change it to please be quite or yes mam, ect) I love that the stories are simple enough that my 8 year old enjoys reading them to her little sister at bedtime. This book goes everywhere with us and suprisingly my 4 year olds favorite story is Busy Timmy. Her favorite books as a baby were Good Night Moon and The Big Red Barn which Eloise Wilkin also did so I went on the hunt for more of her books and was very surprised at how many of my favorite child hood stories were attributed to her.

Both my 5-yr old and my 2 1/2yr old girls love this book! So simple, and beautiful pictures!

I gave this book to my daughter on her 2nd birthday and for over 7months now it has been one of her favorite books she has her Nonna read her "Busy Timmy" everyday and when its time for my daughter to do things on her own like use her potty or eat if you remind her that Timmy does them she just can't wait to do them as well! This book is a treasure for any toddlers library!

I love this book. I grew up with "We Help Mommy". It brought back memories and tears!

Eloise Wilkin Stories (Little Golden Book Treasury)
The sub-title says Little Golden Book Treasury and treasury is an appropriate title. This book is a treasure! Each of the 209 pages is a delight! The pages have a sentimental familiarity for me as I can remember relishing them as a child, reading them to my children, and now sharing them with my grandchildren. The reproduction is excellent- much better than some other publishers are offering- each detail still intact altho some of the images are as old as 1948. I heartily recommend this edition to anyone who enjoys the peaceful beauty of Eloise Wilkin's illustrations!

I enjoy historical fiction, especially that of the Civil War era, and was not disappointed by Lynn Austin's tale of drama and romance during the 1860s. The characters Julia and Phoebe are human and likeable, and most importantly, believable. I could not put this novel down, and bought it soon afterwards in a complete set (with books one and three). It was well worth it and highly recommended.

If you only have money for one book from this series, I would recommend this one. It is definitely the better of the three stories.

I never had read historical fiction regarding the civil war before this book. This was such an interesting book, and so full of information. I loved the characters. It was really neat to see how some of the women of the time helped in the war. Men made many sacrifices during this war, but so did the women. You will not be disappointed in this book if you love the civil war era. I accidentally got this one first over the first book in the series (Candle in the Darkness), I liked this one much better.

I couldn't put it down and read it in 2 days! I recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a great book.

This book was better than the first one, I enjoyed reading it very much! I really liked how Julia's character developed and Phoebe was such a likeable character. Lynn Austin is a great writer, she really knows how to keep your interest. Highly recommend this book!

This book is a must have for all women who aspire to succeed in any business. It contains numerous uplifting career advice from women in management - a definite guide in dealing with various issues in the work place. Very informative and inspiring; I could not put it down. Highly recommended!

Interesting and concise read. I enjoyed it but my only qualm is that there are various typos and grammatical errors in the book. Maybe I'm picky because I've done a lot of proofing in my profession but it was very annoying when I came across an error...

Author and consultant Susan Wilson Solovic tells how working women can be more effective in top positions and move up the career ladder. She highlights the differences between male and female styles and cites ways that women often sabotage themselves by showing weakness and a lack of confidence in how they speak and act. Using examples and diverse quotes, she illustrates what women should do to express the power they have, which is the key to being taken seriously as a leader. Solovic challenges many overly optimistic beliefs about how things have changed for women in the U.S. workforce and backs up her assertions with recent statistics and research. We [...] highly recommend this book, which provides a welcome strategic reminder that is clearly directed toward businesswomen - though why call them girls? Oh, that's a little irony from the author or, at least we hope so.

Susan Solovic's "The Girls' Guide to Power and Success" puts it right back in our laps. We have to make the changes in our expectations and behavior. She provides the motivation and the tools.

Little has changed in the last 50 years except that there are more women in titled positions. With these titles came no change in the lack of independence from male persuasion in decision making. We're still doing it their way.

Time for women to step up to the plate, read Solovic's book and march to our own drummers.

Girls' Guide To Power & Success invites a contemplation and discussion of girls' roles in a male-dominated world, examining the characteristics of men and women and those which could help females become stronger in the business world. Tips are wide-ranging and include a variety of powerful insights.

When I was young, my history-buff Mother had my siblings and I visiting every old fort she could find. I did not enjoy it. However, I found that reading Micaela Gilchrist's novel was a lot of fun and added a whole new perspective to the historic vacations of my youth. Her characters are entertaining and she shifts persectives -- from Army wife, to Army officer, to Native American -- with ease and wit. Well written, entertaining and a good journey through our past.

This novel gets off to a slow start. I think the prologue kept me reading. Initially, the author's characterization of Mary Bullitt is unconvincing. Happily, as the character ages, so does the writer's depth in portraying her. Stay with the novel through the first bit, and you'll enjoy the journey. Lots of action and opportunities for speculation about the General's romantic interests.

Excellent reading. I didn't want to put it down. This is also a
part of my husbands' family history so it was very interesting to read and also to update our family records. Will keep as a reference book.

I have never tried to read a book so slowly before. When I finished, I closed the book and was completely speechless. If you like historical fiction, this will soon be one of your favorites. The author paints a picture without overdoing it with flowery language. I had to turn around and buy a copy as soon as I finished.

This is perhaps one of the most intense historical fiction novels I have read in a long time. It is so well-written, that I keep glancing through my Native American Indian history books to gather more information about Black Hawke and General Henry Atkinson. This novel really has renewed my interest in Native American history.

Mary Bullitt agrees to marry General Henry Atkinson after knowing him one day. She moves from Louisville, Kentucky, to St. Lois ~~ at that time, a frontier-town in what was known as the West. This novel is based on Mary's journals. It is also a novel rich in details of life in the early 1800s to the mid-1800s. It also explores the question of Indian rights that were being violated at the time and other people's misconception of the Indian Wars.

Mary and her General kept me riveted through the pages and transported me back to the early beginnings of this country. It reminds me of man's greed ~~ to conquer all he sees and how others fight it. It brought me to the realization that life was tenous during those times ~~ as well as being more intense as well. The scenery descriptions and actual lifestyle habits of the times are so well-researched, that I actually felt like I was there as an observer.

This is a beautifully-written novel ~~ one to keep in your personal library. If you know of someone who is tenative about reading historical novels, start with this one. It is a guarantee to bring history alive in the reader's mind.

1-27-04

A book every woman needs, especially if your journey is personal power development. It's not just the interviews that empower and connect us it's the authors thoughts which make this SUCH A GREAT BOOK.

I have found this book to be GREAT!, just what I need to tell my students. Very good bits of info that almost everyone can use. If you are a fighter even better, you don't have to get into scrape to learn this. I will recomond this title for all of my teachers and students.
toma the old one 4th Level Aikido Teacher and USAF-WR teacher and Canemaster teacher.

If there was ever a book that says "you can do it" this is it. The women were real and Fawn seemed to be able to bring out what is real in their lives. Women are women the world over and she shows that success doesn't always come easy but it can come to any and all with determination. Amazing stories and amazing women, the most exciting thing to me was the women are like almost every woman I know. Hope she writes something again soon. This book gave me a lot to think about and compass for my own path.

When Oprah told how inspiring this book was, I ordered it immediately. Thanks, Oprah. This is the most uplifting, powerful book you've turned me on to.

The author's human touch makes you a part of the experience of learning from such great women leaders. I truly felt like I could do ANYTHING after I read Hard Won Wisdom, and that's a good thing because my company is on the verge of layoffs. Fawn Germer's book reminds you that smart women survive and prevail in the toughest moments. This book changed so much about how I view myself and the possibilities that exist for me. You'll see.

I was given this book as a gift and wasn't intentionally reading it as a Self Help book. I found that I couldn't put it down, pulled out my high-lighter as I was reading it and started highlighting and starring as I read. Fawn didn't simply interview and tell a story. She wove the lives of these exceptional ecletic women telling of their trials and tribulations, their perserverence, and the outcome of their lives because of the choices they made during adversity as well as good times. The reader could easily identify with each concurring that we are the ones that are responsible for
following our own dreams. The dream may not become a reality but we are stronger and have grown from our efforts. This is a
great gift for friends of all ages as well as a perfect
graduation gift.

This is a wonderful story and it begs the question: Could I have been that brave and compassionate? A story of true Christians.

Great, great book. Inspiring, heart wrenching. Great message about God's faithfulness, but should in no way be boxed in as Christian literature. A great historical book no matter what your faith. Loved it.

Let me start out by saying that this is a very powerful book. There is such an awesome message of hope, courage, and faith. If you love God, family, and believe that God can do powerful things then this is the book for you. Corrie Ten Boom is living with her family during the time when Nazi soldiers are taking Jews to concretion camps. Her family wants to help the Jews and keep them safe, by hiding them in their home. Corrie is working for a secret organization that helps protect the Jewish people. She and her family soon find that they are in the same situation as the Jews. Corrie stays strong in her faith and good things start to happen in the concretion camp that she and her family are put into. Like eventually she and her sister are finally put together, and other members of her family are let free. I strongly recommend this book for anyone sixth grade and up. The Hiding Place By: Corrie Ten Book is a very well written book and has two thumbs up.

This is an absolutely extraordinary book. Never have I read a book in which the spiritual beauty of the author so resonated throughout the story. The purity of heart that manifests itself in this inspiring saga of a heroic, Dutch family in Nazi occupied Holland during World War II is stunningly beautiful.

This is the true story of the Ten Boom family who, during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands, upon seeing what was happening to their Jewish neighbors and friends, asked themselves this age old question "If not us,...who; if not now,...when?" They answered it, ultimately at great cost.

The Ten Booms were devoutly Christian and lived a simple life. The patriarch of the family ran a watch shop that had been in his family for a century. Some of the family members, the author among them, worked there, selling and repairing clocks and watches. They also lived in the house in which the shop was located.

When the Nazis occupied their country, the reality of what it meant slowly dawned upon them, as they saw the treatment given to their fellow Dutch citizens of the Jewish faith. Moved by their plight, the author at the age of fifty, together with other members of her family, including their father who was nearly eighty, became active in the Dutch underground.

When it became clear to the Ten Booms that Jews were being targeted for deportation and death, they had a false wall constructed in the author's bedroom, thereby creating a secret room. There, they would hide the terrified Jews who were staying with them, in the event of a Nazi raid upon their home.

Eventually denounced by someone to the Nazis, the Ten Booms were arrested and their home raided and torn apart by the Gestapo, in their search for the Jews they believed to be hiding there. At the time of the raid, the Ten Boom home was filled to capacity with Jews in hiding. So well concealed was the hidden room that had been created by the erection of the false wall, that these poor, terrified Jews managed to escape detection.

The Ten Boom family did not fare so well. It was upon their arrest that they learned first hand of man's inhumanity to man, and their faith was put to a test that they had never dreamt possible. It was faith, however, that sustained the author in what was to be her darkest hour of deepest despair. To find out what happened to the Ten Booms, read this book. It is the story of an incredible family, who had the courage to put their convictions to the test.

This book is a masterpiece. The reader is sure to be captivated by the goodness and spiritual beauty contained within its pages.

The Hiding Place is the moving true-life account of Corrie ten Boom and her family who sheltered persecuted Jews in Nazi-oocupied Holland during World War Two. They did this at great personal risk, but they did it because of their unwavering faith in God, and because it was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, they are arrested and deported to the camps for their acts of resistance against the Nazis. It is a testament to their faith and nobility that they retain their belief in God despite all the travails that await them in the camps.

"No pit is so deep that He is not deeper still" - as Corrie ten Boom believes despite all the horrors that she has endured. A testament to the power of belief in God, and to the courage of ordinary people in extraordinary and horrific times.

I found this book just about the time the author started eHarmony. The service was not available in my area, but I felt that he had a great idea. I purchased the book in order to learn more.

I had been divorced and had sworn off men and decided I would never marry again. I read the book and was amazed at how the author took the population and showed us how the pool of potential mates was narrowed and narrowed by our location, desires, etc.

The "must have" and "can't stand" lists have saved my life. By not only learning about myself, but also by actually putting pen to paper and figuring out what I really wanted and more imporatantly how to recognize those I did not want, I was able to focus on my future.

I am happy to report that I am very happily married to my soul mate. While we were dating he teased me about this book over and over, but now he sees the tremendous benefit in the knowledge this book provides. I have continued to recommend it to all my friends and family. It worked for me and can for you too!

This book helps you really look at yourself, learn to know yourself, then you determine what traits are really important in a mate. What bugs you, what can you live with, what things can you just not stand in a mate?

This book helps you look at common wish lists for a mate and find out what matters most to YOU. Then you learn to determine if someone has these traits, so you don't waste your time on dating someone you could never be happy with.

This book makes sense, and helps people pin down what really matters to THEM. I'd recommend it highly to anyone looking for a relationship.

If you are in a relationship and its not working out, this book could also help you figure out what's wrong. This one should be on everyone's book shelves, its a great book to loan to friends and family if you don't need it yourself.

This book uses sound principals of true personality compatability.

A great book to help people identify what they are looking for when they are dating. I can honestly say that this book should be mandatory for people prior to dating! :)

An excellent guide through an introspective process, which will reveal those aspects of a potential mate that are key for you. Once you can see what is so important to you that it will ultimately make or break a relationship, the rest is pretty easy. Read it. Think about it. Second dates with people who couldn't possibly be "the one" will no longer be necessary. This was the book that made the difference for me. I give it an A+.

I am a military chaplain. One of the questions I face comes in the area of relationships. People looking around for the right one. I have suggested this book numerous times to others. It worked for me. I would highly recommend it for someone recouping after a bad relationship before going back or to another relationship.

I was hoping that this book would be an uplifting account of hope to encourage my husband who was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. It was NOT. Would not recommend it.

This is a book I find myselfing re-reading a couple times a year (and I don't tend to re-read books). Inspiring, truthful, I feel I could really relate and understand the author. Love this book! Truly beautiful. She left a precious gift to her readers. Highly recommend. Please read other reviews to learn about the content of this book.

This book is very easy & quick to read - good for those who don't like to spend a lot of time reading one book.

As I was reading this book, I could easily relate to Darcy's frustration. A few years ago, I had a neurological problem where my muscles were slowly becoming weak, and I could hardly walk or move. It was extremely exhausting just getting out of bed. Thankfully, my problem was resolved, but I remember at the time watching other people go about their normal business, like walking etc, and thinking "They are walking so easily, like they don't have to think about it", yet I had to think about everything I did, just like Darcy.

I felt genuine empathy for Darcy, and I am so happy that she lived her last year with so much happiness, despite her terminal illness.

This book reminds me of another I have read recently by Kim Dalton "The Real Fight". Recommended reading.

Years ago I took an essay writing class with Darcy Wakefield. She was an aspiring writer and a pleasant person. I'm sorry that her first success at publishing came under such tragic circumstances. Reading her memoir, I wish I had known her better. She is smart, funny, and real. I'm glad she found personal happiness, motherhood, and spirituality before she died.

I went to a reading by Darcy shortly before her death. Her sister read short passages, as Darcy with ALS by that time could not do so. Darcy, herself, answered audience questions. She was alight with life and her book, with its candor and humor is a beacon of hope and a challenge for us all!

A lovely book. Translations from another culture and time that we can still relate to. A pleasure to read and reread.

Wonderful poems showing the power and of two woman poets of the Heian Jidai. Exposes the "nature" poetry prejudice that derives from the unfortunately all male cutesy pie abbreviations of Westernized haiku. Waka yes, Haiku no.

The Heian period of Japan was artistically fertile time that produced numerous classic works of literature. It was even more remarkable in that most of the major literary figures of the time were women. Among those great women, Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu were two of the best. Their waka poetry (now called 'tanka') is some of the best literature ever written in Japan and the poetesses themselves have become the stuff of legend.

Doing justice in translating ancient Japanese into modern English is no easy task, but Hirshfield and Aratani have created translations that are as beautiful as the originals. Anyone who enjoys poetry, who loves love, or who is interested in other cultures and finding the universal passions of the human heart will enjoy this book.

--M. Kei, editor of Fire Pearls : Short Masterpieces of the Human Heart

Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani have done a marvelous job with the translation of these lovely tanka-- manages to capture both their fragility and robust complexity. I had an acquaintance who was a scholar with a focus on Japanese literature. She explained to me a little bit about the complexity of translating waka. I have nothing but admiration for those who can do it well. Hirshfield actually has an essay at the back of this book called "On Japanese Poetry and the Process of Translation". I recommend it highly, even if you do not normally read this kind of essay.

I am a little bit afraid that the focus on the love poems and the emphasis on Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu as female writers may give the wrong idea about the strength and importance of the poetry. Shikibu is widely considered the greatest poet of her period and Ono no Komachi was one of the Rokkasen-- the six best waka poets of the early Heian period. The reason that I am not giving this volume five stars is because of this packaging and not because of the poetry itself.

These poems are a joy to read aside from any issues of scholarship. They are strong and sad and very affecting. There is actually no stronger recommendation to read this than the poems themselves, so I will close this review with one of the poems by Shikibu:

What is the use
of cherishing life in spring?
Its flowers
only shackle us
to this world.

Unlike other reviewers, I am not an aficionado of Japanese poetry or culture, nor have I ever studied this period in Japanese history. I found this book entirely by chance buried in an obscure corner in my college library. I read a couple of random pages and fell in love. I checked it out repeatedly throughout my academic career, then bought it.

These women so effectively communicate, in few words, universal feelings of love. While the poems are deceptively simple, they manage to be so beautiful that I am amazed every time I pick it up.

Even more impressive than the writing is how easy it is to relate to the emotions behind it. As I have grown older and experienced so much more of life, I am surprised to find my own feelings mirroring one poem after another. What once seemed pretty words are eerily my own thoughts. It's amazing, considering they were written one thousand years ago!

If you're thinking about buying this, I suggest using the preview to read the few sample pages. If you like what you see, just get it. You won't be disappointed.