Women Books

Yes, this book is well-researched and smartly-written and engaging to boot, but most importantly, it literally changed our childbirth plans. I'd been hoping to have a natural childbirth in a freestanding birth center, but since there are none in my state (!!), I thought I'd go with a natural birth in the hospital, or better yet, in a hospital with birthing rooms. Reading this book made me see that this kind of birth puts you at risk for the exact kinds of things you seek to avoid in a hospital birth. We ended up choosing a homebirth and it was the best decision I've ever made. My birth was beautiful, empowering, and completely safe, though because it was very long, if I had been in a hospital, I would have ended up with a C-section.

I wouldn't trade my homebirth, one of the best experiences of my life, for anything, and I credit this book with helping me come to that choice.

This book is a very good read. Catherine Taylor is a skillful author and though this book is very factual and informative, it reads with the pace, intensity, and "intrigue" of a novel. It is unique among the many birth books I have read in its interweaving of her personal experiences and personal journey, with factual journalistic impressions and stats. I finished this book in two days--it was completely absorbing and interesting. I enjoyed her descriptive style and the verbal portraits of the variety of midwives she encountered. The book also gave me some new perspectives on hospital based CNM practices as compared to traditional midwifery and homebirth-oriented midwifery practices.

In short, this was an enjoyable, informative book!

My number one title to give to women. Easy to read and chock full of truth telling about birthing babies in America today. Delightfully debunks the myths surrounding midwifery with hard facts and a fascinating story.

Ms. Taylor,

I was one month along in my first pregnancy and, without much real thought, I bought your book "Giving Birth." I think I liked the tasteful cover and that it didn't seem to be a dry catalog of what to expect during pregnancy.

I read your book twice during my pregnancy, and it completely changed the way I approached my medical care and how I wanted to give birth. Before reading "Giving Birth," I had just assumed that I would trust the doctor and do whatever he said while I was in the hospital. I naively trusted his and the hospital's authority. But because your writing style is so vivid and thoughtful, I learned a tremendous amount about labor and delivery (going far beyond the mechanics of the process) without even realizing it. I feel like I entered the larger conversation about how best to give birth, and that I acquired a real voice of my own.

My doctor wanted me to shut up and let him do what he thought was best. I switched providers at 37 weeks after realizing that I couldn't just wish him into being the doctor I wanted. (He patted my head at one point and told me that I couldn't possibly know what labor was going to be like, so I shouldn't even plan on trying for an unmedicated birth.) Through a series of comedy of errors with my insurance provider, and the fact that I went into labor at 38 weeks, I wasn't able to switch to the birthing center in time. My original doctor still caught the baby. But I did everything else as I had hoped, with no medical interventions and the majority of my labor at home. (I gave birth thirty minutes after my arrival.)

I gave birth almost six months ago and I have always thought I should find a way to write and thank you. As cheesy as it sounds, your book truly changed my life!

I had a wonderful recovery and I honestly can't wait to give birth again.

I read this book when I was about 4 months pregnant for the first time. Before I became pregnant I had been very interested in birthing and I knew I wanted a natural birth. During my early weeks of pregnancy, while I was overcome by intense nausea and vomiting, I had so much difficulty setting up appointments and birthplaces between my insurance and medical groups that I ended up settling with an OB that was not my first choice. I spent the next months of my pregnancy researching what my options were in my area and my insurance options.

After reading this book I had a much better idea of what I was looking for and within a month my search was complete and the changes had been made. I went to a midwife/OB practice that ran a natural, free-standing birth center, I took Bradley natural childbirth classes along with my husband, and I hired a wonderful doula who worked at the birth center. I chose, for insurance reasons, to labor at home for as long as possible with my doula and then continued my natural birth in a birthing room with the OB that supports natural birthing. Because I arrived at the hospital (with my birthing ball) far along in labor, coping beautifully and had such a supportive doctor, the nurses read my birth plan and immediately respected all my wishes. I labored, moving about the room, and occasionally a nurse would put a dopp-tone to my belly to hear my baby's heart beat while I stayed in focus. Pain medication was never offered and I was asked before even being touched. I felt that I was laboring in a room full of friends.

This book was wonderful to read, helped me really examine what I wanted for my own pregnancy and birth, and gave me insight if I ever decide to go into the childbirth field as a doula or childbirth educator.

I had a beautiful, empowering, healing first birth that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

For my second birth I gave birth at home and it was a life changing experience. I would definitely recommend finding a way to have a home birth with a trained midwife.

I recommend this thoughtful, empowering book to all women and people working in pregnancy, labor and childbirth. I also highly recommend natural birth if that is what you desire. Giving birth was a deeply spiritual experience, and no one can take that from you.

This book really gets on the level my 4-yr old daughter. Its a gentle reminder of the fruits of the spirit. It leads to kid like discussion that helps them to understand what you expect from them as little girls. I think this book is a keeper. Somethimes when things are going rough at home we pull out this book and plant a little seed of scripture in their young heart. The pictures are lovely as well.

This book is excellent. It aligns the Proverbs 31 scripture along with daily life that little girls understand and can apply.

It's so nice to read something to my daughter that I know is feeding her spiritually. She really connects with the illustrations, and loves to talk about what the girl in the story is doing. This book has naturally lead us into wonderful conversations about what it means to belong to God and what kind of habits we need to be forming as His children.

Beautiful pictures and borders. A great gift to give to parents of newborns and to preschool and primary children. God's Wisdom for Little Boys is equally wonderful.

This beautifully illustrated book is full of wonderful prose and rhymes that could be read to any little girl old enough to know right from wrong. The stanza format is excellent, and if you were to work on and apply each page a week at a time (with repetitive reviews) it will turn into a lasting treasure.

I've tried several recipes and they are delicious. There are good tips in here to help you and the pictures are wonderful. This book is a great addition to your kitchen.

The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts

The book not only has great recipes for very goods desserts. As with all food in a cookbook, these of course look like they have been made by a professional. But by following the excellent explanations and pictures descibing how to make the decoration yourself, they may actually come from your own kitchen. My daughter followed the how-to-do-it when making two of the most wonderful looking cakes from the book for an auction to benefit a family who lost everything in a fire. They were auctioned and raised 500 dollars!

I was searching for a cookbook mostly focused on desserts for a family friend. She is recently learning how to cook so I wanted to get her something with lots of picture to make everything clear for her. I've found this book, I own a good housekeeping step by step cookbook. Initially I thought this book probably doesn't have enough pictures per recipes (because step by step didn't have it) but I was wrong. I saw almost all recipes came with at least one picture and often multiple pictures to show you step by step process (like a true step-by-step book). In addition, the desserts were very sophisticated and the book covered wide range of topics. Now I'm thinking about buying myself one copy.

If you are still skeptical you can take a peek on google books, it'll sure change your mind (too bad Amazon doesn't have an inside look for this book).

I bought this book beacause of the beautiful chocolate cake on the cover ( I am a card carrying chocoholic). As I flipped through the book, I realized that each recipe had at least one picture of the finished product. Several had multiple pics essentially visually walking you through the recipe prossess.
The recipes that I tried were simple; I made the Peach Custard Pie and the Bannana Souffle'. The crust for the pie was so simple to make and tasted exellent. The recipes also seem to work with improvisation; the peaches I bought for the pie were not sweet or tasty and they were hard, so I cooked them down in a sugar sauce to make them taste good, and the pie still turned out well. I also did that to the bannanas for the souffle' will wonderful results.
This book has tips on garnishing, basic dessert sauces, deorating, crusts, and different types of dough, basic frostings, basic cake recipes, the best time of year to buy fruits. I could go on, but this review would be two pages long.
There are also some semi-homeade recipes in here also.
I will take away one star because the useful hints are in a separate section in the back of the book and not with the recipe that you are using. I would reccomend that you review the section in the back before baking, and if there is anything that you need to know, you can read it at that time.

I bought this book for the extremely helpful pictures! Not only do they show the final product, but they also show many of the individual steps.

It's a great book for beginning chefs, and I think that on the whole, the recipes are OK and the presentation could use a little work, but I'm overall very pleased. The pages are thick and the paper is of high quality.

If I were stranded on a island, this book better be stranded with me. You can never feel alone when reading this book. Tara Leigh's distinct tone screams and whispers with a voice and spirit that is contagious! Here's to Hindsight is a full of personality galore. Tara Leigh Cobble's take on life embodies emotion, wisdom and halarity. Her incredible heart seems to "tell it like it is", exposing truth in a genuine and unique way. There is something fearlessly fun about this book, and many times I had to stop myself from making conversation with the pages as I turned. Tara Leigh's words push me to look back on my own journey thru this crazy world, with a eagerness to see the details of God in my life.

A friend gave me this book several months ago. I'm just sorry that I didn't read it sooner than July/August. Here's to Hindsight is a great read as the author honestly represents herself as a Christian and details her path. Tara is both encouraging and inspiring. A good reminder that we are never alone.

this book is amazing. I have literally read it 11 times since it came out in october of 2006. it is great for everyone. i have given out at least 25 copies as well. I am a huge fan of this book and this author! i can't wait for her second book!!

Here's to Hindsight is one woman's refreshingly honest look at herself and Christian life. In reflecting on her music career so far, Tara doesn't shy away from difficult subjects, which makes her book all the more valuable. It is also super funny - she's got a great sense of humor and irony. If you're looking for a good read and an inspiring story that will make you laugh and cry but still never gets too sappy, go for it. Here's to Hindsight is really fabulous! And so is Tara Leigh. :)

Awesome!! This book touch my spirit in a profound way because Tara Leigh is refreshingly honest and her wonderful sense of humor will make you laugh out loud. This book has so much to offer for everyone because so many people can relate in one way or another. Have you ever been in love? Have you ever had a broken heart or faced with trials that you did not think you were going to survive or challenged physically, mentally and spiritually? Then You can relate!! It is a great "MYTHBUSTER" to what some think that the "perfect" christian walk is like, circumstances are not always pleasant however with God by your side you are never alone and He always makes a way through when there is no other way when you trust in Him and this book brings that point home quite nicely.

You will walk with Tara Leigh through times of great happiness in life to being stretched through painful trials, it will touch every emotion that you have but more importantly it will minister to your spirit. It will cause you to think about your own life and leaves you with a question, are you trusting God? When times are great or not so great God is always there and He will never leave you. I strongly recommend not only the book but the CD's as well You will be blessed immensely. Tara Leigh, what an awesome woman of God and you will be blessed through her sincerity, humor and her faith in Christ. If you ever get the chance to meet her at one of her concerts your life will be changed!!

At 25, Julie Andrews had it all: She was a Broadway star about to take on her first starring role in a film, Mary Poppins, she was happily married, and she had just become the mother of Emma. Her smile and lovely voice were known to tens of millions around the world.

But the path from her origins to those heights was not the expected one. In this candid memoir, Ms. Andrews takes us for an eye-opening ride through her family's genealogy, her career as a youthful vaudeville star, her experiences in becoming her family's sole support at a young age, and the many amazing things that happen in performing companies. It's a wild trip!

Before the book ends, she gives us behind-the-scenes looks at many of the giants of 20th century entertainment including Moss Hart, Alan Jay Lerner, Fritz Lowe, T.H. White, Walt Disney, Rex Harrison, Richard Burton, and Carol Burnett.

She is a lady in all that she has to say, but she does have opinions. The finely nuanced reading captures her true feelings in subtle ways that the book cannot hope to do. I could have listened to this recording all night, every night. It was marvelous!

It was if Julie Andrews was sitting across from you telling you about her life story. I also have and read the book first, so hearing Julie read her own story, with all of the inflections in her voice, was great.

This memoir is truly one of those that cannot be put down. And to hear the reminisces in Julie Andrews' own crystalline voice is a rare treat. The situations that the young girl endured growing up are stunning and the listener's heart breaks for her, all the while gaining a new appreciation for Julie's grace and grit. I highly recommend this book, especially as a book on CD, and am hopeful that Ms. Andrews will continue her life story in the form of a sequel....

I have been an admirer of Julie ever since I first saw her in Mary Poppins so many years ago. What a joy to listen to her tell the story of her early years up until the time when she is on a plane heading toward Hollywood to make that film. She has overcome a great many obstacles in her fascinating career. I certainly admire her even more now after hearing her tell her story. This was so interesting that I wanted to hear more. This is a must read!

Rather than pre-order the book, I waited until the CD came out to see if, as I suspected, it would be narrated by Julie Andrews. Julie's words in her own voice add so much to her story. I can't wait until the next installment! The only criticism of the CD is you have to turn the volume up all the way to hear it, at least while in the car. It brought back such pleasant memories as Julie related stories of her appearances on TV, with Carol Burnett, and on the Ed Sullivan Show, and her own show. Some of the excepts can be found on the internet. Wonderful performer. A voice not to be forgotten, nor repeated.

Maggie is feeling old. Her kids are out of the house, she's getting hot flashes, and her husband seems to be looking at younger women. Her best friend also seems to be more concern with dating than hanging around Maggie. Maggie is all ready to accept the fate of a mid life crisis when she meets a young woman at a coffee house who seems to need a "motherly" type figure in her life. With true to life descriptions and humor that will make the reader giggle and groan, this grown up chick lit novel is perfect for those who can't wait to get older and those who wish they could stop.

So I'm not a baby boomer. In fact I'm pretty much the same age as the kids of the main characters in this book. You'd think I wouldn't enjoy it because of the generation gap. WRONG. I totally enjoyed this fun and humorous book that women of all ages will enjoy. What I found most interesting about the book was how insecure most women, even Christian women, really are. It seems that everyone is afraid about losing their husband to someone who is younger or who they think looks better than them. Women are always comparing themselves and therefore creating low self esteem. Of course men don't help out with this, as Gordon doesn't really reassure Maggie that he doesn't go for the blond type. The writing is top notch, I felt like I was a part of the story. I also really enjoyed seeing Maggie's relationship grow with Lily. And it was cool to read a mom drinking frappachinos and ending up working behind the counter in a coffee shop. I also love the Chihuahua who pees when nervous! I think it'd be cool to have her as a mom. There are some times where I would get frustrated with her actions, like her getting ticked at her daughter for being friends with her mother in law or when she stalks her best friend while she's dating. But then I realize that Maggie is having empty nest syndrome and is therefore frustrated with her life. It makes me want to learn to make sure to take time to enjoy my own life, and not just focus it on others so that way I know that I am meaningful. Excellent mom/lady lit book that everyone will enjoy.

Author Diann Hunt pens the words of Hot Flashes and Cold Cream with both humor and honesty, as she describes a fifty-something woman in the grip of menopause. Maggie Haydn's world turns upside down into a despairing heap of cellulite, as her search continues to find something that will spare her the pain of life change. Her pursuit accelerates into a full blown rat race.

Sipping her favorite beverage at the new coffee house makes a dent in her meaningless days of waiting for her overworked husband to return home. While the superficial makeovers never touch the deepest longing of her heart, she hardly expects her out-of-style elderly, widowed neighbor to strike a cord within her. Tired of running, Maggie pauses long enough to notice that Elvira, after all, is fashionably dressed in expressing God's love to others. Maggie is ready for a real change!

Maggie's husband Gordon and her best friend Lily nearly go out of their minds trying to help Maggie keep her balance in her topsy-turvy world. Her college age son and newly married daughter love their mom, too, but hope she doesn't go completely over the edge.

I nearly ran out of breath trying to keep up with Maggie's agonizing pace of going everywhere, never really getting anywhere. Finally, she comes to terms with her age, her appearance, and her attitude toward life. At times, I wanted to say, "We've heard this before!" It seems that was the author's creative technique -- to wear out the reader as much as it exhausted her main character, so that, in the end, we could all breathe a huge sigh of relief.

I commend this book to the Maggie Haydens who are struggling with an empty stage of life. Hunt's character Elvira will point the reader to Jesus Christ, at center stage in her own life. - Cheryl Cecil, Christian Book Previews.com

This book was funny and relaxing and I enjoyed reading it. The author kept me laughing while at the same time wondering what was coming next for Maggie. I can't wait to read another book by D. Hunt.

Great book, if you are close to menopause it's a must read.

Diann Hunt uses humor and zany situations to make us laugh at aging. Maggie Hayden gets herself into one scrape after another with her misguided caring. Hunt drew me into this story so well, Maggie became real. I cared about her. So much that there were times I wanted to slap her. She drove me nuts with her inability to get a grip, yet I laughed all the way.

Besides having a wonderfully intriguing title, Hot Flashes and Cold Cream is a page-turner of a book. You can't wait to see what Maggie gets herself into next. Thanks you, Diann, for this hilarious romp through aging.

Notaro is one of the only authors who makes me laugh out loud. Her stories are hilarious, and sometimes I think she has been following me around for notes! She is not afraid to let readers see her in a not-so-flattering light, and makes no apologies for her behavior.

I was very anxiously wating for this book to come out. On the day it did finally come out, I ran to every possible store so I could read it right away because I was having knee surgery in 3 days. Needless to say, I could find it nowhere so my husband ordered it for me on Amazon. We paid for the next day shipping and I pretty much sat on the porch wating for the UPS man. As soon as he got here, I sat down on the couch and started reading. Most of it was cute, but not funny. I only laughed out loud a couple of times and as anyone who reads her books knows, you are usually crying and calling your friends to read them the funny parts. Not once did I have the desire to do this. I will, of course,buy her next book when it comes out but for this one, the anticipation left me wanting after I finally got it.

Let me preface this by saying I'm a HUGE fan of this author, and have loved all her previous Idiot Girl essay books. In fact, they are some of the few books that have earned "keeper" status - I don't swap them. This book did NOT disappoint.

HILARIOUS!! I was laughing out loud throughout, and I think I actually snort-laughed at one point even. The essay on "It's all good" was so so funny - I'm laughing again just thinking about it. The story of her adventures on a cruise ship - priceless! I could really relate to the whitewater rafting trip. I must be an idiot girl, because the author feels like a good friend to me. :)

I stayed up all night (despite the fact that I had to be up at 6am for work, even!) reading this, because I could not put it down. Highly recommended! :) Can't wait for her next essay book!

My daughter picked this book up for me and suggested that I might like it as it "looked like something you would like". I finished this book in 2 days. This book had me laughing so hard that I had tears rolling and was unable to stop laughing long enough to tell anyone why I was laughing. A most enjoyable read.

Fans of Laurie Notaro's first-person stories will be delighted with this latest collection of "reflections." After a brief foray into the world of fiction with a zany, semi-autobiographical novel, once again the Idiot Girl is back to form, sharing stories and observations of her decidedly normal life with an original and laugh-out-loud way with words.

Notaro never holds back. Her polished writing style has a conversational, off-the-cuff quality to it, allowing readers to feel like we're right there in the room with her, listening to her outrage at a big dog taking a dump on her front lawn, or breaking out her bird flu mask on a plane after the passenger seated next to her open-mouth coughs for the last time. She's like your funniest friend--the one you know will make the party more fun as soon as she opens her mouth and launches into her latest life experience. I know I couldn't wait to open and devour this book, and I wasn't disappointed. Five stars all the way.

From the author of The Things I Wish I'd Said.

Generally, I feel that everyone is entitled to their opinions and because of that, I sat on this for a long time before I decided I needed to respond. I am certainly not going to berate "a reader" for her negative comments when it comes to the book, but there is one thing that she says that bothers me above all others. When she said "...most of the families have at least something positive to say about their child...." How could I not take that personally. So here goes...

First, the book she received was a "Review" copy from the publisher, therefore not meant to be "pristine". Secondly, I have to wonder if she actually read the entire book. If she had she would have read the letter to my son in the final chapter expressing how much of a gift I feel he is and how much I have learned from him and about myself as a result of the tradegy of his birth. Thirdly, she feels that I didn't have anything nice to say about some of the people I met as a result. Clearly she skipped the part in the book and in the acknowledgment page where I have expressed my deepest gratitude to my son's pediatrician, Dr. Hagan and his physiatrist, Dr. Webster as well as some other people I've met along the way.

Lastly, I think I should express exactly why I wrote this book and why I chose to write it the way that I did. When my son was born I searched high and low for a book that would help me feel like I wasn't alone in the world. I needed to have some connection to another parent who had been through what I was going through. Fortunately, I have a lot of wonderful books in my personal library. Unfortunately, there is not one that I fully connected with. A large majority of books available on special needs children do not reflect the needs of parents whose child has multiple challenges. I know that parents need that connection and that's why I wrote "In This Together".

As to why I wrote it the way I did, it's because I didn't want to sugar-coat anything. I was blatantly honest about what I was going through and how I felt about it because to be otherwise would be less than respectful to the parents and professionals who would read it. Furthermore, I wanted to take a "show don't tell" approach. It is easy enough to say to a parent, "Yes it does get better. Yes it will get easier" or if I said something like "I didn't think I could physically survive this profound sadness, but hey, by the time my son was five years old I was feeling okay about life". The harder part was showing how to get from total heart-break to a place in life where you can say "I'm alright.Life is good". And I think I achieved that by using my experience as an example.

Parents know when you're not telling the whole truth. To give them less then the absolute truth would be a disservice. Sometimes parents need to see that it's okay to be angry. And some of the things I said in the book are things that some parents think about but are too afraid to say. By me saying it, it sort of validate how they feel.

As far as "a readers" comment about the book's negativity and her feeling like I don't offer any joyous moments and that I'm basically telling parent's that it's one struggle after another, let me just say that while Murphy's Law did seem to prevail in our lives for a time, the reality is that there were a lot of struggles, some of them monumental and other trivial...but that's the reality, I didn't make it up.

That said, let me direct you "reader" to page 219 when I was summing up the things our family has been through... "We are no longer fragmented people who are bound only by the same last name. We are finally whole, each of us individually, and as a family. We have discovered that the simpler joys in life often mean the most. We have learned that we are adaptable people, because there are days, depending on what's going on with Jake, that we have to quickly reprioritize everything. But we take a deep breath and dig in. We are like the branches of a willow tree...we will bend but not break."

When it comes to the blessings I can count because of my son, let me direct you to page 241 and 242 where I express all the things I've learned about my son, myself, and life in general. It wasn't until after my son was born that I came to believe that we are all here on this earth either to learn something or to teach something and, at least in this lifetime, my son is the teacher and I am the pupil. And though "I may not have the most money or the biggest house, no retirement fund or a way to send my daughter to college when she grows up, I am rich nonetheless for having had the privilege of being a student to such a Master".

To my one and only critic, I hope you will take the time to go back and read the whole book and I invite you (and anyone else) to share your thoughts with me through my website, www.dawnatkinson.net.

To the rest of you, I just want you to know that this book is for you and if I've been able to help in some small way, then it is me who is blessed because of it.

Dawn Atkinson

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher because I am an employee of an early intervention program. I work with families who have children with devastating birth defects or diagnoses, some even more involved than the author's son, Jacob. However, most of the families have at least something positive to say about their child and sometimes even about the people they never would have met except for the tragedy that occurred. Although this book does demonstrate how important it is to be an advocate for your child, I am reluctant to share this book with parents of children with disabilities because it is so negative. I would hate for a new parent of a child with a disability to feel that they only have continual struggles ahead of them with no hope of joyous moments. Additionally, the obviously unedited book has numerous grammatical and spelling errors that were very obvious when trying to read the book.

Dawn Atkinson's book In This Together: The Journey of Mother and Child was truly a great book. As a mother raising a special needs child, Dawn's book truly hit home. It was like reading my life story. I recommend this book to everyone. The letter at the end that Dawn writes to her son, brought tears to my eyes and her advice she gives to loved ones and professionals, I have shared with those people whom are involved in my own son's life. Dawn, I want to personally thank you for writing this book. You put all the feelings of Mom's everywhere into one book and we appreciate that very much.

The story of Dawn Atkinson is one of the joy of expecting a child and the heartbreak that can be when there is ignorance and arrogance. Ignorance by both a young first time pregnant mom and by a new inexperienced ob/gyn. And arrogance of doctor with no regard for the baby coming into this world, they are not made of rubber and don't always bounce back! As first time moms we tend to trust in our doctors. We may read books like "What to Expect when your Expecting" or even other informational articles in "Parents Magazine" but there isn't a lot of information out there about delivery. We tend to trust the person who is suppose to be the expert and hope for the best. After all babies are born every day in the United States without any complications or problems and all our friends and relatives went through it just fine right? This book not only is about the journey between mother and child but is something every pregnant women should read about and discuss with her ob/gyn before delivery and have a plan. How long will they let labor go on before doing a Cessarian section?, When do they use vacuum extraction?, What is the protocol?, Why do they induce labor? Should labor ever be induced early without a clear indication that there is medical danger to the baby or mom?.
This books is very helpful to both the expectant mom as well as a comfort to the mom who has gone through and is living her own story of loss of "normal" birth and motherhood. Sometimes too much information can be a good thing. We need to educate woman about the dangers of labor as well as the joys. We need to give control to the patient. Let them decide enough is enough and let them be the judge of when something feels wrong.
This book also belongs in college libraries. Especially colleges that specialize in nursing, education and pre-med. Anybody who will come in contact with or may come in contact with the kind of very special family Dawn Atkinson has should know the ins and outs, the nuts and bolts of what their everyday is like. It will make us all more compasionate and understanding. It will also teach us to have more respect for the one who knows the most about the affected child...THE MOM!

Dawn's incredible Journey with Jake is and ever changing challenge. She is a wonderful mother who advocates for her child as only a mom can. This book only gives you a sample of what it is to have a child with severe disabilities and the challenges that a parent faces.

I heard one of the authors interviewed on a Sunday evening radio program. It was a good and interesting interview. I found the book to be neither. I'm a 59 yo man who bought it for a woman friend. The interesting topics in the interview (how women are perceived by others at certain ages, effects of changing/not changing hair color, etc.) were not featured in the book, which struck me as 3 not-very-interesting-but-overly-self-absorbed people with not much to say of interest. It had some thoughtful stuff, but not enough to capture my interest. I'm sure there's an audience for this out there, but I'm not in it...

This is simply a phenomenal book! These three women have come out in public and revealed their souls to those of us who are walking the same path after 50. What struck me the most was the depth of honesty and vulnerability that Joyce, Renee and Jean revealed to us. Along with this was the encouragement to recreate yourself, and take, what I call, that quantum leap in life in complete trust and faith as the dependency on "security" fades into the background. The message I got loud and clear throughout this book was identify your purpose or dream in life, keep your focus on it throughout the inevitable fear, take action steps...and watch the universe align to support you as the creativity and opportunities come flowing in. It is a course that many of us 50+ women are taking as we realize that we are an incredible untapped resource for our planet, as well as for shifting the paradigm of aging for women. At age 59 I am certain that the divine purpose that lives in me is coming to full expression NOW! Thanks Jean, Joyce and Renee for allowing us to come into intimacy with the moments of your lives and for providing us with a roadmap for "coming out"!

Gaye Abbott, www.WildlyFreeWoman.com, Gaye@WildlyFreeWoman.com

A very enjoyable read. These three women (I kept looking at their pictures on the back cover when reading their vignettes) are open and unabashingly honest as they comment on various subjects that especially effect us "over 50 women". Their stories come from their life experiences and various friendships, and we are brought into their inner circle. They are who they are today because of their strenghts and weaknesses, their personal histories and hopes for today and the future, as we all are, too. Their candor, integrity and humor made this a book that I am sharing with my friends and my daughter (who is barely 30 something).

These writers tell their stories so genuinely, so generously, so thought-provokingly, that you cannot stop reading this book. At one and the same time original, yet telling so many parts of other women's stories around the globe, whether you are under 50 or over, these passages will resonate within you. You will never fear turning 50 again!

Three distinct voices, three unusual lives, all bound together with hope, friendship, love, humor, and above all, honesty. I am nearing this passage myself, and have been encouraged to begin anew, a new career, home, relationship, and to renew my faith in myself. Not the 20-year-old me (although she is definitely still in attendance), but the lovable 48-year-old imperfect me who will make the next chapter sizzle in the pages of my own lifetale. "Invisible No More" indeed!

Invisible No More: The Secret Lives of Women Over 50 is a memoir of three different women who each tell the story of their life journey to their golden years. Written with wit, aplomb, modesty, and enthusiasm, Invisible No More covers topics ranging from sexuality at five decades to faith and spirituality, maintaining physical health (and a trim waistline), shifting gears, and contemplations on the difference between solitude and loneliness. Invisible No More earns its distinction of being an iUniverse reader's choice book through its honesty, optimism, and life-affirming insights. Highly recommended.

This book is great. It has really helped me focus on Jesus life here on earth. It has made me dig deeper to discover and wonder about the details. Beth Moore's applications of the passages have brought it to life.

So far this is my favorite Beth Moore book. I've already read it twice and am sure to read it again. She tackles a very familiar story with fresh insights just about every chapter. It's not a "preachy" book. Rather she makes you feel like you're a fellow learner with a good friend. Unlike some of her other books, this does not require looking up many references which makes it ideal to read when you're reading somewhere other than your desk at home.

I have been in numerous Beth Moore Bible studies and this is one of my favorites! This is the study of Christ's life in the form of a daily, personal study. It is 53 short chapter messages.

You can never go wrong with a Beth Moore study. She has a gift for opening the Word and revealing Truth!
I would not buy from this seller, however. It took almost an entire month for it to arrive.

As always, I am very satisfied with the Beth Moore studies. She does an excellent job and everything is well researched and Biblical.