Review: January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her

Author:  Michael Schofield

Genre:  Memoir (2012)

Descriptive Words:  Childhood schizophrenia, hallucinations, imaginary friends, hospitalization, violence

About:  Michael Schofield gives a heartbreaking and shocking glimpse into parenting a schizophrenic child. His 6-year-old daughter, January (Janni), is diagnosed with childhood onset schizophrenia after two years of misdiagnoses and inpatient stays, and being discharged despite lack of improvement. The family's journey is wrought with desperation and denial. Told first to simply provide "tough love" and stricter boundaries, the Schofields were forced to face the reality of schizophrenia when Janni indicated the constant presence of imaginary friends and demonstrated a desire to harm her newborn brother, with a clear inability to control herself.

My thoughts:  If not for life interrupting, I'd have finished this almost 300-pager in one sitting. Still, I read it in two days. Schofield's writing had me completely riveted. Having worked in Adult and Child Psychiatry for 15 years, I appreciate immensely the difficult task of loving a child with schizophrenia. I saw only from the perimeter what Schofield lived every day. Parents vacillate from wanting to help their child to wanting to institutionalize them, primarily because of the violence inflicted on themselves and others. With no cure in sight for this nightmarish illness, parents and families of loved ones afflicted should be applauded; there is no harder job in the world.

My friends and family rely on me for 5-star book recommendations so as not to waste time on less than stellar reads.  I'll be recommending this - my favorite book of the year so far - to everyone I know.

Rating:  5/5 

Thank you to Crown Publishing/Random House for this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Circus Fire ~ Stewart O'Nan

Stewart O'Nan
Non-Fiction (2001)

5/5  My Rating

True story of the Ringling Brothers circus tent fire in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 6, 1944, that killed 167 people, most of them women and children.

I didn't like Circus Fire at first.  I felt dragged down by all the details that I didn't think mattered, but as I got sucked into the story, realized they did and wished I'd paid closer attention.  There were so many, and the book was so long, that I had to renew it through the library twice.  Normally if I take that long to read a book I give up and return it, but I couldn't let go of this one and didn't want it to end.  Pictures of the fire itself as well as the aftermath had me going back to match them up with the parts of the story I was reading. I couldn't stop staring at the picture of Little Miss 1565 in the morgue, a blond little girl who for years was never properly identified despite tireless work by detectives.

I read O'Nan's book A Prayer for the Dying, a dark story that I thought was well written - odd but intriguing - so his name was familiar to me when I picked this up.  I'd like to read more of his work.  This and the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks are two of the most well-researched books I've ever read.

Review: Signs of Life

Author:  Natalie Taylor

Genre:  Memoir (2011)

Descriptive Words:  Widowed and pregnant at 24, accident, single mother, tragic, witty, high school teacher, challenge, triathlon.
About: True story of Natalie, a 24-year-old, 5 months pregnant girl whose 27-year-old husband Josh dies after hitting his head while carve boarding (kind of like skateboarding).

The book covers the time of the accident and up to 16 months afterwards. She discusses a little about the actual accident and how she found out, but mostly about the funeral and after, and dealing with being a widow after only a year of marriage as well as the prospect of single motherhood. At her young age she doesn't fit into the typical grief groups for widows, and because of her recent marital status, doesn't fit into typical single mother groups. She is also a high school English teacher and talks about going back to work after the funeral and incorporates life lessons for her students from several classics such as Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Her sister "Moo" encourages her several months after Josh's death to take on the challenge of a triathlon.

Rating and Thoughts:   5/5

I don't know why I liked this book so much, but I did. Her writing is different. Mostly it's taken from her journal so it's real life, what she was thinking at the moment, rambling writing, but I could not put it down. Simply fascinating. Probably because I don't know many pregnant 24-year-olds whose husbands die, and I was enthralled with the emotional process of dealing with such a tragedy. She's also very witty and funny. Elizabeth Berg's quote on the cover, "Sit down with this book. See if you can stop after page one." is so true. Loved it.

There's only one part that made me cry, and I know those of you who can't read sad books will never read  it after this (lol):  

"Now that I'm a parent, I am beginning to understand that I have no idea what Deedee [Josh's mother] is going through in dealing with the loss of her child. Not a clue. I knew Josh for four years in college, then we dated for a year, and then we were married for a year and a half. Because I'm twenty-five years old, that seems like a lot of time. But Deedee grew him from a seed.

When Josh was in the hospital after his accident, I saw his body once, and then I had to leave. I never went back. Deedee stayed at the hospital for days. Long after he was pronounced dead, he had to stay so they could remove his working organs. She stayed by him until they wheeled him away for his final surgery. I couldn't be there because to me he was gone. That body wasn't him. But as a mom, I know why she had to stay. When you watch something grow from a seed, you have a very different relationship with it than the rest of the world does.

I know Deedee spent those days staring at his body, taking in the last images of the body she had watched for twenty-seven years. Dead or alive, that body was too special to leave in an empty hospital room. She had been by his side since the day she brought him into this world, not to mention the nine months prior to that. You better believe she would be there on the day he had to leave. Right up until the last second."

Source:  Library

Review: Crystal Clear : The Inspiring Story of How an Olympic Athlete Lost His Legs Due to Crystal Meth and Found a Better Life

Author: Eric Le Marque with Davin Seay

Genre: Memoir (2009)

Descriptive Words:  Addiction, Crystal Meth, Snowboarding, Lost on Mountain for 8 Days, Legs Amputated, Healing, Hope

About:  Eric Le Marque, a former Olympian and pro hockey player becomes addicted to crystal meth after his playing days are over. While snowboarding on Mammoth Mountain and high on crystal meth, he gets lost and isn't found for eight days. Due to severe frostbite, both legs are amputated at the knee.

The story covers mostly his time lost on the mountain and his physical recovery, as well as a chapter or two at the end about his emotional/drug recovery and meeting his wife Hope.

Rating and thoughts:   5/5

I loved the story and pictures, which included some from the actual rescue and hospital stay. The ghostwriter, Davin Seay, did a GREAT job of getting inside Le Marque's head and relating details and emotions. Very talented writer. I'd like to read more of his work.

"For the rest of that day, I never left the shelter I had dug. The sun rose, clouds rolled overhead, and the hours unwound as morning turned to midday and moved steadily on into the afternoon. It all passed me by. I may not have been dead yet, but it was hard to tell the difference. I had passed into a state of sleep so heavy and profound that nothing - not cold, not hunger, not thirst - could wake me. If I stirred during that long silent interlude, I don't remember it. If I had dreams, they drifted by unseen. If I realized that where I lay might well become my grave, I didn't care. For all I knew, I was already petrified, my blood frozen and my flesh turned to stone. There was no difference now between me and the environment against which I had fought so long and hard. The mountain had prevailed and I had become a part of it."

Source:  Bought

Review: Without a Word: How a Boy's Unspoken Love Changed Everything

Title:  Without a Word:  How a Boy's Unspoken Love Changed Everything

Author:  Jill Kelly

Genre:  Memoir/Christian Biography (September 2010)

About:  Football star Jim Kelly and his wife Jill find out their infant son has a rare, fatal illness and is expected to survive for only 14 months. This is the story of how Hunter Kelly, who succumbed to Krabbe Leukodystrophy at the age of 8, changed their lives forever.

Thoughts:  Absolutely loved this story. Jilly Kelly does a fabulous job of opening her heart, her life, her marriage, her struggles, and her reality to readers. Several pages of pictures are included, which is always my favorite part. I'm a visual person, so to be able to read the story and see the pictures made it all the more heartbreaking and inspirational. The book is faith-based, and I enjoyed reading about Jim Kelly's transformation from philanderer to faithful servant.

Source:  Library

Why I Chose:  This was everything I love in a book all wrapped in one - medical-related, sad but inspirational, lots of pictures, memoir, sports.

Recommend?  Yes, definitely.

Rating: 5/5

Reading Now:

Up Next:

Review: Kicked, Bitten and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World's Premier School for Exotic Animal Trainers

Author: Amy Sutherland
Genre: Memoir (2006)
About: The author follows students at the Exotic Animal Training and Management program at California's Moorpark Community College.

Liked...I loved this book. It had me hooked by page 2 when it said "every student must break a pigeon's neck with her hands, what they call pulling a pigeon, or gas a rat before she can graduate." I know, disgusting, but it's like driving by a car accident, I couldn't stop looking reading. Besides talk about sperm, vomit, pee, poop, and maybe some frozen chopped animal parts, that was about as gross as it got. Most people probably won't read this book, but if you have any interest at all in animals, it really is good.  It's like being a fly on the wall and learning the inside scoop of a place you'd more than likely never go.

The writing style was wonderful.  The author focused on enough students and animals to get a realistic picture of what goes on, but not so many that it was hard to keep track of them.  And it was so real.  Not only did a few animals die, not surprisingly, but so did one of the students.

*Wanna know why they have to pull the heads off pigeons and gas rats? It's because birds of prey and reptiles must have fresh prey. They can't hunt at the school facility, obviously, because they're in captivity, so the student caretakers must do it for them. How'd you like to have to do that for a final exam?

Didn't Like...I was disappointed there weren't any pictures and a few typos were distracting. That's it.

Source: I bought this at the Goodwill for 75 cents. A 5-star book for 75 cents...gotta love it.

Why I Chose: 1) I love animal books 2) for a minute when I was younger I wanted to be a dolphin trainer 3) I had never seen a book on this topic.  So basically it was on the shelf calling my name.

Recommend? If you like animals and/or are curious about what all goes on at a school for animal trainers, I absolutely recommend this book.

Rating: 5/5

Next Up:

I just started this last night and the writing is so choppy I'm having a hard time getting used to it.  I'm pluggin' away though, trying to adjust.



Reviews Cruise - Join Me! / Denial ~ Asta in the Wings ~ Knowing Jesse

Reviews stockpiled?  Bored with the same 'ol same 'ol?  Love reading but not too keen on writing reviews? Yeah, me too. So I thought I'd go on a Reviews Cruise to liven things up, relieve the pressure, and make more time for reading.  Short but sweet and a few at a time.  Sounds like a vacation, doesn't it? 

(Want to cruise with me?  See details at end of post.)
Denial

Jessica Stern is the author of this memoir published in June 2010.  It's about the author's rape at age 15 by a stranger at gunpoint in her own home.  Her 14-year-old sister was also raped. The police were skeptical of their story and the rapist was never caught. Interestingly, the author now works as an expert on terrorists and terrorism.  Overall I thought the book was okay.  I liked the psychological and PTSD aspect of the story, as well as the how, when, where and what happened. I liked how she related her father's trauma and after-effects of his being a Holocaust survivor to hers. PTSD is real, and I'm intrigued by the way people process trauma and how it shapes their lives forever. It was interesting that the author became a terrorist expert because, as she says, she was "fascinated by the secret motivations of violent men, and I'm good at ferreting them out." After the violent rape at age 15, she experienced an unusual reaction to fear; situations that most people would find terrifying caused her to retain her composure, become curious and empathetic. This "ability" created a perfect environment for making terrorists feel comfortable and getting them to talk. What I didn't like was how the author came across. I know it has much to do with the rape and subsequent PTSD - but her resentment, mostly towards her father, made her come across as unlikeable and emotionless. I felt bad for her father against whom she obviously still holds a grudge for not coming home from overseas immediately after the incident. He admits he didn't know what to do or how to help, but it happened 30 years ago. There's nothing he can do to change that. I also didn't like that she dragged him into the book so much at the end, detailing their "interview", when he obviously wasn't happy she wrote the book in the first place. I do hope she found healing from writing this book.

I won this book from NerdGirl in a contest, which I entered because I had seen the title around, heard good things about it and was interested in the topic.  I don't know if I'd recommend this book to my friends.  For me it was just okay and I rated it 3.5 / 5

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Knowing Jesse:  A Mother's Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss


Marianne Leone is the author of this memoir published in September 2010.  It's about a woman and her husband and life with their son who was born with severe cerebral palsy and quadriplegia, was unable to speak and had severe seizures.  He died suddenly at age 17.  Overall I loved it.  I liked her writing style and the emotional, honest story she told. She admitted her shortcomings and came across as real but likeable. The love she had for her son was overwhelming, protective and beautiful.  She fought courageously for him to receive the best medical care, the best support system and caretakers, and the best education available.  There wasn't anything about this book I didn't like. 

I got this book from the library and chose it because of the synopsis and because I love memoirs.  I'm a sucker for stories about mothers and their children and how they are able to see the blessings in a situation others may see as a burden.  I would definitely recommend this book to friends and I rated it 5/5.
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Asta in the Wings

Jan Elizabeth Watson is the author of this novel published in February 2009.  It's about a 7-year-old girl and her 9-year-old brother who are kept in their boarded-up home by their mentally ill mother, who tells them she is protecting them from germs and "the plague." The story is told from 7-year-old Asta's point of view.  Overall I really liked it.  I liked how the mother encouraged her children to have a rich and creative imagination. She was cool in a weird way. Or weird in a cool way. Her children were "home-schooled" by watching and reciting line after line of old movies on TV, stemming from the mother's desire - and fueled by her delusions - to become an actress. She was quite a character :)  I loved Asta's spunk and determination, her willingness to overcome obstacles, her love for her brother, Orion, and her unconditional love for her mother, who did the best she could for her children despite her mental illness.  At first I wasn't sure I'd like this book. It was quirky and a little bizarre at the beginning. But once I got to know the children better and fell in love with the writing - the author paid great attention to detail but kept everything so on track - I didn't want it to end.  The only thing I didn't like and what kept it from being 5 stars was the ending, which was too abrupt for my taste.

I got this book from the library and chose it because Rebecca from ccq designs, a friend on Goodreads, gave it 5 stars, something she rarely does.  I had to check it out.  I also chose it because I'm intrigued by all things related to mental illness, child abuse and social issues.  I would recommend this to any of my friends, especially if they like quirky little books that normally they wouldn't pick up.  I rated it
4.5 / 5.

I don't have a button, but feel free to "take" your own Reviews Cruise and link up if you'd like.  Just mention my blog at http://lynnesbookreviews.blogspot.com  (copy and paste that there url). You can use my review format (provided below) or your own.  Remember, this is a stress-free, no pressure cruise, so make it simple and easy.   I'm button-challenged so this cruise is button-free :)

____________ is the author of this _______(genre) published in _____________.  It's about _______.  Overall I _______.  I liked ____________.  I didn't like __________.  I got this book from _______ and chose it because ___________ I would/wouldn't recommend this book.  I rated it ___________.

No cruise?  That's okay.  Would love to hear comments about the books I reviewed.

Review: What We Have: One Family's Inspiring Story About Love, Loss and Survival

Author: Amy Boesky

Genre: Memoir (August 2010)

About: All of the women in the author's family have died before the age of 45 from cancer. She and her two sisters grew up knowing they were in a race against the clock...they would have to hurry, get married and have children and decide whether or not to have elective surgery in order to have a chance at life.

Overall: Loved it!

Liked:  Everything.

I know, another sad someone-gets-cancer-and-dies book.  But it's so much more than that.  If you can handle - and felt a connection to - Still Alice, about Alzheimer's, you've got to read this.  I gave it 5 stars not because of the story itself but because of the connection I felt to it.  Isn't that what reading's all about? :)  Amy Boesky's writing was engaging and real and I cannot wait to read more of her work.

The relationship Amy and her sisters had with each other and their mom reminds me so much of my family...the way they'd get miffed if one of the sisters found out something before the others. "Why didn't she call ME first?" Also, the way their mom kept things about her illness from the girls to protect them is exactly what my mom would do. And how the sisters would call each other each day when she was sick, "Did you talk to mom today? Didn't she sound really bad to you?" I imagined my sister and I doing that and also trying to figure out - together, the way these sisters did - what to do about their inherited cancer gene and what their own children would likely face in the future.

Don't miss this one.

Source: Library

Why I Chose:  The premise of all the women in a family dying from cancer by age 45?  I had to know why and how and who and...yah, I'm nosy that way.

Recommend? Absolutely, yes!

Rating: 5/5

Review: 1001 Books for Every Mood

Author: Hallie Ephron, Ph.D.

Genre: Non-Fiction (2008)

About: A compilation of books for certain moods.

Descriptive Words: Books, books, books

Thoughts: Does anyone else love as much as I do books about books? I never get tired of them.

Don't read this one if you don't want to add to your wish lists. In the most self-disciplined way I could possibly manage, I added only 10 books to my wish list. I know, I'm proud. It could have been worse.

I loved how this book broke the categories down into moods (duh, good thing, since that's what it's about): for a Good Laugh, for a Good Cry, for Action, for Revenge. And not just typical moods, either. The author got creative: for a Shot in the Arm, for a Kick in the Pants, to Join the Circus, and to Slide Down the Rabbit Hole - never heard of that kind of mood, but...

In each mood category there were several pages of books along with a thorough description of each. Also included was a literary merit rating of 1-4 stars and a small icon denoting if the book was provocative, influential, inspirational, humorous, brainy, easy reading, page turner, challenging, bathroom book, family friendly, and movie.

Fun, fun!

Source: Library

Why I Chose: Because I cannot pass up a book about books.

Recommend? Yes

Rating: 5/5

Review: Still Missing

Author: Chevy Stevens

Genre: Fiction: Mystery/Thriller (2010)

About: A realtor is abducted and held captive while hosting an open house.

Descriptive Words: Scary, gruesome, sad, riveting, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, abuse.

Thoughts: Loved it. But not at first. Annie's (the realtor) character was brusque and unfeminine, with her foul language and snarky attitude. As the story went on, though, it worked and I got used to it, and it's probably why she survived The Freak's abuse for a year. She was one tough cookie.

The story switches back and forth between the present, as she talks to her therapist, and the past, where she tells what happened to her during captivity. That back and forth usually bothers me in books, but Chevy Stevens transitioned so smoothly that I didn't even notice, and in fact kept it interesting. Also, The PTSD aspect brought about while talking to her therapist was fascinating. How does one get over something like that?

Some of the things The Freak did to her were so freaky and his character so realistic that I thought he'd pop out of the book any minute. There was never a dull moment, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Also, the way The Freak constantly used her name when addressing her creeped me out. "Not good, Annie. Not good at all." Ewww.

My ONLY complaint was the abrupt ending. I was fine with the story and the twist of what happened, but I felt unfulfilled. I like when a book ends and I think, "Oh, that was so good!" not "That's it? It's over?" like the author got tired of writing and just wanted it to end.

Other than the ending, I was thoroughly entertained and would read anything by this author, who happens to be a female...I thought Chevy was a man.

Source: Library

Why I Chose: Saw rave reviews on so many blogs I didn't want to miss out. The abduction storyline intrigued me as well.

Recommend? YES! Don't miss.

Rating: 5/5

Other Reviews:

Missy's Book Nook
A Patchwork of Books
Presenting Lenore
Devourer of Books

There are a ton of reviews on this book and I have yet to read a bad one.

Have you read this? Do you plan to?

Review: I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy

Author: Angie Smith

Genre: Memoir (2010)

About: The author finds out when she is 18-weeks pregnant with her fourth daughter that the baby, Audrey, has conditions which leave her "incompatible with life." She decides to carry the pregnancy to term for as long as the baby lives. Angie Smith is the wife of Todd Smith, a singer in the Christian group Selah. She has a popular blog called Bring the Rain.

Descriptive Words: Cope, loss, hope, peace

Thoughts: I ordered this book from my library just because of the title. I had no idea that the author was the same person whose blog I found a while back. You know...one of those you find by clicking on one blog who mentions another blog, so you click on that, and so on? In her blog Bring the Rain, Angie Smith chronicles her pregnancy with Audrey and the devastation of finding out the baby would not survive. The blog was so popular - and her writing so beautiful - that it's not surprising she turned her story into a book.


Boy, did this make me cry. I know my blogger friends won't be picking this one up any time soon, but I loved it. The pictures, the scripture, the writing, the love, the honesty, the emotions... Mmm... Beautiful. I like reading books that make me cry. To me it means the author did a great job. Obviously the premise of the book is sad, so to most people it wouldn't take much to make them cry, but I'm a tough cookie because of all the memoirs I read. Angie Smith is talented. If you like books that are sad but inspirational, this is a good one.

Source: Library

Why I Chose: The title of the book sucked me right in.

Recommend? YES, if you can "do" sad. (Don't you like a good cry every once in a while?)

Rating: 5/5

Other Reviews:


5 Minutes for Books
Book Nook Club
Blessed

Review: Disrupting Grace: A Story of Relinquishment and Healing

Author: Kristen Richburg

Genre: Christian / Memoir

About: A mother and father with two children, who adopt a child from Thailand after a difficult second pregnancy, discover that adoption does not always have a happy ending.

Descriptive Words: Heartbreaking, emotional, abusive, attachment disorder, relinquish custody

Thoughts: What a sad story. I loved it. I'm weird that way. There's a reason I worked in Psychiatry for 15 years...it was fascinating.

This loving, educated couple - the mom had a degree in social work and the dad worked in special education - did everything they could to love their two-year-old adopted daughter Emma. For four years they tried to love her, not knowing that she was incapable of receiving that love because she was neglected and probably abused as a baby.

There were red flags from the beginning. When the Richburgs went to the foster family's house in Thailand to take Emma, neither she nor the family had any emotional response to the separation. The Richburgs thought she just needed time and lots of love, of which they had plenty to give. But love, and years of visits to therapists and other specialists in attachment disorders, couldn't break the barrier erected by the lack of bonding during the crucial developmental time between ages 6 months and two years. And it only got worse as time went on. At age 6, Emma began to vomit and to poop in her pants in defiance, after being potty-trained for years. She tried to strangle the family dog. She tortured her two siblings to the point that the Richburgs finally had had enough.

There was a news story recently where an adoptive mother returned a child to Russia after being unable to handle his behavior. Before anyone judges her - and let me say that it was wrong of her to put him on a plane by himself - do you know how difficult children with attachment disorders can be? While working in Psychiatry, I saw several children adopted from Russian orphanages who had attachment disorders, and although it's not the children's fault, obviously, it's extremely difficult to parent them. Pooping and smearing it on the walls was a common occurrence, as was torturing animals and other siblings.

The Richburgs did everything they could to help Emma, but at the expense of their entire family. The author's reluctance and heartbreak at coming to the decision to relinquish Emma is so apparent in the book. She felt like she was giving up on Emma, letting her down. But she also knew that her other two children's lives (yes, lives) and mental stability were at stake. This, along with Emma's nonchalant reaction to being turned over to her new family, reassured her that she was doing the right thing.

Source: This book was given to me by Arielle from Bring It On! Communications for my honest review; I was not compensated nor did receipt of the book reflect on my opinion in any way.

Why I Chose: How could I pass up a story like this?!

Recommend? Yes

Rating: 5/5

Other Reviews:

Book Nook Club
Books and Needlepoint
Semicolon Blog

Review: Life is a Verb

Author: Patti Digh

Genre: Self-help / life (2008)

About: Not your typical self-help book. More like a "life" book and how to enjoy it fully.

Descriptive Words: "What would you be doing today if you only had 37 days to live?"

Thoughts: Wow.

That's it.

Just kidding, but I borrowed this book from the library after seeing it on Molly's blog - My Cozy Book Nook and I wish I had my own copy. Molly loved the book so much that she's focusing on one statement in the book a week. If you're a writer or just enjoy writing, you'll love the Free Write exercises in the book.

The author focuses on six practices: Intensity, (say yes), Inclusion (be generous), Integrity (speak up), Intimacy (love more), Intuition (trust yourself), Intention (slow down). The book is made up of colorful, whimsical pages with random sayings everywhere: Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions ~ The Dalai Lama. Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way ~ Edward de Bono. Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses ~ George Washington Carver.

This is a book not to read but to savor and experience. Lovely, yummy, juicy.

Source: Library

Why I Chose: I saw it on Molly's My Cozy Book Nook blog, and I love books that suggest ways to live life to the fullest.

Recommend? Yes, absolutely.

Rating: 5/5

Other Reviews:

Sarah Morgan
My Cozy Book Nook
Women on Writing - author interview
Patti Digh - Author's blog

Review: Saving Sammy: Curing the Boy Who Caught OCD

by Beth Alison Maloney
Published September 2009

My Synopsis

True story of a mom's struggle to find help for her 12-year-0ld son who has sudden-onset OCD.

My Thoughts

I've read every "Saving somebody" book there is, except Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt. There was Saving Gracie, Saving Cinnamon and now Saving Sammy. How funny is that?

This book was fabulous.

Twelve-year-old Sammy suddenly acquires all sorts of strange compulsions and rituals he must perform, most of them taking hours to complete. It takes him an hour to go in and out of the house, and getting in and out of the car takes another hour. He has to jump and spin and hop before moving forward. Then come the vocal tics. His mother and two brothers deal with his OCD for an entire year before finding out that it was caused by a non-symptomatic strep infection, determined by a simple blood test. A year! A year of daily two-hour crying outbursts and numerous doctor appointments, several which had to be canceled because Sammy could not get in the car. He didn't shower, wore the same clothes for weeks, rarely slept, and went through periods where he refused to eat. He dropped out of school and was tutored at home.

I worked in Psychiatry for 15 years and this is the sickest child I've ever seen or read about. Obviously he couldn't function, nor could his mother, who was a single mom to three boys. She did everything in her power to find help for Sammy. She finally figured out - through her mother's friend and her own research - that Sammy had a condition called PANDAS, caused by strep, and his OCD could be helped. It's amazing what a mother's love and determination can do.

Loved the writing, the emotion, the story, the advocating-for-your-child message...everything.

Do I Recommend?

Absolutely. Don't miss it if you have a child with OCD; but you'll also enjoy this if you have a special needs child or are interested in medicine or psychology/psychiatry.

Source

I won this wonderful book from Sheila at Book Journey. Thank you, Sheila.

My Rating

5/5

Other reviews

Red Lady's Reading Room
Book Journey
Bibliophile by the Sea
Book Chatter
Rundpinne

Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot (February 2010)
Non-fiction / Biography / Science

My Synopsis

Henrietta Lacks, a black woman in the 1950s was diagnosed with cervical cancer.  Without her knowledge, during her treatment with radiation, doctors at Johns Hopkins removed cancerous cells from her tumors and kept them for research.  Her cells were unusual because they could be cultured and quickly reproduced, which was invaluable to cancer research, polio, cloning, in vitro fertilization, the eventual discovery of extra chromosome 21 of Down syndrome patients, as well as the effects of steroids, hormones, and vitamins.  Doctors began selling the cells to researchers around the world, turning it into a multibillion-dollar business. Twenty-five years later, the family found out by mere coincidence that the well known HeLa cells, as they are called, were used in such a way, without consent or compensation, and are still in use today.

My Thoughts

Who would have thought that a book about the removal of a woman's cancer cells would be so interesting.  Oh but it was!  I loved this book.  Rebecca Skloot is talented.  At first I thought who cares if someone took cells from someone's body and used it to help millions of people around the world?  That would be a good thing, right?  But that's when it got interesting, because Skloot showed the ethical and racial issues that were involved and it just sucked me right in.

It was the 1950s, and because of where science and medicine was at that point, and because Henrietta was black, she received substandard care for her cancer.  But she placed her trust in the doctors because she had no choice; she had a husband and five children at home to care for.  One of those children, Elsie, was placed in the Home for the Negro Insane.  (Skloot tells of Elsie's deplorable story as well.)  Despite treatment, Henrietta died at age 31 from uremia, a complication from the cancer that took over her body.

The author first heard Henrietta's story as a 16-year-old high school student and then again 11 years later after reading a scientific paper titled "The HeLa Cancer Control Symposium."   She called the author of that paper and asked if he would put her in touch with the family.  At first they didn't want to speak about their mother or her cells, but she persisted.  After a year of unreturned messages, Skloot eventually gained the trust of Henrietta's daughter Deborah, who because of her own curiosity, agreed to provide information for the book.

Skloot did a beautiful job of moving between the scientific and human parts of the story.  I came to know each family member and how they felt about their mother and her cells, and what they were going through in their own lives.  Despite the huge financial success of their mother's cell business, each member of the Lacks family was uninsured and struggled through health and financial issues.

Although the HIPAA law has since been created to protect privacy, and guidelines (which aren't laws) are now in place regarding informed consent, the question of tissue and cell ownership remains. Any time you have an appendectomy, tonsillectomy, routine blood test or mole removed, doctors, hospitals and labs keep it. And store it.  Forever.  Kind of weird, huh?

Rebecca Skloot

Henrietta Lacks

Do I Recommend?

Absolutely. 

Source

Library

My Rating

5/5

Other reviews

Fizzy Thoughts
Linus's Blanket
J. Kaye's Book Blog
Sophisticated Dorkiness




What about you? Have you read this or do you plan to?

Review: Trauma Junkie: Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse

by Janice Hudson

My Synopsis

Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse

My Thoughts

I didn't want this to end!  I wanted more and more stories.  More and more pictures.  But it doesn't matter, it wouldn't have been enough. I'm a junkie.  I wanted to ride in the helicopter with the crew and follow them around on their trauma calls, like a voyeur, but being able to close my eyes if there was too much blood. (I'm a wanna-be trauma junkie; the sight of blood makes me faint.)

It takes a special person to be a trauma nurse, and Hudson is just that.  In all of the stories she shares, her sensitivity and compassion is evident, with several memorable cases that brought her and colleagues to tears.  Nurses (and doctors) don't become hardened just because they see tragedy every day.  They are humans with feelings, and the author did a wonderful job relating this.

One story that made me cry was when they were called to pick up a newborn baby from a remote hospital to transfer him to a larger hospital.  Hudson and her flight crew were incensed because the call was in the middle of the night for...get this...an infected belly button.  The requesting physician was young and inexperienced, and the crew was bewildered by his panic. When they arrived, Hudson assured the parents the baby would be fine.  His vital signs were normal, and he looked pink and healthy.  After transporting him and getting some sleep after several more trauma calls that night, she checked with the hospital later and the baby had died.  The young physician was correct in his urgency, and the experienced flight nurse learned never again to take things so lightly.  

Do I Recommend?

Oh yeah :) 

Source

Library

My Rating

5/5

Review: Birth Day

by Mark Sloan

My Synopsis

Memoir by a pediatrician about childbirth.

My Thoughts

Despite his being 10-pounds, 23 1/2 inches long, giving birth to my son was the best day of my life.  A two-hour labor and two-or-three-push delivery helped, as did a great nurse and lots of family members to share in the moment. Because I had such a fun (yes, I said it) childbirth experience, I was curious about this book and what it had to offer. 

Dr. Sloan leaves nothing out; providing anything and everything you want to know about babies, from what fetuses feel, taste, smell, hear and see in the womb and immediately when they are born to the history of midwives, doulas, obstetricians, and the history of labor positions and the management of childbirth pain.  To balance out the array of scientific information, he also includes personal stories of delivering babies while in medical school.

This is one of the most well researched books I've ever read.  I found out more than I probably ever wanted to know, like the fact that in some monkey species, the baby assists at its own birth!  Once its arms are free of the birth canal, the baby pushes the rest of its body out of its mother.  Eww, that creeps me out thinking about it!

Anyway, I loved it.  Very interesting, hold-your-attention read.

Do I Recommend?

Yes, if you are interested in this topic.
Source

Library
My Rating

5/5

Other reviews

I couldn't find any.  Imagine that! lol

Review: Jantsen's Gift

by Pam Cope

My Synopsis

True story about a woman whose 15-year-old son dies from an undetected heart ailment and through her grief and a desire to seek a more meaningful life, she ends up rescuing 30 children from the streets of Vietnam, becoming instrumental in helping save young children in Ghana from being sold into slavery and in building a safe shelter for them.  She also adopted two children from orphanages and helped facilitate the adoption of 30 more children by people from her small town of Neosho, Missouri.


My Thoughts

As the mother of a 16-year-old son with heart problems, I can't believe I read this book in the first place.  But am I glad I did.  It's been a long time since a book has moved me like this. 

Pam Cope owned a small hair salon in Neosho, Missouri, and was just a regular mom of two kids, ages 11 and 15.  Her son Jantsen, an athlete and perfectly healthy teenager, stopped by his aunt's (Pam's sister), to hang out with his cousin after football practice and watch a movie.  His aunt came in to say something to Jantsen and he didn't answer.  She shook him and he didn't move.  Despite everyone's heroic efforts to save Jantsen that day, he did not survive. 

In the beginning Pam writes about the minutes, hours, and days after her son's death.  Eventually her grief, as you can imagine, begins to take over her life.  But before it can, and through circumstances one can only explain as divine, she ends up saving and helping children in Vietnam, Ghana, Cambodia.  The divine circumstances themselves are fascinating...meeting a woman next to her on an airplane while going to Vietnam with a friend, reading an article in the paper about Ghanaian children sold into slavery while she is visiting New York.  Every time God placed something in front of her, she listened, and she asked, What do you want me to do next? and she obeyed.  And through God she did some amazing things.

The story is absolutely riveting.  I couldn't put it down.  Pam Cope is my hero.  If you are curious to know how one person, one regular ol' mom from small town, Missouri, can lose a child and channel that grief to make a huge difference in this world, you must read this book. 

Also, check out Touch a Life, the foundation the Copes started to help children in Ghana, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Do I Recommend?

Absolutely, without a doubt.

Source

Library, but I think I need to buy copies and hand them out to friends and family.

My Rating

5/5

Other reviews

Sheila from One Person's Journey through a World of Books did an author's interview with Pam Cope
Sheila's review of this book
Socrates' Book Reviews

Review: Orphan Trains to Missouri

Orphan Trains to Missouri

by Michael D. Patrick and Evelyn Goodrich Trickel

My Synopsis

This non-fiction book is about the hundreds of thousands of orphaned children who were sent by train from New York City to the rural Midwest in the 1800s.

(I read the most random books, don't I?)

My Thoughts

This caught my eye at the library and I just had to get it. I love history and learning about the past. I read this quick, 100 page book in one day.

From 1830 to 1860, due to crop failures (including the Irish potato famine in the 1840s), poverty, high rent, heavy taxes, religious oppression, political upheaval and war, thirty-five million people left their countries to come to the United States in hopes of a better life. But because there were more workers than jobs, many people could not support their children. An estimated 30,000 children were abandoned on the streets of New York City in 1854 alone.

In 1854, Charles Loring Brace and some other well-to-do New York City men founded the Children's Aid Society and put together a plan to transport abandoned children to the Midwest. It is estimated that 150,000 to 400,000 children were sent out on orphan trains, with as many as 100,000 going to Missouri.

The story is amazing. There are pictures of many of the children, sleeping in alleys in New York City, on the train as they head to adoptive families, and with their new families. The pain of what these children endured, the separation from their parents and siblings, the train ride itself, the humiliation of some children who are not chosen by families at the adoption "events" is heart wrenching. Most of the children were chosen by families because they needed help on their farms. Even children as young as 3 years old could help feed farm animals.

After googling orphan trains, I did read that many of the children were sexually and physically abused and treated like slaves and that some children were taken from their families without consent because of a parent's temporary illness and inability to care for them. But considering the vast number of children transported, the orphan trains were a success. According to the book, the Children's Aid Society did their best in placing the children and following up to be sure they were being cared for properly, placing them in new homes if they weren't.

The authors did an outstanding job of researching for this book. Their passion to find the facts and truth were evident throughout. They interviewed adults who were orphan-train children. They found letters from families to the organization, original information tags attached to children as they boarded the train, and notices that were posted in towns and published in newspapers announcing the arrival of the children. Very well done.

Do I Recommend?

Yes!

Source

Library

My Rating

5/5

Review: The Last Child

The Last Child

by John Hart


My Synopsis

Thirteen-year-old Johnny sets out to search for his twin sister Alyssa, who was abducted in broad daylight. His friend Jack says he saw the abduction but is unable to give clear details of the person or the car. Soon after, Johnny's father disappears, and between him leaving and the inability of the police to find Alyssa, Johnny's mother turns to alcohol and drugs for comfort. Social Services then becomes involved when it's determined that she is unable to care properly for Johnny. Clyde Hunt, the lead detective on Alyssa's case, who himself is losing touch with his own teenage son, takes the case far more personally than others think is appropriate. And when another girl, Tiffany, goes missing, Hunt becomes even more determined and obsessed with solving the case.

My Thoughts

I'm not a huge fan of this genre, so I'll tell you why I picked this book. The cover! I'm a sucker. That and the title just got me. The Last Child.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the story line and the characters and the drama. Boy was there drama. It's a 432-page book and I read it in two days. On the second day I couldn't put it down. Just when I thought I figured out who did what...BAM! Wrong.

The only negative comment I have is that some of the things Johnny did seemed unbelievable for a 13-year-old. He drove his mom's car several times, went out after dark to scary neighborhoods, stole and carried a gun and sought out known pedophiles in the area in his search for his sister; far braver than any 13-year-old I know, even the trouble maker type.

Other than that I thought it was great. I loved that I couldn't predict anything even when I tried. There were so many twists and turns and things occurring that my head was spinning. In a good way :)

Do I Recommend?

Yes

Source

Library

My Rating

5/5 Because I love when books are too good to put down.

Other Bloggers' Reviews of This Book:

Book Notes by Lisa
The Printed Page
Reading the Leaves
Rhapsody in Books