Red Scarf Girl (rpkg): A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

Book Description

In 1966 Ji–li Jiang turned twelve. An outstanding student and leader, she had everything: brains, the admiration of her peers, and a bright future in China's Communist Party. But that year China's leader, Mao Ze–dong, launched the Cultural Revolution, and everything changed. Over the next few years Ji–li and her family were humiliated and scorned by former friends, neighbors, and co–workers. They lived in constant terror of arrest. Finally, with the detention of her father, Ji–li faced the most difficult choice of her life.

Told with simplicity and grace, this is the true story of one family's courage and determination during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century.

Ages 11+

Customer Reviews:

Red Scarf Girl.......2007-09-10

This is a great book. It arrived in a timely manner and my daughter and I have enjoyed it very much.

Red Scarf Girl.......2007-03-17

Ji Li Jiang is only a teenage girl, yet she is forced to cope with the terrible happenings that occur during the Cultural Revolution. Ji Li Jiang's family just wanted to be loyal followers of Chairman Mao, but due to Ji Li's grandfather and his status as a former landlord, the Jiangs are exposed to many unfair discourtesies.
Ji Li grows confused and disoriented as the story reveals itself. Ji Li is offered the chance of a lifetime, a chance that any Chinese teenager would dream of. The government has given Ji Li the opportunity to be trained as a gymnast. Ji Li is being pulled in two different directions, one direction by her family who wants her to turn down the offer, and another by herself who really wants to accept. Ji Li must decide whether she will give into her family, or her own self-centeredness.
Ji Li Jiang told the unfortunate story of the Chinese Cultural Revolution with incredible realism. This journal is told from the point of view of a truly unlucky girl who was born into the gruesome time period filled with tragedy.
Don't be discouraged by the title. If you are the kind of reader that lives for the feeling that completely overcomes you when you get lost in a book, then this is the story is for you! Read one chapter. You won't be able to put it down!

-Scott C.

Used as part of our curriculum.......2007-01-10

We use this book as part of the curriculum for a class that I teach to youth ages 12-17. This book really seems to get them to understand right and wrong forms of government, what a right is- and what it looks like when those rights are taken away, and gives them a sense of appreciation for the freedoms that we have in this country.

Absolutely captivating and brilliant!.......2006-08-18

When I first heard about the book, it was because a friend recomended it. She said it was one of the best books she ever read, and after reading it myself I completely agree. It is about a girl growing up in the Chinese Cultural Revolution and facing the challenge of growing up in a family with a bad reputation according to the government. I liked this book because it really made me think about how kids are living. Also, because I like books about people with a realistic life, not a fairytale. I would reccomend it to any of my friends!

Stinks.......2006-05-12

Don't like it at all. Don't even waste your time reading it. i was forced to read it!!! Two thumbs DOWN :-(!!!

The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf: A Novel

Average customer rating:

An illuminating book - addressing some of the central issues of our times
Disappointing
Widening my world view
a great read
Wish everyone would read this one!

The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf: A Novel
Mohja Kahf
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0786715197

Book Description

Syrian immigrant Khadra Shamy is growing up in a devout, tightly knit Muslim family in 1970s Indiana, at the crossroads of bad polyester and Islamic dress codes. Along with her brother Eyad and her African-American friends, Hakim and Hanifa, she bikes the Indianapolis streets exploring the fault-lines between “Muslim” and “American.”
When her picture-perfect marriage goes sour, Khadra flees to Syria and learns how to pray again. On returning to America she works in an eastern state — taking care to stay away from Indiana, where the murder of her friend Tayiba’s sister by Klan violence years before still haunts her. But when her job sends her to cover a national Islamic conference in Indianapolis, she’s back on familiar ground: Attending a concert by her brother’s interfaith band The Clash of Civilizations, dodging questions from the “aunties” and “uncles,” and running into the recently divorced Hakim everywhere.
Beautifully written and featuring an exuberant cast of characters, The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf charts the spiritual and social landscape of Muslims in middle America, from five daily prayers to the Indy 500 car race. It is a riveting debut from an important new voice.

Customer Reviews:

An illuminating book - addressing some of the central issues of our times.......2007-08-13

A book that yields rich insights on several dimensions. The dominant one is what it is like to grow up as a minority within the American culture - and not just any old minority, but as a Muslim, which parts of American society are actively trying to demonize. It was the "flip-side" of my own experience, living as a non-Muslim in the very heartland of Islam, Saudi Arabia, for a quarter century. While I was never forced to deal with issues of assimilation, Ms. Kahf's character, Khadra, must wrestle with the parts of her heritage that are essential, and those that can be jettisoned. How many religious injunctions are merely codified fetishes, illustrated by the refusal to eat any meat from the deli because of the meat-cutter?

There are numerous important sub-themes. The timeless subject of male-female relations, with that "Islamic twist" is shown in a realistic light, covering a spectrum of possibilities. Through her characters, Blu and Bitsy, who were Khadra's roommates at various periods, Ms. Kafh is able to illustrate nuances in beliefs that are all too often generalized. Blu is Jewish, and there is much agreement between these "daughters of Abraham," except on that haram subject of Israel and Palestine. Bitsy is Iranian, and leaves notes around the apartment blaming "the Arabs" for all of Iran's problems.

Khadra's trip to Saudi Arabia, to complete the Haj, was more uneven. There is no question that cocaine exists in the Kingdom, but I found the particular scene in which it was depicted playing heavily towards that stereotypical view of rich, decadent Saudis. More realistic, and more insightful are her dealings with the mutawaa (the religious police), and in particular how various Saudi males refuse to confront their arrogance and inappropriate behavior.

Ms. Kafh is clearly erudite, in a most important trans-cultural way. Her epigraphs ground her novel in the wider world of ideas, and these selections range from Rumi and Al-Arabi to James Baldwin and Leonard Cohen.

A strong book, which addresses some of the central issues of our times.... And is strongly recommended.

Disappointing.......2007-05-10

Do you notice how many reviewers say they "can't wait" to read this one after hearing about it on NPR? That was me too, and I'm here to tell you, don't bother. I'm giving up on it after failing to figure out what the plot might possibly be after reading 100 pages. I think lots of us want to learn more about Islam, but this book isn't a very fun (or even interesting) way to do it. Save your time and just find some non-fiction, instead of this plotless drivel. I'm lost in a sea of names and random stories about Islamic customs, with no idea where the author might be taking me. I am embarrassed I got my whole book club to read this.

Widening my world view.......2007-03-24

While I didn't love the writing style in this book or find it compelling reading, I do recommend it highly for the expanded world view it provides. I loved seeing mainstream American life through a young Muslim woman's eyes. I found it interesting to learn the many varying views amoung Muslims about how to live life - no reason be be surprised by that but I was. Sometimes it is too easy to accept the flat picture of people and events portrayed by the media. That is why I often find for me novels are the best way to open my mind to new ideas and ways of thinking and being.

Khadra is a character I will remember because of her search for common ground with friends of different backgrounds and religion, her struggle to find what her beliefs were and how she could separate from yet still connect with her family and its construct, and her effort to find ethical work. I would like to get to know the girl in the tangerine scarf and blue jeans.

a great read .......2007-03-19

One would think that a 60 year old white Christian southern male raised to teen years in a segregated society would find little in common with this book, but I add only to other reviewers - I see myself. I see my journey. I remember the 60's Hippie, radical, and then leaving my raised in faith - only to find it again, this time for real. The story of the good Samaritan leaves us knowing that loving God also means loving our neighbor - and that often is someone very different than we are. Maybe that is why God made Chocolate, Vanilla and spumoni. This book is a wonderful trip and a reminder of who we all are - God's greatest creation. Thank you

Wish everyone would read this one!.......2007-02-04

The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf is an amazingly balanced book, presenting a 3-dimensional representation of growing up in Islam in America. The author is very honest and even-handed. I was surprised at how much I could identify with Khadra and how much I could identify with those who angered and hurt her. This book should be read by everyone. Very thought-provoking and perspective-changing.

Intimate Worlds:: Life Inside the Family

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Intimate Worlds:: Life Inside the Family
Maggie Scarf
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Social Psychology & Interactions | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0394565436
Release Date: 1995-09-19

Book Description

The distinguished author of Unfinished Business and Intimate Partners now takes readers inside the complex worlds of the family to explore all of the factors that go into the formation and functioning of a family at different periods in its life. Line drawings.

Scarf Style: Innovative to Traditional, 31 Inspirational Styles to Knit and Crochet (Style series)

Average customer rating:

Not your plain-Jane garter stitch scarves
Great Patterns, But...
Interesting patterns, VERY bad photography...
What knitting books should be
My favorite knitting book

Scarf Style: Innovative to Traditional, 31 Inspirational Styles to Knit and Crochet (Style series)

Manufacturer: Interweave Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Crocheting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Fashion | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1931499543

Book Description

This collection of 31 elegant and ingenious scarf designs tap the expertise of more than 25 knitwear designers who offer new ways to think about this most basic of garments. Designs by Kathryn Alexander, Debbie Bliss, Nancy Bush, Lily Chin, Nicky Epstein, Sasha Kagan, Sally Melville, and Kristin Nicholas are included, representing a varied exploration of techniques that provide innovative ways to think about knitting and crochet. Sections on knitting and crochet basics, making a scarf without a pattern, and a designer's notebook with templates for basic scarves and suggestions for design variations are provided.

Customer Reviews:

Not your plain-Jane garter stitch scarves.......2007-07-28

Beautifully written patterns with skill level ranging from ambitious beginner to knitting pro. Knitted Misty Garden for a friend and fell in love with it's feathery, open look. Definitely recommend.

Great Patterns, But..........2007-07-25

The layout of the book is funky. I love the patterns and the directions are clear, as well as the charts. The problem is the photography, I believe the publisher was trying to be a bit "artsy" with the layout and it just doesn't work. If you can hang with that then I would get the book.

Interesting patterns, VERY bad photography..........2007-06-04

When I purchased this book, I had read the reviews and noted a reference to "bad photography." Because I had Pam Allen's and Ann Budd's WRAP STYLE, which has beautiful photos, I thought the photography could not be too bad. Well it is TOO bad! I am an experienced knitter who does a lot of my own patterns and occasionally buy books to look at the photos for ideas and inspiration. Fuzzy photos of knitwear do NOT inspire!

What knitting books should be .......2007-04-19

I can't help but have a lot of respect for Pam Allen. The patterns in this book are challenging and elegant and spark curiosity. There's an effort made to include a variety of styles and techniques and it's just very well put together. Would highly recommend it.

My favorite knitting book.......2007-03-12

This is the first knitting book I bought when I learned to knit two years ago and it's still my favorite. Even as a beginner I knew I would soon be able to knit Beads of Earth - stockineete stitch with some beads, Misty Garden - knit, purl, yarnover and knit 2 together, Midwest Moonlight - add slip,slip, knit, and Ruffles - short rows. Here and There Cables is a good first-time cable project. But I'm not saying that this is a book for beginner's, just that beginner's can knit some very beautiful scarves without needing advanced skills.

Since I don't have much time to knit I now consider myself intermediate at best, but Vintage Velvet and Lady Eleanor's Entrelace Stole are within my reach.

Others have commented on the blurry photograph but I think the pictures are beautiful and inspiring. The book is about scarves, not about complicated garments that you need to see details of what the neckline looks like, how long the sleeves are, etc.

I highly recommend this book unless you don't want to knit scarves.

Sensational Scarfs: 44 Great Ways to Turn a Scarf into a Fabulous Fashion Look

Average customer rating:

You can just tell from the title...
A scarf is more than an afterthought
Lots of good ideas, but some frustration also
How to tie scarves not really

Sensational Scarfs: 44 Great Ways to Turn a Scarf into a Fabulous Fashion Look
Carol Straley
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Beauty & Fashion | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 0517886162
Release Date: 1996-10-29

Book Description

Whether you already have a drawer full of scarfs or are going out to buy this year's Fabulous styles, Sensational Scarfs will show you how you can create Fantastic new looks with a scarf and these easy-to-follow instructions. However you choose to wear your scarfs -- around your neck, as a belt, a sarong, or a halter -- once you start you won't leave home without one.

Here are 44 Fantastic ways to create a terrific new look. With easy-to-follow instructions and tips for adding scarfs to your wardrobe, Sensational Scarfs shows you the ins and outs of wearing this year's most popular fashion accessory.

Customer Reviews:

You can just tell from the title..........2006-12-14

Was there no editor around when this went to press? Aside from being irritated throughout this book by its use of the incorrect plural "scarfs", I was also disappointed in the lack of useful information. If you are in the habit of wearing scarves (that's right, SCARVES) you probably already know as much as this book will teach you. The same goes for those who are in the habit of using proper grammar!

A scarf is more than an afterthought.......2006-02-24

This book is designed more for an inspiration than a practical application. However I did look more closely at the section on how to tie a scarf like a tie and it looked just as clear as any tie instructions I have scene.

The instructions are black and white sketches with motion diagram arrows. On the 62 pages. The scarfs cover what looks like silk cotton and a few knitted.

The book boasts "44 Great Ways to Turn a Scarf into a Fabulous Fashion Look"
And covers such subjects as:
Building a basic scarf wardrobe
How to fold a scarf
Neckline accents
Ties
Waist wraps
Multiple scarf dressing
Soft Flings (flip one end over your shoulder)
Sun wraps
Cool looks for hot days
Head wraps
Hair Accessories
Instant dress-ups
Scarf tips and tricks
Tips for easy care

Lots of good ideas, but some frustration also.......2005-02-21

This is a cute little booklet with a lot of creative ways to wear scarves. It has some photos of live models as well as sketches of the ways to wear scarves with diagrams of how to tie them. BUT in at least one case, the descriptive text doesn't match up with what the diagram shows. And the diagrams aren't always complete enough to fully explain how to tie the scarves. Text alone just doesn't do it. I found myself frustrated and totally unable to recreate one or more of the neck-tie fashions.

How to tie scarves not really.......2000-09-25

I purchased this book assuming that it would have creative new ways to tie your scarves. It didn't no scarf roses here or much else that will help you.

Secrets, Lies, Betrayals: How the Body Holds the Secrets of a Life, and How to Unlock Them

Average customer rating:

Unlocking!

Secrets, Lies, Betrayals: How the Body Holds the Secrets of a Life, and How to Unlock Them
Maggie Scarf
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Applied Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Physical Illness & Psychiatry | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0345481178
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Book Description

Reading Maggie Scarf’s groundbreaking new book could change your life. In Secrets, Lies, Betrayals, the bestselling author of Unfinished Business, Intimate Partners, and Intimate Worlds brilliantly explores how the body holds on to painful episodes from the past—including secrets we may be keeping even from ourselves—and how we can release them to live freer, healthier lives.

The body has a unique memory system, in which early trauma and deeply buried feelings become woven into the fabric of our physical being. Certain events can trigger these body memories, which may then manifest themselves symptomatically—as persistent anger, mood swings, headaches, muscle tension, and fatigue. These echoes from the past also cause destructive patterns in our lives and relationships.

Why does a beautiful, successful woman like Claudia seek out abusive, explosively tense relationships in which she is forced to hide the truth about herself? Why does the presence of a strange woman’s name in her husband’s cell phone directory make Karen feel physically ill, to the point where she cannot get through her daily life? And why does the author herself experience painful physical symptoms when she wrestles with contradictory memories of her mother? Exploring these and other personal narratives, Scarf reveals how the body, through its neurobiological systems, retains some of life’s most important experiences—and describes how new power therapies, such as reprocessing and psychomotor, have had immediate results where traditional therapies have had a lower success rate.

Grounded in recent breakthroughs in mind/body science and drawing on Scarf’s personal experiences, this book is a masterpiece of research, analysis, and insight into the human psyche, and into human life.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Unlocking!.......2007-02-13

This book is very hard to follow with small print however the message is great and it's interesting to find out what secrets from our past hold us back now and that just revealing them helps us move forward.

Intimate Partners: Patterns in Love and Marriage

Average customer rating:

Covers important territory in why marriages fail & how to save them
limited to an upper class perspective
Carol Lambe - Career & Personal Development Coach
well-written by a non-clinician
Valuable Insight

Intimate Partners: Patterns in Love and Marriage
Maggie Scarf
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Love & Romance | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Marriage | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0345350707
Release Date: 1988-03-12

Book Description

The compelling national bestseller that pushes beneath the surface of marriage to explore the depths of true intimacy.
"Anyone involved in, embarking on, or yearning for, an intimate relationship should buy, borrow or steal INTIMATE PARTNERS." New Woman

Customer Reviews:

Covers important territory in why marriages fail & how to save them.......2005-10-23

There are lots of books that address how external events such as illness or the loss of a loved one can affect one's marriage. This book explains in depth how patterns from your partner's family or your family of origin can impact your marriage without your even being aware of them. With the techniques Scarf describes it's possible to bring these to light and break the hold they have on your relationship. Not a really easy read but most definitely worth it. I have a copy but it's never on my bookshelf -- always loaned out!

limited to an upper class perspective.......2002-04-03

I sat down with this book imagining that I'd gain some insight to use in my own marriage. But I could not find much that was pertinent to my own life.

For one thing, the author traces most or all marital problems to
personality and role conflicts in one's family of origin. Life experiences which may have occured before marriage but outside the family of origin are simply passed over, as if they were invisible and did not count.

In the same way, there is silence about the multiple outside forces which may negatively impact the life of a family. Poverty, illness, layoffs, social injustice, none of these are discussed, probably because the couples in this book are financially cushioned against harsh troubles like these.

The more worldly reader may wonder why these couples imagine they have "problems" if their biggest conflicts consists only of who will carry the toilet brush into the first of their THREE bathrooms! Why don't they just hire someone underprivileged so they can get on with their privileged lives?

Anyway, there are a lot of words in this book, but in my opinion, they describe a fairly narrow set of experiences. I was particularly disappointed that more time was not spent on the massive changes that can take place in a marital relationship once children arrives. Especially when the weight of childcare and housework falls more heavily on the woman's shoulders.

There are a lot of omissions which may make this book meaningless for readers outside a certain social class.

Carol Lambe - Career & Personal Development Coach.......2000-08-29

I first read this book back in the late 80's - and I have never forgot the lessons I learned from it. I was also reading Harriet Lerner and Melody Beattie at the time and felt that Scarf's writings supported my self-development to understand: 1. Why I continued to attracted relationships that were toxic and unfulfilling, 2. How to recognize the patterns, and then 3. How to not make the same relationship mistakes masked in different people. It definitely made a huge impact on how I viewed my family of origin and it made me look at my own actions and behaviors with new insight. I have referred this book to my clients, as it is an engaging read with the case studies setting up Scarf's insights into the behaviors that transcend our own personal experiences. I highly recommend this book.

well-written by a non-clinician.......2000-06-04

Good stories of partners and their conflicts.... As I've seen when doing couples therapy, we do indeed tend to carry each other's unacknowledged "stuff"...which of course is part (not all!) of the initial attraction, the unconscious logic asking: who can give this back to me? Krishnamurti had a nice image: relationships as mirrors.

Valuable Insight.......2000-03-03

MS Scarf writes a captivating, engaging, book using real life (they feel quite real) couples to illustrate many of the relationship dynamics she explains.

The center piece of Intimate Partners is the examination and application of the notion of projective identification. This notion is common in the psychological discussions under different names. MS Scarf introduces the notion clearly. Other notions she uses are family of origin implications and genograms.

The book heavily relies on acceptance of general psychological theories.

This is not an easy read. It is worthwhile, valuable, contimplative and, most of all, useful in the context of daily life. If you are looking for spoonfed, formula solutions go somewhere else.

Average customer rating:

A profoundly informative book.

Stress & Repressed Memories Can Wreak Havoc on Our Bodies.

Breaking the Body Mind Code

Very Interesting Case Studies

A Great Start!

Secrets, Lies, Betrayals: The Body/Mind Connection
Maggie Scarf
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Mind-Body Connection | Stress | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Intimate Worlds: How Families Thrive and Why They Fail

Secrets, Lies, Betrayals: How the Body Holds the Secrets of a Life, and How to Unlock Them

Intimate Partners: Patterns in Love and Marriage

The Magic of Forgiveness: Emotional Freedom and Transformation at Midlife, A Book for Women

Unfinished Business: Pressure Points in the Lives of Women

ASIN: 0679457038
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

A profoundly informative book........2006-03-25

I am considered a successful woman, educated and accomplished, yet like many others, suffered significant physical and emotional abuse as a child of old world parents. While there is a wide variety of therapy and therapists, I never felt successful at it. I never felt free of the "deep feelings of rejection", or cured of depression. I was profoundly affected by reading this book and was ready to fly anywhere I could engage in EMDR therapy. I did find a psychiatrist locally who agreed to work with me and it has absolutely changed my life. I experienced profound realizations and consider myself "cured", finally free from past negative experiences. I'm not a healer, don't know all the buzzwords like immunoneuropsychology. I just know that this book completely turned me over and shook me up and showed me the possibility of life-altering changes within me.
If you have a science background, and enjoy reading about biochemistry, another great book on the physical/emotional connection is "Molecules of Emotion" by Dr. Candice Pert.

Stress & Repressed Memories Can Wreak Havoc on Our Bodies........2004-12-03

Our bodies hold on to painful episodes from the past. Early trauma and deeply buried feelings become woven into the fabric of our physical being. These echoes from the past cause disruptive patterns in life and relationships. Our bodies can hold the knowledge of situations and events we have forgotten, yet are deeply rooted in experiences of the past. Memories exist within the body's nervous system.

Harmful events long since slipped beneath the surface of awareness are lodged in our brain and surface at unexpected times with symptoms such as emotional swings, panic, feeling helpless and powerless, fear of the future, along with physical ailments, like greater susceptibility to colds, 'low energy,' changes in sleep patterns -- even nightmares. Sometimes symptoms develop when aspects of a person's past history are so stuck in your body and psyche that they erupt endlessly into current day existence.

Many are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, once considered to be related to military combat malfunctioning, but is not at all uncommon these days. The latest scientific findings show that 60% males, 51% females had signifigant PTSD as adults, some trauma going back to parental neglect during their childhoods. In the aftermath, studies show that women are more than twice as likely to suffer needlessly, as the aftereffects can persist for years undiagnosed and untreated.

Mrs. Scarf uses narratives to tell the secret stories of 'volunteers' willing to share their secrets (shame-related, motivated by love and loyalty, those kept from Self, etc.). She writes: "for what could be more secret, more mortifying and shame-ridden, than those painful, sometimes overwhelming remembrances of the past that most of us don't want to examine candidly, even think about, much less reveal to other people?"

As Peter Fonda put it in his memoir, DON'T TELL DAD: "I would prefer to never again think of the dark parts of my past." He's not alone in wishing the painful episodes could just disappear. This book shows they never do.

She recognizes Dr. Bessel van der Kolk in Boston to be the 'father of present-day research in this field.' The author admits experiencing painful symptoms when she wrestles with contradictory memories of her mother. She interviewed so many doctors, therapists, and psychologists for this book, it's as if she was receiving "free" therapy as a result.

Trauma can be caused by a threat to the physical integrity of another person, according to the DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL to which she refers. She lists 'Acts of Violence' and 'Emotional and Economic Attacks' in Appendix 2, listing and giving examples of what affects us all. Some are Intimidation, Threats, Disrespect (putting you down in front of other people), Destructive Criticism, among others.

She attended a writing class at Yale taught by Susan Cheever, so she would be able to present her findings for the ordinary person to understand and be able to learn from the admissions of others. The people interviewed by Mrs. Scarf knew the secrets they revealed would be used in a book. She expresses her appreciation for their candidness and willingness with this statement, "I have wondered about you, worried about you, admired you; above all, learned from you."

She has received several National Media awards from the American Psychological Foundation, has written three previous books, and is a contributing editor to 'The New Republic.'

The reader can learn things from her research, such as "one can't eliminate childhood memories, but can see those things in perspective as what they are, more finite in size."

Breaking the Body Mind Code.......2004-08-02

Maggie Scarf is at her best in this case study exploration of the way the body stores life's traumas. The idea of a body-mind connection is hardly new; it's even fashionable. What Scarf offers the reader, in addition to a compelling read, are real insights into how these traumas can be identified, how they become locked in the body, and, most impressively, how they may be unlocked. Secrets, Lies, Betrayals: The Body/Mind Connection,like her landmark study of women and depression, Unfinished Business, is a "must read" and a "must know."

Very Interesting Case Studies.......2004-08-01

For anyone who loves to read case studies and is interested in how the brain works and how things in our past affect everything from our personalities to our health and relationships.

A Great Start!.......2004-06-26

Check out Dr. Sarno's work on back pain, Doc Don Colbert's "Deadly Emotions" and "A More Excellent Way" by Henry Wright. The last two are Christian-based books, so they include the mind-body-spirit connection.

Now You're Knitting (Leisure Arts #15944)

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Now your Knitting

Now You're Knitting (Leisure Arts #15944)
Sandra Graham Case , and Leisure Arts
Manufacturer: Leisure Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1574865471

Product Description

This super how-to handbook and design treasury is the one knitting book that everyone needs: for learning this life-changing skill, for making all types of projects, and to challenge you to continue growing as a knitter. Even if you werent knitting yesterday, now you can start today with our easy 10-20-30-minute Learn to Knit method. If you already know the basics, now you have 165 great-looking projects at your fingertips, ranging from stylish sweaters to kids fun stuff, precious baby outfits, and cozy afghans and pillows for your home. And to please even the most advanced knitters, now you have an easy-to-use collection of 99 knit stitches, to help you jazz up a plain design or create your own. So with this 592-page treasury of 165 projects at your side, NOW youll be knitting! Enjoy!

Customer Reviews:

Now your Knitting.......2007-01-10

I found the book to be very helpful in knitting. I am just beginning to knit, and need a lot of pictures and information. They are very helpful.

Intimate Worlds: How Families Thrive and Why They Fail

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Psychotic, Neurotic and Individuating Families
THOUGHT-PROVOKING

Intimate Worlds: How Families Thrive and Why They Fail
Maggie Scarf
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Social Psychology & Interactions | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Family Health | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0345406672
Release Date: 1997-02-11

Book Description

"Scarf knows the intricacies of the family structure and, even better, knows how to write well about them. In Intimate Worlds, as in most of our lives, family is riveting, white-knuckle stuff."

--The Washington Post Book World

In Intimate Worlds, bestselling author Maggie Scarf takes on the most important, and most universal, subject of her distinguished career: the family. As the first social organization that we each encounter, the family is where we learn the most fundamental and enduring lessons of our lives. Yet for too many, those lessons turn out to be painful, perplexing, and emotionally crippling. In this luminous, beautifully written book, Scarf brilliantly examines the complex ways in which families create their own intimate rules and patterns of interaction, and how by understanding these dynamics we can each improve the quality of our own family life.

At the book's core are the stories of four fascinating families and the very different ways they enact the central issues of family life: power and intimacy; conflict and love; individuality and group identification. Spanning the spectrum of family health from dysfunctional through optimal, these families grapple with serious substance abuse, sexual problems, difficulties with attachment and nurturance, eating disorders, and buried resentments that surface generation after generation. As Maggie Scarf probes the motives and meanings of these compelling dramas, she reveals the essential truths of how families shape human identity. Combining lucid analysis with warm human understanding, Intimate Worlds is a major work that both clarifies and deepens our knowledge of family relationships.

"Wrought with care and commitment, it is meticulously researched and will, I think, serve as a valuable resource for families struggling to understand themselves."

--Los Angeles Times

Customer Reviews:

Psychotic, Neurotic and Individuating Families.......2004-09-21

What you may have long suspected, the research shows to be true: A good 70% of families in America are what is now popularly known as "dysfunctional" or worse; Intimate Worlds should be required reading for . . . . anyone in a family, that fundamental blueprint for life and society, for better or worse. Scarf poignantly shows how most of us could use a revised or entirely new blueprint to authentically thrive in life and pass healthy boundaries and life and relationship skills on to emotionally stable children. Psychoanalytically and sweetly eloquent, the dustcover flap (somewhat paraphrased below) says it well. A highly recommended landmark work.

~~ Scarf explores the many factors that go into the formation and functioning of a family, showing us the ways in which families actually operate, and how family life can be improved. She combines clear analysis with unforgettable stories about real families to expose the core issues that every family must deal with: power and how to manage it; intimacy and how to achieve it; conflict and how to resolve it; individuality and how to become wholly oneself while retaining a sense of belonging.

She outlines the five structural blueprints that characterize most families' patterns of being and relating, taking us inside intimate family worlds at each of these five levels of health and development [as described by the superb Beavers Systems Model Scale]:

A destructive dysfunctional family, typified by lies, secrets, chaos, doublespeak, confusion and powerlessness.

A borderline family, where minimum order over chaos is maintained by a petty tyrant.

A midrange family [60% of families], where life is somewhat productive yet "close, loyal" members are controlled from within by an internalized guilt-producing abuser holding members prisoner inside "a good family" and anyone else "different and bad" and "threatening" outside of it.

An adequately productive but ultimately enmeshed midrange family.

An optimal family, where flexibility and reality-based coherence flow in honest, individuating balance for all deeply authentic, highly individual and independent yet authentically intimate unique members -- who take great joy and delight in each other's unique personalities and achievements, glasses half full not half empty.

Changing unproductive and destructive patterns is the goal of the illuminating insights and exercises Scarf presents. ~~

THOUGHT-PROVOKING.......2002-11-24

Ms. Scarf presented various case studies of families in various orders of emotional disarray and distress, and provides solutions to patterns that develop in families. Her categories are helpful and she makes us rethink our behavior in the family setting- how are we hurting the ones we love?

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