Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Very touching
  • A must read book
  • This book changed my life!
  • book
  • A Story of Redemption
Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
Ron Hall , and Denver Moore
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0849900417

Book Description

Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together.

But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing?

Same Kind of Different As Me is the emotional story of their story: a telling of pain and laughter, doubt and tears, dug out between the bondages of this earth and the free possibility of heaven. No reader will ever forget it.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Very touching.......2007-10-01

This is a very readable book. It is also extremely touching. Several times as I read,I found tears streaming down my face. It will restore your faith in mankind and that there is more to a person than meets the eye.

5 out of 5 stars A must read book.......2007-09-29

I don't have proper words to express this "amazing" book.

I can now better understand how it used to be in Slave times,
and feel a better understanding of my own faith and life after death.

I cried at moments of revealation! Would help anyone become a believer.

5 out of 5 stars This book changed my life!.......2007-09-25

It's very easy to forget that this is a true story - it is such an amazing story that it could be fiction! It's a beautiful, poignant, touching book and it changed the way I view the homeless and how I share my resources with others. LOVED IT and I've been telling everyone I know to read it too!!

5 out of 5 stars book.......2007-09-18

I ordered this book for my husband who had heard it was wonderful. He thought it was the best book he had ever read and he highly recommends it!!

5 out of 5 stars A Story of Redemption.......2007-09-18

If you believe in and love stories of redemption, Some Kind of Different As Me is a must. If you know someone who does not believe in redemption or who is struggling to find it, give them this book and encourage their reading it.

This engaging book was given to me by my brother-in-law who, like me, grew up in the pre-segregated South working with black acquaintances who we liked because they did our menial work and our bidding. This story helped me to realize, in a new and fresh way, the bondage they were in. The account helped me realize the desperate position of poverty and the plight of one without education.

This is a true story of Ron Hall and Denver Moore, the two extremes of our society, who found friendship and God's gift of forgiveness, grace, and fulfillment in life through a lady named Debbie.

Denver was a sharecropper in Louisiana who escaped virtual enslavement on a freight train to Fort Worth, Texas where, without skills, he became a vagrant on the streets of that city. Alcohol, drugs, and 10 years in prison hardened him to a solitary, untrusting, antisocial street person without identity or hope.

Ron was a wealthy, self-sufficient, international art dealer who began to serve food once a week in a local mission at the insistence of his wife, Debbie, who had a strong social conscience. His first service was done just to please his wife and his involvement inflicted great wounds to his sensibilities. He was surprised to find himself intrigued to get to know the most distant the of the homeless that they served. After months of trauma without success, Ron finally gets Denver to agree to have coffee with him.

At that meeting Denver asks Ron a peculiar question. "There's something I heard about white folks that bothers me, and it has to do with fishin." "I heard that when white folks go fishin they do something called `catch and release'." "That really bothers me", Denver goes on to say, " I just can't figure it out. Cause when colored folks go fishin, we are really proud of what we catch and we take it and show it off to everybody that'll look. Then we eat what we catch. So it really bothers me that white folks would go to all that trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water." "So, Mr. Ron, it occurred to me: If you is fishin for a friend you just gon'catch and release, then I ain't got no desire to be your friend." Suddenly his eyes gentled and he spoke more softly than before: But if you is looking for a real friend, then I'll be one. Forever." (pg. 106)

Their friendship does grow and in remarkable ways they help one another overcome great tragedy. As they face these trials together, you see them grow spiritually and truly become the Body of Christ. Redemption comes to both as they find blessing in serving instead of judging. They have different backgrounds, different opportunities but they both come to expressed the love of Christ. As Denver says, "He is our hope".

Drayton Sanders, Dalton Ga. 9-16-07

There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Opening our eyes to global needs
  • awesome, informative book
  • Moving, informative, gripping picture of humanity in Ethiopia
  • inspiring book
  • A must-read for the globally minded!
There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children
Melissa Fay Greene
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

WomenWomen | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1596911166
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Book Description

There Is No Me Without You is the story of Haregewoin Tefarra, a middle-aged Ethiopian woman of modest means whose home has become a refuge for hundreds of children orphaned by AIDS. It is a story as much about the power of the bond between children and parents as about the epidemic that every year leaves millions of children, mostly healthy themselves, without family. Originally a middle-class woman with a happy family life, Haregewoin fell into a deep depression after the death of her recently married daughter. But then a priest brought her two children, AIDS orphans, with nowhere to go. Unexpectedly, the children thrived, and Haregewoin found herself drawn back into daily life. As word got out, an endless stream of children began to arrive at her door, delivered by dying parents and other relatives who begged for her help, and, pushing against the limits of her home and bank account, she took more and more in. Today, Haregewoin runs a school, a daycare system, and a shelter for sick mothers. Without medication for her charges—some HIV-positive, some uninfected, and some infants trying to fight off the virus, but almost all of whom come to her terrified and malnourished—she forges on, caring for as many as she can handle. Increasingly, she also places them for adoption with families like that of journalist Melissa Fay Greene, who has two children adopted from Ethiopia. In Haregewoin Tefarra’s story, Greene gives us an astonishing portrait of a woman fighting a continent-wide epidemic.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Opening our eyes to global needs.......2007-06-30

Melissa Fay Greene has the gift of story telling. The book beckons the reader to think beyond themselves and consider what contribution they may make to the cause of the orphan/Aids in Africa. Thank you Ms. Greene for inviting us on the journey...for educating us on real life on the other side of the globe...for jolting us out of our comfort and compelling us to action. One would need to have a heart of stone not to be moved by this powerful story!

5 out of 5 stars awesome, informative book.......2007-06-09

I am so thrilled that I spent time reading this book. I loved it. This is a well written, informative book. I enjoyed the writing style as it moved through factual historical perspectives to the story of one women making a difference. Take time to read...you will be happy you did!

5 out of 5 stars Moving, informative, gripping picture of humanity in Ethiopia.......2007-05-29

This is the best book I have read in some time. It is meticulously researched, insightful, and explains difficult technical issues clearly. It is gripping in its description of the plight of AIDS orphans and the incredible poverty of Ethiopia. But it is particularly special in the even-handed description of Haregewoin, not as a saint, thought she has given of herself like one, but as a flawed human (as we are all flawed) who has accomplished incredible good at a time when doing so put herself in great jeopardy in her society. This book is a great accomplishment by an accomplished author. I hope she receives the National Book Award for this one!

5 out of 5 stars inspiring book.......2007-05-27

I loved this book! If you want to learn about Ethiopia, the AIDS crisis there, or if you want to be inspired by a true hero, read this book.

5 out of 5 stars A must-read for the globally minded!.......2007-05-25

Sometimes it is difficult to break out our own local environment to learn more about important events are taking place around the world. Melissa Fay Greene's book, "There Is No Me Without You," allows even the most superficial of us to learn about the AIDS crisis in Africa and begin taking steps to help support a solution to the social problems plaguing that continent. I was familiar with the AIDS crisis in Africa but was horrified to learn about the lack of available pharmaceuticals for treatment of HIV-positive adults and children. It was truly an eye-opener to hear about the gross (for lack of a better word) profits made by drug companies producing these medicines and then the reluctance of those same companies to allow these treatments to be shared with the sick and dying.I was appalled.

I would highly recommend this book. After finishing "There Is No Me Without You," I researched the websites in the back of the book and found it was possible to directly donate to AHOPE. Interested individuals can even sponsor an orphan for as little as $30 a month. I easily spend more than that on books every month.

I was inspired, enlightened, motivated and educated by this book. Thank you Melissa for writing about these wonderful people and sharing their stories with us.

Kathy Morones, Long Beach, CA
Stories on Stage: Children's Plays for Reader's Theater (or Readers Theatre), With 15 Play Scripts From 15 Authors, Including Roald Dahl's The Twits and Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Theatre Teachers: This Is What You Need
  • A Great Resource
  • Clear and Helpful
Stories on Stage: Children's Plays for Reader's Theater (or Readers Theatre), With 15 Play Scripts From 15 Authors, Including Roald Dahl's The Twits and Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Aaron Shepard
Manufacturer: Shepard Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0938497227

Book Description

Stories on Stage is a collection of reader's theater scripts for young readers, adapted from stories by fifteen different authors, including Louis Sachar, Nancy Farmer, and Roald Dahl. Coming from such genres as humor, fantasy, and multicultural folktales, stories were selected for their dramatic quality, literary value, and appeal to young people. The scripts may be freely copied, shared, and performed for noncommercial purposes. With a focus on ages 8 to 15, the collection features a wide range of reading levels. The scripts in this collection are -- "Three Sideways Stories From Wayside School," by Louis Sachar -- "Mr. Twit's Revenge," by Roald Dahl -- "Millions of Cats," by Wanda Gag -- "Tapiwa's Uncle," by Nancy Farmer -- "How Tom Beat Captain Najork," by Russell Hoban -- "Harriet," by Florence Parry Heide -- "Mr. Bim's Bamboo," by Carol Farley -- "Talk," by Harold Courlander -- "The Jade Stone," by Caryn Yacowitz -- "The Bean Boy," by Monica Shannon -- "The Kid from the Commercial," by Stephen Manes -- "The Fools of Chelm," by Steve Sanfield -- "Mouse Woman and the Snails," by Christie Harris -- "Westwoods," by Eleanor Farjeon -- "The Legend of Lightning Larry," by Aaron Shepard.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Theatre Teachers: This Is What You Need.......2006-11-10

This book is formatted so easily, it took me MUCH less time than I thought it would to prepare a unit on reader's theatre for my class. I used it for my high school theatre class so they wouldn't have to concentrate on large vocabularies, but rather to deliver the story in a simple, easy way. It was a HUGE success of a project and this book made it possible. It tells you how long each story is, what cast you'll need, and what reading level it is!! Yay!!!
The stories themselves are entertaining (even for high school!!!), compelling, and really fun to work with. I am SO grateful I ordered this!

5 out of 5 stars A Great Resource.......2006-01-11

Aaron Shepard is a generous contributor to the field of Reader's Theatre. This book is no exception. It's well-laid out and chock-full of interesting scripts. I've recommended to several folks interested in RT.

5 out of 5 stars Clear and Helpful.......2006-01-11

This book was written in clear language. It was helpful to me as a novice.
Let Me Be a Woman
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • let me be a woman
  • A Jewel - to "A Reader"
  • Great book!
  • Read this review before you buy/read this book
  • Let me be Free!
Let Me Be a Woman
Elisabeth Elliot
Manufacturer: Living Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0842321624

Book Description

"In order to learn what it means to be a woman, we must start with the One who made her." Working from Scripture, well-known speaker and author Elisabeth Elliot shares her observations and experiences in a number of essays on what it means to be a Christian woman, whether single, married, or widowed. Available in trade softcover and as a Living Book.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars let me be a woman.......2007-06-09

Elisabeth Elliot is concise, practical and inspiring. This is one of the best books on marriage I have read in 27 years of marriage and I give it to every engaged couple I can.

5 out of 5 stars A Jewel - to "A Reader" .......2007-05-18

Personally, I do not think several previous reviews do the book the justice. I also know that I will NOT be able to explain the mystery and glory of the true "submission" (Ephesians 5:22), which this whole book is about. However, I'll try.

I don't believe Elizabeth meant:
1) "Woman for Man,... or Woman for God?" As this issue, I think one has to look over the whole book, the systematic way, instead of just one chapter or one sentence, just like how we should read and interpret God's Words. As for whom women belong to, the author made it quite clear in Chapter 2 & 3.

2) Also, I read this book many times, but don't personally get "its underlying assumption is that our purpose is simply to marry and reproduce and be good wives and mothers."(quote from the previous review). That was never my impression. Actually, my impression is that she's a woman of God, who loves God, pursues God, and submits her will to God. The author herself has been single for most of her life time.

3) If you read "Passion & Purity", you get to know her own love story with Jim Elliot, her first husband. Marriage has never been priority #1 in her life. Instead, it's God's will. She was willing to sacrifice her heart's deepest desire to God's will as they were dating... Isn't that exactly what God wants every of His followers to do, to imitate Jesus, "Not my will but Yours be done", to surrender, to submit...only then He can start His beautiful, mysterious, but magnificently glorious transforming work in us??

4) I'm single and I think it's always encouraging and reassuring to me whenever I pick it up to browse. I got it in 2002 and the book shines new insights to life as I grew as one of His followers, namely, a Christian. It reminds me of my ultimate priority, to love Him and obey His will, whatever that maybe. It emphasizes on what true freedom means, what deep and delicate respect to others (may it be husbands, or men in general or even women friends) means, what relationship, in essence, means...

5) However, if you are looking for a practical book on relationships, such as "Five Love Languages", etc. Yeah, this is not the one you want. However, remember that practical books address behaviors itself, just changing behaviors without addressing heart issues, generally, if not all the time, doesn't bring any lasting changes. Only when the heart truly repents and get humbled and realign its worship disorder in front of God, that's when the behavior changes come not only lasting in time, but naturally flowing from heart. This book is one that addresses our hearts problems....therefore, you can choose according to your own need...

OK, I write enough now... Hope this will help you decide... I've been reorganizing/slimming my bookshelf... wanted to donate this little book to the public library, but after browsing it again, decided to save it... Not many books "survive" my browsing again...

5 out of 5 stars Great book!.......2007-01-07

I wish there were a way to have this review appear at the top of this book's Amazon page instead of the ones that were there. This book does not imply that a woman's only role in life is to "serve" a man. Elisabeth Elliot has spent most of her life single! While it is written to her daughter, it is for ALL women - and I think for some men too! I have been looking for a book that will tell my sons about marriage. (I'm preparing ahead to have something to give them when they become engaged). There are parts of this book that are better than anything I've read in any book for men, such as the chapter, "You Marry a Sinner." It's good to have REALISTIC expectations of your spouse! I have purchased two copies of this book for my future daughters-in-law and set them aside with instructions for my SONS to also read certain chapters as well. This is the best book on the role of women and for anyone anticipating marriage that I have ever read, and believe me, I've been looking far and wide among the "men's" books for my sons.

1 out of 5 stars Read this review before you buy/read this book.......2006-12-09

Before you purchase/read this book, understand what it is you are about to read. This book is a compilation of letters to Elisabeth Elliot's engaged daughter. If you are expecting a smooth reading book that sucks you in and 'wows' your mind, look elsewhere. Since this is a compilation of letters, there is a lot of random (and pointless to any other reader but her daughter) information about things with no application to the topic. I am not saying this makes this book bad. I just want to make potential readers aware that if they expect one deep outpouring of knowledge, they will find this book insufficient and difficult to get through.

The problem with this style of writing is that lots of letters make it difficult to dig deeply into a topic. You're having to re-introduce and re-enter it with every new letter, so you begin to feel like more of the material is introduction to wisdom rather than the actual wisdom for which you are waiting. Although Elliot has some really great points that she makes, you end up with many facts and statements that are made without the proper explanation to back up all of it. You're left asking, "Yes, that sounds right and all, but what does that look like? How does that work?" This lack of depth is why I rated this book so low. Others may find the book helpful, but I personally did not find that it fulfilled its purpose of describing what it is to be a woman of God very well.

I don't take everything Elisabeth Elliot says as truth, but I have also gleaned a lot from some of her recorded words of wisdom. I definitely have a fair share of view points that differ from hers, but this review is for her book and not for her works overall or her theology. Strictly from the standpoint of a reader critiquing this work alone, I think there are better Elisabeth Elliot books to be read. Pass on this one and head to Quest for Love or Through Gates of Splendor.

Elliot does make some points in this book that are good food for thought. So if you do choose to read this book, I highly recommend you not read it by yourself. This book would be best served in a group study with lots of discussion - that way you can bring in the depth that the book is lacking and investigate those questions of "what it looks like?" and "how it works?" for each of her points of wisdom. A group setting will also be helpful sharpening for evaluating which of her points to hold as truth and which of her points not to hold as truth. But like I said, I'd choose another one of her books and skip this one altogether.

2 out of 5 stars Let me be Free!.......2006-09-01

Which I wouldn't be if I followed everything in this book. I have mixed feelings about Elliot; while she's obviously an incredibly strong woman as a whole, her advice for women and what we should be occasionally fell short. Elliot firmly believes that women were made for men, to serve, accompany, etc. I have every intention of marrying; in fact, I believe marriage to be a wonderful, remarkable gift from God and I relish the knowledge that I will be someone's wife and, hopefully, someone else's mother. However, the reason I cherish this is because I view marriage as a partnership of love and equality between a man and a woman, NOT as a state of utter submission in a woman to a man.

Elliot is in a certain class of women who believe that men are natural born leaders and women were made to follow them and bear them babies. Women who believe such old-fashioned ideas are usually either taught to believe them or, having interprated the Bible a certain way, they begin living submissive lifestyles (the way they think the Bible tells them to) and somehow assume that these lifestyles will work for every woman. Well, I've got news: women aren't that simple and our natures are not that easily defined.

There were several things I liked about the book. When reading about it, at first I was offended by someone's comment that Elliot told wives not to act mundane with their husbands. When I actually read her words in the book, though, they didn't sound insulting at all. While she was very blunt in saying to her daughter (and the reader) "Don't be a bore", she explained that men simply weren't usually interested in matters such as hairstyles and shopping and that if a man acts disinterested, talk to someone who wants to hear it instead. She also quite reasonably said that even women aren't always interested in such things, either. She confirmed that not all women are meant to be wives and mothers and, while telling her daughter Valerie how glad she was that Valerie got an education, she said "if God had meant for you to be a tax collector or a philosopher I would have wanted the same thing for you", thus proving somewhat wittily that she knew women were not meant to be merely child-bearers and wives.

All in all, I was really enjoying the book and Elliot's mixture of common sense and a steady spirit. That is, until I came to this single sentence: "God created the male to call forth, to lead, to initiate, and rule, and the female to respond, follow, adapt, submit." (And in case you're wondering, she was NOT merely referring to marriage or the church, but to womanhood as a whole.) This, in a nutshell, is Elliot's view of what it is to be a woman. You know, sometimes I actually wonder what it is about complimentarians that tick me off so thoroughly. Then I come across sexist junk like this and I remember. That single sentence is more degrading to women than entire books that I've read. The translation of that sentence is: this is a man's world. We're just living in it and must adapt, because God says so. I honestly couldn't believe she said this! I re-read it to make sure she wasn't mentioning it as a myth to be dispelled. It is beliefs like this which have stifled women's spirits and dumbed down the minds of otherwise intelligent beings.

In one of her defenses of enforced patriarchy, she claimed that even though some societies were ruled by women, male rule was God's design. At one point, she actually claimed that the existence of queens wasn't proof that God approved of female leaders because women have these roles from birth and not election! That has to be one of the weakest arguments against matriarchy I've ever seen. First of all, God not only said that HE elects the people in authority, but He also elected several women to be leaders and queens in the Bible! Esther was even given more influential authority than her husband! Secondly, let's look at the major reigns of queens such as Elizabeth 1st, Victoria, Catharine the Great, and Elizabeth 2nd. I'd like to see Ms. Elliot actually stand before the Christian community and try to refute the God-given success of their reigns! God elects whom He sees fit to be in authority and this includes women; if Elliot would like to challenge that, she should take it up with God. Furthermore, if it really was nature determining that males are natural leaders and women aren't, there would be NO matriarchal societies! Nice try, Elliot. If you'd like to quietly toil in the shadows like the native women you lived with, that's your choice, but mine is a heart of fire. How often has Elliot herself lead, initiated, instructed both women and men? She's contradicting her own lifestyle. Women of the Bible have lead, instructed, taught, and had authority over men. Not to mention the passage in Genesis in which God said man and woman would rule over all His creation! Gee, nothing there about the female submitting to the male rule, or about the first woman surrendering to the first man as Ellot falsely claims she did. Perhaps Elliot conveniently overlooked these passages and stories in the Bible when she tried to determine women's roles.

I'll acknowledge that Elliot believes women should be valued and are treasured by God; heck, she even said that the soul is feminine (which is a nice and very cool idea, but one that I fear has scared many men away from spirituality.) However, she seems to be of that ol' popular mindset that women should be valued as somewhat lesser beings; i. e., kept away from positions of leadership and remain in submission to men. Frankly, there's a lot of charm in the idea of being admired and treasured as beautiful, but for me, that idea has always been outweighed by the ensuing one that we can't be much more; we are here to help men, but never to lead or truly instruct them even if we are capable of such leadership. Sorry, but I'd much rather be a creature that is wild and free than a fragile vase who is only valued. Equality IS a Biblical concept, Elliot; try looking at what God says in Genesis about man and woman ruling together over everything. This passage does not anywhere say that man rules over woman.

If you are at all conservative and/or have an open mind, you can enjoy this book. It definetly has some things to be taken and some things to be discarded. I very easily discard the 50's brush that Elliot tries to paint all women with, just as easily as she discarded the parts of the Bible that uplift women as leaders. Take what advice you can; just don't try to fit into the occasionally little box that Elliot labels "woman".
Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Its a fast, somewhat useful read
  • I liked it while I was reading it, but I can see where some of the critics are coming from
  • The best book ever!
  • Jodee Blanco - Grow up
  • Absurdly annoying
Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story
Jodee Blanco
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1580628362

Book Description

While other kids were daydreaming about dances, first kisses, and college, Jodee Blanco was just trying to figure out how to get from homeroom to study hall without being taunted or spit upon as she walked through the halls.

This powerful, unforgettable memoir chronicles how one child was shunned—and sometimes physically abused—by her classmates from elementary school through high school. It is an unflinching look at what it means to be the outcast, how even the most loving parents can get it all wrong, why schools are often unable to prevent disaster, and how bullying has been misunderstood and mishandled by the mental health community.

You will be shocked, moved, and ultimately inspired by this harrowing tale of survival against insurmountable odds. This vivid story will open your eyes to the harsh realities and long-term consequences of bullying—and how all of us can make a difference in the lives of teens today.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Its a fast, somewhat useful read.......2007-09-27

This book is Jodee's personal story. The writing style suggests a ghost writer (sorry Jodee) or an intention decision to "write for teens". Maybe it was written with a movie in mind? Yes, there is a happy ending, where the heroine goes to NYU and has a great life. Ms Blanco is the agent for Dave Pelzer... so we have to expect melodrama here.

Some other reviewers have complained that the process of personal recovery from her abuse is omitted, as is advice on how parents and students can deal with bullying. I expect the person details of therapy and relationships while in college are too personal and painful to relate in a book like this. Who has not made a mistake in college that seems like a personal failing? College, when "we should know better" can be more painful than the high school situations mentioned here.

Advice on dealing with and preventing bullying can be found on her website, where 2 additional books are listed. "Its not just joking around" appears to provide practical advice to parents and students. If you are in the situation of needing this advice, I suggest three things: 1) get the child involved in activities outside of school 2) buy Ms Blanco's other book and 3) have an open minded discussion with the principal/teachers at the child's school.

I applaud what Ms. Blanco is doing, but her future is in working directly with people, not in writing inspirational memoirs.

If you want a very well executed, compelling description of victimization and recovery/reclamation, I suggest Lucky by Alice Sebold. The righting styles are very different, and those looking for more substance and less self-pity will find it with Sebold. Lucky: A Memoir

3 out of 5 stars I liked it while I was reading it, but I can see where some of the critics are coming from.......2007-08-09

I can identify with Blanco somewhat, and that is why I enjoyed the book when I first read it. I was somewhat of an outcast in school, though not to the extent that Jodee was. No one ever abused me physically.

I think that one of Jodee's reasons for writing this book was to show other adolescent outcasts that they are not alone. I think that many of the critics are missing this point, and it is probably because they never experienced being shunned while they were in school. As a adult who was shunned and ridiculed in middle and high school (though moreso in middle school than in high school), I can say that when this stuff is happening to you at this point in your life, it really does feel like YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE. It can seem like everyone else has it together; everyone else is enjoying life; everyone else has friends and dates; and everyone else except you is living life to the fullest, while you are taunted and exiled. I really think that this is one of the positive messages that can be received from Jodee's book. It can show other outcasts that they are not alone, and that someone else has been where they are, and someone else knows what they are going through.

At this point, you probably think I see nothing wrong with Jodee's work. If this is the case, let me point out the fact that I only gave this book three stars. With that having been said, I will now say that I do feel that Jodee could have handled herself better in several situations, and that the degree of bullying she got probably was a result of her actions and what she said. This isn't to excuse anything that happened; instead, it is just to show another side of the coin, and that bully victims who read Jodee's work and listen to her speeches should not attempt to be entirely like her.

First, I will address a situation in which some friends invited Jodee to go out trick or treating with them. When they were out, her friends wanted to vandalize an elderly woman's yard. Jodee objected, telling her friends that their plans were "mean and nasty." Granted, what Jodee's friends wanted to do WAS mean and nasty, but Jodee didn't have to say this. That just have them a reason to pick on her. Instead, she could have just said something like, "No, I don't want to do that because I don't want to get caught." This is what I said when I was in these types of situations as a kid, and things worked much better for me. My classmates still thought I was scared to do anything bad, but they didn't brutalize me to the extent that Jodee was brutalized.

Next, I would like to talk about the part in which Jodee has some hysterics over having to dissect a pig in biology class. Regardless of whether or not this book is good for those interested in bullying issues, this situation could have definitely been handled better. If it bothered her as much as it did, she could have just quietly gone up to the teacher and explained that the smell and act made her squeamish. (I'm sure biology teachers are well aware that these things don't set well with some people). She still may not have gotten out of doing it, but her classmates would not have had a reason to target her, and the teacher probably would have respected her a little more. And I realize that not all teachers are like the ones I had in high school, but all of my teachers were quite reasonable when it came to dissections. Weather permitting, the classroom windows were always open on dissection days, and students were permitted to step outside periodically to get fresh air if they so needed.

Then there's the scenario involving the handicapped teacher who calls the special education classroom the "rubber room." First off, this teacher should not have said this. I'm not saying that this was an appropriate thing for an educator to say, because it definitely isn't. Most of the troubles resulting from this were brought on by Jodee herself. Her tearing into him right there in the classroom, and then putting her fellow classmate on the spot, pretty much caused all of the troubles that she experienced as a result of this. A more appropriate way of handling this would have been to go to the principal and discuss the matter. It would have been handled much more quietly and professionally if done that way.

Surely, a pattern can be seen here. Jodee is obviously a very dramatic person, and that usually does not go over very well out in the world. School-age bullies see it as a prime target for their malice. I am not trying to justify anything that happened to Jodee, but just trying to show that she was really not as innocent as she seemed to be making herself out to be. Whenever Jodee tried to take a stand, she almost always did it in the most public way possible. Her readers should take this as a lesson: In life, it is usually best to handle these types of situations as quietly and as discreetly as possible. Taking a stand in a very loud and deliberately noticeable manner is often seen as being arrogant and attention starved. Jodee apparently didn't learn this during her childhood.

In spite of my criticisms, I still stand by my earlier statements that this book is a good read for victims of school bullying just for the reassurance that someone else knows what they are going through and has been where they are. However, I would not recommend that they emulate Blanco's behavior entirely.

5 out of 5 stars The best book ever!.......2007-07-14

I read this book, at a camp. It is the best book I have ever read. It is about the tragic story of a woman in her childhood, where she is rejected by everyone. It is the saddest book ever. She is not only rejected, but she is also seriously bullied.

Her first run-in with bullying is in the 5th grade, at a Catholic school. She sticks up for a deaf kid who is being teased, and she herself begins to be teased. Her problem only gets worse when she tells her mother that some other children were behaving very inappropriately at a birthday party, when she refuses to disect a fetal pig, and tells the principal that some other children shoveled snow into her mouth while she almost suffocated to death.

I read this book, because part of me fears, since I am much like Jodee in the book, that some of these things might happen to me.

I loved this book! I do not like the fact that in real life these things happened, but the story has an important message. I can not wait to read the sequel to this book, 'Please Stop Laughing at Us...'

Besides the story's message, it also is written very honestly and with excellent vocabulary.

The author reveals to the world some of her darkest secretsfrom her personal life, to help victims of bullies.

This story shows that even if you are bullied then you can still succeed.

1 out of 5 stars Jodee Blanco - Grow up.......2007-06-04

This is the first book review I've ever written. I either like a book or I don't. This book truly "ticked me off." As someone who couldn't wait to graduate from high school, I was expecting to read a realistic account of what it's like to be a true outcast. I was hoping to learn something about what can be done to help all the kids out there who fear going to school every day. What I got from this book is that there are kids who truly do bring a lot of the torture on to themselves -- example Jodee Blanco. I in no way believe that condones bullying, but let's face it, kids can be cruel, especially to annoying, arrogant, hollier than Thou know-it-alls such as Jodee Blanco. Ms. Blanco makes herself out to be a saint among all sinners. Every other classmate throughout her school years were just not as good as Jodee. She was more mature, more intelligent, more caring (yeah right), blah blah blah. If kids would have tormented me the way Ms. Blanco claims they did to her, I certainly would not have decided to let everyone know I had a physical deformity by returning to gym class after being excused from it. It seems as though Ms. Blanco was just asking for it. Did "Angel" in some sick way actually enjoy the attention she was getting from her mother and "daddy?" I know firsthand just how mean and hateful teens can be; however, to be bullied to the extreme that Ms. Blanco claims, she had to be doing something to encourage these kids. There are parts of this book I just don't even believe. While I don't doubt that Ms. Blanco had a hellish childhood, she should realize that compared to a lot of kids, she was also quite spoiled -- vacationing in Greece, permitted to change schools if she so desired, swimming pool, company car. I'm guessing that a majority of kids who are bullied don't even have a decent home life or caring parents to go home to let alone all the niceties that Ms. Blanco had. This book cannot be anywhere close to what its truly like to be a victim of childhood/adolescent bullying. Ms. Blanco is so full of herself I feel as though she's still the troubled teen that she was 20 plus years ago. If Ms. Blanco was as big a braggart in school as she clearly is at present, then no wonder the kids couldn't stand her. Her idea of success is mingling with famous people who probably don't even recall her name once the interview and/or social event is over. To this day she still longs to be part of the so-called in crowd from her high school years. How sick is that -- grow up! I'm a firm believer in foregiveness, but I would never forget the horrific things these people had done to me. Why would anyone in their right mind desire to be a friend to the people who supposedly made the first 18 years of her life a living hell? Jodee Blanco is nothing more than an arrogant, self-centered name-dropper who still hopes to be friends with the head cheerleader and date the the good-looking football players. What a true loser. Does anyone else find it not surprising that Ms. Blanco doesn't mention that she is now in a loving relationship. To me - that would be success. My heart goes out to all the kids who are truly being bullied. I hope that they can find someone (other than this garbage-filled book) to reach out to for love and guidance to help them through their school years. ...and I hope that they realize that being a part of the "in crowd" isn't what they should be striving for. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Ms. Blanco would have used what she went through in school to start up an organization for troubled teens. ... or at least travel to schools to give speeches about this topic to hope to reach at least one child -- either to help a victim or to get through to a bully. Okay - and she's still carrying her Bonne Belle lip gloss. She desparately needs some help.

P.S. to Ms. Blanco - your favorite elf's name is Hermey (not Kirby).

1 out of 5 stars Absurdly annoying.......2007-05-28

I have to agree wholeheartedly with one of the review writers who said while reading this she felt like bullying Jodee Blanco herself. She brought so many of her troubles onto herself through her tattling and incredibly annoying self-righteous, judgmental, superior-acting behavior. I bought this book hoping I could glean some insight into the current state of bullying and hostile behaviors in our schools and communities. I hoped there might be suggestions on how to spot troubled children and young adults that might be victims or perpetrators of bullying and cruelty and how to help. I got nothing of the sort; just a whiny, unbelievable, poorly written tale of one very self-absorbed,narcissistic, shallow girl. It is apparent reading her author's bio. not much has changed-she is still her own greatest fan. An annoying and unbelievable read. I have never reviewed a book online before but this book was so bad I felt compelled to write.
I Say a Prayer for Me: One Woman's Life of Faith and Triumph
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • What a Testimony, Stanice!!!!
  • Just AWESOME!
  • I Say A Prayer for Me: ONe Woman's Life of Faith And Triumph
  • This book was an inspiration
  • This book is for everyone!!!
I Say a Prayer for Me: One Woman's Life of Faith and Triumph
Stanice Anderson
Manufacturer: Walk Worthy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446530344

Book Description

Stanice Anderson shares lessons of God's faithfulness as she recounts her journey through addiction, tragedy, and pain to eventually emerge whole. WhenStanice Anderson first began experimenting with drugs, she never imagined she'd become an addict. However, she quickly descended into full-fledged addiction, becoming what she describes as 'a lonely, desperate, moral-less, and bitter woman hell bent on self-destruction.' Caught in a vicious and deadly cycle of drugs and abusive relationships, she almost didn't survive. But one day, while shooting drugs and watching television, she heard someone on The 700 Club saying that God loved her, and slowly she began to undertake the arduous journey to reclaim her life.Offering reflections on her past and the prayers that got her through her darkest hours, Anderson delivers a message of inspiration and hope as a living example of the healing and restorative power of God.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars What a Testimony, Stanice!!!!.......2006-11-03

I Say a Prayer for Me was an excellent book. I had actually purchased it locally about 2 years ago and had not gotten around to reading it until we were deciding which book to read next in by Sisterhood Ministries group. I suggested this book, and everyone including myself, could not believe what a great book it was. To read about Stanice's life and her struggles with what God would have her to do, was true testimony of how Faith can turn your life around. After we finished the book, I ordered additional copies from Amazon and gave them to my sisters as gifts, and they also raved about how good this book was and have since purchased additional copies and given them to their friends. Great work, Stanice!!!!

5 out of 5 stars Just AWESOME!.......2005-10-11

Whew, what can one say after reading this book!?! To read this woman's stories of what she experienced and to see her now; only God can create such a transformation in one's life. I laughed and I cried as I read through the chapters. Some reminded me of my own experiences. This is a MUST read! If you are in need of any type of healing, it will definitely take place in the pages of this book.

2 out of 5 stars I Say A Prayer for Me: ONe Woman's Life of Faith And Triumph.......2005-09-15

The writer gives the impression that you can overcome herion addiction just by praying and becoming a member of the 700 club.

5 out of 5 stars This book was an inspiration.......2004-06-17

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Her life is an inspiration. She taught me to consider God in all things no matter how small I may think it is. Her story of her California trip was great and really taught me to witness to anyone and everyone. This was my selection for my bookclub and I was the toast of the day. We all enjoyed this one.

5 out of 5 stars This book is for everyone!!!.......2004-06-07

Not only was this book written as a testimony to show how GOD navigates our lives to help us know that we are loved it also shows that with faith all things are possible. This book is not only for those with drug or alcohol addictions but it is for those of us who suffer addictions of all kinds, it is for those of us who don't believe in ourselves, for those who have experienced hurt and also dished hurt out towards others. The lord spoke to me personally thru his vessel Stanice. Thank you for allowing your loving and gentle kindness to flow from this wonderful women who has allowed you to use her. I am and will always be in loving awe of your unconditional love.
Woman to Woman: Candid Conversations from Me to You (Faithwords)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • awesome
  • Helped me get a new perspective on life
  • Joyce Meyer exhorts and encourages
  • Tremendously Inspirational!!
  • When You Buy Joyce, you can't go wrong
Woman to Woman: Candid Conversations from Me to You (Faithwords)
Joyce Meyer
Manufacturer: FaithWords
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446581801

Book Description

Joyce speaks to women about many of the issues most pertinent to their lives, needs, and interests in this collection derived from some of her most popular books. Some of the included topics are: Living beyond your feelings, Overcoming fear and insecurity, Being wise with your words, Establishing proper priorities, Defeating negative circumstances, Overcoming an ?I can?t? attitude, Enjoying the favor of God.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars awesome.......2007-07-27

This book has brought allot of peace and reassurance through difficult times. Joyce Meyers is an inspiration to every woman.

5 out of 5 stars Helped me get a new perspective on life.......2007-07-13

Easy to read, sounds like common sense that you knew all along, but it's put to you in candid way. So good, I recommend it to all of my girlfriends and I have even given it as a gift! I loooooove Joyce Meyers. I think I would buy anything with her name on it!

5 out of 5 stars Joyce Meyer exhorts and encourages.......2007-03-29

Joyce Meyer encourages us by saying "If you are struggling with the myriad challenges that you face in today's busy world and feel that you are not as far along in becoming the Godly woman you want to be, don't despair. God isn't through with you yet. He wants you to realize that you are a unique woman, and that He has a unique plan for your life." Praise God! Hallelujah!

I love Joyce Meyer! Dig into each one of the 88 short "conversations" in Woman To Woman. Take them in order or out of order. Read the one that most applies to where you are today in God or that appeals to your spirit. Each is self-contained. Use them as daily devotionals as you meditate and study the scriptures referenced in each chapter. This is classic Joyce Meyer - teaching, exhorting, encouraging!

5 out of 5 stars Tremendously Inspirational!!.......2007-02-08

I actually use this book as part of my daily inspirational reading. Joyce touches base in this book in every area of a woman's life. Her readings open my understanding of how God desires women to trust in Him and how not to react to negative things in life that happen. This book is something special in my life.

4 out of 5 stars When You Buy Joyce, you can't go wrong.......2007-01-14

When you buy a Joyce Meyer book that is something it to bring about a change in your life. This book was no different. Buy it and see.
Dreaming Me: An African-American Woman's Buddhist Journey
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A Valuable Book
  • Fascinating
  • Dreaming All of Us
  • Universal Dreaming
  • Loved Your Book
Dreaming Me: An African-American Woman's Buddhist Journey
Janice Dean Willis
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1573221732
Release Date: 2001-03-29

Book Description

From an Alabama mining camp to India, from the Baptist church to Tibetan monasteries in Nepal, Dreaming Me is the account of how one woman realized her dreams against all odds.

The black section of an Alabama mining camp in the 1950s and 1960s is not where you might expect to find a budding Indo-Tibetan scholar, the first American woman and the first African American to become so. Jan Willis's journey from the Jim Crow south to Wesleyan University is a moving tale of spiritual exploration and a profound healing of the rage and low self-esteem that are the legacy of racism.

The civil rights movement was in full swing during Jan's teenage years, when she and her family marched with Martin Luther King in Birmingham, and when she later became one of eight black students to attend Cornell University. As with so many others of her time, Jan was constantly faced with the dilemma of how to win the struggle for freedom. She participated in the takeover of an academic building at Cornell, and she was actively recruited by the Black Panthers. But a trip to India, and her relationship with a Tibetan spiritual master, would set her firmly on the path to peace-both outward and inward.

Three decades as a student of Tibetan Buddhism gave Willis the structure and support to transform her life by helping her to confront the old wounds and to discover a well of confidence and joy we all share.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A Valuable Book.......2006-09-16

I've always had the impression that Western/American Buddhism was overwhelmingly white, upper-middle-class and academic - an impression and perhaps a prejudice (or a hang-up); in spite of having read and been influenced by the philosophy and practice through much of my adult life, I've always held any personal endorsement or affiliation at arm's length because of this - I'm not white, upper-middle-class, or an academic, and the (perceived) insularity of that particular world doesn't often seem to be very inviting.

This is why this was such a valuable read for me - Willis belongs to a very, very small demographic - African-American Buddhists, and in DREAMING ME she traces a path from a Baptist upbringing in the segregated (and oft-violent) South to her present life as an academic and Buddhist scholar. Willis' recountings of her childhood were - to me - the most successful part of the book, with the grimness of Jim Crow-era Alabama rendered in cinematic detail. Willis also - with great success - draws parallels between the faith she grew up with and the philosophies she grew to accept as an adult. Beautifully written, she makes it almost seem effortless.

Not a very well-known book, unfortunately - and I fear this may slide into obscurity. I would encourage checking it out.

-David Alston

5 out of 5 stars Fascinating.......2004-03-07

There is something intriguing about a story which chronicles a former Baptist's alteration towards adhering to the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Jan Willis is an African-American Tibetan scholar and translator, a professor of religion at Wesleyan University and teacher of Buddhism for more than 25 years. She starts the book recording her life prior to finding the Buddha's teachings, a life spent as a devout Southern Baptist in a segregation ridden south. The KKK was active in her area of Alabama, and at a very early age they had burned a cross in her parent's front lawn. Later she would go on to march in Martin Luther King's civil rights movement, adhering to the values she so strongly believed in. In 1965, with 7 other African-Americans, she enrolled in Cornell University where during her junior year she sailed off on a trip to India which greatly impacted her life. For a brief period she returned to the states to continue her studies at Cornell, but eventually she felt drawn back unto the East again. She left this time for Nepal and underwent intense study with the Tibetan master Lama Yeshe. She studied with him for more than 15 years, where she faced a problem most predominant in all our practices: sense of self, ego.

This book is a fascinating look at a very small minority in the world of Buddhism, the role African-Americans have played in it's growth and the teaching of the Dharma. In the west, in my lineage of Zen, African-American's are probably the least represented group of all. While we have male and female teachers, and practitioners of several racial and cultural backgrounds, for some reason or another there is a very small pocket of African-Americans present. This is not due to any sort of discrimination but rather, to be frank, oftentimes the African-American individual can at times have a problem with breaking down ego. Something which has it's roots in the horrendous treatment this group underwent at the hands of a predominantly white America. This work is a fascinating look at practicing the Buddha Dharma in modern times with a voice of honesty, clarity, and incisive wisdom on each and every page. Enjoy this treasure.

5 out of 5 stars Dreaming All of Us.......2001-09-19

Books like "Dreaming Me" are gifts or treasures that we rarely have the good fortune to discover. Ms Willis' journey is at times painful yet ultimately joyful. She shares this pain and joy in a compelling writing style that is filled with anecdotes and drama. No matter what your life experiences may be you are quickly drawn into the universal themes that every human being shares. As a white male living in the Northeast during the sixties I was on the other side of the world from a person like Ms Willis. Yet she made her experiences part of me. And like two parts of a greater experience I felt whole after reading this book. I highly recommend it. Thank you Ms Willis for putting your experiences into such a beautifully written book.

5 out of 5 stars Universal Dreaming.......2001-06-11

This book was read in one marathon session that flew by all too quickly. It spoke to the very core of my being. Having this story told in such a personal way deftly teaches the reader at every level. It's well written and one could easily be fooled that they are simply being entertained with a good read. There were many moments where I felt stunned with deep recognition of a life experience that mirrors a good portion of my own. I connected with this book deeply at the heart level. Most touching were the moments with her teacher, Lama Yeshe. His extraordinary heart helped her heal deep societal and personal pains which have traveled across generations influencing and shaping our culture in difficult ways. Thank goodness Dr. Willis chose to develop the good heart, rather than fight the good fight. One does not need to be in a culturally specific group or religion to recognize and feel Dr. Willis' experience. She reached into the depths of spirit and wrote in a way that touches universally. This lady has a heart that totally outsizes her brilliant, immeasurable intellect and her story will benefit countless numbers. I'm one unabashedly grateful reader.

5 out of 5 stars Loved Your Book.......2001-06-10

Since I have met Jan Willis a few times through my own work at Naropa University, I emailed her after I finished reading Dreaming Me. Here's part of what I wrote to her: "I just wanted to let you know how engrossing I found your book. It was like talking to you, hanging out with you, to read it. I had put it at the bottom of my pile of "books I want to read" but somehow it jumped right up to the top, and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Please take that as a resounding compliment! Thanks so much for writing it, and for revealing so much of your big heart.
My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • a true path
  • My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up
  • "This could have been a memoir. It isn't. Most of it is true."
My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up
Stephen Elliott
Manufacturer: Cleis Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ContemporaryContemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1573442550

Book Description

This blistering new collection from literary rising star Stephen Elliott demonstrates once again why his books have been praised as “graceful,” “soaring,” and “fearless.” As with all of Elliott’s work, these stories have the raw ring of truth filtered through the author’s downbeat-poetic sensibility. My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up follows the narrator on a dizzying ride through past and present, from a group home for troubled adolescents in Chicago where he loses his virginity to shooting galleries and homeless encampments in San Francisco where he searches for deeper and darker thrills. In “Other Desires,” a flood of unsettling memories backgrounds the narrator’s involvement with a loose-knit family of lost souls. “Tears” explores the disturbing complexities of an S/M Internet hook-up. Several of the stories feature the enigmatic Eden, the narrator’s polyamorous mistress. With My Girlfriend, Elliott confirms his status as a major young writer of a kind of literary fiction that recalls the work of Genet and Bukowski.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars a true path.......2007-09-08

I love this book. It traces part of the author's growth from an abusive childhood to a happier adulthood. He allows us to see how his painful upbringing was reflected in series of painful and unhappy periods of sexual experimentation. The earlier chapters can be depressing, but hang on, because there is a trajectory toward a better present. I love this book for its honesty and authenticity. The last chapter is especially beautiful because it rings with a truth I have also seen: that bdsm can be healing. It makes sense that some people find bdsm within themselves not as something that needs to be cured but as a means of coping with and possibly resolving old wounds. Some of those experiences may be inaccessible to recall. The "healing" is counterintuitive and cathartic. In this context, bdsm can extend beyond bedroom kinks and thrills into the territory of personal growth and redemption. Mr. Elliott paints a spare and elegant portrait of such a process taken from his own life. Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up.......2006-09-22

Stephen Elliot's My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up is a collection of ten highly autobiographical stories, mostly set in the S&M scene in San Francisco. Elliott writes in a compressed, minimalistic style that is simultaneously aggressive and inviting (not to mention erotic and thought-provoking), all the while weaving his stories into a loose narrative thread which moves from his earliest and most dangerously confused encounters through a decade of singles websites, dominating housewives, and relationships that often satisfy only temporarily if at all. The title story is one of the strongest in the collection, describing an afternoon spent with a girlfriend he met on an online dating service. As the girlfriend slaps him and blackens his eyes, she's forced to generate her anger by berating him over things that never happened, eventually saddening Elliot instead of turning him on:

"She was straddling me in her blue jeans when she said, "I'm not your father." She was still angry about something I had suggested, or that I had hurried her out of the bar and she hadn't finished her drink. It was all made up. A game. But I started to feel sad when she mentioned my father. I have such an awful relationship with my father. Aren't you supposed to forgive and forget stuff? I was thirteen when I left home. It's been seventeen years since he caught me and beat me and shaved my head and the state took custody and I became a ward of the court. We try to mend things but I get these letters from him and it's just too much. He thinks he's the victim. Like I have victimized him by making him out to be such a horrible father. But he was a horrible father and I spent a year, a full year, sleeping on rooftops and in hallways and eating out of garbage cans and all he remembers are the times I came home to shower, proof that I didn't have it so bad. I was only thirteen, then fourteen..."

Many of Elliott's stories revolve around this same basic relationship: a man and a woman who don't have sex (at least in the traditional sense) but instead reenact cycles of hurting and being hurt, or as Elliott puts it, "The idea of two people finding each other. A person who wants to be hurt and another who wants to hurt someone." At the same time, there is a progression throughout the book as he moves from the random dangers of his early, uninformed experiences through the highly ritualistic S&M scene found online and finally to his healthiest relationships, which are still different from social norms but also contains elements of love and happiness not found in his earlier experiences.

There's a great sadness to many of these stories, but there's also a sexy swagger and a hopeful soul that stylishly carries the reader through those darkest moments. Equal parts erotica, memoir, and fiction, My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up is easily one of the finest collections I've read this year.

5 out of 5 stars "This could have been a memoir. It isn't. Most of it is true.".......2006-09-02

Stephen Elliott's girlfriend (using a rather loose definition of the term) does, in fact, come to the city and beat him up. The cover of this slim collection of stories conveys the contents quite effectively. It features pin-up sexy red-head in slick black vinyl with her high heel pointed menacingly at the reader.

As a reviewer, I am faced with the challenge of communicating how powerful Elliott's narrative is, without just cutting and pasting an entire short story right here. My personal proclivities do not include the S&M lifestyle, but Elliott was able take me inside the mind of a lost, painfully confused, desperate man seeking sexual release and affirmation via domination by beautiful, powerful women. The sexual escapades, Elliott has stated in interviews, are all true, and they are recounted in intense, fervent detail. Elliott seeks sex in Amsterdam, Berlin, and ultimately San Francisco. He strips for money, exchanges sex for money and drugs, engages in long-term relationships with a woman who has a husband and a slave on the side in addition to our author, has weekly appointments for domination, and again, and again, desperately seeks submission to the next level of pain and helplessness. Along the way, he gives the reader a glimpse of the sexual and emotional abuse from his childhood, but always in a straightforward manner with nary a trace of pity.

Elliott is not writing for shock value, but for truth and beauty in his quest for pleasure and love. Beauty, in this case, is bittersweet, but still poetic and sincerely moving. Trust me--the best introduction to Elliot is to dive in to the first chapter. You won't be able to put this story collection down, though, so buy his book before you try out the first chapter. I finished it in one evening. I was reviewing an advance copy, and I usually pass those along to friends or the library, but in the case of this book, it is becoming a treasured part of my library. I'll also be purchasing a few copies for friends.

Looking forward to the next collection, Mr. Elliott!
I'm Not Wonder Woman: But God Made Me Wonderful! (Women of Faith)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Wonder?
  • I'm Not Wonder Woman: But God Made Me Wonderful!
  • Go figure, the book is WONDERFUL
  • Sheila is right on target!
  • Inspirational!
I'm Not Wonder Woman: But God Made Me Wonderful! (Women of Faith)
Sheila Walsh
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Christian Living | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0785262938

Book Description

Somewhere between being Wonder Woman and wondering what's wrong with you is a greater reality: God created you to be a wonderful woman.

Instead of trying to live up to an unrealistic role, best-selling author Sheila Walsh invites you to take off your cape and boots, set aside your crumpled suit, and discover the authentic woman, beloved and valued by God. In this book, Sheila helps you understand that in God's eyes, you are already a beautiful and creative woman.

Heartfelt and delightful, I'm Not Wonder Woman will encourage, inspire, and challenge you. Discover the real you, embrace life, and celebrate the joy of being a wonderful woman!

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Wonder?.......2007-02-18

I didn't find this so very wonderful. I was a bit disappointed in it, but I love Sheila Walsh. She portrays things better in person, so watching her tell about it is fabulous. The reading is similar to other self improvement, religious books. for me, at least.

5 out of 5 stars I'm Not Wonder Woman: But God Made Me Wonderful!.......2007-01-20

This book helped me so much. It seemed like it was directed right to my issues!!!! Ya know, I am okay just the way I am---God loves me like this!!!! That was so reassuring! I think it will help lots of women. I bought it for my two daughters for Christmas.

Donna

5 out of 5 stars Go figure, the book is WONDERFUL.......2006-10-02

Well, the cover of the book pretty much explains it all; us women try to do too much. I really enjoy the way Shiela writes her books; especially comparing scenarios to her own life. Great for any woman to read.

5 out of 5 stars Sheila is right on target!.......2006-07-12

For those of us who are recovering control freaks, this book is a must read. Sheila is both compassionate (having been there herself) and theologically sound.

5 out of 5 stars Inspirational!.......2006-07-01

If you have ever struggled with perfection or living up to the standards of the Proverbs 31 woman, then this is a must read for you!

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