Don't Be Afraid of the Subject Matter
932778
This book appears at the right time - 25 years into the epidemic, addressing a subject that has been singularly overlooked.  There has been so much focus on the dead and dying, little thought has been given the survivors.  And yet, when I picked this book up, I hesitated and left it to buy another time when I might feel more brave.  I'm trying to get past my grief, after all, not dwell in it.  But on a second trip to the bookstore, perhaps feeling more confident, I bought it.  I read much of it on DuPont Circle, where much of the action in the book takes place.

Rather than be a book that tweaked my pain, however, it was a balm.  Andrew Holleran so deftly addresses the dual challenge of survival with that of aging that he presents you with a gift of healing before you've even known it.  The plot is slight, it is the characters and predicaments that are rich with insight and perspective on coping.
1568829
Dr. Ross takes us on an adventure with many research and interviews, opening our eyes to the world where, lets be frank, most of us do not wish to think about, let alone deal with. What can you do or say to comfort someone that you know is dying? How do you deal with this situation? And how can you survive after the loss?

The initial impression you may get when you look at this book is to feel that, it is going to be one depressing encounter. Talking about death and dying, losing your loved one, stages of death and the psychological impact it has on both, you and your precious one, are not easy topics to discuss.

However, fear not, surprisingly this book makes you calmer and more relaxed about ever having to deal with a situation like this, or if you are already in one, then you will feel more in control.

Control in my opinion, is one the most important factors that affect human nature behavior. Once you know that the power of control has been taken away from you, your reaction can no longer be calculated or foreseen. I will give you an example. When a Mother loses her young or has a terminally ill child. She has no control anymore over protecting her loved one. The universal motherly love is to protect her young. Having no control takes away any condition she felt she had. Hence, the mother feels anger, starts bargaining, gets depressed, finally accepts yet secretly has hope and then finally, she has to let it go.

These are five stages that Elisabeth Kbler-Ross discusses in detail with examples of real life situations in her book.

I recommend this book to anyone that wishes to know more about the psychology of death and dying, and if you have a terminally ill loved one or have recently lost someone special.

[...]

Written by Jeyran Main
2348151
A friend of mine highly recommended this book, and I will admit it is well written.  Further, it covers material you will not see in other books.  However, I would not suggest you get the book unless you have a strong interest in the subject.
1462932
To get the most out of this video or DVD set, one must be able to approach the subject without preconceptions, without beliefs that exist in the lack of understanding, and without bias towards a particular religion. Biblical interpretations of who had what first along with English interpretations of Arabic text only polarize an issue that needs no more polarization. The divine right to a land that has been shared for thousands of years has led to the murder of thousands of innocent people. The exiling of, the discrimination against, and the murder of the members of a particular religious group undermines the foundation of almost every religion on Earth. The 50 Years War gives us the rare opportunity to see the middle east conflict for what it is, and not for what it is thought to be. It is a war of deep-seeded hatred that is fueled by the biased comments, discriminatory actions, and unfair peace brokering of the people and nations who have involved themselves either directly or indirectly in the conflict. It is a conflict that is made perpetual by closed minds, political agendas, and uneducated youth who seem determined to keep the conflict going. You will now be able to hear and see the stories, the interviews, and the actions of the men and women who have shaped the development of the conflict over the last 50+ years, and take what you hear and see and apply it objectively to your own beliefs. The 50 Years War removes you from the stagnant quagmire of narrow mindedness and allows you to progress your way through an issue that is often misinterpreted and made confusing by propaganda. Interpretation is a delicate matter. The 50 Years War treats it as such by not succumbing to biased views. Too bad this series doesn't say more about the deception that came out of Oslo.
1355377
If you're into this kind of literature, like I am, I recommend it. But the subject matter is not for those who are easily offended when it comes to religion. But, for someone like me, open-minded and willing to experience all that life has to offer, it's a nice learning experience for those exploring alternatives to traditional religions.
397476
One of the most valuable things about this book is that its author doesn't let people get away with the awkward theological gymnastics of the sort that many of us long ago recognized but lacked a venue or a community in which to assert our concerns. He names the elephant in the corner, and helps us usher it out the door. Don't get hung up on whether or not you fit all the marks of a biblicist. Or who is and who isn't a biblicist. At bottom is the question of authority, and the "pervasive interpretive pluralism" (or PIP) that Smith explores at length is a problem, not a strength. It reveals just how internally weak Evangelicalism is, culturally and theologically. No wonder sociologist James Hunter (in his fine book To Change the World) is so pessimistic on Christian cultural change. No wonder emerging adults are bagging this cafeteria of theological selections. There is very little unity on essentials, folks. From the outside looking in, the Christian world must appear quite odd. "Join us," Christians say. "Join what, exactly?" they wonder. I suspect and hope that PIP will become one of those things that, now named, will have to be reckoned with in the Christian community, just like MTD "moralistic therapeutic deism" (from an earlier Smith book). So...go ahead and criticize the book and its author, but I'm warning you, Christians fail to recognize how good a friend they have in Smith--a sociologist, social theorist, and thoughtful Christian who has their best in mind. He's not a biblical "critic" in the historic sense of the term. What he's saying is that a set of dominant ideas about the Bible don't (and can't) actually work in lived human reality. I know, I know, tell that to the mega-church pastors and authors and their thousands upon thousands of fans. But my advice would be, I suspect, that of Smith's: take the long view. Think about the faith that your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will inherit from you--do you really want it to be the thrice-repaired clunker you continue to nurse down the road, dabbing on ever newer-sounding solutions and fixes? (Hope springs eternal, I suppose.) Or will it be something durable, tested, faithful, confident, and authoritative? Smith helps the theologically orthodox toward that long-term goal. He's done the historical Church a great favor.
4095613
Alice Wisler, a Christian author and grief workshop leader, has written a book about, not only facing your fears, but fitting the pieces of your past together despite the lack of help from a mentally disturbed remaining parent. It is a fortunate moment when East meets West on a web site and Nicole gets a chance to inquire about her early childhood, one fraught with fears and faint memories of her departed mother. Harrison becomes a pen pal with more than fish in common with Nicole--they share an early childhood in Japan and both had Christian missionary parents who were close friends on the mission field.

As Nicole deals with her extended family's issues in a small North Carolina town, she begins to see possibilities in a romance with Harrison. But only if she can overcome her fear of flying to go back to her land of birth, Japan, and feel at ease about leaving the only real mother she ever had--her maternal grandmother. Just as Nicole is about to "lift off", her grandmother has a serious heart attack. Our heroine battles with cancelling her flight plans, but her wise and wonderfully spirited grandmother gives her precious advice.

Read Rain Song to find out what this advice was and fully understand where this title was spawned. There is a timing flaw in getting her pet fish managed for her absence during her trip, but overall, the book is written with sensitivity for a shy and middle-aging single female. I like the self-talk that goes on inside Nicole's mind throughout the book. It adds some light moments to what could be a pretty gruesome task of digging up a tragic past.
687434
This is an excellent book that takes up a difficult issue.
2705051
It's not a thesis, nor does each detail line up under a microscope.  I'ts very fun (relaxed, maddening, scary...) though, and provides a starting place for thinking about motivations and feelings without shutting down the feelings.  I have yet to find another book, movie, song, or any other media that does this task so adeptly.  No, it will not answer every question - it's not supposed to.
2234073
This author has the amazing ability to present topics that make some people uneasy and present it in such a way that even the most unsuspecting reader would consider trying it, even if only for a split second.
4290904
This was a Book Club selection and, as most selections, they are out of my usual comfort zone.  The subject matter of this book was a bit scarey, but it certainly makes you think about how you would react in similar circumstances.  The writing is easy, uncomplicated; an easy read.  I was glad to see the Epilogue, as I didn' want to leave the book with the unresolved characters and events in the last chapter.  It was a good conversation starter for the club, with many differing opinions and philosophies.  Some of the sequencing was a little disjointed and you wondered if you had missed someting, causing a reread of some chapters.  On the whole, a good thought provoking read. LK
269430
When I chose this particular book to review I was looking at it from a "desk reference" standpoint. I really was not expecting to be able to understand or relate to most of it. After all even for Christians apologetics is rather heavy stuff. I was surprised to find it kept my attention. There were many places I had to read more than once because the depth of the statement warranted mulling over, not because of the language being too high brow.

There is a flow to the writing that you don't normally see when you have more than one author contributing to a work. This shows the care taken to keep the writing styles close enough so as to help and not hinder the overall understanding of the work.

Multiple authors coming to the defense of the faith of the Bible each from their own unique backgrounds give almost any Christian who picks up this book for serious study something they can apply to their life. Some of the titles within the work are:

Postmodern Challenges to the Bible  by: Amy Orr-Ewing
This gives you cultural changes that affect the way the Bible is being taught and percieved today by the Christian as well as the non christian. There were parts that surprised me that I too had been taken in.

Challenges from Youth:  by Alison Thomas
This chapter gives an accurate view of the challenges and persecutions young Christians face when leaving their home and church to go into the secular world of higher education from the standpoint of one who has been there done that and kept the faith,barely.

Challenges from Islam by Sam Solomon
Will give you an understanding why in spite of the messages coming from the government and news media, Islam never has been and never can be a religion of peace, but that there is hope for the Muslims who are caught in the liesand for those of us who try to free them.

This "been there done that and here are the lessons to prove it" approach makes you realize that every Christian should seriously work to apply these principles in their life if they hope to stand for God in a fallen world.

In part two of the work Stuart McAllister tackles "The Role of Doubt and Persecution in Spiritual Transformation" proving that the "easy living, material blessing " religion of the new age movement has very little to do with the faith of the Bible.

"Beyond Opinion" by Ravi Zacharias should be read a section at a time, leaving space in between for digesting and understanding the truths they put forth. Starting in the first section by identifying those beliefs and the people who hold them that would challenge our faith, then moving on through the questions and motives behind them ,this group of dedicated Christians and talented writers have woven the lessons for living the faith we claim and the ammunition of aplogetics which we will need at some point if we hope to defend it, into a conversational style of writing that simplifies a sometimes difficult topic.
2693250
"Some Parts are Not for Sharing" tackles a very difficult subject in a clear and not scary format. The illustrations are colorful and engaging.

Laurie
Graphic Designer<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Some-Parts-are-Not-for-Sharing/dp/1606966030/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Some Parts are Not for Sharing</a>
2575778
The subject of death or crossing over into the next phase of existence is not only a mystery and a bit frightening to most people but as a person approaches old age it tends to get worse.

Deepak Chopra not only has the ability to enlighten a persons fear of the subject but he sets the reader at ease and explains the possibilities to the mysteries of this crossing over.

If a person hasn't read any metaphysical writings or doesn't have an open mind, he/she might find this book a little deep or hard to understand or grasp.

Many people are so indoctrinated by the church they belong to that they wouldn't ever think of reading a book like this.  I believe a book like this is for everyone but only open minded people will read it or grasp the fine words within it's pages.

This book is a great one.

Don-R.
4476988
Do not be dissuaded by the cover of this book. What I thought was going to be an aggressive narrative on why the internet is ruining our brains, I was instead treated to a narrative that is quite varied and objective about the idea of 'too much information.' The author begins by explaining what prompted him to research this topic in the first place: his disappointing revelation that he has begun to tire of the prospect of reading long articles and even books (his mind just can't seem to focus anymore). Refreshingly, the author does not spend the entire book rehashing and uncovering social science experiments. Note: there is a fair share of these experiments detailed in the book, but that is not everything. He talks about the history of language and books, and how Socrates was fearful that humans would soon need not memorize anything; he delves into the chemistry of the brain and what the internet and information-age may be doing to it; and, most respectably, he tells us that he himself is not immune to the desires of modern entertainment. He didn't write this book to chastise a generation (he, in fact, indulges in the luxuries he suggests may be harmful), rather he wanted to compile a narrative of a topic that he thinks needs to be discussed and considered.

I really enjoyed the history lessons in this book. And, as I have suggested, the author is cautious about prescribing any type of life style change upon us. If you can handle some in-depth social science experiments, and are open to even the suggestion of the idea that he is discussing, I think you will find his narrative insightful.
3824135
The author of this book is not afraid to tackle the big questions. It is a novel that leaves the reader with a warm feeling, in spite of what the characters have to go through with the difficulties in their lives.
4083849
EXCELLENT for feeling like you're "in the situation."

Gutsy author- not afraid to let us inside his head, with weaknesses, indecision, and all.  He's transparent enough to mention  taking condoms on a trip into an area with the virus, and has enough self awareness to convey the sense of irony in that.  Even better, he speaks with candor about his own feelings, fear, etc.

One clue to avoid disappointment: DON'T expect a medical textbook- he's not writing a history of the disease, or trying to explain its propagation to medical students.  Instead, he explains it enough to help us understand where it came from, and how it spread,  but he does it in the context of the larger story- what it's like for some of the people- himself included- who were on the ground helping or reporting.  The DISEASE is not the main point of the book- so for epidemiology, etc, there may be better texts.

However, if you're interested in a first-person account from someone mature and brave enough to talk about their own fear, and to make other people seem "real"- by writing realistically about them, then it's hard for me to imagine packing more into a short book.  I found the book engaging, never boring- nicely written.

It was made all the MORE amazing when I found out, near the end, that the author was in an accident in 2006 that made him unable to write this easily with his own hands.  Must have been a labor of much effort to get it down, in ANY form, but to get it down in such a well-written way makes it all the GREATER an accomplishment, IMO.

I hope he writes other books- on whatever- I bet they'll be interesting, too.