Good book - Painful subject
597563
Very good book about a painful subject.  The personal stories of others suffering the same condition was very helpful.
2566863
I lost sleep my first few nights reading this. I had to take a break for a while. I did eventually finish it though but I didn't feel any better once it was over. The poor guy lived such a  traumatic life and died with so much guilt... just so sad. More should've happened to his s***ty mom and grandmother. Both those women should've been locked away too. This is a good book and it's easy to get into, but it is not pleasant either.
4377217
Painful subject matter; but necessary to consider for anyone you love --- and for yourself. Looking for a romantic comedy after finishing this book!
1403216
From the perspective of trying to learn how to help others in the midst of suffering, this book was good. Had I read this in the midst of my own season of loss/grief, I probably would have quit by chapter 2. The first 3 chapters of the book seem like a philosophical treatise on why the secularist or any competing religion really, cannot handle the problem of pain and suffering as well as the Christian. While this may be intriguing for some, it was largely boring for me and entirely too long. Additionally, various other sections of the book felt like they were a bit unnecessary.

With that out of the way, I can say that many of the chapters hold great thoughts, some original to Keller, but many credited to the saints before us. As such, a pastor looking for a resource to help with teaching on this matter will find many great anecdotes and stellar quotations notable names. I personally found myself highlighting various stories and quotations to save for later use.

For someone looking to learn how to walk with God, while they are walking through pain and suffering Id recommend starting elsewhere (I'd give this 2 stars for that). For a teacher looking for a solid reference work on suffering in general, I recommend this (4 stars for that), but it would not be my first recommendation. Zacharias and Vitales recent book Why Suffering? offered a bit more for someone wrestling with the question of Gods goodness (or existence) in the face of evil, though Kellers book does cover a broader spectrum of discussion.
3564838
This is well done, a compelling story. The subject matter is difficult , painful . I put the book down to think about what I just read . We are still dealing with these issues 175 years later The humanity of Sarah and Handful, and their relationship keeps you reading and hopeful to the end.
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3053549
Someone referred me to this book.  It's painful but good information to have!
3329619
It is a bleak world, no doubt, and there is value in communicating the depths of the grim and brutal reality to readers. For that, "Fidali's Way" deserves credit.

For me, though, this was a very hard read. There is plenty of blood, plenty of violence, plenty of pain, all written about in excruciating detail. (This, of course, is OK for our society; but similar descriptions of the act of love are considered pornography. I guess it's good to wallow in the flow of blood and the breaking of bones in this and other books, but for me, the constant repetition is depressingly unnecessary.)

Perhaps my main issue with "Fidali's Way," however, is its lack of redemption. There is a minor sense of accomplishment in one area at book's end, but overall, the main characters do not fare well (especially the titular one). It is good, presumably, to present a dismal picture of humanity and how the world works, because many of us would like to believe otherwise, living in our American cocoons, but it is also possible to deliver that message without hammering away at the violence, negativity and hopelessness of the situation in Kashmir and Pakistan.

And all of this was done from a personal, combatant level, which makes the violence almost less justifiable. For me, some sense of the higher-level machinations that cause this violence would have made the book more palatable, and perhaps Mastras could have even shown a potential political path out of the brutal morass this area of the world is caught in.

But instead we just get suffering and pain and agony, over and over again, with most of the suffering and pain and agony serving no real purpose. Perhaps this is what life is really about, and perhaps this is the best we have to hope for as a terrorist-dominated future unfolds (you are either with us or against us, if against us, we will torture you and kill you).
2367815
I greatly enjoyed to book "Sold" by Patricia McCormick, where a Nepalese girl is forced into sexual slavery under similar conditions to the lead of this story: promised a good-paying job in another country. and then forced to work for a pimp until her "debt" is paid off. In this story, though, we get to see one of the logical consequences of the abuse: a pregnancy. Not a baby, though. Just a pregnancy, which the pimp has aborted, and which turns into a terrible creature, out for revenge on behalf of its "mother."

This will definitely be a hard story for some people, given the severe sexual violation, so be careful with reading it if you have any issues with that. If you decide to read, it is well-written. Just a hard piece.

I listened to the audio production from Pseudopod.
341767
It is a very good book for a difficult subject: relationship between mothers and daughters, especially when the mother has some psychological problem. In this case is very hard to find out where (or who) is the "problem". In many cases  the daughter can be feel guilt, what is no necessary true, and this feeling of guilt will affect all her life, for a long time, if she will not be able to understand and accept that she is not the problem. Good readings like this book are absolutelly necessary to understand and accept this hard reality.
2907510
This is a book about pain, or more appropriately a book about avoiding pain and it's consequences. And it is indeed a painful story, brightened mostly by some good writing skills.

Short Summary: Everyone in a family that lost a child 15 years previously uses different ways to avoid their pain, leaving them with unhappy dysfunctional family consequences. Meanwhile, the father, a doctor, assuages his emotional pain by trying to find a way to relieve the physical pain of his patients.

In this debut novel, Kate Ledger has proven she does know how to write and tell a full story that will take you into it's world. But, it's not a world I always wanted to escape into.

I found the characters completely self-absorded and not sympathetic. In fact, there's almost a heavy, depressing blanket thrown over the whole story in how they each act and their pessimistic, unempathetic views of each others actions. Overall, even for a tale about pain, I wished for a more optimistic tone and a few more rays of sunshine, besides Ledgers good writing, shot through it.
3381173
Though this was a good book, it was heart-breaking to read at some points.  Jodee Blanco suffered merciless teasing and abuse from elementary through high school just because she dared to be something the popular crowd considered "uncool": she was herself, i.e., she was kind, caring, principled, and smart.  In her memoir, Ms. Blanco points out a most painful truth, a truth she suffered on a daily basis--if you pick on someone and make his/her life miserable or if you goof up in your studies, you are "cool" to the popular crowd.  If you dare to be yourself (i.e.,you hang out with and defend "uncool" people, you actually enjoy school, etc.), you are "uncool" and pay the price for it.  Well, if being "cool" means getting poor grades, getting into trouble, losing the respect of adults, and making somebody's life miserable, then I'd rather not be.  Ms. Blanco's story points out that bullying is no laughing matter and how it causes long-lasting damage in some people.  The bottom line: bullying is UNCOOL.
3485707
This is the first book I read from the Dalai Lama (I also purchased -- Ethics for the New Millennium which I will begin shortly).  The Art of Happiness was a good book, but I have to be honest -- there are some slow moving points.  Many times throughout the book I found my mind drifting -- trying to pay attention.  Perhaps the book went into too much detail.  As I was reading, I noticed some good points mentioned, and then it would drop into the minutiae of repetitive phrases and sentences which forced me to lose my concentration.  Possibly, this book might be a tad better if there was a shortened version (maybe we just need to trim the fat)...

On the other hand, there were some very good points in this hardcover that I would like to mention:

1. Sometimes we add to our own suffering (and we don't even know it).
Maybe we overreact or perhaps we're too sensitive about a certain topic.  Many times we're unaware of our own actions, and we blow things out of proportion; meanwhile we lose sight of the more important issues at hand.  Moving forward, we must all learn how to respond to situations better.

2. Change is not necessarily a bad thing, and we seem to forget that.
If we look at change in a positive way - our present hardship could turn out to be just a natural part of life and actually benefit us in the process.  We must look at life's hardships as an opportunity to grow, and mature.  Do not try to rid yourself of these obstacles, rather embrace them and learn from them.

3. The enemy is a challenge of our patience.
Nobody tests us like an enemy, not our friends, no one.  We can look at our enemy as a great teacher of tolerance.  We have very few friends and even less enemies (most of us anyway).  So, in that light, an enemy is a rare gift, a useful tool to take advantage of and educate oneself.

4. Pain: who would have thought, but pain actually has a purpose.
Pain is here to safeguard us from further damage.  It is almost like an alarm system constantly on the lookout.  Even though pain is truly unpleasant, at the same time - it calls our body into action to respond.  It also serves as a reminder so we don't forget such a painful experience.  Be thankful we have pain so that we can be united with our own body.  In closing, pain is one way that we certainly discern that we're alive.
4139280
O'Malley does an excellent job recapping the sad story of Andrea Yates - her mental illness - and her terrible decision to kill her young children.  Too bad her husband did not recognize the seriousness of her illness and get her the help she needed before the children were killed.  He appeared self-centered, wanting what he wanted above all else - including living in a motor home rather than in a regular home; and having as many children as possible even though childbirth was bringing increased depression to Andrea.  This is a hard book to read because of the sadness of Andrea's illness and the terrible deaths of her innocent children. But - O'Malley presents the information in as caring a way as possible.
2285396
As much as I really wanted to hate this book, in the end I found it very moving and I felt a great loss when I finished reading it. The book is well written and I found myself being swept along in an incredible journey. For this alone, I would give the book a 4 or 5 star rating.
In fairness however, I must take issue with the magnitude of suffering and loss that occurs to the characters. Tragic events occur with such frequency that the story often becomes simply unbeliveable. With so much tragedy, I found myself wondering to what the 'Balance' in the books title actually refers.
1486706
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a dark and painful book to read. I could picture what was happening. I did start reading this at night, but had to stop to be able to sleep well. Rachel was a woman in pain from a traumatic experience.  Several things were hinted at before she does face her painful day. One of the keys to her being able to face her pain, was having hope in life again. I really wanted to talk to her and help her choose forgiveness. There were a lot of cliches and references to Dante's Inferno. There was some violence, but most happened off screen. She does sleep with her husband, but it wasn't explicit. There are wolves and ravens who are menacing and one who dies dramatically. I don't know if I will read another book as this author is a little too dark for me, but others who like Koontz and King will have a new author to read.
1979133
Point: Killing in war is not easy. It is gruesome, awful, and haunting - no matter what the media says. We have turned it into something it is not. Violence in media to real killing is often like porn to marriage.

Path: Grossman divides his work into eight sections. He begins by explaining the internal nature of resistance to killing in most individuals. He moves on in section two to the killing and combat trauma. Section three deals with the varying layers of guilt due to physical proximity. Section four brings the previous sections together to consider them. Section five answers questions concerned with killing and atrocities. Section six addresses the stages of response in killing. Section seven reveals victims of the Vietnam War. And section eight points the finger at media and how we are training our children how to kill.

Sources: Statistics, scholarly works, and testimonies line this work. The most difficult part for me was dealing with the personal testimonies. It was tragic.

Agreement: This book helped me to see the awfulness of killing. Taking a life is horrific. At times it must be done, but it is never easy. They are a soul. An individual. They have a family.

Disagreement: The psychology was heavy. The language was par for the topic.

Personal App: It gives me a new view of God telling David that he was a man of blood.

Favorite Quote: "The soldier above all other people prays for peace, for they must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." MacArthur

I gave this a 3 of 5 stars only because I felt as though that is a neutral rating. I cannot rate this. It was valuable, but faulty. It made me reconsider my own value of human life in war. But it was awful to read. It hurt
3297864
Great book tackling a tough subject. Pain is so subjective it is tough to come up with objective measures and this is a great attempt at objectively assessing pain perception.