Ready or Not...They're Gay: Stories from a Midwestern Family Review

Ready or Not...They're Gay: Stories from a Midwestern Family
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This is a wonderful story of a family's experiences and thoughts as Paul and Hjordy's two sons come out to them and their community.
Their story is presented from various points of view - the mother, the father, each of their sons, and their grandmother. Each of them has a section, with multiple short chapters that bring out a specific event along this journey and the emotions related to that event. Throughout these recollections, a family with great internal strength, love, and acceptance of each other for who they are comes through.
Coming out to family and friends can be risky and traumatic, even in a loving home. Parents are often, if not usually, unaware of their child's feelings in regard to their sexual orientation. While their child has been struggling with their identity and orientation for years, their parents feel blindsided when their child comes out to them. Ready or Not ... THEY'RE GAY provides guidance for parents and other family members in the importance of how you react. In Part IV, the book offers tips for parents, friends, and children on how best to handle this experience. Fortunately, their real life experience was quite positive and instructive.
In Part V, six brief chapters and a newspaper editorial add stories from others about their coming out experiences.
Most parents claim unconditional love for their children; it is a common goal. It is life's challenges that test this love. For many parents of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender children, their child's coming out announcement is a severe test of their love. Too many fail this test; the Wagner's pass with flying rainbow colors.


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Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices From Bessie Smith To Bebop And Beyond Review

Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices From Bessie Smith To Bebop And Beyond
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Tried hard as I may, but I never found another book as half as passionate about this subject.O.K. I understand that some people have problems with liking the same things as author (I as the first one, LOVE Cleo Laine and he despises her, so what?)but Mr.Friewlad obviously know the field he is writting about and for me its pure pleasure to read this book again and again.I found so many inspirations here, discovered so many names nowadays no one mention anymore and to put it simply, I think this is the best book written about jazz singing.Music being my hobby & passion, I have this book with me as Im travelling and I never get bored with it... I would love to meet Mr.Friewald one day and thank him for the hours of pleasures he gave me with this book and all this suggestions (and to discuss Cleo laine with him)!

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This book is an overview of jazz and jazz-influenced pop singers. Among the major figures discussed are Armstrong, Crosby, Holiday, Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Eckstine, Vaughan, Torme and Bennett, along with descriptions of the contributions of secondary and forgotten talents.

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Currency Trading For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)) Review

Currency Trading For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))
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Let me be honest here:
This book provides some really good advice about trading the forex market. Which currencies have what tendencies, which times and reports to look out for, how to manage trades and money, etc. It provides the basics for any beginner. But, if you are a beginner, you will NOT notice something EXTREMELY important that the authors of this book did not mention ON PURPOSE. The authors, in full disclosure, state they are associated with [...](i.e. Gain Capital). And while in the book they make it seem that since [...] is part of/is a(n) FCM/CFTC/NFA (basically throwing out terms to a beginner to make it seem safe and legit), the author's on purpose do not mention that [...]is NOT an ECN broker, and hence you'd think that with all those acronyms they'd be credible, but think otherwise. In real short, what this means is that if you are not an ECN broker, you are allowed to, and most disclose in very fine print hidden among pages of other details they know few will read, take on purpose trades opposite of yours (hedge), in order to make more profits and ensure that begineers get wiped out and even good traders don't last for the long term. There are many more terrible practices these bucketshops use like fishing for stops, spread manipulation, etc, and [...]has the "white gloves" implied in this book very much dirty. Just google it if you don't believe me.
Just thought I'd throw this out there for any beginners. Choose your books wisely, but don't trust everything they say, and make sure you know what they failed to say and why.
EDIT: I don't mean to pick on Gain Capital specifically. All I am saying is when you do go to choose ANY forex broker, keep my information in mind since it wasn't outlined in the book.
Edit#2: Just in case, another point that wasn't mentioned: rememmber that if your broker is not FDIC insured, and they go under, all your money with them will almost certainly never be seen again (don't fall for their sales/marketing ploys of "we're the biggest ones" or we have a safe and positive balance sheet; if you never heard of Enron, GM, WAMU, then you'd need to read a bit about them). The only FDIC insured FX broker I know of is CITIFxPro, which, if you read in fine print, is managed by Saxo Bank, not CitiBank.

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Your plain-English guide to currency trading
Forex markets can be one of the fastest and most volatile financial markets to trade. Money can be lost or made in a matter of seconds, and forex markets are always moving. So how do you keep up? This hands-on, friendly guide shows you how the forex market really works, what moves it, and how you can actively trade in it — without losing your head!

All the world's a stage — get an easy-to-follow introduction to the global forex market and understand its size, scope, and players

Show me the money — take a look at the major fundamental and economic drivers that influence currency values and get the know-how to interpret data and events like a pro

Prepare for battle — discover different types of trading styles and make a concrete strategy and game plan before you act on anything

Pull the trigger — establish a position in the market, manage the trade while it's open, and close out on the most advantageous terms

Open the book and find:

Currency trading conventions and tools

Key characteristics of successful traders

Trading pitfalls to avoid and risk management rules to live by

How major currencies typically trade

Why it's important to be organized and prepared

The 411 on buying and selling simultaneously

Tips for understanding rollovers and interest rates

Learn to:

Grasp currency quotes

Capitalize on the foreign exchange market

Manage risk and reward

Use the forces that drive currency movements

Identify key traits of individual currency pairs


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The People V. Lee Harvey Oswald Review

The People V. Lee Harvey Oswald
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This book was compellig. I once had Dr. Brown as a teacher in a American Histoy Class I attended and I was stunned on his great knowledge on the Kenedy Murders. It shows in this book in what I like to call, a "what if" situation.

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This exciting new book puts Lee Harvey Oswald on trial, literally. It begins by asking what would have happened if Oswald had not been shot by Jack Ruby. The book assumes that a trial would have taken place and goes on to give a "re-enactment" of that trial, complete with testimony from almost 200 witnesses.

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Gender Madness in American Psychiatry: Essays From the Struggle for Dignity Review

Gender Madness in American Psychiatry: Essays From the Struggle for Dignity
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What some sort of psychiatrists and psychologists are doing nowadays, as others did in the past against people that have an unexpected self-perception of gender, considering pathological all that is not "expected" by old concepts, is a so big problem, for those who suffer all their lives due to these old concepts.
Winters shows that madness. The madness of these "fake gender experts".
A special book for psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors and sexologists, also for parents, teachers, for authorities, for all that are in power to manipulate the lives of others.
An essential work.

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Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality Review

Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality
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First of all, this book is not so much about that, despite the title. The title almost immediately sets you up for an anti-climactic rest of the book. The title is good marketing, but not necessarily truth in advertising. This is ok. Buying this book is not about that.
Think about why you bought it first. You bought it because you really like Rob Bell, and in your mind you run through conversations that you'd like to have with him when you two are hanging out at Starbucks, which I'm sure he'll have time for. Given that that's what this is about, just realize that you're getting the next best thing. You're hanging out with him. He's talking about what's on his mind. You get to listen in. Even though it's a monologue, it kind of scratches that itch that all of his fans have been having.
So for that reason, it's a pretty good book.
In keeping with the postmodern, emergent ethos, which Bell leads while disavowing, the book is not linear. He starts out with a provocative introduction which broaches the sacramental without using that word, and then a powerful first chapter that reaches into our deepest longings for the dignity for which we were created. Immediately we are on board and want more. Particularly in hopes that he gets to the s-e-x.
The second chapter skirts around our "disconnection" from the created order, which makes me wonder if we're walking through a systematic theology of creation, sin, salvation (I was soon dissuaded). I'm also wondering if we've taken on a neo-Tillichian doctrine of sin-as-victimization, but I don't think the book's theology is quite so intentional.
The third chapter I like even better, as a modern discourse on the first three chapters of Genesis and the thoughtful suggestion that our sexuality is poised between our place as animal and angel, as physical and spiritual beings. Now I'm really into this book. Chapter four plays with the temptations and addictions that throw us off course from that dignity we wanted at first. Chapter five looks at our reaching out for love to fix the hurt, portrayed through the clever and playful illustration of a little girl running away from Rob Bell when he asked her to dance in Junior High. I think we're supposed to say, "Oh, good choice, girlie, look where you'd be now." The cross is God's act of making himself vulnerable to our rejection in the same way.
Now here's the break. From here on out, the structure is not too clear to me, and, from what I read, to other reviewers. Six is about couples needing to submit to each other rather than women to men. Seven is (subtly) about retaining the mystery of sex within marriage. Eight is about loyalty, nine is an implied analogy between heaven and marital intimacy, and ten is an offer of forgiveness for those who have failed.
Then I realized what I was reading. It's not systematic theology; it's the emergent "Why Wait?" program. Which is fine. I just wanted to hang out with Rob Bell, and when I got the chance, he had sex on his mind. Cool. I like listening to him, whatever he's talking about.
My only two suggestions for his third book are these. First, the endnotes are not cute, and it is not impressive to see how many books you can recommend. They perforate a book that already requires attention. Secondly, pensees do not need to be released in hardback at twice the cost of a paperback.
Those aside, it's a worthwhile recommendation for the religiously exposed who don't really understand Christian mores regarding physical intimacy.

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Life Lessons: from Louie Motherball, Margaret Mead and the Good News Guy; Near Mrs and Direct Hits of an eccentric thousand-aire Review

Life Lessons: from Louie Motherball, Margaret Mead and the Good News Guy; Near Mrs and Direct Hits of an eccentric thousand-aire
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The stories are poignant and funny and the life lessons should be taken to heart. They may not all apply right now, but I have a feeling that I will refer to them many times in the future. Especially telling are the times that Randall didn't go the next step or reach out to contact a person. There are always times when we want to take the easy way out, but I hope that his stories will keep me from that temptation. The book is easy to read. He comes across as a regular guy who just happens to run with some high powered people. His entrepreneurial lifestyle is an inspiration!

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Evangelism Is . . .: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence Review

Evangelism Is . . .: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence
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If you love the Lord, call yourself a Christian or simply want to live a better life, you need to read this book. It might sound like it's simply about telling people about Christ, but it's so much more than that. Reading it makes me want dozens of copies just to hand out to everyone I know. It's that good.

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Evangelism Is . . . contains forty brief chapters of high-octane, rut-breaking equipment, empowerment, and encouragement for all who are ready to share Jesus more passionately and confidently with others. Each call-toaction entry stands alone but can easily be connected to other chapters, all of them finishing the sentence that begins with the book's title. For example, Evangelism Is . . . "Joyfully Intoxicating," "The Real Business of Life," "The Supreme Challenge of This Generation," "Leading People to True Conversion," "Washing Feet," "Praying Prodigals Home," "Empathy with Action," "Giving a Logical Defense of Your Faith," "A Family Affair," etc.The book's appendix also includes articles on what evangelism is not, evangelism in the early church, and sharing Jesus, plus sample plans for sharing one's faith.

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Literary Travelogue: A Comparative Study with Special Relevance to Russian Literature from Fonvizin to Pushkin Review

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Snatched From the Jaws of the Enemy: A Personal Journey Into the Depth of the Love of God Review

Snatched From the Jaws of the Enemy: A Personal Journey Into the Depth of the Love of God
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What an introduction to God and how He revals Himself to us. To know God is to love Him. A great journey with the author.

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Ask Me If I Care: Voices from an American High School Review

Ask Me If I Care: Voices from an American High School
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As a teen worker I found this be a useful guide into the minds of teens. It didn't surprise me as much as it confirmed or validated my experiences working with teens. Be warned, if you are not ready to hear the truth in graphic detail, then this book is not for you. But, if you have an open mind, a caring heart and a willingness to really understand teens then this book is a must!

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It's Been a Good Life Review

It's Been a Good Life
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Isaac Asimov's three volumes of autobiography published in the seventies, eighties and nineties totaled over 2100 pages and 870,000 words. To condense such an enormous amount of detail down to a manageable 300 or so pages, with the addition of enough new material to make the book fresh and interesting, while keeping the story of Isaac's magnificent life lively and entertaining must have been a daunting task, but Janet Jeppson Asimov has done it well. Make no mistake, IT'S BEEN A GOOD LIFE is an autobiography, told in Isaac Asimov's own words, yet it is also the story of his life as Janet Asimov has chosen to tell it.
The initial chapters of the book are ordered chronologically, beginning with Asimov's birth in Russia and his arrival in the United States in 1923, and continue onward from his youth in Brooklyn, his beginnings as a writer, marriage, fatherhood, divorce, remarriage, and his last years of declining health. Janet Asimov has interwoven accounts from all three of the earlier volumes, supplementing his earliest autobiographical recollections with the additional reflections of their significance that came a bit later in his life. She fills the abridgements and adds her own brief commentary with parenthetical remarks, aiming to tread lightly so as not to interfere with the story at hand. Throughout the book she also sprinkles excerpts from the many letters he had written to her over the years, giving the reader a first look at the personal insights shared during their correspondence. Those letters were also used by Janet to compose "A Way of Thinking", Asimov's 400th essay for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, which appears as an appendix to the book.
The selections chosen paint a portrait of who Isaac Asimov was. The pinnacle of quiet, peaceful happiness in his youth was to spend a summer afternoon sitting in a chair tipped back against the wall of his parents' candy store, with a book in his lap, lost in the world of the slowly turning pages. As an adult, his favorite day was one with cold and unpleasant weather, spent in comfort and security in front of his typewriter. Growing up, he learned to love science fiction, and in turn science, and found his calling as a writer and explainer. He became a fearless defender of rationality and reason, denouncing folly and superstition at every turn, and embraced the label of humanist, one who believes that both the triumphs and ills of society are the product of humanity alone, not a supernatural power.
A revised version of the epilogue that appeared in the 1994 volume I. Asimov, has drawn a great deal of interest, for it reveals that Asimov's death was a consequence of AIDS contracted from a transfusion of tainted blood received from a 1983 triple bypass operation. Janet explains the circumstances that led to the discovery that he had the disease, and why his doctors convinced him to keep it a secret from the public. The epilogue includes a description of Asimov's final days, together with some poignant passages that describe his views of life and death.
Even for those who have read the previously published autobiographical works, IT'S BEEN A GOOD LIFE is a very worthwhile read, and for those that haven't, the new book provides a fine means to gain an insight into the life of the most prolific author of twentieth century America. Ten years have now passed since his death, and this book affords a new opportunity to reflect upon the life he lived. It WAS a good life, and appropriately enough, the story of his life is a good one indeed.

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Children of the River (Laurel-Leaf Contemporary Fiction) Review

Children of the River (Laurel-Leaf Contemporary Fiction)
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Not every person in the world can say that they have gone through the crisis of moving to a new country, leaving behind their family, and trying to keep a baby no older then a few days old alive. Sundara is one who can. Children of the River is a story that looks into the lives of Cambodians trying to stay alive while a group of Communists invade and try to communize the country of Cambodia.
The setting takes place mostly in Willamette Grove, Oregon but starts out in Cambodia during the attack of the Khmer Rouge (the group of communists). The main character, Sundara, who is only thirteen at the time of the attacks, is forced to leave her family and go to America with her aunt and uncle. In America, Sundara learns and tries to adapt to the customs of the Americans but has a hard time fitting in. After being in America for a while, Sundara meets an American football player who she comes to like. She knows though that she cannot be seen with him or be with him because of the Cambodian tradition, which do not allow any relationships between any non Khmer boy and that all marriages are arranged. But, she slowly begins to give way to the customs and she finds herself and Jonathan (the white American football player) in love. Fighting traditions and family, Sundara struggles to choose between Jonathan and her Cambodian ways.
After reading this book I could not help but notice one extremely well inscribed theme: "Never judge a person by looking at them." I have never read a book that has ever used this theme so profoundly. In most ways it jumped out at me, which made me realize how the society in America is centered on this one idiom. This book challenges its readers to "see not only with their eyes but in other ways as well." An extremely well written book by Linda Crew could only deserve my utmost recommendations for a young adult audience, mainly to open their eyes to the world that we live in outside of their city and country boundaries.


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Feed Review

Feed
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M. T. Anderson has written a refreshing science fiction novel in a genre that has recently relied largely on fantasy and far less on science. He has created a not-to-distant future world where everything is accessed via a "feed" that is implanted directly into the brain. An internalized internet, the feed even allows for "chatting" so there is little need to speak if one chooses not to and true reading is nearly obsolete.
While the narrator, Titus, lives in a world that is still identifiable to those of us in the 21st century - school (although it is trademarked), parties, music, driving, dancing, and drinking - there are also unfamiliar and extreme aspects like an electronic drug substitute, standardized lingo, disposable tables, and extreme consumerism. Even this tightly controlled future however, is peppered with resisters, and Titus' own girlfriend suffers horribly from her feed when it malfunctions due to a combination of having it implanted late in life (when she was 7) and being hit by a "hacker".
Perhaps because it is a young adult novel, Anderson just barely skims the surface of the economic, political and environmental tensions of the feed and its consumer culture. He does not, however, wimp out in building believable, dimensional characters and relationships.
Anderson has created an intriguing read about a world that is so close you may be reading about the first "feed" in the newspaper tomorrow.

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Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God Review

Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God
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Monday, February 8, 2010
Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh
The opening illustration of the book is quite personal, as the author thinks of herself as a child on a swing, being pushed by her mother higher and higher. Oh, how she loved to go so high! One day at the park through unforeseen circumstances, the neighborhood bully began to push her on the swing. He wasn't pushing her any higher than she had gone before, yet she was terrified. It wasn't about the swing or the experience. It was completely and totally about WHO was pushing. This is defined as trust and is what I felt to be the foundational premise for the book.Sheila Walsh provides twelve chapters with topics such as fear, pain, and darkness; then gives us a Biblical glimpse of how God turns them into courage, prayer, and vision. A few of the Bible characters discussed in the book are Moses, Gideon, Joseph, and Abraham. The author outlines how each character's trust in God or lack of was displayed in their lives through different avenues and circumstances and then God's revelation of beauty in their walks with Him is unfolded.My favorite quote: "We don't always see it, are tempted not to trust it, but the fact remains that God is always making a way for you that's according to His grand plan." This book spoke to me personally on so many levels. I loved every minute of reading it.
In the conclusion, the author returns to her example of the swing and lists some amazing insights. I'll not list them here; you need to read the book!

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Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption a Story from Different Seasons Review

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption a Story from Different Seasons
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This is Steven King's finest novella. I should probably add that the movie follows the story faithfully and does it very well - it is one of my favourite movies. But somehow the story is always a little better.
What is interesting about the story is there is more of a feeling of the sheer weight of time Andy spends in prison. There is not one cheif warden or sadistic guard, there are several, who come and go as the years roll on. The posters change of course, but the friendships that Andy forges remain. And the spectacular ending - just as we imagine.
It is fortunate that this is a story that has translated so well to film - so often such things fall well short of the mark. But it is well worth reading in its own right, and I recommend it highly. If you cannot find the story by itself, it does appear in "Different Seasons" with 3 other equally good stories.

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The Sky Isn't Visible from Here: Scenes from a Life Review

The Sky Isn't Visible from Here: Scenes from a Life
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"The Sky Isn't Visible from Here: Scenes from a Life" is a particularly apt title. Felicia Sullivan uses scenes from her childhood mixed together with chapters that follow her adult life through her addiction and into her recovery. In doing so, the book gains depth, as we know some of the "why" behind Felicia's troubles and addiction. We also see her incredible honesty as she bares her life and soul to the readers, displaying to the world her own wrongs and embarrassing times, which many people would bury. Felicia gives us a window into her world, and then pulls us through the window as we are caught between the memories and her current life.
Felicia worked hard to separate herself from her mother (at the time the book was written, she hadn't been in contact for in 11 years), and at first I couldn't grasp why she became an addict. My thoughts are mirrored in the discussions between Felicia and her friends as she is struggling with her own addictions. Felicia is determined not to become like her mother, but the cocaine calls to her:
"you wonder how it is you got to this point. Because you told yourself in your bathroom that first time in December ... with two rolled bills and neatly cut lines that you'd never be an addict like your mother because you survived the war that was her, because you convinced yourself you were stronger than she was. And then, there go the lines."
Felicia follows this quote a page later with a description of her feelings about cocaine. First, she describes it for her friend, and then she completes the description for the reader:
"'It's like Broadway up my nose,' I say.
What I fail to tell Emily is how many times I've tried it since. And although I savored my first glass of red wine and the many that followed, cocaine is different. I like -- no, I love cocaine. I tolerate the nausea, the constant swallowing, the teeth grinding -- anything for that rush when the world seems simple, beautiful, and large enough to fit me in."
When she is on cocaine, Felicia is able to escape "the awkward, stammering girl who never feels smart enough, white enough, pretty enough." After struggling to fit in as a child, first alcohol and then cocaine give her the confidence to change her self-image. The change between shy, bullied child and self-confident writer and executive is so well written and well examed that the reader can truly grasp the impact addiction can have. If you are suddenly feeling a sense of self-worth, how do you give that up?
Felicia bares her soul, giving us a good long look at her life. She chronicles her own fight with addiction and mixes in childhood memories. The Sky Isn't Visible from Here is not an easy read by any means - Felicia's childhood experiences were not like those of the children of addicts I knew, well-fed and sheltered in the suburbs. These are vignettes of a year eating only potatoes, of shielding her eyes so she wouldn't see cockroaches scurrying in the floor in front of her, of seeing her friend's mother unconscious for 36 hours, and of taking her mother to the Emergency Room over and over. I have never read a book that pulled me so far into the real world of addiction; Felicia uses such intense detail when recounting the horrors she survived that I feel as if I was walking in her shoes beside her.
While Felicia has cut off contact with her mother, The Sky Isn't Visible from Here isn't a psychobabble "blame the mother for everything" book. It's an intense look into the dark world of addiction. Readers will walk away from this book with a much deeper understanding of what it is like to be caught in the life of an addict, or caught in an addiction. I highly recommend The Sky Isn't Visible from Here, to everyone, but especially for anyone who knows addicts or those recovering from addiction.

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