The Stranger In The Mirror
by Marlene Steinberg, Maxine Schnall
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Paperback (09 October, 2001)
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Reviews (21)

Excellent resource for therapists and laypeople
This is probably my all-time favourite book on dissociation.Readers will find an easy to understand description of all of the different types of dissociation and a discussion of the extent to which we all range in levels of dissociation.

Written mostly in everyday language, it is an interesting read for professionals as well as clients or the public in general.

Particularly interesting are the excerpts of the SCID questionnaire so that you can try to get some idea of where on the dissociative continuum you may fall, and what particular types of dissociation you experience.

Important, but only one slice
Steinberg's book is a helpful selection of her own cases and diagnostic criteria for dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder. In my opinion, the standardized criteria are the most valuable part of the book. (They form a subset of complete criteria published elsewhere.) They should be as much part of the professional training of mental health workers as the better-known criteria for depression, anxiety, and psychosis. The only drawback is that she concentrates mostly on full-blown DID (fully developed personality alters) and doesn't give much space to more limited and more common dissociative disorders (DDs) such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Steinberg's criteria are similar to those included in the DSM-IV and to the Dissociative Experiences Scale and Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire developed in the 1980s.

An aura of hocus-pocus still surrounds DDs, and many mental health professionals are scared away from the subject. The terrible abuse often suffered by DD victims is not easy to think about or accept. The "identity" part of DID is a disorder of the imagination - on top of an automatic dissociative defense, child victims create alter identities from altered states of consciousness, so they can be "someone else" or "somewhere else" or "sometime else" during abuse, compartmentalize the weird from the normal, and stifle powerful, ambivalent feelings towards abusive loved ones. (Abusers often reinforce this with threats and make-believe.) The result is freaky, although similar in many ways to brainwashing and cults. In addition, a powerful, though medically unsound, reaction developed in the 1990s against the political and legal misuse of trauma by fringe elements of the mental health profession, witch-hunters looking for Satan and radical feminists crusading against patriarchy. (In the West, patriarchy is as dead as the dodo. The whereabouts of Satan remain unclear.) Steinberg's book is a useful corrective to this reaction, insofar as it keeps DID victims and their loved ones from being intimidated by misinformed bullies.

After the diagnostic criteria, the most important service Steinberg renders is to clarify why dissociation is often missed. As mental health screening has improved, DD sufferers are caught more often, but then misdiagnosed by being labeled with their secondary problems - typically, mood and anxiety disorders, but also obsessive-compulsive behavior and fuzzy "personality" problems. Standardized diagnostic criteria are essential to identify DDs and differentiate them from other conditions.

Here emerges the major flaw of Steinberg's book, her lack of historical awareness. DDs, together with post-traumatic stress and borderline personality disorder, were well-known 100 years ago. All three were lumped under the label of "hysteria" and often treated, with some success, using hypnosis and drugs. The main thing missing in those days was an understanding of the physiological basis of stress. (Hormones were discovered in 1915, and the "fight-or-flight" response, the key to stress, in the 1930s. The remarkable later work of Pavlov with his poor dogs was largely unknown in the West until the 1960s.) The main thing wrong was a certain Victorian reticence. Otherwise, leading psychiatrists and psychologists were on the right track. Then several developments derailed good medicine. The best-known is the rise of psychoanalysis. Reversing his brilliant start with Studies in Hysteria, Freud and followers claimed (although not consistently) that traumatic memories were really childhood fantasies or expressions of a speculative "death instinct." Military psychiatrists eventually rejected such ideas when applied to soldiers, once they accepted that every man, no matter how well trained and led, has his limit. Why should this not hold all the more of abused children, isolated and unprepared? Truly, this was an elaborate strategy of ignoring or blaming the victim.

But the most important misstep came after 1920 from the then-new concept of schizophrenia. Certain dissociative symptoms sound superficially like schizophrenia, and a reign of misdiagnosis descended. This reign continues, except the fad misdiagnoses today are increasingly anxiety and manic-depression. The focus on symptoms that can be treated by the band-aid of psychoactive drugs is also very strong. The cure of DDs requires intensive psychotherapy that typically lasts a few years. (Many DD patients are misdiagnosed for 10+ years.) However, if carried to its end, the therapy is almost always successful, and patients achieve a complete fusion of alter states. But before that can happen, patients have to endure a long road of reconditioning and personality re-integration. These techniques overlap with post-traumatic stress treatments such as desensitization, EMDR, and hypnosis.

For mental health professionals, the DID book of Colin Ross is the best, followed by James Chu's Rebuilding Shattered Lives. Ross explains the history of DID and how the recent "false memory" controversy is not new. The keys to traumatic amnesia are dissociation and alteration of consciousness under chronic helplessness, not "repression" in the Freudian sense, which is closer to phobia. This one fact cuts through all the confusion of the last 25 years on the subject and demolishes the medical and historical misinformation pushed by ideologues such as Elizabeth Loftus, Sally Satel, Frederick Crews, and Richard McNally. Dissociation is real and has been part of psychiatry for over 150 years. The literatures on combat trauma, cults, and brainwashing, not familiar to most mental health professionals, cover much of the same ground, including selective and complete traumatic amnesia. The recent wars in Bosnia and Kosovo have produced another chapter of related medical forensics and prosecution of war crimes. (The medical forensics are presented in publications from NATO and the war crimes tribunal at the Hague.) Even more recent is the priestly child sex abuse scandal, where the same issues appeared again. Just when the ideologues seemed triumphant, terrible events, caused by terrible people, overtook the ideologues.

Unfortunately, in a media- and journalism-saturated society, it is possible for academics, literary critics (!), and talking heads with no clinical knowledge but dogmatic prior beliefs to pose as medical experts. Modern medicine has seen similar, earlier struggles, like the rejection of germs. Steinberg's book is a guide for perplexed onlookers, patients, and concerned friends and relatives, backed by the only authority that counts in science: experience.

Fantasic - A Must Read!!
I read this book in three days.It is a little clinical at times, but easy to follow.It is extremely detailed and really helps to sort all of this out in a clear manner.The only disappointment is that the section "Inside Stories" didn't include anything about men.I thought that the section on men was a little too short.However, compared to what is out there, this is fantastic. This book really helped me to stop feeling crazy and that this is very normal for what we have been through.The book is full of hope.It educates the reader on what is happening now.The author is incredible and should be praised for helping us pull it together.It is a scary place to be, but she has helped me to understand and be more comfortable with DID. ... Read more

Isbn: 0060954876
Sales Rank: 109672
Subjects:  1. General    2. Personality    3. Psychology    4. Psychopathology - Abnormal    5. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Conscious Breathing : Breathwork for Health, Stress Release, and Personal Mastery
by GAY HENDRICKS
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 March, 1995)
list price: $16.00 -- our price: $10.88
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Reviews (9)

I get the feeling the author wrote these reviews.
Suggestions if you want to waste your money on this book.
1. Skip pages 1 -60 useless, boring, information about the author.
2.Read only areas that are in bold.These are the exercises.
3.Skip all the filler.It is about the author lending no interest, content, inspiration, etc. to the book.
4.DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY.THIS APPEARS TO BE NOTHING BUT A PRODUCTION AUTHOR WHO CRANKS THESE THINGS OUT EVERY FEW MONTHS. Its as if he wrote the whole thing in a day.The exercises are just rehashed from other people's books and videos.

Gentle Reminder and Useful Text for Years
The exercises in this book have been beneficial during stressful times for years ... and included is a great 10-minute sequence of three exercises for daily preventive maintenance and self care. The commentary is helpful, not fluff at all, the instructions are easy to follow, and the illustrations of people doing the exercises are very clear. For a more advanced book on the breath, you might also want to take a look at The Tao of Natural Breathing by Dennis Lewis.

Awesome Book if you really really Want to Release Stress
This book is well thought out and well written with chock full of useful techniques to use to de-stress.The book even contains diagrams so that you can see exactly how to breathe correctly using Hendrick's technique.I took this book out at the library to check it out but now I'm going to buy it definitely. It's something I want to have around all the time so I can remind myself of the breathing I want to be doing. It really helped relax my entire body physically and mentally. I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Isbn: 0553374435
Sales Rank: 19109
Subjects:  1. Alternative Therapies    2. Breathing exercises    3. General    4. New Age    5. New Age / Parapsychology    6. Self-Help / General   

When Rabbit Howls
by Truddi Chase
Average Customer Review:
Mass Market Paperback (01 April, 1990)
list price: $7.50 -- our price: $7.50
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Reviews (73)

Nonsense redefined
I must admit I was skeptical when I first opened this book based on previous knowledge I had of MPD.This book made me that much more skeptical.In most cases of MPD or DID as it is now more commonly referred to the problem arises through the suggestive power of the therapist.This case is different though.On page 67 of the paperback copy I got, Ms Chase describes Stanley(her name for Phillips) as wondering how it is that the personalities could seemingly communicate with each other while at the same time not being aware of each other.Her answer that she or as she claims her "troops" give is that it is through the use of "thought transference" which was known to the ancient Greeks as she tells us later on.I almost burst out laughing when I read that.She also contradicts her claim that the alters don't know of each other later when she has one of them discussing the alters Rabbit and Sister Mary Catherine at the same time.Another way this happens is how they often refer to themselves as 'we'.Many of the alters sound as though they came from books or movies.The abuse that she claims occurred while living with her stepfather is rather graphic.Her claims really belong in the same realm as those who claim past life memories, ufo sightings, satanic ritual abuse, and second sight.I think she is not credible in the least.There is not one fact given to support her claims of past abuse and it would be interesting for someone to write a book looking into her claims to see if there is anything that would substantiate them.She does let us know in the book that she is very creative, artistic, intelligent, and apparently well read.I think this has a lot to do with her claims of multiple personalities.The book itself is long, boring, anti-climatic even with the final confrontation with the stepfather which occurs at the end.She also seems to be claiming in the book some pscyhic abilities.Don't waste your money on this book, unless you have to read it for a class as I did.

This book left me blank........what can i say?
The book isn't terrible, but reading it right after "Sybil" (a fantastic book), i think, made it seem much worse than it probably is.It was definitely poorly written.By the time you finish a chapter, you're thinking, "What was this chapter about again?".This, in addition to poor transitions and terrible character introduction, definitely left me confused at times.I know... I know... it was written by "the voices" within Truddi Chase, but come on... why didn't anyone edit it??Perhaps the manuscripts could have been rearranged in a manner that could make the story more easily understood.i don't know.In comparison to "Sybil", it was just boring.However, if you would like to learn about an unconventional case of dissociative identity disorder, I would recommend reading this book because Truddi's case is much different than that of Sybil, Billy Millligan or Eve's.

Terrifying harrowing and ultimately inspiring
This is definately one of the most powerful books I've ever read. True story of a woman who developed 92 distinct personalities as a result of the horrific incest and physical torture she suffered throughout her childhood since the age of 2. Written by the woman herself in the voices of her various "troops".As, with the help of her therapist, she slowly uncovers the nightmare of her childhood. A very harrowing book, not for the timid, but also inspiring because of the woman's incredible courage and the fascinating coping mechanism she developed to cope with unimaginable horror. ... Read more

Isbn: 0515103292
Sales Rank: 13631
Subjects:  1. Abuse - Sexual    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Psychopathology - General    5. Specific Groups - Special Needs   

Meeting the Madwoman : Empowering the Feminine Spirit
by LINDA SCHIERSE LEONARD
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 March, 1994)
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Reviews (5)

Meet medusa
Meet all of your internal madwomen & embrace them all. This book was really a find. It led me on a journey uncovering so much about women & the need to create, to embrace totally the Goddess within myself & other women as well. I really got into reading up on all the goddesses & all of their abilities & reclaimed my own. Own up to your power ladies.

AN EVERY WOMAN MUST READ
AMAZED ME THE FIRST TIME THROUGH AND UPON REREADING I DOVE MORE DEEPLY INTO A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF MYSELF, MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY MOTHER, AND THE MANY ARCHETYPES AND PERSONAS SO STRONGLY PRESENT UPON MY PATH.MS. SCHIERSE LEONARD HAS THE ABILITY TO AFFECT LIVES DRAMATICALLY WITH HER AMAZING KNOWLEDGE AND CREATIVITY.NEVER DULL, ALWAYS POINGNANT, SHE WELCOMES USTO DESCEND INTO THE UNDERWORLD, CONFRONT, AND BEFRIEND THE WILD SHADOW IN ALL OF US.IF YOU WANT TO HEAL YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF OR YOUR MOTHER YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK.

A great book!
I picked up this book for a research project I am doing--Portrayals of Women in the 19th Century, and How They Compare to Portrayals of Women Today. The book was wonderful! It's written beautifully, and really gives adeep look at the lives of women. I loved the analysis of movies like Thelmaand Louise, Fatal Attraction--it makes you see what really was the messagein films like that. I recommend this book to everybody that is interestedin the history of women. ... Read more

Isbn: 0553373188
Sales Rank: 67859
Subjects:  1. Archetype (Psychology)    2. Creativity    3. New Age    4. Psychology    5. Religious life    6. Spirituality - Women's    7. Women    8. Women's Studies - General    9. Body, Mind & Spirit / New Age   

Ophelia Speaks : Adolescent Girls Write About Their Search for Self
by Sara Shandler
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 June, 1999)
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Editorial Review

Ophelia Speaks by Sara Shandler is a clever response to Mary Pipher's bestselling Reviving Ophelia. Shandler reveals telling portraits of teenage girls in this book, a compilation of essays, poems, and true-grit commentary from a cross section of teenage girls (or Ophelias), throughout the country. The book succeeds because it gives voice to their deepest concerns and their too-often frenzied lives. Because she's a college student, Shandler considers herself a peer of these adolescent girls, able to tap into their collective consciousness.

Shandler is as determined as she is a sharp reporter in chronicling the lives of these young women. To research the book, she sent out a mass mailing of 7,000 letters to high school and junior high school principals, counselors, and teachers explaining her book project and urging them to encourage teenage girls to contribute.

The topics covered run the gamut, but they include parental expectations, racial relations, and faith, among others. Sadly, eating disorders are an all-too-popular topic. The good news is that Shandler's contributors offer up some real insight for their peers. In one essay titled "Food Is Not My Enemy," Elizabeth Fales "calls us to a new feminism. In the old feminism, our mothers fought for the right to choose abortion. In our generation, we must fight for the right to eat."

The book also gives practical insight for parents who may find it hard to relate to their teenage daughters. In a nutshell, it appears that adolescent girls want unconditional love from parents who can be confidants without being overly critical. --Peg Melnick ... Read more

Reviews (93)

A Huge Waste of Time
I've never seen a larger waste of literary effort than I did in Ophelia Speaks by Sara Shandler.I am (...)old and, as the targeted audience, I found nothing redeeming hidden among Shandler's shameful pages. Perhaps if Shandler had advertised a different prospect, I would not be so mortified for her hideous compilation. However, considering that she wished to voice the confusion found among adolescents, I must say, I think she failed miserably.In the submissions, poorly written pieces are threaded with the polar extremes of teenage situations. It seems odd to me that the book was supposed to advocate an "adolescent's search for self," because, with all due respect, this was a terrifically depressing collection.Among the few pieces that are lone compensations for the lacking of others, I saw that sections such as "The Body Under Assault" are testaments to the bleak and destructive attitudes of teenage drama queens.Also, not one piece reflected my own opinion.Shandler managed to create such stereotypical examples that she failed to represent the opinions of your average adolescent altogether. Instead of optimistic, soulsearching submissions, I found myself lost amongst rabid quests of nightmarish ex-friends, forests of self-pitying tales of trauma, and barren plains of the problems that fester in nuclear families.How is a regular teen supposed to find any sort of guidance through such morbid tales? Not to mention that Shandler herself seems to pride herself with the image that she's the determined, successful, understanding undergraduate.Think again...and again, and again, and again.Shandler's little tidbits of insight preceding each chapter left me craving a book signing with her only so I could quiet her self-righteous nuggets of wisdom.Save your money and forget the book!

GIRLS NEED MORE
Okay, I know there is a place for a book that is filled with girls' worries and sorrows and anguish. But for my money, it's more valuable to give a girl a book that does not just reflect her angst, but that offers solutions, tips, hope, and empowerment. The best book I know about for girls (preteen and teen) is GIRLTALK: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You which recently came out in a fourth edition. I read it as a teen back in 1985 and recently gave the fully updated book to my nieces--who loved it.

Telling it like it is
In reading this book, I found it to be exactly like the life of a teenage girl. Anyone could read this book and get something out of it. In idea, it reminds me of the Chicken Soup series, but I enjoyed how it only focused on teenage girls and the struggles that they face. Excellent Read! Get it today! ... Read more

Isbn: 0060952970
Subjects:  1. Adolescence - General    2. Adolescent Psychology    3. Children's 12-Up - Psychology / Counseling    4. Developmental - Adolescent    5. Family & Relationships    6. Girls & Women    7. Physiology    8. Psychology    9. Self-esteem in adolescence    10. Social Situations - Abuse    11. Social Situations - Self-esteem & Self-reliance    12. Sociology    13. Sociology Of Youth    14. Teenage girls    15. United States    16. Women's Studies - General    17. Family & Relationships / Teenagers   

Meditation Secrets for Women: Discovering Your Passion, Pleasure, and Inner Peace
by Camille Maurine, Lorin Roche
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (23 January, 2001)
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Editorial Review

"The field of meditation has been not just a man's world but a monk's world," write Camille Maurine and Lorin Roche, Ph.D., who assert that the techniques that worked for "reclusive and celibate males" need updating for contemporary women. In Meditation Secrets for Women, they introduce a refreshingly modern, female-oriented approach to meditation that encourages "luxuriating in the sensory world, resting in the simplicity of your own being, enjoying yourself shamelessly."

Meditation fills a need that women crave: to carve out time for themselves "to rest, to restore, to settle in." Rather than impose rules and strict discipline, however, the authors encourage women to rejuvenate themselves, open up, and affirm their "womanness" through meditation.

Meditation Secrets for Women presents 12 "secrets" in 12 chapters. Each secret is a theme, such as "celebrate your senses," "claim your inner authority," "ride your rhythms," or "love your body." Each chapter starts with a poem and includes explorations (questions for you to ponder), skill circle (practical tips for skill building), meditations, and reflections. This is a nurturing book, filled with acceptance, warmth, and encouragement. If you've tried to meditate but found it too restrictive, dull, or difficult, this book will give you a different, distinctly womanly, approach.

The authors are a married couple who have been teaching meditation to women for 50 combined years. Maurine is also a dancer and healing practitioner. Roche is the author of Meditation Made Easy. --Joan Price ... Read more

Reviews (15)

A Great Find
I stumbled upon this book one day when I was feeling particularly feminist and spiritual at the same time.I can't praise it enough.It brings into focus aspects of meditation I had not considered before.Like pleasure.Wait, isn't meditation about sitting on a little cushion staring at the wall and watching your breath? Well, not necessarily.Meditation can be so much richer than that, so much more fun, so much more personal.This book encourages you to listen to yourself, honor your experience, celebrate your senses, and be tender with yourself.Meditation need not be an endurance sport.And yes, with these techniques you can find that spot of inner peace deep within you.No more staring at the wall (unless you still want to).Gift yourself and a woman you love with this fantastic book.

Revolutionary approach to meditation.
This review is goiing to be all praise.I loved this book and get so much use out of it.I still refer to it and I bought it when it first came out.

I found "Mediation Secrets for Women" a pleasure to read and revolutionary.The authors challenge traditional approaches to meditation (mostly developed by male monks) and describe a meditation practice particularly tuned to women.It is more sensual and creative than most traditional practices.The book is full of suggestions and it invites the reader to really investigate and create meditation for oneself.When I finished reading "Meditation Secrets for Women" I felt as though I had gotten a "transmission".The writing itself seems to transmit the practice the authors describe and invite the reader into it.

Even though it is "for women", and I am a woman myself, I thought that many men, especially men interested in meditation, would be interested in this book.Sensuality, creativity, emotion, rhythms in life and instincts are domains of all humans.At the very least the book could help men to better understand the deep nature of women.

I find "Secrets" to be revolutionary and a very important book for the empowerment of women because I believe women's progress depends on women accessing inner power which is authentic to them.As I read the book I thought about how practicing deep internal techniques in order to empower themselves is very important for women for all sorts of reasons:making their creative and productive mark in the world, standing up for themselves, resisiting abuse, nurturing themselves and their loved ones, having satisfying intimate relationships, impacting politics, staying healthy and more.Reading this book made me think about how for women to be trying to access their deepest resources by practicing techniques which are an expression of the male psyche, the aesetic male psyche at that, doesn't make too much sense.In fact, it seems like women might unwittingly oppress themselves further by taking the traditional approach.Not that the authors invalidate that approach.They simply bring forward a female way, a female voice from the depths.And, they do it in such a fun and eloquent way.

Deeply thought provoking, practical and useful, beautifully written.Obviously, I highly recommend this book.

Pay attention and honor yourself
Camille teaches us to give permission to ourselves to honor our bodies, our thoughts and our spirtiuality.We're not meditating wrong when we don't detach or become singularly focused, we dive in deeper and acknowledge all that life throws at us and we have a way to deal with it.We don't have to be stiff and sore from beginning to end where parts of our body become numb, but we become fluid and rhythmic with our breath, at own pace until our hearts have enough room to open up and find answers from within.This is a book to practice with and refer to, you can't absorb all "the secrets" in one reading but the tools are there for each meditation Camille offers or to create your own. ... Read more

Isbn: 0062516973
Subjects:  1. Meditation    2. Psychology    3. Self-Help    4. Women    5. Self-Help / Meditations   

The Armless Maiden: And Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors
by Terri Windling
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 October, 1996)
list price: $14.95
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Reviews (7)

Fairy tales are not just for children
This anthology is one of the most emotionally wrenching and satisfying collections of stories that I've read-not just from fantasy authors, but from anyone.Dealing with the darker aspects of childhood, including abuse and alienation, the stories and poetry are full of depth and transformation; magic, despair, and ultimately hope.Some exceptional stories are "The Armless Maiden" by Midori Snyder, "The Juniper Tree" by Peter Straub, "The Lion and the Lark" by Patricia McKillip, "The Lily and the Weaver's Heart" by Nancy Etchemendy, "In the House of My Enemy" by Charles De Lint, and "In the Night Country" by Ellen Steiber.The poems are all beautiful.This book is definitely on my desert island list.

Dead-serious fairy tales
I love adult fairy tales, but it seems that all too often, writers pump up the sex and violence to render the tales "adult", rather than more deeply exploring the human emotional dramas in the stories. Maybe that's why I love _The Armless Maiden_. The tales and poems here do include sex and violence, yes, but at their heart is the triumph of the human spirit.

If we look carefully at fairy tales, many of them are actually about what we would now call child abuse. Cinderella was neglected. Handel and Gretel were abandoned. Donkeyskin suffered incest. And there are so many more. And in most of the stories, the protagonist rises above the situation somehow--in the old versions, usually by gaining fortune and position. In the stories in _The Armless Maiden_, the triumph is more often psychological. I read once--I think it was in a book by Marina Warner--that the essential theme of the fairy tale is transformation. In these stories, we see victims transformed into survivors.

These are serious fairy tales for our times, and I recommend the book both to abuse survivors and to those who did not suffer abuse (trust me, everyone knows someone who did). My personal favorite contributions are Emma Bull's poem about Cinderella's stepsister regretting the friendship they never had, and Ellen Kushner's "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep", the story of a young girl in the custody of a cold-hearted guardian, and haunted by the ghost of the woman's unhappy daughter.

Why is this book out of print?
This is a short review.

Actually, this is not a review atall, although I should say it, shortly and to the point: The ArmlessMaiden is a gorgeous anthology, one of the best I've ever read.

This is just a message to people who might stumble upon it in a bookstore or library.

The message is: read it.

You will not be disappointed. ... Read more

Isbn: 0312862210
Sales Rank: 495725
Subjects:  1. Children    2. Fantasy    3. Fantasy - General    4. Fantasy fiction, American    5. Fiction    6. Fiction - Fantasy    7. Therapeutic use   

Peace Is Every Step : The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
by THICH NHAT HANH
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 March, 1992)
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Editorial Review

Thich Nhat Hanh's writing is deceptive in its subtlety. He'll go on and on with stories about tree-hugging or metaphors involving raw potatoes; he'll tell you how to eat mindfully, even how to breathe and walk; he'll suggest looking closely at a flower and to see the sun as your heart.As the Zen teacher Richard Baker commented, however, Nhat Hanh is "a cross between a cloud, a snail, and piece of heavy machinery." Sooner or later, it begins to sink in that Nhat Hanh is conveying a depth of psychology and a world outlook that require nothing less than a complete paradigm shift. Through his cute stories and compassionate admonitions, he gradually builds up to his philosophy of interbeing, the notion that none of us is separately, but rather that we inter-are. The ramifications are explosive. How can we mindlessly and selfishly pursue our individual ends, when we are inextricably bound up with everyone and everything else? We see an enemy not as focus of anger but as a human with a complex history, who could be us if we had the same history. Suffice it to say, that after reading Peace Is Every Step, you'll never look at a plastic bag the same way again, and you may even develop a penchant for hugging trees.--Brian Bruya ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Life Changing Book
I have read this book like 5 times and everytime I read it I learn something new. This book has changed my life and the way that I treat others. I would recomend this book to anyone who is looking for themselves or something bigger than themselves, for anyone who is looking for answers this book has them. I have bought copies for my friends and have loaned my own out and everyone I have given it too has said the same thing that they couldn't put it down and that it was just what they were looking for. Read this book and open your mind and heart up to it and it will change you.

Helpful in so many little ways
I had never read any book before on this topic, and chose this one because it seemed to be so easy to read and understand.I dare say this book changed my life.I came to it while in recovery for an eating disorder (which stems from a lack of coping skills), and this book helped me find peace; it showed me how to transform uneasy feelings; it showed me how to forgive; it showed me how to enjoy the present moment.

I was so moved by these writings.As I mentioned, I enjoy my life more.I enjoy my children more.My marriage has improved.I have improved.

I had never experienced the concepts of "inter-are" and how things don't have to be either right or wrong... things can just "be".I can just be.

I keep this book by my side because although it is a short book, it is so deeply profound that it might take me years to grasp everything in it.

Practice This Book's Contents
Following Nhat Hanh's book "Being Peace", this is my next favorite by this articulate Zen master. Within you will find commentaries and meditations straight from the heart of Thay, as well as stories of his life as an activist for peace. It is so very applicable to our daily lives. Lately it's become all too clear that this world needs a healthy serving of peace. Our spiritual mouths are so hungry for this. The meditations Thich Nhat Hanh has been celebrated worldwide for are captured within this deceptively slim book. For those of you who have come to know Thay through his wide body of books, you know how well he communicates points to all of us; always with a soothing ease and simplicity. That style is more than ever evident in this text. This work is a remarkable starting point for someone interested in looking into Buddhism, searching for balance in their lives; it's for non Buddhists who are simply looking for a way to bridge the gap of divisiveness.Thich Nhat Hanh is such a good friend to us all, and buying this magnificent book can help all of us become better friends to the world at large. Enjoy it. ... Read more

Isbn: 0553351397
Subjects:  1. Buddhism    2. Buddhism - Zen    3. General    4. Religion - World Religions    5. Religious life    6. Body, Mind & Spirit / New Age   

The Coloring Book for Big Girls
by Sudie Rakusin
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (15 June, 1998)
list price: $9.95 -- our price: $9.95
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Reviews (3)

Disappointed
I was really disappointed with this coloring book.The pictures are pretty new-age cheesy and there is so much black print in the pictures that there is very little left to color.It's like a collection of photo-copies of sci-fi/new age prints.Not very appealing, even to a Goddess-loving gal like myself.

Nice if you're into the Goddess space
This isn't a coloring book for everyone.If you're at all offended by pagan-type images, don't bother with it.There are amazon and goddess images all the way through.A number of the images are also nude or semi-nude.If none of that bothers you, if in fact you're a pagan or pagan-friendly, or you're open to mythic images of women, then you might well enjoy this.The compositions range from simple to complex, and there is a nice diversity in the size, shape and racial characteristics of the figures.

The paper will take crayon, colored pencils, or markerswith ease.I don't think I'd try painting in this (or any other) coloring book because the pages are just not heavy enough to resist some serious warping.

I have to say, I think it's a bit thin over-all.A little text would have been a welcome addition or even a space for you to create your own story about the image.But that's a small quibble.On the whole, I'm enjoying this book more than the others I bought at the same time.

Loveley and empowering
It feels like being a kid again... intricate and playful.I enjoyed going back to my kid-roots and being nostalgic.This coloring book is a great after work stress buster! ... Read more

Isbn: 0966480503
Sales Rank: 333557
Subjects:  1. Art    2. Body, Mind & Spirit / New Age    3. Coloring and Design Books    4. Crafts & Hobbies / Papercrafts    5. Feminism    6. Nature    7. New Age    8. Papercrafts - Adult Coloring Books    9. Spirituality    10. Women's Studies   

Writing Down the Bones
by NATALIE GOLDBERG
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (12 October, 1986)
list price: $12.95 -- our price: $10.36
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Editorial Review

Wherein we discover that many of the "rules" for good writing and good sex are the same: Keep your hand moving, lose control, and don't think.Goldberg brings a touch of both Zen and well... *eroticism* to her writing practice, the latter in exercises and anecdotes designed to ease you into your body, your whole spirit, while you create, the former in being where you are, working with what you have, and writing from the moment. ... Read more

Reviews (127)

A Review of Writing Down the Bones
Natalie Goldberg's book on writing is more a reflection on her life as a writer, than an advice book for beginning writers.While her observations on her experiences provide an interesting glimpse into her life and the life of a writer, it can become quite irritating for the reader expecting a different type of work.The effect is the same as if one were to confuse say Weekend at Bernie's with Schindler's List.A perfectly enjoyable experience ruined by false expectations.At some point you tire of the hi-jinks.
The first chapter discusses materials to use while writing, but it is the second chapter that introduces the one major piece of advice for writer."First Thoughts," as she calls what I learned as freewriting, is the process of spending a block of time, ten minutes, an hour, or any length, during which to write without pause, in an uninterrupted stream of consciousness.Ms. Goldberg stresses the importance of these first thoughts as a means of getting beyond the anxiety of writing well by writing anything.By doing so, the writer will create a lot of bad material, but possibly some good, and in any case, will at least have written.I agree whole heartedly with Ms. Goldberg on the importance of such practices, and the advice is well taken.
The problem is that although at some point the beginning writer wishes to advance beyond this stage, Ms. Goldberg's advice never really does.Variations on the theme of the First Thoughts, including where to write first thoughts, why to write first thoughts, and with whom to write first thoughts, fill the majority of the book.There are other pieces of advice, but these are mostly small or, at least in my opinion, pointless.In one chapter, she says to freewrite two or three lines of anything, then, using those words, rearrange them at random until you've filled half a page.Finally, add random punctuation.The purpose is to teach the writer to break out of standard syntax by allowing him to create sentences such as "Write I'm an mouth rather cream.Say eat ice and nothing dry! I an write rather say and; my goes cube because an there's."Call me an enemy of the avant garde, but that just doesn't appeal to me.
However, like I said, the majority of the book does not offer writing advice at all, but rather tells of Ms. Goldberg's experiences and thoughts as a writer.Many of her thoughts on the subject are shaped by her conversion to Zen Buddhism.I have a deep respect for the religion and understand that religion can influence a person's view of all things.I even looked forward to seeing an interesting new perspective on the subject of writing.Unfortunately, this perspective quickly becomes tiresome.The author quotes from her Zen teacher Katagiri Roshi way too much, and often on subjects with only the most tenuous connection to writing.By half way through the work, one gets the feeling that she is mainly interested in flaunting her Buddhism, and takes every opportunity to bring it up.Several chapters devolve from discussions of the writing process to ramblings on the interconnectedness of all things.While this is enjoyable in Transcendentalist poetry, it doesn't transfer well to the realm of writing advice.
To be fair, the book does devote two of the last three chapters to the processes of cutting and rewriting.However, after the rest of the book, they seem to be tacked on, added at the last minute, after the author realized she'd forgotten about them.The advice amounts to reread your notebooks, cut out all the stuff that doesn't have energy, and rewrite the piece.In writing about the importance of rereading your notebooks in their entirety, Ms. Goldberg recounts a time her class asked her to prove to them that she was capable of writing poorly.To do so, she opens her notebook to a random page and begins to read.To her surprise, it is not only not bad, but is in fact a deeply moving poem about leaving, and those who have passed out of her life, no doubt written in iambic pentameter and sonnet form, just off the top of her head.The point of the anecdote is that we often miss what's good in our writing at the time, but it just comes off as boastful, from the start with her students doubting that anything she writes could be less than brilliant.If you cannot freewrite for an hour and come up with two sonnets, four haiku, and a dirty limerick, one infers, then you ought not be writing.
After reading Writing Down the Bones, one is tempted to remark that Ms. Goldberg followed her own advice:she sat down for an hour or two and wrote down whatever came to mind, and, if not producing something brilliant, she at least produced something publishable.I, however, would not think of doing such a thing.Rather, I prefer to assume that the books faults are really her way of telling us that there is no piece of advice that can create good writing, no secret to brilliance.All one really can do is write, rewrite, and hope for the best.Either that, or she realized that if she gave up her secrets, she would be ruined by all the emerging new talents.If the latter is the case, I applaud her brilliant scheme, but declare that her secrets shall one day be mine; if the former, well then isn't she just so clever.

It's a classic for a reason...
I finally finished reading this book this evening, after several months of picking it up and setting it down again. I think the secret is not to read it front to back, but to open it up and read a random chapter. If you're looking for a step-by-step manual that teaches you how to write a story or poem, this is not the book for you. I must disagree with the commenter who said this book is not about the craft of writing; I think it would be more accurate to say that this book is not about the profession of writing. This book is for people who write because they have to, not for people who are trying to sell something. I heartily recommend it to anyone who knows she's a writer...down in her bones.

A remarkable book
This is a unique book. I've taken many writing courses. Natalie gets to the heart of how to actually write. If you want rules read Strunk & White. If you want to learn how to write & motivate yourself Natalie's book is for you. This book takes a "zen" approach to writing. She shows you how and where to find material to write about. How to learn to write anywhere & everywhere. How to work through various writer blocks and times when your mind rebels. The book is done with honesty & humor. It clear to me that those who pan this book have NEVER tried to write seriously. No matter whether you just want to learn to write a better journal or publish a novel, story or poem this book is a must read. ... Read more

Isbn: 0877733759
Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - General    3. Creativity    4. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    5. Reference    6. Self-Help / Creativity   

The Rose and The Beast: Fairy Tales Retold
by Francesca Lia Block
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (07 August, 2001)
list price: $6.99 -- our price: $6.99
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Editorial Review

Francesca Lia Block, whose Weetzie Bat novels have often beencalled pop fairy tales, here turns to the real thing for some very differentimaginings of Snow White, Thumbelina, Cinderella, Rose Red and Rose White, andother tales. Block's stories are more resonance than retelling, fevered dreamsbehind which the outlines of the traditional tales move fitfully like figuresglimpsed now and then through a summer fog. Veiled references to Block's own LosAngeles appear in the twisty house of the seven dwarfs built into a canyon likeLaurel or Topanga, the redwood forest on a seaside cliff through which Beautytravels to her Beast, the tree-darkened canyon houses with French doors thatopen onto exuberant neglected gardens lush with irises and roses. In theseevocations Bluebeard becomes an aging blue-haired producer, Sleeping Beautypricks her arm with a heroin needle, Red Riding Hood's wolf is a lecherousstepfather, and the Snow Queen is a sex goddess who lives in a marble mansionwith her boy toy, possibly in Beverly Hills. Sensuous images enrich theselanguid and darkly ironic visions: jasmine-scented night gardens, leopardcouches with velvet pillows, luscious food flavored with mint, coconut milk, orpomegranate sauce, cool candlelit baths. As always, Block's poetic allegories ofadolescence are strikingly original and a bit dangerous, a feast forconnoisseurs of YA fiction and savvy older teens. (Ages 14 and older) --PattyCampbell ... Read more

Reviews (45)

Fantasy and Reality Make Colorful Blend
This is the first book by Francesca Lia Block I've ever read. It was clearly a good choice. This book takes fairy tales and modernizes them, adding homosexuality, rape and tough love into the mix to provide a good read without the "sugar coating" This book has made me rethink fairy tales in a way I never thought was possible. All of the fairy tales, which have simple, short names such as Snow and Glass (Snow White and Cinderella) are their own entities in this book yet flow in a fantastic way. I recommend this book to many girls over the age of twelve.

Horribly Krass Retellings!
I'm as big a fan of fairy tale retellings as the next person, but these stories were horrible.The prose is horrible with little or no magic or rhythm, and the retellings themselves leave on aghast.

Don't bother with this collection, unless you have considerable amounts of both time and money to waste!

very cool...
faerietales were original meant for big people, too, and flb takes them back. there is no hansel and gretel tale in this book, though. the story bones is based on bluebeard, a grimm's tale they don't really use much anymore. someof these stories are things that could happen, and a few of them, well, aren't, but that's why they're faerie tales. this book is great to have with you when you don't have long to wait before something happens, but want something quick and beautiful to keep you busy. ... Read more

Isbn: 0064407454
Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Fantasy    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Collections by Author    4. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Humorous Retelling    5. Fairy tales    6. Girls & Women    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Short stories    9. Juvenile Fiction / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Collections by a Single Author   

Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered
by Quentin Blake, J. Cassidy0, John Cassidy
Average Customer Review:
Spiral-bound (01 April, 1999)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $13.57
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Reviews (6)

Excellent and fun!A winner...
This a wonderfully constucted (board covers and spiral bound) book that comes with pencils. The book is about drawing and meant to be drawn upon...what a combo!

There is instuction in the book but it's subtle and never says *a sky should look like this and a dog like this*.It's more about the joy of drawing and just getting started than it is about how to draw anything in a line by line way.A great thing for kids as they get to develope their own style.

That isn't to say there aren't lessons to be learned (perspective, shading, faces...showing movement, etc)The book is set up with small amounts of text and drawings (almost doodles) on the pages with the expectation that you will draw your own designs on the blank spaces.One thing I just love is that the pictures they included as examples are very sketchy and loose... simple and quickly drawn.Nothing that anyone would look at and say "I could never do that!" about.I think that is wonderful.I have seen too many how to draw books where the results look nothing short of professional and when I buy them for my son he just looks at them and thinks he could never duplicate the result.Its intimidating and he won't even try.

with this book...The examples, looking more like doodles, are very inviting and non-threatening.Almost inviting you to add your own.Perfect!

The text is helpful and humorous.Some pages there is very little and others...there is more but it's all friendly and conversational.This is a real winner!

Young kids might need help
This is a wonderful book on drawing, and I would recommend it to anyone whose age ranges between 10 and 100.The author gives plenty of ideas for those who are shy at first, but they are written with a small types so if you don't need help you are not forced to have it , and the instructions are very clear and easy to follow.
However I would not give it to yopung children for two reasons. Reason number one is that children younger than ten express themselves through drawing. The way they draw a tree, for example, tells us a lot about their personality. No instruction should be given before age 8. Reason number two is the instructions are a bit difficult for kids up to third grade.
I suggest teacher should use this book as an art connection inside a Roald Dahl author study.

Great Gift
Bought for my 7 year old Grandaughter who's the only one in the family that is not artistically challanged.She has spent hours reading and using the ideas in the book.Improved her confidence 100%.Would recommend to all for child who really wants to draw but doesn't understand you don't have to end up with a picture like a photograph. ... Read more

Isbn: 1570543208
Sales Rank: 68131
Subjects:  1. Art - Drawing    2. Children's 9-12 - Art & Art Instruction    3. Children: Grades 2-3    4. Drawing    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Technique   

The Second Coloring Book for Big Girls: Spirits and Goddesses
by Sudie Rakusin
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (15 October, 2001)
list price: $11.95 -- our price: $10.16
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Reviews (4)

WOW
I didn't think Ms. Rakusin could top the first book but much to my surprise she has.Not only is the intricate artwork outstanding and inviting, but the themes seem so universal, important, and inviting that I am compelled to pick up my crayons and play.How exciting to find art that encourages us to participate and grow.Isn't this the essence of what good art should be?

Convention is not the point...
Sudie Rakusin's coloring book does two things that I think are very important. First, she provides a creative outlet for adult womyn by presenting rich drawings to be enjoyed via crayon-therapy. Second of all, she captures a variety of body styles, moods, and charateristics through her depictions of spirits and goddesses, rather than presenting any one conventional or sterotypical female figure. Together, these drawings weave the rich tapestry that makes up the female gender--no matter how you spell it (women, wommin, or womyn).

Plenty to color, even more to inspire
I bought Ms. Rakusin's second coloring book for holiday gifts for my friends, sister, and niece -- most as sequel gifts for the first Coloring Book for Big Girls I bought a couple of years ago.
I wrapped them up with a box of watercolor pencils, and still feel great about the choice.My friends color privately, as a way to enhance their own journaling.They take them on group campouts, pass them around at parties, as an ice-breaker for classes, and in the dorm room for everyone to contribute.

But this book is not for everyone.Those looking for more white space to color, need only buy a tablet of plain paper.To find "light" women with sensual curves, tiny waists, full yet sag-free breasts, and delicate features, they need only buy a Cosmo or Seventeen magazine. And Ms. Rakusin's coloring books would be wasted on those who are looking for such female images.

Like the first Coloring Book, this second one is a celebration of REAL women, SPIRITUAL women, and our legitimate boundless vision. Ms. Rakusin demands that we think beyond the media's perception of women's bodies in 2002.Her book is more than a coloring book -- it is an invitation to color outside the lines, and to add whatever we bring to the drawing.It is a rare opportunity to validate our perceptions.You can't help but want to sign it yourself and hang it up!
Most importantly, it is the perfect daily devotional.I can't wait until the third one! ... Read more

Isbn: 096648052X
Sales Rank: 423199

Watercolor for the Artistically Undiscovered
by Thacher Hurd, John Cassidy
Average Customer Review:
Spiral-bound (01 October, 1992)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $13.57
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Reviews (3)

Great book
This is a great place to start.The paints and paper provided are 1st class quality allowing serious exploration, and the excerises are fun.Add a few more colors- dark green and light blue- and a extra, nicer brush, and there is no better way to start

If you are a beginner (like I am) get this book!
I am extremely intimidated by painting, so I took baby steps and bought this book. It comes with some beautiful watercolors that are rich and color--and a brush as well.

They start you off with painting some small pictures, even blobs if you are comfortable with it, and you will be amazed to see how much your lil paintings look like paintings instead of a piece of crap (which is what i expected---can i say crap?) anyway, they give you pages where you can "play" and you don't start color mixing and other frightening things until later.

Later on, you do landscapes and play around with some light and shadow. Its like the fisher price version of learning to paint!! Sometimes, my pictures blended in with their little pictures along the way, which made me happy. They just turn something very scary, into something a lil more easy.

If you run out of paints or brushes, or you want some more paper, there's a phone number in the back you can call to order some more!! I love klutz products, cause I am one!! Highly recommended!!

Scared of watercolors? Paint this book!
This fun, whimsical book takes the mystery and frustration out of painting with watercolors. Learn watercolor basics by following the book's simple instructions and then practicing alongside on its watercolor-paper pages. Witty sidebar commentator Thatcher Hurd adds humor to an otherwise indimidating process. Discover what makes you the best painter you know--paint this book and unmask your watercolor painting personality ... Read more

Isbn: 1878257447
Sales Rank: 126917
Subjects:  1. Art - Painting    2. Books With Items    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Technique    6. Techniques - Watercolor Painting    7. Watercolor painting   

Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women
by Jean Shinoda Bolen
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 August, 1985)
list price: $14.00
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Reviews (22)

The originator of all Goddess Power books
Now that the Goddess power has gotten mainstream ... it's time to honor the first writer to use it as a psychological archetype for all people. Dr. Bolen presents a brilliant piece of work. Find your inner Athena today!

Powerful insights for women & men
Dr. Bolen is one of my favorite modern authors.She is a Jungian who teaches in SF. This is a book written by an intelligent and empowered woman, in an attempt to give other women insight on their own strengths & inner gifts.She weaves the stories of 7 goddess of classical Greece (Athena, Artemis, Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Persephone, and Aphrodite) with observations of emotional & behavioral patterns culled from her years of clinical work.The result are truly compelling portraits --- almost every women will find at least one "aha!" of recognition in this book, and all of us can find some kind of "aha!" for the women dear to us in our lives.By casting these behavioral patterns as *goddesses*, Dr. Bolen is ennobling the internal & external struggles of women and underscoring their inherent strength & wisdom.It is a book of tremendous optimism, courage, and hope.This is a book I have often given as a gift to women, especially young women.

Clear and Insightfull....
To begin, I must praise Ms. Bolen, for writing in such a way as to have laypersons (such as myself) never feel as we are being talked down to. Many psychology books use technical terms for everything, as if tring to prove they have their degrees, bringing to mind the student who uses a thesaurus to write the term paper to impress the professor. However, this book explains any necessary technical terms quickly and concisely, and then continues on to the rest of the topic.

I found this book quite insightful, both with myself and my relationships with other women. I now understand why my closest friend is always trying to get me involved with political protests and 'acting for the Cause.' I also understand why my relationship with my boyfriend is so effected by my relationship/friendship with my mother. Our's being a definitive Persephone/Demeter relationship.

The uses of the seven Goddess archetypes (Artemis/Athena/Hestia, Hera/Demeter/Persephone, and Aphrodite) as a mode to understanding why a woman acts in a particular way. This book will definately help women to define themselves, and why they seem attracted to a specific type of lover/mate.

I definately recommend this book to all, women and men. ... Read more

Isbn: 006091291X
Sales Rank: 135646
Subjects:  1. Archetype (Psychology)    2. General    3. Mythology, Classical    4. Mythology, Greek    5. Psychology    6. Sociology    7. Spirituality - General    8. Women    9. Women's Studies - General