Reviews (12)

Compelling from beginning to end
I just finished the complimentary ("Thanks!") copy of your book, and I must say I've never read anything as disturbing and frightening as "Father's Touch." I cannot relate; I'm a son and a father, but your background is one I could not even begin to imagine.
'Suffer little children, to come unto me.....'
Anyone who has regard for the future can only view the destruction of a child's innocence as one of the most heinous crimes in the human lexicon of brutality. When this occurs in the family home and is perpetrated by a parent with an obvious duty of care, the betrayal and it's consequences are immeasurable.
Powerful, well-written, painful memoir, with a touch of joy
The Story: Donald D'Haene tells the story of how he and his siblings were raised by a father who seduced them into escalating sexual abuse, and a naive mother who was controlled by her deceptive and manipulative husband. This book relates the subtle, and not-so-subtle, horrors of the abuse; the damage done to the family; the eventual legal process against the abuser; and, Donald D'Haene's inspiring journey to a healthier identity, sense of self, and way of life.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    2. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    3. Adult child sexual abuse victims    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Child sexual abuse    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Gay men    8. Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (4)

A beautifully written memoir
I felt compelled to write this after reading the other reviews because I believe that a book should be judged in accordance with it's own intentions and not by what other people think it should have been. This book is not the typical happy-family-eating-meatballs memoir, nor is it a light, breezy, funny foodie memoir. It is an exquisitely-written, ultimately loving remembrance of a family in pain. It contains great insights into the Italian immigrants' experience-- and a sober, unromanticized look at "The "Old Country" conditions from which many fled in the early 20th century. This book is highly recommended for people struggling with their own family's past, anybody who appreciates beautiful prose and memoir/autobiography, or Italian Americans wanting to explore that part of their past. Ms. DeSalvo uses food as metaphor to great effect in conveying the texture of the immigrant family's experience.

Recommended
This is not a book for those wanting a light read or those who haven't honestly looked at their own growing up experiences as second-generation Americans.
disappointing
I found this interesting, but somewhat depressing.With the living conditions in Italy years ago and living in the States with a grandmother, mother, father and daughter was totally different than my family as I was growing up.The cooking in later life with the author and her husband were interesting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Cooking / Wine    6. Elements In The U.S. Population    7. Ethnic Cultures - General    8. Italian Cookery    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Regional & Ethnic - Italian    11. Regional Subjects - MidAtlantic    12. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (9)

Superb
This is a beautifully written memoir of childhood hardship, cruelty, and neglect. The author's candor and equanimity in examining a painful history is remarkable, as is the poignant outcome.

Another famous author belabours us with his supposedly-sorry childhood?
Not exactly. If you arrive at this book as I did, mildly inquisitive after enjoying his two masterful, definitive tomes on nuclear weapons, you are in for one HELL of a ride.
Rhodes' tale of survival and a brother's courage...
I came to this book quite late, just finishing it a month ago. I read a few non-fiction books by the author and liked them quite a lot, so I grabbed this recently at my local Friends of the Library used book sale. Actually, since I am a domestic violence social worker, reading autobiographical accounts of various kinds of abuse experiences is part of my continuing education. Sad to say, I have read tales of abuse suffered in childhood which are even more disgusting than what Richard and his brother endured, and which lasted much longer than the two-plus years of horror the Rhodes kids experienced at the hands of a vicious stepmother. This is well-done, and the suffering depicted is probably understated...my sense is that Rhodes did not want to rub the readers' noses in his agony, but rather present a message that acting to protect the multitude of neglected and abused kids all around us sometimes does pay off in big ways. If you have an interest in the survival of a bad childhood, this one should be read, but probably would be even more powerful if paired with Dr. Laura Schlessinger's upcoming book, "Bad Childhood, Good Life" due to be published in January, 2006. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Childhood and youth    7. General    8. Kansas City (Mo.)    9. Missouri - Local History    10. Regional Subjects - Midwest    11. Rhodes, Richard    12. Social life and customs    13. United States - State & Local - General    14. Biography: general    15. Child abuse    16. USA   

Reviews (20)

The voice
If you have read A Child's Christmas in Wales, you know that it has to be a classic. But you can't fully appreciate it until you have heard Dylan Thomas read it. What a deep, expressive, poetic voice. For years, I have listened to the recording on a Caedman record. It is wonderful to have it on a CD.

a treasure
For me, "A Child's Christmas in Wales" is the single most beautiful piece of Christmas literature in the English language.
It does not go gentle into that good night.
Like so many other children's books, Amazon.com takes a perverse pleasure in lumping together all version's of Dylan Thomas's, "A Child's Christmas In Wales".So if a reviewer, like myself, wants to review the book that was illustrated in 2004 by Chris Raschka, I'd better make it as clear as possible right from the start.So here it goes.Ahem.Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it gives me the greatest of pleasure to announce that I will now be reviewing "A Child's Christmas In Wales", penned by the great Dylan Thomas and illustrated with grace, aplomb, and ahint of frenzy by accomplished children's book illustrator Chris Raschka.Thank you.
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Subjects:  1. 1914-1953    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Childhood and youth    7. Christmas    8. Holidays & Celebrations - Christmas    9. Homes and haunts    10. Juvenile Nonfiction    11. Literary    12. Literature - Classics / Criticism    13. Poets, Welsh    14. Thomas, Dylan,    15. Wales    16. Thomas, Dylan   

Reviews (2)

A Thoughtful Exploration of MK Identity
This thoughtful and beautifully written memoir by the son of SIM missionaries is much more than an autobiography, for it delves into the complexities of identity and self-understanding that are so much a part of the experience of many missionary children.After growing up in a small village and becoming fluent in Oromifa and Amharic, Daniel makes the transition involved in attending the mission boarding school in the capital city where his primary peers are now MKs like himself.During the tumultuous years of political upheaval following the overthrow of Haile Selassie in 1974, the rising hostility toward foreigners is directed on a number of occasions to Coleman and his pink skinned friends.The discovery that he will always be a �ferinjie,� or foreigner, in the land of his birth is a shattering one that makes him determined to forge a new identity and to forsake his past when he returns to Canada at the age of seventeen.From that point on he tells people he is from �Wheatley, Ontario,� his Dad�s home town.The book begins when Coleman returns to the land of his birth after an absence of fourteen years.Now, as an academic, he reflects on how his identity, faith and outlook on cultures have been shaped by the formative experiences of his African past. Contrasting The Zanzibar Chest with The Scent of Eucalyptus
If you were born in Africa of foreign parents or spent most of your childhood years in Africa, you owe it to yourself to read these two books.Whether your experiences were positive and you have returned to Africa as an adult, or whether you need catharsis from emotional wounds Africa is so adept at administering, these authors will provide contrasting mirrors in which to search for your reflection.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Children of missionaries    7. Ethiopia    8. Missions    9. Missions & Missionary Work    10. Religious    11. Social Scientists & Psychologists    12. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (1)

Needed an editor
Although I feel sympathy to the author and her plight, I feel I wasted my money on this book which I couldn't wait to read. The actual reading time took all of ten minutes, yes I do tend to read fast however, I was hoping that for $7.95 I would get a novel I could sink my teeth into and not read in moments. There was no order to the book she seemed to flop all over the place, there were sentences that made no sense, sentence fragments, numerous points of repetativeness and questioning of the readers ex. What do you think of that? If the book were written better, had more depth to it and fleshed out a little it might be a worthy of the $7.95 cover price. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abuse - General    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Childhood Memoir    4. Women   

Reviews (2)

Sweetness and understanding of a great family
This may be an excerpt from a larger work, with which I'm unfamiliar.I have to judge it simply on what's before me.As one who thinks New York is the most civilized city on the planet though not as beautiful as Sydney, Australia, and who grew up, with millions of others, loving Harpo Marx, I loved this (little book).It is quite atmospheric and gives a very clear understanding of where the Marx Brothers got their drive and energy - Mother Minnie (stagestruck) and Father Frenchie (Housekeeper, tailor and cook).It is also a resounding example of the power of family. A very sweet and companiable edition by The Little Bookroom.Would make a very sweet gift as well.

Just an extract
Buy the book "Harpo Speaks".This is merely a coffee table extract from the FULL book, available... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1888-1964    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Childhood and youth    8. Comedians    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    10. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    11. Individual Movie Actors And Actresses    12. Marx, Harpo,    13. Motion picture actors and actresses    14. United States    15. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    16. Biography: film, television & music    17. Individual actors & performers    18. Marx, Harpo    19. New York    20. Places & peoples: general interest    21. Travel / United States / Northeast / Middle Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA)   

Subjects:  1. Adventure & Adventurers    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Juvenile Travel    6. Childhood Memoir    7. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    8. Biography & Autobiography - Sports & Recreation    9. Travelers    10. Sailing - Narratives    11. Travel    12. Sports & Recreation - Water Sports    13. Sea stories    14. Children's 9-12 - Biography / Autobiography   

Editorial Review

In 1969, when she was six years old, Natalie Kusz, with her parents and three siblings, left Los Angeles and headed north to Alaska on a classic quest for freedom, a house on the land, and a more wholesome way of living.As with so many pioneers in our history, a heroic struggle and hardships of epic proportions lay ahead of them. What makes their adventure so remarkable is that it happened barely twenty years ago. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Excellent book, with some flaws
I read this book years ago, and found it very moving. I think Ms. Kusz is a good writer and extremely courageous. Her childhood (quite honestly) sounds horrible, but her parents are very loving and kind and smart.
Truth-telling at a searing level:misery/poverty/death inAlaska
Originally it was the title that popped out on this one:aha! another great travel novel, I hoped.Oh no, much better and much more intense!!!A woman reconstructs for us the story of her unusual "hippy" parents, her father a refugee from Poland's wartime harshness.The parents have four children and cannot stand the modern life of the Southern California suburbs.Off they go, packed up in an old truck, all the way to Alaska.With a relative's gift/loan, they buy land and begin to build a house on the outskirts of Fairbanks.Needless to say, money is very tight, jobs are scarce, and the winter is setting in.The parents scrounge through the Salvation Army and the local U.S. Army dump for supplies, even finding food to keep them going.They are true pioneers in the face of horrible winter weather:-50F in a perpetual icefog, through which the kids sometimes trek to get to the the schoolbus stop.
Perfect.
As a fellow writer oh how I hated Natalie Kusz as I read her book. She is that rare combination of a brilliant writer and someone with something to say. I could barely contain my envy, and admiration, as I read. This is a book that disappoints only because it ends. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Presidents & Heads of State    6. Women    7. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Subjects:  1. 1912-    2. California    3. Childhood Memoir    4. Diaries    5. Ethnic Cultures - General    6. Ethnic Studies - Asian American Studies    7. Filipino Americans    8. Hawaii    9. History    10. History - U.S.    11. History: American    12. Raymundo, Angeles Monrayo,    13. United States - 20th Century    14. United States - State & Local - General    15. Biography: general    16. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    17. Other prose: from c 1900 -    18. Social history   

Reviews (10)

A Walk Down Memory Lane(Hope Street)
I was born on Hope Street and lived in Springdale for most of my
A Good Read
Reading Al Michaud's book of reminiscences, A Twig Grows in Springdale, is like taking a trip backward in time.The time was the Great Depression, which coincided with his early boyhood, but in spite of the lack of money-possibly because of it-his was a happy boyhood. a Crazy Quilt of memories
Rebeccasreads recommends A TWIG GROWS IN SPRINGDALE as a treasure trove of stories, rather like your Grandmother's hope chest. Take it down, open it up anywhere & travel back to a time when the future is a distant thing & where everyday life is so much more important.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Regional Subjects - General    7. Biography & Autobiography / General    8. Biography: general   

Editorial Review

Deep in the granite hills of eastern Arizona in 1880, H.C. Day founded the Lazy B ranch, where U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and her brother Alan spent their youth, a time they recall in this affectionate joint memoir.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1930-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Farmers & Ranchers    8. O'Connor, Sandra Day,    9. Political    10. Supreme Court    11. United States.    12. Women    13. Women In The U.S.    14. Biography & Autobiography / Women   

Reviews (5)

A good biography and nothing more.
I'll be brief since one reviewer elucidated my points quite well. Too much generalizing. Not enough objectivity
My husband is Bangladeshi, so I was interested in reading this book. The book is interesting in providing an insight into a dysfunctional, abusive home and childhood. It makes clear the critical need for third world countries to seriously address the issue of abuse and oppression of women. However, the book gets repetitive and tiresome after a while. Thoughts on Meyebela
A very interesting book, not always fun to read and maybe like the first reviewer says not always really well, or at least tightly, written.However, the account of this girlhood was shocking to me.I think now I understand feminism much better then before.And even though I've spent some time in Bangladesh, I now feel like I understand life in Bangladesh much better than before as well.I feel it was extremely worthwhile reading this book.It taught me a lot about how most of the world lives. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authors, Bengali    2. Bangladesh    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Childhood and youth    9. Literary    10. Nasarina, Tasalima    11. Women    12. Women authors, Bengali    13. Biography & Autobiography / Literary   

Reviews (25)

My 80 year old mother loved it
My Mother has been suffering from memory issues.We recently lucked out and found a prescription drug that has helped her focus more than she has in years. We couldn't believe it when she told us she read a book (the only book she's read in several years) that she borrowed from a friend at her Assisted Living facility.Apparently it was in large print and she loved it.I personally haven't read it, but she did pass it on to her older sister (83) and youger sister (77) and my sister 50) who all read it and said it was great. So, probably good gift idea for those form the depression era.

Great Memoir
A member of my church loaned me this book and to be frank, I wasn't all that interested in it. I had never read anything by Mary Higgins Clark before, and why did a writer name her book after a kitchen anyway? I was also intent on reading the Elsie Dinsmore books, and so put this book down, thinking that I'll return it after a week or so.
Clark's voice comes through clearly
The voice of Mary Higgins Clark comes through clearly to her many readers in "Kitchen Privileges."Her story-telling skills are on display as she relates the events through the decades of her life.Populating the story are family and friends, dear to her, and a theme throughout (though understated) is her warm Irish pluck, that courage that enabled her to raise five children when she was left on her own as a young widow.Clark is modest about her highly-honed writing ability; also, she never overplays her unfolding story.Instead she carries the reader along in a highly competent, yet matter-of-fact style---it's like she's Read more

Subjects:  1. 1929    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Bronx (New York, N.Y.)    8. Childhood Memoir    9. Childhood and youth    10. Clark, Mary Higgins    11. Depressions    12. Homes and haunts    13. Intellectual life    14. Literary    15. New York    16. New York (State)    17. Novelists, American    18. United States    19. Women    20. Biography & Autobiography / General    21. Biography: general    22. Literature: History & Criticism    23. Literature: Texts   

Reviews (55)

A pure work of fiction!
Ms. Clairmonte is a severely disturbed woman, who, when she found out she had been left out of the will of her step-father, destroyed the memory of a great man, making up horrible lies, and sued her own mother, leaving her mother broke and penniless. Shame on Ms. Clairmonte, how can she live her with herself?
Ultimate Judgement: A Story of Emotional Corruption, Obsession and Betrayal
I thought the book was great.I just wish they would have wrapped things up alittle more at the end.

WHY?
I am Ms. Meg Clairmonte's Ex Sister-in-law.I have heard for years about Meg's court case and book.My son, her nephew, just turned 18 and graduated from high school.I am a single mother and have struggled for years to support us and now we are trying to send him to Tech school in the fall.
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Subjects:  1. 1962-    2. Adult child sexual abuse victi    3. Adult child sexual abuse victims    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Case studies    7. Child sexual abuse    8. Childhood Memoir    9. Clairmonte, Meg,    10. Florida    11. Guyana    12. Personal Growth - Self-Esteem    13. Self-Help    14. Specific Groups - Special Needs    15. Tampa    16. Trials (Child sexual abuse)    17. Women    18. Family & Relationships / Abuse   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography And Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Ethnic Cultures - General    7. Literary    8. Personal Memoirs    9. ASIA    10. Asian / Middle Eastern history    11. Biography & Autobiography / Historical    12. Biography: general   

Reviews (2)

This book allows you to visit MY mountains
This book is a wonderful and gentle journey of one man who loved to be in the mountains! As an adult I started backpacking the very areas Douglas talks about in the book and have grown quite fond of the southern portion of the Cascades. Names like Darling Mountain, Fryingpan Lake, Fifes Peak, Old Snowy Mountain and Conrad Meadows - I've been to most of these places!
Wonderfully Written Fiction
When I first read this book several years ago, I was truly inspired by it.This is a delightful story of a boy that overcame the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of paralysis (if memory serves, induced by polio) by forcing himself to walk in the mountains of the great Northwest, and eventually becoming a United States Supreme Court Justice.Finding his strength and his soul (and his paralysis cure!) in the wilderness, he would often retreat to the great outdoors.This is a story of his lessons, and his adventures.A wonderful read.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Cascade Range    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Essays    7. History    8. Judges    9. Lawyers & Judges    10. Mountain life    11. Mountains    12. Nature    13. Nature/Ecology    14. Oregon    15. United States    16. Wallowa Mountains    17. Wallowa Mountains (Or.)    18. Childhood and youth    19. Douglas, William O    20. Travel / Adventure   

Reviews (10)

I'm in the middle , clearly controversy means something!
I usually only review books that I absolutely love- but in this case I wanted to read this tome in one night and be done with it... Alison has a beautiful and sometimes seductive and brilliant way of stringing thoughts together- an idiosyncratic way of descriptive device. Five stars for individuality and fine form.
extremely frustrating, with glimpses of brilliance
I think, from reading the other customer reviews of this book, that this must be one that you either love, or hate. Put me in the latter category. There was great potential in this book - Alison Rose is clearly a good writer, she has brushed up against many other good writers and interesting people, and led an unconventional life. But. Arrgggh! She tells us only the faintest of details, skips around in time so it is difficult to piece together what happened when, and gives us no context for her actions or her memories. She has had a devastating effect on others - men and women - in her life (judging from what she tells us, anyway). But there's no real indication of WHY she was able to captivate so many interesting, intelligent and prominent people.

Original, Beautiful, Droll, Elegiac and Perfect
I read Better Than Sane: Tales from a Dangling Girl all the way through, in one sitting.I couldn't put it down.The book is original, beautiful, droll (as Rose would say), elegiac and perfect.It is also sexy.Better Than Sane is a piece of literature, something people aren't accustomed to anymore. Anyone who doesn't agree with me doesn't know what literature is.Rose has created an entire set of characters here. Their interactions made me a little bored with my own life. Through the dialogue (there isn't dialogue like this in any book I can think of)and the prose itself, the reader understands how Alison Rose has survived. She was "rescued by her own actions and didn't get killed," as George Trow, her mentor at The New Yorker and writer of "Within the Context of No Context" said to
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Subjects:  1. (Alison C.)    2. Abuse - General    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Childhood and youth    9. Journalists    10. Rose, Alison    11. United States    12. Women    13. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (6)

Very informative and entertaining
This is an autobiographical novel that covers the author's childhood in a village outside of Prague, in what was then Czechoslovakia, in the late seventies and early eighties. The country was a Soviet bloc state, a fact which ruled over most aspects of life, and the author makes this very clear. She also makes clear her feelings about communism and the Soviet occupation, but what makes this a good read is that she also explains why. She uses facts and her own (many) personal experiences, and those of her parents, who rebelled against communism.