Reviews (10)

Endearing Ocean Story
What an endearing story about the ocean.As an avid SCUBA diver, I loved the idea of a baby whale following a swimmer along the coast because it lost its mother.
A book for everyone
This is a great book.Easy to read and it paints a beautiful story of one woman's experience.I could not put it down and wanted to read the end first to see what happened.I passed it on to my husband, 11 year old son and 14 year old daughter.It is a nice book with a nice story.Not too many of those books out there now.Will make a great gift for anyone who loves to read.

Take a pass on this one
The idea behind this book was a good one and the reason that I purchased it in the first place.The opportunity to swim with a baby whale in the wild is something many of us only dream about, yet Ms. Cox got to experience it firsthand and it makes sense that she would want to share that story.Unfortunately, this book does not get the job done.It is so poorly written that I had to force myself to keep turning the pages.I kept hoping that maybe I just needed to get used to her writing style, but there is no style... it's just written badly.The narration is often choppy, the paragraphs don't flow, and much of the detail about the ocean seems a bit over the top.As one other reviewer put it, it's as if every detail of her every swim in the ocean was combined into that one day.Not very realistic. If you are going to enjoy this book at all, perhaps a little suspension of disbelief is in order.Whole sections are just plain boring, and to add insult to injury, the illustration on the front of the book is not that of a gray whale (the species that Cox swims with in the book).It's a sperm whale.A small thing, yes, and a decision made probably more for marketing purposes than out of ignorance, but it still serves to make the overall package even less honest or appealing. After plodding through about half the book, I finally quit and returned it for a full refund.Save your money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1957-    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. California    4. Cox, Lynne,    5. Fishes    6. Marine Life    7. Marine Mammals    8. Nature    9. Nature/Ecology    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Santa Catalina Island    12. Swimming    13. Women    14. Nature / General   

Subjects:  1. Bible - Biography - General    2. Bible - Study - General    3. Bible Study Guide    4. Christian Life    5. Christianity - Christian Life - General    6. Christianity - Christian Life - Women's Issues    7. Religion    8. Religion - Biblical Studies    9. Religion / Christianity   

Reviews (5)

Simply ... amazing!
This is a great book for anyone who has ever battled depression or knows someone who has. It really hit home for me and while I never went as far as to take my own life, I felt many of the feelings she describes after the birth of my second child. It's nice to know you are not alone. Thank you for sharing your story of hope and healing. MOPS was also a saving grace for me in my struggles as well. THANKS MOPS!!!

Couldn't put it down--and you won't be able to either
Women especially will connect with this book, whether they've experienced postpartum depression or not. As I read it, I realized how many women in my own life had experienced abuse, rejection, and depression that was so debilitating they considered taking their own life. You'll want to read this book for yourself and recommend it to others to share in Tina's struggles, her miraculous rescue, and her ultimate triumph through faith, medical help, and the support of her friends and her husband. A great read that you won't forget.

Powerful and Thought Provoking
I have read literally thousands of books in my lifetime, but I have never read a book quite like this. First, I am from Wisconsin and have actually been to many of the places that Tina mentions in her story. Second, I too have struggled for many years with serious depression. I've never actually attempted suicide, but I came very close to it one night 10 years ago. It is only by the grace of God that I didn't attempt suicide that night. I truly believe that God intervened in my life that night. Even though I didn't yet know Christ as my Savior.I have struggled with serious depression off and on for the past 15 years. There have been five or six periods in my life where I have felt seriously depressed for months at a time. There is definitely a stigma in the church when it comes to depression.A lot of people simply don't know how to handle it. I could relate to so many of Tina's struggles. Tina's story is also my story. I am so thankful that Tina had the courage and strength to share such a deeply personal struggle with the world. I believe that this book will give hope to those of us who struggle with depression. But I believe it will also help those who have never had a problem with depression to be more compassionate and understanding. Struggling with serious depression can make you feel so alone and like there is no one who really understands. But this book showed me that I am not alone in my struggles and that even if no one else does, God understands and cares. I cried numerous times as I read this book. This book has helped me believe that there is hope and help is available. I do not have to suffer alone. Reading Tina's story also makes me want to begin counseling in order to deal with my depression and other issues openly and honestly.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Christianity    5. Consolation    6. Depressed persons    7. Depression    8. Depression, Mental    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Religious aspects    11. Religious life    12. Women    13. Biography & Autobiography / Women    14. Biography: general    15. Coping with illness    16. Pregnancy, birth & baby care   

Reviews (83)

Raymond Arroyo
I am not recommending this book. The author emphasizes so much on the problems inside the Catholic Church and misses to write about the beauty and unity of the Church. For all the non-Catholics who decide to read this book: Going through all that this Church has gone through, is another testimony that this is the Church Christ established and He is taking care of it.

she is a living saint
Amazing story on faith and trust. The impossible can be achieved with a little faith and persistance, even in the difficult times there is hope. This is a wonderfull book anyone with problems with faith. Arroyo sure knows how to capture a personality and put it in writting. 5 stars for the book and 5 more for the writer!!

SURPRISINGLY AWE INSPIRING--WHAT A WOMAN!
Who'd have thought that the elderly, cute nun had once (while a teenager) attempted to murder her uncle in a fit of rage?This and many other fascinating details from the life of Mother Angelica and how she was finally "led" by God to build the EWTN worldwide television and radio network.What A Woman! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (Mary Angelica),    2. 1923-    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Christianity - Catholicism    6. Eternal Word Television Network    7. M. Angelica    8. Mother,    9. Poor Clares    10. Religion    11. Religious    12. Religious Congregations And Orders    13. Roman Catholic Church    14. United States    15. Women    16. Biography & Autobiography / Religious   

Reviews (5)

Coco Chanel: The French self-made woman
From an orphanage in France to the Ritz hotel in Paris, Coco Chanel created an entire style empire that lives on. A French fasionista version of Eva Peron for the couture world. Coco remains an icon and legend.

A designer of authentic beauty
This is a substantial book in both size and pictorial content.
COCO
Mademoiselle Chanel was quite a woman.She totally invented herself, she was her best creation.This book does a fine job of showing off the clothes that made her famous and also offers many pictures of the singular Coco.The layout of the book is unique and took some getting use to, but it is informative and quite interesting.It is amazing all the men she was reportedly engaged with, she was not what one would call beautiful, but the woman had style and she knew knew how to work powerful men, a priceless talent in her day and unfortunitely to this day.Really a very good book on an amazing woman. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1883-1971    2. Art    3. Artists, Architects, Photographers    4. Beauty & Grooming - Fashion    5. Biography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Chanel, Coco,    8. Fashion    9. Fashion designers    10. France    11. General    12. Pictorial works    13. Women    14. Women fashion designers    15. Art / Fashion   

Reviews (169)

DELIGHTFUL!
My best friend recommended this book when I told her I was reading Ramona the Pest to my daughter. What a fun book! Haven Kimmel's voice was so true that I felt like I was eight years old all over again. Did not want it to end. What a GREAT read! Will look for more from this author.

Beautifully Written Love Letter to Small Town America -- and its Families
Haven Kimmel has a gift with words!Her story of growing up in small town America, with a slightly off-kilter family (aren't they all?) is just wonderful.Full of the wonderful little details that make a story real, and written from the child's perspective, Kimmel makes us laugh out loud at her childhood antics (and her family's). She also paints a vivid portrait of growing up in a teensy tiny town in the Midwest -- that rings true to any reader who grew up in a similar town, or has passed through one on his/her way from city to city. I loved this book!

A Girl Named Zippy
The cover photo of an alert non-Gerber baby.An old family photo topping each chapter.These help set a whimsical tone skillfully followed through with words only a mother could love.From tufted-head to stubbed-toe, this book celebrates the spunk of youth with countless recalls of which our inner tot can relate.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Childhood Memoir    7. City and town life    8. Girls    9. Indiana    10. Mooreland    11. Mooreland (Ind.)    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Regional Subjects - Midwest    14. Social life and customs    15. Women    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    17. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (13)

just a clip job
save your money/don't waste your time reading this book. not only is taraborrelli an atrocious writer, this book is only a clip job. he has no new sources except for a beverly hills hairdresser who's not really giving up any inside info on Liz as he's still doing her hair. he's lifted any anecdotes in this book from all the preceeding Liz books and it's torture to have read his writing. it's stupifying that he even gets published but it shows you that some publishers are desperate for any celebrity book on their list.

Interesting Biography
I think this book was very good.I liked how the book began with the story of Elizabeth's mother and father and her intense relationship with her mother and how it made her into the actress she is today.I found the book very humorous and very sad at times.But all together I thought the book was informative and engaging.

Don't even bother................
I've been a fan of Elizabeth Taylor's for almost longer than I can remember, and there isn't a book about her that I don't have, but this is one that even I could have done without.
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Subjects:  1. 1932-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    8. Individual Actors And Actresses    9. Motion picture actors and actresses    10. Rich & Famous    11. Taylor, Elizabeth,    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Reviews (30)

Loved the courage of this child
It Seems like everyone is trying to compare him with his brother. It shouldn't matter who got beaten the worse, their both strong and brave because they survived. I think the brothers should have help each other alot more. And their dad was a disgrace. It's just ashamed the community let this happen, And did not put her in jail for all the harsh stuff she did and they also had proof of it.
Following his brothers footsteps
I read all of David's books and was very moved..however Richard's seemed to hit alot of the same incidents..in either case I can't believe no one ever spoke up to help..I do feel David's books were better written .. I feel bad anyone would have to go through life as they did.. I wouldn't pass this book as I feel it almost reads the same as David's

Amazing story
This book was amazing. The hell Richard Pelzer and his brother David were put through makes you wonder how a mother could ever harm their child. I couldn't put this book down as I couldn't put David Pelzer's books down either. As soon as I recieved the book in the mail, I started to read it and was done in 2 days, which was disappointing because now I have nothing to read! Order this book, you won't be disappointed! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abuse - General    2. Abused children    3. Adult child abuse victims    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. California    7. Child Abuse    8. Childhood Memoir    9. Children of alcoholics    10. Children's Studies    11. Daly City    12. General    13. Pelzer, Richard B    14. Social Science    15. Sociology    16. Specific Groups - General    17. United States    18. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Military    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    7. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (103)

Don't support this writer by buying this piece of trash
A friend recommended this book which I unfortunately bought.I feel sorry for people who think that this is "writing."The author not only contradicts herself but the writing is shallow and lacks any depth.If you want to feel good, buy yourself a bottle of wine, not this book.

Reflective & Thought-provoking
I found this lying on the table at a bookstore during a one-nighter with my husband, which we both desperately needed as we're always surrounded by the things that needs to be done, two growing boys who demand all of our attention and time ~~ and reading the back of this book, I briefly thought of a friend who is going through her midlife crisis right now. So I picked it up.
You Have to Like the Genre
Before I begin this review, let me state that I have experienced most of the life changes that Joan Anderson describes in her book: from getting older to empty-nesting to (in my case) a divorce to wondering who and what I am. So I am not unsympathetic to any woman's struggle with the above.
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Subjects:  1. Anderson, Joan    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Cape Cod    7. Feminism & Feminist Theory    8. Massachusetts    9. Regional Subjects - New England    10. Women    11. Biography: general    12. Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory    13. Women's studies   

Reviews (14)

I beleive half of what she said.
Interesting tale, but like another reviewer said, save your money and borrow it from someone else.It was interesting that the author claimed to always be the innocent one in all the drama and scandal.I found that hard to believe.Regarding other things she said seemed to make sense and definitely revealed life at the Playboy Mansion as less glamorous than you'd think.It really annoyed me when she complained about Hef not paying her student loans.Had she finished taking the bar exam and pursued a career in law she would've been able to pay them herself.She lost most of her credibility when she said that and it was right in the beginning of the book.

Amusing, if you can borrow it, but save your money
I love to read autobiographies and the like, and Bunny Tales was my most recent read.The grammatical errors were numerous, but I was able to work past them and focus on content.The stories of the parties and sexual escapades I have read before - no surprise there.As for Hefner, he can live anyway he chooses; don't knock it if you are going to live it. He doesn't owe these girls anything, yet St. James comes across as selfish and superficial and most of all, ungrateful.
Interesting Read
Although I agree that this book was filled with too many contradictory statements and spelling/gramatical errors to count, it was nonetheless a very interesting read. I was intrigued to find out what actually happens behind the closed doors of the Playboy mansion, and I'm left wondering if what is shown on "The Girls Next Door" isn't all for show? I'm guessing it is, however what reality TV show isn't?
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Models (Persons)    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Playboy Enterprises    9. Rich & Famous    10. St. James, Izabella    11. United States    12. Women   

Reviews (61)

Rubin Cartert, the true story - it's not enough to see the movie
If you have seen "The Hurricane" motion picture, starring Denzel Washington (an amazing peformance), surely you'd think that you know everything there is to know about Rubin Carter. Unfortunately, that's incorrect. Furthermore, it's not even close.
A True Account
I bought this book my sophomore year of high school and that was over 7 years ago.It has literally been my bible to life.Rubin and his book have changed my life more than anything else I have ever encountered.Too often than not we find false heroes in this world.People like Paris Hilton who some look up to as a hero or a role model, but the true heroes in this life are often over looked or never seen at all.Rubin Carter is a true hero, I have never even heard of such a troubled life an to come out on top both a champion of his sport and one in life.A wise man told me once that it is now how we live this life but what we do during it.If your looking for a uplifting book of a true hero an a book that will give you strength when all doubt you, this is the one.

Brilliant and Touching
Obviously no one can write his story better than Rubin himself.This story is both and inspiring story of a man who has never stopped fighting and a terrifying reality check into the American judicial system.This book is filled with an anger that is only kept in check by the author's own love and compassion.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Boxing    5. Criminals & Outlaws    6. People of Color    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Prison Life    9. Sports    10. Sports - General    11. Biography & Autobiography / People of Color   

Editorial Review

In this first of five volumes of autobiography, poet Maya Angelou recounts a youth filled with disappointment, frustration, tragedy, and finally hard-won independence. Sent at a young age to live with her grandmother in Arkansas, Angelou learned a great deal from this exceptional woman and the tightly knit black community there. These very lessons carried her throughout the hardships she endured later in life, including a tragic occurrence while visiting her mother in St. Louis and her formative years spent in California--where an unwanted pregnancy changed her life forever. Marvelously told, with Angelou's "gift for language and observation," this "remarkable autobiography by an equally remarkable black woman from Arkansas captures, indelibly, a world of which most Americans are shamefully ignorant." ... Read more

Reviews (285)

Intersectionality as described by Maya Angelou
In her autobiographical novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou recounts her life story as a young, keenly intelligent but insecure black girl in the South during the 1930s and California during the 1940s. The book conveys the difficulties associated with the mixture of racial and gender discrimination endured by a southern black girl, though, and this is perhaps the most fundamental theme explored in her autobiography. The intersectionality of race and gender is a pivotal thread of Angelou's theme, where more than one type of subjugation results in a multiple burden for the victim. Overall, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a powerful, stirring account of the intersectionality of race and gender regarding black women. Though segregation had been officially declared null and void, many of the Southern states were steeped in racist tendencies that further multiplied the gender inequality that exposed black women to a multi-faceted oppression. Peiss, Hine, Terborg-Penn, Bederman, et. al. all examine threads of this intersectionality, and in discussing these threads, one can draw a distinct comparison between anti-black, anti-black women sentiment and Angelou's personal experiences. As a girl, Angelou believed her gender to be a limiting factor. She considered herself to be unheroic, and incapable of achieving spectacular feats like the boys in her comic books. In the narrative, being female for Angelou is just as trying as being black, and she struggled with the double burden, rather than embracing it. However, as more and more black women slowly overcame their troubles as a result of the overwhelming intersectionality of the time, so did Angelou. The novel ended with hope because she bucks the stereotype to become the first black female streetcar conductor. Angelou's spike in confidence and belief in her ability reflects the gradual evolution of black women's race and gender after decades of imprisonment, and foreshadows a future of activism, struggle for respect and eventual victory in those regards.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The Essence of Dreams...The Creativeness of Silence...The Fortitude of Love...
If only this scale had negatives...
Never before has such a poorly written book received such acclaim. Maya Angelou wrote this story not with candor and grace but with a bias rarely allowed to sit on shelves let alone the top of a best-seller list. She was not humorous but had a heinousness of character and action that places her beyond the limits of human pity. This "inspiring author" did not demonstrate poignancy and depth but the crude rudiments of writing skill below that found in the essays of a primary school student.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Afro-American women authors    3. Authors, American    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Discrimination & Racism    9. Literary    10. People of Color    11. Women    12. Biography & Autobiography / People of Color    13. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (4)

Not nearly as good a book as I'd hoped
I've just gotten this book so I'm still reading it but I've already spotted some things I don't like about it. The writing style isn't what I'd expect from an experienced writer, large parts of the book consisting of page long paragraphs- it's as if she went into a trance and the stuff just streamed out. You do find a lot of information and a large number of footnotes indicating that the author used just about every Diana book you already own as research material. I don't guess it's a bad book, just so hard goingwith those looooong paragraphs!
first real biography of Diana, Princess of Wales
This is the first proper biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, as opposed to memoirs by former employees (Jephson, Wharfe, Burrell) or more or less ax-grinding efforts by journalists (Morton, Seward, Junor). Bradford, an experienced biographer, has produced a sound and workmanlike book, and without sacrificing balance or accuracy or contending that the late princess was a flawless biped makes the best pro-Diana case to date.
Superlative biography of a truly remarkable woman
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and found it an extremely well researched and thoughtful biography of the late Princess of Wales. Diana's life is chronicled from her life as the youngest daughter in an influential, aristocratic British family to her untimely death in Paris in 1997. Diana indeed was from a notable family and of which she was rightly proud. The ill fated union of her parents is described as well as the impact of their turbulent divorce on their young children, especially Diana. Diana was said to be very much influenced by her paternal grandmother whose charitable works and compassion were passed on to her granddaughter (Diana's paternal grandmother looked remarkably like Diana as well--one of the portraits shown in the illustrations demonstrates this--it is a rather striking resemblance).
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Subjects:  1. 1961-1997    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Diana,    7. Great Britain    8. Great Britain - History - 20th Century    9. Historical - British    10. Monarchy And Aristocracy    11. Princess of Wales,    12. Princesses    13. Rich & Famous    14. Royalty    15. Women    16. Biography & Autobiography / Women   

Reviews (12)

Where have all the LADIES gone?
If pop star Pink sings "Where oh where have all the smart people gone, where oh where could they be?"... then this book cries "Where oh where have all the LADIES gone? Where oh where could they be?" If ever there is a role model for a renaissance in being a lady (not to be confused with a bombshell)... it is Audrey. Her grace, aristocratic sophistication, refinement, depth, humanitarian spirit, and genuine posh-like glamour was real as much as it was regal. In a world of cheap bombshell images the statement: that which is least seen is most beautiful is truer than ever. Audrey was an archetype of an era where being a lady was respected and advocated.

The Ultimate Guide to Loveliness, Both Inside and Out.
A lot of people misuse the term "hero."Lots of people think it's an athlete, an actor, or a singer.I regard Audrey Hepburn as my hero and a great role model.She was a rare and unusually timeless beauty with her gamine looks and a gorgeous accent, often mistaken as British, that also belied part of her time in Nazi occupied Holland.With the grace of a dancer and a princess to add to her intoxicating manner of speech, she had consistently excellent taste in clothes, impeccable hairstyles, and an approach to living that more people in this world would do well to adhere to.
Perfect Stocking Stuffer
I gave this book to my mom for Mother's Day and haven't stopped hearing how much she likes it.I highly recommend it as the perfect stocking stuffer, especially for the price on Amazon.Just ordered two more for my sisters. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1929-    2. 1929-1993    3. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    4. Hepburn, Audrey,    5. Personal & Practical Guides    6. Quotations    7. Reference    8. Sociology    9. Women's Studies - General    10. Biography: film, television & music    11. Films, cinema    12. Reference / Personal & Practical Guides   

Editorial Review

We've all got our idiosyncrasies when it comes to writing--a special chair we have to sit in, a certain kind of yellow paper we absolutely must use. To create this tremendously affecting memoir, Jean-Dominique Bauby used the only tool available to him--his left eye--with which he blinked out its short chapters, letter by letter. Two years ago, Bauby, then the 43-year-old editor-in-chief of Read more

Reviews (92)

A book close to my heart
The book has been the best book I have ever read.
Where does one get the strenght to carry on?
A marvelous book in which a man tells his personal experiences and thoughts in dealing with a stroke that left him completely paralysed,speechless and able only to move one eyelid. It is amazing that he found a way to tell his story and it will show the reader what a slender thread it is by which we all cling on to life. It is a wonderful moving read and will surely leave one with much to think about. I also read many of the very personal reviews that customers have written.
Unbelievably beautiful
With every page, every sentence, every word....every letter....I try to put myself in Bauby's stiff-backed wheelchair and imagine the pain (physical, mental, spiritual and emotional) he was going through at the time. And you know what? I probably didn't even scratch the surface.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Brain    6. Cerebrovascular disease    7. Diseases    8. France    9. General    10. Patients    11. Periodical editors    12. Personal narratives    13. Specific Groups - General    14. Biography & Autobiography / General    15. Biography: general   

Editorial Review

"I fell for the great American dream, female version, hook, line, and sinker," Marya Hornbacher writes. "I, as many young women do, honest-to-God believed that once I Just Lost a Few Pounds, suddenly I would be a New You, I would have Ken-doll men chasing my thin legs down with bouquets of flowers on the street, I would become rich and famous and glamorous and lose my freckles and become blond and five foot ten." Hornbacher describes in shocking detail her lifelong quest to starve herself to death, to force her short, athletic body to fade away. She remembers telling a friend, at age 4, that she was on a diet. Her bizarre tale includes not only the usual puking andstarving, but also being confined to mental hospitals and growing fur (a phenomenon called lanugo, which nature imposes to keep a body from freezing to death during periods of famine). ... Read more

Reviews (366)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
I never truly left this book until it was done. I stopped at points and it took perhaps a week to finish, but it was always on my mind. I rolled over her story in my head as I went about my days (or daze).
Excellent, witty and very honest book
I've read a few lame teenage oriented, moralistic, politically correct books about eating disorders, but THIS is something completely different! Not only because Marya is a real, tallented writer, but even more because her writing is so honest, detailed and yet humorous in some strange way. She doesn't whin about her situation, she doesn't blame all the world and society, but she neither powders herself with ashes. She just tells her story, a story of a very seriuos, determined, tallented and unique girl who decided to become really thin and pushed her dieting obsession to its very limits, to the very edge of death. Details of her starving and purging practices, and of her inventive, deceiving methods to convince her family, friends and medical personel that she's fine, are scary, but this brutal realism makes you really think about eating disorders. Her eating disorder is not just a disorder, it's a real full-time job, a lifestyle, a dedication, and it's extremly frightening. I found her comments about her recent life very good and revealing too.
Fantastic Book
Marya Hornbacher paints a real and vivid image of her experience with anorexia. This is the best book on anorexia and bulimia I have ever read. I keep coming back to this book- I could read it again and again just because of Hornbachers talent for writing. She truely has a gift!
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Subjects:  1. Anorexia nervosa    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Bulimia    7. Eating Disorders - General    8. Patients    9. Psychopathology - Eating Disorders    10. Specific Groups - Special Needs    11. United States    12. Women    13. Biography & Autobiography / Medical    14. Biography: general    15. Coping with eating disorders   

Editorial Review

Karen Armstrong speaks to the troubling years following her decision to leave the life of a Roman Catholic nun and join the secular world in 1969. What makes this memoir especially fascinating is that Armstrong already wrote about this era once---only it was a disastrous book. It was too soon for her to understand how these dark, struggling years influenced her spiritual development, and she was too immature to protect herself from being be bullied by the publishing world. As a result, she agreed to portray herself only in as "positive and lively a light as possible"---a mandate that gave her permission to deny the truth of her pain and falsify her inner experience. The inspiration for this new approach comes from T. S. Eliot's Read more

Reviews (80)

Wonderfully Touching and Powerful
Thank you Karen for recording your experience in such a truthful and therefore powerful way. Your courage and determination in the face of inhumanity is a familiar drumbeat that we would all do well to march to. Your stories of survival with compassion and mercy are a shining-light to those of all faiths and of all languages. Your language of love and hope is universal and you are a true friend. Thank you.

excellent
Karen Armstrong is a great writer, with quite the story to tell.The Spiral Staircase recounts the most powerful and change-filled years of her life--it concentrates mostly on the few years following her departure from life as a Catholic nun.She tells her story so honestly and openly that you really get a feel for Karent Armstrong the person, not just the successful writer.I read The Spiral Staircase before I read any of her other works, but since then I've enjoyed both her biography of Buddha, and "Islam: A Short History."Her memoir is candid and her prose is neither too emotional nor too academic.

Describes temporal lobe epilepsy with Grace
Another reviewer, a nurse who has interest in temporal lobe epilepsy and thought that Armstrong did not adequately explain temporal lobe epilepsy, has obviously never experienced a temporal lobe seizure. Karen Armstrong's descriptions of her temporal lobe seizures were spine-tingling, and nearly brought me to tears with the feeling that "Finally! Someone has put it into words! Someone understands!" Her plight out of the darkness of religious life is inspiring and her experiences with epilepsy make a remarkable backdrop. I recommen