Book In Review

        She said Yes….The Unlikely Martyrdom Of Cassie Bernall is quite a book.  It is not a huge long-winded book…but, the searching and yearning of a mother’s heart as she seeks to “know” more about her daughter, after her death in the Columbine shooting is quite inspiring.

        Cassie Bernall is probably most remembered for her last spoken word.  That word was a simple, Yes.  It was in answer to the question, “Do you believe in God?”  There is so much more to who Cassie was; and, how she came to be the person she was…and this mother’s quest to understand the journey Cassie was on, is very enlightening.  It has alot to teach both parents and children.

         From a typical teenager’s angst…to a world of occult, peer pressure, self- image struggles, drugs, cutting, and anger….the struggles that Cassie endured attest to the power of a parent’s love and intervention when it comes to fighting for a positive relationship with your child in the face of all that the world throws between parents/children.  This is a must read! 

       The book, Hannah’s Gift…Lessons from a Life Fully Lived, requires at least one small box of tissues that have been softened with lotion.  This book…made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me sob like nobody’s business…and it made me want to change the way that i look at life with all of it’s ups and downs.

          Hannah introduced the power of the human touch to the medical professional’s approach in helping pediatric care patients.  She introduced the idea of not limiting the activities of a sick child, when another approach can be considered, without compromising the health of the child.  In other words, don’t say no just for the sake of saying no…time is limited…say yes once in a while, and feel the liberation of that!

        I can think of all kinds of people that i want to personally recommend this book to.  I stayed up last night, until 2:30 this morning, to read it cover to cover; and, I am not sorry for the sacrifice of time. 

          Hannah is three.  She is a life force to be reckoned with.  Hannah is diagnosed with a cancerous tumor.  She and her family are on a collison course with the depths of their faith.  Hannah lives with joy in her red shoes that “fit perfect”.  She insists on being given some control in her daily life. 

          Hannah is an inspiration.   Even after her death, she leaves a legacy of living life to the fullest.  Hannah teaches many not to fear the opinion of others; not to hold oneself back, by fear.  She teaches that life is better living in truth, when you have the facts.  She also inspires a closer relationship with the spirit of God.

           Hannah’s family was each gifted in the present, and in the future, through knowing her and learning from her short life.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book.  If you know someone who is grieving…share the book.  If you know someone struggling with cancer…share the book.  If you know someone locked in fear…holding themselves back from their joys…share the book.

            Hannah’s Gift…touched me in ways that are amazing.  Just yesterday, previous to reading the book; I had been blogging on the subject of grieving; at the request of a friend who is grieving the loss of her mother.  Part of my blog post referred to my vision of grief as being like an onion…full of layer upon layer of discovery and loss.  Hannah’s Gift also, later in the evening of my reading, likened grief to the layers of an onion.  God spoke to me at the reading of that.  He speaks to us in real ways when we are listening.  Just like he spoke to Hannah’s mother through a complete stranger who was encouraged by a Hannah who had passed to create a handmade rug for her mother.  Just like he spoke to Hannah’s mother through two other women who made a quilt before Hannah’s death in his usual perfect timing.

          My blog post was that everyone grieves differently…and that is ok.  The key is not to get stuck in anyone area of grief that is destructive.  Hard to avoid…but, necessary for the soul to go on. 

           Hannah’s Gift was written by Hannah’s mother, Maria Housden.  She overcame the despair and depression that her loss caused to go on to write this inspiring book.  Truly, God intended her to share her wisdom and her journey.  He has changed Maria’s life since that time…it has been a life of meaning.  Painful at times, inspiring at times, and he has taught Maria about living in the moment, loving in the moment, letting go with dignity, and teaching through it all. 

            Hannah’s Gift was copyrighted in 2002 and was published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

         Proud To Work: A Pictorial History Of Michigan’s Civilian Conservation Corps is a peek into the history of our countries rebuilding attempts after the devastation of The Great Depression.

         The Civilian Conservation Corps was started by Franklin D. Roosevelt to employ young men around the country who were without jobs.  It was designed to encourage young men from families to do an assortment of jobs…the main jobs were to enhance the value of our country’s natural resources; and, to create jobs to help un-employed men earn ways to feed themselves and their dependents.

           The type of work the CCC did was re-forestation and flood prevention; but, they also installed telephone lines, constructed fire and logging roads, tree planting, bee keeping, fence construction, furniture manufacturing, and preventing soil erosion. 

            The young men were aged 18-25; although times were desperate and some young men faked an appropriate age just to join in.  They were fed well and earned $30.00 a month or a dollar a day. 

            As many families had alot of mouths to feed…this was a wonderful way to lesson the load as far as numbers of children to feed.   They also knew that the young men would eat well, plus earn money to send back home to help out.  This book illustrates the closeness of families and their williness to use their strong work ethic to earn an honest living.

        The requirement was that $25.00 be sent home to their families allowing them to keep $5.00 each month for themselves.  They lived in camps and worked hard.  This allowed them to build themselves up physically.  Before the CCC many were malnourished, so the young men were glad to have 3 meals a day and a roof over their heads.  The camps were run with military like discipline and the young men wore military uniforms.

          I myself heard tales growing up of my grandfather’s contribution to our local environment.  He helped to plant trees in Big Prairie Township, Michigan.  Earlier families to the territory had depleted the natural forests around the Muskegon River and had caused the land to turn on itself creating a desert that started to consume land all around.  What started out as a 10 acre desert soon turned itself into over a thousand acres. 

           The planting of trees saved many homes and families from the “blow sand”.    I can remember taking an end of the year school trip out to the area to see what was left of the desert.  Unfortunately, i can’t remember much about what we were told, except that Indians had previously lived in the area and the occasional lucky child found an arrow head when we visited the rippled sands on our end of the year picnic.

        I like to drive through the dirt roads and see the remains of some of the trees that were planted.  It is an amazing book and links into part and parcel of my memories of my childhood memories of growing up in some of the areas blessed by the work of the CCC’s.  The book is also a strong advocate to take care of our natural resources and to honor the contribution of those who worked so very hard to save the beauty of nature around us.

         This book was written by Annick Hivert Carthew, copyrighted in 2006.  It was published by Wilderness Adventure Books.  It is an informative book on country’s ability to dig in and rebuild itselt when it was dealt a devastating blow from The Great Depression.

       Nobody wants your child was written by Mr. Milton Creagh.  Milton is a motivational speaker and host on Parenting Works, a national television series on PBS.  He also speaks to corporations and businesses around the world. 

         What he says in this book is that the way society is shaping the youth of today makes them virtually unwanted in the work place.  We live in an instant world where children in the US are given much and have to work less for it themselves–parents are too eager to provide everything for them. 

           Discipline in the homes and the schools is not consistent nor is it administered in ways to promote a strong work ethic in Mr. Creagh’s opinion.  He talks about the lack of strong parenting.  With the rampant problem of drugs, alcohol, as well as the influence of the streets; it is difficult for parents to instill a strong sense of self- discipline in their youth. Often, young workers dont dress with modesty in the work place and react in disrespectful ways when chastized by someone in authority over them.   

          I had the pleasure of listening in to one of Mr. Creagh’s speaches a year ago.  Alot of what he talks about is that in the work he does for the corporate world, he hears how lazy and how unproductive the younger employees are that are hired in the work place.  He is often called in to teach appropriate interaction in the workplace between employees. 

          Mr. Creagh shares the fact that alot of corporate human resource directors say that they would rather hire aging workers or the mentally challenged than some of the younger potential hirelings.  That is a very sad statement.

          The book talks about how parents play an important role in teaching young people to value themselves as well as others by teaching them to be respectful, hard workers. 

           While this subject is a bit depressing, it is also aspires to encourage parents to have a higher standard when raising their children.  He has a sense of humor and yet he is very direct in what he says.  If we don’t change the course of our young people; we will all pay the price. 

          These are the leaders of the future …the potential fathers and mothers of our grandchildren…our future employees…our future caregivers…our sons and our daughters; are they not worth the effort it will take to challenge them to achieve their own personal best?

          Nobody wants your child was copyrighted in 2006 and was published by Rock Hill Books of Georgia.  You can visit Milton’s website at:  http://miltoncreagh.com/

       Sarah’s Song is a short inspirational book written by Karen Kingsbury.  The book is centered around a woman named Sarah who lives in an assisted living home, called Greer Retirement Village.  She was young once and lived a full life outside of these walls.  In fact, she could look right outside of her window and see a monument to the place to where it all began and, began again…the bench.

        The book opens by describing what 86 year old Sarah describes, in small stingy bits of information, as a sacred ritual.  It is her own six decade ritual of a personal 12 days of Christmas.   The ritual is in remembrance of  her life choices and the consequences that follow as a result.

         On the 13th of every December, her ritual is to open envelopes, one a day for 12 days.  Each one contains one paper ornament on which is written, one very important word.  This story contains rich and deep humanity that we all choose to live by; or ignore, according to our whim of the moment.

         Sarah teaches us to consider the consequences of living outside of our own value system that has been ingrained in each of us since birth.  She, also indirectly, teaches us the joy in correcting mistakes; so, that we don’t rob ourselves of the fullness of the life intended for us. Read the rest of this entry…

      Wow, have you ever met someone that you just can’t believe has crammed so much living and learning into their lifetime?  The author of this book, Life’s Golden Ticket is such a person.  His new book is an inspirational read that begs you to keep turning the page.

       Brendon Burchard is a young man who seems to have been blessed with a multitude of skills and knowledge.  He is a nationally known leadership speaker, he is a life coach, a business consultant; and now, he is a well known author.  You can visit the author online at: www.lifesgoldenticket.com.

       His client list reads like a list of who’s who in corporations, universities, non- profit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies.  In fact, a portion of Brendon’s profits from this book will go to the YMCA and Junior Achievement as well as the Kiwanis organization.  Brendon believes in putting his money where his mouth is.

        The whole book’s premise is really about a journey of self discovery and over-coming life’s obstacles to using the skills, talents and blessings that each of us has been endowed with to make the world a better place.  It is a very inspiring book.  Read the rest of this entry…

          Being the first to do something can have very large $$$ impact on your life.  Ken McArthur is doing some pre-launch give away resources before his book gets released for sale in early May.      What he is doing is allowing people to sign up to help him put out the word about his launch.  If you are one of the first people to sign up for a link….then, whenever anyone signs up under your link you will get compensated for it for years to come as long as  you and the other person remain members of Ken’s site.  Register for free here: http://theimpactfactor.net/?id=35

        This can happen over and over again as people you recommend the book to, purchase not only it but, any products or services associated with this membership site.  This is going to be a huge book.  I myself cannot wait to read it.  I know that Ken is a genuine person who truly believes in the idea behind the book.  I can’t wait to hear about testimonies as to how his book has ”impacted lives”.

      Ken is an awesome person, internet marketer, as well as an up and coming author.  His book is on “Impact” in this world.  The resource items that he is giving away will only be of top quality value.  His first give away can be seen here: http://theimpactfactor.net/?id=35.  Sign up for free for the videos and audios that will help you to be successful.

FREE Instant Access to this 48 minute Live Audio Recording. Read the rest of this entry…