The Heroines Bookshelf

BOOK: The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder
AUTHOR: Erin Blakemore

GRADE: A

“Yes, heroines can make their own magic when they expect the highest and best of themselves and others. Magic summons up all of our secrets, turning them upside-down like old roots in fresh earth, uprooting the pain and isolation of an ugly, oppressed childhood and making it whole and good again in the light of day. Magic draws the sun up from its bed, calms anxiety, powers the insides of people who were shriveled, ugly, and small before their time. It embodies all the risk and potential of daily life, cyclical and obscure, a life that can and does mean something if we are brave enough to grow beyond ourselves. Magic occurs when, like Mary, we love others despite our deepest misgivings, pushing our boundaries even when. As for Frances, the world only offers us hurt and betrayal in return.”

-Erin Blakemore (in reference to the concept of Magic in “The Secret Garden”)

I begin with the above excerpt for the simple reason that its’ sheer beauty is just a taste of what you’ll find in Blakemore’s artfully crafted journey through over a hundred years of literature – focusing on the lessons learned from the true heroines (authors and characters alike). As anyone who devours literature would attest to, reading for pure enjoyment is what opens the book but reading for life’s hidden instruction manual is what keeps the pages turning.

“The Heroines Bookshelf” is the compelling look at twelve of literature's most beloved heroines and the writers who supplied us with these women. With each chapters two-fold approach, Blakemore starts with an exploration into the lives of each author before delving the characters themselves. Being thoroughly introduced to the writers I’ve looked up to but never learned much about was fascinating. Who, for instance, knew that Zora Neale Hurston endured the shattering of her public reputation after being accused of the molestation of three boys in 1948? Or that Alice Walker led a bisexual life – going so far as to publicly embrace the identity?

Janie Crawford (“Their Eyes Were Watching God”) inspires us with her hard won faith, while Scarlett O’Hara (“Gone With The Wind) shows us how to fight the good fight – and win! “The Heroines Bookshelf” ends with Mary Lennox (“The Secret Garden”) enchanting us by reveling in the magic all around her (and us – by extension). Nothing is left uncovered and no one is shortchanged. My appreciation for these already revered literary works increased ten fold. Curl up on the couch and prepared to be amazed and inspired!

I leave you with this:

“Self is what we fight for, where we come from. Flawed or not (and what heroine is not flawed), we’re the only constant in our lives. Often, our selves are the only place we have to come back to. The landscape is weird and ever changing, but it’s one well worth getting to know.”
-Erin Blakemore (in reference to “Pride and Prejudice”)

will's choice

Book: will's choice: A suicidal Teen, A Desperate Mother and A Chronicle of Recovery

Author: Gail Griffith

Grade: B+

Part memoir; part expose of our nation's dismal treatment for mental illness: "will's choice" is the heart wrenching tale of a mothers desperate attempts to save her suicidal teenage son amidst a system that is systematically failing everyone.

I haven't been so moved by a story in months as I was with this one. The prose are superb and painful to read. The journal entries from Will and his girlfriend Megan transport us into the suicidal mind in a way this is astoundingly painful to read. I actually had to put the book down at times and recollect myself emotionally. Nothing is glossed over or sugar coated. Watching Will's family try time after time to get effective help for their son is maddening - the frustration and terror they feel is palpable in the pages. Almost immediately, I found myself rooting for Will in a way that I would do so for my own close friends or family members. The writing really allows you to feel as if you are right there in the story; trudging the road with these people who feel like so much more than the strangers that they are.

The infuriating reality Gail's expose into the failures of the mental health community - especially in relation to adolescents - hits home so deeply because in the five years since "will's choice" was published there has not been real change in the system. Thus kids are floundering and dying as a result. The reality of this is sickeningly incomprehensible to me. If this book doesn't stir you to action, I don't know what will.

Must read for parents of mentally ill children! MUST READ

Portrait Of An Addict As A Young Man

BOOK: Portrait Of An Addict As A Young Man
AUTHOR: Bill Clegg

GRADE: incomplete

I could probably count the number of books that I have abandoned without finishing them on one hand. I have an almost compulsive need to finish all books regardless of my losing interest along the way. Abandoning ship midway produces a gnawing feeling in my belly that messes with my self esteem – it’s bizarre and mildly pathological, I know.

That being said, I simply could not get through Bill Cleggs 220pg memoir (and have skipped the trouble of downloading a pic for this review). The problem centers around the complete inability to make the reader care about the author by filling page after page with disturbing behaviors and overly graphic descriptions. I’m not easily disturbed by memoirs – actually, I adore the gritty tell alls – but this was too much for me. By not taking the time to grant himself endearing qualities, there is no reason to feel anything other than repulsed by the author.

I put the book down, then picked it up. I was hell bent on finishing it – due to the above mentioned neurosis – but I never cared. I never had an interest in what happened next. I grew resentful at having to finish it (even though it was a self imposed mandate). And I was more than relieved when I convinced myself it was ok to just put it down. I have not read a worse book in a while – I would skip this one entirely.

little white lies, deep dark secrets

Book: little white lies, deep dark secrets: The Truth About Why Women Lie
Author: Susan Shapiro Barash

Grade: A-

My only problem with “little white lies” is the fact that I picked it up at 9pm and thus didn’t sleep because I absolutely could not put it down – despite numerous attempts.

Barash intensely fascinating look into the root of dishonesty in women today illuminates how society sends out mixed messages to women – which create a breeding ground for dishonesty. What I found most remarkable is the conscious lack of blame or criticism shown towards the women who bravely confessed their lies to the author. From the start, Barash makes it clear that she is not interested in fault and blame, but only in an exploration into the genesis of the habit and the resulting forms it manifests itself in. She identifies three categories of dishonesty and applies these through extensive interviews to situations ranging from shoplifting to addition based lying. The responses of the interviewees are brutally honest; with many women defending their lies to the end and offering up the rationale behind them. The fact they are able to do so in such a way as to elicit understanding and compassion – instead of anger and blame – is what makes “little white lies” really work.

The research is thorough. The chapters flow seamlessly. And the questions raised will keep the wheels in your head spinning for days.

“little white lies, deep dark secrets” gets my strong recommendation.

The Insanity Offense

Book: The Insanity Offense: How America's Failure To Treat The Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens.

Author: E. Fuller Torrey

Grade: B

"The Insanity Offense" exposes the assault on society as a direct result of the de-institutionalization of the mentally ill in this country. In 1969, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act was passed and limited involuntary institutionalization to a mere seventeen days unless the individual could be shown to be "imminently dangerous." Additionally , "physical evidence of danger much be displayed in a court of law."

The final result of which is the steady stream of homicides, suicides, and violent but non-deadly attacks on the public by these seriously ill (and usually non compliant with medication) individuals. The startling numbers are enough to make your stomach turn. However, Torrey also makes sure to expose how by granting the mentally ill the "civil rights" to refuse treatment, they are also suffering in an almost inhumane system. I was shocked and baffled - and extremely unnerved by the statistics given in "The Insanity Offense."

"The Insanity Offense" is a non fiction psychological text that I would recommend only if you have a strong interest in the subject matter. Statistics, graphs, and diagnoses make up 85% of the book. If interested enough to not be bored, this has my recommendation. If not - I recommend skipping it.

Fury: A Memoir

Book: Fury: A Memoir

Author: Koren Zailckas

Grade: B+

After catapulting herself onto the bestseller scene with her explosive memoir of teenage binge drinking (Smashed), Koren Zailckas turns her attention to her next non-fiction: an in depth exploration of treatment of anger as it varies from culture to culture. The fact that Zailckas chooses anger as a topic, while insisting she has none is just one demonstration of the power of denial we all erect in varying degrees.

After hitting a brick wall with the writing of her book and enduring a devastating breakup with a man who is referred to only as "the lark," Koren retreats back to her parents house to wallow and wilt until she reaches the point at which people start referring to her as "the computer" because of the complete lack of expression in her. As a last ditch effort - and with an insane degree of reluctance and bitterness - she is forced to see a therapist. She enters to talk about "the lark" but discovers through the process where the anger ball started rolling in her life - and how it shaped what she sees today. With her new insight, she begins to make changes in her interactions with those around her and she starts changing (life doesn't change, but she does - a fact that I find reassuringly realistic).

Fury would not be nearly as powerful as it is were it not for it's refusal to lend itself to predictability. As a self help guru and avid reader/intellectual, I related heavily with her as the patient with all the research but none of the actual answers. Once she can put that defense down, progress can begin - as it is so in my life. Koren avoids the temptation to wrap everything up neatly with roses and sunshine in the end - that's not reality. And I fully appreciate that willingness.

Part textbook and part memoir; Fury is informative, fun, page turning and inspirational. Gets my recommendation.