Louise DeSavlo's book WRITING AS A WAY OF HEALING: HOW TELLING OUR STORIES TRANSFORMS OUR LIVES came out in 1999. Even 16 years later, every word in her book rings true and is valuable for anyone going through the healing process. As a writer, I recommend EVERYONE follow DeSalvo's premise of writing as a way of healing. I realize, though, that not everyone finds healing in writing. If that is true, then I am going to take a little side path from DeSalvo's text to say that I think that when it comes to healing, each person should find what he/she loves to do--writing, dancing, gardening, etc., etc., etc.--and do it. Use your passion for what you love to do lead to your healing. Of course, like DeSalvo, I personally do agree that writing is a perfect outlet and does lead to healing, but I love to write. I not only love to write, I HAVE to write. If writing isn't for you, then find what it is that you HAVE to do and do and allow yourself to be healing through the doing....
I have been writing my own story of healing for a while now. I am currently working on getting my memoir ready for publication and in the meantime, I have a blog where I add posts that are directly related to the topic of my memoir. Please feel free to read my blog if you'd like: http://joyregardless.blogspot.com/
When I first started watching DEXTER a year or so ago, I had no idea that it was originally a series of books. As soon as I learned that it is (was), I bought and downloaded the first book in the series to my Nook! I still have two seasons left to watch of the tv show that was on HBO, but I'm already feeling separation anxiety! I just can't get enough of Dexter! I have no idea why I'm so fascinated with him except to say that I've always been interested in psychology in general and why people do the things they do. Watching Dexter, and now reading the book, he is a wonderful psychological study! And what makes him even that much more interesting is the fact that he is very intelligent--he's is very well and highly educated! He knows all the psychological babble! He knows what he is and why--where and when his "Dark Passenger" began. He is aware enough that even though he is a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Dade Homicide Department, he is also somewhat of a Profiler. His co-workers and colleagues trust his judgment about crime scenes! He's SMART. But he's a serial killer. It's just too fascinating!
Plus, it doesn't hurt that Michael C. Hall is just gorgeous! I know I'd easily be charmed by his swagger and lop-sided smile!!!!
Obviously, this was not my first time reading Harper Lee's wonderful TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, but reading it as an adult vs. reading it as a young person are vastly different! I loved the book when I first read it more than 25 years ago. I have always remembered it and have told anyone who would listen that it's one of THE greatest books ever written and that it should be REQUIRED reading for EVERYONE. Reading it again as an adult, it's still one of THE greatest books ever written and I still believe that it should be REQUIRED reading for EVERYONE. It seriously is just THAT GOOD. Thank you, Harper Lee, for writing such an amazing story. I can't wait for the new book being released later this year!!!!
Oh, Marty. I had no idea. I have always LOVED Martin Short and reading his memoir I MUST SAY: MY LIFE AS HUMBLE COMEDY LEGEND only made that love deeper. He has never had the fame or recognition like Robin Williams or some of the other comedy greats, but he's always been right there in the group, a part of the action--just quiet, but still very much a part. I have seen most of his movies and many of his comedy sketches. My favorite movies are INNERSPACE and the FATHER OF THE BRIDE movies where he plays Franck. He is just so FUNNY. I've always said that I love the life stories of others. I am a huge fan of the memoir--which I guess is why I'm attempting to write one of my own--and I am very happy that Martin Short willingly shared his story. I am especially glad that I made the time to read it. He is a kindred spirit; I just KNOW that he and I would hit it off wonderfully if we were ever to meet.
Thanks for the laughs, Marty. Just, Thanks.
I can honestly say that it was difficult to put down John Green's PAPER TOWNS. Yes, it is a very good book and well worth reading. John Green truly has a gift for story-telling and I, for one, am very glad that he is sharing that gift with the world. With that being said, though, all I could think about throughout the whole of the story was LOOKING FOR ALASKA. While there are some obvious differences between the two stories--which I won't name just in case you haven't read one or the other or both, the two are still essentially the same story. It's almost as if Green asked himself what would LOOKING FOR ALASKA be if THIS hadn't happened--if it had gone THIS way instead of the way it did? (Or vice versa. I haven't looked to see which book was written first.) That's not a problem. It's actually quite genius because I was wondering the same thing. If you know anything about John Green's previous books, I feel the need to remind you, then know going into PAPER TOWNS that he stays mostly faithful to his MO.
One final thought: I'm sick of labels such "Young Adult" literature for stories like PAPER TOWNS just because the main characters are teenagers. I am in my mid-forties and I have enjoyed every so-called "young adult" novel I've read--especially those of John Green, Gayle Forman, and the best of them all, Stephen Chobsky's THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. Yes, the main characters in their stories are teenagers, but not only do I remember what it was like being a teenager, but I can also relate to the extreme emotions of the teens within these stories.
Teenagers are NOT the only age group to FEEL with every fiber of their being, you know!
Robyn Schneider's THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING really hits close to home. Ezra begins his story by saying that he believes everyone has or will have his/her own tragedy in his/her life--and then proceeds to tell/share his own personal tragedy. His story, of course, interacts with others so it is not exclusive just to Ezra's own personal tragedy. This book is powerful, yet achingly sweet and in some ways, quite smarmy simply because of the sappy "Romeo and Juliet" tragic love story. It is one of those books where the beginning tells you everything you need to know, so if you think you're going to have a "happily ever after," you didn't read read carefully enough.
I like the book, but at the same time, I thought that some of the elements Robyn Schneider includes in the story are forced in order to get the end result she desires. That doesn't take away from the enjoyment of reading the book; it's simply that you KNOW that something important is going to happen as a direct result of the coyotes. I didn't expect to happen what actually happens, but it was not a surprise that something tragic happens when a coyote shows up in the yard at the end of the story.
I do highly recommend Schneider's novel. Just know going into it that it's a tragedy, not a sweet, romantic love story that ends with "happily ever after."
I don't know which is more exhilarating for me....to guess the "who done it" before the ending of a book or NOT to guess correctly!!!! I thought I had it right. I really and truly thought I knew SHE "did it," but wonderfully, surprisingly, I was VERY wrong!!! Ahaha!!! Way to go, Paula Hawkins! Over the past several months, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN has continually shown up in my Nook "to read" folder and in my Amazon Kindle "to read" folder as well. It seemed that I just could not ignore or get away from this book. Curiosity won. And I'm glad it did. This is a wonderful book about first impressions as well as about LIFE and how quickly life can--and quite often does--get out of control for ANYONE and EVERYONE. I see as I look at websites for TRAIN that GONE GIRL is quite often compared to it. I get that. If you have read GONE GIRL, I can assure you that THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins is even more worth reading. I love the twists and turns and reveals that happen slowly, subtlety, and always at just the right moment to keep me reading and wanting to know more about each of the various characters in the story. This amazing story that Paula Hawkins has written takes a hard, very honest look at the difficulty each of us faces on a day-to-day basis and how we cope with those difficulties--with fore-thought and without.
I can't say enough good things about THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins. I certainly will be looking into other books by her!!! It is an adult novel, though, so just keep that in mind, parents, if your teens are reading it. I would be sure to read it with them or at least stay connected with them as they read it....I'm just sayin'.
