The Blessing of a Broken Heart

Amazon.com

Of all the spiritual memoirs written about the healing power of love, this is one of the best and most relevant for our times. Author Sherri Mandell (Writers of the Holocaust had good reason to become a beacon of rage and despair after enduring the horrific murder of her eldest son Koby. Mandell, an American-born writer raising her family in Israel, sent her 13-year-old son off to school on May 8th, 2001. But Koby never made it to school that day. Instead he skipped school to go hiking with his friend Yosef. The two boys' bodies were found the next day—bludgeoned to death in a cave near Koby's home in Tekoa. Palestinian terrorists were blamed for the attacks, although the murderers were never found.

News of the brutal murders swept across the world. The boys were held up as martyrs, symbols for the age-old hatred between two sets of people. Mandell might have used Koby's death to fuel this ancient conflict. But instead she offers a beautiful memoir, written almost like a prose-poem that recounts her transformation from grief into love and compassion. Ultimately she founded the Koby Mandell Foundation, which offers healing retreats for bereaved mothers and widows as well as a camp for children whose parents or siblings have been killed by terrorists. Despite the inspiring journey, this is not a sugar-coated story. Mandell is not afraid to share the specifics of her sorrow—-and some of the passages are wrenching. "Just the night before he died, he lifted me up to show how strong he was," she recounts. "Then we measured and compared ourselves in the mirror, standing back to back. He was a fraction of an inch shorter then me. And now he will never reach me." This is a stellar memoir, speaking to the ever-constant challenge to cultivate love. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

WINNER of the National Jewish Book Award, 2004

Customer Reviews:

Getting through grief.......2004-01-18

Since I lost my oldest child six months ago, I felt I was too fragile and raw to read this book. While in Israel, however, I felt inspired and perhaps stronger, to delve into it. The feelings are so familiar and it is reassuring to know that the doubt and anger are not just mine. The only way to grieve is to communicate and share. This book provided me with some comfort that my reactions are normal and that I too will survive.

Sharing our Grief.......2004-01-01

My son died a few months ago and I have begun reading many books on grief. But Sherri Mandell's book "Blessings of a Broken Heart" is the best one I have read. It is easy to read yet very deep. Each chapter is short and essay-like and can be read independently. Sherri is very open about what her grief feels like, openly talking about subjects others may avoid. It seems as I read that she and I are sitting across the table from each other sharing our grief. At the same time, she gives a glimpse into the lives of those that are brave enough to return to Israel to live in these perilous times. And she also gives a glimpse into the Jewish way of mourning. This book is a journey through the first year of grief and you feel like you are walking it with her. I recommend this book to ANYONE that is grieving or has a loved-one that may be grieving. I have not read another book on grieving since - hers was the last one I needed.

Hauntingly beautiful.......2003-12-31

(*sigh*) What can a mere person say about the pain that is spilled out on the pages of this book? How about "Thank you, Sherri Mandell, for helping me understand even just a little bit what a parent goes through when they lose a child." ?

This book heals more than hurts the reader. As a friend of a family who lost their child before his time, I grasped for a way to understand - to be the friend they needed in their time of sorrow. Reading this book has allowed me to be unafraid of their pain and to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them. It helped me to realize how their healing will come in stages and how I can support them through the coming months.

Thank you, Sherri, for sharing your unbearable pain and unimaginable blessings.

A must read book for everyone!.......2003-11-27

Some of my friends who have read this book say it is depressing. They say they cried as they read it. Yet I read it, and didn't find it depressing. The difference? I also lost my oldest son, but to a different beast. Sherri has taken the pain of losing a child, and wrapped it up for all to see. It is hard for some to read because they want to see us "get over" the loss. I hope that all who read it will see for a second what every waking moment of our lives are like. The writing is so eloquent. While taking you into the depths of pain, Sherri is able to shine light with her strength. She has offered us hope and inspiration, but carries the message that Koby is with her forever. Sherri has touched my heart!

Thank you for writing this book.......2003-11-09

Koby Mandell was a great kid, tragically lost to terrorism at the tender age of 13. His mother Sherri Mandell has written a book that is a moving tribute to her son and a testament to the strength of families and faith in the face of unrelenting horror. A surprisingly optimistic book with a vision of hope to warm all hearts.

Out of the Abyss: The Blessing of a Broken Heart

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Out of the Abyss: The Blessing of a Broken Heart
Liz Fritsch
Manufacturer: Black Forest Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Women | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Devotionals | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 158275134X
Release Date: 2004-12-22

Book Description

This book is a true story based upon Ms. Fritshc's experience in coming to know Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. Being confined in a deep and dark place, both mentally and emotionally, for hundreds and hundreds of days, she began to put into words what happened to her. This book is the result of that experience. This work serves no other purpose than to lead others to Jesus Christ.

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Fine material undermined by poor format

Very Intresting Study Of WW 2 Leaders

One of the Great Masters of World War II History

Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders
Gerhard L. Weinberg
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

20th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | World War II | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II, New Edition

PATTON AND ROMMEL: Men of war in the twentieth century.

June 1941: Hitler and Stalin

Why The Allies Won

Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941

ASIN: 0521852544

Book Description

Visions of Victory explores the views of eight war leaders of the major powers of World War II - Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Chiang Kai-shek, Stalin, Churchill, de Gaulle, and Roosevelt - and compares their visions of the future assuming their side had emerged victorious. While the leaders primarily focused their attention on the strategy for fighting and winning the war, these very decisions were often shaped by their aspirations and hopes for the future. Weinberg assesses how subsequent events were impacted by these decisions and examines how these visions for the future changed and evolved throughout the war.

Customer Reviews:

Fine material undermined by poor format.......2007-08-06

The actual content of this work is solid. The author provides a description of each leader's 'vision' for the world. The degree of detail varies from leader to leader, depending on the amount of research material available and the scope of the leader's ideas, but that's to be expected. Where the work falls down for me is in the way the information is presented. It would benefit a *great* deal by the inclusion of more maps, especially where the author describes the sweeping changes planned by Hitler, for instance. The organisation of each entry also leaves a bit to be desired. Breaking up the text with sub-headings that call out specific regions or topics would really have helped for those who want to refer back to the book for specific details at a later date. At around 250 pages of fairly large font, the book is also a bit on the brief side for my tastes.

A decent introduction to the various leaders' objectives, but I was hoping for more 'meat' to this meal.

Very Intresting Study Of WW 2 Leaders.......2006-06-13

From reading this book, I would have to say that the visions of the major war leaders of the second world war of a post-war world that the book puts forth is very intresting and in some cases(Hitler in particular) very frightening. It was also good to see how those hopes were or weren't realized in the actual post-war world with Franklin Roosevelt's being the closest to actually come to fruition.

This is a very intresting book and I would definitely recommend it.

One of the Great Masters of World War II History.......2005-09-01

I envy anyone who studies under Gerhard Weinberg. As someone who studied under Stanley Payne, another great scholar of World War II, I appreciate Weinberg's intellectual rigor, his ability to balance objectivity without in the least abandoning his morality (a surprisingly rare feat in modern academia) and his clear and compelling prose.

This book examines a subject which has not, surprisingly, been examined before in much detail: what the ideal post-war would have looked like to eight of the principal war leaders. It is a fast, exciting read. Suffice it to say that everyone in the world is better off that the war ended the way it did.

I think Professor Weinberg is too charitable toward FDR (Stewart Alsop, who was a cousin of FDR, once said that FDR would have been disturbed to see the erosion of WASP control of America and that is reinforced here by his vision of the UK remaining a superpower after the loss of its colonies), but one can disagree with the good professor's conclusions precisely because he is so scrupulously honest and thorough.

Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders.(Book review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History

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Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders.(Book review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History
John Gooch
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 971 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders.(Book review)
Author: John Gooch
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 41 Issue: 1 Page: 211(3)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders.(Book review): An article from: The Historian

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Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders.(Book review): An article from: The Historian
Mark A. Stoler
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000SHD9DK
Release Date: 2007-06-22

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2007. The length of the article is 626 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders.(Book review)
Author: Mark A. Stoler
Publication: The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 69 Issue: 2 Page: 408(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

For more than twenty-five years, An Introduction to General Systems Thinking has been hailed as an innovative introduction to systems theory, with applications in computer science and beyond. Used in university courses and professional seminars all over the world, the text has proven its ability to open minds and sharpen thinking.

Originally published in 1975 and reprinted more than twenty times over a quarter century -- and now available for the first time from Dorset House Publishing -- the text uses clear writing and basic algebraic principles to explore new approaches to projects, products, organizations, and virtually any kind of system.

Scientists, engineers, organization leaders, managers, doctors, students, and thinkers of all disciplines can use this book to dispel the mental fog that clouds problem-solving. As author Gerald M. Weinberg writes in the new preface to the Silver Anniversary Edition, "I haven't changed my conviction that most people don't think nearly as well as they could had they been taught some principles of thinking.”

Now an award-winning author of nearly forty books spanning the entire software development life cycle, Weinberg had already acquired extensive experience as a programmer, manager, university professor, and consultant when this book was originally published.

With helpful illustrations, numerous end-of-chapter exercises, and an appendix on a mathematical notation used in problem-solving, An Introduction to General Systems Thinking may be your most powerful tool in working with problems, systems, and solutions.

Customer Reviews:

Weinberg's Introduction to Systems Thinking.......2007-01-04

Weinberg's book will not teach you how to be a systems thinker. It will, however, provide a stimulating discussion and thoughtful examination of an alternative approach to problem analysis and solution. The book is not so much about how the systems approach works or how it can be applied to complex problems as it is an invitation to his readers to explore their perceptions of what they think they know versus what they really do know. Throughout the book, Weinberg follows the strategy of leading the reader through a series of logical discussions designed to bring them face to face with their biases and misconceptions about systems vs. reductionist thinking. In doing so, Weinberg exposes the shortcomings of the reductionist approach to problem solving by demonstrating to his readers that the real solutions to some familiar and apparently simple problems are very complex.

Through his examples, Weinberg shows that by viewing a system holistically within its environment, we may be able to discern patterns of behavior/actions and recognize interactions, interrelationships, and interdependencies among the components that will be missed in a reductionist approach. From that view, we can better understand the system and, perhaps, better predict how it will evolve over time. The success of his approach is demonstrated by the fact that people are still reading and quoting his book 25+ years after it was written.

One facet of this book which I found beneficial may be a drawback for some readers. Weinberg wrote from the viewpoint of a computer programmer and a scientist. A person not versed in either field might have difficulty understanding his examples.

Outstanding book.......2006-02-17

This book is excellent. I first read this book in graduate school in 1976, and I continue to find Weinberg's ideas useful. It was outstanding then, and it has held up with time.

not quite an alternative to 'Systems Thinking'.......2005-09-17

I was searching for an alternative to the out-of-print book 'Quality Software Management, vol.1: Systems Thinking', written by the same Author.
Having read few Sofware Management series books from the same Author, which I rate at the very top of my list, I was biased on very high expectations. Surprisingly, I have found it being quite verbose and in the end, I couldn't get too much inspiration out of it.

An excellent introduction..........2002-06-05

Weinberg distills the essence from von Bertalanffy's classic and manages to present it in a very accessible fashion. The book has been out of print for quite a while so it is great to see a new edition. The message and information contained in here, although originally published in 1975, is now more relevant than ever.

Weinberg covers many aspects of systems theory beginning with the main stumbling block with the present scientific paradigm: the idea that the universe is mechanistic. His treatment is much more general than Robert Rosen's in "Life Itself" but still conveys why the mechanistic notion is flawed.

He then outlines the general systems theory approach before leading into the idea that a system is simply a way of looking at the world. He then outlines the principle of indifference. This leads straight into two sections outlining various aspects of making observations. Finally he discusses behaviour and then some general systems questions.

Throughout the book he uses many examples from disparate fields in conjunction with questions for further research. It is great to see someone who doesn't preach systems but actually uses the ideas.

Definitely a must-read as we decided how to solve the myriad of issues before us.

A true classic in how humans set and solve problems.......2001-03-23

In computing, a timeless classic is anything that is worth reading for any reason other than to obtain a historical context after five years. If that still holds true after twenty five years, then it is truly an extraordinary piece of work. That label applies to this book. It is not about computing per se, but about how humans think about things and how "facts" are relative to time, our personal experience and environmental context.
Human thinking is a complex operation and that is the point of this book. The problems and examples presented are not those in computing, but problems in how we think about the world and how that world can be different from person to person. In many ways, Weinberg anticipates the development of the science of chaos, where small changes lead to disproportionate large changes. His example of the "small" change of a single character is a classic. A man was considering the purchase of a piece of real estate, but when told the cost was fourteen million dollars, sent the response by telegram, "No, price too high." However, somehow a character was dropped, so the agent received the message, "No price too high", purchased the property and so a classic error was invented.
Weinberg uses science and mathematics as the genesis point for most of his examples. The laws of thermodynamics, chance and simulations in state spaces are used to demonstrate the points. As someone with a wide background in science, I found his examples of how scientific thought gives us an anchor but yet alters over time excellent learning material. Thought problems are included at the end of each chapter and they cover many different areas. Some involve mathematics, others science and many could be the point of a vigorous philosophical debate. Together they form the best collection of thought experiments and points of contention that I have ever seen gathered together in one location.
This is a book that is a true classic, not in computing but in the broad area of scholarship. It is partly about the philosophy and mechanisms of science; partly about designing things so they work but mostly it is about how humans view the world and create things that match that view. This book will still be worth reading for a long time to come and it is on my list of top ten computing books of the year.