Amazon.com
Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover. --Brangien Davis
Book Description
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.
TO INQUIRE ABOUT SCHEDULING JEANNETTE WALLS FOR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS PLEASE CONTACT:
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703.516.4819 (F)
Customer Reviews:
Glass Castle.......2007-10-17
Wow... haven't we all held out for the moment we commence to build our Glass Castle? "Just as soon as".... we get the perfect plans, enough time, money, etc. FABULOUS book that was written (just like I'd like to write one!) to give us glimses into our own grandiosity, missed opportunities, fixed beliefs, and rationalizations. I saw EVERYONE in my family in this book; maybe the whole human race makes an appearance, but it definitely will come alive for anyone raised by alcoholics. Couldn't stop reading it and now can't stop talking about it.
Writing on eggshells.......2007-10-17
I read all memoirs with a grain of salt mainly because I have a terrible memory and I don't understand how people can remember things they said when they were 3 yrs old (before the digital photography age of course). As far as memoirs go, this one is very interesting and does move fast. It also poses very interesting questions about parenting because the kids turn out okay despite growing up poorer than "po," in environments I shudder to think about, and with completely self-obsessed neglectful parents. It also put a new interesting face on homelessness.
However, the author is horrible about maintaining a believable/easy to follow timeline in the first half of the book. It seems she was 3-5 yrs old for much of that time. How reliable is a 3-5 yr old's memory? There were also several places where the writing lacked transition. That just annoyed the schoolmarm in me.
My main complaint is that the author seemed to be trying not hurt anyone's feelings as she wrote. Maybe she's a better person than me, but I don't understand how she could be so free of resentment despite the upbringing she described. She tried to show every family member in a positive light up until the end. I can understand forgiving her parents for neglecting, starving, and generally abusing her and her siblings, but I'm not sure she told the whole truth about her feelings. Then again, maybe half truths are par for the course when it comes to memoir.
Overall, I did like this and would recommend it.
The Glass Castle.......2007-10-16
One of the best books I have ever read. I just could not put it down. One life event while growing up just tops another.To rise above her circumstances and make a postive life for herself is just a tribute to the strength she has within her spirit. It was so inspiring to see them make the best of themselves even thou the example they had was so poor. My hat is off to Jeanette Walls and her siblings.
Absolutely remarkable.......2007-10-16
The Glass Castle is hands down one of the best memoirs--in fact, one of the best books--I've ever read. Jeannette Walls' story is remarkable and inspiring. I wish I had an ounce of her inner strength. Like Jeannette, I like learning the "dirt" about people not because it's salacious or because I have malicious intent, but rather because I think the "dirt" is what makes each of us unique and truly human. I also appreciated this book because the story raises a valuable question: can parents be deemed neglectful or abusive if they truly love their children and believe they're doing the best for them, even if to the outside world their parenting seems remiss? And is it maybe true to love is all a child truly needs, more so than even adequate food and shelter? Aside from the substance of the book, it was a compellingly readable story--funny, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and healing. I breezed through it because I had to know how things ultimately turned out.
I wish the best to Jeannette and all her family. She is someone I would love to know, and I thank her for sharing her incredible story with the world!
Dysfunction.......2007-10-15
I normally don't read memoirs, but a friend passed this book along and she said it was a good read...
The complete dysfunction of this family was described with such detail... It really makes you appreciate things like indoor plumbing, and mattresses.... Oh yes and the fact that we eat FOOD not only once a day but MANY times a day. I can't imagine allowing my children to suffer the way Jeannette's mother did. This book wasn't written way back when they did without, but rather a modern day current event taking place in the 70's to now.... I really had to just keep reading because I couldn't wait to see what this family would next...
Customer Reviews:
The Best Book (review by Parise, age 6).......2007-10-14
I really liked this book because I like books with adventures in them. I didn't want to stop reading it. I really like Lucky because she is funny. Miles kind of acts like a three-year-old and not a five-year-old, but it didn't actually upset me. My favorite part is the part when Lucky is in the dust storm. The adventure is really cool.
The higher power of lucky - KcSrOcks.......2007-10-12
Lucky hasn't had it very well. Her father had abandoned her. Even her mother died in the desert. And Lucky now lives in a tiny dusty town of about 43 residents.
Lucky Timbler was a ten year old girl living in Hard Pan, California.
In Luckys town there is not alot of impressed things there. There is a improvised beauty salon. A post office and a Found Object Wind Chime Museum. Also the visitors center. But if only she, Lucky, could find the Higher Power. Then she could stabilize her life.
Lucky doesn't feel stable at all. She lives with her guardian, Brigitte, a Frenchwoman and Lucky's father's first wife. Brigitte is homesick, she still speaks to Lucky with French terms and most importantly, has kept her passport. Lucky knows that Brigitte will in Hard Pan and then head back to France.
Brigitte and Lucky lives in a improvised home. Comprised of three trailers linked together and on concrete blocks. Lucky haso only one friend there in Hard Pan, a knot-fantatic boy named Lincoln. Lincoln is followed around by the sad 5 year old boy named Miles with a penchant for cookies and "Are You My Mother?"
Lucky remains to follow the tweleve step program. The next step after rock bottom, the getting control of your life step. Lucky decides to run away during the dust strom and taking a survival pack of her own design.Better leave than be left.
I think that this book is really good. Susan Patron is a great author. she never wants you to put the book down. Its that you never want ot stop reading. And she leaves you with a lot of questions when you finish some parts. I would recommend this book to everyone. And people who would like to read the new 2007 newberry book.
The higher power of lucky.......2007-10-12
Lucky hasn't had it well. Her father had abandoned her. Also her mother
died in the desert, and she now lives in a tiny dusty town of 43 residents
Lucky Trimble a 10 year old girl lives in Hard Pan, California. Lucky really doesn't feel stable. She lives with her guardian, Brigitte, aFrenchwoman and her father's first wife. Briggitte is sick but she is homesick and she talks to Lucky in French terms of endearment. Most Brigitte has been keeping her passport. Lucky knows what that means that Brigitte would leave Lucky in Hard Pan and go back to France.
Lucky and Brigitte live in a improvised home, of three trailers linked together and on concrete blocks. Lucky had only one friend in that town. A boy named Lincoln. Lincoln was knotfantatic, and he was always followed around by a sad 5 year old boy who waas named Miles with cravings for cookies and "Are you my Mom?"
Lucky remians to follow the twelve step program on the next step after rock bottom or the getting control of your life step. Lucky also decides that she wants to run away during a dust storm. but taking a survival pack of her own design with her.
I really like this book. Susan Patron is a really good auther and she makes you never want to put down the book but to keep on reading. I would recommend this book to everyone. Especially people who would like to read the 2007 newberr medal book.
Scrotum.......2007-10-10
Scrotum scrotum scrotum, scroty scrot scrotum. Scrotum, scrot scroty-scrot; scrotum scrotbag. Scrotum scrotum scrotum, scrotumish scrotums scrot scrotly (scrtotum). Beanbag.
Not a Newbery.......2007-10-07
I have read 90% of the Newbery winners and I have to say that I was disappointed with this year's choice. Don't get me wrong, it is worth reading, but not worthy of this distinguished award. I just don't think it is a page turner for any age. While the characters are well developed, it just didn't spark for me. However, I read Rules, an honorable Newbery, and I felt this book was a better suited for the award. I really wonder how the judges choose their book. Sometimes, they are right on the money, Holes & Because of Winn Dixie, while other times they are off. Unfortunately The Higher Power of Lucky is not one of their better choices.
Book Description
If alcoholics and addicts won't accept help until they are ready, what gets them ready? This book provides an answer in clear and concise terms. Dispelling two damaging myths - that an addict has to hit bottom and that intervention must be confrontational - the authors' proven approach puts love first and shows families, step by step, what to do next.
Customer Reviews:
Great .......2007-07-24
This book is great for anyone interested in learning about addiction. It gives a well rounded and educated approach for an intervention. Although, I would probably use more books than just this for a reference if you're going to try an intervention, but that is just from experience.
Hazelden?? Be Very Afraid.........2007-04-21
If you have an addiction...Dont choose Hazelden as a place to start your recovery. I'm a Graduate of Tiebout and stayed at the Hotel Jelinek. They will try to brainwash you by using meds.
Immeasurable!.......2007-04-10
This book is an INCREDIBLE help - even if you don't end up doing an intervention for your loved one. It's title derives from the term "Tough Love," and theorizes putting LOVE FIRST. It gives clear and concise explanations of every aspect of addiction and treatment to those who aren't quite understanding the whole picture. If you are, or are dealing with, friends and/or family of an addict, this book is a must-read. If you do choose to do an intervention, it gives step-by-step instruction on how to do it with love, and includes all the organizational tools you'll need.
Love First.......2007-01-19
This is a very good book. If you have anyone in your life who has an addiction that is out of control, you should read this and take action immediately. This book gives you all of the tools you need to plan an intervention and get treatment for the addiction.
A Godsend.......2007-01-04
Our intervention group followed the suggestions for a successful intervention to the letter. This was a valuable guide. Our intervention was successful, and I believe a huge part of that success came from the "how to" format presented in this text. The book provided answers for every possible scenario and explained the logic behind the recommendations.
Average customer rating:
- Great Book
- Excellent insights
- EPIPHANY!
- Adult Children of Alcoholics
- The book that changed my perception of myself...
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Adult Children of Alcoholics
Janet G. Woititz
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Struggle for Intimacy (Adult Children of Alcoholics series)
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Recovery: A Guide for Adult Children of Alcoholics
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Perfect Daughters (Revised Edition)
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Lifeskills for Adult Children
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It Will Never Happen to Me: Growing Up With Addiction As Youngsters, Adolescents, Adults
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ASIN: 1558741127 |
Book Description
Ten years ago, Janet Woititz broke new ground in our understanding of what it is to be an Adult Child of an Alcoholic. Today she re-examines the movement and its inclusion of Adult Children from various dysfunctional family backgrounds who share the same characteristics. After more than ten years of working with ACoAs she shares the recovery hints that she has found to work. Read Adult Children of Alcoholics to see where the journey began and for ideas on where to go from here.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book .......2007-09-21
If you are the adult child of an alcoholic this book is a must read. It brings to light things that many have felt, but have not understood why.
Excellent insights.......2007-09-10
This book was amazing. The insights into personality traits and situational details was extremely helpful. If you don't understand the issues, you cannot solve the problems and this book was very clear in describing some of the problems and how they came about when living as a child of (an) alcoholic(s). I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the issues that come about as a result of being an ACA without being too heavy-handed. I couldn't put the book down.
EPIPHANY!.......2007-08-07
This is the grandmammy of all books written about, for and by Adult Children of Alcoholics. I first read this in 1987 and it was a personal epiphany. It held up a mirror to my beliefs and behaviour, explained a lot of things I didn't understand about myself, helped me realize that I was not alone and gave me hope that I could change my life. I recommend it to anyone who comes from an alcoholic or dysfunctional home.
It's a very basic book and one that is perfect for someone just beginning the recovery journey. It is also an excellent book to return to again and again.
Adult Children of Alcoholics.......2007-03-17
Recommended by my Doctor, I was a little skeptical. But, It's really an invaluable read to anyone who has ever grown up or dealing with someone who is a child of alcoholism.
The book that changed my perception of myself..........2007-03-08
I am so glad I read that book. It saved me from a life without knowing myself. It helped me in so many ways. I would suggest this book to anyone and everyone. It is for someone who has dealt with addiction before.This book helps you deal with it in a child or a spousal way. Thank you
Book Description
An extremely informative book which does not offer a plan for getting sober but does offer us sound advice about how to stay sober. Basic, essential information from Alcoholics Anonymous. As the book states, "Anyone can get sober. . .the trick is to live sober." SUGGESTED LIST PRICE: $8.00
Customer Reviews:
Good information.......2007-08-15
This is a really good book for anyone starting out on their alcohol free life. It's easy to read and has some humor too. I recommend this book.
Cult Propoganda.......2007-03-12
The truth is that a newly-sober alcoholic named William Griffith Wilson -- a down-on-his-luck former Wall Street hustler who put on airs of having once been a prosperous stock broker -- just sat down, in December of 1938, and wrote up twelve commandments for the new religious group that he and fellow alcoholic Doctor Robert Smith had started. Those commandments were simply a repackaged version of the practices of a cult religion that was popular at that time, something called "The Oxford Group", or "The Oxford Group Movement", and later, "Moral Re-Armament" -- a religious cult that was created by a deceitful fascist renegade Lutheran minister named Dr. Frank Nathan Daniel Buchman -- a nut-case who actually praised Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler.
Bill Wilson described the writing of the Twelve Steps this way:
Well, we finally got to the point where we really had to say what this book was all about and how this deal works. As I told you this had been a six-step program then.
The idea came to me, well, we need a definite statement of concrete principles that these drunks can't wiggle out of. There can't be any wiggling out of this deal at all and this six-step program had two big gaps which people wiggled out of.
Notice how Bill Wilson considered his fellow alcoholics to be a bunch of cheaters who will "wiggle out of this deal" if they can get away with it -- which Bill won't allow.
And note how Bill Wilson made himself the leader who was entitled to dictate the concrete terms of other people's recovery programs.
Also notice how Bill Wilson considered 'spiritual development' to be a business deal, with a contract that you can't wiggle out of, something like selling your soul in trade for sobriety.
Nowhere in the Twelve Steps does it say that you should quit drinking, or help anyone else to quit drinking, either. Nowhere do the words "sobriety", "recovery", "abstinence", "health", "happiness", "joy", "love", or "love", appear in the Twelve Steps. The word "alcohol" was only mentioned once, where it was patched into the first step as a substitute for the word "sin" -- Bill Wilson wrote,
"we are powerless over alcohol and our lives have become unmanageable",
instead of the Oxford Group slogan,
"we are powerless over sin and have been defeated by it".
And then the phrase "especially alcoholics" was patched into the 12th step as a suggested target for further recruiting efforts:
"...we tried to carry this message to others, especially alcoholics"...
(But regular non-alcoholic people were still fair game for recruiting into Bill's "spiritual fellowship"...)
The Twelve Steps are not a formula for curing or treating alcoholism, and they never were.
The Twelve Steps are not "spiritual principles" and they never were.
The Twelve Steps are cult practices that work to convert people into confirmed true believers in a proselytizing cult religion, just like Frank Buchman's so-called "spiritual principles" did.
1. The Twelve Steps do not work as a program of recovery from drug or alcohol problems.
The A.A. failure rate ranges from 95% to 100%. Sometimes, the A.A. success rate is actually less than zero, which means that A.A. indoctrination is positively harmful to people, and prevents recovery. Some tests have shown that even receiving no treatment at all for alcoholism is much better than receiving A.A. treatment:
One of the most enthusiastic boosters of Alcoholics Anonymous, Professor George Vaillant of Harvard University, who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS), showed by his own 8 years of testing of A.A. that A.A. was worse than useless -- that it didn't help the alcoholics any more than no treatment at all, and it had the highest death rate of any treatment program tested -- a death rate that Professor Vaillant himself described as "appalling". While trying to prove that A.A. treatment works, Professor Vaillant actually proved that A.A. kills. After 8 years of A.A. treatment, the score with Dr. Vaillant's first 100 alcoholic patients was: 5 sober, 29 dead, and 66 still drinking.
(Nevertheless, Vaillant is still a Trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous, and he still wants to send all alcoholics to A.A. anyway, to "get an attitude change by confessing their sins to a high-status healer." That is cult religion, not a treatment program for alcoholism.)
The A.A. dropout rate is terrible. Most people who come to A.A. looking for help in quitting drinking are appalled by the narrow-minded atmosphere of fundamentalist religion and faith-healing. The A.A. meeting room has a revolving door. The therapists, judges, and parole officers (many of whom are themselves hidden members of A.A. or N.A.) continually send new people to A.A., but those newcomers vote with their feet once they see what A.A. really is. Even A.A.'s own triennial surveys, conducted by the A.A. headquarters (the GSO), say that:
81% of the newcomers are gone within 30 days,
90% are gone in 3 months, and
95% are gone at the end of a year.
That automatically gives A.A. a failure rate of at least 95%. But the GSO does not count all of those people who only attend a few meetings before quitting -- they don't qualify as "members". (That amounts to "cherry-picking".) If we included them, then the numbers would be much worse.
First there is the propaganda technique of "everybody's doing it": "AA or a similar Twelve-Step program is an integral part of almost all successful recoveries".
That is a complete falsehood. The vast majority of the successful people recover without A.A. or any "support group". It's what "everybody" is doing.
Then they use the propaganda techniques of use of the passive voice and vague suggestions: "It is widely believed that not including a Twelve-Step program in a treatment plan can put a recovering addict on the road to relapse."
It is widely believed by whom? And what do those unnamed people know? What are their qualifications? Are they doctors? Medical school professors? Or salesmen for a 12-Step treatment center? Why should we care what some unnamed invisible fools allegedly believe, anyway?
The authors also use the propaganda technique of fear-mongering: you will be "on the road to relapse" -- you will probably die -- unless you practice Bill Wilson's Twelve Step cult religion.
And then the fluff-headed Pollyanna attitude is outrageous: Just going to the wonderful A.A. meetings is supposedly all that is needed to fix some alcoholics.
But since A.A. has a zero-percent success rate above and beyond the normal rate of spontaneous remission, that cannot possibly be true.
A great aid for sponsorship.......2007-01-09
In an effort to give back something to the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, I devote a good deal of time to sponsoring newcomers. This sponsorship relationship is aimed -- primarily -- at helping the newcomer work the 12 Steps of the program. This excellent book -- on the shelves of many, many sponsors -- is aimed at helping the newcomer in those critical early days. Loaded with tips, suggestions, and just plain comment sense about how not to pick up that dangerous first drink. A wonderful assistant to the sponsor helping the newcomer.
Gary P in Tampa, Florida (yeah, we have drunks here, too :-) )
Phenomenol Book.......2006-07-20
Incredible little book that I discovered when I first got sober. Practical suggestion for daily living without a drink. This book was exactly what I needed when I began my life transformation. Highly recommended for anyone that desires to live a day at atime without a drink.
Living Sober.......2006-06-27
This book has great, practical suggestions on dealing with situations and feelings that are troublesome for alcoholics. It does not "preach" or talk down to the reader. Every AA meeting should make this book available!
k.
Book Description
Here is Claudia Black's best-selling classic on the experience and legacy of being raised in an addictive household. In an all too familiar scenario, played out in millions of homes everyday, children who grow up in addictive families abide by certain rules: don't talk, don't trust, don't feel. And they take on rigid survival roles--the responsible child, the adjuster, the placater, the acting-out child--that are youthful coping behaviours which can eventually contribute to problems of depression, loneliness and addiction in adulthood. Using poignant personal stories, revealing explanations, and helpful exercises, Black helps readers gain personal insights and develop new skills that lead to a healthier, happier, more fulfilling life. While continuing to recognize alcohol as the primary addiction within families, this newly revised edition of "It Will Never Happen to Me" broadens concepts to include addictive disorders involving other drugs, money, food, sex and work.
Customer Reviews:
Really good.......2007-05-15
This is a great read for anyone who has grown up or is growing up in an alcoholic family. It helps the reader in very simple ways to understand the dynamics of alcoholic families and offers concrete ways of dealing with issues and problems. I recommend it to anyone currently dealing with alcoholism or dealing with the aftermath of an alcoholic upbringing, or even for someone just curious about the effects of alcoholism on families.
awakening.......2006-01-18
This book was recommended by my therapist and after reading it I gave it to a friend who is also an adult child of an alcoholic. I haven't got the book back so I'm buying another copy for myself. I NEED to read it again and again. It opened my eyes and put a lot of the pieces of the puzzle together for me. Although it's hard to face some of the realities this book points out, I believe it to be one of the vital steps I am taking in trying to change my life for the better. It's never too late.
accurate and helpful.......2005-10-29
claudia black is a respected author in the field of addictions. she writes for adults and children for both alcoholics and their families. i have read many books in this area and she is one of my favorite authors. the book is short, accutate,compassionately written, and forever timely. worth reading!
Excellent Insight into Who I am and Why.......2005-08-07
I read this book AFTER reading ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS by Janet Woititz. Both provided me with insight into a problem I only recently realized I have. However, Black's book is both easier to read and has more detailed analysis. She divides ACoAs into four categories: The Responsible One, The Adjuster, The Placater, and "Acting Out". I fit the profile of Responsible in every way. I now understand myself better, and am beginning therapy for the first time in my life at the age of 55. Thank you, Dr. Black, for opening my eyes!
Great book.......2005-01-28
This book is a must-read for everyone who grew up in an alcoholic family.
Average customer rating:
- a good read
- Good read
- Just One More Time With the Monster...And I'll Stop
- Compelling
- Meeting the Monster
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Crank
Ellen Hopkins
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Glass
ASIN: 0689865198 |
Amazon.com
Ellen Hopkins's semi-autobiographical verse novel, Crank, reads like a Go Ask Alice for the 21st century. In it, she chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank. Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the monster just to get through the day. Kristina hits her lowest point when she is raped by one of her drug dealers and becomes pregnant as a result. Her decision to keep the baby slows her drug use, but doesn't stop it, and the author leaves the reader with the distinct impression that Kristina/Bree may never be free from her addiction. In the author's note, Hopkins warns "nothing in this story is impossible," but when Kristina's controlled, high-powered mother allows her teenage daughter to visit her biological father (a nearly homeless known drug user), the story feels unbelievable. Still, the descriptions of crystal meth use and its consequences are powerful, and will horrify and transfix older teenage readers, just as Alice did over 20 years ago. --Jennifer Hubert
Book Description
Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless.
Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life.
Customer Reviews:
a good read.......2007-10-16
i leave this one out on the coffee table. it's a great read for anyone.
it's a deep dark look into something that a lot of people are afraid to talk about; drugs.
a must read for everyone.
Good read.......2007-09-27
Read it then bought one for my granddaughter who never reads. She loved it. Instructional without being preachy.
Just One More Time With the Monster...And I'll Stop.......2007-08-15
That's how I felt when reading this book. I couldn't put it down. Just one more page. I finished it in one day. It was THAT good. The author wrote the poetry in a visual attempt to get the reader to "feel" or "identify" with the speaker. The short "chapters" are meant to get the reader to want to read "just one more page"...thus allowing the reader to feel what is like to be addicted to something. "One more page won't hurt". Brilliant, I think. There was something psychological about the way the poetry read on the page, scattered and what not, and it wasn't just me that felt the effect of being addicted: my sister and I both revealed to one another that by the end of the book we both felt like we were addicted to something, needed something, urged for something and that we related to the speaker in that way. Word of advice when reading this book: sometimes the words that stick out from the rest of the page should be read vertically, starting from the top the the bottom. You will be amazed at the underlying clarity a whole page could have when a few words are strewn to the side and read by themselves. I wish I could write more on this but I have to leave. This is an awesome book and I can't wait for "Glass" to come out on the 21st.
Compelling.......2007-08-13
I do not normally buy this sort of work, preferring to stick to strictly fictional accounts not based in any sort of reality however, this book spoke to me from the moment i picked it up.
I have no personal experience with drug use or abuse but the manner in which the author draws the reader in compelled me to read.
I have three daughters of my own, one on the threshold of her teen years, just waiting to jump across the line and i felt this book to be a necessity in that right as well. She will read this book, even if it doesn't deter her in any way, she will read it. And we will discuss it, at length.
Thank You Ellen Hopkins for sharing this story with us in all it's fictional and non-fictional parts.
Meeting the Monster.......2007-08-10
Gifted in school, never in trouble, always the loving daughter; Kristina Georgia Snow seems to be the model of perfection. Kristina is far from that, however, and the manifestation of the problems she exhibits forms under the name of "Bree." Bree is many of the things that Kristina wants to be, she's fearless and she's her own person, and a visit with her absentee father sends Kristina scrambling into the arms of Bree and into the arms of another monster - crank. And while life seems good for a time, Kristina finds herself slowly bleeding away and the other her, the consumed her, taking hold.
Ellen Hopkins is an absolutely phenomenal writer, and even better than that is her ability to craft a tale using her own methods. It has to be mentioned that she also has a specific point-of-view about "the monster" in the book as well, recounting some of the struggles that she endured while her daughter fought with addiction and almost lost. Some of that is wrenching, too, but Hopkins uses that feeling and doesn't make you feel sorry for the person behind the pen. She instead uses that power to make you feel for the person behind the mask, hoping to find something better.
When I first read the book, I was impressed by the things that Hopkins manages to work into the proverbial foundations of the very thing she delivers. She writes words within the wording, putting things in the columns and the rows that formulate a story all their own. Things like "treading the riptide, good girls drown" appear in the middle of an area that is part of a larger sum, and the way these things are utilized make you pay attention.
It seems rare to have to do that anyone, too - paying attention, I mean. Too often an author placates an audience with a tale, and the somber tale is moving BUT it finds one thing missing.
The thing I like about Hopkins and her book Crank is that it is fixes a lot of that; she does call Crack "the monster" and she does tell her how much the substance hurt them all but, in the story, she still paints the "good points," the reasons for use and habituation, that are often left out of tales. She also spells everything out in a way that doesn't allow for speed-reading if you want the whole effect.
And, trust me, you want the whole effect.
Basically, when you read this, you get a feeling for the child, for the surroundings, and for the turmoil that brews inside her life. That makes it understandable when it comes to her meeting with her "father" and why she needs her alter-ego, not to mention the drug itself. Combine that with the beautiful workmanship, the story within the story, and you have something really well worth mentioning.
Book Description
Johnson Institute Helping those who don't want help. In Intervention: How To Help Someone Who Doesn't Want Help, Dr. Vernon Johnson describes the process that has successfully motivated thousands of chemically dependent people to accept help. In simple terms, this book shows how chemical dependency affects those around the addicted person, and teaches concerned people how to help and how to do it right.
Customer Reviews:
Was hoping for better.......2007-08-23
I was looking for a book that would help with a family intervention for health issues. I found this book some what helpful; it did outline the mechanics of the process in the second half of the book. The first half was primarily about the psychology of a substance abuser.
Easy read.......2007-08-16
Read this book really quickly prior to a family intervention. Easy read, gives the reader a basic understanding of chemical dependency and how to intervene.
Intervention.......2007-07-14
Thsi was helpful to read to understand brain disease and Chemical dependency and then great for understanding the best way to stage an intervention for a loved one who won't help themselves.
Intervention: How to Help someone Who Doesn't Want Help.......2007-02-14
Outstanding. A huge help. A must read for anyone with an alcoholic in the family.
This helped me sooooo much.......2007-02-06
My father almost drank himself to death,literally. My sister and I decided on an intervention and knowing my dad knew we couldn't have a stranger present...so it was up to us to plan an intervention that he would "hear".
This book literally gave me the "know how" to plan the intervention. More importantly it gave me an understanding of how someone becomes an alcoholic in straightforward terms that made sense, not just to me but to my sister and aunt who I insisted read this manual as well.
If you have someone in your life that needs your help...Vernon Johnson's "Intervention" is an outstanding place to start!
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Resource.......2007-09-09
I purchased this book after reading a Dantes guide which was very much like a high school text book. If I had not used this study guide I would have been shocked when I saw the test. Most of the test items came from this book. Don't know my score yet, but do know that this book was very helpful in taking the test.
It does the trick .......2007-07-13
Don't let the haggard appearance of this study aid fool you. While it might not have been compiled and constructed by the finest craftspeople around, it's what's inside that counts the most. This is now the second time that I have used one of these packets to prepare for and pass the DSST exam. With regard to this specific packet, I believed that it was far more beneficial in terms of content than the last one that I purchased. The bottom line is that I am now batting a hundred using nothing other than these guides to prepare for the test. They have my vote of confidence.
OK-but buy the book too!.......2007-05-30
After getting a shock from studying the Civil War and Reconstruction guide, I bought both the study guide and the recommended reading (Drugs and Society) for this test, and passed with an A. Not an easy test, but made much better by reading the accompanying material.
great resource.......2006-08-18
The book didn't cover everything on the test but it did enough to prepare me for the type and style of questions that were asked. The other recommended text, Drugs and Society, covered the rest of the material.
dsst drug and alcohol abuse.......2006-03-10
i cannot really rate this book, since i never received this book. however amazon refunded my money, i needed this book to take a test. oh well....
Book Description
Janet Woititz, mother of the recovery movement, sensitively addresses the barriers of trust and intimacy that children learn in an alcoholic family. She provides suggestions for building loving relationships with friends, partners, and spouses.
Customer Reviews:
A MUST READ!.......2007-05-09
If you have ever felt abandoned, this book is for you. If you had a parent who was unavailable when you were younger (work, alcohol, drugs, divorce) this book is for you. If you are constantly struggling through relationship, after relationship, after relationship, this book is for you!
I can't say enough about it and how much it has helped me. I thought I was "over it" as my father had quit drinking and we have a wonderful relationship now; however, this book covers how you were brought up. Sure, I had a loving home and didn't not "want" for anything - but little did I know what the daily grind made me into. This is a MUST read!
I loved this book.......2003-07-21
If you are an ACoA (Adult Child of an Alcoholic), I recommed this book and all of the books by Janet Woititz. I've read many of them, they are easy reads and so informative. It is really helpful to learn about other's experiences and struggles, and to hear advice on how to help you now. My favorite part of this book is the chapter called "So, you love an ACoA..." and is good for your partner to read to help them understand things like why you might overreact to certain situations or have such a negative view of yourself. Don't be turned off by the old cover, mine looked like it was from 1960 or something, the book is not outdated by any means.
essential.......2003-06-26
as a partner to an ACOA this is a must read for anyone involved in this kind of relationship. easy to read, easy to understand, and full of AHA! moments. great information!
I learned about healthy relationships.......2003-03-01
I thought I knew about relationships and how to make one work and what it took to keep one going. I thought my past failures were a product of bad timing. I did not see why I went after the wrong people, prused bad situations and stayed when I should have left. This book opened my eyes and changed my perspective. It was brilliant.
One of just a few practical help books.......2002-04-05
Woititz has written several books aimed at helping "Adult Children of Alcoholics" (ACA). I recommend all of them. This book is based on the problems ACAs (and others from troubled homes) have in beginning and maintaining close relationships. She gives practical advice rather than the usual "cuddle your inner problem child" blather that some books give. All of her books are based on 10-12 things that most ACAs have in common. These things are listed at the front of each book and I recommend that each reader start there. If this list strikes a chord with you, then get the book! Among the list are: ACAs wonder what normal is. ACAs lie when they could just as easily tell the truth (I didn't believe this of me until a friend pointed out a few). ACAs have a hard time changing their course even when it's obvious that they should (I'm paraphrasing this one). Check it out!
Books:
- The Handbook of Brain Theory and Neural Networks (Bradford Book)
- The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
- The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin
- The Nature and Properties of Soils (13th Edition)
- The New American Story
- The Practical Encyclopedia of Rocks & Minerals: How to Find, Identify, Collect and Maintain the World's best Specimens, with over 1000 Photographs and Artworks
- The Supreme Court of the United States: A Student Companion (Oxford Student Companions to American Government)
- The Walrus Was Paul: The Great Beatle Death Clues
- The Wretched of the Earth
- Thought as a System
Books Index
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