“If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or fight like hell.”
Lance Armstrong

Being an eighteen year survivor of breast cancer, there are a few things that I usually avoid. One is letting October and Breast Cancer Awareness month get to me. Another is dwelling on illness in general and cancer, specifically. That being said, I read a preview of a new book that intrigued me and subsequently requested and received a copy from the publisher to read and review (all of the words and opinions of this book are my own). Carrie Host’s “Between Me and the River” was a refresher course in why I love life and why I hope to never have to spend time at a doctor’s beck and call again.

The Story

Carrie Host is a writer, poet, and artist in Colorado who suddenly became the main character in her own book. She began having severe abdominal pain in the last few weeks of her third pregnancy, which vanished only to reappear a year later. After a trip to an emergency room where her appendix was removed and her abdomen was found to be filled with small but lethal carcinoid tumors, she followed that by visits to her OB/Gyn, a second Ob/Gyn, an Oncologist, researched doctors across the country and finally landed at the Mayo Clinic where they give her their best shot. Six years and several surgeries later, she is here thankfully, to tell the tale.

The Characters

As the mother of three kids and wife of an incredibly supportive husband, Host is also one of six siblings and friend to many. Everybody reacts in their own way when a friend or family member gets sick. Host finds that though many of the people in her life stepped in to help out, some did not and this is not a time for judgment because each person has their own fears, biases and questions that may cause them to walk away during an intense situation.

The Setting

This story moves from home to hospital and back; as well as from within her internal landscape to the outer world. Having spent three months in hospital one time, her descriptions of the doctors, hospitals, and especially nurses was very reminiscent. The nurses in my life have frequently been heroes just as hers were. They are there so often for the nitty gritty details of life and know just what to do and say.

What I Liked

This story could have just been a dry recitation of facts and data – dates, diagnoses, healing plans, and obstacles, but what makes this book indispensable for anyone facing the cancer specter is Host’s explanations of how she was feeling and what she was thinking all along the way. There are always episodes of anger, bitterness, self-pity, sadness and worry when someone gets seriously ill, but what touches us the most are the fears, the guilt, the things that we don’t want to burden our friends and families with. These are the feelings that if kept inside, push our loved ones away. They are the thoughts that our families don’t understand and worry that they’ve caused. They are the secrets we keep because we think if we said how we’re really thinking, our dear ones will either think we are ready for a loony bin or think we are no longer worth loving. They are the mind games we play in the middle of the night when we should be getting healing rest.

What I Didn’t Like

For me this was like walking back through the looking glass with some medical professionals who don’t listen or are arrogant enough to think they are God. I felt her nausea and I swear I began to run a fever in sympathy. Readers who are squeamish about pain will need to skip parts of the telling.

Final Recommendation

In “Between Me and the River,” Carrie Host tells it like it is. She lays bare some of the ickiest thoughts and feelings sick people harbor and hide from their loved ones in order to spare them the pain and worry living inside. Anybody who is looking at a cancer diagnosis for themselves or a loved one will gain a lot of insight by reading this book.

2009 © Susan K Barton

Follow this link to read my review of Homer and Langley at Gather.com

This is essentially the Good News Translation (Today’s English Version)

In our house, we have numerous versions and translations of both Old and New Testaments as well as the Bible in whole—everything from Greek to German, King James to Living Bible to New Revised Standard. We even have it as an audiobook. And this is yet again a new and intriguing update.

For many years, the only people with access to God’s word were priests. Ever since Gutenberg (and yes I also viewed the Gutenberg Bible at The Huntington Library in San Marino, California) printers, churches, historians, and scholars have striven to make the Bible more relevant to the present generation. Even the Celtic priests who created The Book of Kells c. 800 A.D. were essentially illustrating the four gospels with calligraphy and images to illuminate or shed light on the text.

What I Liked

As it is still at its core, the New Testament, I have little to quarrel with as to the text. This version is augmented by the addition of photographs and artwork that the publisher must feel adds insight to these words. It is a text to be read like a novel or magazine with 3-4 columns for most pages and many pages of text being augmented with artwork on the opposite page. Headings like “The Temptation of Christ” and “Salt and Light” replace chapter and verse numbering, as the publisher boils down the essence of each section for the reader who wishes to skim through looking for something of interest to read.

What I Didn’t Like

I often wonder about the motivation of a publisher when a new version of The Bible comes out, and am still puzzling over this one. I find it frustrating that the pages often have “pull quotes” where a block of text is in a larger font, centered on the page, with white space around it. That text is then lettered in red so it can be found in context. I argue with this practice for two reasons. First, by selecting a passage to pull quote, the publisher is elevating that text over the rest, which could indicate to readers that it is more important or special than the rest. Second, in traditional Bibles, red letters indicate words that are believed to actually have been spoken by Jesus. This adds confusion by lettering text in red that cannot be attributed to Christ.

As with the highlighted text, so also with the photographs included of various people, places and events, the publisher draws the reader to make conclusions that they might not have made (for better or worse) on their own. Some of the photos are particularly graphic in displaying scenes that are inappropriate in my opinion for children and teens, which would keep me from sharing this version with them until they are older and able to understand the context. I realize that the Bible is filled with stories that are violent or sexual, but it is easier for children to learn about them as they learn to read whereas pictures are difficult to shy away from.

The size of this version is roughly equivalent to my Martha Stewart Living or Vanity Fair magazines (about an inch narrower), glossy paper (that can’t be easily written on), flimsy magazine style cover, very small font. It has a very “casual” feeling to it. I can’t really use it as a study bible without the chapter/verse numbering so that I can find what I’m looking for or the ability make notes because of the slick paper, the cover on my copy is already curled and bent, it slides around on my pile of mags as if it fits in. But it shouldn’t. These are Holy Scriptures. Can you imagine a Koran or Torah printed like a magazine? Okay, probably just a case of judging a book by its cover, but this version just doesn’t appeal to me. I find myself flipping through it looking at the pictures and noticing only the pull quotes. Because of the page size, it is physically difficult for me to hold and because of the font size, it is difficult to read unless I gold it close. I wonder who the publishers are attempting to reach.

Final Recommendation

I always welcome a fresh take on God’s word and look forward to the insights that I’ll pick up from seeing the words in a new light. Just be careful not to allow the publisher’s slant expressed in highlights and artwork to unduly influence what you know to be true.

” The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes from within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Sacred, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men. ”
Black Elk

Recently, my son showed me a fun website (Cool Music Website of the Day ~ TheSixtyOne dot com) that introduces independent musical artists to the world. I almost always have it running in the background now because I have found so many great tunes! One of my favorite new obsessions is an artist I found on TheSixtyOne.com Amy Martin and especially her album “This Fall” available at iTunes, Pandora, Rhapsody and emusic. Much like Gather.com, TheSixtyOne.com is driven by user comments and recommendations. I think I found Amy Martin through my son and I’m glad I did. She is a wonderfully talented musician from Missoula, Montana who has toured with artists like Pete Seeger, Indigo Girls, Bruce Cockburn, Holly Near and Cris Williamson. You can read more about Amy at her website: http://www.amymartin.org/. I selected her album “This Fall” first because all of the proceeds go to a humanitarian effort in Afghanistan, Creating Hope International that promotes women’s health and education issues. It’s nice to get great music and support a great cause at the same time.

When I get a new album, the first thing I do is listen to it several times both awake and asleep to see what tunes stick in my brain first. I’d have to say that honor goes to Prayer to mamagod. The fantastic words do stick in my brain and the melody sticks in my heart. It tells me to look in my own heart in order to make peace in a world at war. Ring Around competes with it though and I have awakened with it in my head as well.

Track Listing:

1 Taoing 3:18
2 Ring Around 4:16
3 Indian Summer 4:40
4 Open 4:59
5 Rake and Ramblin’ Girl 2:36
6 Prayer to Mamagod 4:37
7 What Is Complete 3:35
8 My Fellow Americans 4:39
9 Say Your Prayers 4:41
10 September 5:00
11 Sourceless 3:18
12 First Snow 4:30

WHAT I LIKE

Amy Martin’s voice is clear, strong, unique and well supported so her passion for the song subject comes through. Her acoustic guitar adds a mellowing effect and always supports her voice without overpowering it. The lyrics are all well thought out and are easily heard and understood as well as having social relevance. The sadness and anger in Ring Around makes me sad and angry, spurring me to write poetry and maybe I’ll even write my senator. She would have fit right in with the sixties protestors. It’s not a live album, but it has a kind of, “singing in the coffeehouse” intimacy that I don’t usually hear.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE

The only remotely negative remark I can make about This Fall is that the style doesn’t change up from one song to the next very much. The album is all kind of a folk/bluegrass ballad sound with most feeling to be the same tempo.

FINAL RECOMMENDATION

I love Amy Martin’s passion and This Fall is a beautiful album that will encourage you to want to change the world for the better. In the best tradition of Pete Seeger or Peter, Paul and Mary, Amy Martin will touch you deeply.

2008 © Susan K Barton

The perfect movie to watch the day the groundhog saw his shadow

“Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST….”
Frank Zappa

Recently, my son showed me a fun website (Cool Music Website of the Day ~ TheSixtyOne dot com) that introduces independent musical artists to the world. I almost always have it running in the background now because I have found so many great tunes! One of my favorite new obsessions is a group I found on TheSixtyOne.com called Kennebec and their album by the same name available at iTunes, buy.com, payplay.com, ruckus.com, and cdbaby.com. Much like allconsuming, TheSixtyOne.com is driven by user comments and recommendations. Not that it matters, but I think I found Kennebec through my son’s friend James and I’m glad I did. They are a talented, seasoned folk/pop/rock group from the Raleigh area. You can read more about the group at their websites: http://www.myspace.com/kennebecmusic and http://www.kennebeclive.com.

When I get a new album, the first thing I do is listen to it several times both awake and asleep to see what tunes stick in my brain first. I’d have to say the winner of that honor is rosie beige, but ask me again tomorrow because sanctuary and going back are hot on its tail.

Track Listing:

1 can’t Figure Why 4:12
2 rosie beige 2:44
3 sanctuary 3:32
4 black friday 4:13
5 when the Morning Comes 3:15
6 26th interstate 3:33
7 orion asylum 5:50
8 going back 3:08
9 shade tree 5:12
10 the day 3:27
11 white crosses 4:21

WHAT I LIKE

When I first heard this album, I just sighed because I felt like I’d found a comfortable pair of Levi 501’s. This is rock, big and bold like The Who. It’s rock with some twang like The Eagles. It’s rock with lyrics that are thoughtful, understandable, edgy, and not drowned out by the music. It isn’t rock from the 60’s and 70’s, but it is clearly cut from that same bolt of cloth.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE

This will sound greedy, but…11 tracks? How can I survive on 11 tracks? It’s actually the only downside to the whole album.

FINAL RECOMMENDATION

Kennebec is an album that I like to listen to one track at a time or the whole album played over and over because none of the tracks sound the same or repetitive, but are a nice complement to each other. If you are looking for a strong band that is comfortable in rock, pop, folk and country, take a listen. Check them out on thesixtyone.com and then go buy the album.

This brand new debut novel is destined for the similar literary recognition as that of “The Secret Life of Bees.” Claire and her half-sister Sydney were raised by their maternal grandmother at the magical home owned by their family for generations in a small town in North Carolina, after their mother died in a car crash. Magical in the literal sense. Sydney left when she was just eighteen after her boyfriend dumped her because she wasn’t of the right social caste, and not as Claire thought – to get away from the magic. Magic as exhibited by an apple tree in the garden that blooms early and bares apples most of the year. The apples give visions to the people who eat them of the biggest moment in their life. The moment could be either negative or positive and the vision could either cause the eater to try to avoid the moment for the rest of their life or sometimes live only for that moment.

Sydney returns to the small town and Claire’s house after several years of domestic abuse just as Claire’s new next door neighbor takes a romantic interest in Claire who seems determined to put him off because everybody else in her life has left her. Claire isn’t sure love is worth the pain it can cause. Sydney also seems oblivious to love staring her in the face.

The rest of the story is filled with delightful (and not so delightful) characters with their southern charm and one of my favorite things to read about – food.

Since the time I was a tot I have been acquiring and storing up words only to let them spill out. I’ve dipped my toes in word pools from many sources: books, school, television, Campfire Girls, the kids who hung out in the back of the school bus. I was entranced with the notion that different jobs had their own vernacular especially that of short order cooks, the military, and business. It surprised me that a word had different meanings depending on where it was being used. One of my first jobs as an adult was typing from taped dictation for a university dean. I constantly had the dictionary by my side, trying to decipher what I thought I heard him say. I feared that I’d always seem a country rube to this academician. I guess he felt the same. I lasted about three weeks in that position before I was let go.

I never let go of words though; even some of the words Dean Dickson used, like auger. OOPS! I mean agar. I guess my wrong word in his opening speech of the school year to the faculty didn’t agar well for my chances of a long career with the dean.

Last year I discovered the 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know list and realized that I didn’t know all of the words as thoroughly as I wished. So to remedy the situation, I’ve been writing about one of the words each week. I’m about half way through the list. It’s been fun and I’ve learned a lot. My renewed interest in words has spurred me to start writing down all of the words I encounter in daily life, books and song lyrics that I don’t know and look them up. I’m compiling my own lexicon in a way and the more I see these words, the more I use them. A funny thing happens when I take the time to look up my new friends; I start to see them on the street, talked about in the news and in other books. I recently discovered a new list; 100 Words that make you sound smart. I actually use these words a good deal more than the other list. I’ve decided I’ll write 100 short stories and each one will have one of the listed words slipped in somewhere.

“Every people should be left free to determine its own policy, its own way of development, unhindered, unthreatened, unafraid, the little along with the great and powerful… These are American principles.”
Woodrow Wilson

The occupation of Iraq has been an exercise in futility. The current administration disregarded the people, culture, religion, politics, and economics already in place when they decided to effect a regime change in this Middle Eastern country; failed to get support from either countries in the region or our current allies; and expressed reasons for this regime change that had no basis in reality. Meddling in Iraq’s government has only brought us grief and created a safe haven for terrorists. We have to remedy this situation as soon as possible by leaving Iraq to govern and defend Iraq by itself.

“There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden, or even your bathtub.”
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Last night I experienced that sense of peace I get when the world is beautiful, children laugh, and frenzied shells filled with gunpowder and chemicals explode and then dance upon the sky in a profusion of light, color and sound. There’s the initial thudding bomb as the shell’s fuse is lit and then the charge is lit and it bursts into the sky. It is followed by hissings, snapping, crackling and popping as smaller charges are lit and fiery bits gyrate wildly. The crowd’s silence and the oohs and ahs swell as greater and greater images appear overhead,—stars, hearts, flowers, and in Seattle dancing clams. In the midst of all that movement, I was at rest, content in knowing our country made it to another birthday. My renewed optimism may be short-lived, but for now I am hopeful.