health Books

On the surface, Nancy Draper's story of her mother's battle with AIDS is a story about facing death from a dreadful disease. But looking deeper A Burden of Silence is really a story about choosing to live with compassion and empathy for others.

In a world where many live daily with fear as a companion - fear of pain, fear of what others will think, fear that they will be the recipient of prejudice - this story shows us that we can choose to live with hope, that even though we are just one person we can make a difference. Nancy has given voice to her mother who thought her only choice was silence.

The book is a loving memorial and a celebration of a life.

Nancy Draper, author of A Burden of Silence, held an audience enthralled at a recent Maine library program as she spoke about her mother's battle with AIDS. Everyone there purchased a copy of her book.

Her first person narrative conveys an intimacy between the reader and the author. It is heart wrenching when Nancy relates how her mother was infected with HIV through a blood transfusion during heart surgery. People usually think that if they have protected sex, this could not happen to them, but Nancy points out that it can happen to anyone. Her mother was an innocent victim who felt a deep shame for having a "dirty" disease. This book explains how a seemingly ordinary family handled this tragedy.

Imagine how hard it must to keep such a secret, when one has every right expect support from outsiders. Think how degrading it is to an elderly woman when her own doctor would not touch her, but made his nurse take blood. This sense of despair is what the author communicates to anyone wise enough to pick up a copy of her book and read it.

The author valiantly attempts to control her emotions, to give an unbiased account of how her family coped. Nancy's mother spent the first five years after her surgery not knowing why she always felt sick. When she was finally given the blood test that determined that the blood bank gave her HIV infected blood, she was devastated. She lived a short three years after the diagnosis.

The decision was made to keep it quiet. Nancy's mother felt that most people would not understand, and perhaps she was correct. Society tends to judge people without all the facts.

Near the end of her mother's life, Nancy and her father applied for hospice care, which turned out to be a blessing. Wintering in Florida, they would have been alone without hospice. Hospice made the last days easier to bear for this brave woman who had so much thrown her way.

Not only has Nancy Draper written remarkable narrative of coping, but she comes from a cohesive family unit. Her husband, present at the program I attended, exuded incredible support, which must make living with this tragedy a bit easier, as her own health suffered during this ordeal. Today her travels take her throughout the country in her work to reinforce AIDS awareness.

This book educates people to a greater AIDS awareness than any professional lecture could accomplish. As Nancy states, AIDS is not a dirty word, and through her participation in the AIDS memorial quilt, perhaps more people will come to realize the wisdom of her words. This book is a must for everyone.

"A Burden of Silence: My Mother's Battle with AIDS," is a gripping and tender account of a daughter's love for her dying mother due to a tainted blood transfusion. In this heartwarming book dealing with a nightmarish subject, Nancy succeeds in revealing her story with courage, compassion, humor, and unwavering love. Through this story, Nancy hopes to erase some of the stigma surrounding AIDS. Nancy explains the importance of keeping her mother's memory alive through the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. I highly recommend this book.
Richard H Frishman "Rick Frishman"
www.plannedtvarts.com
www.author101.com

Nancy Draper writes a deeply moving account of her family's pain, shame and suffering during a time when AIDS was a new mysterious disease that had the medical profession baffled and caused grave public misconceptions. A must read book.

After reading the many positive reviews on Nancy Draper's book "A Burden of Silence" I am at a loss to add anything more worthy. So I would like to go at it from a personal point of view. I have just recently met the author, but I was acquainted with her parents for quite awhile. It pleased me greatly when Nancy told me her mother liked me very much, and that she liked my writing.
The secret was kept from me as well as most everyone except the family. I only knew that this lovely, frail lady was not very well. After her death, my husband and I joined Nancy's dapper, and personable father for breakfast on several occasions following church. We still did not know what had caused her death. Now, this gentleman is gone too. I am blessed that because I knew them, I now am getting to know Nancy Draper.
This little woman is incredibly strong and resilient. She has bravely taken on many health problems of her own as well as those of her family. I can understand how doubly-difficult it had to be when she carried the burden of silence, when one of things she needed most, was to confide in others and unburden her own heart. But this was her parents' wish, at a time when AIDS was just entering our vocabulary and was so very mis-understood. This is an important, warmly written book. Susan "Sam" LeGree. Author of "Champagne in a Plastic Glass" and "Old Girl Talk"

In my opinion, stretching and ergonomics are only aspects of conquering repetitive strain injuries and this book title presumes too much in the interest of drawing attention to itself.

4 1/2 months ago I experienced sudden onset bilateral arm pain, primarily in the distal halves of my forearms accompanied by carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms in my hands, with occasional aching pain clear to my plexus on my right arm. My doctors turned out to be fear mongers, so I declined their invasive tests and surgeries and have focused my efforts on supporting my body's natural healing process. Although the healing rate seems to be less than 1% improvement per day on average, I would encourage anyone with similar symptoms to treat this problem conservatively.

This book has an interesting high-level discussion of fascia. It is primarily a book of drawings which depict various stretches, and an organization which allows you to choose the stretches most appropriate to your injury. I found a couple of the stretches useful, but have found plenty of other useful stretches on the Internet and in other books which are not covered here. It also has a discussion of ergonomics which is fairly typical of other texts.

I am convinced that my injury is primarily acute tendinitis followed by chronic tendinosis. I have spent a tremendous amount of time studying tendon injuries partly by reading medical textbooks. One of the primary reasons for stretching tendons is that it stimulates proper healing and strengthening for a variety of reasons, not just to free up fascia. It would be nice if this book contained more background information about tendons in addition to the discussion of fascia.

Another interesting aspect of my condition is the fact that I have had cramping and inflammation which lead to poor circulation and healing. I have found that both hot and cold therapy as well as massage are instrumental in the healing process. I perform all of these things by myself most of the time, with a little help from friends occasionally. This book really doesn't address these issues, so I'd also recommend exploring some books on massage and trigger point therapy.

My instructor suggested this book for us training to become a Licensed Massage Therapist so that we wont burn out. Has great stretches and simple. What people dont realize is that its the repetitive motion in the shoulder and upper arm that causes the muscles at the carpals (wrist) to tense up as a reaction to the pain in the upper arm, trigger point therapy is a great way to relieve the strain as well. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

This book will cure your repetetive strain injuries. Butler describes how to stretch properly and what stretches will benefit you most depending on where you have pain or numbness. It is amazing how much better I got, and how quickly! You will need to keep up on your stretches to stay well.

I'd only be repeating the praises others have given this book, but I just want to say I highly recommend this book. The stretches are explained clearly and simply and they do work. I've bought this book for friends and when they follow the exercises, they get relief. Another plus, is doing the stretches FEELS so good and it only takes maybe 15 minutes.

This book was loaned to me at my job as a computer engineer. I had carpal tunnel affecting my wrists & forarm. Excellent, easy stretches which really relieve the pain. I recommended it to a friend who cleans houses for a living, and she was able to stop wearing the arm brace. Great for those tiny, hard to stretch muscles.

Pamela Weintraub has done an incredible job sifting through massive amounts of often conflicting information to deliver a readable and engaging synthesis of Lyme Disease in America. While there are a number of books on the subject Cure Unkown represents a balanced, factual account of the controversy surrounding this misunderstood disease. Ms. Weintraub has woven her analytical tour de force with the moving account of her family's journey through the dark, Kafkaesque landscape of today's medical establishment. This is a must read for anyone interested in better understanding Lyme Disease.

This author provides a completely unique perspective. She and her family have been deeply affected by this still unknown and understood bacteria, and at the same time she offers her wonderful ability in writing hard science and detective work to provide the most up-to-date book on Chronic Lyme Disease aka Tick-borne Disease. It's science that will grab you, scare you, anger you, make you hopeful, and leave you anxiously waiting for the rest of the story! Fascinating!

This was an excellent book. I have recently met the author of the book and it was great to hear about her families struggle with Lyme disease in the book as well as in person. I could tell she spent a lot of time researching her subject. I hope a lot of people read this book so they can find out about this terrible disease and how it is affecting so many families. We need to spend more money on research and training for our doctors.

Finally, a book that tells the truth about the devastating effects of Lyme Disease. She covers the medical, as well as the political repercussions of this disabling and sometimes deadly disease.

For anyone who really wants to know the truth about why Lyme Disease is being allowed to destroy and end lives, this is a MUST read.

I came down with Lyme disease in July 08. I had 4 weeks of antibiotics. I still had shocking sensations and a buzzing ear when I saw an infectious disease doctor. He told me to ignore it. One month later the joint pain started. My ear began to constantly ring and my muscles twitched. I found it hard to concentrate at my job as an engineer.

I visited numerous doctors and found them to be exactly as explained in this book. In living this nightmare I have seen the truth in what Weintraub portrays in her pages first hand. This disease and the co-infections that can accompany it have been pushed under the carpet by mainstream medicine and those that are afflicted are left with the diagnosis of an unproven "immunological response."

I for one believe that unless they can prove their point unequivocally that antibioitics are of no further use that those that want to try the treatment should be able to, especially since many have found that they are helped by them.

It is disgusting how we can waste so many billions of dollars, but research dollars for this disease remains paltry. Sadly with the current economy the future will probably be worse.

The book is just what I was looking for - simple and short, yet effective and precise. It contains just enough intro on the scientific background on how plants purify the air, it gives some info on how this has been tested, it gives practical advices on how to use plants and finally it rates the tested plants according to four criteria of effectivness (removal of chemicals,transpiration rate, ease of growth/maintenance,resistance to insects).Great for reference with some great pictures and guide how to take care of each particular plant. Simply great!

Very well written-- fascinating -- and I was impressed and appalled by reading about the studies that showed -- more than TWENTY years ago -- how our inside air is just as bad sometimes -- and even WORSE at times-- than the outside air.

I would HIGHLY recomend this book as a guide to ALL public building administrators who have a say in what kind of plants (LOTS OF EM please) should be in their lobbies and offices and EVEN- YES -- on the ROOF.

The only gripe I have with this book is the over-generous use of abbreviations liberally sprinkled throughout the text -- and NONE of those abbreviations are in the Glossary!

More then 10 years ago, we bought some indoor plants for better air quality in the house. We end up throwing them away because we knew nothing about plants. So this time we thought we better get some knowledge before we purchase. This books came highly recommended by Dr. Chen, a famous Chinese Naturopath doctor who wrote couple of best selling books in Taiwan. We think this is a great book because it's simple and to the point with pictures. We decided on Rubber plant, Peace Lily and Janet Craig... They are good-looking and easier to care for, besides the capability to remove indoor toxins and keep indoor air fresh.

Not many products both clean the air and are beautiful. How to Grow Fresh Air explains how houseplants do just that. Beautiful book, well written with plenty of information, this book is wonderful.

"How to Grow Fresh Air" is the best book I've found on the topic of using plants to improve air quality. It has easy-to-use recommendations, rating plants' ability to improve air quality and listing information that will help the reader decide if they can keep this plant alive.

There are a few problems. First, the book does not describe the 50 best plants -- it describes the only 50 plants tested. Second, this book doesn't indicate how many plants should be put in a room. An internet search of unknown accuracy indicated 1 to 3 plants (size medium to large) for 100 square feet of floor space (attributed to the author). Third, the book doesn't tell you about any patterns the authors observed in their research: does plant size matter? Leaf size? By how much? Growth rate? If there were a simple pattern (like large fast-growing plants are best; or that air-cleaning appears to be a characteristic of certain plant species), then this would be very good to know. Forth, the research is at least 12 years old, and there doesn't appear to be any new research on this subject. Fifth, I found two conflicting tables in the technical section. This doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling about the book's technical accuracy -- like Al Gore's "time goes backwards" Global Warming chart. The whole thing reads like an exploratory research project that wasn't funded further -- but should have been.

With that said, this book has useful advice, and seems to be worth the purchase price. I'm going to give buy a few of the highest rated plants for my office, and see if their gas-elimination properties (combined with my air filter) yields improved air quality.

Words cannot express how completely awesome and spine-tingling this book is. I saw Marshall Ball on the Oprah show several years ago and was so in awe of him that as soon as the show ended I got in the car and drove to the bookstore to buy the book. It will make you smile, cry and laugh; it really left me with the lessons of 'miracles do happen' and 'you never know what someone can do until you give them a chance'. It's a definite must read.

Marshall Ball is exquisite. With the simplicity of a child and the wisdom of the ages, he speaks with a profound understanding that could only be Divine. Marshall cannot speak, so he uses an alphabet board to point to each letter. This is a painstakingly long process. He was born with a disease that keeps him confined to a wheelchair. At age nine, he was evaluated at school with a twelfth-grade reading level. I was pleasantly inspired by Marshall and eagerly await more writings from him. My favorite quote from Marshall is: "Can we free the world to think perfectly about the listening and marvelous children?" I highly recommend this book.

As heralded by such masters as Eckhart Tolle and Don Miguel Ruiz the earth at this time is graced by a number of awakened divine flowers of consciousness which grace us with their tremendous healing power and gentility. Marshall Ball is no doubt one such light in our world. His healing gift is through the power of his words. In these important documents of our time [Kiss of God & A Good Kiss] Marshall Ball uses his gentle and seemingly simple use of the English language to incite a healing effect that evokes deep emotions and directly effects the heart. Short of a miracle, both of Marshall Ball's books are a collection of communications poetically expressed and clearly echo teachings from A Course in Miracles, Eckhart Tolle's Power of Now and Stillness Speaks, and the Conversations with God books, none of which have been a source of study for this young man of 17. It seems Truth is spoken again by another source of pure love, but here, with heavenly gentleness and a poetic voice that can lift and heal the coldest of hearts. I highly recommend reading and studying both "Kiss of God" and "A Good Kiss" as material for spiritual study and personal growth. May this gentle heavenly force continue to grace us with his divine wisdom and healing voice.

This book will touch you. There is a simplicity and purity of thought, but there are deeper more profound meanings there for you to discover on your own. Marshall is a special child of God, as we all are in our own way. Love and listening are prevalent themes in Marshall's short poems and prose. I am a grown man with grown children, and I am not prone to tears, but many of Marshall's words brought tears to my eyes. I know God talks through Marshall. Share this book with your friends and family.

Recommendation:
A great book for traveling on a journey with a special child. If you have a special child, get this book, because you may learn more about your child, and their own journey and thoughts. If you don't have an special child, then get this book and learn about the blessings that come with the pain and challenges of the journeys that parents of special children travel.

Book Review
Marshall writes, with physical assistance, of things we cannot see, or imagine in our busy and cluttered lives. Yet, these are the important, and permanent things that life is determined on, not the urgent and unimportant.

His poems are very good (fantastic considering his age and issues) and offer a mature, yet spiritually innocent viewpoint that remains objective and not caught up with our worldly challenges.

Marshall is here and suffers in order to fulfill God's purpose of helping us, and those who need spiritual assistance.

How Marshall Helped Us Learn of Our Daughter's Thoughts, and Experiences:
We have a daughter with severe cerebral palsy who cannot speak or walk an had just finished two weeks of therapy in Chicago and were catching a plane for the ride home. This was two years ago, so she was four at the time. By accident, I packed her reading books, so we stopped in the book store to find a book to read. We accidently came across Marshall's book and I explained to my daughter that Marshall was like her, and could not speak or walk, and was just a few years older. Then, I asked her if she wanted to get Marshall's book, she got very excited (happy).

On the plane we read the first few pages and came across this part of Marshall's poem...

Even though my individuality finds
sweet knowing perfection, I listen
for the answers to wishes from above.

So, I asked my daughter if God spoke to her about her wishes and prayers. She just about jumped out of her skin!!! It was like finally!!!! Someone knows my secrets!!!! Yes, I speak to God and He speaks to me!!!!

I was startled, and asked her some poorly developed questions. After a couple of months, I thought about the questions I asked and also her answers, and I realized that I really did not learn what I thought I had learned. (We have to ask her questions, with two or three answers for her to choose from, then ask additional questions to further determine her correct and precise answers).

Because I only want the truth, regardless of the issues, I spent some time to relaly think about the questions, and alternative answers that could be gleaned from my technique, then began to ask her more precise questions to nail down her responses.

What I found is that she did speak to and hear from God every night. That she did remember her personal journey (died at birth for 35 minutes), and remembered seeing God when she died. She did not remember being in the hospital, being taken off life support, or anything else.

But, when she died, she went to heaven, and was not given a choice, but was told to return to her Mommy and Daddy (which she wanted); and she was told that her purpose was to help a lot of children who were in need. (...) She came back to us - obviously - and now is a bright 6 year old who goes to full inclusion school, has many friends and lots of fun. Yet, she cannot speak, or walk, yet. (But is making great progress!)

Without reading Marshall's book, I would never have thought to ask these questions, and would have never have learned my daughter's secrets.

Did not read like a Primer to me. Nowhere near as good as Dr Walsh's book.

Well organized and illustrated. Especially helpful for early stages of diagnosis and in meeting family member's concerns. I wish I'd had it sooner.

The book is really well written. It is chock full of information...figures, web links, and references. Great place to start to educate one's self if newly diagnosed.

This book is perhaps the best book of its genre in describing prostate cancer and the various forms of treatment for prostate cancer.

When a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, he will be surprised to learn that there are a variety of treatment modalities. This book is excellent in that it lists all the available treatment modalities, lists the possible side-effects of each treatment, explains the diagnostic tests for prostate cancer, and writes extensively on which prostate cancers respond to which therapies the best.

The most confusing thing to a patient with prostate cancer is how to treat it. One needs to understand the type of cancer they have (the staging of the cancer tumor(s), how diagnostic tests are interpreted and what they mean, and then what treatment options are best for the specific cancer one has. This is where this book excels, as it thoroughly explains the entire process and informs the reader of all the various options that are available to treat prostate cancer.

Ultimately, knowledge is power in the issue of prostate cancer, so the informed patient is able to make the best decision to treat his cancer. This book will help you choose the best treatment. There are real and potentially serious life-altering side-effects to cancer therapy. One needs to know these adverse outcomes before making an informed decsion on treatment. I highly recommend this book as it does empower the man with prostate cancer to make these important decisons. After reading this book, you will have a sound knowledge of prostate cancer and the options for treatment. It is very reader-friendly and all medical terms and tests are explained in a manner that can be understood. It is required reading for anyone with prostate cancer.

Highly recommended.

Jim Koenig

Book Review
A Primer on Prostate Cancer: The Empowered Patient's Guide, 2nd Ed.
Stephen B. Strum, M.D. and Donna Pogliano
Hollywood, FL: Life Extension Foundation, 2005, 124 pp.
Ranked in the Top Ten of my Cancer Bibliography.
Ranked in the Top Five of my Prostate Cancer Bibliography.

I have surveyed or read so far over 100 cancer books in researching my own book. This ranked in the top 10% in both my categories primarily because of the excellence of its useful and professional content and presentation and the sophisticated level of the discussion. After my prostate cancer diagnosis, quickly learning I would not get enough time with my doctor, I dug deeply into many libraries and web sites. Public libraries are helpful, but severely incomplete and rarely up to date. With a background of two college degrees and Managing Director of a large research corporation, I knew how to do research and began to seek deeper information sources and understanding on cancer and medical websites. Here, also, there are problems: insufficient depth, too general, uncertain or dated reliability, suspect motives and dispersed value in millions of locations. Studies have shown that patients have a lot of trouble finding good material on the web, trying to find diamonds in the rubble. Then, I turned to Amazon and began to build my own library of the best available. This solved my problem.

Dr. Strum is a specialist in prostate cancer. This book is condensed and loaded on almost every page with color diagrams, charts, tables, photos, scans, Physician Notes and medical writing and details I would expect in a med school text. With my previous preparation, I was able to understand and apply almost all of it to my own situation, a great leap forward for a non-scientist. Not every prostate cancer patient will be ready for this, but buy it, refer to it as you do your homework elsewhere and your disease progresses, and it will soon become the core of your understanding and view of your future.

Along with the beautiful, colorful and clear presentations, I loved the several examples that were identical to my own journey, followed by the explanation of choices and exact treatment I have had: what a relief to study, decide and then get the same confirmation from my own doctors as we moved through several stages of diagnosis and treatment; what a thrill to study a photo of a problematic bone scan and compare it to my own favorable, cancer-free scan following treatment.

Your doctors are, of course, the final and up-to-date authority: be well-informed, so you can participate in the decision-making with the experts; but recognize that the busy medical community may not have the time or detailed knowledge of your situation to give it the attention you can. As you go, you will find a number of excellent books like this to guide you. It is important to have current information about the fast-moving science of medicine. That makes it a lot easier to get past the basics, ask good questions and accept or refine the doctor's judgment and recommendations. Seek out and devour books like this one, and you will be miles, perhaps even some time, ahead of most patients. With that confidence, your improved mental attitude will assist in your progress.
John Roberts (www.CanFighters.com)

When I bought this book in November 2007, my right eye was 20/100, and my left eye was 20/50. Both had additional corrections for astigmatism. I also had double vision, requiring a 2D prism (1D in each lens). In January 2008, I passed the drivers' exam with 20/40 on the right and 20/50 on the left. Three months later, I reached 20/20 on the right and 20/30 on the left, with no double vision. If you are stuck on the path to increasingly bad eyesight, get off. This book will show you how.

eye surgery sounds good at first but the truth is... most patients after a while revert back to using glasses due to strain from bad vision habbits. master good vision habbits till the habbits become subconscious and vision will slowly return to normal...no matter how far gone. the question is what are bad and good habbits...didnt your mom ever tell you not to stare? well staring is one of my problems and i have -6.00 myopia. after a few min of doing good habbits my vision is noticably sharper. the big step is keeping those good habbits. buy this book, you'll enjoy it. im only half way through it and loveing it.

In one of the reviews in the first two pages of the book, someone comments that the book could really be titled "Relearning to Live". I heartily agree. A lot of the 5-star reviews say it as it is.

Compared to the hundreds of dollars I've spent on eyeglasses, eighteen dollars to read about improving eyesight (to the point where eyeglasses aren't needed--truly!), seems to be a bit of a paradox. I was a bit skeptical at first, but the will to improve my eyesight by natural means, was stronger than doubt. I believe this is an important step, as one has to assume responsibility for their own health and well-being (as quoted by a holistic health practitioner, somewhere in the book).

This book may very well be the best eighteen dollars I've invested in. It is of incredibly high standard and quality. To say the least, Mr. Quackenbush has a thorough, comprehensive, and extensive understanding of Bates' method and vision.

I started out at -7.25 (with -0.25 astigmatism--which I never believed I needed); currently I'm about -5.50 (no astigmatism). My -7.25s were getting fuzzy around Feb 2008. Yesterday, I tried on my original -7.25s, and I've better than perfect eyesight with them. This would be a total impossibility, had I not gotten this book.

Many optometrists have a negative view of Bates' teaching. Why, of course. If everyone had good eyesight, a whole bunch of optometrists would go out of business overnight.

For me, the first few days were a bit trippy. Headaches, etc. I will not forget the day my vision "sharpened" with a -6.00 pair. I was walking around in a store and it just happened.

"Don't stare, don't strain", are two golden rules to remember. The reading material will help you remember and put those (and other) good eye habits into practice. Yes, it takes dedication. Yes, lasik is "fast". Read the book and you'll see the price you pay for permanently tampering with (i.e: cutting) your corneas.

Personally, I do not intend to let Bates' (3 decades of research; was forced to resign from his graduate teaching position due to his contemporary, un-orthodox views) and this author's beneficial work to mankind, go to waste.

The material was presented in a clear manner. should be easy to understand and implement. It is strange that people have not come to an agreement to the real cause of errors in your eyesight with all the advances in medicine - they can clone you if they want to but cant tell you why u cant see far off objects. i guess the bottomline is like the food industry oil, pharmaceutical industry,health industry- money is the driving force, they dont care if you go blind,get fatter, get weaker, unhealthier as long as they can give you temporary fixes without solving the problem so they can keep making money.

I bought this book and read through it over about four weeks and put together the main points. I then followed these main points and within only ONE week i had improved my vision from around 20/100 to 20/30. Thats in just one week, imagine one month. Very good book well worth the money.

This "little" book has a huge message: a message of compassion! The book has become a classic - it is a highly recognizable work of self-acceptance and self-awareness. The book offers a much needed normalization and de-pathologizing of the daily struggle over eating. It offers a humanizing, healing experience that soothes the wounds of overeaters' self-loathing. It has much to teach - in the way of letting go of the dieting perfectionism that creates problems as it tries to solve them.

Pavel Somov, Ph.D., Author of "Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices for Overcoming Overeating One Meal at a Time" (New Harbinger, Nov. 2008)

This is a fabulous little book. It's a series of fifty very short advisory essays all about how to love yourself when you hate yourself. Specifically, Roth's work deals with compulsive eating, and this is her focus here too, but unlike some of her other work, this book is clearly meant to be more broadly applicable to any and all situations in which one might find oneself swimming in a sea of self-hatred. Roth is a humorous writer. She has a similar sort of wit as Anne Lamott, who has written the introduction to this book. Overall I found this book hilarious and moving. I stayed up all night to read it.

No matter how many times it happens, I'm always amazed when I find that there are other people in the world who go through some of the same things as me. This book really did it, it really showed me that I'm not alone in the frightening world of body-image. By the time I finished the second chapter, I had decided that I was going to get this book for my best friend for her birthday, and by the time I had finished the sixth chapter, I realized that I was going to buy it for every single one of my girlfriends for their birthdays.
This is a really amazing book, and the author really knows how to talk to women who are in need of reassurance as well as a little shove (or a big one) in the right direction.
I suggest it for women of all ages who struggle with any sort of body/self-image, no matter how long that struggle has been going on.

I originally checked this book out of the library. I loved it so much I bought a copy and am reading it again. I also purchased two copies to give to good friends. This book may or may not help me to loose weight, however, it is so uplifting and encouraging it has really helped to change my attitude towards food and not to be so self-loathing.

I read a few books by Geneen Roth, including this one, in the beginning of 2003. After reading them, I gave myself permission to stop "dieting", and allowed myself to eat the food I like, thinking that if I didn't feel deprived that I would eat less and lose weight. I also kept away from the scale. The result was I gained 30 pounds in 9 months, before stopping myself from this upward climb. Its taken over 4 years to lose those 30 pounds. To this day I still regret reading those books. While I don't think its healthy to obsess about food and counting calories and body image, I do think we need to be careful about what we eat.

I am a person who loves to cook and own about 100 cookbooks. This is among my top 3 favorites. So far, I have made about 12 recipes from this book and each one has been a "10". The recipes are simple, wholesome, DELICIOUS and satisfying. This is not stereotypical vegetarian food (i.e. tofu and twigs). The recipes are filling and many have the feeling of comfort food.

I brought the vegetarian chili to an office party and it was devoured in minutes. Yesterday, I made bean moussaka (which sounds complicated but it wasn't) and it was absolutely one of the most delicious things I have ever made.

Best of all, this cookbook does not use exotic ingredients. Everything is easily findable in your local supermarket and the recipes are easy to follow.

This is a wonderful cookbook for both vegetarians and carnivores alike!

we are not vegetarians, but purchased this book as a part of our effort to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our weekly menu. i really appreciate that they mark the recipes with major, minor or protein complement so you can build a nutritionally sound meal that is also satisfying. i also like to short-list of themed menus at the back that makes planning meals easier. not all recipes have been winners, but we have enjoyed several quite a bit and nothing has been inedible. i dropped it from 5 to 4 stars bc the nutritional content of the meals is not provided and thus i have to do a lot of math in order to figure out how much fat/calories are in each dish.

I originally bought American Wholefoods Cuisine in the early 80's when my children were small. It quickly became our favourite cookbook. I like their philosophy, the recipes are very good and it has one of the most complete indexes I've ever seen. The introduction explains how to be sure you are getting complete protien when you eliminate animal protien from your diet. There is a section on food handling and storage as well as cooking techniques. I was pleased to see that it was available again. My current copy is much loved and I wanted to give a copy to each of my girls so they can recreate the favourite recipes of their childhood. In the past 20 years, hardly a week goes by without my consulting it.

My sister-in-law recommended this book. She had prepared one recipe for a meal we shared during a recent visit and it was great. I asked for the receipe and she provided the title and said she had not found a bad recipe yet. I immediately ordered the book when I got home. My wife and I love this book. We keep going through it and writing down recipes we want to try. We have yet to find one that we don't like. Each is a repeat for the future

Trying to find a good all round vegetarian cookbook is quite a difficult task. Many of the vegetarian cookbooks I've come across are either gourmet and not really suitable for everyday meals or full of bland tofu recipes that resemble cardboard in taste and texture. Finding recipes that use only whole foods is even more difficult. I've only come across one or two good ones that had maybe a half dozen recipes that I could actually use in daily life. The rest were either extremely laborious or required fresh foods that weren't readily available in my area.

Then I stumbled across American Wholefoods Cuisine. I was intrigued with the notion of vegetarian recipes that contained all whole foods. I expected and would have been quite happy with a cookbook that gave me a dozen decent dishes to try. Therefore, when I received the book and it contained 1300 meatless whole foods recipes, I was thrilled beyond belief.

American Wholefoods Cuisine has already become one of my staple cookbooks, along with a few old standbys given to me by my mother and mother-in-law. This book has a lot of everything from quick tasty snacks that I can make in a few minutes to full gourmet meals that I can make when I'm in the mood. In between there are all sorts of appetizers, soups, sauces, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, and baking treats. All easy to create with ingredients that I already have in my kitchen.

Most importantly, the food made from these recipes actually tastes good. For the first time in my life, I can eat completely healthy and not feel like I'm missing out on something. What's more, I have an ever-expanding group of young adults that are devouring everything I make as fast as I can cook.

This book goes very in-depth with the anatomy of massage. I'd hoped it had more basic techniques, but other than that, this book is wonderful.

I ordered two weeks before classes started and I received my book the following week! This book is great, the graphics are more than helpful... they are insightful! Recommend highly!
Thank you for your prompt delivery and great quality!

I purchased this book when I was half way through massage therapy school. I wish I would have had it right from the start! It is a great book with amazing real pictures of muscles. I brought this book to class and about 1/2 the class wanted to order it! The instructor saw it and was going to look into getting it for future classes. Just get it; you won't be sorry you did. Money well spent!

This book is fantastic for all the reasons the other reviewers gave, but oh that's not all...the CD-ROM is fantastic really amazing. It's a great way to see the muscles again in another view. The images are of computer generated models to show the attachments and then there is a video of a therapist massaging the muscle. It took me months to watch this CD-ROM because I had no idea it was going to be this great. Buy this book it's well worth the money. Plus, it's a business expense!

This book is so beneficial as reference material. The images are unreal and so specific. At least four therapists I know have bought the book since flicking through my copy.