Shared Stories from Daughters of Alzheimer's: Writing a Path to Peace

This book is a collection of personal stories shared by daughters of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The shock, the anger, the grief, the stress etc. are brought out with sincerity and honesty by the different authors. The editing by Persis R. Granger is by and large excellent and the book is highly readable (though my sharp eye caught some slips, they won't interfere with the reading). The book is not easy to read because of the emotions that are shared but is a valuable addition to the growing literature on Alzheimer's disease, a progressive and as of today incurable form of dementia, whose final diagnosis can only be made through a postmortem!

More and more people are becoming victims of Alzheimer's (partly because of increasing life span) and caring for them when they fail to recognize themselves and their care givers is no easy task. Relationships get affected apart from financial difficulties. Sending the person to an institution for care is one of the toughest decisions and the stories give an intimate look at the emotional trauma of the care givers. The book is thus moving at many places. In a country like India, where elders are supposed to be taken care of by children and there is no real infrastructure for their separate living, the relationships are affected severely due to the stress and strain of chronic illness and consequent burden on the care givers. Some of the stories in the book will thus strike a chord for such readers too!

Though the book focuses on Alzheimer's, any chronic illness that makes the person dependent on others causes similar problems and thus the book would be relevant to patients and caregivers of other chronic and debilitating diseases.

The book has a foreword by Pat Jimison, an introduction by Kathleen Adams and resources section at the end. However, alternative, holistic treatment options if any are left out and it is hoped that the future editions and a website will carry such information (as of now there is no specific website for the book). A lot of research on the role of antioxidants and herbs in delaying the onset of or improvement of Alzheimer's is now coming up and the book / website could have covered that.

I went through many emotions as I was reading this book since my own mother passed away in 2003 at the age of 89 and I felt (and feel even now) that I could have been a better son as far as her care is concerned. Her presence in the house was not stress free and many times I felt helpless! Journaling as suggested in the book is a good and effective way of coming to terms with the emotions that one cannot process immediately.

I recommend this book to all caregivers and even to chronic patients to give them an idea of the life ahead for those in early stages of Alzheimer's.

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Home Birth

I loved the philosophy of this book -that birth is a natural, normal process that rarely needs intervention. The author exposes the obstetric profession for what it really is: male-dominated and misogynistic, with doctors (and CNMs) performing unnecessary procedures on women in labor for their own convenience and/or out of a real fear of labor and birth. Many of the medical procedures she writes about definitely are still the norm at hospital births, such as inducing or speeding up labor with Pitocin or artificially breaking the bag of waters, and putting women flat on their backs to push, but other procedures are simply not done routinely anymore. For example, she frequently mentions shaving and enemas (outdated prepping procedures) and using silver nitrate in the baby's eyes (silver nitrate has been replaced with an anti-biotic ointment). I was surprised at these references to outdated routines because the book was supposedly revised in August 2000. A new mother reading this book, without further knowledge, may fear these procedures will be performed if she goes to the hospital. Also, the author's information on circumcision is wrong. The studies indicating a higher incidence of cervical cancer among partners of intact males have been debunked. She does mention that circumcision is a mutilation, but then seems to say it's okay if a Mohel (Jewish circumcisor) performs the mutilation. I wish she had emphasized that circumcision is incompatible with a homebirth philosophy (placing priority on a gentle beginning for newborns) because it is an abusive act (no matter who performs it). Lastly, the author dismissed the option of unassisted homebirth. Even though she disagrees with this method of birth, she could have given it a little more consideration.

This is a fascinating and historical book. It is written in a readable narrative fashion, mixing in all relevant data on the subject matter. You hear both the personal story of the author and an even handed analysis of relevant debates. This was one of the first books written on the modern home birth movement over twenty years ago. It was extremely controversial for the time, and is a must read for anyone interested in childbirth.

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I just wanted to comment on what the last reviewer said about circumcision. I am an avid supporter of homebirth; however, I am also a Jew. Knowing several "mohels" personally and having circumcised my two sons, I can tell you that the procedure is very different from the (admitted) mutilation that happens in the hospital-where babies are strapped down spread-eagle and have painful clamps used on them by someone who is less than ideally skilled. A mohel (a kosher one) does not use such clamps; and the baby is held by a loving person carefully with many prayers goign out to him while the whole thing is done in seconds. I'm not saying it is easy, but it is a right of passage that is absolutely fundamental to our religion, and I believe that it is unfair to equate this ritual with the experience that goes on in the hospital.

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Strength Training Past 50 - 2nd Edition (Ageless Athlete Series)

At 67 I had developed upper back pain associated with spinal arthritis. Upon the advice of a reviewer, I ordered the book, bought some free weights, and immediately began training to strengthen the muscles that support my spinal column. After a month of carefully following the recommended workout schedule, I found myself completely pain free. Although the results are proof of the pudding, I was particularly impressed with the authors' emphasis on safety and their guidance on how to find your point of beginning and to progress without injury.

The photos and descriptions of individual exercises were essential in making sure that the exercises were done correctly and to the greatest benefit.

In my opinion the price of the book is a gift compared to the feeling of well being derived from carefully following the given plan, which, by the way, is adaptable to each individual's capabilities and needs.

Strength Training Past 50 is a very good book and anyone past 50 who has an interest in fitness or has been directed by a physician to lose weight should read the book. The program in the book must be carefully followed, particularly the weight and repitition recommendations. This program was designed for a very broad age range and a broad range of physical fitness levels typically found in adults past 50. It's strength is that it is an excellent introduction to resistance training for those who have not lifted or have not lifted for a significant period of time. If you are 50 or older, male or female, and not an experienced lifter, you may expect to lose weight, gain muscle mass, energy, and a positive self image by following the program in this book.

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Pros:

A very good intro for boomers who have never done strength training and want to get into it. A lot of other strength training books target an audience who are potential Incredible Hulk wannabees. Excellent recommendations for weight selection, exercise frequency, repetitions, etc. based on scientific studies. Also good training programs targeted for those in the 50+ crowd. But you must keep in mind that the range 50-90 is a very broad range.

Cons:

The discussion on equipment options is very light. I would say it is inadequate. The worst part of the book is the organization of the exercises. They are grouped by the area of muscle exercised such as Upper Body. Within this group various exercises for machine, barbell, and dumbell are mixed in together. If you are using only dumbells, then when following the recommended training sequence of exercises, you are flipping all over the book skipping past the irrelevant exercises. And, no, the exercises are not indexed. I think a further organization of exercise by equipment (or at least a table or index) would have been helpful.

Overall, though, the book is a big help for someone like me (fifties) just getting into strength training. A couple of more good books covering equipment and a wider range of exercises, and you're all set.

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I'm ordering a second copy of this book for my brother. I've shared my first copy with a number of friends. The introduction -which outlines the value of weight training at any age -is worth the modest price. I've followed the book for a year since I bought the book, and have seen steady gradual progress in weight reduction and increased strength. Not a quick-fix approach, but instead a well-written plan to incorporate weight training into daily life, for both men and women. Geared towards newcomers, but also has information that will those with prior exercise experience. It stresses safety and gradual improvement.

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As someone who is both older and an experienced weightlifter I can tell you that there were many errors in this book. For one thing it did not warn the reader against the leg extensions if he or she has bad knees. They can blow your knees in a heartbeat.

It also gave odd weight recommendations. In one area it gave a starting weight of 60lbs. There are few older people who can or should lift 60lb, at least to begin with. But in other areas of the book it used such recommendations as 10lbs, more reasonable but too high for many fragil oldsters.

The nutrition area was not current either. But it wasn't bad.

Some of the studies it quotes are good and motivational. But you can read those elsewhere. They simply give the many benefits of weightlifting for all people --especially older people. And that's a good thing.

I would recommend a book like Strength Training Anatomy or a book by Dave Draper or Clarence Bass, both oldsters and great bodybuilders. Beyond that, each person should adjust each exercise to his own limitations and health conditions and not follow any set guidelines. If it hurts, don't do it. There are hundreds of wonderful, powerful exercises you can do that won't hurt you. And you'll build all the muscle and lose all the fat you want.

And by the way, there is a wonderful ebook called "Lose the Fat Feed the Muscle" that I recommend to all ages. It's written by bodybuilder Tom Venuto and is about the best book on this subject I've read in a long time.

Save your money on this book and buy one that will help you. But whatever you do --DO LIFT WEIGHTS! It will make you a new person at any age.

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Preventive Care Through Home Testing

As a mother, I'm very conservative when it comes to my kids' health. A friend recommended I take a look at Dr. Gordin's book, and I'm glad she did! There are many easy to use tests that are useful for everybody adults and kids. Now I feel like I can take a more active role in my family's health!

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Posture, get it straight!

After using the exercises in this book for about a week, I noticed that I no longer felt nagging upper back tension. Then, inspired, I purchased Janice Novak's video (rubber bands come with it), and started using it about five times a week. The video has the same information, but it's easier for me to follow along with a video rather than flip through pages. The neat thing is that several friends have asked me, "Have you lost weight?" I haven't, but I look thinner and feel terrific. I've had rounded shoulders for 56 years, but my posture has improved enormously. This book should be a bestseller.

This is a great book. I would recommend it to everyone. I've been working with my trainer at the gym to help my posture, and this book really helped me to understand some of the underlying concepts of posture.

This book is written to women, and I am a man, but I thought that this was actually a very good idea. There are a couple of references to "men should do this instead," when they are needed, but I thought that focusing on one gender made the book very clear and very understandable.

Which reminds me of the coolest thing about this book, which is the illustrations. All of the illustrations are of the same woman. And this is very cool, because I was able to tell really quickly what good posture was and what was not. By focusing just on women, and by focusing just on one person giving examples of good posture and bad posture, it made the book very understandable.

Also, Janice Novak gives the meat of the book in the first ten pages, where she talks about her "One minute to better posture" exercise. This is a really cool exercise that will transform your life instantly. It's really cool, because the book starts out with a real bang and then the rest of the book supports that initial bang until the end.

The only improvement that I would suggest for the next edition is to have pictures of all of the exercises, and have two pictures for the two-step exercises. This would increase the size of the book by about twenty pages, but I think it would be worth it. I can be slow sometimes and pictures help me a lot.

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This book is great for any type of poor posture. I never realized all the different ways you hold your body that cause you to have poor posture. Janice not only tells you to "stand up straight," she gives you exact instructions, from head to toe, of how to hold your body properly. She then gives a lot of excercises that strengthen specific muscle areas, helping your correct posture become more natural and easy to attain. I found after reading this book, that when I previously attempted to "sit up" or "stand up" straight, I was doing it wrong and actually looked just as bad as in my "naturally" poor posture. Now I know exactly what to do to look great.

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I read a friend's copy while visiting her. Since I have suffered from neck pain (not severe, but real) for about 15 years, I figured I might as well give it a try. I found that results were immediate. I was also shocked by having to confront how bad my habitual posture was.

I have been doing the basic one-minute routine for about eight months now. My neck pain (and tension -I used to have two bands of muscle of almost wooden hardness running down the back "corners" of my neck) is reduced about 80-90%, and I continue to improve. I also look taller and slimmer, as promised (my parents both said to me, "you're so tall!" as if it were a new thing -but then I suppose it was). I would agree that you will look an inch or two taller and ten pounds slimmer. Maybe more. Now, since then I've also *gained* about ten pounds...but that's another story.

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The After-Death Room: Journey Into Spiritual Activism

HIV-positive journalist Michael McColly travels through South Africa, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Chicago, and Senegal to document the lives of activists, sex workers, and people living with the AIDS. He also tells his own story, humanizing the disease and making it accessible in an intimate and compassionate way.

McColly's careful crafting blends scene and internal observations in a way that moves the vantage point from a feeling in the body to the exterior world, then out to a global perspective, taking the reader with him. Imagery and perception combine to make this not only an important sociological study of multiple struggles (sexuality, AIDS, poverty, healing), but also a literary work. He incorporates facts so that they become a part of the story without losing momentum, allowing the reader to step away from this book with a greater understanding of the scope of the AIDS pandemic.

Posing poignant and at times painful questions throughout his memoir, McColly challenges the reader to confront complex issues.

The book is both disheartening and inspiring as McColly's journey deepens. In Chennai, India, he interviews a man heading AIDS education for sex workers who says, "We are trying to make the young men ... into a cohesive, self-sustaining community. It's the only way they are going to survive not only this disease but this life." This becomes a subtle theme through the book: those who become active in helping others find that reaching out gives them a way to cope with the disease. At times, the story is devastating. Multiple viewpoints and approaches toward the treatment of AIDS help to put the struggles of various countries into a very real perspective.

The After-Death Room is a modern portrait of the diverse spectrum of the AIDS landscape. But the ultimate message does not just apply to AIDS. It is universal: the importance of connecting, understanding, loving, and helping others--which, in this world, is harder than ever to realize, is certainly a thing worth living for.

McColly's writing is elegant and urgent. I rarely find books that combine political relevance and artistry as deeply as this book does. I couldn't put it down.

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McColly's 2006 memoir of his personal fact-finding mission about the worldwide AIDS epidemic remains inspiring, enlightening, and eminently readable. It's a book about the practice of journalism--a lesson in how to tell the truth.

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We are privileged to be working on publicity on this amazing book. Michael doesn't hold back and is brutally honest in his latest book. We highly recommend it.

Michael is also creating a Prostrations for Peace on July l5th that is spreading throughout the country. It's a demonstration against the continued war in Iraq and the continued suffering and killing of our own and Iraqi people.

Sherri Rosen Publicity, NYC

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