This is not something I will ever "finish" reading. It is, like Taming the Tiger Within , a work I will return to again and again when I need solace aThis is not something I will ever "finish" reading. It is, like Taming the Tiger Within , a work I will return to again and again when I need solace and quiet wisdom to guide my energies and soothe the chatter in my brain. Thich Nhat Hanh gently challenges us to engage in mindfulness in everything that we do. Only through mindfulness can we let go of the detritus that poisons our life- the noise and distraction of ambition, expectations, material possessions and technology- and embrace the peace of the present moment. I'll spend the rest of my life working to open my heart and brain to mindfulness. I know mindfulness when I achieve it, and it's bliss, but those fleeting seconds are too few and far between.
The anger part of Anger forms the outline of Hanh's teachings. Anger is the mirror image of compassion and empathy. One's anger is to be embraced, tended, respected and recognized, and through attention and mindfulness, the knots of bitterness unravel. Hanh provides tools for practice, examples for inspiration, and uses repetition that is as soothing as the chanted Oms that finish out a yoga practice.
I recommend this for anyone who has ever felt a moment of anger or self-doubt. ...more
I've just ordered a copy of this for my home library - it will be a reference I return to again and again. Thank you, Jessica and Elisabeth, for an exI've just ordered a copy of this for my home library - it will be a reference I return to again and again. Thank you, Jessica and Elisabeth, for an excellent recommendation!
Pitta with a touch of Vata, Anger type who has experienced anxious and sluggish depression and healed without prescription medication, I felt the message of every chapter in this book. I have so much work ahead of me, but also a good foundation to continue inner growth and healing.
I've been swallowing a TBL/day of cod liver oil for the past 2 yrs and recently- last 6 weeks or so- fallen out of the daily habit. Back on the wagon- I know what this one simple routine has meant to my physical & mental health. Omega-3, baby!...more
This useful and engaging book is wisely divided into chapters of the key structures of literary fiction: Words; Sentences; Paragraphs; Narration; CharThis useful and engaging book is wisely divided into chapters of the key structures of literary fiction: Words; Sentences; Paragraphs; Narration; Character; Dialogue; Details; Gesture. In this way, an initial reading can provide a foundation, but the chapters remain as toolbox to open when a particular writing challenge presents itself.
In addition, Prose expounds upon her own particular literary Eurekas in chapters devoted to reading for inspiration and "courage," as well as an extensive list of works she exhorts the reader to consume as soon as is possible.
The tools that shone most brightly perhaps reveal more of me as a reader and writer than of Prose as the author. I just dug the sections on words, sentences and paragraphs; these are what turn me on the most when I read brilliant writing. I love the individual pieces that create the puzzle almost more than the puzzle itself. Each is unique and the skill is in putting them together to create a seamless work of art.
Dialogue scares the bejesus out of me, so I pored over this section, looking for the key. I became lost in the excerpt of Scott Spencer's A Ship Made of Paper, a copy of which I've got to find, soon, so I can see how things turn out.
Ms. Prose has a preference for the Russian greats: Kafka, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gogol; 18th/19th century Western classics: Austen, Bronte, Dickens, Eliot, Flaubert, James, Melville, Proust. She references 20th century rebels like Joyce, Woolf, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Marquez, Nabokov, Salinger, Yates and a slew of writers I've never encountered, among them Henry Green, Denis Johnson, ZZ Packer, and Rebecca West.
Several of Prose's literary examples failed to light any fire in me. Others, like the scenes from Katherine Mansfield's The Fly and Heinrich von Kleist's The Marquise of O-- were mesmerizing. I've read perhaps a third of the books or authors in her recommended list but I'd add only a handful of others to my TBR list, primarily the Russians, as well as rereads of Hemingway, Dickens, Trevor. But never will anyone convince me- not Oprah, not Francine Prose- that Gabriel Garcia Marquez is anything but a gigantic yawn. I've tried to muscle through GGM, I really have. Life is too short. Must save precious moments to read, reread and savor Austen.
Although I might not appreciate many of the works or the authors that Prose cites as masters of their craft, I am now inspired to explore the novels and short stories I do admire in new ways. And to perhaps create a meaningful sentence or paragraph of my own. ...more
I skimmed through most of the medical sections, searching instead for advice on recovering from the emotional ramifications of miscarriage. But this wI skimmed through most of the medical sections, searching instead for advice on recovering from the emotional ramifications of miscarriage. But this wasn't big on emotions, which in some weird way I found comforting. It was, in a large and comprehensive bookstore, the only book on the shelves dealing with miscarriage. Which is telling. And the authors reinforced this lack of acknowledgment about a situation so common and so dismissed by stating very clearly: most people just aren't going to get it- they'll tell you, "oh, you'll try again." or "it happens to so many women" etc etc (my "favorite" comment from a friend was "You're not really pregnant until the 2nd trimester- before that it doesn't count." So, had my baby died one week later, she would have "counted"?). But the reassurance came in the statements that this is devastating, no matter when in the pregnancy it occurs and you will mourn and grieve and must allow yourself to fall apart.
Frankly, the discussion of medical reasons for miscarriage were terrifying and left me with a sense of hopelessness about the prospect of conceiving and carrying a baby to term. But that is an emotional reaction to a very important need to understanding and treatment.
I wondered why Misoprostal was not discussed as an alternative to D&C. Perhaps because the jury is still out re: treatment protocol. ...more
Of course I couldn't plan a European adventure without a little help from local hero Rick! Of course I couldn't plan a European adventure without a little help from local hero Rick! ...more
Only for the utter viticultural and oenological geek. I haven't exactly "finished" reading this- it's a source/reference to which I will return when nOnly for the utter viticultural and oenological geek. I haven't exactly "finished" reading this- it's a source/reference to which I will return when need be or to sit and read whilst eating my morning oatmeal. It's not enough to sniff and taste- I love knowing the processes that go into this amazing craft of agriculture. ...more
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