Depression Books

This book is wonderful! The plot twists are fantastic and keep the reader entranced throughout the whole book. It never slows down which makes for a great book!!

This is the perfect type of story! it is filled with secerts,romance, hate, love, and mystery. I read it in two days and couldnt wait to finish each chapter to solve a piece of the mystery. This book kept me guessing up until the last chapter about who Gabe was. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author and also watching the movie that was made for this story.

I have read all the reviews and while I found this book to be interesting, it took awhile for me to get into the story. I did like how the author went from one characters story to the next. It took a long time to find out the main character Eliza's secret and then the book seemed to rush to the finish. Historically I am sure the book is accurate, but it did not seem like the depression years really affected the family. I also think there needed to be more of a romance between Gabe and Eliza. It was well written and worth reading, but it is a little slow at times and not Ms. Austin's best work.

The title first caught my attention as a TV Movie, that seemed like a nice, romantic story, along with plenty of struggles for characters of its historical time, and included Christian inspiration. In my search for the book - which I knew had to be better than the movie - I was happy to find out that Lynn Austin is an author of so many historical, Christian novels. I am close to the end of Hidden Places, and don't want to put it down. I can't decide who my favorite character is: Aunt Batty, Walter, Gabe, or Eliza. This book is full of struggles and hope. It shows how the characters keep their Faith in those difficulties of life.

I recently bought another one of Lynn Austin's titles. I love her style of historical, Christian fiction. I am hooked on Lynn Austin! Keep on writing! We're waiting for more!

This book was made into a Hallmark movie. The movie does not do this book justice. The book is much better and tells you things that are left out of the movie. The book is more in depth on the character relationships than the movie and gives you character background information. Excellent Read!

For anyone who has read Eckhardt Tolle's work or watched him on Oprah, you'd know about the hugely popular self-help movement that focuses on living in the present moment.
Richard Carlson's, You Can Feel Good Again, was written before A New Earth, and takes the same view as Tolle, but presents the material from a more practical and psychological perspective, rather than Tolle's spiritual one.
The book is an easy read (less than 200 pages) but Carlson's message is so clearly presented, that any extra chapters would simply be literary padding.
Carlson's aim is to divert reader's attention away from the constant chatter and judgment of their mind, and redirect their focus to their "Healthy Functioning System" - their inner place of peace. His advice is balanced, straightforward and simple to implement.
So if you're looking to take the theories of Tolle's A New Earth, and apply them to the everyday, I would highly recommend this book.




Zara Stevens
Boy Meets Girl: A Pocketful of Wedding Stories

This is a life changing book. It shows how our thoughts create our perception of life. Our perception of life is our experience of life. It doesn't go overboard and claim their is no objective reality outside our thoughts, as some new age teachings do. However, it does say that it's not the circumstances of our lives, but our reactions to them. It does repeat it's central ideas several times, but sometimes it takes a while for something to sink in. I really liked the chapter on wisdom. My only problem with this book is the subtitle, because I read this book when I wasn't depressed and still got tons out of it. It could be read by anyone who wants to think optimally and discover happiness in life. I am only writing this review, because I have the hope that someone might read it and get solid info about living a better life. Carlson is influenced in his writing by a school of psychology called Psychology of Mind. Psychology of Mind is based on the concepts originally presented by Sydney Banks. I think this is the most clearly written of the Psychology of Mind books. However, if you read this book and like it I would reccomend any of the books from the Psychology of Mind authors (e.g Wisdom Within by Roger Mills, Divorce Is Not The Answer by George Pransky). Also check out Sydney Banks website and books.

Dr Carlson has written many self-help books aimed at helping us to find the stable state of happiness that naturally exists within us all. He has now written this book specifically for those of us who suffer from depression. The book contains practical truths that are so obvious that most of us miss them or at least bypass them in the rush of our everyday lives. If you are suffering from depression this book will help immensely. Richard Carlson will show you how your state of depression is as much perpetuated by your own thinking as it is by any chemical imbalance that may or may not exist. I have read this book at the same time as receiving treatment with an SSRI anti-depressant (Cipralex). While I am unsure if the SSRI has benefited me at all after 6 weeks, I am certain that this book has changed my outlook completely after two weeks and that it continues to do so more and more with each re-reading. If I allow myself to slip back into my old ways of thinking, the severity of my depression rapidly returns. The good news is that it just as rapidly alleviates when I get back on track with my thinking. The book is simple to read and may seem repetitious. However, if you are one of Dr Carlson's target audience of sufferers from depression you should read this book and keep on re-reading it. You will find that on each re-reading something will leap out at you with greater meaning than it did before. I have highlighted many sentences so that I can rapidly re-read them, and have noted down the keywords on the title page. This way I can pull myself back on track quickly. The approach takes some work to put into practice but there is nothing as hard work as being in a depressed state. The hard work, by the way, is only in terms of changing your habitual modes of thinking, it does not involve making lists and analysing things as do many cognitive (i.e. thinking) approaches such as that found in Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David Burns. I have found Dr Burns's book to be of some use also, mainly because it has helped me to identify particular types of cognitive distortion that help perpetuate depressive illness. This enables me to more accurately recognise when I should dismiss my thoughts, as Dr Carlson recommends in his approach. If you are depressed, low, angry, resentful, dissatisfied, unfulfilled, stressed, hurried, fearful or just not happy most of the time then read this book and keep re-reading it. I only wish this book had been available when I was aged twenty rather than forty.

The first time I read this book, I read it straight through and it seemed to say the same thing over and over again: I began to wonder why on earth I bought it. I am now on my third reading, and I'm reading just a few sentences each and every day. However, although the basic message is still the same on each page, "Live in the Present", Mr Carlson constantly gives new aspects to the message so that it drip feeds sanity into my brain. I wish I'd had this book 50 years ago, and maybe it wouldn't have taken so long to do its work.

Never has something I've read had such an impact on my life as this book has. In fact, I would never have imagined that a book could have this much impact on my life!

Mothers food is a great book and has helped out a lot. My baby was born 12 weeks early and I have been pumping for four months, I was always behind in my milk production and since reading Mothers Milk It has helped me to up my milk production and also eat a healthier diet.

This is a terrific reference for any expecting or nursing mother. I wish I had had it before my first born. I highly recommend. Information in this book is very hard to find elsewhere.

I found this book after a referal from a lactation consultant after my third baby was born and in the nicu. I had low milk supply issues with each baby but it was worse after my baby was in the nicu. This book offers help that seems to be hard to find from doctors and the medical proffession at large. At the very least it explains things in a way that you can finally understand what is going on, rather being told some bland explanation from a doctor that doesn't offer any help.

I fell in love with this book. I had a lot of trouble breastfeeding my first child and as I was preparing for pregnancy with my second child, I wanted answers. This book explained a lot of the troubles that I personally had. The book is also a good nutrition book, not just for pregnant or nursing mothers, but for anyone. I highly recommend this book for anyone that is looking for nutrition or herbal advise for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

This book is outstanding. I had originally bought "Eat Well, Lose Weight, While Breastfeeding" and was so disappointed, I sent it back to Amazon. Then I found "Mother Food." I can't tell you what a valuable resource this has been for me. It has a very international feel (the author is Swiss) because it references cultures from all over the world and connects you with moms from ever corner of the globe on what works best for producing the highest quality of breastmilk for your baby. The best recipe in the book is for the "green drink." It's a blend of raw fruit and vegetable juices that increases the quantity and quality of your breastmilk amazingly. I make this drink everyday and since then have been able to pump a full 5 oz more milk each day. I have looked and felt so much better since beginning some of the routines described in this book and my baby has been much happier and had hardly any colic! You absolutely MUST buy this book.

This book was recommended by a friend. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The seller sent it as promised and well within the shipment window promised.

This compelling memoir of Adele Crockett Robertson, known as Kitty, chronicles just a few years of her life during the early 1930's. While her story takes place during the Great Depression, it is uplifting and inspiring. I found myself cheering Kitty on as she describes her exhausting experiences to save the family property from foreclosure.

Kitty was not down and out as millions were. She was young, optimistic, and energetic. Faced with enormous debt when her father died and propelled by childhood memories of her family harvesting bumper crops of apples, Kitty decided to work the old family farm. The farm, in Ipswich, had become a rundown homestead; but the orchard was still there, holding promise. The very first obstacles are members of Kitty's family, her mother and two brothers, who speculate how quickly the venture will fail: "Let the bank take it," they chorus.

Undaunted, Kitty leaves her secure job to take up residence on the abandoned farm. What she finds are a stack of unpaid bills, neglected farm equipment, and leaky pipes. Like her father before her, Kitty believes in the fruit trees he planted for his retirement: "I wanted to preserve what we'd had, even though the animals were no longer there, and it was apples now."

Negotiating with creditors, Kitty settles some of the unpaid bills, while securing credit of much larger amounts to repair the farm machinery. Unable to pay for coal, she moves her bed and sofa to a small area near the sunny kitchen.

One of Kitty's first tasks is the spraying of the trees, a job that normally takes two men to accomplish. Kitty tackles the job alone. More challenges ensue. We are right beside her as she describes her first encounter with a swarm of bees, her frantic search for the old smoker, and finally getting the bees under control.

As a helper, Kitty hires Joe, a memorable figure. With a family of six to feed, he skips meals in order to feed the children. Joe comes to Kitty's rescue time after time, even staring down, with an unloaded gun, peddlers bent on stealing a truckload of apples.

Later, following a good harvest, Kitty despairs as she tells of racing to gather blankets from attic trunks, even her own bed, as temperatures drop and she attempts to cover hundreds of freshly packed boxes of apples ready for market, to keep them from freezing in the cellar.

The Foreword and Epilogue, written by Kitty's daughter, Eleanor Robertson Cramer, tell how she discovered the manuscript Kitty had stashed at the bottom of a bookcase. We learn of Kitty's life beyond the years of her memoir--further struggles, marriage, and later her accomplishments as a local historian, town selectwoman, and journalist.

The Orchard brings the Depression close to those of us who have heard the wrenching stories from parents and grandparents, as I have. Kitty's narrative, like my father's stories, is real, about a lone woman who strives to keep the family heritage with determination and grit, tempered with kindness to those around her in worse situations. Adele (Kitty) Crockett Robertson deserves a place in the annals of literature of the Great Depression. If you read but one personal account of surviving the Depression, let it be this.

by Diana Nolan
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

My only complaint about this book is that it only covers two years of the author's life in detail. I hated for the book to end. I wish she had had time to write more, because she was an amazing person. Kitty's father, a doctor, raised his family in a colonial farmhouse by the ocean. Beginning in her childhood, he made Kitty learn to do a man's work in the orchard. He also gave her a series of boats to sail on the ocean. She loved the farm and the sea. She got a college education and a good job in a college museum, but gave it all up when her father died at the beginning of the depression. None of her brothers were willing to do the backbreaking labor to keep the heavily mortgaged farm working. Kitty quit her good job and immersed herself in running the orchard, which her father had always said would save the farm he loved. She lived alone except her beloved dog, with no money and little heat in the winter. Her own family seemed determined to see her fail. She found good, loyal friends though, and though her life was daunting, it was also full of the joy of nature and achievment. I can't praise this book enough.

This book was truly one of the most interesting and capturing books I have ever read. I felt like I was present in the story and now can't wait to go to Ipswich and see this old farm house.

In this extraordinary memoir from 1932-1934, Kitty Crockett Robertson describes her life on the North Shore of Massachusetts during the Depression, a time when she, a Harvard graduate, became a hard-working apple farmer to save the family farm in Ipswich. Her physician father had died, and Kitty, wanting to keep the farm from being sold for development, which her Boston-based brothers favored, decided to give up her job working at the Harvard Library to try to make the orchard profitable enough to save the land.

Working almost single-handedly, she spent the next two years doing all the dirty work, learning in the process that "The Depression was that time of leveling when she and her neighbors kept going on the strength they learned from each other." From her earliest days on the farm, she personally pruned trees, cleared land, repaired sprayers and tractors, gathered swarming bees into hives, hired five workers at twice the going rate (because they, too, needed to make ends meet), dealt with an arrogant banker anxious to foreclose, protected her apples at gunpoint when necessary, and then fought the weather, storms, and a December temperature drop to twenty degrees below zero in her efforts to bring the crop to market.

In the process she earned the love of her workers (who had regarded her, at first, as an idle "North Shore millionaire"), gave up everything in her personal life to devote herself completely to her task, worked up to 16 hours a day for two years during the apple and peach seasons, and gained new appreciation for the values she saw every day among her workers, the wholesaler who bought her drops and cider apples, and the purchasing agent of Harvard, who helped her make commercial connections to sell her crop.

Robertson, who became a newspaper and radio columnist in her later years, was a formidable writer who always recognized the values which unite people, regardless of their "class," and this quality pervades her personal memoir. Unfinished, because her life became too busy to finish it after 1934, it was discovered upon her death in 1979 by her daughter, and it is she who moves the story to its conclusion after 1934. Filled with personal detail and wonderful tributes to those who helped her, Robertson is never self-serving, readily admitting her weaknesses while stressing her efforts to succeed. A unique look at one farm and its history during the Depression, The Orchard is an extraordinary record of the times, written by a truly extraordinary woman. n Mary Whipple

...you won't want this book to end. It takes you to another time and place and makes you contemplate the importance of family and faith. My reading group loved this book, and you will too.

This book is full of interesting characters and is descriptive of the time and circumstances the Carbon Hill family survives. Congratulations to Ginny on publishing a novel full of great imagery, likable characters, and an engaging plot.

This is a must read.. Gin Phillips take s you into an era where the country is coming of age. The characters deal with with social issues such as race, poverty and mental illnes. As you read You become part of this family and you see life through their eyes. I truly feel that this book should be a required reading in colleges and High Schools.

even if "southern fiction" isn't your thing, this book will sneak its way into your mind, and then stay for a while. written with superb detail, it makes our modern day life come up a little short. it's a quick and easy read, but has so much depth in the substories. much much more than a simple book about a well or a mine, this is definitely worth your time. what an impressive debut novel.

i find it impossible to believe that this is a debut novel. it's brilliant. i am stunned. just -- floored. everyone else has done a great job here of describing this story and its merits. what i cannot understand is how this writer has not been catapulted to fame, yet. this book should be in the window of every bookstore in america. it's absolutely flawless, a treasure. buy it for everyone you know as a christmas gift. yes. it's that good.

This book is an incredible resource for women struggling with depression. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars; I credit it with helping me save my life. The research is current, thorough and on point. It is particularly useful if you have post-partum, are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant. My husband also found it extremely helpful in learning more about my situation. This is absolutely worth the investment because it is a resource you will use time and time again.

I have suffered ppd for the last 1.5 years. It was so bad I had to go on medication and since then had to up my dose. This book has helped me see why this has happened to me and how a person gets depressed in the first place. IT is NON judgemental and also validating but besides that it tells you how to RECOVER! It is a wonderful book. It doesn't leave anything uncovered. I want Valerie Raskin to know THANKYOU for saving my life and my marriage from the demon of ppd. I also got your book This isn't what I Expected and it is a wonderful addition to this one for the PPD sufferer. Big hugs and big thankyou to you Valerie.
You changed my life :)

This was the best book I have ever read on depression.

This book was easy to understand and very helpful. I myself already had some knowledge about depresssion so it was not as useful to me as it would be to most people. I really learned some very interesting new things though. It clearly described the types of depression and how to know the difference. It gave me some new knowledge about hormones and their role-which is KEY. I definetly recommend if you have a relative with depression(like me) or you feel you may be depressed- even if you don't want to admit it (like me.)

I have suffered ppd for the last 1.5 years. It was so bad I had to go on medication and since then had to up my dose. This book has helped me see why this has happened to me and how a person gets depressed in the first place. IT is NON judgemental and also validating but besides that it tells you how to RECOVER! It is a wonderful book. It doesn't leave anything uncovered. I want Valerie Raskin to know THANKYOU for saving my life and my marriage from the demon of ppd. I also got your book This isn't what I Expected and it is a wonderful addition to this one for the PPD sufferer. Big hugs and big thankyou to you Valerie.
You changed my life :)

If you are interested in World War II, medicine, practicing law, magic, family dynamitic this is a great read.

Peter Baird's novel is great. It mixes life with all kinds of emotion, War with families, careers, friends, parents and children.
The magic starts right way, getting to know the characters and ending when they get to know their selves.
From a boy growing up, to relationships, career, war, and friends even our own lives could get intertwined with the characters..
It gives us a glimpse on what the war was like, how it affected people and how they dealt with their decisions, how people managed and supported the ones they loved.

Beyond Peleliu by Peter Baird gives the reader a closer look at families left behind by husbands and fathers who went off to fight in World War II. Many of these men returned, as the father in this story did, as distant and sometimes unrecognizable from the men who went to war. The chronicles a son's life-long quest to understand the father who went to war.

A work of great literature, this book is not. An entertaining diversion while on vacation, it definitely is. I especially enjoyed some of the characters (e.g., doctor's wife who is a Christian Scientist and also magician), and the plot had some ingenious elements. But much of the story seemed hurried. The characters were not as fully developed as they should have been, which, at times, made it difficult to understand their motives. To expand upon this point and to highlight a few technical flaws, I must disclose some elements of the plot. So, read no further if you don't want to know how the story ends.

For example, we never learn what drove Dr. McQuade to inflict himself with a wound on Peleliu, beyond the general trauma of the war. It would have been nice if, when he confessed this to his son, if he had explained in greater detail what drove him to do this. And, with respect to the story's credibility, it is almost impossible to believe that a surgeon, seeking to inflict himself with a wound, would choose to shoot himself in the hand.

You also have to suspend disbelief when reading the account of David's big trial at the end of the story. He and one of his associates freely exchange e-mails that contain open admissions of unethical and criminal behavior, as does the Governor of California. No politician or litigator with a half a brain would ever commit such things to writing.

But, like I said at the beginning, apart from these flaws, this is an entertaining book. But, in my opinion, it is not much more.

Beyond Peleliu by Peter Baird (Ravenhawk Books-June 2006) is a powerful book that follows the McQuade family through the years since World War II to the present. Though Tom, who served as the prime story teller through the eyes of his son, faced a lot of adversity from early in his life, he demonstrated that not only could he overcome the adversity but that it helped shape him. Helped him to be the person he wanted to become. We saw his daily challenges--from questioning the safety of vaccines to dealing with loss. And right from the title you see the effects of the War on the family--it's not just Peleliu, it goes beyond that. It's their life.


However this story was not just Tom's tale. It showed how the experiences of one person can filter through and have ramifications for their family and friends for generations to come. At the same time we were able to see David's curiosity as he learnt more about his father's life--what made his father the man he was. This was key in light of his father's current struggles--the dementia might have made it hard for David to see his father as this man who went through and saw so much. It may have helped David to see that he wasn't as different from his father as he might seem. When he got the call from Dr. Roberts, he knew something was up but he accepted it in a realistic way--he needed to do things on his own time. He couldn't rush but at the same time, he knew he didn't have forever.


The writing was tight and that served this story well--it allowed us to `hear' each story as a separate section of the elder McQuade's life, which was what I believe the author intended. Each chapter could have stood alone as a short story of what Tom had gone through, however, this didn't keep the stories from being viewed as parts of one long life story. It was easy to see how these stories built upon one another and taught the family in a way no school book ever could.

By the time I finished the book, just a short time after I'd started it, I felt as if I knew the McQuade family.

Wow! I am at a near loss for words. I received Beyond Peleliu 2 days ago from Amazon and finished it last night. I must say that I had a hard time sleeping after finishing the book. Obviously, the book touched me in a very meaningful way, as I'm sure it has other readers, based on the reviews.

Reading this book is a life-affirming event. The pain endured by the McQuades is so genuine it drew tears from the eyes of this (usually) unsentimental reader. And if you happen to be a lawyer (or fan of quality legal story-telling) the chapters dealing with David McQuade's trial and aftermath overwhelm with authenticity and genuine drama.

In less capable hands this multi-generational saga could have ballooned into a 500-700 page "epic." But Baird's writing is so concise and powerful, one feels that each word was chosen with care.

In short, this is a masterful novel. That it is a "first" is all the more astounding. One can only hope that Peter Baird will put his massive talent to use on another novel. If you don't buy another book this year, buy Beyond Peleliu.

I have lived, my entire life, with Gender Dysphoria. From age six, I was certain that "god" messed up. More info, in my guides and lists, on personal experiences. However I have always studied Psychology, medical texts, and such, to get a grasp of the situation. Luckily, women in my life were understanding. I was able to experiment. Yet, over the last several years, I've had no outlet. Therefore this book has been important, to me. Technically, Gender Dysphoria is a medical condition, not a Psychological condition, but the way society treats "Freaks" definitely leads to Psych struggles.

To understand *why* I so highly recommend True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism--For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals, read....

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us, by the author of My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely and Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws.

See my friends list, or click the links. I reviewed Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us a while back. The Workbook is on my wish list.

"Hello, Cruel World" has been a tremendous help! I study Psychology, as a Minor, and I would recommend this to many people (teens and Adults), of all walks of life and Persuasions!

If you know *anyone* suffering from Depression, or simply bummed out, about living in Redneck "America" (or other backward places)...whatever their issues are, please get Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws to them!

I have spent most of my adult life, being capable of diagnosing issues, helping other people with their issues, etc. However, after repressing my own issues, for several years.... I can verify that this book is well worth owning, and purchasing as a gift. Normally, I rarely give up a book, but I would give this to anyone who needs it. I am sure that Kate would not mind, if I buy another one, later. :-)

First, however, I am making notes of the resources, book and movie titles, and websites that Kate Bornstein provides in "Hello, Cruel World."

I haven't felt suicidal for a long time, but this book is also effective to combat a general malaise, irritability, anger or pessimisim.

The 101 alternatives are only the second half of the book. The first half is Kate's personal history, advice and observations. Some more traditional alternatives are also discussed in this first part ("Call a Suicide Hotline").

I believe that one of the most helpful parts of the book is its humor, woven affectionately into the advice, observations and personal experiences. This light-heartedness, never too much to seem disrespectful, helps to give perspective to life's problems.

I think there are better ways to help kids than to say that anything they do is okay. I was alarmed by the advice in this book.

All high school libraries should have this book, which could save a life. Troubled teens will understand where the root of their problems lies.

This book could save your life. I wish it had been around when I was a suicidal seventh-grader. One of the readers at Amazon.com says, "Every high school library should carry this book!" and that's probably the best possible endorsement. This is a wonderful book.

Hello, Cruel World is the best depiction I have seen of the real world of troubled teens. It accurately locates the bully as the most common cause of self-esteem issues that can take years, even decades, to resolve. Kate's only rule for readers is "don't be mean," and that is certainly the most obvious characteristic of every bully I've ever faced. Kate's winning personality and irresistible sense of humor prevail over the heavy topic matter. Her writing is inspired, passionate, and empathic. There is little if anything that goes uncovered here. (Well, okay, she includes "sex worker" but omits "drug dealer" and "rock and roller" from her list of freak-admissible careers in alternative 34, "Sing for your Supper." I mean, if you're going to include the Unholy Trinity, you might as well go all the way, right?)

Actually, my only real quibble with this book (and it is a quibble) is that I thought this book might be even "safer" if the cover were more discreet. I admit that it's a bit busy for my taste, but perhaps a plain cover would have been even better for the sake of the kids who might have to sneak around with this book.

I just wanted to say that it's strange that Mr. Fuqua has biopolar disorder. It's strange that he's not embarrassed to say it. I don't think hes weird or anything, but maybe others might. That's sad because I saw him at my school and he's so funny and tells a story about trying to sale a styrofoam boat to Bermuda. He doesn't seem to have biopolar illness if that's being kind of insane. I found out he did in the back of the paperback version of King of the Pygmies, but it's not in the hard version. I read both. I really loved this story and recommend it. Also, you should read the back about Mr. Fuqua having bipolar problems. It's sort of sad if you met him.

One of my all time favorite books. When regular teen Penn starts hearing voices in his head he realizes that he has the power to help people because he can hear their thoughts. Penn's depressed elderly neighbor seems to confirm that he has a new power after her thoughts are recieved by him and he helps her. Penn's similarly afflicted uncle Hewitt helps him to get through this terrible time and ultimately helps Penn and his family make some very important decisions.
The only downfall of this book is that Penn also has a retarted older brother. This kind of detracts from the real issues and takes away from all of the other issues that Penn is dealing with (girls, school, life, friends, etc.)
This is a unique and not-written-about-enough look into the world of the mentally ill and a must read for teens who are going through troubled times.

This is a good book. This is a good book from the beginning to the end. This is the kind of book that every person, young adult to adult, should read, because it is about being human, understanding another person's delimas, and walking in someone else's shoes.
Penn Swayne is a normal kid in an East Coast town that lacks even a hint of magic, when he starts to hear voices. They sound like the people around him, some funny, others crushingly sad. Mostly they leave him at a loss for what to do and fearful of being diagnosed, loosely, as insane. Thankfully his truly insane Uncle Hewitt tells him not to worry. He's not insane, he's special, a king of sorts for what he can do.
King of the Pygmies is about reality vs. magic, about illness vs. gifts, and control vs. no control. It's funny, sad, and pretty gut wrenching. This book should be read. I've never read anything better about a subject I know too well.
Now, one last word. I read the previous reviewer's remarks about the author being liberal for speaking out against the administration. Therefore, this librarian, which is what they said they are, would ban the book from his or her readers. This really makes me nervous. Is this what we've come to? He/she call the book's content good but say that the writer, for speaking his mind in some article in a magazine no one reads, unacceptable. Well I find that unacceptable, and everyone else should, too. Books should be judged for others by content, not by personal agendas.
This is a special book, written exceptionally well, dealing with a difficult subject, the onset of a mental illness that will change Penrod Swayne's life. In this time and day, how many teens and even adults are experiencing similar issues? If you're a student, a teacher, or work in an office, it's entertaining and informing. It is what a book should be.

At some point, one must come clean as to their identity and why they are writing. I don't seek to hide my point of origin just as I would hope someone contesting the material that I write would reveal their point of view to me. I am a librarian. A good one. I care about the youth whom I serve and seek to provide them with the best possible materials. However, there are times when one must dabble in certain subterfuge, and this book is that time. Right away I admit that it is not about the book, at least not completely. I actually enjoyed the story enough and can acknowledge its value. What I don't acknowledge and in fact disavow completely is the author's politics and how they have ruined his work for me.

Last summer, Mr. Fuqua had an article in a highly regarded literary journal that need not be named. Like most YA librarians, I recieve it in order to find appropriate materials for my clientel. And curious as I was, I read the piece on Mr. Fuqua, who, after some back and forth about his life and ideas, said that he is, "more scared of this administration," than the possibility of developing cancer. There we have it. Politics enters literature, and I do not feel good about the mix. Why he pushed so hard to reveal himself, I do not know. No matter, I will take simple action to deny developing minds access to his work, including his last book that takes place in the Cold War. Mr. Fuqua, it seems, wants all to know and identify him as an anti-war anti-America, anti-president, and anti-establishment writer. If he chooses to take this risk, he must know that others will choose a similar path and write him off according to our own moral compass and patriotic sensibility.

In all of us, there comes a point when one must stand up. Mr. Fuqua's story is entertaining enough. I can even see its value and will now take pains to search for other books that might give comfort to those afflicted by mental illness or know of someone with these issues. But his assault on America's ethics continue throughout his story with disheartening images of an untraditional family, of a fall-down drunk, and the writer's constant questions about human sanity and insanity that might cause readers, when all is said and done, to question their own more than the main character's.

King of the Pygmies is more than just a book. It is an issue hidden in a story, and because that issue is important, it gives some value to a book that really shouldn't be read by young minds of any sort. Save it, I think, for adults who understand that aspects of this pleasing story are drivel.

Penrod has been named after a grandfather, Penrod who must have been himself named after the beloved YA book by Booth Tarkington, PENROD AND SAM, a wonderful story of a boy and his dog. This boy Penn has even bigger problems than the original Penrod. For one thing, he is coming down with schizophrenia, a condition which in this book is characterized by the ability to hear the thoughts of other people (or maybe not). Penn's no good uncle has had this condition for many years and he tells his nephew, no, it's not schizophrenia, it is that we are both Pygmies, we are a sacred totemic tribe much misunderstood by society. As victims of Pygmy Syndrome, argues Uncle Hewitt, we are not to be tampered with by medicine or treatment. Hewitt announces that both Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, two of Hollywood's smaller stars, are actually Pygmies too.

I think maybe the author got to this point in his story and realized that he was way off base, for he spend the last pages of the book (SPOILER AHEAD) with an earnest note to teen readers urging them to seek medical help if they think they might be schizophrenic.

Fuqua never really engages us in this story. I didn't really care whether or not Penn was schizophrenic or not. He has an older brother of 21, handsome and rugged as a movie star, who is mildly retarded and works at Burger King. The relationship of Penn and Matty is mildly interesting, but it makes you wonder, how many different ways can author Jonathon Scott Fuqua dabble in disability and mental illness? He seems drawn to these "different" characters not from any genuine interest in them but because his research has shown him that they might be a new colorful bunch for the prolific writer to spin tales about.

Penn has a cute romance with a newcomer to Havre de Grace (Maryland), a Filipina-American girl his own age (15 or so) called Daisy. She is quite sympathetic, although Penn tries to hide his spiralling schizophrenic episodes from her. In one of the worse episodes he throws himself into a vacant lot where generations of bums like his uncle have left behind shards of broken bottles, so that his thrashing and tormented tremors slash his skin in a million pieces, leaving his backside gummed with blood. Penn's mother, Belinda Wallace, is another strong female character. It's possible that Fuqua was attempting to write a strong family-based fable about schizophrenia, and then got sidetracked when he realized that his story was falling between two stools. It turns out to be neither an allegory nor a very realistic tale.

However the author can sketch out a romance between an awkward boy and a more self-possessed girl, and I eagerly look forward to reading more books by this modern day Booth Tarkington.

I wonder if I was a real Pygmy what I would think of the book; it takes an awfully facetious attitude towards Pygmies. And what about the character Colin Turnbull, a man who may or may not exist? Is he a figure in Uncle Hewitt's imagination? Or is it all a weird coincidence that the real life Colin Turnbull was the anthropologist who wrote extensively about the oppressed Pygmy peoples of the world?

Amazingly clear in his explanation - a wonderful encouragement to continue trusting in God no matter what our natural circumstances may bring. Sure, things may get tough but It totally affirms that God is in control, no matter what, and that we as followers of Christ must look to Him and only Him for all our needs.

I have followed Andrew Strom's ministry for five years, and have found him to be a man with one goal and purpose, that of restoring the authentic organic Church and calling the saints to repentance. His latest book, "Survive The Depression...The shaking Has Begun" will hopefully motivate Believers to truly stand up for righteousness and the Gospel. I for one will, with God's help, move our group in that direction. I thank God for Andrew's boldness. Please read the book.
Michael Cox

I am a big fan of Andrew Strom and his writings, so I was excited to receive the book. Having mostly read Andrew's works on the internet, this was my first hardcopy book of his. The message of this book was pretty much on target with everything Andrew has written in the past, which is excellent stuff.

The problem with this book is not really the content, but the fact that there is very little new information in the book. It is basically a cut-and-paste of the writings he has already put out over the past couple of years which are widely available.

The title of the book also does not match the content. "Survive the Depression" seems to indicate that there would be hints, tips, and clues about what we as Spirit-filled believers should do to survive the coming economic collapse. Unfortunately, there was virtually no "meat-and-potatoes" advice concerning tangible response on our part in dealing with the upcoming difficulties. I think Andrew must have realized this, because he added an additional 3 pages which he sent out by email after the book was delivered. This supplement is apparently included in this Amazon version, but it did little to prop up the weak content in the rest of the book. There are dozens of pages convincing the reader that a depression is coming, but almost nothing concerning what to do about it.

Some of the book also includes supplemental prophecies and vision accounts by other authors. I was pleased to see this, because it was the only thing in the book that was actually new to me. However, these authors are not widely known in the prophetic community and it would have been better if some support info was given to validate the sources' credibility.

Finally, I would have really enjoyed it if some of the book had been devoted to the "good news". This book left me feeling a little down, shall I say "depressed", about the depression facing our country. I think that it would have been great if Andrew talked a little bit about the joy of salvation, and about the springs of water that the Holy Spirit wells up in our lives.

In short, I was hoping this would be a clear and concise book that would help me to refine the particular ways I explain these truths to others. It fell short of my expectations, but is still a valuable collection of many different writings in one, easy-to-get-to place. Thanks!

This small book is a big wake up call to the church, no matter your denomination. I will be sharing it with others.

The Tithe That Binds

Thank God for brethren who point us to the gospel and away from the apostate madness of what passes itself off as Christianity. Highly recommend this book and we welcome you to read our article "Preparing for the Days Ahead" @ preparehisway.com while you wait for Andrews book to arrive [...]