Yes, this book is definitely for hopeless romantics, or just those that love a great historical romance! Wonderful from start to finish. Ms. Garlock took her time getting the two together, slowly developing the relationship from protector to lover. At the beginning, it is Mara that has to protect Pack from sure death. Then from there on, she slowly discovers how Pack has been her whole life, even before she was aware of it... you'll have to read it to understand that statement!

Mara Shannon returns to her childhood home to claim her parents' land. Her fight to regain what is rightfully her's brings her into close contact with Pack Gallagher, a rough boxer. Their story is truly touching as is the story about two secondary characters, Emily and Charles. Excellant!

I enjoyed this book...Mara Shannon and Pack were wonderful characters. I especially loved Trell and Travor McCall (the twins). Their story is even better (Sweetwater}. I have enjoyed all of Dorthy Garlocks book that I have read so far!

We used this book for my very first seminary class, and it has served to set the tone for my entire seminary experience. This book is one of those very rare finds, that you wish would be infinite in length because both the content and feeling of the book leaves you wanting more.

Bass and her team of contributors have managed to speak uniformly in diversity -- it is evident there was much conversation going on here. The book is divided into chapters devoted to particular practices of faith (as opposed to practices of religion); faith practices can be religious practices, and vice versa (in fact, one hopes!) but this volume is written broadly enough to appeal to a wide range of 'faithful' readers, and indeed, to those who are looking for a faith-full way of acting and being.

Chapters are devoted to such topics as singing, hospitality, illness, discernment; I cannot think of a major life topic or event that isn't covered here. The writing and reflections are personal and broad-based simultaneously, a rare achievement.

This book would make an excellent guide for a spiritual workshop; indeed, our course, entitled 'Spirituality, Autobiography & Ministry' is intended at our seminary to give a divers collection of people an introduction into ways of examining their own practices. I was fortunate enough to be a teaching assistant for this course during different years of seminary (and thus got to use the books several times, with different groups of people).

Currently the Practicing Our Faith project is developing separate texts on each of the topics covered by chapters in this book, so groups that use this as a base text for spirituality groups can choose which areas to develop, and stay within the overall culture of this text.

I cannot praise this book too highly. There is a genuine spirituality that permeates the book and expresses itself so well to the reader who devotes attention to the practices.

A searcher of many years, this book kinda popped out of the shelf at me. My biggest peeve with Christianity: Sunday Christians, that is people who only act Christian one day a week. This book gives me hope that ALL people claiming to be Christian can learn how to live a Christ like life. There is truly a piece of mind that comes with this books. Practicing Yoga everyday gave me a piece of mind, but with these simple suggestions for daily living, my joy has been doubled!

We are using this book currently for a class at my seminary entitled Spirituality, Autobiography & Ministry.

The care and depth of thought that permeates this book is apparent from the first pages, and it has been a struggle to resist the urge to "read ahead" of the rest of the class in this book.

While the chapters are written by different individuals, it is apparent that they have a common understanding and it is quite an achievement that they speak in this book with a common voice.

If you read no other book this year, read this one!

Any of her books are definitely keepers. Collect them - loan them - but definitely read them again!

Do not pass up the story of Tucker and Lucas and their trials and their finding and sharing love.

You will get a real sense of life on a wagon train and the dangers that follow these people.

And I enjoyed the way all of the stories were tied together at the end so we have a feeling of completeness of these characters lives.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- add to your library.

Each and every character compliments the entire story. There is not a wasted word or unnecessary character in this entire book! I'd have to say this story is as close to perfect as possible!

The three romances that form during the wagon train are spicy, sweet, and intriguing! Tucker and Lucas just set off firecrackers and sparks with every meeting. Buck and Laura are sweet and endearing... a beautiful tale of a blind woman and a rough trail man. Rafe and Marie were intriguing and mysteriously delicious. Amazing to read about a woman of that strength and knowledge... although Ms. Garlock doesn't seem to write about weak women. But of all things, the way the women managed to bond together and survive the hardships of a wagon trail, was endearing and very enjoyable to read. Ms. Garlock is a genius, and it's hard to believe she wasn't actually there during the era she writes about, as the detail and the path she makes to your own imagination are superb.

I am a huge Dorothy Garlock fan. I have read at least 20 of her books. In my opinion, "The Searching Hearts" was the best of all her books!

I loved the way you could see the maturing in the relationship between the main characters. You could feel their feelings build up. It was wonderful. I read the book in 3 days. I couldn't put it down. I felt myself gasping when something happening and smiling later. Great climax as well.

Cindy W in Dallas, TX

I strongly recommend my fellow romance readers to read this book, I know you should enjoy it.

The heroine in this story is Patricia Ryan, bumps into the hero Mackenzy Carter but called, Mac Carter. This chance meeting involves a community center for at risk kids.

In any story that mixes business with pleasure; well you are bound to get trouble in the relationship. But this story that takes place in Florida provides you with aggressiveness, some humor, lots of intimacy, lies, betrayal and unconditional love from a mother and brother. It also has some moments of danger that heightens the story that keeps you turning the pages.

I enjoyed the illustration that the author shows with Patricia, her mother and her brother Parker. The characters portray such unconditional love that I believe any of us can feel the love coming through as you read the book.

Thanks Ms Love for this wonderful and enjoyable story. I hope you'll consider a story with Parker Ryan real soon.

This book was great! I enjoyed all the characters..we have all been there with the 'well-meaning' sister friends. It was good to see Patricia hold on to her professional goals, while dealing honestly with her short-comings. Mac was a brother with a purpose...I loved him. I am looking forward to Ms. Love's next book.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Wedding" but "The Living is Easy" is brilliant. Cleo is excellently portrayed....the kind of person that you want to hate but you can't help but admire her determination to attain her goal. Dorothy West skillfully reveals to us the inner woman of Cleo and we see that she is not so cold-hearted but has her share of hurt, pain, vulnerability etc. Her way of dealing with her emotions which to her is a weakness, is incredible. Her anguish when her husband leaves is the most revealing because she has become dependent on his strength.
The story deals with the universal problem of skin color and status in an upper-class society...this ongoing problem brings about such a sadness....such a waste of energy.....will it ever go away?

The main character has little feeling and reading about how she came to be that way was great. The entire plot was wonderful, cleanly written with nothing left hanging and Cleo was endearing but maddening. The author's description of the era and township was flattering and understandable. You will never forget Cleo.

I read this book months ago and it stayed with me. Her characters are fully drawn, not two-dimensional caricatures. The writing displays all sides of this complex heroine and her ultimately devastating impact on everyone associated with her. Also, a fascinating look into a society not portrayed elsewhere.

This is one of the most important feminist texts ever written. It's also, along with Mary Daly's "Beyond God the Father," one of the most neglected and underrated. Dinnerstein's influence, however, is far greater than the fame of this witty and intelligent but verbose and academic book: More than any one person, she's behind the idea of "Mr. Mom's," men who insist on equal involvement with women in the care of children.

Dinnerstein subverts the nuclear family like Daly subverts Christianity: Both writers expose the ugly misogyny at the core of old, venerable institutions. Dinnerstein was right to say the nuclear family of the mid-century was patriarchal and sexist. She is even right about the explanation for this, namely, that men are so humiliatingly indebted to women (who as mothers are their "first love, first witness, and first boss") that they grow up and say in effect "OK, now it's women's turn to feel inferior."

This is Dinnerstein's blazing truth: Women need to share their god-like maternal power, their be-all and end-all status in the eyes of helpless infants, toddlers, and children, if they are to escape the mutinous resentment this creates, resentment which later leads to adult male sexism.

But here is her glaring error: She assumes that as parents men and women play identical roles, that they raise children in a similar rather than complementary way. I think her ideas are like communism: good on paper but virtually unworkable in real life. Yes, many men since Dinnerstein wrote "The Mermaid and the Minotaur" in 1975 have taken a greater role in child-rearing (feeding, diapering, and singing lullabies) but usually they become their wives' junior partner rather than a coequal. This is because women for aeons have been slow-cooking the patience, compassion, and multi-tasking that parenting the very young requires. Men cannot just decide they're as skilled with babies and children as women are overnight, as a current film like Eddie Murphy's "Daddy Day Care" (2003) makes explicitly and hilariously plain.

I suspect that men have a different role in raising the young, one which ascends in importance as the mother's wanes. Masculinity, which has also been slow-cooking for aeons, is better suited than "sit still" femininity to an antsy, exploratory, risk-taking, lustful, transgressive lifestage called adolescence. It is here where men can make the best contribution to "child"-rearing, such as the mentoring of teen boys, which the Men's Movement has plaintively called for in the last 20 years.

Dinnerstein was right about one thing: Men and women deserve equal weight in the lives of the young. But since men and women are very different, even the opposite in some ways, we can expect their roles to be very different, even the opposite in some ways. Some of the best "fathers" I know exist outside of nuclear families, which tend anyway to turn adult males into bullies or eunuchs (or some strange combination of the two). These men are teachers, counselors, or simply "friends to the young." Their unfettered masculinity is a source of pride to themselves and excitement to their "sons" and "daughters."

If I don't agree with the conclusions of "The Mermaid and the Minotaur," why the solid 4-star review? Because this book is fiercely intelligent. Because it does the surprising, fusing Freud with feminism. Because of its unique organization: central text plus sidebars which develop certain thoughts further. Because it's a learned scientific text which is unafraid to call on the power of poetry. Because, except for her misplaced faith in a mass and permanent conversion to androgyny, Dinnerstein had it right: We need fathers.

I read this book twenty years ago when I was in college. I found (and still find) Dinnerstein's feminist argument for shared parenting to be one of those books that has the potential to change lives. She employs a variety of intellectual resources to make the case for a feminist social criticism that focuses on the dynamics of the nuclear family as the source of many, if not most, social problems. Her re-interpretation of Freud's work, and of the neo-Freudians who have moved beyond him (particularly Marcuse and Norman O. Brown) is sometimes difficult reading, but can with careful attention be followed even by those who have not waded through the original texts.

This is a book that combines crystalline prose and incisive rational argument with passion and emotion. She argues for nothing less than a radical restructuring of the human family, and of the social/economic relationships that undergird family life. The kernel of her argument is that so long as we all are raised (exclusively or predominantly) by our mothers or by female caregivers, children will grow up with a deep-seated resentment of the feminine (since no parent can perfectly anticipate a child's needs, and all children, in growing up, will be conditioned by our infantile rage at our parent's imperfections).

There's much more to it than this. I've read dozens of self-help and pop psychology books (think of Deborah Tannen and John Gray) which try to explain why males and females are the way they are; I've never read an analysis which goes as deeply as this one into a powerful and persuasive explanation of the role of sexuality in the formation of human character. If you read this book and pay attention, you will experience multiple shocks of recognition; you will suddenly understand your self and your relationships with the opposite sex in a new light; and you may even be persuaded to change the way you live your life and raise your children.

At the age of twenty, I was persuaded by Dinnerstein to be (when I did have kids) an active and equal participant in the raising of my children, from changing diapers to feeding and everything else. I was so convinced of the importance of her analysis, and of its potential to change lives, that I have, in the past few decades, bought and given away as gifts eighty-eight copies to male and female friends. (I figured that if I just told people what a great book it was, few would follow up, but that if I actually bought it and thrust it into their hands, they might be moved to actually read it.) I'm not sure how many of these were actually read by the recipients. But I can report that out of 88 copies given away, eight people came to me afterward and said something to the effect of, "This book changed my life." I think that's not a bad rate of return, especially when you consider that many people probably never got around to looking at it, or never had the patience to follow the argument through to the end.

One bit of advice: Dinnerstein frequently interrupts herself to continue lines of thought in footnotes, endnotes, and boxes which focus on various controversies, reviews of other authors, and parenthetical developments of the whole structure of her argument. It is worth your while to read this book through, if not on the first go-round, then at least once, in exactly the sequence she sets forth: that is, when you see a footnote, or a note saying "See Box F for further development of this point," stop the linear reading and follow her through all the eddies in the current of thought.

The book is a masterpiece of social criticism; a classic of feminist analysis; an important addition to the literature of psychoanalysis which rescues Freud for feminism; and a book that can change forever the way you view yourself, your relations with your partner, and your children.

I'm older and wiser now, and it remains to be seen how my children will benefit from growing up with a dad who changed their diapers, cooked for them, and took too long getting up in the middle of the night to attend to their needs. But I am convinced that this book is one of a handful which, if read and assimilated by everyone, would make the world a better place.

I'd second the reviews below. Dinnerstein also relates the fear of death to how women rule the infant's world and men the adult's world. Seem unrelated? Phrase "womb to tomb" captures it best perhaps.

I did not find her hard reading at all and I delighted in her sardonic humor, but another book that talks about similar issues, and in really nice prose, is Lillian B. Rubin's "Intimate Strangers: Men and Women Together." In a footnote of that, I discovered Dinnerstein. Anyway, I've never met anyone else who's read Dinnerstein--though I've pestered others to read it--so I'd be very glad to get email: snowden666@yahoo.com (for a character in Catch-22, but a lot of other people had the same idea).

I liked this audio cassette recording of Dorothy Garlock's Nightrose even though it was abridged and very short I really enjoyed listening to this romance story of Katy Burns and Garrick Rowe but I just didn't find this to be a keeper!

Another excellent Garlock book!! Rowe and Katy are a charming combination, as are Mary and Hank.

In the hard times of the frontier era, what would happen to two women and a little girl that are abandoned in a town, when all the treasure-seeking gold miners desert in search of more riches? With only a small derringer, how can the women protect themselves? They won't be able to stay in the abandoned town forever, and they are sure to face problems trying to get to another town.

When the mysterious bearded stranger comes into the abandoned town, along with his dog, the girls are not sure what to think of him at first. The stranger, Rowe, bought the town, with plans to bring it back to life... and a mysterious connection with Katy, knocks him off his feet.

When some drifters come into town, and Rowe witnesses them murder one of their riders, it's up to him to protect the women. From this moment on, Ms. Garlock creates one hurdle after another for these characters, and they get closer and closer as they overcome each and every one of them.

If you read Ms. Garlock's story, Midnight Blue, then you'll be pleased to read about the appearance of Pack and Mara Shannon Gallagher, and get an update on their lives. Also from Midnight Blue, is a short appearance of Mara Shannon's villain cousin, Cullen McCall. Nevertheless, if you haven't read Midnight Blue, you won't be missing anything, as Ms. Garlock provided everything you needed to know about these people, for the short appearance they made in this book.

This is another great book by Dorothy Garlock! From the minute Rowe meets Katy he knows that they were meant to be together. Katy however distrusts all men and will not even consider the idea of marrying.

The story follows Rowe's (sometimes hilarious) attempts to court Katy. As in all great Garlock books, there are several interesting side stories, including one involving Katy's sister and niece. Definitly recommended!

The most striking point made in this book, from my perspective, was the notion that the Jewish concept of day from sundown to sundown reflected the creation story of Genesis in the sense that first God acts, later people are drawn into the equation. If insights such as that excite you, you will enjoy this book.

The book is written in a very personal style - how Dorothy C. Bass has come to see and use time. This results occassionally in some reader disconnects e.g. her assumption that a church could not refrain from Christmas carols during Advent - I come from a church that does not use Christmas carols until the Christmas vigil. But these "disconnects" also are a strength for the book - she is not giving you a list of how-to's, but rather inviting you to reevaluate time in your life ... with a recognition that that will have similarities and differences from what it means in her life.

This book is recommended for everyone - and especially needed by individuals planning liturgical season.

Without a doubt, this little book is one of the most helpful spiritual books of the new century. Bass takes a careful look at how we view and use time. Her citations of other authors, especially poets, are well chosen and lyric. This is a book to savor, to stimulate meditation, and to return to. May I suggest it as the perfect Christmas present for someone who is not too superficial to appreciate it?

Bass doesn't preach at us from on high, but rather bears witness to her own struggles to keep sabbath and receive time as a blessing and gift instead of as a problem or enemy. Bass describes how "receiving the day" can become a way-of-life practice, and she relates this activity to other core practices that give life character and integrity (see "Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People," which Bass edited.) Bass grounds her analysis of time in contemporary research from a social scientific perspective, such as A.R. Hochschild's "The Time Bind" and R. Levine's "A Geography of Time." Bass's deeper grounding, however, is in the practical wisdom of the Jewish and Christian traditions for living faithfully in the rhythms of days, weeks, and years. Drawing on the biblical story of the creation of time (Genesis 1), Bass invites us to consider what difference it would make in our lives if we viewed dusk instead of dawn as the beginning of each new day. Observing how digital clocks now synchronize our global economy, Bass notes with irony how Benedictine monks invented the clock to call the community to prayer at set hours during the course of the day. The challenge for us today is not to "turn back the clock," of course, but to learn how to live freely and humanly within a 24x7 society. I enthusiastically recommend "Receiving the Day" to anyone who cares to ponder how we dwell together as creatures within time. This book prompted deep personal reflection about the ways I spend my time, and it also inspired the design of a playful worship service for our congregation's annual Family Camp. A great book for adult study groups and sermon ideas. To open "Receiving the Day" is to open a thoughtfully chosen, carefully crafted gift.

This book is an exciting story of Melissa, who returns after many years to visit family friends in Wyoming. To find that the son of the family Jesse (whom she has loved since she was eight) is not married. The story shows how they find their love for each other through scary and trying periods on the vacation. And even inspite of the eleven year difference in age, they still are drawn towards each other.

Dorothy Keddington enables you to live the story. Her descriptive words not only tell a story but allow you to feel like you are right in the story. "Return to Red Castle" has adventure, mystery and (my favorite) romance without all the implicit sexual details. Her description of the mountain scenery lets you visualize and feel you are a part of the hiking expedition. I have read it twice and will keep it to read again in the future. I like her style.

This book is excellent. It made me laugh, cry and kept me on the edge of my seat with suspense. I would highly recomend this book.

After reading the stories in the "healer" booklet, the use of the audio affirmation tape made sense to me. For the past 1-1/2 years I've been under enormous career stress and my immune system has suffered. I'm now using Uhlman's tape consistently as "prescribed" and finally getting back to my normal state of natural health and wellness. Wish I could "bottle it!"

If you have a self-help library, I strongly suggest you add this to it. If you are not a self-help person, I strongly suggest that you pick up this package, sit down with lots of tea, or coffee--read the booklet, then pop the audio into your tape player, or walkman, and soak up Uhlman's great preventive self-help!

Thank you so much Dorothy O'Donnell Uhlman!

Barbara Murray Klopp, Children's Author

The best self healing affirmation audo tape I have ever listen to. Use it everyday for optimum health. Can drasticaly change your'e life with minutes a day usage.