Beautifully written and with an obvious passion for aromatherapy, Elisabeth Millar's book entices you into the sensuous, magical world of fragrance. The book suggests many ideas to create your own body lotions, bath oils and perfumes with the aim of pure unadulterated pleasure and indulgence!! A great gift for any woman!!

This is such a delightful book to read and to use. The author manages to combine clear, simple instructions while still managing to capture the reader's interest and imagination with her narrative on the history, effects and uses of the oils. And the blends do work!

My wife, received The Fragrant Veil as a gift. Something about her has changed since she started reading the book and using the essential oils around the house and in the bathtub. She seems much more relaxed; she takes a bath whenever possible (especially before going to bed), she rarely seems 'uptight', and her overall 'joie de vivre' is in a fairly consistent 'peaked' state. I LOVE it !!! A constant remark she makes about the book is that there is a 'recipe' for everyone (speaking of women here), at just about every stage of their life. A traveling business woman, constantly on the go, can pack up her book of recipes and her essential oils and come back to her hotel room for a relaxing, soothing, aromatic bath; evoking memories of home and that someone special. What a great way to end the work day when you're not at home! The working mother/housewife, can lose herself in the bathtub by setting the mood with a choosen recipe for the day/night. The mood/harmony of an entire household can be affected with the scents of these essential oils in the air. I guess what surprises me the most is the effect of 'scent',of which our society seems to pay little attention, on our daily life. Like the importance of the 'nose' on a good glass of wine, the scent of an essential oil can evoke so many different memories and pleasures. Since the essential oils have become a part of our household, even I can sense a certain 'calmness', and at the same time a certain 'breath of fresh air'. This 'breath of fresh air' came at a perfect time for us; the middle of winter. It will be very interesting to see which recipes my wife will use now that we are coming into spring. I highly recommend this gem of a book for all women, no matter where you are or what you do for a living. I just want to know when the men's edition will be written.

We have a very active 6 year old, and we feel he is active alert, his biggest issue is social interaction, since he has been around mostly adults his life. This book has common sense ideas to help a sometimes painful problem. Our son has done better in first grade. The summer using this book has helped alot! ... I am so glad I found this book!

I have a now 6 year old son whom is very active. (I started with the book, The Active Alert Child by Linda Budd.) This book has wonderfully simple and overlooked ideas to a uneasy problem. I had much advancement with my son over the summer. It can be done. Ist grade is going great so far! I feel this was a key to his bettering in his social world. My son has been around adults most of his life and has a hard time relating to other children. This book made a difference.

I am a school social worker and after buying several disappointing books on the topic I was delighted to find this. The format is laid out in an easy to read manner and thank goodness for the real photographs they use. (I also cut out pictures from magazines to talk about non-verbal cues and body language...then have the kids make a collage.)

Separating the areas of non-verbal communication into chapters allows me to focus on one area per session. The speech and language pathologist at my school is doing a group with me called "social communications" and we intend to squeeze everything we can out of this book.

Parents-you don't need to rely on the professionals to teach your child social skills! Have fun with it, make a date with your child weekly to practice these skills. Just don't put me out of business with this book!

Very nice, heartfelt account of a moment in time that few experience. The extrapolations provided are meaningful and worth reading. Thank you. It gave me something to ponder.

"An Angel Is Born" by Johanna Elisabeth Sather is a beautiful book you can read in one sitting. In fact, once its poignancy captures you, you may not want to put it down. Many happy books have sade endings. This is a sad book with a happy ending. Although it is a story of a child's death, it is far more a story of life.

The story is true. It is the story of parents joyful at the birth of a son, only to quickly discover that the boy has a fatal defect. You the reader will know from the outset that before the book is over the child will die.

What happens in the brief weeks between birth and death will touch your heart. This is a book about a child, about his parents, and about one of the hospital nurses responsible for the child's care. This nurse, over-powered by the baby's beauty as a child of God, broke the protective rule medical people are trained to keep. She became emotionally involved.

The book's author is that nurse. In words of beauty and grace she tells the story of how one ever-so-brief life can change the world, if only a little.

Johanna Elisabeth Sather is more than a caring registered nurse and accomplished author. She is also an artist. Her stylized illustrations grace every page.

When you finish reading this book there may be tears in your eyes but your thought of life and death will have changed. This book deserves a place of honor in any bookstore. It should also be in every public library, hsopital gift shop, church bookshop, and family counselor's office.

I sent my sister in Ohio, who lost a son years ago, this book as a gift. These are her comments.

Dear Sue--An Angel is Born --was in the mail today so I sat down and read it all--I couldn't put it down. Of course, it isn't very long--but still I read it all because it captured me. What a beautiful book! I enjoyed especially her gentle, loving images...her honesty...her medical perspective. While I cannot say I hold the same view of Angels and the idea that we choose our parents and our life before we are born--I know many people do. But I believe that whether or not the reader holds Johanna's beliefs about Angels is really unimportant. Through a very touching example, she reaffirms the "hope" that in the experience of pain--even the most crushing pain-- we can not only survive, but grow...and that lives--no matter how short -- have a power and meaning and spiritual existence that continue for eternity --with those of us who have known and loved them...

Throughout the book, we see the 'baby' transform from a clear spirit to one taking on fears of the world. She struggles with many of the same things we 'people types' do but at the same time is able to have such a clear picture of what the struggle is about. We see 'answers' come to mother and child via a guardian angel and as the book professes, there is an angel for all of us to bounce questions off of. It was fascinating to see the 'baby' fight for control of her body - not against someone else but against thoughts. It brings us all to question what are we truly fighting in our own lives. Lastly, a beautiful picture is painted of the doorway leading into and out of life. A very believable presentation of how there is more and we are not alone in this journey.

It took me a while to digest this book as each piece touched me deeply. Every woman who has children or is thinking of having children will benefit from it. Every person who has wondered why things are in life will be reminded how to view life through the love we had when we first began.

This book is a beautiful, meaningful gift for us all. Mary Grace McManus tells of experiences that illuminate the meaning of love and the wonder of life. As I read about Cheyenne and Mary Grace growing together, I gained key insight into my own growth. One of my favorite quotes from Cheyenne is: "This is what our connection is all about, remaining open to each other's experiences and relying upon the strength of Love so we can help each other beyond our fears and through our unknown." I cherish this book and read it often. It is an intimate walk down a path of questions, answers, comforting embraces and most of all, understanding that love is THE life giving force. The best part of the book is that instead of ending, it opened doors for me and gave me a hand to hold as I find my path and make my journey through life. Thank you Mary Grace, Cheyenne, and Beauty.

There are many books and motion pictures about family members. From good, bad and the ugly readers and movie buffs have seen it all. Pearl Harbor, Ali, Not Without My Daughter, Erin Brochovich and more.

Inborn Justice is the first book I have read from beginning to end and when I got to "Good Bye Debbie" I called everyone I knew and promised to pass it on.

Not everyone is a survivor, but 3-5 are. My copy of Inborn Justice (i just got back) is so worn out now that I have to purchase another one.

Our readers "Rose Readers Club" would like to invite Rae and Desiray to a private party in their honor.

Cheers, laughters, sadness, anger and then I crawled to the most spectacular ending a book about the tiumph of mother and daughter endured. Put this book on Oprah!

I know millions of woman will see abuse, domestic violence and raising their children in a whole new light after you get this book in the mail. Mothers: Pack, get your kids, walk, buse or dive as far as possible without looking back. Leave that life behind. Buy it read it and pass it on to a women's shelter.

Read this book for the same reason you will listen to your favorite album, or root for your team, or look at a statue when on vacation...to see and admire what people are capable of. Rae is a hero, and I enjoyed reading about it. dominickolas@hotmail.com

Never in my life have I ever read such a powerful story about two very strong minded girls who suffered abuse, became a survivor and then literally changed the world! Rae's writing is purely poetic and shattering. Filled with suspence and the characters are real. This is one story that will make a motion picture in years to come. I read this book in one sitting. It had such an impact on my own life as a survivor that I am ready to face my own abuser, and transform my anger into a incredible bond with my own children beginning today! Tom Arnold did a spectacular job writing about the hero's Rae and Desiray. I could not have written it better myself. Now I am going to write the authors and thank her for taking all the darkness in my life and transforming it into a rainbow of love. A love for myself and survivors across the nation.

I love to cook, and entertain my clients quite frequently with interesting and unique recipes. Therefore, I am always looking for fantastic new recipes, but don't always know exactly what a certain ingredient might be. This book explains a lot about ingredients you might not use often, but may be necessary for that great recipe. The descriptions are succinct and easily understood, and I now take the book with me while shopping for an "exotic" (meaning, I may never have used it before -- it may be commonplace to some other cook) ingredient. The pictures really help you know what you're looking for and how to know if it's fresh, etc. Required text for anyone who loves to cook with flair!

I have used this reference again and again from looking up curious spices to distinguishing chile peppers. A must for every cooks "display" as it intrigues even those who are not interested in cooking at all! We love the photographs and presentation!

terrific photgraphs and summaries...easy to use..extremely informativ

Elisabeth Murray writes a wonderful and highly detailed biography of her grandfather, James Murray. Simon Winchester reintroduced many in this country to Mr. Murray in his book The Professor and the Madman, which told the story of Murray and an American living in an English asylum named W. C. Minor. This book was highly readable, but not comprehensive as a true biography of Murray.

James Murray, the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, was a gentle man of words who dedicated his life to the study of the English Language. His efforts are best understood in this book by the descriptions Elisabeth gives of his scriptorum, where Murray spent the majority of his life, and where Elisabeth worked as a young lady.

In reading about this man's life and the effort that was required to undertake the construction of this dictionary, one really gets a sense of the vastness and complexity of the English Language, the historical richness and the regional diversity. One also sees in florid detail the life of one of the great late-Victorian pedants.

This is really two books in one: the life story of James Murray, first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the tale of the dictionary itself. Both are lovingly told. It's a must read for anyone interested in dictionaries or linguistics.

Elizabeth Murray, the granddaughter of James Murray, who was the chief editor of the huge Oxford English Dictionary on which every serious scholar of English continues to depend, has written an excellent biography of the greatest English lexicographer, and done more: she has also given an insight into his personality, and, yet more importantly, into the whole scholarly world of philology, lexicography etc. in Victorian England, and the difficulties which beset the creators of the dictionary. I recommend the biography most highly, and feel that all fans of *The Surgeon of Crowthorne* (chiefly on Dr W.C. Minor) should read this - preferably BEFORE that book (so as to get a sense of context), but otherwise after. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (see "More about me')

I had to read "I Married You" for a seminary Premarital/Marital counseling course, and I found it to be quite fascinating. I was particularly intrigued by the setting - an unnamed country in Africa. That set it apart from most marriage books right from the start, since along with the usual relational insights, "I Married You" acted as a window into another culture's relationships with God and each other. Of course there were differences, such as the intriguing way the African church service was conducted compared to a typical white American one. However, the universal relational issues Trobisch portrays really enabled me to identify with persons I am united with by faith, if not by race or culture.

Regardless of where in the world one calls "home", Trobisch makes a solid case for the sanctity and strength of marriage as an institution. The book's theme is based on the classic Biblical marriage passage Genesis 2:24, boiled down to "leave, cleave, and become one flesh." Leaving occurs when the man and woman enter into a legal relationship and create a family unit that is independent from their parents. Then, they cleave together as one in an exclusive relationship, and finally become one flesh in body, soul, and spirit, sharing everything. It is this foundation that forms marriage as God intended it. Trobisch goes on to Biblically debunk the idea that the marriage union is meant to subvert women and empower men to dominate them. He also shows how pitfalls like premarital sex can damage the marriage relationship before it even begins. Helpfully, he makes his points by using intuitively recognizable allegories and illustrations that, while very relevant to African culture, are easily understood by the average Westerner. For example, a marriage philosophy that denigrates women and children is referred to as the "garden" concept (very agricultural in nature), while the ideal union is symbolized by the image of a three-legged stool (a visual aid suggested to Trobisch by an elderly African woman in order to liven up his plainer "triangle" illustration). As for the day-to-day aspects of marriage, Trobisch suggests ways that a couple can discover more about themselves and their relationship. An example is the "quarrel" test, where the spouses honestly question whether or not they can really forgive each other and resolve conflict. Unstable marriage relationships are discussed as well, such as the "empty" marriage, characterized by lack of love and an increase in alienation.

The book's main strength lies with Trobisch's skill in identifying the above principles within the context of real-life relationships, including his own marriage. "I Married You" is not just another dry, sugarcoated "how-to" marriage manual. Instead, we can identify with everyone Trobisch encounters, from the somewhat immature single man in his 30s with an idealized portrait of a wife that no real woman could match, to Trobisch's own long-suffering wife Ingrid. Indeed, one of the most affecting parts of the book is seeing Trobisch absolutely blow it with her, right after multiple days of teaching and counseling others concerning the ideals listed above! It is this kind of transparent honesty that really set "I Married You" above other books in the genre. My only gripe would be the inadequate treatment Trobisch gives to the single life as a valid alternative to marriage. However, such a rabbit trail would have veered too far from the book's central theme, so he can be forgiven for that small transgression. Overall, I can enthusiastically recommend this book as required reading for anyone interested in this topic, particularly engaged couples.

This is one of those books that I just couldn't put down. A friend told me about I MARRIED YOU, and her recommendation was right on target. This is a spell-binding tale of a pastor/teacher/counselor's brief trip to Africa and the couples he meets and works with. My wife is not a big reader, but I passed I MARRIED YOU on to her, which she also enjoyed.

The value of marraige is not only defined but explained through this insightful journey that opens your eyes to the real meaning of marraige. Every couple, make that anyone... of any race or culture, who is thinking of getting married should read this. This book is very easy to read, easy to understand, and very hard to put down. May it have the same positive effect on you and your life that it has had in mine.
: )

Any kids who love dogs will like this book. It's so very charming.

This is such a charming tale about a male dachshund named Pretzel trying to win the affections of his lady-friend. He tries all kinds of antics to woo her and impress her, but it isn't until he rescues her from a deep hole that he truly wins her heart. A must for every child! I still love to read it and I'm 26!

This was my favorite book as a child, although I discovered in later years that my parents had changed his girlfriend's name to Gretchen when reading it aloud since my name is Greta! I'd recommend this to anyone since it shows kids it's okay to be different and problems can be overcome with patience. I've been searching for this for years and am thrilled to finally own it. When I got my dachshund I immediately named him after this book.

Enjoyed this book mostly due to the photographs. It does have alot of simple and easy, yet elegant recipes for jams and jellies that will be consumed by the average family. The label and gift wrapping ideas add a unique twist to the every day kitchen gift.

The photographs in Clearly Delicious are clearly inspired. The cover is just a temptation into visual pleasures. The age-old craft of preserving the flavors of summer is displayed in picture after picture. Glistening bottles filled with jams, fruit dripping in syrup or seduced in alcohol, luxurious oils & vinegars, spicy treats, fruit cordials, syrups,. fruit curds and many more treats await.

Some of the recipes included are:

Pear and Damson Plum Jam
Brandied Carrot Jam
Gooseberry and Elderflower Jam
Cranberry and Apple Jelly
Peach Butter
Lemon Curd
Tipsy Apricots
Raisins in Genever with Juniper Berries
Pineapple and Lime Syrup
Mixed Vegetable Pickles
Spiced Oranges
Dark Mango Chutney
Fiery Chili Oil
Rosemary Oil
Mushrooms in Oil
Goat Cheese with Herbs in Oil
Spiced Blackberry Vinegar

The "Herbs and Spices" chapter was a very pleasant surprise. Have you ever wanted to make your own Garam Masala, Pickling Spice, Quatre Epices, Five Spice Powder, Herbes De Provence, Bouquet Garni, Seasoning Salt or Barbecue Blend? Well, here are the recipes!

The last chapter is, well.....just intriguing. I have never thought of painting one of those decorated bottles. It looks so fun. If you love "craft" projects...there are quite a few. To decorate the jars, they have some very creative ideas and some that are more traditional. Presentation ideas gives ideas of how you can make mini-gift baskets.

A handy index leads you quickly to your favorite recipe. The step-by-step instructions stress the value of careful preparation so you can be assured of delicious results ever time.

One of the most beautiful "cookbooks" I have yet to see! This is a completely illustrated guide to some of the most delicious recipes I have ever found all in one book!

If you make one "preserve" recipe in your life...make it "Lemon Curd." It will seduce you into trying more recipes or you just might make that one recipe again, and again, and again! You will need to head to the kitchen shop and also pick up a "zester." An interesting little tool to remove the "zest/yellow peel from lemons"" or you can use your grater. I found many places online that sell bottles or most grocery stores do have the cutest bottles with colorful lids or do a search online for "canning jars."

I started canning jams as a food science experiment with a now out of print Harrod's book. Clearly Delicious (hardback) added recipes for preserves, marmalades, and flavored vinegars to try. The jam and marmalade recipes do not use commercial pectin, and seem more challenging than those found in the indispensible Ball Blue book, but turn out to be easy with clearly written and well-illustrated directions. Clearly Delicious is useful after a berry picking expedition, a trip to the farmers market, or mid-winter. I have made the wonderful lemon marmalade in December as a last minute addition to Christmas gifts and by repeated requests. The lemon marmalade is also good stirred into tea, in thumbprint cookies, as a cake filling, and for fast Chinese lemon chicken.

There is a separate section on packaging food for gift giving. In the hardcover edition, the food is shown in a variety of jars and bottles. This is ok if the food is to be refrigerated, and the author and publisher do note that the the food was photographed just after packaging and the jars shown are not all suitable for longterm storage. Longterm storage directions are included with standard canning jars, so this is not a concern.