The scientific explanations are crystal clear, the advice thoughtful and lucid, and the writing exemplary. This is an excellent book about the mysterious chemistry of the brain and how naturally to enhance your levels of serotonin.

Congrats on a good review of this neurotransmitter that is so key in so much of how we behave, and which can be influenced by so many things around us. Nice focus. Recommend "The Care and Feeding of Your Brain" for a general view of all things that affect the brain and behavior...Kenneth Giuffre MD

I had suffered from depression for more than 25 years, off and on, and finally I was put on anti-depressants. I hated the side effects and eventually had to quit the meds. I came across this book, just a small mass produced paperback book and the information, although simple has changed my life. I no longer have mood swings, dark brooding periods or headaches. The author takes a lot of time to explain the physiology behind it all. If the science is too much for the reader than he/she can just get to the nitty gritty of it all. The method she proposes is simple for anyone to follow. My husband was very skeptical about a book changing one's life but I had no choice but to give a chance. I'm forever grateful to the author for writing this book. My family has a wife and mother now who isn't a Jekyll and Hyde show.

where every paragraph leaves a distinct impression. Ellen Hart writes with a deft sense of place and time which mysteries often lack.

She has also crafted her main characters well to convey a sense of friendship, intimacy, and an amazing sense of humor.

This not only fine writing within the mystery format, it is fine writing, period.

Needless to say, the lesbian element was handled beautifully. This is the kind of statement about gays which should be made because it transcends the garish, tabloid styles of too much of the media (or, counter-media) and presents the human side... of human beings.

Clever plotting; rare character subtleties; solid, often unexpected, humor; special insights; an unusual location with deft understanding of the urban university society.

Yes.

I don't know who I liked more, the lesbian sleuth Jane Lawless or her slightly overweight (yeah!) buddy Cordelia! More than just a "whodunnit," this book is part character study, part Minnesota travelogue, and very much a good read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was a student of Riggs Courier at UCI in 1970. Joe Hart and Riggs had quite a following with their charismatic personalities. I almost fell for it.

The copy of the book I obtained from Amazon.com had notes in it cross-referencing the fictitious names with the real names in the classes so I knew who was being discussed. What a find! I knew there was something fishy going on, but I had NO idea what a cult was developing. ...Facinating reading for those of you who were there.

SKD

This book was chilling, and I give it a full two thumbs up for being so clear, thought out, well-researched and well-presented. It gave a play-by-play account of how a cult is created, and how people in need of healing are sucked into it...and trade their lives away for membership in it. It is also a beautiful example of how compelling such cult life is, and shows some of the clear benefits - despite the horrors - of being in such a world: the community, protection, camaraderie, agreement with a firm point of view. These are things we all want and strive for in our own ways - but god, how much these people had to sacrifice to achieve it. They sacrificed themselves and their self-respect...and also built their world on a house of cards.

Mild criticism: I think author could have gone deeper with the book had she further explored the parallel relationship between the cult dynamics and the dynamics of its members' abusive families of origin (as does Alice Miller in For Your Own Good). I think all therapy - and all adult relationships - entails the risk of such a non-healing re-creation, essentially just acting out, but what's most frightening is when therapists, like those in this book, not only participate in it...but NURTURE IT for their own benefits.

Other criticism: the book was too long-winded. I could have happily read a condensed version of this book and gotten just as much out of it. 400+ pages was just too much, yet due to the book's ever-changing nature, it was a tough one to skim.

I used this book, as well as "What Do We Know About Islam" and "What Do We Know About Judaism", as part of an introductory elementary homeschool course in world religion and culture. All three were excellent, covering a lot of ground with clear text and interesting photographs and line drawing illustrations. Today I ordered the ones on Hinduism and Buddhism for next year -- despite the hardback/library binding cost. Both my student and I learned a lot, enjoyably!

"You, you take my breath away, and I don't know what to say....." This book and movie were great, I remember it when I was back in middle school, I would love to see the movie again & read the book, is there anyway to see this movie? Rex was soooo cute! :)

I first saw this movie when I was 14 and I rushed right out and bought the book. I think that's where my crushes on rock stars began! To this day I still have a softness in my heart for guys in bands and the movie is one of my all-time favorites. I was lucky enough to find a copy of it on Ebay. I really wish they would play this movie again on TV and re-print the books. Another generation of 14-year-olds would just love it!

I read this book & saw the movie when I was 15 (pretty long ago). I am always trying to stimulate my daughter to read & I remembered this story. I have been looking for the book for a year now, but can't find it. I will not give up!

I purchased this book as a holiday gift for my child's teacher. She has a close but intense relationship with her mother, and I thought she would enjoy the topic. Now, I have my fingers crossed and am holding my breath a bit. The black and white photography is beautifully compelling. At times, it is excruciatingly sad (for example, the photo of a woman who has lost her daughter to a drunk driver sits alone in her child's room, another of a daughter hugging her mom's gravestone.)

The accompanying short profiles/ stories are tersely, crisply written. They can be truly uplifting, like one very personal tale, which recounts a woman's battle with breast cancer and how she later overcomes her shame in her daughters seeing her post-surgery breasts. Another tale tells of a daughter who has cared for her ailing mother at home for decades, changing diapers and preparing pureed food. Virtually all of the relationships, however, reveal palpable strains of deep-seated anger, regret or misunderstanding. Many of the women have suffered intensely; many have healed from their own bad marriages and divorces.

For a young woman like myself who now has a small daughter and who recently lost a mother, the book was absorbing though it strangely lacked hope. My favorite profile was of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; she seems like a type A mom but happy with her family and the personal and career choices she has made. Her daughter teases her mother, but seems secretly grateful for the upbringing she received. You sense that they appreciate each other, despite differences.

If you are considering this book for a friend, it would probably be most appreciated by someone who has survived many ups and downs with her mom. Those mother and daughter pairs who pal around together and who consider themselves good friends may be strangely put off by the tragedy and simmering warfare in between many of the pictures.

This book is special to me because my Great Grandmother and her daughters (as well as my grandmother who raised me) are in the book. My "Granny" will be 100 years old in 1999 and has been an inspiration to us all. I've often thought her story should be told and while this is a very short version among many I was pleased with the gentle way they captured her essence.

Covers wicker, splint, coiled & twined basketry, using commercial and gathered materials, lots of natural material prep info, including natural dyes. Two projects in each method, clear photo demonstrations. Coiling projects are one reed and one fiber, 7 different closed coil stitches described. This book makes me want to branch out!

This book gives a clear, easy-to-read introduction to the concepts of traditional Chinese medicine. As someone undergoing acupuncture for the first time, this book has helped me better understand what my doctor is doing! I recommend this book for people who have never tried alternatives to Western medicine and who want to actively participate in their own health care.

This book was very nicely illustrated and the directions were well written. Unfortunately, I probably won't make a single project from this book. It was not what I expected. In my opinion, the projects in this book seem very out-dated and very out of style.

I am enjoying the huge bright photos! All of the photos are sharp and show details amazingly well. Many are larger-than-life and remind me of the wonderful photography in the Singer (c) books. This is just the kind of traditional look I like, but with a few fresh twists, like color surprises. There is a darling quilt titled 'Squirrel Quilt' that is offered as for a boy's room and I'm imagining it as a wall hanging in my living room. I hadn't seen the pattern for the 'The Cat's Basket' before I bought the book, it immediately looked like something perfect for my tiny dog!

I very much appreciate the full-size patterns in the back, I don't have time for graph paper!