I depended on Dr. Flancbaum before and after my weight loss surgery in the same way that I depended upon Dr. Spock when my children were small. His book became a dog earred companion on my nightstand--well read and well loved. I would recommend it to anyone considering this surgery!

If you are considering WLS and need to compare operations and get a basic overview, then this is the book for you. It covers pre-surgery questions as well as post-op concerns. I would recommend giving this book to your surgeon or primary care physician to inform them of the surgery. I work as a library assistant and recommend this book to my patrons. It has been the only book I have found that gives good basic coverage of the subject.

Dr. Flancbaum writes in a style that is easily understood by the layman. When the topic necessitates using medical language, he takes the time to explain exactly what it means in terms that anyone can understand. I have been researching WLS for about a year and have found this book to be the most helpful. I read the list of reasons to lose the weight and found that I can agree with just about all of them and some I had never even thought of in terms of myself. Thank you Dr. Flancbaum for this wonderful book.

read one of the short pieces in this anthology. They are also incredibly uplifting too. A brilliant bedside companion for any dog lover.

Although each of the pieces in this book was inspired by the loss of a much beloved dog, this is really a book about vibrant, fully-alive dogs: family pets, fellow hunters, soul mates, and best friends. And while none of the dogs remembered so fondly here still lives, Old Dogs affirms the remarkably special place in the heart we reserve for our dogs. My own dog is sturdy in her middle-age, but reading the eulogies and odes in this moving anthology has made me appreciate more all the quirky habits I take for granted, like how she can't resist running off with one of my Reeboks when I'm shoeing up for our evening walk--the little prance she performs when I tell her, "Bring the shoe back!" Not a sad read but a celebratory one, required for every dog owner!

This is a remarkable anthology of stories and poems by outstanding authors of the past, as well as more recent times. Although these moving remembrances are only of beloved dogs, the lovers of any species of pet will find identical sentiments for their own losses. Whatever kind of companion animal you had, you will find your own bereavement and healing tears reflected here, as well.

Care was taken to avoid over-sentimentality, in this assortment of loving reflections of dogs, celebrated here. These accounts are full of love, and are sometimes even funny - and we are thrust into the realization that perhaps that is the most wonderful kind of living memorials we can have for a beloved pet. Too often, we lose this perspective, while trying to keep from drowning in our own bereavement and sorrows.

Rather than being a collection of sad literary memorials Old Dogs Remembered is a joyful celebration of life with pets. This inspires healthy new points of view and adjustments to moving on into our new lives, without them.

Here we are treated to many different outlooks on how they permanently enriched the lives of their owners. Reading these heartwarming pages will broaden the understanding of each reader, concerning his/her own personal bereavement. Here, we are offered the collective wisdom of others, who reminisce on their honored pets. There is much to be shared and learned here, as well as enjoyed.

With so many different authors, one must appreciate that references and styles have changed drastically, through the ages. As an example of this, some might find the essay by the dramatist John Galsworthy to be interesting, but a bit troublesome to read. And, as with any anthology, there may be some accounts not everyone would appreciate. But all pet lovers will readily identify with the overall shared remembrances, here. This is a heartwarming collection, which can be enjoyed comfortably, in several installments.

There will be many an uplifting tear shed in its reading, and we suggest it for your reading pleasure.

Saying goodbye to someone you love is always hard. Saying goodbye when someone you love dies is perhaps the hardest thing of all.

I remember those days when I left for boarding school or to emigrate to America. I was the one leaving in those days. I was on a Goodbye Boat. Later, I stood & watched others leave for faraway places or, as is inevitable, leaving life.

Few words, rich pictures, extra-ordinarily rich pictures & a lot to think about!

For every family raising conscious children - when grandparents & pets & friends die & go away.

A simple, passionately illustrated meditation of life & death & life.

by SMFran Gangloff@aol.com

In a 28-page color picture book titled The Goodbye Boat, Mary Joslin, writer, and Claire St. Louis Little, color illustrator, (Grand Rapids Mich., Win. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999, hard cover) present a message about dying, a message in pictures and words where the emotions of grieving find hope in a boat sent out to sea. The pain and sadness of saying "goodbye" find a resurrection motif in the boat sailing out of sight and into a new place. Appropriate and meaningful for all ages, the book holds special appeal for children and those guiding children through the death experience of a grandparent or someone close. I read the book to the young grandchildren of my sister after her death. These children asked me to reread the book to them several times, and each time they had new questions for me. This book offered me a wondeful way to say how Grandma had gone away on the sea of eternity.

As a diet veteran of many years and a former employee of a major weight loss organization, I thought I knew it all -- or at least a lot. I read this book from cover to cover. It is full of the most up-to-date, research-based information presented in an intelligent, easily understandable style. I love the sections geared to specific life stages. "Mine" spoke right to me.

Thanks, Kathy. Good job.

When I bought this book, I was curious to see how it would be possible to lose weight without doing one of these fancy diets. I haven't been disappointed. I am eating more than before but better, I found lots of practical advice for my every-day life, I don't feel deprived or hungry. I've lost 10 pounds in less than a month, I feel great and want to go on. I am so happy, this book is truly helpful.

Louis LaGrand recently lectured in Portland, Oregon at a large gathering of professionals specializing in death and dying. Some keynote speakers were quite conservative while others, like Dr. LaGrand, risked being "outside the comfort zone" with his refreshing views on continuing a bond with someone we love, even after they have died. Contrary to the stereotyped goal most grief counselors seem to harp on about "letting go and moving on", LaGrand has managed to very nicely reframe this into "Let go of the pain, hold on to the love, and continue your relationship with your loved one in a way that is healing while not being intrusive." Nice thought, huh?

An "extraordinary experience", according to LaGrand, is one that can range from actually encountering the dead person in a physical way (seeing them in the home), or, more commonly, in a dream or symbolic way (such as a group of cardinals appearing where they hardly ever do, and this happened to be the loved one's most treasured bird). His writing is compassionate and caring rather than cold and clinical and, not surprisingly, he opens the book by telling you that this is just as much for mourners to read as it is for those of us in the "death and dying business".

Readers may possibly find some of their core beliefs about what happens to us after we die being challenged, but just give LaGrand's alternative view a chance. I have already used his philosophy of NOT taking someone's grief away (or suggesting they need to move beyond the person they lost) and rewording it as a "loving energy that is fueled as much by love and yearning as it is by the possibility that he/she is very closeby." This should not be mistaken as a chip off of "Crossing Over" as LaGrand does not suggest we are clairvoyant nor are we necessarily capable of communicating with the spirit world, but, rather, only with the cherished few whom we miss terribly and feel there may be unfinished business with.

As a professional and also as someone who has experienced their own personal losses, Extroardinary Experiences was one in and of itself just reading the book. I also highly recommend it as a resource therapists share with their grieving clients - they deserve to have their grief not only validated and respected but to have it nicely labeled as "loving energy".

Loss and Seligman have long been the top authors in the area of securities regulations. Loss' multiseries treatise is a staple in every securities attorney's library. This single volume version is an excellent resource for the layman, as well as for the attorney who does not practice securities law every day.

This book is wonderful, all in one information on behavior modification, the psychological, nutritional and physiological aspects of weight gain. The book also explores surgical options to obesity complete with illustration and the recently FDA approved Lap-Band

This is a good book with a lot of useful information, but in the end, all it provides is the same old food exchange diet(with slight variations for lower glycemic foods).

Dr. Aronne also seems to contradict his own advice. He says in the book that weight loss must be slow to be permanent. He even tells you not to try and lose any more than 10% of your bodyweight at one time, but the diet section only provides guidance for three different calorie levels: 1200, 1500 and 1800.

This is way too few calories for almost anyone and it will put the body on starvation alert and provoke a binge response. When are doctors going to be honest and admit that decreasing calories by any more than 200 calories a day will trigger an impulse to overeat in most people? Decreasing your calorie consumption by 500 to 1000 calories a day or more is simply too much. Your body will always fight back.

If you are looking for the latest gimmick, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a way to lose weight forever, and not regain it again, then we have something here. Dr. Aronne provides the reader with an easy to follow nutrition plan that shows the reader what it takes to be permanently successful at weight loss. Chapter 8 alone was worth the price of the book. In that chapter he tells you how to decrease you calories gradually with each ten percent weight drop. In this way, you are able to eat a decent amount and still lose weight, as well as give your body time to adjust to the new weight. In the end, you still end up with a decent calorie intake, and should be able to keep it up over a lifetime. To me it has been a lot less painless than some diets I had tried in my past that required cutting out whole food groups, or excessively low calorie intake. Folks, the truth of the matter is, if you are taking in too many calories, no matter what kind, they are going to end up somewhere on your anatomy. If you want to live a decent healthy life, you are going to cut back. The question is how much, how long, and just plain HOW. Dr. Aronne answers all of that, and even has suggestions for those of you who are especially resistant to weight loss. It works, it works, it works. The little needle on the scale is finally moving downward for a change. What's more, the diet is nutritionally sound, so for people like myself who have other health conerns, it is safe. Blessings, Dr. Aronne!