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While you will not find my story contained within the pages of this book, I am there. I am a DES daughter, a cancer survivor. I am also a psychotherapist specializing in health psychology. Through my work, I hear a lot of stories, but few compare to those associated with the widespread medical mistake of DES.
Despite the scope of the problems created by this drug, those of us who live with the aftermath are in danger of being forgotten, or at least overlooked. Upon seeing a new physician recently, he said, "I was told in medical school that we wouldn't be seeing any more people exposed to DES." I informed him that I certainly hoped he wouldn't see any new cases of DES exposure, but there were plenty of us still walking around to tell the tale of DES and of our experiences with it. This book does precisely that - tell the tale.
Many thanks to Margaret Lee Braun and Nancy Stuart for a well-written and graphically poignant book. It is tasteful, respectful, and a much needed reminder that we are still here.
My response:
Reading this brought back to mind my experience reading your book. The first friend who gave it to me, a male, left it on my doorstep on November 6th last year, my 39th birthday, as a surprise little gift.
I remember being hugely excited as I unwrapped its package and I remember thinking that it was 21 years before on that same date when I found out I had cancer for the first time, on my 18th birthday.
(A nurse from the clinic at Balboa Hospital had come by and left her card with my roommate, reminding her that I must see the doctor again and why - she had left 2 previous messages the week before that I did not return, because it was my first day on the job at the Bank where I was then on that date, a full-fledged employee, instead of an intern. And I had not called back because I was busy preparing for that day and thought it was about more volunteer work, anyway.)
Anyway, what a gift. The first thing I usually do when I get home is run to the bathroom... I remember reading practically the entire book right there on the porcelain goddess.
(I had part of my bladder resected when the cancer spread the 1st go-round. It's fine now - all that delicious balloon stretching that I adored so much (yea, right!) had done a good job...I still drink a LOT of fluids.)
I know one woman who had cervical, vaginal and ovarian cancer and along with the clear cell adenocarcinoma they found choriocarcinoma when she had ovarian cancer. She had her cervix, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, lymph nodes and spleen completely removed. She has had 1/3rd of her bladder removed and reconstructed, 19 inches of her intestine and part of her omentum removed and my vagina reconstructed two times. She had 7 surgeries, external and internal radiation therapy and 4 separate mutli-round sessions of chemotherapy - all encompassing eight years of her life (18yrs old-almost 21 and 30yrs-37).
Today, she still has two tumors in her lumbar vertebrae - one the diameter of a quarter and the other a dime.
BUT - she is healthier than most anyone she knows! (Can you guess who "She" is?)
I remember the tears rolling down my face and rejoicing at the same time, that now the world would know it's true, it's still true and it still will be true and true anew for many yet to come, unfortunately. But now, it was in writing and not just in medical journals or my own doctor's handwriting. There were documented "others" and I was not alone. I, and my DES sisters were validated. And, if any MD dared mention to me that it was a long time ago and nothing of consequence today, I would have something in hand to proudly show him or her before I quietly walked out of their office forever.
The feeling of AWE that sticks with me today continues to amaze me. I brought it to a family picnic around Thanksgiving time last year to give to my mother who was visiting from out of town, and my oldest brother picked it up and read the whole thing right there. My mother picked it up and began reading it very shortly thereafter and even asked me questions! My boyfriend read the entire book the night I gave it to him to read.
What continues to strike me is how this book appears to magnetize the reader, pulls them in and keeps them there all the way through. I've never come across that before or seen someone else experience that either.
Why is that? I believe it's because the book is so subtle. From the colors on the cover to the pictures on the pages, the message within speaks loudly, yet softly of a quiet strength, of endurance. The details are not of morbid skeleton bones found in a closet or of gross deformities or fantastic miracles. Depicting man, woman, child - they successfully link all humankind. Which, combined in this wonderful book, induce the quiet force, revealing the present triumphs of real-life people. "DES Stories" chronicles each individual's rising to the purpose, of finding the answers with mastery of oneself and of circumstance.
It is a peaceful, very special honor to have something in common with these very brave human beings. They are prevailers. We are prevailers! For we are NOT victims, which is what the word 'survivor' connotes to me. We have overcome and become stronger and yes, better.
Love, Suzette
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Daily, I receive dozens of emails from other wiccans asking when, or if, I will bring this book back into print. To date, I do not have a publisher for this volume.
...I would love to bring an expanded, revised edition of this work back into print. As many reviewers have noted, it is ground-breaking,and is perhaps the first new interpretation of this ancient science since the days of Isaac Luria.
Blessings to all:
B Stuart Myers.
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It's also a fascinating look into the world of legendary surfing.
Eddie Would Go is an unforgettable story -- a story you'll be proud to know.
But the more I read about Eddie Aikau and the more I got to know him, the more my respect grew. In a way, Coleman kind of sets you up. He lures you into Eddie's humble life only to help you better understand his greatness -- his purely selfless heroism.
Not only is "Eddie Would Go" one of the better biographies I've read, it flows along with profound undercurrents. Many of them are quickly grasped - poverty, altruism, struggles with cultural inferiority. Others are more subtle and lingering - the complexity of racism and the Buddhist concept of "dukkha."
Unforgettable, important book.
But this is no myth. It's the life story of Eddie Aikau, the 32-year-old Hawaiian waterman who died in l978 trying to save his shipmates (who, as it happened, were all rescued a few hours after he started swimming for shore). And what a story! Start with a kid as handsome as Jason Scott Lee, as athletic as Duke Kahanamoku and as soulful as Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. He loves the water so much he drops out of school at 16. At 21, when he's not much known as a surfer, he shows up at Waimea Bay and triumphs over 40-foot waves. Suddenly he is in the Pantheon of big-wave surfers. And stays there until his death.
It was inevitable there would be a book about Eddie. And that it would be called EDDIE WOULD GO --- the phrase other watermen used to describe Aikau's unrelenting willingness to leap into deadly surf to save swimmers in trouble. What was not inevitable? That EDDIE WOULD GO would be written by someone as gifted as Stuart Coleman. A writer, teacher and surfer, he strikes just the right balance between Eddie's life on land and his heroics on the water. He tells a double story well: courage and integrity on the water, a spiritual quest on land, as Aikau pondered what it meant to be a Hawaiian in a rapidly changing world.
Forty foot-high waves. Normally brave surfers standing on shore. And one surfer --- Eddie Aikau --- smiling as he and his board become one with the water. It's an image that will warm you on cold winter nights. And, in summer, make you just a bit more respectful of kids on surfboards, dreaming of glory.
--- Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth
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Although Schlegel went to the Philipine island of Mendanao for an intellectual purpose, a study to complete his doctoral dissertation on the Teduray tribe, he found himself impressed with a style of life and social interaction that most westerners would call primitive. Schlegel saw not only the value and benefit of the Teduray lifestyle, he found his own life influenced by these people in positive ways.
The tribe is now extiinct, wiped out as the result of political conflict, but the wisdom of its ways has not been lost, it lives on in Schlegel's depiction in this book, providing wisdom to those who search for it in unpredictable places.
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If you are looking for the truly bizarre, look no further than Amok. They consistently compile some of the strangest, most intriguing articles and essays on the planet.
Freedom of expression is always pushed to the outer limits with these works. Long live freedom.
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Open the first page and embark into the world of Goethe, there is little wonder why faust took fifty years to complete. Be warned, though, that once delved into, the external world will appear mundane and worthless. Faust is a must read for anyone who is willing to devote the necessary time to completely understand the element of absurdity (as according to camus). read and find out if a fifty year vacation with the devil is worth your soul. A MUST BUY NOW!
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What Miller demonstrates in this book is that the Philippines wanted independence and not American government. The revolt which followed the Spanish American War was long and devastated the islands. Thousands lost their lives, and American troops showed no mercy in putting down the revolt. The revolt lasted for over three years, and cost the U.S. much in men and treasure.
America won, but lost seventy years later in Vietnam.
Dear God,
I wish that there wasn't no such thing of sin. I wish that there was not no such thing of war.
Tim M. age 9
If only it were that simple. It makes one wish to never grow up. "Children's Letters to God" is splendid and is an inspiring gift for anyone who has had the pleasure of being in the presence of a child's smile.