Increasingly, Baby Boomers find they "don't get no respect." Often referred to as "the Me Generation," Boomers typically are characterized as the folks who launched the sexual revolution, trashed the culture and the family. But authors Gary and Kathy Young - straight out of Hollywood, no less - have inadvertently put the lie to this popular portrayal.

Anyone still harboring wistful thoughts about things like picket fences and romantic love will find much with which to identify in the couple's fascinating new book, Loss and Found. This true story revolves around, first, the agonizing death of two young people's former spouses from aggressive cancers, followed by the unexpected, exquisite excitement of finding each other in, of all places, a widow/widower support group. In the process of being drawn into this tantalizing cross between your worst nightmare and a romantic comedy, the reader learns a lot about not-so-attractive realities surrounding today's health care as well as the business of picking up the pieces of life and moving on. These are not the kinds of realities typically found among the self-help shelves of your bookstore.

Loss and Found is no 1950s-era soppy tale of "love lost and love found"; nor is it the smiley-faced, Pollyanna stereotype of Doris Day-Rock Hudson vintage. Mental health practitioners will be astonished to find a "survival guide," as the book is advertised, that manages to be funny, sexy, heart-wrenching and provocative - all at the same time. What readers will find is a fast-moving and, most of all, upbeat account about falling head-over-heels in love just when you thought they were, uh, beaten.

Upon examination, there's much to debate in Loss and Found for various and sundry experts out there who might be so inclined - the dubious ethics of advanced medicine; the insensitivity of law enforcement, social services workers, and credit agencies; the pressures of modern society to become sexually promiscuous; the dearth of help available to young widows and widowers; not to mention the success of an insurance racket in disassociating "health" from "care."

But authors Gary and Kathy Young leave any conclusions about such things to others and do not fixate on such questions. The surprise for most readers is that the two owe their self-renewal to their implicit determination to locate new spouses, not merely new "relationships." The intricacies involved in establishing such a bond after a 20-something hiatus from the dating scene - and in a new culture that seems to have turned its back on commitment - fortunately turns out more humorous than aggravating for the reader. One would have imagined, after all, that proximity to the nesting place of fare like "Ally McBeal" and "Sex and the City" would at the very least have prepared the authors for altered views about "singlehood." But Loss and Found is a hit precisely because it provides character insights that readers won't find in People Magazine or TV's Entertainment Tonight. Merely rubbing elbows with Hollywood's elite doesn't make the world depicted there real. Musical mates are not for everybody.

Perhaps what's so endearing about the book is that, in following their story, we discover as much about us as we do about its authors, Gary and Kathy Young.

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Beverly K. Eakman is a former teacher-turned-speechwriter, now lecturer on education and privacy issues. She is Executive Director of a Washington, DC-based education organization and author of numerous articles, op-eds and three books.

Gary and Kathy's book, "Loss and Found" offers a powerful, hard-hitting message that offers a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of mourning - a subject that we often shy away from. It's a relief to find a book on death that opens the windows and lets in the light. Their honest and emotional feelings gave me the courage to face my own family deaths from years back...life does, in fact, go on regardless of the pain involved. I enjoyed their humor, raw observations of their innermost fears, hoplessness and the joys of rediscovering the love within themselves to carry on during the gloomiest of times. I highly recommend this book...a must read for anyone who cares about enriching their souls to the fullest ...for once we deal with the loss of a loved one, we can live our lives to the fullest.

"Loss and Found" is the heart-wrenching story of two people who had children and families, but lost their spouse. Each tells the story of their early life, marriage, family experiences, and children. Each also tells the story of finding out that their spouse was sick, working through the sickness, and eventually losing them anyway. The stories detail their struggles with the children, problems with finances, friends, feelings of loss, and all the other feelings on their emotional roller coaster ride. They tell their experiences as a young widow/widower and their introduction back into dating. After several false starts and problems in the dating scene they eventually found each other. This is their story, the story of Gary and Kathy Young and how they survived the loss of their spouses at a young age and eventually found each other.

Told from both the male and female perspectives and full of insight, it is sure to be helpful to anyone experiencing loss and looking for hope. Of particular value to those going through a similar loss are the items in Appendix A. It includes the changes and fears that a young widow/widower faces as well as the thoughts and problems that they have to deal with. It provides a great point of reference for those who would like to help someone experiencing the situation. A highly recommended read for anyone experiencing such a loss, who knows someone going through it, or who might be placed in a position to counsel or deal with someone with such a loss. There is very little literature available specifically for young widows/widowers and this is among the best.

the whole series is great

Lone Wolf is betrayed by those he trusted and is thrown head first into a dark abyss that spans time and space. This book logs his journey back to the realm in which he came from. Along the journey he finds one of the covented moonstones, and battles fiends that have never walked the face of Mangnamund

If you like sourcery's and sword fights, this is the book for you. I started reading when I was seven, and I've been hooked ever since. This was the first book I read, and I still have it in pretty good condition.

As Lone Wolf, you are dispached by the king to investigate a missing shipment of gold...ok, where have we heard this before? But hold on-the plot thickens! You journey to Ruanon, a mining province, and discover that evil again is plotting to rear it's ugly head-in the shape of Lord Vashna-the long defeated and very powerful Darklord of Naar. The Acolytes of Vashna are attempting to ressurect him, and only YOU can stop them! Grab the book and pick up the fight!

This is the best book I think in the Lone Wolf series. You are Lone Wolf and you are out to find the king's gold that was stolen. The things that I like in this book are you are able to choose your suplies such as weapons, special abilities, backpack items, and Kai Disciplines. The Lone Wolf series is a good series to read on vacations, coming home from a trip, or just a book to chill out with...

The Lone Wolf books are divided to 4 groups, book1-5 is the kai series, book6-12 is the Magnakai,13-20 is the Grand Master series and 21+ are the New Order series... The Chasm of Doom is the best book in the Kai group.It is very challenging and requires your utmost caution and strategem.A must-have!!

First, this is a one-day book, 250 pages of large type. So if you're looking for an in-depth tale of the Iditarod, look elsewhere. Second, the first 50 pages are some of the worst prose I've read in years. But after that Paulsen finds his pace, uneven as it is, and I started to thoroughly enjoy it. Paulsen paints an entertaining picture of his amateurish preparations and training for the race. But the pace shifts again as the race starts and he turns serious. From then on, the reader begins to feel both the stark beauty and the incredible harshness of the race. One can also feel the joy of the dogs who love to run, and sense Paulsen's decline into exhaustion, not so much from his words but from the fact that he writes (I suppose because he recalls) less and less as the race wears on.

This is an intensely personal book, full of downright foolhardy determination, and worth the short time it takes to read.

I have lent this book to countless people, and everyone has loved each page. Even my husband, who does NOT like novels, couldn't put this book down. Winterdance is a novel that has a fine pace, spectacular imagery, and wonderful humor. It is an engaging story. Gary Paulsen, a celebrated children's author, highlights a time in his life where he was not a writer, dead broke and totally in love with his dogs and the great outdoors. Winterdance chronicles Paulsen's discovery of "running dogs" and follows him all the way through the grueling Iditarod. Along the way, he reflects on personal transformation as well a passion for nature. His writing paints beautiful pictures of the northern wilderness areas without going on and on. He is funny, compassionate and very much an individual. It is a quick read and a MUST read.

This is actually one of the few books I have read twice. Gary Paulsen tells the story of his rookie run in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. He starts out this process knowing almost nothing about what it will take to actually get to the starting line, much less finish the race. His experiences during the training phase are tragically funny. The abuse he takes from his dogs, the elements, and his lack of knowledge about putting an Iditarod racing team together would make most people quit. Gary, however, sticks it out and endures what must have been one of the most spiritual experiences of his life. I read this book on a plane and I was laughing so hard I think people thought I was crazy. Have fun with it!

Like most of Jacques's books, you'll always find something new to read everyday. Around every corner is a new adventure and a new twist that hardly entered your mind before. You once again meet the same old friendly moles and their funny speech, brave creatures and you learn more about the rulers of the Mountain of the Fire Lizards, the Badger Lords!

True friendship and love shines through all obstilcals. once again you wonder just how Brain Jacques thinks up of all of these juicy books. the pick em up, never put em down book is back and this one will really have you pacing on your floor, wondering if she or he will make it through the hard difficulty. again saddness arrives but Joy comes also. Don't miss out on another wild ride of a Redwall Series books! I'm warning you, you'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll have your emotions hangin on by just a thin thread when reading these books. Soon you'll be cheering the battle cry of the wild badgers and hares of Salamandeston, " Eeulaliaaaaaaaaaa!"

here you'll feel as if you are watching them, the silent character in the back who knows what's going on and has the brains to figure it out. Get caught up in Jacques's world of talking animals and and funny characters. Made for all ages. But i think 6th graders and up are more able to read and understand these books better, but hey i started in 4th grade!

I read a real good book called Salamandastron, by Brian Jacques. It is a fantasy book about woodland creatures that fight wars with vermin like rats, weasels, stoats, etc......... This particular book is about the evil Ferrahgo the Assassin-an unmerciful ferret warlord that wants to take over the mountain fortress Salamanstron. But, Urthstripe the Strong has other plans.Mean while at Redwall Abbey, place of peace, the sword of their mighty hero has been stolen by two stoats that brought a disease and killed a man.See how they cure the sickness,recover the sword, and if Urthstripe can defeat Ferrahgo and the vermin in the action packed fantasy book, Salamandastron.

Overall, I didn't consider "Salamandastron" to be as good as the other books in the Redwall series, but it was sufficiently well written to earn a rating of five stars.

The book is about Mara, the adopted daughter of Urthstripe, the badger lord of Salamandastron. She is rebellious and resentful of her father's authority over her. Her best friend is a hare called Pikkle Ffolger.

Mara and Pikkle meet a charismatic young weasel, Klitch. Little do they know that Klitch is the son of Ferahgo the Assassin, a ruthless weasel warlord. Ferahgo and his army are making plans to besiege and conquer Salamadastron, and they mean to take Mara and Pikkle as hostages.

Meanwhile, at Redwall Abbey, a young squirrel named Samkim and his mole friend, Arula, are busy getting into trouble because of their penchant for archery. During a thunderstorm, the sword of Martin the Warrior is blown down from the weathervane and lands next to Samkim.

One day, two ragged, filthy stoats named Dingeye and Thura show up at the Abbey gates, begging for shelter. Abbess Vale reluctantly lets them into the Abbey; they cause trouble and tragedy and end up stealing the sword. Samkim and Arula pursue them. Samkim and Mara meet, and they are both catapaulted into the desperate struggle to save Salamadastron.

This book also has a side plot involving an epidemic at Redwall Abbey and a journey to find the remedy. There is also a mysterious haunted island and a mischievous baby mouse, as well as the Guosim. Although "Salamandastron" might seem slightly boring in comparison with the previous four books in the series, it is still a worthwhile book to read.

There's no place like home. Thirteen year-old Mark finds this out once he enters a new world called Transall, where everything is a shade of red. While camping in the Arizona desert, a blue light transports Mark to Transall, a place that looks like a different Earth changed by nuclear war, complete with deformed humans and animals. That's when Mark's struggle to survive and find his way back to present-day Earth begins. It would be very hard finding your own food, water, shelter, and protecting yourself from harmful animals such as buffalo creatures and violent tribes, but Mark does this throughout his journey.
Mark starts out as a regular teenager on a camping trip who turns into a strong survivor by using his knowledge and skills. He lives three years in Transall before finding the blue light again. I often asked myself what I would do in his situation in order to live. At the end, Mark becomes a doctor finding a cure for Ebola. I want to have a career in medicine by helping animals so I could identify with Mark in that way.
This book showed me what it's like to be alone, afraid and having to make it by yourself, but it also showed me how to have courage and never give up. Survival and believing in yourself are themes in The Transall Saga.
I would recommend this book to young people who like science fiction and adventure stories.

Now I don't read much, in fact I almost hate reading! But I saw this book and a decided to read it because I have to read a book for school. I started to read and it started out with action and that made me read more. Each page I read, I wanted to read more and more. It had a lot of action and the story had several exciting twists and turns. It starts out like this. A boy convinced his parents to let him on a hiking trip alone in an old military missile range in the dessert. He rarely goes on trips and he mostly reads hiking magazines. Mark, the boy, starts to sleep after a long days hiking when a fireball falls right next to him and flickers out. He goes to investigate and sees this strange blue light. He thought it was some old military experiment. He goes to touch it. Suddenly, a rattle snake snaps and he falls into the light... He awakens and searches his hand for bite marks from the snake...Nothing... He looks at his surroundings and finds himself to be in a field. He walks a bit and finds himself sinking in quicksand! He manages to get himself out and lies down. Suddenly, he feels himself getting pinched by the red bug creatures! He shook them off and took off his clothes to see if they're all of. Ant then a buffalo creature comes by he climbs up a tree but the buffalo creature took one of his boots and ripped his shirt to shreads. He climbs down, puts onhis remaining clothes and moves into a jungle. He meats a creature that looks like a cross between a teddy bear and a monkey. At night he hears the noises of the jungle and a loud howl. He gets used to the jungle. One time when he was out hunting he saw a puddle of something on the ground...Blood... He heres shreaks outside and tries to find them. He sees a wolf creature, a.k.a. the howling thing clawing at someone in a tree. Mark shoots an arrow in the back of the animal. It turned around and attacked... And that's just the beginning. Read it for yourself. You'll love it, I did.

The Transall Saga by Gary Paulson is a great book that anyone should read. This book is full of thrilling adventure and mind compeling events. This book is about a "city boy" named Mark that convinces his parents to let him go camping by himself in the desert. While camping he discovers a strange blue light. He fell through it and found himself in a strange world with many alterations. There are different animals and plants. Colors of things are different too. some how he has to survive in this world, as he is learning he is also growing in many ways. Read this book to find out how he survives in this wilderness. This is an awesome book in my point of view.

This is a great book. It's about a man who owns a dog kennel. He loves the dogs more than life itself. But, he gets heart disese. He may have to give up the kennel. This is a drama that kept me interested. I don't usually read this type of book, so it had to be very good to interest me. I hope you like it.

My eight year old son has a passion for the Iditarod, and is just starting to read chapter books. This book was perfect for him, and he finished it crying he was so attached to Cookie, the main dog. Paulsen writes beautifully about dogs, appealing to all ages. This is a wonderful book, beautifully illustrated, for all ages of dog lovers.

Paulsen has written one of the funniest books we've ever read, about preparing for and racing in the Iditarod. Like all the best humorists, his humor comes from the heart. This book is much more serious but it still comes from the heart and succeeds for that reason.

Here he is writing about his dogs and in particular a dog named Cookie, a female who served as his lead dog in the Iditarod and also was mother to many of his other dogs. He starts with the birth of her last litter of pups and goes on from there. Some of the most striking anecdotes show just how intelligent and sensitive these animals are: one of the other dogs teaching the puppies how to get all of the meat out of the skull, and Cookie herself seemingly forcing a pack of dogs to go back and help her owner when he has to let all of them go in order to extricate himself from a predicament.

In the end, they both have to give up running, and of course humans live longer than dogs, so we know how it ends: sadly but poignantly, as the author says goodbye to someone he obviously considers a friend.

Paulsen writes about seasons in his hometown being determined by types of fish caught down by the dam, under the Ninth street bridge, or in frozen lakes, and not by dates on calendars. When fishing ends, hunting is the obsession for Paulsen and friends he calls "orphans of the woods." He explains, "When we were in the woods or fishing the rivers and lakes our lives didn't hurt."

This book is a nature lover's choice. Paulsen writes of growing up in a small Minnesota town and he intertwines this town's life with stories of adventurous boys. Two of my favorite essays are "Running the River" and "Bow Hunting." The first is a hilarious tale of an overplanned camping trip gone wrong when the boat, full of supplies and boys, sinks, forcing the boys to walk back to town. "Bow Hunting" is a coming of age essay in which a boy, after killing his first doe, poignantly describes his realization that while his life will continue, hers will not.

This book truly brings nature to your fingertips. As a reader, I felt as if I was out in the wild, experiencing everything of which Paulsen wrote. With the descriptive settings and easy-to-relate-to tales, Paulsen makes the reader feel as if they have entered the woods along with the characters in the story. The essays on fishing and hunting in the northern woods are definitely his best work yet! This book is easy to follow, yet has very deep and interesting accounts.
I recommend this illustration to anyone who enjoys the great outdoors. If you want to learn about cold, winter morning fishing excursions, or hot, summer days in the woods, this is the perfect book to help fulfill your curiosity. Father Water Mother Woods is worth your time of reading and is definitely a classic.

This is an excellent book. The book is written in such detail that it is easy to imagine yourself being there. This is a great book for those of any age. It will bring back some good memories of your childhood.

I enjoyed both Redemption, and the latest, Remember. The author has given the reader characters who face real struggles yet grow spiritually in dealing with them. When a character "falls away", the author leaves the reader with the hope that he/she will return and renew their faith. It is easy to feel the heartwrenching pain and heartache the characters experience, as well as the joys. The book is a very easy read, and left me waiting expectantly for the next book, Return. For me, "not wanting a book to end" is the hallmark of a well written book, and is what I've found in the Redemption series.

I have read several books by Karen Kingsbury and she has never failed me yet to supply a great read. The characters in this book show true human nature and emotions. Family emotions and true to life struggle within. How valuable family is to a person. I especially enjoyed the love and concern that our main character Ashley shows to the Alhemizer patients. This is an excellent book, I did not realize it was part of a series so now I can't wait to read the first book in the series "Redemption". Truly a great, moving, enjoyable read. You won't be disappointed.

This is the first Karen Kingsbury book I have read. I missed the first book but I am going to go back and read it too. I can hardly wait for the next book to come out. What a blessing this book was! I plan to share it with all my friends who love to read like I do. I also plan to read every book by Karen that I can get my hands on! The way she portrays her characters is amazing. It is as if you were living in the Baxter house and you are one of the family. You feel what they feel. I couldn't put this book down. My mom died a few months ago and this has helped me so much to remember her in ways I had never thought of before. The loss has eased somewhat. I hope her other books are this inspiring, uplifting, and helpful. I read one review that said it more of a self help book than fiction. Not So! It's like a buy one get one free! You are not only caught up in the story but at the same time you will reflect on your own life and realize that God is always there waiting for you to give it all to Him and watch Him work!