And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones by Susan Petersen Avitzour -- A Review



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This is my seventh or eighth attempt at what has to be the most difficult review I have ever written.  And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones has a fairly straightforward synopsis.  Susan Petersen Avizour had a good job, a loving husband and seven children that meant the world to her.  Their lives were ones many yearn for--until the day her middle daughter was diagnosed with leukemia.

This book follows Susan and her family through the several years leading up to her daughter's death--and into the aftermath.  Through weekly updates at her church, a blog written five years later, based on these updates and poems written by Timora, we get to see how Timora's life, illness and death impacted not only her family, but those around her.

What is complicated about reviewing this book is finding words to describe pure emotion.  The author holds nothing back in the telling of her story.  You feel her pain, the anguish of feeling that all hope is lost.  You feel her great pride in a daughter that tries to make the most of every minute she has on Earth. 

Words do not flow from the pages of this book.  And Twice the Marrow of her Bones is an exercise in capturing and sharing pure, untainted emotion.  The subtitle is "A Mother's Memoir" and that doesn't come close to describing this book.  The closest description I can come up with is that this book IS a mother's love.

Women everywhere (and men too) will feel themselves in this book.  Even if you have not physically lost a child, every parent fears that chance. As your child moves from babyhood to school and from school to adulthood, you feel a sense of loss for the being they once were.  Take that feeling and multiply it a hundredfold and you can come close to what a parent feels when physically losing a child.

This is not an easy book to read.  You will find the need to step back and get your emotions in check before continuing.  You will have not only the wish, but an undeniable need, to hug your own child.  You may even find yourself having to force yourself to let them go.  In the end, you will feel as though you have been given one of the greatest gifts in existence, a mother's pure, unconditional love.

I am afraid there arent't enough colors on the Rainbow Scale to rate And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones.

Susan Avitzour Visits

Tomorrow, I will have a review of an important book written by Susan Avitzour, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones.  This book is different than most I feature here, but one I feel is necessary to share.  For today, I'll leave you with a brief synopsis and some information on Susan.

Susan Avitzour was born in 1955.  She earned degrees in French literature and law before moving to Jerusalem, where she and her husband raised seven children.  She worked as a lawyer, mediator, grant-writer, and translator before returning to school in 2005 for a Masters degree in clinical social work. She now works as a cognitive-behavioral therapist, helping people who suffer from depression, anxiety, and trauma.  Her fourth daughter, Timora, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 12.  The family spent the next six years struggling to maintain a normal life while she underwent extensive treatment, including two bone marrow transplants.  She died in 2001, at the age of eighteen.  In addition to her memoir, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, Susan has written short fiction, which has been published on line and in Israel Short Stories, a collection of stories by English-speaking writers living in Israel.

In her memoir, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, Susan Avitzour uses narrative, poetry, and a journal to grapple with the profound personal, philosophical, and spiritual questions raised by her eighteen-year-old daughter’s illness and death from leukemia.  Ultimately, she faces the challenge many of us must confront in the course of our own lives: How to affirm faith and love in an unpredictable, often cruel, universe.

To learn more about Susan Avitzour, author of And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, we invite you to visit her site - http://www.fiveyearslater.blogspot.com. For the full virtual tour schedule, visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/2011/01/06/twice-the-marrow-virtual-tour/

The Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg -- A Review

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Yesterday, I introduced you to Daniel Sieberg and his book, The Digital Diet. Daniel Sieberg has the knowledge to write this book.  He was once addicted to technology, to the point of losing sight of what was truly important--family, friends and peace of mind. The 28-day plan he sets down within this book is something he's tested and found to work.


I may not be the best one to objectively review this book.  Being very much old school, we didn't have a TV until I was twelve.  I still value my quiet time--disliking the sound of a ringing phone, being constantly available for anyone who chooses to call (I often leave my cell phone at home) and I find social networks like Twitter and Facebook too fast and too "busy" to remain calm while engaging in them.  However, I am surrounded by technology and have daily contact, even within my own home, of people who can't seem to function without it.  Multi-tasking is a way of life, I rarely see a pair of eyes when talking --or get a full sentence answer.  I could go on and on.  The human race has lost track of the joy of silence and the serenity of time alone.


Taking into account the shorter attention span of most people these days, The Digital Diet is written in sections that can be read in a minute or two and picked back up later.  The steps in the action plan are small ones that are meant to help break the habit of digital dependence without causing a shock to society's overloaded senses.  The purpose of this book is not to take society back into the Dark Ages, but to help everyone be able to enjoy the things we now have yet still keep in touch with family and friends.  For example, Day 18's exercise is to send five emails to people you truly care about and letting them know that.  This isn't a "I love you guys" post on a group, but a personal email to someone special. 


Daniel Sieberg writes without judgment, from a place only those who have been through the fire can write.  His words resonated with a truth that will immediately draw readers in and help them look at their lives clearly, without judgment, excuse or blame. Through self-questioning, brief quizzes and other similar exercises, the reader can see just how much he or she depends upon technology.  Further, the reader will see what damage may have already been done, emotionally, socially and physically, with this dependence.


Mostly, however, the reader will learn how to enhance their life with technology.  They learn how to integrate it into a well-rounded and full life --  without making technology their life.  By listing both the pros and cons of various technological items, the author allows readers to examine and decide for themselves whether a certain item is truly necessary or can be limited.  He does not make the choices for readers--only lays out the facts.


I believe this book should be in every home throughout the world.  It is a book that every person can read and see, if not themselves, than someone they love within its pages.  I truly believe the daily stress that is present in the world would be greatly reduced if that were te case.


The Digital Diet earns six colors on the Rainbow Scale.


For much more information about Daniel Sieberg and The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life visit  


http://www.danielsieberg.com/.


For your own copy, visit


http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-4-step-addiction-balance/dp/0307887383 (print)


and


http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-addiction-balance-ebook/dp/B004J4WM3G (Kindle)

Is Technology Taking Over Your Life?

The first time it occurred to me that technology was becoming something we depended upon too much was when I visited the library that had been my second home for years--and the computer was down so I couldn't check any books out!  It wasn't long after that I heard someone mention they couldn't write--because their computer was down. 


We have become a society that years to be connected constantly.  Cell phones seem permanently attached to ears, our children play video games rather than read books or play outside and when a computer system fails, whole work places stop!  Daniel Sieberg and about The Digital Diet have come to the rescue!  Listen to this brief video and then we'll talk some more:




Does this sound familiar? 

The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life by Daniel Sieberg

Have you ever felt that something hasn’t really happened until you post it on Facebook or Twitter? Does a flashing red light on your BlackBerry make your heart flutter? Do you know you shouldn’t be texting and driving—but still do it? If you said “yes” to any of these questions then you’re not alone; you’re among the millions of people who can relate to being overwhelmed by technology. Fear not—from leading technology reporter Daniel Sieberg comes the first self-help book to address America’s newest addiction: THE DIGITAL DIET: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life, a four-step, dietary-style approach to help you slim down on everything from gadgets to social networks to video games.

The Digital Diet is a 28-day plan that’s meant to reawaken our awareness of technology in our lives, provide tools and gadgets to improve life, and instill the right motivational/practical formula for managing it in the future. It can be tailored based on age, profession, hobbies, and a person’s particular electronic poison and includes a self-assessment, a detox phase, and a week-by-week guide to building time for technology back into your routine.

Daniel Sieberg is an Emmy-nominated reporter who hosts Tech This Out! for ABC News NOW. He has also covered science, environment, space and technology stories for CBS News, CNN, PBS, NPR, BBC News, Planet Green, MSNBC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Oprah.com, Details, Time, The Vancouver Sun, CTV News, CleanSkies.TV, Fuse.TV, The Nate Berkus Show and The Dr. Oz Show.

Tomorrow, I will be sharing my review of this book as well as Mr. Sieberg's ten digital diet rules.  Please come back--and bring your friends! 

For much more information about Daniel Sieberg and The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life visit  

http://www.danielsieberg.com/.

For your own copy, visit http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-4-step-addiction-balance/dp/0307887383 (print)

and

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-addiction-balance-ebook/dp/B004J4WM3G (Kindle)