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Many centuries ago, the world was nearly destroyed by the dark wizards of the Consult, and the High King's family was wiped out--or so it seemed. Then from the wild, uncharted north comes a mysterious and extraordinarily powerful philosopher-warrior, Anasurimbor Kellhus, descendant of the ancient High Kings. But the return of the king's bloodline is little cause for rejoicing. For Kellhus's appearance may signal the overthrow of empires, the destruction of the sorcerous schools, the return of the Consult demons--and the end of the world.
The Darkness that Comes Before is a strong, impressive, deeply imagined debut novel. However, this first book of an epic fantasy series is not accessible; it reads like a later volume of a complicated ongoing series. Author R. Scott Bakker has created a world that is very different from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, yet in depth of development comes closer than most high-fantasy worlds. In addition to providing five appendices, Bakker attempts to make his complex world clear to readers by filling the prologue and opening chapters with the names of characters, gods, cities, tribes, nations, religions, factions, and sorcerous schools. For many readers, this approach will have the opposite effect of clarity. It's like demonstrating snowflake structure with a blizzard. --Cynthia Ward
Book Description
Strikingly original in its conception, ambitious in scope, with characters engrossingly and vividly drawn, the first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series creates a remarkable world from whole cloth-its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals-the kind of all-embracing universe Tolkien and Herbert created unforgettably in the epic fantasies The Lord of the Rings and Dune. It's a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years into the future, as untold thousands gather for a crusade. Among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus-part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence-from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.
Customer Reviews:
A good idea but...........2007-09-18
The idea of a holy war and setting a war machine in motion to accomplish a quest is a nice idea, contemporary as well.
Unfortunately the writing leaves something to be desired. After I finished the book, and there were plenty of times I wanted to stop but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, I thought this seemed more like an advanced draft rather than a well executed novel.
Some scenes are well written, others are just simply flat and vague.
Characters expressed great concern of matters that seemed to be trivial and the logic behind the plot at times struck me as "so what, what's the big deal."
Also the characters themselves seemed oddly written. All of a sudden some characters were described in terms that contradicted with how they were set up. For example, Maithenet first appears to be strong, powerful, but all of a sudden he's described as insecure and unsure. With no inbetween explanation. Great characters are often multilayered but the author has to provide an adequate set up so that we believe the character's internal emotional logic. This is missing in this novel. The author makes pronouncements about certain characters as if to say, well he just is that way. This is known as a cheap trick in fiction writing and does not make a character compelling. Instead they appear flat, more like figures in a story that ultimately does not engage me to want to read the sequel.
That's too bad because the idea of the novel is interesting. Too bad its execution left me disappointed.
Good writing; too filled with atrocities for me.......2007-08-06
I read the first two books in the trilogy; will not read the third. After awhile it palls to read a never-ending series of rapes, murders, and wholesale slaughters, including children thrown onto swordpoints or gang-raped to death in front of their parents. To be fair to the writer, I suspect he is using real-life descriptions from the crusades -- but in the end it was simply too sickening to me. Also: Every major character but one or possibly two (Achamian, maybe Esmenet) is a monster of one sort or another. In particular, the Prince-of-Nothing title character is technically human, but he is as vicious, manipulative, and alien as the "Consult" portrayed as the hidden enemy of humanity.
Loved it!.......2007-07-30
In a genre inundated with Tolkien imitators,Bakker demonstrates the art of epic story telling, minus the hobbit analogs.
Great story, well-crafted world and excellent character development! Looking forward to the rest of the series.
A struggle to get through.......2007-06-04
Pros: the author has some skill as a word-smith, no dispute there. The world he has created is interesting and unlike anything I've come across before. The writing is nuanced and mature for the genre.
Cons: the story drags terribly. I think the author is a philosophy grad student and it shows. The philosophical digressions get rather old and drag down the story.
I agree that it is confusing, with all the unfamilliar names, etc. but Tolkien is confusing too, until you spend some time with him, so I'm not sure how fair of a criticism that is (NOT that I'm comparing this guy to Tolkien--it's not even close...) It would have been better if there would have been more backstory, more explination and background for this elaborate setting.
In the end, however, it all comes back to the story: SLOW and DULL. This book is a struggle to get through, which is too bad because the author has definate talent.
The Darkness is revealed!.......2007-04-17
As Steven Erikson says: "Something remarkable has begun".
This is not just great epic fantasy, it is so much more. This is literature at its best. It delves into the inner workings of the human mind and opens up your own beliefs and makes you start asking questions.
The prose is beautiful and to the point. The characters are carefully and tenderly drawn. The story is not a new one but the orchestration of it is simply astounding. Sometimes it feels more like I am listening to a beautiful masterpiece of music than reading a book.
This book demands its readers attention, it is not for lazy reading. But give the book (and its siblings) your full attention and you will be stuck in this beautiful but dangerous world and the minds of its inhabitants...
Mr. Bakker, I can do nothing but bow to you!
Customer Reviews:
Mature Fantasy, bristling with grit..........2007-08-14
As far as contemporary fantasy goes, there are few books that get better than this one. With the debut volume of this series, Bakker firmly establishes his writing ability in the great company of such writers as Keyes, Martin, and Erikson.
Much like Martin, Bakker doesn't pull any punches and the resulting story flows with a gritty realism that is not often found in other books of this genre. While reading about rape or the particularly detailed evisceration of a character may not be the stuff of warm and fuzzy stories, they are unfortunate realities of life (particularly in the time periods most often set in fantasy novels) and their unabashed inclusion into more intense books of fantasy helps to set a very mature and hard-edged tone. You will never mistake these titles for children's literature.
The characters are engaging and easy to identify with but not necessarily good or evil. Bakker does a good job of establishing the fact that the enemy is the other side's hero, and largely leaves you to choose which is which.
If I were to have one criticism, it is that the prose itself can seem riddled with forced cliche' and pretentiousness at times when the author tries too hard to inject "philosophy" into the story line. This seems to fade in and out and is easily overlooked and forgiven, in my opinion, when you begin to get the feel for the whole story and realize just how good it truly is.
With the pretentiousness included, you will find in The Darkness That Comes Before a novel that stands above 99% of others in the same genre and flatly shames such long-time favorites as Jordan and Lackey by comparison. With pretentiousness aside, this title could actually give Martin a run for his money.
Smart philosophy and fantasy.......2007-08-12
I can honestly not comprehend why there are so many negative reviews of this book; or this series for that matter. Amid all of the platnium pressed fantasy novel "epics" out there, this trilogy is as promising as anything we've seen from George R.R. Martin, if not more so.
With so many plagiarized Tolkien knock-offs in the fantasy genre, it's incredible to see how many people do not appreciate how original and innovative this story is. Is it about a holy crusade? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not. How many other fantasy novels out there capture the same kind of darkness and disparity as the actual Holy Crusades? It does read like a history, which is precisely why this novel is so good. I would like to commend Bakker for creating a work of what must have been a completely arduous and daunting task. One could even assume that the negative reviews came from how complex and daunting the story and ideas actually are.
Can we honestly say that we need another fantasy story about a young farm hand who dreams of far-away places and daring-do who eventually becomes the only person in the world to save everyone from the evil sorcerer who wants to destroy the world for no reason at all? These kinds of arbitrary plot-lines are exactly the reason of why I took a very long hiatus from fantasy.
From the minute I'd learned that Kellhus was on a journey, not to save the world from the evil guy, but to kill his father, I was hooked. We have a historical reference to a world-consuming apocalypse that may happen again. A lowly whore searching for a better way, instead of a lovely princess in need. A blood-thirsty, almost clinically insane barbarian, instead of a gallant knight in shining armor. A concise story-line of how the apocolypse affected the people's society, religion, and philosophy. Normals see sorcerers as heretics instead of funny, eccentric old men with beards. And by far the best part about this series was the idea of not having the "Good guy, bad guy" dilemma. I hate when books state who the bad guy is and who the good guy is. That's like saying Christians are the good guys while Muslims are the bad guys; you can't say it rationally. Realistically, all of the characters feel hate and love. Heros can be completely indifferent and unsympathetic, while the villians cradle their dead brothers.
There are so many incredible aspects about this series that I really don't have time to list them all. The best part about it is that by the last book, Bakker creates the overall meaning of the series into something completely analogous of our world today. Don't look for another Tolkien; look for something of a polar opposite but comparably great in it's own right.
Good Book.........2007-07-24
I try to go by reviews before I buy something. I look at the bad ones first, because it's nice to know what problems people had with the book. I bought this book before reading any reviews, and maybe I wouldn't have bought the book if I had. The funny thing is, they're wrong. However, it is their opinion. They think the book is bad, I think the book is good. You can find arguments like this all around Amazon, but the point is, this book is awesome. It's excellently written, Bakker leaves out enough information to keep you wanting more, but still provides you with the essentials. You're introduced to a very wide variety of characters, each given a soul of their own. This is only the beginning, and you should get this book, along with the others, to experience a great fantasy experience.
Not a beach read, but worth it.......2007-07-20
OK, you'll probably find yourself having to flip back in the first book to remind yourself who's who--Bakker maintains separate plot lines before significant characters meet up--but this bewilderment ends and your persistence will pay off. I didn't find this trilogy "pretentious" but ambitious, and it lives up to its ambitions. It's more political and military than I usually enjoy, but the characters, the world drew me in. These books are something different, and something very, very well done. If, like me, you are tired of Tolkien clones, try out this first book and see what *you* think!
Original, Grand, and Some Elitism.......2007-06-21
While few give fantasy a real place inside literature, recent authors have made a claim to change that. Martin's grand works are still the pinnacle of what fantasy can do, but Bakker's addition is also exciting.
This is a story very much influenced by postmodern ideas regarding good/evil and yes, Nietzche's ideas regarding power (for those of you who hate the philosophy then do avoid this book). The underlying point is that our hero, Kellhus, is powerful precisely because he does not feel - he has a will to power. Those characters around him are quite like modern composites inside society - sympathetic, pathetic, and heroic souls who cannot compete in the larger game going on precisely because they concern themselves with other matters than the game of power.
What I particularly liked about Bakker's works is that I found it connected to Eco's Name of the Rose (of course, it does not match it as a piece of literature). He should be commended for seeking to ask much larger questions - specifically the question of how we know what good or evil is?
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Darkness That Comes Before
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Canada, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRNXW4 |
Book Description
In 1956, a black boy named Emmett Till was murdered for wolf-whistling at a white woman. The two white men responsible were tried-and acquitted-in a Mississippi town near Lewis Nordan's boyhood home. These events changed him forever. In this extraordinary novel, Nordan transforms one of America's most notorious racial killings into a magicalmystery ride of hilarity and horror that you will never forget.
Customer Reviews:
Hilarious, dark, and tragic---and hilarious.......2004-02-23
Whew! What a book! I've never read anything like this before. Loosely based on the lynching of 14 year old Emmet Till in 1955 (for whistling at a white woman), Nordan's novel is as far away from a crime novel as you can get. A grim and bizarre comedy of callous, drunk, and stupid people, the telling of this tale took me to new destinations in odd but often hilarious ways of telling a story. From the fourth grade teacher who takes her students on a field trip to a mortuary to watch an embalming, to the drunk, befuddled, savvy, vicious, and remorseful Gregg who decides to murder his family except for his eldest daughter (lest she miss her wedding), the residents of Arrow Catcher, Mississippi abound in eccentric, twisted, and macabre individuals (most of them drunk most of the time).
The hard realities of racial segregation and deep poverty and ignorance keep one foot of the novel in reality. The murder of fourteen year old Bobo is just barely made tragic. It's striking and believable, in spite of a certain bizarre style of narrative.
Overall the narrative holds the reader tightly to itself, but there were a couple rare places where a savvy editor could have lopped off an entire page and spared the reader from an authorial excess.
There's no mystery here: you know who commits the crime. There's no forensic story at all. This is a novel of who did it and what they were thinking and how the different residents of the small community were effected by the impact of the tragedy.
Unbelievably rich.......2002-12-17
This book tells an often retold tale in such a dramatic way that you feel you are living it and remembering the murder, the southern town racism, along with the author. I read it and read it again. Then bought it for my collection. Then went and read another title by the author...which didn't live up to this one, but how could it?
Highschool Review.......2001-12-06
Hype, the one simple word for Lewis Nordan's novel Wolf Whistle, this book won The Southern Book Award and was considered The Top 15 Books In The Past Fifteen Years by The Editor Of The Bloomsbury Review. It was considered the one of the worst fifteen books I've read, due to the stale humor of this book. One good example of this is when Red is accusing Runt of smelling like bird poop and Runt says, "I ain't no anthropologist," to me that's like Janet Reno doing stand up comedy. Maybe the way he writes the story moving to different characters makes it a little bit more interesting. Like discussing Alice Conroy's life and how she is a sweet, open-minded teacher. Then moving to Glenn Gregg, a boy crying for freedom from his abusive father and trying to kill him but only hurts himself in his attempt. Nordan's style actually creates a spider webbed ending moving all the characters together at the end but is too fascinating to give away. The author is has indeed related this story to Emmit Till and segregation but that kind of makes this novel a snooze because it is nothing you haven't heard. I will admit his story could be considered colorful due to character descriptions but nothing special. I think this book shouldn't be read unless you are living in a one-bedroom apartment by yourself with nobody but your pet gerbil. Great for maybe an older audience but I do not recommend this book for people under twenty five.
Wonderful in fits, Too "Out There" in parts.......2001-10-11
I'm not quite sure how to review this. I'm a 30 year old guy originially from New York City and now in California. I know nothing about the south, or about the morays of life in a small town, or about the civil rights struggles. This book does a fabulous job of making me feel like I lived in a small southern town, despite that background. I felt that I understood the tensions between classes, between races, and the long-standing relationships that permeate small town life. In that way, the book was ingenious. I felt that I knew the characters intimately, and could understand what they were thinking and saying. That's quite a feat, to make a NYC guy feel at home in a small town in Mississippi. Kudos to the author for that.
But. BUT. Mixed in with the wonderful language and snapshots of southern life were these - I think - over the top and ineffective attempts at surreal, "out there" moments. Talking vultures. Visions of the future in a raindrop sitting on someone's coat. Talking, thinking parrots who play an active role in the town's life. It was just too much for me - it felt like a gifted writer was trying very hard to be creative, and inventive, and "on the edge" - but in my view it just took away from the effectiveness and strength of the book's other features. Don't have a talking vulture speak to me - have one of the wonderful characters do so. I just can't take this surreal stuff seriously.
This book, in general, tells the story of a small town in the heart of Mississippi which is visited by a black kid from Chicago. Probably because he doesn't understand what his role was supposed to be in a small Miss. town at that time, he whistles at a white woman and is as a result brutally murdered. This horrible, real event is the anchor - but not the main focus - of this book. If you ask me, the real focus was on the lives of the people who live in the town.
My favorite part of the book - and one I urge you to savor - is the interaction between auntie and uncle, and the scene with uncle at the trial. These were the two "real" people in the book who really geot to me. Real, every day love and fear and triumph and adversity.
Honestly, unless you like weird stuff - like your plot being told to you by a flying, talking vulture - try something else. If you want surreal done well, try some of Louis de Bernieres earlier books. If you want southern lit done well, try Faulkner.
Magnificent!.......2001-03-13
Down-home magic realism, a book that sings, treats with stuff that is tough and hard but never turns bitter ... teacher Alice with her troupe of fourth graders, spnning them into her own perceptions of the world, taking them to abbatoirs and murder trials, is a classic ... it's a long while since I've discovered so fresh a masterpiece ... loved it!
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Wolf Whistle
Lewis Nordan
Manufacturer: ALGONQUIN BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKX8S2 |
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Wolf Whistle
Lewis Nordan
Manufacturer: Algonquin Books Of Chapel Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KAHP12 |
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Wolf Whistle
Todd. Marilyn
Manufacturer: Pan Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OV34DK |
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Wolf whistle,: And other stories (A Signet book)
William Bradford Huie
Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B0007F8FAU |
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Wolf Whistle
Lewis Nordan
Manufacturer: Algonquin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQGPF0 |
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WOLF WHISTLE
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HTZ8SI |
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- "Time of Troubles" last of four instalments
- praise and critique
- Once again, Turtledove has hit the mark
- Turtledove Brings Series to Satisfying Conclusion:
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Videssos Besieged (Time of Troubles/Harry Turtledove, Bk 4)
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Epic
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Similar Items:
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The Thousand Cities (Times of Troubles , No 3)
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Hammer and Anvil (Time of Troubles, Bk 2)
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The Stolen Throne (Time of Troubles, Book 1)
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Krispos the Emperor (The Tale of Krispos, Book 3)
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Krispos of Videssos (Tale of Krispos, No 2)
ASIN: 0345402995
Release Date: 1998-09-28 |
Customer Reviews:
"Time of Troubles" last of four instalments.......2006-11-26
In which Maniakes has to defend Videssos against Abivard of Makuran ...
This is the concluding volume of the original four books of the "Time of Troubles" quartet. It is set in the same world as the "Misplaced Legion" books, but several hundred years earlier. Anyone buying the books of this sequence has to be careful because of a change in the way the volumes are organised in more recent printings.
As originally published, the four books of this story were:
"The Stolen Throne"
"Hammer and Anvil"
"The Thousand Cities"
"Videssos Besieged"
"The Stolen Throne" and "Hammer and Anvil" have also been published together as "The Time of Troubles Part I"; similarly "The Thousand Cities" and "Videssos Besieged" are published together as "The Time of Troubles Part II".
The "Time of Troubles" series works best if you read the components in chronological order, but it does not particularly matter whether you read them before or after the "Misplaced Legion" or "Krispos" books.
"Videssos Besieged" is told from the viewpoint of Emperor Maniakes of Videssos. Invading Makuran seeking to recover the territory his empire has lost, Maniakes finds no sign of the main Makuraner Army. Then he hears why - Abivard has taken it to attack the City of Videssos while the main Videssian Army is in the land of the thousand cities ...
We also find out the meaning of the final part of the prophecy given to Abivard as a young man.
This series alternates between books told from the viewpoint of Abivard the general of Makuran, and books told from the viewpoint of the Emperor of Videssos, Maniakes.
This is an excellent conclusion to the highly entertaining "Time of Troubles" quartet and I highly recommend ir.
There are currently 12 novels set in the "Videssos" universe, of which "Videssos Besieged" is chronologically the fifth. The full list is as follows (dates assume that years in Videssos correspond to those in our world.)
c. 850 BC - "Bridge of the Separator"
c. 700 BC - The Time of Troubles series
"The Stolen Throne"
"Hammer and Anvil"
"The Thousand Cities"
"Videssos Besieged"
c. 550 BC - "The Tale of Krispos" trilogy
"Krispos Rising"
"Krispos of Videssos"
"Krispos the Emperor"
56 BC - "The Misplaced Legion" quartet
"The Misplaced Legion"
"An Emperor for the Legion"
"The Legion of Videssos"
"Swords of the Legion"
praise and critique.......1998-11-22
Turtledove once again is trumphant in this series. He succinctly tells the tale of a siege and revolt while also imparting a good view of the inner thoughts of the main characters. My main criticism is the lack of a map. The earlier novels in this series suuply a map (however, bad they may be). A map gives the reader easy reference materials. A map of the City would also be advantageous. All people interested in Byzantine history will enjoy this series as well as his earlier Byzantine modeled series.
Once again, Turtledove has hit the mark.......1998-11-15
With an eye toward history and another on fantasy Turtledove has allowed us to walk in the Empire once again. His Time of Troubles series has continued his fictional history of the Big V, and I am struck at the lack of "common" plot themes. The heroes are enemies, the victory is won by chance and cunning, and the story takes the reader far past the typical end point of "we win." Well done, and keep them coming! I am wondering just WHO will rise on the Shield as the next Avtokrator........
Turtledove Brings Series to Satisfying Conclusion:.......1998-10-13
Harry Turtledove's "Videssos" books are among the classics of the fantasy genre -- solidly grounded in history (albeit intriguingly warped!), meticulously backgrounded, and narrated through living, vivid characters.
"Videssos Besieged" brings the latest (but hopefully not last) Videssian series to a satisfying conclusion. It has intrigue, suspense, and a pair of sympathetic antagonists -- the Videssian Avtokrator and the great Makuraner general Abivard. Both of them are human beings, complete with crotchets, faults, virtues, and a three-dimensional life away from the battlefield and council-chamber.
The action scenes are as vivid and gripping as Turtledove's high standards lead us to expect, and the final resolution is both satisfying -- full closue -- and realistic. Life goes on after the end of the book...
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- Well Done
- A Helpful Guide
- an amazing book
- At last, someone who understands what it's like.
- Truthful
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The Burden of Sympathy: How Families Cope With Mental Illness
David A. Karp
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Social Services & Welfare
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When Someone You Love Has a Mental Illness
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I am not sick I don't need help
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Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers
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HIDDEN VICTIMS HIDDEN HEALERS: AN EIGHT-STAGE HEALING PROCESS FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE MENTALLY ILL
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Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers (4th Edition)
ASIN: 0195152441 |
Book Description
In this vivid and thoughtful study, David Karp chronicles the experiences of the family members of the mentally ill, and how they draw "boundaries of sympathy" to avoid being engulfed by the day-to-day suffering of a loved one. Working from sixty extensive interviews, the author reveals striking similarities in the experiences of caregivers: the feelings of shame, fear, guilt and powerlessness in the face of a socially stigmatized illness; the frustration of navigating the complex network of bureaucracies that govern the mental health system; and most of all, the difficulty negotiating an "appropriate" level of involvement with the mentally ill loved one while maintaining enough distance for personal health. Throughout, Karp sensitively explores the overarching question of how people strike equilibrium between reason and emotion, between head and heart, when caring for a catastrophically ill person. The book concludes with a critical look at what it means to be a moral and caring person at the turn of the century in America, when powerful cultural messages spell out two contradictory imperatives: pursue personal fulfillment at any cost and care for the family at any cost. An insightful, deeply caring look at mental illness and at the larger picture of contemporary values, The Burden of Sympathy is required reading for caregivers of all kinds, and for anyone seeking broader understanding of human responsibility in the postmodern world.
Customer Reviews:
Well Done.......2007-01-10
If you're looking to understand how to think about a friend or a loved one with major drug resistant depression or other mental health issues, you should read and refer to this work often. It provides insight on how to help with an appropriate outlook and attitude. Nicely done.
A Helpful Guide.......2006-08-27
Sociologist David Karp shares the insights gleaned from over 60 interviews of those who have loved ones suffering from the ravages of mental illness. He pieces together excerpts of these interviews to illustrate the different ways mental illness affects the lives of families and friends. Those interviewed share how they attempt to cope with such issues as personal feelings of guilt, the societal stygma associated with mental illness, and the frustration of dealing with a bureaucracy that is not always responsive. At the core of many of the interviews is a redeeming theme of hope. Karp's thesis is that the moral boundaries of caregiving necessarily shift as the mental illness emerges over time, and that it is imperative to balance the needs of the mentally ill person with the needs of those who provide care and support. Karp reminds readers of the 4 C's: (1) I did not cause it, (2) I cannot cure it, (3) I cannot control it, (4) all I can do is cope with it.
an amazing book.......2006-07-15
This is the first book I've read that describes my experiences of living with mentally ill family members so precisely. It is a must read for anyone living with or caring for a mentally ill loved one. David Karp has tapped into a secret well of pain and love and compassion that needs to be brought to the collective consciousness of our society.
At last, someone who understands what it's like........2005-09-11
Reading this book was such a relief. Dealing with a mentally ill family member is so hard to explain to someone who doesn't share the experience. People would tell me, "You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders." I just couldn't find the words to express what it was like to care for a family member who was severely depressed and psychotic until I read this book. Rereading it helped me see that it was not only OK but necessary to set boundaries to preserve my own mental health. Fortunately for my family, once I set boundaries, things changed dramatically for the better. The ill person in my family saw that I was serious about maintaining my own boundaries and actually started to get better. I realize that we might be the exception, and not the rule.
I recommend this book highly, as it provides deep insight and a bit of comfort to those who are grappling with the devastating financial, physical, and emotional effects of caring for a mentally ill family member.
Truthful.......2004-11-17
The Burden of Sympathy is an essential book for those with mentally ill family members, and even the ill themselves. I have learned so much about the similarities in care taking difficulties, and feel I understand more why I feel compelled to care, and when it's ok to let go. A must for anyone dealing with illness.
Books:
- The Death of Vishnu: A Novel
- The Dog of the Marriage: Stories
- The Far Pavilions
- The Farming of Bones
- The Feast of Roses: A Novel
- The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering: A Story for Anyone Who Thinks She Can't Save the World
- The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Seven Unforgettable Stories (Greatest)
- The Hadassah Covenant
- The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
- The Honourable Schoolboy
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Garden of Ruth
- History: Fiction or Science
- Cloudstreet : A Novel
- El Nuevo Libro de Cocina Dietetica del Dr. Atkins
- Henri Cartier-Bresson: Scrapbook
- History: Fiction or Science
- Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition
- French in Action : A Beginning Course in Language and Culture : The Capretz Method Workbook, Part 2
- Diana, Her Life and Legacy
- Taiwan: Business and Investment Opportunities Yeaarbo
The Warrior Prophet (The Prince of Nothing, Book 2)
The Thousandfold Thought (The Prince of Nothing, Book 3)
Gardens of the Moon : Book One of The Malazan Book of the Fallen (Malazan Book of the Fallen)
Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 2)
Memories of Ice (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 3)
