Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood

Book Description

In Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller’s endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller’s debut is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes hilarious prose, she stares down disaster and looks back with rage and love at the life of an extraordinary family in an extraordinary time.

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In Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood with visceral authenticity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller's endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller's debut is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes hilarious prose, she stares down disaster and looks back with rage and love at the life of an extraordinary family in an extraordinary time.

From 1972 to 1990, Alexandra Fuller -- known to friends and family as Bobo -- grew up on several farms in southern and central Africa. Her father joined up on the side of the white government in the Rhodesian civil war, and was often away fighting against the powerful black guerilla factions. Her mother, in turn, flung herself at their African life and its rugged farm work with the same passion and maniacal energy she brought to everything else. Though she loved her children, she was no hand-holder and had little tolerance for neediness. She nurtured her daughters in other ways: She taught them, by example, to be resilient and self-sufficient, to have strong wills and strong opinions, and to embrace life wholeheartedly, despite and because of difficult circumstances. And she instilled in Bobo, particularly, a love of reading and of storytelling that proved to be her salvation.

A worthy heir to Isak Dinesen and Beryl Markham, Alexandra Fuller writes poignantly about a girl becoming a woman and a writer against a backdrop of unrest, not just in her country but in her home. But Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is more than a survivor's story. It is the story of one woman's unbreakable bond with a continent and the people who inhabit it, a portrait lovingly realized and deeply felt.

"This searing memoir of a white family clinging to lives in Africa as Rhodesia became Zimbabwe lays out, without moralizing or sentimentality, the way in which turmoil and injustice in society distort the lives of families and individuals."
   MARY CATHERINE BATESON, AUTHOR OF COMPOSING A LIFE AND FULL CIRCLES, OVERLAPPING LIVES

"Nobody has ever written a book about growing up white in rural Africa the way Alexandra Fuller has. Her voice is mordant, her ear uncanny. Her unsentimentality is a pleasant shock. Her sense of humor is extremely sly. Without a trace of pretension, she quietly performs what is really a major literary feat-nailing both the poetry and the myopia of a child's experience in a brawling, bad-luck family on the losing side of an anti-colonial war."
   WILLIAM FINNEGAN, AUTHOR OF CROSSING THE LINE: A YEAR IN THE LAND OF APARTHEID AND COLD NEW WORLD: GROWING UP IN HARDER COUNTRY

Customer Reviews:

A Traumatic Childhood?.......2007-10-02

I read this book before Ms Fuller's "Scribbling the Cat". I am the same age as Ms Fuller, and also grew up in small Rhodesian towns. I found the racism and generalisation that all white Rhodesian are racist very offensive. Some of my best friends when I was growing up were black children, and if I or my siblings had behaved towards black people the way Ms Fuller and her family did we would have been severely disciplined. This book made me ashamed to be a white African, and I actually have no reason to feel that way.

Horrible, Horrible........2007-09-29

This is one of only two books I've ever bought that was so boring and weird that I could not finish it...and I've been stuck in a hotel room in Mexico for 2 weeks with nothing else to do! It is fully of details of bodily functions; it's crude; and it's just plain dull. This is one of the worst books I've ever bought.

Fascinating setting, frustrating storytelling.......2007-09-10

This memoir really brings its setting to life. It pulses with the sights, smells and sounds of Africa, and does a great job describing civil war, droughts, dysentery, fleas, floods, poachers, scorpions, terrorists and very bad roads. I actually cringed when I read how the putzi flies lay eggs on clothes, which then burrow under the skin, "becoming maggots, bursting into living, squirming boils, emerging as full-blown, winged flies."

Unfortunately, the narrative is weak. The author has a staccato writing style that really gets in the way. In fact, that, and the book's casual racism, made it hard for me to keep reading. It didn't help that so many of the characters are impossible to respect. The alcoholic parents seem to revel in putting their children in harm's way. The mom in particular is hard to take. I kept wanting to slap her, and tell her to stop crying in her beer.

-- By Julie Neal, author of The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World.

Remembering Zambia.......2007-08-23

We can recommentd this book to anyone who has lived in Zambia during and post UDI. We have sent copies to our friends in UK who were with us during our stay there. We all know people who we can relate to with the characters in this book. The story took us all back to places like the "Elephant's Head" in Kabwe - a stop on our treks to Lusaka from Ndola.

A favorite.......2007-07-28

I'm and avid reader, and i must say this book is one of my favorite reads, if not my favorite. I lived with a family in Malawi Afrifca for awhile, so the book, for sure, draws my sentiments. But Alexandra Fuller spills guts and soul into the sharing of her African childhood experience. As a child, she writes with a child's voice, a child's soul, and as she matures, so does her expression. What a gifted writer! Her writing rings true, and I am hungry for more!

How Can I Let Go If I Don't Know I'm Holding On?: Setting Our Souls Free (An Explorefaith.Org Book) (An Explorefaith.Org Book)

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How Can I Let Go If I Don't now I'm Holding On?
Church Book Study Discussion Group Enjoys Book
Thought Provoking, Intelligent, Honest, Hopeful
Inspiring

How Can I Let Go If I Don't Know I'm Holding On?: Setting Our Souls Free (An Explorefaith.Org Book) (An Explorefaith.Org Book)
Linda Douty
Manufacturer: Morehouse Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0819221325

Book Description

Letting go isn't just saying good-bye to people, places, and things-as important as they may be. It's also about letting go of attitudes and ideas-such as perfectionism, resentment, worry, and judgementalism-that keep us from growing in our relationships with God and others. Letting go is crucial to our spiritual-and emotional-health.

In How Can I Let Go If I Don't Know I'm Holding On?, Linda Douty examines a variety of letting-go struggles and offers ways to move on to a deeper spirituality. Weaving together her own experiences and the stories of others, she offers strategies for letting go of the things that keep us from a deeper relationship with the Divine. With practical suggestions and updated versions of spiritual classics such as lectio divina, plus questions for study and reflection, this book is a rich resource for personal spiritual growth as well as for group study.

Customer Reviews:

How Can I Let Go If I Don't now I'm Holding On?.......2007-05-13

An interesting book for a discusson group.

Church Book Study Discussion Group Enjoys Book .......2007-03-14

Our church book study group has read and discussed a large number of books in the last several years and this book provided the material to spark the deepest and most soul searching reading and discussion we have ever experienced. None of us being perfect, we found that all of the areas that the author explored were painful to many of us also. We appreciated that the end of the book gave concise guidelines on how to let go, and that the author was so painfully honest about the areas of her life she needed to let go.

Thought Provoking, Intelligent, Honest, Hopeful.......2005-11-19

I agree with the previous reviewer. This book taught me so many things about how hanging on to past losses, failures, relationships, concepts and beliefs can be so unhealthy for us as human beings. Douty relates her own personal experiences as a way to help people feel they are not alone in these struggles. This book is very brave, honest account of how hanging on to the past can greatly impede our potential for peace and serenity in the present. This book was difficult for me to read at first because of the emotions involved and the extent to which I need to let go of so many things. But Douty comes out on the other side with lessons learned and a personal sense of inner peace that I aspire to every day. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is committed to travelling the sometimes frightening path to wholeness. This book will fill you with hope.

Inspiring.......2005-10-05

Tremendous, compelling writing. I couldn't put it down. I could relate to so many of the stories in this book. It talks a lot about bettering your relationship with God, but it is about so much more than that. There's something in this book for virtually everyone.

Don't Let's Go to Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood

Average customer rating:

fascinating, though a strong tone some might not like
An uncomfortable read

Don't Let's Go to Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
Alexandra Fuller
Manufacturer: Pan Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0330412302

Customer Reviews:

fascinating, though a strong tone some might not like.......2005-01-14

fuller's memoir is a tough but beautiful look at the hard-scrabble life of growing up as a white colonial daughter-of-an-alcoholic-mother in war-torn african states. i wouldn't recommend this book to my grandmother or great aunt - the tone is certainly a bit in-your-face with its frequent references to alcoholism, lost babies, and constant injuries. nonetheless fuller seems simply honest, steadfastly direct rather than delicate, and while walking a tiptoe line of creating shock in the reader, it never solidly dives over the line into gratuitous violence, admirably keeping some distance as the matter-of-fact observations of a child. i found it very well-written, and very hard to put down. if the tone sounds too strong for you, try the older "flame trees of thika" series, which also make fascinating comparisons to fuller in terms of both africa and the authors modern approach.

An uncomfortable read.......2005-01-14

This is a very personal account of a girl growing up in Africa.
Feels a lot like reading someone's diary, with the family's losses, grief, and subsequent functional breakdown exposed for all to see.
It's written truthfully, maybe too much so.
I was very absorbed by this book, but I'm not sure I can say I actually enjoyed it.

Don't Let Go (Sweet Valley University(R))

Average customer rating:

heart throbbing & emotional
sad AND heartbreaking
An OK book....
Very intesting and very sad!
Sad book

Don't Let Go (Sweet Valley University(R))
Francine Pascal
Manufacturer: Sweet Valley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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The Price of Love (Sweet Valley University(R))
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ASIN: 0553492659
Release Date: 1999-02-09

Book Description

Can Jessica find a way to go on without Nick?

The shocking murder of Nick Fox has left Jessica Wakefield shattered. After enduring the burial of her lost love, she must face the pain of going on without him. No one really knows how badly Jessica's hurting--not even her twin sister. And no matter how loudly she cries for help, no one seems to hear her. Will Jessica decide to drop out forever?

Elizabeth Wakefield wishes she'd never heard about the passionate night Tom Watts spent with Dana Upshaw. Now, as she cares for her devastated sister, she realizes what little passion there is in her own life. Will Elizabeth abandon her worrywart ways and show everyone at SVU--especially Tom--just how carefree and sexy she can be without him?

Customer Reviews:

heart throbbing & emotional.......2004-11-27

Ok, books #44-47 got my heart. Those are my absolute favorite books of all time out of this series. I cannot believe Nick was written out. I mean, who doesn't think that Nick & Jessica were TOTALLY perfect for each other? I can't say I wasn't depressed when I read 44. I started to cry through those 4 books. They captured my heart and theyre etched in my mind. I always think about them & it makes me want to cry. I wish Francine would write more to this series, because its been stopped for about 2/3 years I guess. If she ever does write up again (Which I honestly hope she does & SOON!), I hope she'll one day bring Nick back. & Jessica & Nick can finally be happy & together at last. With Elizabeth and Tom, I honestly hoped Elizabeth and Tom would end up back together, but Tom was just acting so incredibly rude to Elizabeth. Im glad Elizabeth didn't go back with Tom, but later in the series, they should've hooked up again instead of Elizabeth & Sam/Max.

I hope Francine decides to write more because I honestly love the series. I wish I could get in touch with her & send her a letter or something.[...] In my opinion, these were the most heart-wrenching books, but they were truly wonderful. I can't get enough of them and I always seem to read them over and over and over again.

sad AND heartbreaking.......2003-06-29

i thought that this book was quite sad. Nick fox dying and all and leaving jessica behind, but it was jessicas falt her going and flirting with Clay Diploma caused Nick to die.
I really hope dana and todd end up as a couple cause they are reall great together.
i also hope tom and elizabeth get back together cause it's so sad not seeing them together (but i would have prefared elizabeth and todd).
i am also sad about danny and isabella, why did Isabella have to smoke with Clay Diploma and fall off the balcony and lose her memory

An OK book...........2002-03-09

Well sheesh! Laurie John is always picking on Jess. I mean, in the beginning of SVU books, Jess gets married to Mike McAllery, then her heart breaks when their marriage gets annulled. Next, James Montgomery almost rapes her. She hooks up with Randy Mason, then they break up. Afterwards, she and Louis Miles fall in love, only Jess's heart breaks when he dies. In the Summer books, when she can't have Ryan Taylor @ first, she and Ben fall in love, but next summer Ben has a new girl. Excuse me, but Laurie John keeps picking on Jess, having her boyfriends die/break up. Jess's heart has been broked at least 7 times. Get a life and pick on Liz, it's so not fair Liz always gets boyfriends for such a long time.

Very intesting and very sad!.......2001-01-14

I say interesting because of the Elizabeth and Tom storyline. I say sad because of the Jessica and Nick storyline. Oh, and because of the Isabella and Danny storyline, too. This book is actually a little old in terms of the fact that it is now 2001 and we are currently in the 60's in the SVU books. However, I never reviewed this book, and I especially liked Nick, so I thought that I would. The novel was very hard to put down, and I felt terrible when I realized that Jess was getting worse and worse every day. Liz has evey right to be hurt about what Tom did - and they still haven't hooked back up in the more current books! She's off in London now! (SVU Thriller #18 - Face It) Anyway, I hope that someday they get back together. Tom did a horrible thing, but he really loves her, and if she feels the same way, he deserves her forgiveness. One question to pose - does anyone out there, as of January 2001, still kind of miss Nick in the series? I mean, usually when Francine gets rid of a character or they die, I feel really bad, but I'm over in by 20 books later! Nick, though, I kinda miss. I just thought that he made the story interesting and helped along the plot. Plus, he was perfect for Jessica in every way I can think of. Anyone agree? Oh, and don't you wonder where Isabella Ricci is? Yes, I know - Switzerland is where has moved (as of book #47) Her parents wanted her to have better doctors. But I just wonder - how's Danny and does Izzy have her memory back yet? And if she remembers, will she come back? I wonder, too, how they would get Nick back into Sweet Valley. He'd probably have to capture Nelson Karl (remember - the felon and associate of Clay DiPalma) and also capture some of his other associates and get them into jail. With their association crumbled, then Nick'd be more safe. Remember when Nick sneezed in the interagation room behind the two-way mirror? Well, that was when DiPalma was going to tell Graham Stevens about Karl. I wish he had been able to do so . . . then maybe Nick would be in the series right now - does anyone feel this way?

Sad book.......2000-07-17

It was really very sad to know the death of Nick. It's alsoteasing regarding Liz-Tom thing. How come she broke with him like that? .I think that she sometimes exaggerate . Tom slept with Dana coz Liz and him were broken and he was especially angry with her ,so what does she expect from him ? I think they are the perfect couple ,so they should forgot the past....my opinion!

I Don't Want to Go to School:: Helping Children Cope with Separation Anxiety (Let's Talk)

Average customer rating:

An excellent source for little ones!
Cute & Helpful
It's About Time...
Wonderful Book for Children Who Miss Their Moms!
Like a Security Blanket!

I Don't Want to Go to School:: Helping Children Cope with Separation Anxiety (Let's Talk)
Nancy Pando
Manufacturer: New Horizon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Don't Go!

Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0882822543

Book Description

It's time for Honey Maloo to go to school, but she does not want to leave her mom. She tries everything to stay home, from sneaking off the school bus to pretending to be sick, but finds there is no way to avoid school. Honey's mom, her teacher, the music teacher and friends help her to get involved with school lessons and activities so that Honey learns that school can be fun!

Separation anxiety is common in young children and can make going to school a trial. This charmingly illustrated tale teaches children coping skills and reminds them that they can love, even miss, their parents and still enjoy school. In addition to providing specific tips for both children and parents, I Don't Want to Go to School offers a great tool to open a dialogue with an anxious child.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent source for little ones!.......2007-01-05

My daughter started to have issues with separation anxiety when she began first grade. After starting the new year, she started refusing to go to school and would cry for hours. It broke my heart to see her this way, and after speaking to her teacher and vice principal, we agreed that it would take some time and that we would all have to work together. I saw this book online and decided to give it a try. First of all, it is geared towards children. The pictures, as well as the story, helped my daughter relate to the main character. We even tried some of the things that the character did to help her feel secure in school. My daughter would bring a picture of us to school, or bring a small teddy bear to look at when she started to feel sad. We also cut a piece of one of my shirts and she would use it to not only dry her tears, but to carry in her pocket. In addition to the book, my daughter did see a child psychologist twice. Although it was a long and tough struggle, I am happy to say that it is now 4 months later and she is doing very well and has adjusted to first grade. What a relief! I recommend this book for those of you who find yourself in the situation that I was in. It is a great supplement to have while working towards helping your child gain that inner strength and courage. I advise you to use as many resources as you can.

Cute & Helpful.......2006-11-11

My children really liked this book - it is sweet. I would recommend it if your child is having a little school anxiety.

It's About Time..........2005-12-05

It's about time that a book such as this one hit the shelves!! I work in the public school system and see 'separation anxiety' on a daily basis. Not only do children identify with the main character (what a cutie-pie!), the helpful tips in the book provide parents with the support they need to 'let go'and. I've noticed that many of the foster children in our program enjoy reading this book. All of the adults at my school have purchased copies of this book for their children, as well as, for their families. I can't wait to read more books by this author!!!!!

Wonderful Book for Children Who Miss Their Moms! .......2005-10-12

I have a 3 year-old daughter who had a hard time adjusting to leaving me and going to pre-school. I have read "The Kissing Hand", a sweet book, but this one is much more specific to the feelings that children can have when they don't want to leave their Moms. My daughter loved the Honey Bee character. The book helps children to help themselves and it tells you exactly how to do it. The illustrations are adorable, too!

Like a Security Blanket!.......2005-10-12

I have four children. My youngest started kindergarten this year and was extremely nervous about it. He's very clingy and very used to just being with me. Although he had attended pre-school, the idea of going on a bus to a "big school" frightened him. I heard about this book from a friend of mine and read it to my son a few days before he started school. He really enjoyed it and asked if he could bring it into school with him!The teacher read it to the class and raved about it too. This is definitely a beautiful and bright way of easing a young child's anxiety (and mom's anxiety!) about going off to school.

Average customer rating:

Excellent!!

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Alexandra Fuller
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

ASIN: 1402590407

Customer Reviews:

Excellent!!.......2005-06-15

I could hardly put this book down. It's the memoirs of a British girl growing up in Africa. Her story is absolutely fascinating. Highly recommended

Average customer rating:

Don't Let Go of Your Dreams
Jerry Savelle
Manufacturer: Fountain of Youth/Jerry Savelle Ministries
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me And Other Top Hits 402

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Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me And Other Top Hits 402

Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0793514304

Africa: Lord Hang Onto Me and Don't Let Go

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Africa: Lord Hang Onto Me and Don't Let Go
Martha Oldham
Manufacturer: Pleasant Word-A Division of WinePress Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Home is Always the Place You Just Left: A Memoir of Restless Longing and Persistent Grace

ASIN: 1414101538

Book Description

The book tells of the four trips Martha made to Zaire, Kenya, Ghana and finally Rwanda and Tanzania. The book opens God's doors for Martha in spite of obstacles and occasional danger. Those who read the book will be challenged to go through the doors God opens to us all in many ways as he takes us on a grand adventure in faith.

Average customer rating:

Poignant, Interesting, and Funny
highly recommended

Don't Let the Fire Go Out!
Jean Carnahan
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

"Jean Carnahan is a remarkable woman with a remarkable life story-as a wife, a mother, a First Lady, a grieving widow, and a U.S. senator. It is a story written with great grace by a most gracious lady."-Thomas Eagleton Don't Let the Fire Go Out! is an intimate and revealing memoir of an extraordinary woman who overcame great tragedy to become the first woman from Missouri to serve as a United States senator. The widow of Mel Carnahan, the well-known and highly respected Missouri governor and popular leader of the Democratic Party, Jean Carnahan made history when she agreed to serve in the U.S. Senate after Missouri voters elected her husband to the position posthumously. Although the emphasis in this book is on the years 2000 through 2002-as Carnahan survived the tragic deaths of her loved ones and made her push forward with the campaign to fill what would have been her husband's Senate seat-it also covers her family, her years of growing up in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and her marriage to Mel Carnahan. She offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at life in the Governor's Mansion during her years as Missouri's First Lady. The book also provides insight into Mel Carnahan's devotion to public service.

Customer Reviews:

Poignant, Interesting, and Funny.......2004-06-10

I'm a huge admirer of Jean Carnahan. What a woman! She stepped out of the "shadows" into the light at the worst time of her life and we are all the richer for it. She states immediately that this book isn't a sad one. No, it isn't, but that doesn't mean that I didn't shed a few tears while reading it. She has a wonderful gift for storytelling and I found myself laughing out loud many, many times. Most of all, I'm uplifted by her strength and courage. Her life is proof that, no matter your age, life can begin again after devastating tragedies and triumph. You go, girl! I highly recommend this book.

highly recommended.......2004-05-22

outstanding book by a phenomenal writer and storyteller. recommended to anyone looking for inspiration by someone who has overcome the most terrible tragedy.

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