Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back

Book Description

How does an honor student at one of Los Angeles's finest prep schools–a nice girl from a happy, loving home–trade school uniforms and afternoons at the mall for speedballs in the back of a truck in rural Indiana? How does her devoted mother emerge from the shock of finding that her daughter has not only disappeared but had been living a secret life for more than a year?

Mother and daughter tell their parallel stories in mesmerizing first–person accounts. Claire Fontaine's story is a parent's worst nightmare, a cautionary tale chronicling her daughter Mia's drug–fueled manipulation of everyone around her as she sought refuge in the seedy underworld of felons and heroin addicts, the painful childhood secrets that led up to it, and the healing that followed. Her search for Mia was brutal for both mother and daughter, a dizzying series of dead ends, incredible coincidences and, at times, miracles. Ultimately, Mia was forced into harsh–but–loving boot camp schools on two continents while Claire entered a painful but life–changing program of her own. Mia's story includes the jarring culture shock of the extreme and controversial behavior modification school she was in for nearly two years, which helped her overcome depression and self–hatred to emerge a powerful young woman with self–esteem and courage.

Come Back is an unforgettable story of love and transformation that will resonate with mothers and daughters everywhere.

Customer Reviews:

This book haunts me 6 months after reading it!.......2007-10-16

This is the most profound book I have read in 2007. I think about it often and my book group seems to revisit it every month even though we read it 6 months ago. This is a raw story of healing and torment, not self indulgent or too self absorbed like many other acclaimed memoirs. I loved it and could not put it down

Awful but captivating and well written.......2007-10-07

This is the horrific story you hear about - young girl, seemingly on the right track with caring parents, suddenly displays amazingly self-destructive tendencies.

The difference is that this story is told by both mother and daughter in clear sections that also flow well. Both mother and daughter write their tales well, and you can see the growth happen through the story. The catharsis is not sudden; the recovery is not fast. It is hard work to achieve the well-deserved forward momentum they have at the end of the book.

There is also a small amount of revenge - not nearly enough, but just a little to make you almost smile.

It's a terrible tale that deserves to be told. It is told well. I wish the best to both authors of this book.

(*)>

I fell in love with this book.......2007-09-11

I truly love both Claire and Mia. I really related to Claire as a mother myself of teenagers and I related to Mia from when I was a teenager. Their stories parallel the lives of my Mom and I but to a lesser degree. Wonderful book!

Review.......2007-09-10

I really liked this book. There were a few "boring" parts, but all together I would highly reccomend this book!

save your time.......2007-09-05

This book offers nothing new about mother/daughter relationships or recovery/ rehabilitation ... and the highly mediocre writing style is the icing on the cake.

Average customer rating:

A must for every ML fan
Great read
Hell is honest and humorous
the best biogarphy/autobiography every wrote
Decades of Decadence

To Hell and Back: An Autobiography
Meat Loaf , Meatloaf , and David Dalton
Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0060392932
Release Date: 1999-09-14

Amazon.com

Who'd have guessed that the man credited with bringing rock & roll to a whole new level of garishness would pen such a vastly entertaining, funny, touching, and plainspoken autobiography? But Meat Loaf (christened Marvin Lee Aday) and coauthor David Dalton succeed by skillfully modifying the tongue-in-cheek hyperbole and the bombastic befuddlement of the man's Wagner-crossed-with-the-Shangri-Las music to fit the printed page. Meat Loaf grew up in Dallas, Texas, the son of a schoolteacher (she penned a locally popular textbook on Communism) and an alcoholic cop (who happened to be an acquaintance of Jack Ruby). Meat--he earned the nickname early on--got in touch with his theatrical side as a teen and was soon off on his haphazard way, stumbling from misadventure to misadventure, and taking more than his fair share of knocks along the way. (Literally--he's suffered 17 concussions thus far, which provide an oddly effective narrative device.) He lurched into the middle of the JFK assassination scene, picked up a hitchhiking Charlie Manson, earned a part in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and recorded one of the most successful albums of the '70s, Bat out of Hell. His ample fame inevitably tied to his ample frame, Meat Loaf quickly became something of an amped-up Fatty Arbuckle. Then came the colossal excesses and flop follow-ups, capped by a rebound called--you guessed it--Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell. Yes, it's a familiar framework, but the telling of Meat Loaf's rise, fall, and recovery is never anything less than fresh and absorbing. --Steven Stolder

Book Description

"poor fat marvin can't wear levi's!"a radio advertisement boomed as a 240-pound seventh grader named Marvin Lee Aday shuddered in humiliation. Parents said he was "too fat" to play with their children, and his classmates picked on him, even ganging up to lock him in a storage box. Unflatteringly nicknamed "Meat Loaf" by his alcoholic father, prone to getting concussions (seventeen in all), and drawn to musical theater, no one pegged this misfit kid to become a rock star. That is, until he recorded the third best-selling album of all time.In To Hell and Back, Meat Loaf reveals his amazing story--a rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches life that would rival most fiction. As a boy, he had to face down lowlifes straight out of Deliverance in order to fetch his drunken father out of gutbucket saloons--the same father who would later try to kill him with a butcher knife. He was at Parkland Hospital when JFK was declared dead, picked up a hitchhiker who happened to be Charles Manson, got recruited for the musical Hair while trying to get a job as a parking attendant, and starred in a movie that became the biggest cult film of all time, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. From there, he collaborated with Jim Steinman to make a record called Bat Out of Hell, which went from being laughed at and rejected by every music executive in the industry to selling more than 28 million copies and launching Meat Loaf into international superstardom. Meat's story would be incredible if it stopped right there. But that's just the beginning.

The heights to which Meat had soared were matched only by the depth of his plunge back into the abyss. In a swirl of devious managers, drugs, lawyers, guns, money, nervous breakdowns (including the psychosomatic loss of his voice), and more lawsuits than he could count, Meat Loaf lost it all. He was bankrupt, his relationship with best friend and collaborator, Jim Steinman, turned ugly, and his wife, having a nervous breakdown of her own, was considering a divorce.

But the hardest-working man in rock and roll would not stay down. Returning to his family he set out with them to conquer the world again, club by club and through word of mouth--a struggle that culminated in a reunion with Steinman, the Grammy Award-winning release of Bat out of Hell II, and a return to the limelight. Illustrated with dozens of previously unpublished photographs, Meat Loaf's story is--like Meat Loaf himself--larger than life.

Customer Reviews:

A must for every ML fan.......2005-03-12

To Hell and Back: An Autobiography is an absolute must for every ML fan.

this is great, entertaining and inspirational!

Great read.......2004-09-21

This book is written in short, very entertaining spurts. It might be a good one to keep in your bathroom or at the office where you can only get a few pages read every now and then. There are incredibly funny and touching anecdotes scattered within, and you get a good look at Meat's personality and history.

My only complaint was that, besides his money troubles, he tended to skip over the tougher aspects of his life. Drug use, infidelity and the harshness of life on the road are treated as minor blips on the radar.

Otherwise, this is a fun and entertaining read. Meatloaf is a great storyteller, and one of America's great rock and rollers. If you're a fan of Meatloaf or a rock enthusiast, you'll enjoy this autobiography.

Hell is honest and humorous.......2003-02-02

I got this book when it first came out, while I was in college. I remember driving my roomie crazy because I had also ordered a couple of Meat CDs and all I did all day was listen to Meat Loaf and read this book. I didn't go to class, I didn't go get food, I just read. GOD DAMN was this book a great read! Lucky for me I was going to college in Philly and Mr. Loaf was coming to a store nearby to do a signing...I'll never forget that!

I really can't say much about the book, except that it's an incredible story about an incredible man. I loved the book and I've told my friends time and again to read it; I'd recommend it even to people who aren't too keen on Meat Loaf. It's just a damn good book!

the best biogarphy/autobiography every wrote.......2002-03-25

this is the best book that (i think) was every wrote becuase i am 13 years old i hate reading books in or out of school with a passion (and i mean i hate reading). this is the only book that i liked to read i got it from the library and some how i got it stolen out of my locker and i was realy mad becuase that is the only book that i every realy wanted to read.

Decades of Decadence.......2001-09-18

This is the tale of Marvin Lee Aday. AKA Meat Loaf. This fills in all the blanks in his life. You see where he came from, where he went and how he got there. It is told with comic irreverence. It shows you hte hell it is to be a struggling musician, and the hell it is to be a successful one. If you hve never read a Rock biography, I recommend this one because Meat is not your typical strung our junkie that most Rock bio's exault.
Thanx for your time, T

Average customer rating:

To Hell and Back
To Hell and Back DVD
The human side of war
War is Hell
A Real American Hero

To Hell and Back
Audie Murphy
Manufacturer: MJF Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

jp-unknown3 | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1567311164

Book Description

Originally published in 1949, To Hell and Back was a smash bestseller for fourteen weeks and later became a major motion picture starring Audie Murphy as himself. More than fifty years later, this classic wartime memoir is just as gripping as it was then. Desperate to see action but rejected by both the marines and paratroopers because he was too short, Murphy eventually found a home with the infantry. He fought through campaigns in Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. Although still under twenty-one years old on V-E Day, he was credited with having killed, captured, or wounded 240 Germans. He emerged from the war as Americas most decorated soldier, having received twenty-one medals, including our highest military decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor. To Hell and Back is a powerfully real portrayal of American GIs at war.

Customer Reviews:

To Hell and Back.......2007-10-15

I had searched for years for the movie, "To Hell and BAck" as my late husband was one of the soldiers on the field when the medals were presented, I am so happy that I received it and in such good time and condition. Always depend on Amazon.

To Hell and Back DVD.......2007-09-02

Delivered better than expected and packaged very well. Item got here sooner that promised. Excellent seller and look forward doing business again.

The human side of war.......2007-08-21

This book was very interesting as it describes his entire Army career from North Africa to southern France. It is amazing on how many times he was wounded and barely escaped death from near misses (mortar round landing next to his foot). His courage and ability to survive multiple campaigns definitely makes every one of his awards justly earned and well deserved. Even with is wounds and illnesses, he was able to quickly return to the front line and serve with his fellow front line soldiers.

His camaraderie and loyalty to his squad and platoon is shared through survival and trust. The attrition rate of soldiers in his company was very high, a fact that is somewhat understated in official military records. Official U.S. military records cited in most history books often report those killed in action, but not those who died from accidents or disease. After reading different history books which cite official combat casualties and comparing the first hand accounts of Audie Murphy, it is clear who is telling the truth. The ground soldier states the way it is, the official reports tend to show only a portion of the casualties. Comparing the number of replacements received in a unit versus their combat casualties also paints a better picture of how deadly frontline duty is, from both the enemy and disease. Beyond the Beachhead (about the 29th Infantry Division in Normandy) also describes the high replacement rate for the division.

There are books about soldiers who have received the Medal of Honor, but they only describe that one event where the soldier earned recognition for their valor. This book tells the whole story, from the daily mundane preparation for duty to the fear and worries of watching your battle brothers fall. Very few of the original soldiers in his squad lived to see the end of the war after serving two years in three different campaigns.

The book goes into a lot more detail than the movie as the movie also changed and compressed different events for time. The human side of the war and the personal emotional price paid is described in more detail here. Every friend lost was a part of him that died too.

Good book to add to the collection.

War is Hell.......2007-08-04

Audie Murphy , my what a great american ,such courageand above all,unconcern for self,love of his family and fellow man and his homeland.
A truly dedicted person to what ever tasked was give to him.
Handsome , youthful , tough , made not be reconized as a great actor , but he puts everything into it, he's got and his natural personality flows making him stand with some of the greats. . Every boy / man should see this movie before he takes a coommittment for his country. The movie is worth putting in your library , its not the modern fake action commando type , but it has a real atmosphere of the guts it takes to be an hero and live to tell.
Giving more respect to our young soldiers of to day who give there lives for freedom. Good movie.
Luddy

A Real American Hero.......2007-07-18

This is an incredible movie. The story of a true American Hero. The fact that it is Audie Murphy's story ensured that it didn't get the "Hollywood Treatment" and is a factual retelling. Unique, and awe inspiring.

The Red Devil: To Hell with Cancer--And Back

Average customer rating:

One of my top 3 BC books
A darkly humourous, truly striking take on cancer
one of the best books on breast cancer I've read
Courageous
Touching and ironically humorous

The Red Devil: To Hell with Cancer--And Back
Katherine Russell Rich
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Medical | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Special Needs | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0609603213
Release Date: 1999-09-21

Amazon.com

Nothing's off limits in Katherine Russell Rich's gutsy account of her breast cancer treatment, from harsh insights about her relationships ("I was a stiff-lipped, bloodless, manners-obsessed WASP. He was Ricky Ricardo in a bad mood") to the wrenching details of her disease's progression to stage 4 status. For example, the tumors break through bone and into her spine, making her bones crack from within: "After months of straining against its leash, the fury of pain broke free and ripped into me as I bent down, slashing through my back, tearing into flesh, pressing without mercy onto bone.... I struggled to make myself stand, and felt--heard--something rip in my back." She holds back nothing--the pain of her tests, the apathy of many of her health providers, the intimate details of relationships, and the necessary wit ("Cancer humor is like the Zen laugh; it's a way of gathering back forces, a means of breathing in absurdity, darkness, and pain and blowing them out in one great joyous guffaw."). You follow her journey from being meek and fearful to the kind of "kick-ass cancer patient" she comes to respect. This is a riveting book that will change your understanding of what it's like to be treated for--and live with--cancer. --Joan Price

Book Description

The Red Devil is a bold, wickedly funny tale of illness, joy, and the improbable triumph of love in the midst of despair.

When Katherine Russell Rich was thirty-two, a newly divorced, high-powered magazine editor living a glamorous life in New York City, her ten-year (and still counting) ordeal with cancer began. Soon she was bald, scrambled, and living in two worlds simultaneously: the world of the ill, filled with treatments, exhaustion, and doctors as focused on avoiding malpractice suits as on healing; and the "normal" world, where dating, career, vacations, and 401(k) plans still matter.

Alternately wise and wise-cracking, Rich serves up vignettes from the surreal world only the ill know: the MS patient who crashes her support group, the alternative practitioner whose gifts come from extraterrestrials, the doctor who fires her patient, dating while bald, working without a brain, and smoking with cancer. Here is a woman who has been brought to her knees by disease several times, only to get up and learn to dance, with grace, even.

Customer Reviews:

One of my top 3 BC books.......2007-05-17

This book keeps me sane when I start freaking out about my own lousy diagnosis. I first read about it in OPRAH magazine, and bought it after my Stage 3C diagnosis at age 45. Her strength and honesty, and spectacular fight with cancer have really helped me. When you have an advanced diagnosis, and are facing multiple surgeries, chemo, and rads, you don't want to read about some whiney Stage 1 chick who's getting a lumpectomy and rads.
This author goes through all the horrors of cancer treatment and multiple recurrances, with a sense of humor. I love this book!

A darkly humourous, truly striking take on cancer.......2006-12-01

Katherine Russel Rich's stirring memoir of her struggle with breast cancer takes the reader on a harrowing journey from the end of Rich's marriage in 1988 and her almost immediate discovery that she had cancer, through chemotherapy, to the discovery that her cancer had metastasized into her bones, and finally to her resolute remission and the reconstruction of her life. Rich, who was only 32 and living a fast, glamorous (booze, fatty food, and cigarette filled) life as a magazine editor in New York, was floored by the realization that she had cancer, and at first tried to downplay the terrible physical and psychological effects of her disease and treatment. Yet Rich finds that denial and isolation only make her chemotherapy more painful and exhausting, and that the wry wit she uses to fend off her feelings of hopelessness, victimhood, and dependency can only last so long.
Despite the way the author lays bare her emotions, this book is no made-for-T.V. movie or sappy Hallmark card. Rich is acerbic and analytical, looking back on her experience and pointing out both her triumphs and her failings. At 32 she considered herself far too young to develop cancer, and her doctors felt the same way. Some of the book's most powerful moments are those in which Rich realizes her doctor's failings--discouraging her from having a mammogram or a biopsy, failing to explain her disease in anything but technical jargon, rushing her into procedures without helping her determine what would actually be best for her. It is in these retrospective moments that Rich provides the most scientific, biological information about cancer; this is no textbook, but the explanations of the multicellular manifestations of cancer and the actions of chemotherapy drugs provide a stable background that would benefit anyone faced with Rich's diagnosis. Stronger still is Rich's candid description of the havoc and exhaustion wreaked by her chemotherapy cocktail. She spares no details, using vivid language to evoke her experience.
For me, this book gave cancer a face, one with which I could identify. While Rich's battle with cancer began the year I was born, and she was taking far more risks with her health than I do, I was affected by the testimony of an active, intellectual woman, unsettled and supposedly in the prime of life. Rich's use of dark humor and unflinching self-analysis, and her evasion of stick-sweet platitudes about her victory over the disease, make the book not only instructive, but at times even fun. This is not to say, of course, that cancer is funny--but by remaining human, instead of presenting herself as a heroic martyr, Rich made me like her as a whole person, not just a victim. This understanding allowed me to imagine myself in her place, and to wonder how I would fare, faced with the pain, tiredness, and deadliness of cancer.
Two of her experiences bear important messages for society: First, Rich found herself increasingly isolated once she began telling people she had cancer. Even though she continued working, she had very little contact with coworkers or former friends--only few, including her ex-husband, persevered with her. This isolation made her disease even more unbearable, and slowed her recovery, even dulling her will to live. Second, Rich did not make a full recovery. After being told she was "cured," her cancer reappeared, this time spread through seven sites in her bones. This not-quite success story shows us that cancer remains a mortal threat, and, conversely, that small victories--like Rich's survival beyond the single year projected for her--matter.

one of the best books on breast cancer I've read.......2005-01-19

I would recommend this book to anyone with breast cancer who enjoys reading other's story of breast cancer. It is well written, easy to read and hard to put down. If you don't like reading books that show the darker side of breast cancer and all that entails, then don't buy this book. Not only does this book show you the dark, miserable, lonely side of dealing with breast cancer, but gives you many examples of miracles, hope, humor and I laughed out loud at the ms patient who decided to join the breast cancer support group. Hilarous. I loved it because of the truthful way she portrayed this disease and it's impact on the woman, her mate, her family, work and work relationships, oncologists, the medical system in general etc. She has a wonderfully delightful way of writing her story. Would read anything else she publishes based on that fact alone.

Courageous.......2001-01-20

For a cancer survivor to record the whole nasty experience and not succumb to the fear that the words she writes will be her last is so courageous and selfless. They don't have to share, but they do. My mother-in-law is in her second remission from ovarian cancer. As a family member who so dearly loves her and wishes this evil cancer would be silenced, Kathy's novel is refreshing. I agree with the fact a cancer patient has to keep her head in the game. Trusting one doctor is foolish when you're gambling with your life. It's better to ask, then lose time. Loved it.

Touching and ironically humorous.......2000-11-27

I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in May of 2000; I am seventeen years old. Although this memoir deals with breast cancer, I still found it extremely helpful, funny, comforting, sad, etc. It illustrates the experience of cancer as not only harrowing, but as a learning experience. Ms. Rich attacks her disease with truth and strength. I recommend this book to ANYONE, involved with cancer or not.

Our Brother's Keeper: My Family's Journey Through Vietnam, to Hell and Back

Average customer rating:

Excellent and unique look into the effects of the Vietnam War
Our Brother'sKeeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to
Vietnam: One family's war
Gut-wrenching yet remarkable book

Our Brother's Keeper: My Family's Journey Through Vietnam, to Hell and Back
Jedwin Smith
Manufacturer: John WIley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Journalists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Vietnam War | Military | History | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

History | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0471467596

Book Description

Advance Praise for Our Brother's Keeper

"Beautifully written and extraordinarily poignant, Our Brother's Keeper is a Vietnam book like none other. The ghosts of Vietnam are finally starting to circle home, and this remarkable writer has given them voice with passion and resonance. I love Jedwin Smith's Fatal Treasure; Our Brother's Keeper is even closer to the heart."
— Jeff Long, New York Times bestselling author of The Descent and The Reckoning

"Our experience in Vietnam has been searingly recorded in both fiction and nonfiction, but no book about those years is quite like this one. Jedwin Smith's Our Brother's Keeper tells the story of one family that has lived with death by remembrance, and of a man who found redemption when he wanted revenge. It will break your heart, but change it, too."
— Michael Skube, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in criticism

"I read Our Brother's Keeper in the span of an evening and found it deeply affecting and totally enthralling. This book is a haunting, gut-wrenching, and ultimately redemptive journey through time and the human heart. Magnificent."
—Jack Kerley, author of The Hundredth Man

Customer Reviews:

Excellent and unique look into the effects of the Vietnam War.......2005-08-28

I am a military history buff. I especially love to read books written by people who were there, or in this case a person who was greatly effected by the events described. I picked this book up on a whim from a book store and the writing style dragged me into the story. It is truly unique in that it is written by the brother of a Marine that died in Vietnam and that it really does not focus too much on the war. It does cover the basics of that era, but more focuses on the effects the war had back home, as well as the lasting effects on his family.

I am glad that Mr. Smith finally found a start to his healing and was able to write this book to share with the public.

Our Brother'sKeeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to .......2005-06-16

About six weeks ago I was told I HAD to read this book for a book club that I am in. I am a romance/mystery junkie and put off reading what I felt would be a depressing WAR book...How wrong was I? This book, which reads like a great story instead of nonfiction, was riveting and inspiring with as much to say about family and interpersonal relations as it does about the Vietnam war. I laughed at Mr. Smith's memories of a very human warrior as well as cried at the manifestations of sorrow and guilt. I am a 31 year old woman who is as far removed from this war as one can get and yet the book brought home the personal and very unpolitical side of this very confusing part of our history. I was extremely thankful that Mr. Smith could share his experiences with me.

Vietnam: One family's war.......2005-05-13

Jedwin Smith (no relation, but I was once his boss at the Atlanta newspaper where we both worked) has written a spellbinding account of how his brother's death in Vietnam (remember that war?) impacted his family and fueled his own decline into alcohol and depression. Without bitterness or animosity, he relates the unraveling of his family and eventually tells of how he and his siblings came to cope with their brother's death, and to mend their lives and relationships with each other. Part and parcel of the story is his climb from the depths, aided by Vietnam War vets who knew his brother in the field and as always, by the love and strength of his devoted wife, June. Don't think of this as a "war" book. It's not. Rather, this is the story of human relationships, told with insight won the hard way, that will send you to Vietnam War Web sites/books to knock the dust off your memories of that era. Jedwin's a natural-born storyteller and this book will grab you from the first page.

Gut-wrenching yet remarkable book.......2005-04-17

This is the kind of well-written book you'll read in 24 hours but think about for weeks. Its the gut-wrenching story of a family suffering through the loss of a beloved son/brother to the Vietnam War. The author, Jedwin Smith, gives us a rare insight into the long-term effects a family endures and also allows us to go along on his painful and emotional journey toward some sense of healing. Without disclosing elements of the book, be advised there is a reconciliation late in the book that is unique, remarkable and inspirational.
We must never forget the sacrifices veterans made for our country, but this book also reminds us to never forget the sacrifices the families of these veterans made as well.

A Journey to Hell and Back: The Flip Side

Average customer rating:

Flipped Me Out
Looking Forward
Surprised Again

A Journey to Hell and Back: The Flip Side
Charlotte Russell Johnson , and Henry Johnson
Manufacturer: Reaching Beyond, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Marriage | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0974189324

Book Description

A Journey to Hell and Back: The Flip Side is the third text in author Charlotte Russell Johnson's series of motivational books. Ms. Johnson true to form has developed a surprisingly unique book. The two major characters alternate narration of the story. This literary technique serves to mesmerize and hold the reader spellbound. Two separate individuals on parallel descents into hell collide violently, the force of which serves as a catalyst to accelerate their demise. Then just as all visible signs of hope evaporate, in a surprising plot twist surpassing Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, the text evolves into a completely different direction.

The Flip Side expands on Ms. Johnson's previous text, A Journey to Hell and Back, an autobiographical account of the author's life. The Flip Side further explores the author's life, while also giving the parallel and sometimes contrasting account of Ms. Johnson's husband, Henry. The text begins with the lives of two separate individuals in preparation for their first encounter and then chronicles their following union. This book is appealing to a wide and varied audience, including those preparing for marriage, divorce, raising a family, or a part of a family, involved in or getting out of a relationship, recovering from past mistakes, parenting, or in contact with any of these groups. This book humorously pokes fun at life's everyday problems. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson provide unique and sometimes competing perspectives of their life together. The text provides an insightfully honest portrait of the differing perspectives of a married couple. The varying interpretations of major events serve to keep the reader enchanted with the text. After reading this text the reader will wonder how often they have misunderstood the intention of others. The Johnson's invite you to decide what is the actual truth. They say there are two versions of every story and then there's the truth.

Customer Reviews:

Flipped Me Out.......2005-11-09

I was totally amazed that the Flipside could exceed Ms. Johnson original book a Journey to Hell and Back. I loved the way each chapter had two sides to give you a holistic view of their relationship. This book provides a different side of Ms.Johnson. I expected the infomation about Ms. Johnson to be redundant. Fortunately, I was wrong. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have had very interesting lives. I recommended this book or those who like romance with realistic adventure.

Looking Forward.......2005-02-07

Ms. Johnson
I really enjoyed your books. I am really looking forward to your next release. God Bless You.

Surprised Again.......2004-03-10

I have read all of Charlotte's books. I have enjoyed each of them. With this book, I found myself wishing she had added one more chapter. Her books are the talk of our town.

Hitler's Bastard: Through Hell and Back in Nazi Germany and Stalin's Russia (Ian Sayer and Douglas Botting)

Average customer rating:

Self Serving Rubbish
Revisionist Review
Pathetic, sad story of a self-centred traitor

Hitler's Bastard: Through Hell and Back in Nazi Germany and Stalin's Russia (Ian Sayer and Douglas Botting)
Eric Pleasants
Manufacturer: Mainstream Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Russia | History | Subjects | Books

Political Parties | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1840187433
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Book Description

Of all the extraordinary individual accounts that have come out of World War II and its aftermath, few can compare with that of Eric Pleasants, a member of the "bastard" British wing of Hitler's SS. In this book, Pleasants writes of the bizarre and traumatic years he spent as a prisoner of the 20th century's most notorious dictators. From a vagabond life, Pleasants was taken by the Nazis to a series of prison camps in France. The years that followed held a whirlwind of unexpected turns—he lived a life on the run in occupied Paris, was captured and recruited into the British Free Corps of the Waffen-SS, found love with a young German woman, witnessed the bombing of Dresden, and attempted to hide from Soviet troops along the sewers of Berlin. When the war ended, Pleasants found himself on the Communist side of the Iron Curtain. He was arrested by the KGB on charges of espionage and sentenced to 25 years' slave labor in the notorious camps of Arctic Russia. Only with Stalin's death in 1953 was Pleasants finally released from his unique kind of purgatory, after nearly half a lifetime of peripatetic nightmare. Hitler's Bastard is a remarkable monument to his imperishable will to survive.

Customer Reviews:

Self Serving Rubbish.......2006-05-10

Cowardice or courage to stand up for beliefs aside, this is unmitigated rubbish. A puny attempt to re-write negative press against him, it is written is such pathetic self promotion, as to be painful.

His references to him being a "Muscular Englishman" all of 5'3", who seems to have led a life of petty crime across europe. He is obvioulsy trying to write a pornograpic distraction to his utter contempt for his nationality and those who fought nobly on any side.

A pacifist who joined the SS does not make sense. It is infuriating reading, and the preface to works such as the Gulag Archipelago might distract you from reading that worthy tome.

Don't buy this rubbish, don't even bother getting it from the library, it is purile.

Revisionist Review.......2005-11-20

Based on the 1 star rating from a biased reviewer, I ordered, cancelled and reordered Hitler's Bastard. I read the whole book in one setting. It was one of the better books I have read on European WWII in the last 4 decades. Mr. Pleasants was one of those characters in life who was blessed with a guardian angel whether they wanted one or not. He truly had nine lives as the old saying goes. I found his escapades absolutely fascinating. Its true that he was not one to put a lot of effort in morality, in any religious belief or political stance, but Eric Pleasants was above all else, a survivor and always at the expense of someone else. He was full of contrasts; an anti-war pacifist but a Waffen SS member of the British Free Corps,a one time bodyguard to British Royalty and a circus strong man. He was also a thief, a liar and a slave laborer in the Soviet Gulags. He survived it all to live to the ripe old age of 87. This is the first book that I have found that hads given a good description of the Waffen SS unit, British Free Corps and it reveals the shameful collaboration of the British people on Jersy with the occupying Germans, a fact that I am sure many wanted to remain hidden. I do highly recommend this book for its historical imput about some rarely discussed subjects of WWII. It is well written, has a sense of humor and above all smacks of honesty in telling it like it was. Eric Pleasants was a scoundral but one of those rare individuals who manage to make it through the worst of life by wit and force when many others would have long since given up. Read Hitler's Bastard with an open mind. It is a gold mine of information.

Pathetic, sad story of a self-centred traitor.......2004-02-18

This is a book about one mans attempts to sanitize his shady past during World War II. Mr. Pleasants attempts to convince the reader that trying to dodge doing your duty to your nation was a reasonable thing to do. He tries to convince the reader that theft of desperately needed food provisions from other hungry islanders in Nazi-occupied Jersey was the right thing to do. He tries to convince us that fist fights are a reasonable way to gain respect and time in prison was somehow not "fair" for him to have to endure.

The hardest things to swallow are the reasons why he decides to join the British Free Corps of the German SS. There are numerous reasons given as to why he choose to do such a thing, and overall this leaves little doubt about the mans character.

He hides his reasons for theft behind the oft-trotted out excuse that thieves give, which is they "only stole from the rich". Somehow that is supposed to make theft ok. He gives no reasons apart from being self-centered as to why he felt he deserved to eat more than other islanders by stealing from them.

There are limited plus sides to this book. The writing style is fluid and readable, and occasionally the writer actually manages to paint a reasonable picture of an event in ones mind. But that's about it.

Where the book is badly let down is that the writer has made little or no effort to research any of the events with any degree of historic discipline. He appears to have merely reprinted Mr. Pleasants words, thoughts and self-centered opinions verbatim without any attempt to balance the view of Mr. Pleasants or research the events described by him.

The book is entirely one-sided and could do with some substantial revision once research into events has uncovered, clarified, substantiated, or repudiated some of the claims made by Mr. Pleasants. It would appear to be not too much trouble to research the court records of Jersey (for example) as one outside source of (hopefully) unbiased information on his life.

I personally found Mr. Pleasants views on life pathetic and repugnant. Whilst in Jersey he roundly cursed those Islanders who collaborated with the Germans for the benefits that such collaboration bought, yet he utterly fails to realize that by volunteering for the SS he was guilty of exactly the same thing.

Seven years of forced labor in a Russian coal mine was simply not enough.

Book Description

From Harvard to Hell and Back is Eric Sigward's autobiography which details his days as a star athlete and respected student at Horace Mann, and continues throughout his academic career at Harvard and Trinity College in Cambridge during the tumultuous 1960's and 70's. Sigward leaves nothing out, discussing his self-described "misuse of sex, drugs and misdirected spiritual interest." His story of perseverance also describes his escape from a hedonistic life-style and his eventual discovery of the "God of grace." The book is divided into four sections: Horace Mann School for Boys, Harvard University, Cambridge University and Stanford University, and contains 20 pages of photographs that encourage the reader to connect with the people and places in Sigward's young life.

Eric Sigward writes: "Higher education, sport and motorcycles, these are the roads I traveled, looking for personal satisfaction. The early story covers attitudes and accomplishments that are a great part of the American Dream. Conversely, the development of a cumulative sense of evil as I slid into misused sex, drugs and misdirected spiritual interest eventually led me to the God of grace."

Average customer rating:

One Woman's Struggle

An emotional and inspiring autobiography....

BLEESSED!

Awaiting the Movie

Experience the Journey

A Journey to Hell and Back
Charlotte Russell Johnson
Manufacturer: Reaching Beyond, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Criminals | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Adventurers & Explorers | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Self-Esteem | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0974189308

Book Description

A Journey To Hell and Back is a gripping saga of a young woman's journey from adolescence to adulthood at an accelerated pace. This book is an exploration of a troubled teen's journey into the underworld to emerge as an independent, confident, and self-assured woman. Pitfalls, tragedy, and trials that lure a young honor student into the mean streets of Atlanta and finally, New York mark the story. Her journey to hell led her through a fiery furnace that burned 70 % of her body with 2nd and 3rd degree burns, and an over three months hospital stay where God provided personal consolation and healing. After God miraculously saved her from a life in the streets heaped with sin, her zeal for God resulted in her making additional mistakes, including renewing the abusive relationship that had almost cost her life. The story is a modern day version of Dante's Inferno. Each layer of Hell corresponds with a new low in the protagonist's life. Finally, from within the very bowels of Hell, she cries out to the Lord for salvation. This spiritual epiphany becomes a turning point in her life, thrusting her forward from Hell. The tremendous suffering and miraculous ending of this book will offer hope and comfort for anyone suffering from loneliness, heartache, or disappointment. It provides a realistic and human perspective on many social topics such as teenage rebellion and pregnancy, domestic violence, divorce, AIDS, substance abuse, prostitution, and the legal system. It is a necessity for anyone who has been a part or will work with any of these populations.

Customer Reviews:

One Woman's Struggle.......2007-05-14

My sister recently bought me a book. She not being an avid reader and all, it shocked me. She purchased "A Journey To Hell And Back" by Charlotte Russel Johnson. Charlotte is a local author from here in Columbus, GA.

This book really touched me deep into my soul. It's a story of a very hard life started at a very young age. Charlotte told about how she grew up in the projects, left the projects and only to return to the saftey of the projects. She told us how she sold drugs right here on Victory Dr. A street many of us drive everyday. She told how she partied in Phenix City, right across the river where many of us work and/or live.

Charlotte went through so much. She sold herself as a prostitute. She married a man who abused her to no end. She even discusses how she received her 2nd and 3rd degree burns. She tells you the stories of her many trials she had to endure not only here in Columbus, but also in Atlanta and in New York.

Yet through all of this she has prevailed. She showes you how she was able to pull through and become a better person. For anyone who thinks their life is so far gone, or so far down in the dumps and it can't change, take a moment and read this heart touching story of one woman's struggle. And it all happened right here in our own community!!!!!

Thank You Charlotte for sharing your story!!!

An emotional and inspiring autobiography...........2005-03-19

I have read "A Journey To Hell And Back" by Charlotte Russell-Johnson, and found it to be a most inspiring book, and very relevant to many young women of today, who are in need of the kind of guidance and insight offered by this book. I have also had the pleasure of meeting Charlotte Russell Johnson, and from my two encounters with her, I believe her to be as genuine as her personal testimony. Her book is a must-read for every young woman in search of direction for her life. I encourage everyone to read this book. It will keep you engaged from the front page to the back.

BLEESSED!.......2004-04-10

I JUST FINISH READING A JOURNEY TO HELL AND BACK. GOD HAS TRUELY BLESSED HER. IT IS A BLESSING THAT SHE LIVED TO WRITE THIS BOOK, GOD WAS TRUELY WITH HER ON HER JOURNEY TO LIFE. I HAVE THIS COUSIN THAT IS OUT THERE ON DRUGS. I HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR HER AND I KNOW GOD IS GOING TO DELIVER HER. I JUST HAVE TO BE STILL AND LET GOD HANDLE HER.

MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU CHARLOTTE AND I PRAY THAT YOU CAN TOUCH A LOT OF LIVES.

Awaiting the Movie.......2004-03-10

I work at a bread store and a customer was telling me how great the first book was by Charlotte and in a few moments after her leaving in walked Charlotte. I have read the first book and am anxious to get the next two!!!! It is excellent and I have sent several of my customers to the book store to buy the books as well!! Thank you Charlotte for sharing the experiences with us. I am hoping you will make the book into a movie.

Experience the Journey.......2004-02-18

There are books tobe read. There are other books that you experince. A Journey to Hell and Back is a journey to be experienced. The book is an inspirational text to be read repeatedly.

The Journey Back from Hell: An Oral History : Conversations With Concentration Camp Survivors

Average customer rating:

The Journey Back from Hell: An Oral History : Conversations With Concentration Camp Survivors
Anton Gill
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Jewish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books