Issue

From how to bless and honor your parents (one of the commandments that has a surprising benefit) to how to avoid speaking words you later regret, Rhonda Rizzo Webb has a host of spiritual meditations and advice, based on the Bible. This is a lovely book, one that makes excellent before-bed reading. If you want to improve your communication, this is a wonderful help.

A cleverly packaged look at a very serious subject. Lots of anecdotes and humor bring the issue to life ... definitely not a dry read! An abundance of scriptural references and practical tools help the reader begin making changes immediately that will ultimately shape her heart, bridle her tongue, and serve to glorify our Lord.

Rhonda Rizzo Webb's book reminded me to stop and think before I open my mouth. Often, I speak too quickly and hurt others with my words or I grumble and complain. Rhonda's book encouraged me to "hide God's Word in my heart." Day by day and step by step (by applying what I learned in the book) I hope to be transformed into a "Proverbs 31 woman" so that I will open my mouth in wisdom.

This is an amazing book which addresses issues you are either facing or may be facing in the future. The book offers insight from women who know from experience what to expect when you are faced with the unexpected- the loss of a husband through death or divorce. They bring honesty, humor and reality to a painful but very real life circumstance. I have given this book to family and friends with the assurance that I have done them a great kindness by sharing Barbara and Donnette's wisdom. I highly recommed this book to all women in all circumstances based on the knowledge that nothing in our lives stays the same.

I wish this book had been available when my husband died in 1982! It would have made things so much easier then, but the information is helpful to me as a widow even now. I bought two books ... one for me and one for my home town library. Alice Peterson, Keystone Heights, FL

It's comforting to know where to turn for answers to so many questions. I'm impressed with the authors' thoroughness and depth of research. Thank you, Barb and Donnette!

This book helped me realize that I too can quit, and for good!!! It carefully explains statistics, effects and mortality rates, be it gender or age. Each step is very clear and very easy to follow. The Pack Track, notes and defense mechanisms that are given to you in this book will help anyone kick the butts for good!!! Very easy reading and easy on the eyes. Step by step until you are smoke free is the success that comes with this book. Mr. Fisher and Mr. Koop did an outstanding job on this book. The alternatives and attitude changing methods toward smoking are simply superb. Realizations are met on all sides of quitting in this book. From the ones who have quit numerous times to the struggle of relaspes. This book has it all covered. Hypnosis, gum, patches, fading, or whatever method exists, is clearly explained and can be tailored to suit anyone's need on any level!!!

I found this book to be full of helpful ideas to keep you or a loved one off tabacco. It takes you through pre-quiting with great ideas to help you prepare, all the way through to staying smoke free forever. I have been very greatful for this book and recommend it to everyone!

I got a note from an amazon customer, congratulating me on my quitting. For all the ones that will be cosidering this book now and feel it is impossible to quit, I strongly reccomend it and its methodology. I myself, after seeing my father quit smoking when he had his third heart surgery and my mother after her eye surgeries, thought I would not be able to do it. However, as of Jan 19,2001 and since Dec 20 1998 I have been smoke free. Should you know someone who needs help to quit smoking, I am willing to be part of the network support.

Dr. Mueller, fresh out of residency in Internal Medicine, has gotten angry at the reality he is forced to confront, grabbed the bit in his teeth and galloped through a thorny course to a finish line that is amazing. Before this book, did any of us really know about the Great Health Rip-Off in the United States? Did anyone in this country realize that America is the only place on the face of this planet that really charges its citizens money for health care? This book is a must-read primer for anyone considering medicine as a career, or even for being an American citizen at this time. Let your conscience be your guide! Mueller is an absolute master at research. His documentation of the huge crisis in American Health Care, with poorer health results here for much more money, is not assailable. His conclusions for a total overhaul of the system all make sense, and are laid out point by point. This is not a book for gradeschoolers. Mueller's cumbersome treatment of statistics tends to become backswaying, especially about two-thirds of the way through the book. I had to take long breaks. But the wade-through and the wait were superbly worth while. The book is not just a report of our current woes, but also a believable plan and prophecy.

John Miles Lurie, M.D.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Mueller for having the wisdom and courage (as well as the stamina) to make the valiant effort to get the information in this book to the American people. I am a psychologist, licensed in PA, living and working in my hometown of Erie, PA. I have had some experience with the awful frustrations that have gone along with trying to provide a humanitarian service that has been inexorably forced into a format of narrow self-interest-especially the "managed" "care" so-called system. Discovering Dr. Mueller's book, I am somehow amazed that someone nearby has produced such a valuable resource. I am amazed, not about someone just coming from Jamestown (!), but to find that I am really not as alone as I thought I have been-even around here--in my intense concern about what has become of health care delivery in this country. I was also delightedly surprised that a small publishing house such as Olin Frederick is practically right up the road, producing such socially responsible works for our time. I work in affiliation with two of the major hospitals in Erie-Hamot and St. Vincent, and I am tempted to send copies of Dr. Mueller's book to the CEOs of each institution.
An emergency room physician friend of my recommended an older book--"The Social Transformation of American Medicine" by Paul Starr (BasicBooks, 1982)--that has put some perspective on the historical development of health care in the U.S., and it leaves off in the early 1980s with some fairly accurate predictions about trends in the future, which is our right now. Dr. Mueller's book is a wonderful, veritable font of very important information that brings awareness about the state of health care delivery right up to date. I know that many people are very unhappy with how health care delivery has been twisted from fulfilling need to satisfying greed. It has always mystified me that so many individuals can be so dissatisfied (to say the least), as well as clearly aware that science and technology have progressed so far beyond a frontier mentality, that more people are not declaring access to health care for all as an obvious reality and collectively making their feelings known about it. As Dr. Mueller points out in stark detail in his book, the people in many other advanced, highly developed, industrialized nations have already done so.
Of course, as Dr. Mueller also clearly shows, my mystification should be readily cleared by considering the power of not "market forces" but "marketing forces" in this country. This situation has been almost despairing for me at times, but I have been highly encouraged by knowing that people like Dr. Mueller still give a damn about the right things and making things right. I cannot remember the source, but I once heard a comment on this situation that I have never forgotten. It was derived from a concept in Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" (considered the first major treatise on the capitalist system), namely, the "invisible hand," which is a variation of the "trickle-down" theory, or that free market forces, when left to themselves, will act like an invisible hand to raise the well-being of the general public, even as some individuals immensely profit. Well, this commentator said that in the area of health care delivery, the supposedly invincible invisible hand is "all thumbs"! I have nothing wholly against the free market system itself, but I also believe that some humane balance is in order, especially in the regulation of health care delivery. As another author put it to the free market purists (who believe self-interest is all), what if your sense of Self is humanity? But even so, Dr. Mueller's book helps me understand and arms me with information to support the claim that, not only would a form of universal health care be more humane, but it would also be less expensive in the long run! So, it actually is caring and good business, too. Thank you so much, Dr. Mueller. I would like to shake your visible hand and wish you well.

Dr. Mueller's book defines a system for health care in the United States that is (a) diseased and deteriorating rapidly, (b) ranked by the World Health Organization Report 2000 as thirty-seventh in the world in "overall health system performance" but first in "health expenditure per capita," (c) ignored by most until they become ill, and (d) supported and in large measure controlled by a for-profit business in which patients' welfares and physicians have become commodities. In contrast to many publications that have addressed this important area, Dr. Mueller's book cites publications that document all of the facts that lead him to his very rational conclusions. His description of our problems and his proposed solutions are clearly presented in a fashion that is easily comprehensible to laymen who are not experts in this area. We are all beneficiaries of Dr. Mueller's scholarly, informed, incisive, critical, creative, and uninhibited thinking. As a physician who teaches in a large university medical center, I have often found physicians in my metropolitan area intimidated by the administrators of health systems and by insurance companies. Many believe that these administrators and insurance companies (a) often have an enormous conflict of interest in appearing to be more interested in dollars than in patients, (b) control a large and increasing proportion of the physicians' and patients' medical choices, and (c) spend enormous amounts of money on cosmetic public relations to cover their tracks. In my opinion as a physician, this is almost as true in the "non-profit" university medical center in which I work as in the "for-profit" centers i.e., the term "non-profit" can confuse the layman and does little to guarantee the qualities that I value as a physician and as a patient. Dr. Mueller has analyzed the problems that exist in the current system in great depth, has illustrated the injurious consequences of these problems by presenting true stories about patients, and has proposed carefully considered cures for the sickness of our system for health care. The enormous bureacracy that is currently supported by our system will spend billions of dollars to oppose Dr. Mueller's proposed solutions. Patients will benefit enormously if these corporations lose and Dr. Mueller's solutions become an important part of the cure.

When Katherine Murphy discovered she had breast cancer and then that it had progressed to stage two, her life was forever changed. In her book she relives the diagnosis and the battle that followed. She was determined that she would fight and win.
Fear was the biggest enemy - that she might lose her life and leave her two sons and husband. When she renewed her commitment to God, these fears were not over but there was a new peace and she could go where God would lead.
This is a great read for those with cancer and who have close ones struggling with the disease. There can be victory even in the darkest times.

Awake, O Sleeper offers a touching and honest look at the pain of breast cancer and the hope God offers as we take His hand for the journey.

With transparent candor Katherine Murphy expresses deep emotion through her diagnosis and treatment. The reality of her struggles, questions and fears will resonate as we grapple with her for answers. Her insights touch heart and soul as she shares her growing awareness of God's presence in the midst of a painful and frightening time.

We all know women touched by this disease. Katherine's honest journey will offer peace as they see themselves in the mirror, truly loved and cared for by the Shepherd of our souls.

AWAKE, O SLEEPER is more than Katherine Murphy's story of her battle with breast cancer. It is also an account of her spiritual journey toward an intimate relationship with God. Although raised in the church, it was only after her cancer diagnosis that she began to read and understand the Bible. The book's title is from a Scripture verse, Ephesians 5:14: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."

It's obvious that AWAKE, O SLEEPER is written from the heart. Murphy is honest about her fears, the effects of her disease on family relationships, her doubts, and her search for truth. Several of Murphy's poems from her diary are included and they add to the open and vulnerable style of her writing. The author's descriptive passages and use of word images provided interesting and easy reading.

Murphy's story is a testimony of God's faithfulness and grace. She was strengthened through her battle with cancer, saw good arise from bad circumstances, and discovered the true meaning of life.

AWAKE, O SLEEPER will be helpful and encouraging for anyone struggling with cancer or other life-threatening diseases. Murphy provides hope by sharing her own experience and her faith in a loving God.

Catherine Simone has outdone herself in her third book, making it THE book to read, not only if you have IC, but any disease that requires strong fortitude and hope to overcome. The book is filled with personal examples of her own story as well as general suggestions for others to build upon and use in their own situations. Truly a story of love, courage, tenacity, and finally, WELLNESS. You won't regret purchasing this one.

Indeed, as she states in her book, Catherine Simone, comes full circle with her third book. Her thoughts on the connection of mind/body/spirit are truly life altering. She has an incredible style of writing that you feel as though she has been a friend you've always known. It's as though she's talking to you personally, and sharing her most personal discoveries and allowing you to take from it what you need. If you have IC and you're fed up and/or feeling hopeless this book can provide a whole new insight to your struggles and provide you with the much needed encouragement to continue to be patient with yourself and your healing.

Awakening through the Tears is Cath's 3rd book in the trilogy of IC books. This book takes dealing w/ IC to a deeper level. Anyone who has ever dealt w/ IC and IC-related symptoms has most likely asked the questions, "why me", "what did I do to deserve this", etc. If you're looking for the meaning of IC, this book really helps to understand how the mind, body and spirit are not only connected w/ IC, but w/ other illnesses, as well as any life events we are experiencing. This book helped me to understand my role and responsibility in both IC and in other areas of my life as well. Cath touches upon the spirituality aspect of recovery which many people do not have the courage enough to do. My views have certainly changed for the better since reading this book. I would recommend this book to all IC patients as well as anyone looking to find a deeper meaning as to why things happen in our lives. This is a wonderful compliment to the other books Cath has written and helps to come full circle w/ IC.

I highly recommend that you buy all three of Otto Skinner's books: The Best Kept Secret; If You Are the Defendant; and The Biggest Tax Loophole of All. You can order all three from his website for a cost of about $90. He also has newsletters that are valuable.

Skinner lays out exactly what the "income" tax is all about. Using Supreme Court decisions and other highly authoritative documentation, he reveals the truth: the income tax is an excise tax; an excise tax is a tax on privileged activities; and a person's right to earn income is a right that can't be taxed as a privilege. The only reason that the taxes are called "income" taxes is because they are measured by the amount of income resulting from the activities. The tax is not on the income itself.

I started in the "tax movement" about 11 years ago and wish that I had read Skinner's books first; it would have saved me much trouble. After you read The Best Kept Secret, you'll know that you never need file an income tax return again, or submit a W-4 Form to get a job (unless, of course, you're involved in an activity that is truly taxable; but if you're earning a living at a harmless activity, you won't have any such obligation).

A tax court sums up the situation quite nicely: "In dealing with the scope of the taxing power, the question has sometimes been framed in terms of whether something can be taxed as income under the Sixteenth Amendment. This is an inaccurate formulation of the question and has led to much loose thinking on the subject. The source of the taxing power is not the Sixteenth Amendment; it is Article I, section 8 of the Constitution. It is important that these provisions be clearly understood; what is required is an understanding of fundamental principles. The familiar statement that at this time we need education in the obvious more than investigation into the obscure (Holmes, Collective Legal Papers, pp. 292-293), although made in a different context, is peculiarly applicable here." Penn Mutual Indemnity Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 32 T.C. 653 at 5659 (1959)

This book covers the fundamental principles. This book has been a godsend. Best of all, his conclusions are based on the court cases and cites them so that the readers can verify the information for themselves. It touches on cases such as Flint v. Stone Tracy Co., 220 U.S. 107 (1911)
and Brushaber v. Union Pacific R.R., 240 U.S. 1 (1916). There is background information on Who Wrote the 16th Amendment, the dollar, plus tips and forms you can use in the event you are ever accused of tax evasion.

Otto has clairified all of the misconceptions about the tax laws. There are many false ideas about what is law and what can be harmful to your freedom. Read Otto's book "The biggest tax loop hole of all" and you'll see what I mean. There are many lies going around. Read Irwin Schiff's books and follow them and you will go to jail (just like Schiff). Otto takes on these lies one by one.

Drs. Bounous and Somersall have produced a meticulously-documented and well-written book that presents over two decades of scientific research (published in hundreds of peer-review scientific and medical journals) that clearly spotlights the critical significance of the ubiquitous tri-peptide molecule GLUTATHIONE, its important nutritional precursors, and their pivotal role in increasing immune function. A must-read for anyone battling immune dysfunction or chronic fatigue syndrome, or persons generally wanting to improve their health.

Just a few words. One huge step for Dr Bounous, one giant leap for the health of mankind. For anyone out there who are suffering from any illness and looking for a "miracle", the book is a must-read. God bless Dr Bounous.

Dr. Somersall has done a marvelous service to the health and wellness community by explaining in layman's terminolgy the import and significance of this breakthrough in cell-defense. I believe that this Glutathione Revolution has just begun and will remain with us for many years to come. A wonderful piece of literary works and my gratitude to both you and, of course, Dr. Gustavo Bounous, a modern day genius who should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his marvelous contribution and incredible achievement to all humanity.

The Blueprint for My Girls is just as the title connotes, a blueprint filled with advice on daily living for young African American girls. The book is structured in an easy to read format with each chapter consisting of an expression, advice, the author's personal testimony and a blueprint. The expression is essentially the overall theme or thought of the chapter. It is followed by a section called "For My Girls" which contains advice relating to the expression. Next, the author shares "My Testimony" where she shares an example of how this particular expression has impacted her own life. Finally, the chapter is concluded with a "Blueprint," which serves as an affirmation relating to the theme. The author covers a vast array of topics including developing a good work ethic, trusting in yourself, appreciating personal strength, handling life's frustrations, and determining self worth.

Yasmin Shiraz has written an excellent book filled with everyday wisdom and common sense advice. She openly and honestly shares both her good and bad experiences and uses them to give life to her advice and affirmations. Although this book would be great for any woman to read, it is a must for teenagers and young adults. This book would make a wonderful gift for all the young women in your life. Check out The Blueprint for My Girls, you will be amazed how much wisdom is packed into such a short book.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

This is more than just a book of wisdom for young girls - this book has heart! Yasmin has created a useful guide that takes a look into the trials and tribulations many young women face today. She guides you through those curves that life seems to throw, shows you what happens when you respond to negativity, how to rise above and beyond problems and she gives HER story, when she was at that point, what she learned from it. I found this guide to be more of a personal journey from one women to another. A guide that will take young girls over the humps and let them know, someone was there before they were, that they are not alone in what they feel at times. The book is full of wisdom and encouragement. A very useful guide every young woman should own, This isn't just another self help book, this book has heart !

Reviewed by; Dawn
Jan.2003

I am in a scholarship program for African American teenagers called Jabberwock and one of the things on our itinerary is to read a novel. The Blueprint fo My Girls was chosen as the book for the 2002 particiapants. Upon reading the first few pages of this groundbreaking novel, I was instantly attached. Being 17 and going through those life changing issues is hard enough. So, to have someone who has not only experienced similiar suituations but can give advice on each dilemma is very comforting. Another big plus, is that recently I had the chance to meet the author through the Jabberwock program!!

Highly readable with copious references to useful websites. The authors have cut through the chaff by prefacing topics with condensed but substantive overviews. Overall, I found the book to be a good practical resource. A good read.

I am a reader on the tail end of the boomer generation, yet I found the information provided in the book very helpful in assisting me when trying to place my grandmother in a nursing home. It guided me through the process as well as helping me to understand what she might be experiencing both mentally and physically. I completed the Crisis Information Checklist provided in the book in order to get my affairs in order. I also checked out the author's website and found it to be most useful! I applaud the authors for creating such a valuable reference guide both in text and online!

I have relied on WHAT TO EXPECT DURING PREGNANCY, WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE FIRST YEAR, and now there is a book to tell us what to expect for every year after that! Great resource. A must for your home library.