On-the-print

I got this book expecting something as good as Nora Gallagher's or Kathleen Norris's work and instead found self-absorbed, immature and disorganized maunderings. The theme of this book is Ms. Grumbach's fifty-year effort to recreate a spiritual experience she once had. She wanders aimlessly and apparently uncomprehendingly through bits and pieces of Western spiritual thinking, mostly complaining about the fact that she's "lost that lovin' feelin'." This seems to me to be on a par with dedicating your life to trying to recapture the feelings you had when you first tasted chocolate. Let go. Move on.

Meanwhile she takes a very defensive and often patronizing attitude toward all the many (and far more mature) spiritual writers who counsel patience and participation in the life of the religious community as doors to a true spiritual experience. She seems to honestly believe that the main point of Christianity is to produce in oneself a feeling of pleasurable religious awe.

If she didn't have a name, I doubt this book would ever have found a publisher.

I wonder how many more books she can write about her life, and yet avoid reality

It is a little scary to review a book written by someone of Doris Grumbacher's stature. Saying something about the work of a noted novelist, NPR book reviewer and essayist is a little humbling. It is only because of her honesty in print that I can write this review.

It is interesting that the customer reviews of all her books listed on Amazon.com that two had a rating of five stars and the average was four stars. However, one book received only a star and a half and that was this book. The reason, I think, is that this is an honest writing about a subject very sensitive to most of her readers.

This is a very brave book about religion. You won't find many of these works. The honesty of her writing makes some people very uncomfortable, because they perceive themselves in her writing. What did a distinguished author write that made the reviewers only rate the book at a star and half?

It is in the bibliography that the mystery unfolds. Most of her quoted references relate to western religious writings. It is difficult to walk through the Cathedral or Monastery then walk out the back door and into the world of spirituality. The synonym for mysticism is experiential. The very experience that Doris Grumacher expected for so long after her epiphany at age 27, is experienced by many people in the garden of Nature everyday.

Spirituality is being connected to the universe that you live in. That could mean your relationship, your family, your community, your country, your concept of the universe, your feelings about God and yes, your religion. Religious doctrine is a confining space. Spirituality in its simplest form is liberating and at the same time a new territory for most of us. Many of us seek comfort like Doris Grumbach in the writings of western theology. The fundamental problem is should we pray for epiphany from up there or should we seek the epiphany from where we are. It is difficult to take your religion with you on the journey. However, the end result of your journey will be a spirituality that will increase the sacredness of your religion. Keep an open mind and take the journey. It will enhance your religion. Cross the threshold of expectation and simply enjoy the wonder of the life all around you, for isn't that the epiphany?

Enclosed is a poem I wrote from "In and Out of Time" to be published in early 2001. Hopefully it makes the point of this review.

"Reprieve"

The stars are in my sight. The universe is in my mind.

Through the labyrinth The images do wind.

Release me from the rules Let my mind and spirit fly.

To escape beyond my fate And soar to the edge of why.

Having followed the media coverage of the murder and subsequent release of this book, I am glad to see the negative reaction to it. Funny that Flook was able to read the minds of so many of the people involved - including the deceased. Many of the individuals in the book claim that they never gave out the information provided (including the detailed sex scenes between the victim and her child's father) In one Cape Cod Times article, Worthington's ex-boyfriend told the reporter that of approximately 17 quotes that Flook from his interview with her, 15 were incorrect - some even fabricated. I'm not sure how some of the readers can say that this was well researched. I was disgusted that someone could write so irresponsibly. I've tried to get through the book to give it a fair chance as fiction rather than non-fiction, but the writing left so much to be desired that I was unable to get through the first chapter. Determined, I thumbed through it enough to fairly review the book.

It will be a yet another tragedy in Eva's life if she ever reads this trash and thinks that her mother was the ficticious person within its pages.

My husband and I visit Truro every summer. Christa often comes to mind - Especially on the beach with my toddler son. While watching him, I have thought of the joy that she must have felt watching her daughter and feel such sadness for them. There is also the unnerving knowledge that her killer is out there living his life after taking theirs. THAT is the real story here. Not the smut that the author created.

I read "Invisible Eden" last June as soon as it was published, partly because I have always been attracted to the Outer Cape and partly from curiosity sparked by media publicity about Christa Worthington's death. Although I was satisfied with how the story began and ended, I was somewhat bored with the over-detailed description of Christa Worthington's life in the fashion world: The book would have been much better, in my opinion, if it had been shortened by half (about 200 pages). The book is about the loves and murder of a fashion writer on Cape Cod, not an unauthorized biography of Christa Worthington. That said, I think the book is reasonably interesting enough to get a three-star rating. While I do not know how accurately each of the characters was described, I could almost imagine the whole story as fiction (an unsolved mystery novel) rather than a true story and I still enjoyed reading the book. I congratulate Maria Flook on her courage to write a real-life story about her neighbors and to stand by her story.

This extraordinarily-realized portrait of ever-increasing disappointment and despair for a beautiful but troubled woman-on- the-make is the haunting real-life version of many epic fictional tragedies, such as "A Certain Age" and "House of Mirth". The author has done a prodigious amount of investigation and we become absolutely captivated by the wonderfully detailed portraits of Christa's colorful life, and those of her socially prominent but bizarre family and her many lovers and friends. Life in Truro and its Outer Cape neighbors also becomes vividly real. I thought the author's resort to graphic sex passages was vital in underlining Christa's large appetite for edgy sexual adventuring -- a character trait which may well have driven her into the arms of whoever killed her.
This otherwise excellent narrative is seriously marred by the absence of photographs of the leading players.

I was very disappointed in this program because it was not at all user-friendly. Actually, everyone in my family tried to "master" this program, but after spending hours, each of us gave up. I was completely frustrated by my inability to easily edit. When I found a design I liked, I had to first separate the grouping, and then click on each item in a separate box to figure out and look up what each plant was. Trying to design my own plan with the plantings was difficult and unproductive. I found more useful landscaping schemes (with each plant clearly labeled with reference numbers), free, online than in this program.

I consider myself quite computer-literate, so I was completely frustrated by this program - it was completely user-unfriendly - nothing could be scaled, cut or paste. When I found a design I liked, I had to first separate the grouping, and then click on each item in a separate box to figure out what each plant was. Trying to design my own plan with the plantings was cumbersome, annoying and unproductive. I found more useful landscaping schemes (with each plant easily labeled with reference numbers), free, online than in this program. Save your money, and just buy a book.

I found the program a little cumbersome to use, but some of that may be my fault. I found myself dropping dragging each one of the 160 trees for my 2 acre layout. But making changes was easier than starting from scratch with pencil and paper. Once you get done, it has a great walk/fly-thru feature where you can preview the property in 3-D. You can also see what it will look like in say 5 years.

A Dickens Christmas story is meant to be read in front of the fire with children gathered 'round. As configured in this particular ebook format you cannot do anything but sit in front of your screen and read ninety pages of nineteenth century prose. Not useful at all! This ebook would be far more usefull if, for example, you could copy or print it onto holiday paper. Since this story is in the public domain, blocking those options in this ebook is silly.

When Dickens was good, he was very very good. When he was bad, he was wordy and sappy and boring. Did you ever wonder why you never heard of the three stories in this book? Because they're so unremarkable! The title story is the best; i.e. it's the only one that's even readable. Do yourself a favor, don't read this book

Dr. Forrester, an ER resident doctor, gets entangled in a legal nightmare involving a stereotypical fat cat in NYC politics. The technical side of the audiobook is excellent -- little repeats at the beginning of each side, clear identification of cassette and side etc. But the story is sadly out of sync with any reality. Stereotypes abound, the brave young idealistic life-saving doctor, rural background and all: But how in the world would a resident get sued with no attending physician involvement? Where in the world were the supervising docs in that ER set-up? How can a doctor be so smart in her field of study and be so dumb as to go on city TV to "defend her case" against lawyer's advice and without her hospital's permission? How would a lawyer and a young doctor be able to stand for hours in a downtown neighborhood observing a drug dealer close-up without being accosted? The lack of basic research by the author into the subject matter he writes about, the stenciled characters and the cliche-laden, dead prose style combined make this into about the worst example of pulp fiction imaginable. It is disheartening to see what the genre supports.

This is allegedly based on the life of Coyote Smith, "Brother of the Evil Spirit." It is based on a document with that name and is a complete fabrication from the inventive mind of Wayne Montgomery.

Wayne also concocted the Diary of his grandfather, Honest John Montgomery, whom he alleged had owned the OK Corral in Tombtone. There is some truth in this. An Honest John Montgomery did co-own the OK Corral in Tombstone. The rub is that Wayne's grandfather, John Montgomery, was a lifelong farmer near Petersburg, Illinois.

Wayne concocted his story about John Montgomery with too little research, so that it leaked badly. Unfortunately, he roped in True West Magazine (which I suggested should be called True Wind in that respect) and the Tombstone Epitaph National Edition. See the book, THE EARP CURSE, also available on Amazon for the details, covered in the Chapter titled: "Meet Windy Wayne and Dubious Dean." Montgomery had the bad judgment to sue me for my exposure of his baloney, and I countersued both him and the Tombstone Epitaph (who unwisely supported his imposture) and obtained a handsome out of court settlement from their insurance company in 1980.

The "brother of the evil spirit" is woven all throughout Wayne Montgomer's fabrications which, over the years he also had published in a small, insignificant publication by historical "groupies." Their degree of integrity was high-lighted by the fact that they never apprised their readership, after Wayne was exposed in my libel suit. Future generations who happen to find a copy of the publication in some library may go through life believing in "the brother of the evil spirit."

You needn't go through life in that shape. Believe me, it's another baloney tale like Nino Cochise's FIRST HUNDRED YEARS, and Frank Waters' EARP BROTHERS OF TOMBSTONE.

The co-author of this book, Carl Briehan actually did the writing, fully apprised of the specious nature of the source not only by knowledge of the result of my libel suit, but by former associates, after Wayne Montgomery had died. The publisher, informed by my attorneys of the truth, with irrefutable proof, still persisted in publishing this book and apparently is still doing it. They should be ashamed of themselves and discontinue publication.