Open-book

Chris Campbell is an unusual person who managed to go deeply into addiction yet retain enough awareness and intelligence to write about it as she went along. Her story reads with the innocence of a naif in the jaws of evil. It's hard to stop reading once you start, and it's all to easy to imagine yourself or your kids in the same situation - good and caring and bright yet unable to say no. Sampbell's story may be more complicated than is related in this narrative of adolesence, but the simplicity of her view is a message in itself.

I am not going to review my book, because I don't personally think it is that good. However, what it signifies is important to me. Perhaps someday I can write the real story, the whole truth. I am almost 28 now, this book was written after I turned 18. So much has happened. I was so innocent back then. Read the book, check it out. Let your kids read it. Let it warn them about the realities of drugs and life.

The Open Adoption Book is A Guide to Adoption Without Tears. I want to live on the planet Dr. Rappaport resides on and so do the tens of thousands of women in the United States who surrender babies every year for adoption. The tears never stop, whatever adoption practice the children were placed under. Read Merry Bloch Jones, Birthmothers and you'll see "the amputation of the heart." Rappaport describes open adoption as though it were a rose garden in which "...close relationships between the adoptive parents and birthparents become almost casual or routine, just as they would be in a biological family. The sense of normalcy is striking" (p. 120). Yes, of course, this may be the case with some open adoption arrangements, but Dr. Rappaport writes that "most open adoption families" consider the presence of the birthparent(s) "just a normal and routine part of their everyday lives." We do not have longitudinal studies that support this view, and common sense tells us that it cannot be true of most open adoption arrangements. We learn in a see-saw of research papers that many birthmothers report that if they had to do it over again they would not have chosen adoption but raised the children themselves. Some would even have chosen abortion over adoption. Mothers relinquishing a child for adoption often tend toward more grief symptoms, especially if the adoption is an open one, than parents who had lost a child to death. Studies show that many mothers using open adoption often feel more socially isolated, express more difficulty with normal everyday life, feel more despair, and express more dependency than their counterparts using confidential adoptions.
Dr. Rappaport's book was published in 1992, but meanwhile we do have more data available. We learn from the largest longitudinal study (720 individuals) conducted by Harold D. Grotevant and Ruth G. McRoy on the full range of adoptive openness, (Openness in Adoption, Exploring Family Connections. Sage 1998): "The clearest policy implication of our work is that no single type of adoption is best for everyone." These authors warn that the long-term impact of openness for all parties in the adoptive kinship network is not known and longitudinal research is necessary to answer this question. Most importantly, the long-term impact of openness on the children is as yet unknown. In fully disclosed open adoption, the child is continually reminded that she has two mothers. This "insistence of differences" is a vulnerability in open-adoption families which professionals and laypersons are concerned about. David H. Kirk's Adoptive Kinship Theory predicts that openness in adoption imposes strains on all parties in the adoption triad as a result of role ambiguity. In their study Openness in Adoption, New Practices, New Issues, (Praeger, 1988) McRoy, Grotevant and White suggest that "The child may be more likely to feel that he is 'matched' with his adoptive parents, if he or she is not constantly reminded of the contrast between birthparents and adoptive parents." The authors suggest that Semi-open adoptions (no personal contact between birthmothers and adoptive parents but non-identifying letters through the agency) tend to minimize problems regarding role expectations of adoptive parents and birthparents.
Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

My husband and I are in the very beginning stages of looking into adoption. We were not aware of "open" adoption, until I ran across this book. Both of us were leary, but the book explained open adoption in such detail that we were true believers. The Open Adoption Book not only explains open adoption, but all avenues of adoption to help you dicide on what is best for you and your family. It is written in languange that is understandable and easy to read. I think this book is a must read for anyone considering open adoption.

Open Range is a great change of pace Western that makes for an easy and entertaining read. It's short, fun, and absolutely nothing that taxes one's brain. Open Range chronicles the adversity experienced by two independent, yet amiable freegrazers in the twilight of the old American West. The veteran cowhand Boss Spearman and his protege Charley Waite make their way in the open West while herding and raising cattle in the open land - much to the displeasure of the local reprobate cowhand magnate and his puppet marshal.

A classic Western book without any surprising and exciting twists and turns, Open Range is much different in book form than the actual movie itself. In a true rarity, I actually enjoyed the movie moreso and found it to be more compelling. That being said, I still enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys Westerns or who is looking for a fun, quick, and easy read. See the movie afterwards and be your own judge.

Very highly recommended for both personal and community library audiobook collections, Open Range by Lauran Paine is the western novel upon which the motion picture starring Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner was based. Open Range tells of conflict between open range men - free grazing cattle owners who have no land yet drive their cattle through the country. Yet ranchers are buying up the land, and one of them is so ruthless as to do murder upon the competing open range men - a crime that cannot go unanswered. A gripping tale of human greed and the fight for survival, Open Range is complete, unabridged, and superbly narrated by Barrett Whitener.

This book contains exerpts from famous folktales and stories in American Culture for ESL students. The exerpts are short and manageable for most intermediate to upper-intermediate students. At the end of each story, there are comprehension questions and vocabulary exercises to support the story- This book is a great supplementary tool for the classroom, or for students who are trying to understand the basis (and Background) of many American Metaphors and analogies. I was a bit disappointed by the book, because I was looking for a course book, and not a suplementary book.

I've used Open Sesame for three wonderful trimesters in my ESL immigrant classes in Los Angeles and now in my EFL college classes in Japan. It is a wonderful course text to use to teach core vocabulary, idioms, reading skills, critical thinking, and especially American culture and allusions. My students are stimulated by the cultural questions and we have great discussions comparing and contrasting their folk stories and values with the ones in Open Sesame. The cassette tapes are great for them to study listening at home and in their cars. I must disagree with the reviewer from Germany that it is a supplemental text--it covers everything I need in my advanced EFL curriculum. By the way, the illustrations are charming.

The characters were uniquely eccentric but the attractions and repulsions between them didn't ring true. It did hold my interest more as the the story went on. I wanted to find out if and where Rennies die. But, was still anxious for it to be over. Flashes of brilliant phrasing made me believe it was Maria Flook.

The story portrayed in Open Water is an extremely intense roller coaster. Open Water starts out slowly, building the characters in rich detail before crashing you into the high powered emotions surrounding the death of Rennie and Willis's ability to deal with it and what it means to the only stability he has ever been able to accept. Although the characters appear to be people I have little, if anything, in common with, I found myself completely absorbed in their lives for the duration of the novel. I read this book a while ago, but it remains one of the best, most haunting stories I have had the pleasure to read. I would recommend it highly to anyone.

This collections of stories about Leo Bebb, is an interesting vignette of life. Whilst Bebb swings from villan, to conn man, to careing pastor, the author is really showing how we all have good, bad and ugly in us and God's grace is active in our lives despite this.

The stories are wiritten in a earthy and human way. They will make one laugh, cry and be disgusted at the characters. If one holds a curious facination for human life, in particular in the 1950's - 1960's then this book is for them.

A truly good read.

My daughter is only 9 months old and she loves "Bugs." Not only is the 'open sesame' characteristic of the book unique, she thinks it's funny when the bugs come out of nowhere. This book also starts counting since each page has one more bug. The recommended age is 4-8, but it's never too early to start your children reading will all different kinds of books.

My seventeen month old loves books, especially the Boom,Boom Dinosaur book. The first page starts off with a "soft" boom-boom. As the pages turn, the boom-boom gets louder as the dinosaur gets closer. She adores this book, and, it teaches her the concept of how a noise gets louder as the object gets closer.

This charming book is based upon the true story of two 80-ish twins living in the historic "Gimghoul" neighborhood in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For 50+ years, the twin sisters have tended their garden. Each Spring, when the garden is ready for guests, the sisters hang a small wooden sign which states "the garden is open" on their gate. Hundreds of visitors stroll their garden paths, ask for advice, and sometimes return home with a cutting or a handful of seeds. Author Pamela Pease has done a fine job in sharing this wonderful story in this beautifully executed pop-up. Her illustrations are childlike and bold; a pop-up of the sisters' house and garden "blooms" amidst the pages, and a packet of seeds from the garden is tucked into the back. For gardeners (and children) of all ages!

This book is one of my daughter's favorites. Each page features a jungle creature who claims that he is "king of the jungle." The corner of each page is hinged though and pulls out to reveal a different creature who then claims, "No, I'm king of the jungle!" At the end, there is a little mouse who says "Everyone knows who the king of the jungle really is!"

The storyline is just OK, but the quality of the illustrations is very good...bold, glossy and high interest. Also, the way that the corner of each page pulls out is inventive and captures childrens' interest. It's a good way to practice motor skills and different in concept than most interactive books.

Another good feature is that this book is very sturdy and hard to destroy (a plus with a grabby toddler). Unlike so many pop up books that are easily pulled off or apart, I'm not afraid to let my daughter handle this one on her own. She can work the pages on her own and the book is holding up beautifully.

Overall, a nice book for a toddler...not too many words to overwhelm them, simple concept, good for motor skills, solid construction, and attractive illustrations.