Out

"If you've ever looked for information about the personal battles of lesbians with cancer -- beyond the scope of statistics and risk factors -- and were disappointed, don't fret. An impressive new book, sponsored by the Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer, will soon hit the shelves. Coming Out of Cancer: Writings from the Lesbian Cancer Epidemic (Seal Press), edited by Victoria A. Brownworth, is the first anthology to address the devastating effects of cancer on the lesbian community. It offers candid, moving testimonies written by and for lesbians with cancer.

The book combines the voices of numerous writers in an extraordinary effort that began just November of last year. The publication coincides with Healing Works, the first-ever conference on lesbians and cancer, organized by the Mautner Project. The conference runs September 21 to 23.

...The Mautner Project, founded in 1990, is a national organization dedicated to fighting the lesbian cancer epidemic. It offers information and services to the lesbian community and to healthcare providers.

Brownworth, an award-winning writer and cancer-survivor, was the first to write about the increased risk for breast cancer among lesbians. In her introduction to the anthology, she eloquently recounts how the book came about. A detailed cancer diary written by Audre Lorde follows, along with personal stories, essays and poems by authors such as Sandra Steingraber, Rachel Carson, Joan Nestle, Pat Parker, Adrienne Rich, Marilyn Hacker, Ruthann Robson, Dr. Susan Love and others.

The stories explore the emotional and physical rigors of living with cancer, such as facing treatment decisions, addressing political and socio-economic concerns, and -- perhaps most compellingly -- wrestling with fear, illness and death on a daily basis. Proceeds from the book...will fund cancer education and direct services for women who partner with women.

'So many women, so many different cancers, such divergent experiences of treatment and care and survival -- or not. I could not include them all,' Brownworth writes. Indeed, Coming Out of Cancer is a testament to the power of sharing one's stories. This is a book to be read and discussed." --Sarah Albert...

"...Today, many of those middle-aged second wavers who finally mobilized for breast cancer are contributors to Coming Out of Cancer: Writings from the Lesbian Cancer Epidemic, edited by journalist and disability rights activist Victoria Brownworth. This...radical book focuses on lesbians with cancer.

The tone of the anthology is urgent. Audre Lorde writes about her fear of death in an excerpt from The Cancer Journals. Jackie Winnow, who started the nation's first feminist cancer project in San Francisco in 1986, begins her essay by declaring, 'Everything about cancer is political.' Mixed in with the activist fire and practical information (how to get decent insurance, when to fire your doctor, what the scar looks like) is the stuff of everyday life: sex and relationships. Winnow's essay is preceded by two poems written by her lover, Teya Schaffer. Both are about Winnow, and the latter movingly contemplates the few minutes after her death, 10 years ago, from metastatic disease.

Sometimes the fear and loss are transformed into erotic energy, making the connection between cancer and lesbianism not so incidental. The sense of feminine anomie that came with losing a breast leads one woman to take her first woman lover. Mona Oikawa's poem about monthly self-exams raises the specter of her mother's death from breast cancer. Oikawa purges the memory with the image of a woman's mouth on her breast, 'sucking me hard/making me hot with life...to fill this moment with/craving rage/instead of silent grief.' Poet Pat Parker describes a post-mastectomy massage loosening up her 'numb' body that no one except her surgeon and her lover had seen. 'Like fine bread I rise...I reawake/I want to kiss you/instead I say thank you/and go home.'" --Jennifer Baumgarder, Girlfriends Magazine

Tigert has started to open the door on Christian homosexuals and the oppression they face within their own churches. She brings the reader face to face with personal accounts of the struggles that lesbian and gay people go through in society, but more specifically in church. She challanges the logic behind the homophobia. She helps explain the phenomonon of "splitting" and the impact it has on those who are not white male heterosexuals. For those who of us who feel called by God to ordained ministry, but who hesitate to heed his call because of the overwhelming response of congregational segragation of our homosexual being, this is a book to relate to. Excelent! I eagerly await further books by Leanne McCall Tigert.

Leanne McCall Tigert beautifully and painfully captures what it is to discover yourself gay within a mainline denomination. Her approach is refreshingly honest, illuminating the struggles and the celebrations of lesbigay Christians. Read it, as I did, and discover yourself within her story. Fabulous reading for anyone struggling with the church and homosexuality, and a must read for any lesbigay person contemplating a call to the ordained ministry.

I recommend Gustin's guide to anyone overwhelmed by feelings of betrayal, depression, despair, loneliness, anger and other emotions that are destructive to the soul. Suffering from such emotions, I picked up Gustin's guide. Having read numerous self-help books and other spiritual guides, my expectations were modest - a temporary distraction and reinforcement of abstract theories of good and evil. My expectations were far exceeded, and for the first time in years, I felt hopeful about my ability to truly start the first leg of my spiritual journey. How does the guide do it? The right combination of everything you will need for your journey: suggested prayers; practical exercises; words of encouragement; and real life examples and explanation. The guide has made a true difference in my life - it allowed me to open the suitcases, pack them and start the first leg of my journey to taking responsibility for my life. I am finding great comfort, peace and absolute joy, in the ability to do so.

Marilyn's book is wonderfully uplifting, yet at the same time provides a strong message to get off the blame track. Life is full of difficult lessons. God speaks to us to help us learn from our mistakes and to recognize them. Making changes in our lives based on what we have learned is one of the rewarding gifts of our free will-- if we utlize it.

"Creating Your Own Destiny" is an inspirational guide to realizing your dreams. I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptive stories and appreciated the concise methods outlined.

I highly recommend it to anyone who is laid off and feels that his or her career aspirations are out of reach. These techniques will get your career back on track!

This book will change many lives!

I have read Patrick's book: Creating Your Own Destiny, and I must say that it is filled to the rim with great advice and fascinating topics. Patrick explains a 10 step success road map that is truly ingenous. I would recommend that anybody interested in changing their life should read this book.

After reading Patrick's book, and watching his video, many things have begun to come clearer in my life. I have a better grasp on my future, and I have already started achieving more!

Don't hesitate to read this book!

Brother Thomas Bezanson ,originally from Nova Scotia, is one of the great potters working in cermaics today. His work is notable in its use of color, resembling texture and color used in both China and Japan. He works in porcelin,and now lives and works in Erie, Pa.,not a noted hotbed of the arts. He was formely assocaited with the celebrated Monks of Weston Priory in Vermont. His work is easily accesible, and is on display in the Boston museum,among other places. This book, with its luxurious photos show the depth of the color that Brother Thomas achieves,the deep blends that have become his signature .Tea bowls, plates,vases all are lovingly illustated in beautiful full 4 color photographs.In this volume,he shows his deep indebtedness to the japanese and chinese artist who have preceeded him.Also his story is told along with his progress as an artist, and one can see, as a man. This is a beautiful book,lavishly illustarted which tells Br Thomas history along with the history of the pieces. Excellent, worth the cost and effort.

I found this book very enjoyable and uplifting. The writings of Brother Thomas and the photographs of his art work are exceptional. This is a book I recommend to any artist or anyone who enjoys man at his creative best.

I loved this book. The illustrations are incredibly beautiful, which is why I bought the book, but I've also read the story over and over. The excerpt about crows in the back is delightful. I'm so taken with the beauty of the illustrations that I plan to paint a select few on my granddaughter's nursery wall.

CROWS combines masterful pictures with a clever counting poem that will delight children and adults alike - a wonderful gift for parents or as a coffee table book! I have one my nephew gave me and it sits on my living room table in Autumn! The kids know only very special books go there and this is one of my favorites!

These little people books that come with a figurine are wonderful. My girls love them. As I read to them they use the little figurine to act out what is happening in the story. On each page there is a box telling you what the figurine should be doing now as the story unfolds. Or you can do your own actions. A fun book to read and a must-have for Little People fans!

This book is my toddler's favorite! He loves the fact that he can take out the lamb and put it back in. Because it's a board book, it's really holding up well to the abuse he puts it through. It is the one book that he picks up and pages through on his own

20 bucks for a book?! Well, this one's worth it and much more! The hundreds of articles and illustrations will satisfy every interest under the sun. I swear, once you start reading this book you won't be able to put it down! I've learned so much about 20th century history from this one book than in my five months of Modern History at college. Entertaining AND informative!

At last a history book that you can browse through.

As expected, you can learn about wars, presidents, and genocide. But you can also find the unexpected, with fascinating tidbits everywhere. For example: read about great practical jokers (page781), great thefts (page 190), entertainment scandals (page 434), the invention of silly putty (p 581), hoaxes (769). Well written, fun, and interesting -- what more could you want

I have to say that out of what I have seen in decoupage books and artists, Rubena Grigg has it over all. In my book, sophisticated wins out especially after one is continually confronted with the endless stream of cutesy, mediocrity in so many "crafts" today. This lady is an artisan!

Her pictures are quite good and her decoupaged tabletop along with the black ground floral tin pitchers are BREATHTAKING....no overkill here...they are my personal favorites.

The instructions, although not pictorial are adequate and the pictures will definitely inspire you to get started....I know I want to!

For incredible inspiration alone, this book is worth the purchase.

This is not a book on technique, but I wouldn't sell it for the world. Rubena is truly an artist, and just picking up her book, makes me want to do decoupage. I actually bought it to learn more about varnishing methods, and she does explain that well, but to me it's more a source of ideas.
Every project in her book, she explains in detail how she accomplished it.
If you buy it you won't be sorry if you like decoupage.

"Dining Out in Kyiv" can still be a useful guide for anyone wanting to do the Ukraine's capital food scene, even though it hasn't been recently updated. Kyiv's restaurants and cafes have become more numerous and offer better quality and quantity today.
Many new internet cafes have made their appearance in Kyiv, since the last publication of "Dining Out in Kyiv", as well as many fast-food restaurants, such as McDonald's, not unwelcome by some weary travellers, who are feeling homesick. Not mentioned in this guide, and usually excluded from any travel guide to Ukraine are home-cooked meals available through personal invitation from friends or acquaintances.

This handy pocket-size restaurant guide to Kyiv (Kiev) is a must-have guide for visitors to this charming city. Foreigners should come prepared when walking into Ukrainian restaurants or stores since locals inflate their prices for foreigners depending on how rich they look. Enjoy your journey to Ukraine and let us know whether Dining Out in Kyiv kept its promises.