Good Reads & Views

Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
Nonfiction

Some parents, especially mothers, might take offence with parts of this book, but it is nevertheless a thought provoking look at what we are doing to our girls. The focus here is on how girls are pre-conditioned to act female, with an emphasis on “looking pretty” and behaving like the pink obsessed princesses we espouse them to be. The author is the mother of a daughter herself and uses humor and personal insight to confront her own conflicting feelings on how far to go in combating the “girlie-girl” culture influence.

Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions by Paul and Lori Hogan
Nonfiction

This comprehensive and well-organized guide provides a plethora of information and advice about the range of possible care situations faced by the elderly. The stages are: Aging in Place, Family Care, Senior Centers and Adult Care Centers, Nonmedical Care at Home, Medical Care at Home, Retirement and Independent Living Communities, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing Homes, Hospice Care. It also covers the role of the caregiver, family relationships (and conflicts), financial planning, and funeral/bereavement issues. The authors are experienced advocates for seniors, and are the founders of Home Instead Senior Care, the world's largest provider of nonmedical care for seniors.

You Were Always Mom’s Favorite by Deborah Tannen
306.8754 TAN

In this book, Deborah Tannen explains the relationships and bonds of sisterhood.  She has conversations with real life sisters and draws information from these conversations.  She explains about her own childhood, growing up with two sisters, and the relationships and discussions they had when they were younger and also the relationships and discussions they have at this point in their lives.  She recalls being mistaken for her sister almost every day growing up.  She offers advice and information on both the good and frustrating aspects of growing up with sisters.

Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden
B Burden,Wendy

Cornelius Vanderbilt’s great-great-great-great-granddaughter, Wendy Burden, tells all about her quirky branch of the family tree in this amusing and startling read. For example, Burden’s father died when she was in grade school, but it was only when she found a clipping of his obituary that she discovered he committed suicide. From her own fascination with mortuary science to her grandparents’ lavish spending habits to her mother’s search for the perfect tan, Burden’s sharp tongue spares no one – including herself.

Knit Together by Debbie Macomber
248.843 MAC

Popular fiction author, Debbie Macomber, writes this book as a personal statement of her faith, and how this faith has helped her to become a successful wife, mother, friend, mentor, and an author.  She tells of struggles she faced early in her career.  She also gives the readers strategies for overcoming fears, living their lives, and becoming a success at the career they choose for themselves.  She offers words of inspiration and a number of scripture verses that have helped her along the way.

The Best Kind of Different : Our Family’s Journey with Asperger’s Syndrome by Shonda Shilling
362.196858832 SCH

This is an intimate portrait of a family struggling to deal with “a different child.” Shonda, wife of baseball star Curt Shilling, was at her wits end trying to manage a household with 4 children, a mostly absent husband and a child who was frequently out of control. It was when a neurologist finally diagnosed their son with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism, that Shonda began to realize the signs she had missed for years. She presents a clear description of Asperger’s behavior and candidly shares her firsthand account of the challenges for the entire family. This is an inspirational story of family strength, sticking together getting through the tough times while learning, growing and loving. A must read for anyone associated with an Asperger’s child and very helpful for anyone to help understand some children’s unusual behaviors.

The Privilege of Youth: A Teenager’s Story of Longing for Acceptance and Friendship by Dave Pelzer
362.76 PEL

Third in a trilogy that chronicles the life of the author through an abusive childhood, the foster care system, and into the Air Force, this volume fills in with the high school years of Pelzer’s life. A tour of friendships and journeys by an adolescent through a new neighborhood, out of his previous nightmare and into a world beyond awaits the reader in The Privilege of Youth, which is preceded in the series by A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive (nominated for a Pulitzer Prize) and The Lost Boy: A Foster Child’s Search for the Love of a Family. Pelzer is a motivational author and speaker whose message is one of overcoming life’s obstacles.

A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive by David Pelzer
362.76 PEL

The first book in an autobiographical trilogy. This is a harrowing story of a child who is brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother. At the same time it is the story of the indomitable human spirit and a child whose courage and willpower enable him to survive until help finally arrives in the person of a teacher and school nurse. A compelling and thought provoking story.

The 7 Stages of Motherhood by Ann Pleshette Murphy
306.8743 MUR

The author, Pleshette Murphy, was Parents magazine’s editor-in-chief for over ten year. Even with all her expert parenting knowledge, Pleshette Murphy admits that she was just as clueless about parenting her own children as the rest of us new mothers. She shares with us her own experiences in motherhood; her own mistakes and successes. But the focus of this book is the development of the mother, rather than the child’s development. She covers all possible emotions and transformations a mother may experience in this reassuring and uplifting parenting book.

The Hard Questions for Adult Children and Their Aging Parents by Susan Piver
306.874 PIV

The author asks 100 questions to help loved ones face the future together. Includes discussions about organ donation, living wills, spirituality, and hospice.