Books & Quotes

A Favorite Book

I have a confession. I'm not much of a reader. Which is weird for me to say. I have always considered myself to be a reader. When I was young, I read a lot. I wanted to grow up and be a writer. But as I get older, I find fewer and fewer books I feel are worthwhile reads. If a book does not capture my interest within five pages, I abandon it. I'm harsh like that.

But, I do read sometimes. And I certainly have some favorites. I could never pick a single favorite, so I won't. I will simply list books I like a lot, and highly recommend. Word of warning, though, I tend to like gritty books. Part of my pickiness stems from the fact that a lot of fiction bothers me because it's so unrealistic, so I read a lot of non-fiction. And my background and interest in psychology certainly makes for gritty books. So, if language, bad behavior, drugs, abuse, sex, and all the other dirty things life has to offer offends you, don't read these books.

As Nature Made Him- The Boy Who Was Raised As a Girl
This is a heart-breaking story of a set of twin boys from Winnipeg who became a science experiment to a doctor at Johns Hopkins University. After a botched circumcision, the parents are faced with a difficult decision on how to handle the situation and ultimately are persuaded by a doctor that their son can successfully be raised as girl. **Spoiler Alert** It doesn't work like that.






The Day the Voices Stopped
"For thirty-two years Ken Steele lived with the devastating symptoms of schizophrenia, tortured by inner voices commanding him to kill himself, ravaged by the delusions of paranoia, barely surviving on the ragged edges of society. In this inspiring story, Steele tells the story of his hard-won recovery from schizophrenia and how activism and advocacy helped him regain his sanity and go on to give hope and support to so many others like him." (from Amazon.com)






Beautiful Boy and Tweak
These two books are a great read together. Tweak is a memoir written by Nic Sheff, who is a recovering meth addict. Beautiful Boy is a memoir written by his father. It's interesting to read them both and see the parallel timelines as well as the different perspectives on addiction. I read Beautiful Boy first, but I don't think it matters which one you read first. They are both very dark and haunting (especially Tweak, for obvious reasons). I certainly needed a break after reading them. Not for the faint of heart at all.















Well, I'll leave you with that short list. I could name a dozen other heart-breaking books that are at the same time fascinating and hopeful, but I won't. If you are interested in more, though, let me know and I'll suggest some to you.

A Favorite Quote

A long-held favorite quote of mine is "It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing at all." -Seneca, a Roman playwright

Another quote that is near and dear to my heart is one by the late Gordon B. Hinckley. It is a part of his testimony that he shared at General Conference in 1998. I remember it well. I was watching it at home, in my parents' bedroom. I've always had a difficult time with general conference in that I simply cannot stay awake. I could sleep 10 hours the night before, but within 20 minutes, I'll be out like a light. This session was no different. I had fallen asleep on the floor for most of the session. I woke up for a brief moment at the very end of President Hinckley's testimony/talk. I was awake long enough to hear this: "Our Eternal Father lives. He stands as the great God of the universe, ruling in majesty and power. And yet He is my Father, to whom I may go in prayer with the assurance that He will hear, listen, and answer." And then I promptly fell back asleep. But in that short time of half-awake consciousness, I was touched deeply by those words. And have never forgotten them. In all of His greatness, and in all of His achievements, we are still His children. And we are His greatest work and greatest source of happiness and joy. And He is waiting for us always.