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Book Club

Public Group active 2 weeks, 5 days ago ago

Beginning in September of 2010, we will begin reading a book and having a once weekly chat to discuss the selection. Join us!

Book for March & April ’11 (11 posts)

  • Profile picture of Julia Roberts Julia Roberts said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    Love You to Pieces, Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs (a collaborative book by Suzanne Kamata, a community member)

    Suzanne said she’d send one book out to a community member and I’d like it to be someone that by the end of March will pick one of the essays, stories or poems and to lead a topic on it in this group! First one who agrees to that will get the book sent to them!

    I’ll occasionally pop in here in March and April as well and talk about some of them! I like that we’re spanning two months (I don’t get to read very often) and hope you are too! Barb usually leads this group, but as you know in the special needs world it is often ebb and flow and right now it’s flowing very busy in her world. So she’s letting me help out!

    From Suzanne Kamata’s site, which will also give you ordering options:

    http://www.suzannekamata.com/love_you_to_pieces__creative_writers_on_raising_a_child_with_special_needs_63839.htm

    The first collection of literary writing on raising a child with special needs, Love You to Pieces features caregivers’ perspectives at every stage in the lives of children with mental or physical difficulties, from premature birth to middle age. In this rich blend of short stories, essays, and poems, families cope with autism, deafness, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, other forms of retardation, and more, laying bare the moments of rage, disappointment, and guilt that can color their relationships. Parent-child communication can be a challenge at the best of times,b ut here we see the epic struggles and triumphs of those who speak their own language – or don’t speak at all – and those who love them dearly. Together, the authors paint a beautiful, wrenchingly honest portrait of what it means to care for a child who does not experience the world as we do.

    “Powerful, unflinching, and beautifully rendered, Love You to Pieces is…true literature. Through a combination of fiction, poetry and memoir – some by renowned authors, others by emerging writers, every piece saturated with hard-won insight – the loving parents in these pages speak honestly and artfully about every stage of their experience. Parents who wear these shoes will find deep, moving depictions of a reality they know so well. [Others] will find a literary experience they’ll never forget — and more richness than they ever imagined.”

    -Rachel Simon, author of Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey

    Site co-founder and tired special needs mom to two cute kids; Gage and Quinnlin. Kids who’ve endured more than their share of medical and emotional issues. ARPKD (recessive polycystic kidney disease), ocularmotor apraxia, delays, IEPs,mental illness, kidney failure, dialysis, and kidney transplants
  • Profile picture of Marisa Howard-Karp Marisa Howard-Karp said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    I’m in! Would love to read it and hear what others think. But, um, how do I lead a topic on this group?

    Queer transracial adoptive parent to E., born in 2006 (adopted domestically) and B., born in 2008 (adopted through foster care). E. has Sensory Processing Disorder. B. is Deaf.
  • Profile picture of Julia Roberts Julia Roberts said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    Marisa…it’s so easy! When the time comes I’ll help you. But all you do it go to “Forum” in this group and hit “New Topic” and that’s it! Then people reply to it just like you did! Can you DM me on Twitter your address and I’ll have the book sent directly to you! Yay!

  • Profile picture of Sylvia Ross Sylvia Ross said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    FYI Amazon has it for kindle.

  • Profile picture of Siobhan Wolf Shaffer Siobhan Wolf Shaffer said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    Sounds like a great read. If Marisa doesn’t want to lead a discussion, I will.

    Siobhan Wolf Shaffer, Creative Memories Consultant
    http://www.creativememories.com
    http://www.cmphotocenter.com – Use my CM ID 41373165 for 20 FREE prints!
  • Profile picture of Siobhan Wolf Shaffer Siobhan Wolf Shaffer said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    I read a beautiful collection of literary non-fiction on adoption topics and I look forward very much to reading this. Thanks for the heads up. :D Yay! (Just ordered it!)

  • Profile picture of Julia Roberts Julia Roberts said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    Thanks Siobhan, I think we’ll have a few! So yes! I’m taking you up on your offer (that’s why this is a perfect book – we can each pick one essay/story/poem that speaks to us!

  • Profile picture of Siobhan Wolf Shaffer Siobhan Wolf Shaffer said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    Awesome, Julia. I’m sure we’ll all have a favorite or one that speaks to us. I look very much forward to the discussions. (Oh, how I love discussions on writing and books!)

  • Profile picture of Karen Karen said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    I requested the book from the library, hopefully I will get it in time to read before the end of the month.

  • Profile picture of Suzanne Kamata Suzanne Kamata said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    Thanks so much for choosing LOVE YOU TO PIECES. Obviously, I love these stories, essays and poems. I included works which I found bolstering and/or comforting. I look forward to hearing your reactions here!

  • Profile picture of Siobhan Wolf Shaffer Siobhan Wolf Shaffer said 1 year, 2 months ago:

    I received my copy this week and have gotten started reading. The first story was so moving. I’ll have to be careful where I choose to read this. (Nothing like getting all teary while sitting in a restaurant…). Looking forward to ongoing discussion.

    Suzanne, thanks for putting these stories together. I appreciated your opening words about how rare it is to find these writings, and it is a blessing to have a number of them compiled all in one place.