One day, Richard Greene says he noticed that a couple of the lines in one of his poems stood well on their own. He thinks the lines may have been, “The cannon is callous / in its choice of targets.” After he recognized that first aphorism, he began looking for others in his poems and soon thereafter began to write them independently.
If you don’t know what an aphorism is, look it up. Better yet, get Richard Greene’s book. It did not take more than a few pages to realize that I held a treasure in my hands. I am struck by how few words can express such profound thoughts like, “If you leave things in the same place long enough, they become invisible.” But beware Greene warns, "Words are the source of most human strife.”
This is unlike any book you may encounter. You will miss the entire purpose of its existence if you read it from cover to cover. You must take time to savor the thoughts, enjoy the laughs, and remember, “We are what we read.”
If you don’t know what an aphorism is, look it up. Better yet, get Richard Greene’s book. It did not take more than a few pages to realize that I held a treasure in my hands. I am struck by how few words can express such profound thoughts like, “If you leave things in the same place long enough, they become invisible.” But beware Greene warns, "Words are the source of most human strife.”
This is unlike any book you may encounter. You will miss the entire purpose of its existence if you read it from cover to cover. You must take time to savor the thoughts, enjoy the laughs, and remember, “We are what we read.”
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
The author has a lot to say about how nature and the environment can affect a person struggling with mental illness induced by PTSD. She also has even more to say about how communicating with the world and with other patients through poetry becomes almost magical in its effect. My favorite part of this story is about how the hospital only permitted 3 sheets of paper per day to the inmates, so Jodi wrote poems and gave them to others confined in the locked ward who then gave their paper to Jodi to write more poetry.
This book is a combination of memoire and poetry laced together to tell a tragic story of abuse and resurrection. It is not an easy book to read because it pulls no punches in describing the cause, the struggle, and the eventual battle for survival to overcome ongoing suicidal thoughts in an onslaught of dark, hallucinatory voices. But it is also a rare glimpse inside the mind of someone who finds a way to control the symptoms through writing and her faith in a greater spirituality.
I was privileged to watch the author create this book from her journals, poems, and a strong belief in a mission to help other people find a way to reclaim their mental health by sharing her own story. It takes great courage to be so honest.
This book is a combination of memoire and poetry laced together to tell a tragic story of abuse and resurrection. It is not an easy book to read because it pulls no punches in describing the cause, the struggle, and the eventual battle for survival to overcome ongoing suicidal thoughts in an onslaught of dark, hallucinatory voices. But it is also a rare glimpse inside the mind of someone who finds a way to control the symptoms through writing and her faith in a greater spirituality.
I was privileged to watch the author create this book from her journals, poems, and a strong belief in a mission to help other people find a way to reclaim their mental health by sharing her own story. It takes great courage to be so honest.
I have been reading a lot of books on Salem and the witch trials. This book stands out among them all for having a very vivid aura, told from the first person perspective, which greatly enhances the feeling of authenticity. Too many of the books are just a regurgitation of the historic records. This book brings the story of Martha Carrier and her particular family to life. I highly recommend it.
A deep immersion in ancient Scottish culture, this book paints a vivid historical adventure. The times are fraught with conflict between religious factions, nationalities, clans and social classes. Nancy Kilgore brings it all to life within an exciting living narrative derived from her research and actual trips to Scotland. The story of Isobel Gowdie reads like a cinematic epic in a rich language filled with Scottish lore. There is real magic in the writing. Here's Isobel describing an out-of-body experience:
“Come,” beckoned William, fast astride his black stallion.
And now I saw that my own white steed awaited. I sprang upon the horse calling, “Horse and hattock, ho! Ho and away!” And now I was aloft, and my body alive, every part, with the flight and the thrill and the speed. I was no longer hungry, and pain was unheard of, unknown, unimagined. My body was light—light as air. And now I was large, so great that I was part of everything, and everything a part of me. “Horse and hattock, ho!” I called again, and we flew through the night, over farmtown and field, over dunes and machair and mountains.
Margaret, a rebellious, highborn teenager must overcome the restrictions of a conservative Covenanter family to pursue knowledge, experience, and the friendship of a village commoner who is also the most powerful cunning woman, otherwise known as a witch in the realm. When Margaret's friend Henrietta is kidnapped, she risks all to come to her aid and that means show more conspiring with Isobel Gowdie.
I am savoring every moment spent reading Bitter Magic. It is also typographically beautiful, typeset in a manner the befits the era it evokes. show less
“Come,” beckoned William, fast astride his black stallion.
And now I saw that my own white steed awaited. I sprang upon the horse calling, “Horse and hattock, ho! Ho and away!” And now I was aloft, and my body alive, every part, with the flight and the thrill and the speed. I was no longer hungry, and pain was unheard of, unknown, unimagined. My body was light—light as air. And now I was large, so great that I was part of everything, and everything a part of me. “Horse and hattock, ho!” I called again, and we flew through the night, over farmtown and field, over dunes and machair and mountains.
Margaret, a rebellious, highborn teenager must overcome the restrictions of a conservative Covenanter family to pursue knowledge, experience, and the friendship of a village commoner who is also the most powerful cunning woman, otherwise known as a witch in the realm. When Margaret's friend Henrietta is kidnapped, she risks all to come to her aid and that means show more conspiring with Isobel Gowdie.
I am savoring every moment spent reading Bitter Magic. It is also typographically beautiful, typeset in a manner the befits the era it evokes. show less