Ford Reviews

Tacarra is an awesome writer whose insight into teenage life is unparralleled. She writes with an open mind and doesn't care what ends up on the paper. It wouldn't matter anyways, anything that spills out of this girls soul is good writing!! My favorite poem is "I am" about being a daughter of a Mandingo Warrier.

Our body/muscles store our traumas even when we think that our conscious mind forgets. Hurts, abuses, and accidents all remain in our body/muscles. One may be in psychotherapy or counseling for months or years and think that he/she is over the trauma; but when therapeutic touch, as described by Dr. Ford, is applied to the body old traumas resurface. In this book Dr. Ford effectively melds techniques and therapies of the body/mind which he has named somatosynthesis. His descriptions of his sessions with patients are easily understood. The format of the book is a chapter describing patients sessions, alternating with a chapter devoted to the rationale which furthers the reader's knowledge and understanding of integrating body work, or therapeutic touch, with mind therapy. The patient usually has several sessions with Dr. Ford which he calls "the journey". Once the journey is completed, the patient is released and relieved of the trauma causing problems and he/she can function without restrictions or fears in life. This book is written including case studies, theories, and useful techniquers in a way that will excite and stimulate the reader.

This novel takes place in 1890s Boston. Brice Stockton travels from Texas to pick up the body of Peter, his older brother, who has died in a suicide pact with Diane Cabel, of the wealthy Suffolk Cabels. It seems like a straightforward, but gruesome, task. When he gets there, not only is he denied entrance to the estate, but Brice is told that Peter has already been buried, contrary to the wishes of the Stockton family. He is also told of the Cabel curse. A curse can be something other than perpetual bad luck.

Once Brice practically forces himself onto the estate, he finds an eccentric family who have seen better days. Moorefield is the family patriarch, Wolf is his son and heir (along with being an arrogant you-know-what) and Maida is his daughter. Ainsley, another son, is a congenital imbecile. There are also a number of servants.

The police are not very helpful, because of the Cabel's influence, but the coffins are dug up, only to find that they're both empty. Brice begins to get the idea that Diane and Peter didn't kill themselves. Suspicion falls on one of the servants, who is killed by Wolf just before he was going to confess. During a hunting trip, Wolf and several of his men attempt to kill Brice and make it look like an accident. He barely escapes by jumping into a nearby lake, where he finds the bodies of Peter and Diane. Suspicion then falls on Maida, who is being treated by a local doctor, who also happens to be a hypnotist. Not only is she being sexually assaulted while under hypnosis, but just enough of a post-hypnotic suggestion is planted in her mind to make Maida think that maybe she is actually guilty of murder. For a time, suspicion also falls on Ainsley. Brice also learns that Maida is holding a major secret over Wolf's head concerning Ainsley. If Moorefield got even an inkling of this secret, Wolf would be disinherited so fast it would make his head spin. Just to make things more interesting, on more than one occasion, Brice sees Peter and Diane actually walking through the house. They aren't some ghostly see-through apparition, but solid enough to reach out and touch. Through it all, Brice is drawn deeper and deeper into the depths of his own soul.

This book has it all. It's got a mansion with secret passages and wings that have been closed for years, it's got dark family secrets, several dead bodies, a bit of sex, strange goings-on and a really well done story. This fine piece of Victorian horror writing is very much worth reading.

Judy Ford returns again to deliver more sound advice for being a a wonderful family. An experienced mother and a family therapist, she brings forth all her wisdom in this treasure of a book. Her suggestions are practical and simple, yet can make tremendous difference in your family lives.

In no way does she thrust her advice above the individuality of each family. This book is not a parenting guide for troubled families but rather some fresh ideas to bring into your home coming from years of experience.

"Wonderful Ways to Love a Grandchild," speaks to the heart and soul of a grandparent. It reminds those of us who ARE grandparents, what a special title this is. And to those of us who will one day be grandparents, it fills us with anticipation of this wonderful event. The perfect gift for a grandparent.

Following up on her magnificent first book, Ann Watters truly pulls through here. Her editing skills are unparalleled in the academic communities around the world. This is a fine college reader that was enjoyable from the start. Writing for Change does not disappoint

Often when people think about folklore, they picture quaint villages populated by storytellers and quilters. John Dorst seeks to dispel those stereotypes with his postmodern analysis of the hidden ideology and power behind the serene façade of a middle-class elite suburb, in this case, Chadds Ford, PA, home of the Wyeth family of artists. In doing so, he pushes folklore studies into an intriguing new direction. The Written Suburb introduces 4 key concepts: 1.) post-ethnography-the reading of institutions, printed materials, and events such as museums, historical societies, arts and crafts festivals, diner menus, and AAA brochures as postmodern texts; 2.) postmodern vernacular-a particular "dialect" of postmodernity characterized by self-reference without the ironic sense of humor as found in MTV and comic books; 3.) auto-ethnography-the self-generated texts of a literate society capable of observing itself. The folklorist's job is to collect and read critically these texts; and 4.) Site-a suburb as an assemblage of texts and ideology. Dorst also questions the rhetoric behind museums (in this case the Brandywine River Museum) and the concept of tradition. The unique combination of the works of postmodernists and semiotics scholars such as Frederic Jameson and Dean MacCannel with American folklore scholarship is truly stimulating.

Being so theoretical, The Written Suburb is not an easy book to read, nor can its concepts be easily grasped in one reading. But it is a valuable book for folklorists who are serious about the evolution of the discipline and who enjoy finding connections between folkloristics and postmodernism.

With tales such as The Blue Mountains, The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership, The Dragon and His Grandmother, Fairer-than-a-Fairy, The Flower Queen's Daughter, The Glass Axe, How To Tell a True Princess, and many others how can anyone not find this book fun to read? Once again, Lang edits a book full of fairy tales from many lands that will entertain children and adults. The black and white illustrations are also superb.

This book is an excellent guide to the common (and uncommonly) asked questions regarding movies, commercials, and other theatrical carreers. It focuses mainly on the ways to get involved in the industry, but doesn't stop there. They go on to share priceless advice, and the scoop on how to keep everything moving once you've made it as an actor. It's detailed enough that a beginner can read it, yet substantial enough for already-known actors to enjoy. Throughout the book, they have painted a clear and realistic view of the industry, while keeping it optomistic and encouraging, not intimidating. Basically, Kelly Kidwell and Ruth Devorin have created an acting book far superior than many out there.

The message here is clear. Reclaim your power and creativity by actively embracing the sides of yourself you deny or dislike. Rather than waste time and energy condemning others, look at yourself for possible faults you may be finding in those around you. In this context, being a whole person is more important than being a "good" person. Being "spiritual" means being fully human, warts and all!

Many examples are given throughout of how judging others negatively is in fact a mirror for one's own perceived negative personality traits. Positive qualities are also often projected onto others and we can reclaim these too. By accepting the whole truth about ourselves we can move forward with a greater sense of self-worth and more love to give to others.

"Do you really want inner peace?" asks Debbie Ford, "If you do its yours. Surrender. Stop fighting. Stop defending. Stop pretending. Stop denying. Stop lying to yourself". Overall this is a powerful read in the territory of the "Conversations With God" books by Neale Donald Walsch who contributes an introduction here. As with many books of this nature, the challenge is to consistently LIVE these ideas!

I've read a lot of self-help books and this is by far the best I've ever read. It's not a book for everyone. Many people are not ready to look at themselves with total honesty. But, as the author explains, "What you can't be with, won't let you be." The things you deny about yourself will keep popping-up in your life, until you finally understand and accept them. As the author say so well "Because when we judge ourselves we automatically judge others. And what we do to others, we also do to ourselves. The world is a mirror of our internal selves. When we can accept ourselves, we automatically accept and forgive others."

The fascinating thing is, usually people that we dislike, are actually mirroring a quality that we are denying about ourselves. We have nearly every positive and negative quality there is, but through painful experiences, we come to deny certain parts of ourselves. We are unaware of how greatly this affects our life, and our interaction with other people.

We are also unaware of how wonderful life can be when we free ourselves. As she says "What you don't own, owns you." and "What you resist, persists." I can't do this book justice in this short review, but if you are ready to look at yourself with total honesty, and really change your life for the better, buy this book!

I thought I had finished writing my own book. I believed I had said all I have learned. Then I picked up Debbie Ford's book The Dark Side of the Light Chasers. Oh boy, did I have more healing to do.
I discovered this when I completed one of the exercises in this book. It directed me to connect with that part within which contains the highest self truths, my "sacred self," and ask: "What [do] you need to do to open your heart and let go of any emotional toxicity you have been carrying around?"

With pen and journal in hand, I began writing.
We have to experience understanding ourselves in order to heal ourselves. With the help of this wonderful book, I was able to do just that.
I am deeply grateful to Debbie Ford for sharing herself and her healing process so that I was able to continue mine. Thank you.
I hope you can see the true power in giving and sharing. They are not simply esoteric concepts reserved for the few. They are the connection we all share, the connection that transforms each of us individually and thus transforms all of humanity when we give ourselves permission to simply be ourselves.
As a self-help, spiritual author, I salute Debbie Ford for her courage to open up, share, and make a difference. This book will certainly help you embrace and transform whatever you may unconsciously view as "wrong" with you, just as it did with me.
From my heart, Barbara Rose, author if Individual Power: Reclaiming Your Core, Your Truth, and Your Life