October- My
Dad Got Hurt-What Can I Do? Helping
Military Children Cope with a Brain-Injured Parent
Dr.
Jerid Fisher and
The
National Academy of Neuropsychology Foundation
Promoting
Neurowellness through Education
This
is a nonfiction/fiction help book for kids-the title says it all.
The Neurologist
is a woman.
The family
is multi cultural. And they don’t have
the usual dog.
I liked
everything about this right away not only because of who this book helps but
how it’s put together. I’m all for
inclusion and breaking the barriers of fear from being different through race
and what people perceive as the norm.
We
need more of these kind of books, geared toward kids of military families, written
to guide them to a spot where they feel more comfortable which leads to
learning how to deal with problems associated with parents who’ve served. Face it, serving is selfless. People who serve leave for as one person and
come back changed—brain injury or not, not only do our heroes have to deal with
a lot when they get home, their families also have to deal. I have not had to and I certainly don’t
understand because I have no experience with this but I see some through the
eyes of families around me.
This is
a short, easy to read, explanatory story that can help kids understand the
reasons for changes in their military parent and maybe open the lines of
communication or at least put kids and families on the path toward healing.
I
never had the courage to serve, because it takes more courage than I have and I’m
in awe of those who can. To all our
service men and women and their families, there aren’t enough words to thank
you for your sacrifices.
Available for sale on Lulu.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble
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June- The Diary of
a Young Girl-Anne Frank-Tales from
the Secret Annex-Anne Frank
My husband
and I went to Europe almost exactly a year ago. There just aren’t enough words
to describe the beautiful places and things we saw. Pictures don’t do justice. I got to see all my exchange kids, except for
two of them and I can’t describe the awesome time we had with their
families. Happy anniversary Anna and
Toby of Emsdetten! We visited so many
cities and experienced so much that two weeks seemed like a few days.
I wanted to
share one place we visited in particular because that place changed my
life. A few weeks before we left America,
Floortje, one of our kids from two years ago, texted me. “Would you like to visit the Anne Frank House
while you’re in Amsterdam?”
I guess I
hadn’t thought about Amsterdam more than getting there. “Yes. How much?”
I am on a budget so of course I had to think about that first.
Floor said,
“Not that much. If we can get tickets it
would be better otherwise we’ll be waiting all day to get in.” After a few minutes, she texted again, “Four
tickets left for Saturday afternoon at 2 pm…otherwise, no tickets till August.”
Another of
our kids, Sophie, also Floor’s exchange sister, was coming in from Berlin that
day. “Get them and I’ll pay you when I get there.”
Like every
other American High School Kid my age, I read Diary of Anne Frank. I understood the ordeal and how horrible it
must have been for that teenager so far away but I didn’t get it. Whether it was because I was a kid or because
I was so far removed from that situation, I’m not sure but, once I visited Anne
Frank House, I understood the totality of what happened and I’ll never be
complacent again. Putting the words together with the articles from the people
involved who lived, and died, during that specific event and walking the actual
house changed how I thought about, well about everything.
I expected
the tour to be just as most house tours that go on around me. In Nebraska City, I have visited Arbor Lodge
and everything is nice. The Docents are well informed. In Abilene, Kansas, President Eisenhower’s
home is worth the visit. Everything is
restored and roped and visitors can look and see the lives that people
lived. That’s what I expected at Anne
Frank House. That’s not what I got.
There are no
ropes to keep you from going into rooms.
The building is pretty much the way it was at the time. In Anne Frank’s tiny room, the curators left
some of her notes pinned to the wall just as she left them (those walls were
protected by Plexiglas.) I could almost feel the
era as I climbed the stairs, touched the surroundings and peered out the
windows, covered just as they were during that time, and wondered how on earth
these people survived. I was, and still
am, so sad so many of the residents didn’t survive. What a disgusting shame. The only place we weren’t’ allowed was the
attic. I couldn’t help it. I climbed the makeshift ladder and peeked
inside to see. I had to. I knew I couldn’t visit and miss that one historic
space. It was the only spot roped off
but once at the top, and looking in, I almost felt the cold of winter and the
heat of the summer all at once and a sadness came over me that makes me wonder
why something like that happened. I am
glad I didn’t forgo that spot because of what I experienced just in that one
second.
At the end
of the tour was a movie. Usually those
museum movies are informative. This one
was different. No visitor spoke. No one left midway through. I cried as I’m sure lots of people did.
On the way
out, I purchased two books, careful not to break the spines or bend the pages
as I read. I kept the receipt and the
bag and the museum literature so that when I die, my children will have that
one thing that made such an impression on me.
I visited
lots of places during my days in Europe but those following that tour were with
a different understanding. In those few
short hours of a visit to a museum where a girl spent the last years of her
life, the way I thought about the world changed. I left knowing, and fearing, that history
repeats itself and how horrible it would be if that ever happened again. It can’t happen again. As humans, we can
never allow it again.
I truly
think that anyone with any hate in their heart should be forced to visit Anne
Frank House in Amsterdam. If they leave
with the same view as when they arrived, there is no hope for them.
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January- Here's something new.
I watched a movie. The Accountant. Its a great story. Just twisted enough. Acting was good--some quality actors who've been doing this a long time and some new guys-who also did a convincing job. There was just one place I thought would have made it better. Mostly it had to do with where the girl was once she
was left at the hotel. Maybe that got cut?
There are people who dissect movies a lot more than I but I watch movies to see a good story or to see how far it deviates from the written. I tend to miss or overlook the parts that realistically don't add up and stick to the storyline--which was pretty darn good here. I watched it twice.
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