Poetry, novels and other works of fiction can be useful to persons engaged in a journey of self-discovery, and we often suggest such resources to our clients. In addition, there are also many excellent books, from self-help to reflections on the journey of personal and relational growth, which are similarly useful. In this section we've begun to post some of the works that appeal to us for such purposes. From time to time we'll add to the list. We hope you'll find them useful too.
by Rick Bragg
Reviewed by Gary L. Hulme
This
autobiographical story by Rick Bragg finds him growing up "as po white trash"
in the dirt pines of the South. An alcoholic and physically violent father who
comes and goes our of their lives, his mother who works and slaves to eke out
an existence, and the labels and prejudices that come with that life. He argues
that the saying, "You can't miss what you've never had," is absolutely
false. He saw what the people who were better off that he was had, and knew he
missed it perhaps even more. It is a story of the courage of a mother and the
determination of a son to rise above the poverty and prejudice to become a Pulitzer
Prize winning writer.
by Pat
Conroy
Reviewed by Gary L. Hulme
Whenever I read a Pat Conroy novel
(I recommend them all, especially The Prince of Tides) I am always amazed at the
marvelous and wonderful phrases he creates to describe and bring an image to life:
"The water out of the fountain was pure and cold and tasted like snow melted
in the hands of little girl." When a good writer describes a meal, my mouth
waters and it makes me hungry, when Pat Conroy describes a meal, I am full and
couldn't eat another bite. The novel, set in the low country of South Carolina
to the ancient city of Rome, is a masterful story about a journey for the search
for meaning. From holocaust survivor secrets, to teenage adventures at sea, to
suicide and a surface genteel that belies the underlying complexities, Pat Conroy's
ability to tell a story is unsurpassed.
by Steve Watkins
Reviewed by Gary L. Hulme
This book by local author Steve Watkins (an English Professor at Mary Washington
College in Fredericksburg, VA) tells the story of the largest class action racial
discrimination law suit ever won in the United States. It tells the horrors of
institutional bigotry that existed in the Shoney's restaurant chain up through
the 1970's. Throughout are first hand accounts of Shoney's employees who repeat
the same theme over and over, racism abounded at from the top of the corporate
structure down through nearly every level of management. The Black "O"
refers to the letter "O" in the word "Shoney's" on the employment
application, which was blackened whenever an African-American applied for work,
thus letting management know that the applicant could work in the kitchen or busing
tables but could not be a greeter or server.
by Robert R. McCammon
Reviewed by Gary L. Hulme
Every guy in America knows what it's like to be twelve years old. That time
just between childhood and adolescence when our bikes were rocket ships, we could
fly through the air, when we loved and lost our dogs, when girls and music (rock
and roll) where just beginning to catch our interest. McCammon's book beautifully
catches this year in a boy's life. It describes a magical time when magic was
still a reality and ghosts and monsters were also still real. Interwoven throughout
this novel are mysterious adults, some to be awed, some to be feared and some
to be admired. A Boy's Life is like a time machine that transports us back
to a time of curiosity, invincibility, innocence and wonder.
by Robert Morgan
Reviewed by Gary L. Hulme
Julie Harmon
is a woman who can "do the work of a man." This novel, set at the turn
of the century (1899-1900) in southern Appalachia is a story of youth and determination,
of hardship and innocence, of endurance and a woman's search for her meaning,
strength and voice. Through death, marriage, fire, flood, cheats, sickness and
family, Julie tries to make sense out of the trials and tribulations of her life
-- through it all finding more than physical strength -- finding emotional and
spiritual strength as well. Julie is an inspiration to persevere and find deep
meaning in one's life experiences.
by Elaine N. Aron
Reviewed by Gary L. Hulme
Are you sensitive to light, do loud noises startle or upset you, do crowds tends
to overwhelm you? If so you might be what Elaine Aron calls a Highly Sensitive
Person (HSP). While our culture values extroversion, energy, and the bottom-line,
Aron makes a strong case for persons who feel like they don't fit in that kind
of culture. A Highly Sensitive Person herself, Aron takes the reader through assessments
and descriptive vignettes which transform the HSP's self-understanding from self-doubt
and shame to claiming one's uniqueness and healing sensitivity.
by Terrence Real
Reviewed by Gary L.
Hulme
This book is a must for both counselors who work with men who are
depressed as well as men who are trying to make sense and meaning of their lives.
Real sees depression in men as being unique and different from depression in women,
children and teens. He suggests that significant cultural forces can be the basis
for men to become "wounded wounders" who externalize their depression
through a number of behaviors including alcohol and drugs, workaholic, aggressive,
withdrawing and sometimes violent behaviors. In this highly readable book, Real
shares his own personal journey in a way that helps both the professional and
the lay person better understand the unique ways that depression impacts the lives
of men.
by Jonathan Hull
Reviewed by Gary L. Hulme
Jonathan Hull's exquisitely written novel is
filled with vivid imagery that puts the reading right in the middle of the story.
Set in three different time periods in the life of Patrick Delaney, we follow
his story as a 20 year old in World War I, experiencing all the horrors and intensity
of trench warfare. We are with him ten years later at the WWI memorial service
and monument dedication where he meets the girlfriend of his best friend killed
in the war. We are also with him in his eighties as he describes his current life
in an assisted living facility and reflects back on his life as he is dying of
cancer. This rich and poignant story is one of love, life, death and the search
to make meaning through decades of experience.
by Anna Quindlan
Reviewed By Gary L. Hulme
When
a successful and busy young woman living in New York City learns that her college-town
mother is dying of cancer her life is turned upside down. Through her at-first
reluctant care giving, she learns more about her mother than she ever imagined
possible. She finds a person of strength and determination, of giftedness and
resilience. This moving story about the ever deepening relationship between a
daughter and her mother is filled with a richness of meaning, questioning, learning,
loving and ultimately healing and reconciliation.