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Living Peacefully with Chronic Pain

Name: Living Peacefully with Chronic Pain
Author: Elizabeth Ann Johnston
ISBN: 978-0615491295

by Elizabeth Ann Johnston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2011

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Part memoir, part self-help guide, geared toward sufferers of chronic pain.
In this slim debut, Johnston draws on her long experience with prolonged physical pain to advise other sufferers. Unlike many books on the subject of chronic pain, this one focuses not on how to recover, but rather on how to accept its continued presence and find personal peace regardless. Even more unusually, Johnston presents her experiences and reflections in the form of a dialogue with an entity she considers to be the Holy Spirit. While readers who don’t share the author’s religious beliefs may find this framework off-putting, its exchange of questions, answers and elaborations turns out to be an effective mechanism for exploring Johnston’s ideas about pain and peace. Biblical quotes and references to Jesus abound, and Johnston’s advice focuses largely on tenets of Christian faith: e.g., “If we have an original thought, it comes from God, right?” Still, open-minded nonbelievers will also find valuable insights and perspectives for coping with pain. Much of the dialogue, for example, concerns the process of shifting beliefs and perceptions about experiences rather than changing the experiences themselves. “[P]ain,” Johnston writes, “is a thing and suffering is our response to the pain,” and her careful examination of how suffering comes into and out of being is one of the book’s strong points. At times, though, the rehashing of such common injunctions as “take good care of your body/temple” and “you must understand the importance of loving yourself” grows repetitive, and the shortage of further specific strategies for achieving those worthy goals can be frustrating. But while such concepts are likely familiar to many seasoned self-help readers, Johnston’s brief overview is an especially clear, compassionate distillation of them. Though it is by no means an exhaustive guide, this book may still prove useful as a starting point or refresher course for readers looking to achieve peaceful coexistence with persistent pain.
Far from comprehensive, but a thoughtful, well-balanced exploration of the author’s experience with chronic pain.

Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2011

ISBN: 978-0615491295

Page Count: 74

Publisher: E. Ann Johnston

Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.