by Jim McCallum ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2011
Shirley McCallum’s story is an ode to the memory of a vivacious young woman and an open letter of sympathy and support for...
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A father’s poignant memorial of his daughter.
Shirley McCallum was a shy, unassuming little girl who loved horses; from her first pony to her first competition, Shirley lived to ride. One of her hometown’s biggest equestrian events was the Selkirk Common Riding, a 13-mile ride that was Shirley’s all-time favorite event—and one she was determined never to miss. Shirley’s high school years were the same as any other teen, filled with friends, dances and, of course, boys. At 18-years-old, she accepted a job at a riding center that came complete with an apartment. On her own, working and living full-time with her beloved horses, Shirley had it all. However, a few short years later, her life changed forever when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. McCallum writes of his daughter’s battle with cancer as seen through his eyes and in a way only a father could, paying witness to the slow deterioration of his young daughter and homage to her courage and stanch determination to soldier on, for herself, her family and her new husband, despite the pain and oft-debilitating side effects of her treatments. McCallum writes with a straightforward, open honesty, unafraid to bare the fears or the tears that he and his wife shared through such an incredibly difficult time. Though the years would be sprinkled with moments of laughter and happiness, his words carry with them the uneasy acceptance of the ultimate conclusion, even as he continued to pray for a miracle. Shirley’s last moments were peaceful, and McCallum eloquently describes his daughter being cradled by her mother: “The arms that held her as she came into the world were holding her as she left.”
Shirley McCallum’s story is an ode to the memory of a vivacious young woman and an open letter of sympathy and support for others who may be going through a similar, life-altering experience.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1456793661
Page Count: 89
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Elie Wiesel & translated by Marion Wiesel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2006
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
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by Chris Gardner with Quincy Troupe ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2006
Well-told and admonitory.
Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn’t always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie “I ain’t your goddamn daddy!” Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did “the dozens” with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner’s talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now.
Well-told and admonitory.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-074486-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
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