This diverse and articulate book can help countless women move from heartbreak to healing, shedding their shame and soothing...
A writer weaves together stories of lost motherhood in this combination of memoir, Bible study, and self-help manual.
Abortions, miscarriages, stillbirths, premature labor, tragic accidents—all devastating events of child loss that leave women full of grief, shame, and bitterness. Debut author Upshaw herself has lost children, Sunshine and Daniel, one by abortion and one by premature labor. Therefore, she is no stranger to the overwhelming spectrum of emotions that accompany child loss, allowing her to write deeply poignant passages like this one: “Bitterness is not a momentary reaction to a singular event. It is a brewing stew of hurt, sadness, confusion, and despair that culminates into a lingering, subtle anger so gnawing that you don’t care who sees or hears it.” But through the years, her sorrow has been mended by the grace of God, especially as she has found similar stories from women in the Bible, her sacred partners “in genuine female hurt.” Each chapter begins with a modern tale connected to child loss, most of them the author’s. After that, Upshaw turns back to Old and New Testament times, describing characters and events in lucid detail and extracting profound meaning from often just a few verses. For example, she compares her desire for her son’s proper burial with the story of Rizpah, who protectively watched over her sons’ bodies until they could be buried, a selfless act that inspired even King David. Other notable characters include Elimelech’s wife, Naomi, whose children died; Hannah, who suffered infertility; and Tamar, a victim of rape. The modern accounts are just as varied—abortion for a variety of reasons, adoption, the deaths of children at birth or in their early years, sexual assault, and the role of caretakers—making the stories relevant to a wide range of female readers. Upshaw writes eloquently and openly, with compassion and without condemnation, leaving readers with the unequivocal message that they are not alone and that there is always hope for recovery.
This diverse and articulate book can help countless women move from heartbreak to healing, shedding their shame and soothing their souls one page at a time.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9992683-0-8
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Spirit and Grace Publishing Ltd
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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