Reminiscent of Jill Krementz's affecting How It Feels to Fight For Your Life (1989), here's a collection of first-person accounts and poetry by campers at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, founded by Paul Newman for seriously ill kids. The poetry program that inspired this book was conducted at the camp two years ago by then-Yale students Berger and Lithwick. After the camp session, the two spent time with each of seven kids in the kids' homes, inviting them to talk about their experiences of life, camp, and being sick (the seven, ranging in age from ages 8 to 17, suffer from various cancers, sickle cell anemia, amputations, and AIDS). It's not surprising that the accounts are moving; what is surprising is the quality of some of the insights and poetry. The children's subjects are sometimes whimsical: ``hair, hair, everywhere''; throwing-up competitions with a friend in the next hospital room; a wonderfully inventive fantasy (``My Transfusion Family'') by Tina Kenney about getting transfused with the qualities of the 40 people who've given this young poet their blood. There are also, of course, many more serious poems. Kenney, a 17-year-old cancer patient, contributes the most consistently striking writing, including (in addition to ``My Transfusion Family'') a meditation on the lonely time in the hospital when visitors have gone home, TVs go off, and patients are alone with their thoughts; and a eulogy to three dead friends whose radiance pervades the writer's life as the stars illuminate the night sky. And there are many other young authors here who speak and write with words and perceptions beyond their years. A remarkable book that uplifts much more than it saddens. (Forty color photos—not seen—by Robert Benson illustrate the children's camp experience and family life.)
Pub Date: June 26, 1992
ISBN: 0-316-09273-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1992
A superb work that paints the resilient athlete as a fierce competitor and an unforgettable sportsman.
Heartfelt biography of a Texas football star whose life was cut short by cancer.
Inspired by interviews with coaches, teammates and friends and a 1971 autobiography, award-winning sportswriter Dent (Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football, 2007, etc.) tracks Freddie Joe Steinmark’s early years and burgeoning career with the Texas Longhorns. From his childhood in 1950s Denver, Colo., Steinmark’s interest in sports flourished, carefully groomed and profoundly encouraged by his father, a self-made athlete turned cop who’d sacrificed a professional baseball career to raise his son. “A small child with fragile bones” yet dubbed “a born winner” by early mentors, Steinmark’s diminutive stature proved a surprisingly suitable match for his steely, fearless determination on the field. Dent budgets his narrative wisely, proffering equal parts sports achievement and personal accomplishment in tracing his subject’s incremental ascent to greatness as he earned the admiration of fellow teammates like star quarterback Roger Behler. As the Longhorns’ “golden boy” key safety, the “155-pound peach-fuzz kid” exhibited drive and tireless perseverance on the gridiron, making him a respected letterman under Coach Darrell Royal. However, soon after a game-saving field performance, Steinmark suffered a crushing blow when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bone cancer that would eventually claim his life at 22. Dent also includes the story of Steinmark’s shyly romantic courtship of high-school sweetheart Linda Wheeler, an intensive love that endured throughout their tenure together at the University of Texas. The author also bolsters the biography with a fond foreword from current Texas head coach Mack Brown, who, to this day, continues to memorialize Steinmark’s legacy by bringing his photograph along to the team’s away-games.
A superb work that paints the resilient athlete as a fierce competitor and an unforgettable sportsman.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-65285-2
Page Count: 307
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
Authoritative and, most helpfully, accessible.
Self-help guide for diabetes sufferers, mostly in question-and-answer format, with an emphasis on helping racial and ethnic minority diabetics.
Coleman is a pharmacist with a doctorate in her specialty, Gavin a Ph.D. and M.D. Aside from acknowledgments and a foreword signed by Gavin alone, their voices and expertise are indistinguishable, offering lucid, simple solutions for diabetes patients. Gavin relates watching his great-grandmother endure debilitating pain as a result of diabetes while he visited her as a youngster. He remembers hearing adults mention that sugar killed her, and he wondered how something that tasted sweet could cause so much harm. As an adult, he realized that his great-grandmother's affliction could be controlled through treatment. The authors focus on Type 2 diabetes, the most common form in minority populations. An estimated 18.2 million Americans are diabetic, with perhaps 5 million unaware of their situation. About 11 percent of U.S. diabetics are African-American, and about 8 percent are Latino. The question-and-answer format begins with an overview section about diabetes, with an emphasis on risk factors. Section Two covers management of the disease, including nutrition, exercise, blood-testing, oral medications and insulin use. In addition, the authors continually recommend smoking cessation, as well as instructing patients on the readiness of self-treatment. Section Three explains the complications—high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease—that could arise if the condition remains untreated or treated ineffectively. The questions in all of the sections are worded simply, and the answers are usually free of medical jargon. Though the sudden shifts in tone and voice are occasionally jarring, the writing remains clear enough to distill the facts. The real downside here, though: patronizing, laughable illustrations that degrade the overall product.
Authoritative and, most helpfully, accessible.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2004
ISBN: 0-9746948-0-0
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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