by Rod Mebane ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 8, 2016
A unique, if upsetting, sampler of the ways in which parents mourn.
Mebane surveys the tributes created by parents to memorialize their dead children in this compilation.
Families honor their children who have died in many ways: scrapbooks, websites, gardens, tattoos. One father finished restoring his son’s ’67 Dodge. They remember them with memorial benches and trees, with inscribed bricks and plaques, with custom pocket-sized stones containing pictures of the dead. In their names, their families give donations to charities, establish scholarships, host fundraisers, maintain hiking trails. The ways to pay homage to deceased children are nearly as numerous as the families who have undergone the grief process. Mebane decided to produce a layman’s study on the subject after his daughter Emma died in 2011. The information in the book was obtained via a survey that Mebane sent to an email list of bereaved parents, for which he received 147 responses. The replies contained “stories of undying love from these children’s families and friends, of things they’ve done to pay tribute to their kids’ accomplishments, memories, dreams, and inspirations.” He discovered that bereaved families are, by and large, interested in three things: keeping their children present in their lives, ensuring their kids are remembered, and trying to guarantee that some good comes from the loss. While the project could have been either highly depressing or exceedingly saccharine, Mebane manages to organize his information around the types of tributes, spotlighting various children rather than offering, one after another, their tragic stories. The reader may be surprised at the composition of his study. These were not all sick children: the most common cause of death for the group, at 51 percent, was vehicular accident. Nor were they all small: 40 percent were over the age of 20. While the departed are certainly central to the purpose of the book, Mebane’s work is actually much more about the grieving process, and the personalities of the mostly anonymous families come through more than those of the dead. If mourning is a window into the psychology of a culture, this book of American families shows a view of death that is compassionate, action-oriented, and ultimately optimistic.
A unique, if upsetting, sampler of the ways in which parents mourn.Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9908547-0-8
Page Count: 134
Publisher: Starshine Galaxy
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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