Out of extraordinary suffering, a Canadian man discovers spiritual redemption in this memoir.
Corcoran (The Bishop or the King, 2013, etc.) was one of 13 children largely raised in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He writes that his mother regularly beat him savagely and forbade him to play at school. He also says that he was denied not only affection, but also basics such as food and didn’t even know his own birthday. His siblings, he notes, were ostentatiously favored by his mother, and he often suffered at their hands. For years, he was also victimized by a sexual predator. When it came time for him to start a life of his own, he discovered that he was wholly unprepared for independence. He decided to join the Canadian military and spent three years in Germany until he was reassigned to a base in Ottawa, Ontario. There, he married a young woman who later cheated on him with one of his best friends, he says. Gripped by despair, he contemplated suicide; instead, he rediscovered his Christian faith and began attending services, finding comfort and strength. However, he asserts that a charismatic church leader manipulated him into marrying a woman who was addled by severe psychological problems. After 14 years, he left the marriage, pursued a career in Christian ministry, sought help in therapy, and married a woman he truly loved. Overall, Corcoran writes with great clarity and emotional candor and unflinchingly shares a life that was marred by trauma. However, his memoir is not a woeful lament but a celebration of redemption, composed thoughtfully and showing a profound sense of gratitude. The author’s viewpoint is decidedly religious, but he never proselytizes, and as a result, this book should appeal even to those readers who don’t share his deep religious commitments. In the end, it is remarkable that such an affecting account of childhood abuse could manage to be just as inspiring as it is shocking.
A touching, meditative account of pain and spiritual transcendence.Pub Date: July 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4602-8990-7
Page Count: 216
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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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
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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
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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