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You Can't Un-Ring the Bell

Name: You Can't Un-Ring the Bell
Author: Shirley J. Gilbert
ISBN: 978-1-5127-3431-7

IT IS WHAT IT IS

by Shirley J. Gilbert ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2016

A well-intentioned but meandering meditation on pain and healing.

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A seasoned psychologist offers wisdom and experience about facing life’s hardships in this compact self-help volume.

Gilbert (What Are You Pretending Not to Know, 2005) uses the metaphor of a ringing bell to illustrate the myriad challenges that one must confront in modern life. The bell, in this case, is a signal that one must deal with something, whether it’s cancer, failure, addiction, past trauma, or the death of a loved one. By sharing her own experiences as a mental health professional, as well as lessons from her Christian faith, Gilbert encourages readers to acknowledge the bells in their own lives and asserts that everyone holds the power to heal themselves. She introduces several tools to begin the healing process. Reframing, she says, helps people see their problems in a new way (“if we think we are powerless, then we are!”), while acceptance allows them to address said problems: “We can’t face what we haven’t identified,” she writes. When not discussing these tools, she shares anecdotes, including her experiences counseling incarcerated people and helping members of the Columbine, Colorado, community in the wake of the fatal 1999 school shooting. Some of her advice is global (“What a positive difference we could all make if we were committed to helping each other heal”), some is scaled-down and personal (“we CHOOSE our emotions!”). The positive tone continues to the concluding chapter, which includes a helpful summary of the tools and ideas set forth. Gilbert writes in a welcoming voice, and her vast experience effectively colors advice that otherwise might have fallen flat. But although the book begins with a clear desire to help people understand their problems, the bell metaphor quickly gets muddled. Bells are said to be challenges, but they’re also said to be truths that can be “rung” by others. In the end, the most consistent message is the use of Christian faith in facing life’s difficulties: “God’s grace is big enough to cover all the bells.” This may disappoint readers hoping for more psychological advice than spiritual comfort.

A well-intentioned but meandering meditation on pain and healing.

Pub Date: March 14, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3431-7

Page Count: 100

Publisher: Westbow Press

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

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ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

by Timothy Paul Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

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A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.

This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is â€œHow We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005

ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

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THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

AND OTHER ESSAYS

by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1955

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This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.