An inspirational memoir undermined by messy writing.
A debut spiritual autobiography reflects on a life of challenging trials.
After she suffered an injury that compelled her to take time off from work, Shepherd was inspired to write an account of her life, which was plagued by adversity. At a young age, she was preoccupied with philosophical questions regarding the nature of her existence, and during a lonely childhood she sought refuge in a precocious spiritual calling. In her early teens, Shepherd would spend afternoons in her mother’s closet devoted to prayer; it was well known that if you wanted to find her, that’s where you looked. Later, she moved to Boston to stay with her grandmother because she was an avid churchgoer, but the author was discomfited by her church’s moral libertinism. Shepherd became pregnant, and had no choice but to return home to New York; her father then died only a month after she arrived. The remainder of her adult life was marred by unrelenting travails: her baby’s father refused to accept responsibility for his child, and Shepherd was reduced to seeking welfare. She became pregnant a second time, and her older sister forced her to have an abortion (the precise nature of the coercion is never clear). A nefarious pastor tried to arrange an ill-conceived relationship for her. Her house burned down; she was involved in a physically debilitating car accident; and her son was sent to jail for life for a crime she says he did not commit. Through it all, she found strength and solace in her faith, and the entire account is dotted with references to the Bible, with brief reflections on scattered passages. The author’s optimism is both inexhaustible and inspiring, and every page is a testament to her religious tenacity. But the prose is muddled and confusing, and often riddled with typographical and grammatical errors: “A good parent will love their child regards to their many of mistakes, I want say that that when they continue to disobey our words and rules that we are happy, but we try whatever it will take to make things right with that child and sometimes, we get side track, because the weight seems so hard, that you may find it more easier, to just throw in the towel.” As a result, the book is often difficult to understand, and the timeline of events presented remains obscure.
An inspirational memoir undermined by messy writing.Pub Date: June 24, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5127-4525-2
Page Count: 132
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
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 “How 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
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.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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