lory_enterenchanted's reviews
553 reviews

Little by Edward Carey

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense

4.0

I had no idea of the history behind Madame Tussaud’s, but this fantastical grotesque novel brought her vividly to life, if in an off-kilter kind of way. 

Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory by Deb Dana

hopeful informative inspiring reflective

3.5

Having just read a couple of other books on polyvagal theory and healing this may have suffered from being more of the same and not feeling so revolutionary any more. It was clearly written and included many suggestions for practice and reflection.  The one thing that annoyed me a bit was the personification of the nervous system. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Did not finish book.

I got about a third of the way through, and decided that was enough. I don't like whimsical books about the child Antichrist. It's not really an amusing concept.

In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter A. Levine

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective

4.0

Fascinating look at somatic trauma therapy, the way we subvert and cut off our own survival instincts, and how we can consciously recover our innate ability to heal. 

One point I disagree with is that “we’re just a bunch of animals.”  Yes, it’s vital to acknowledge our animal nature as part of us, but equally to perceive how humans are different from wild animals — both in experiencing trauma, and in the ability to become aware of and heal it. This truly makes us a new kingdom and we must take up the task! If we don’t, we will remain stuck in an in between state, neither animal nor fully human. 

Another weakness, the book needed better editing and proofreading. There were some repetitive passages and some bad typos. The material deserves more careful treatment. 

The Secret Language of the Body: Regulate Your Nervous System, Heal Your Body, Free Your Mind by Karden Rabin, Jennifer Derryberry Mann

hopeful informative inspiring reflective

4.0

I can’t wait to get to work with this book. I’ve been doing some of these things haphazardly and by instinct but it helps to have a path laid out so clearly. Particularly the physical movements to change nervous system states. I’ve spent ages trying to heal my mind with my mind and it just makes things worse.  This refreshing and hopeful new paradigm could truly change the world. Let’s heal!

Encounters: Moments of Destiny in the Bible by Ruth Ewertowski

hopeful informative inspiring reflective

3.5

Reflections on characters and stories from the Bible, from Genesis to Acts. Gave me some food for thought, but I couldn't say I found it amazingly insightful and revelatory. A few gems in there, plus some conclusions I would contest.

Because I Come from a Crazy Family: The Making of a Psychiatrist by Edward M. Hallowell

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad

3.5

I went into this expecting to find reasons to dislike Edward Halloran, because of his role in the excessive medication of children, but he came across as sincere and caring and curious, and I could sympathize with him as he described a difficult family that was yet full of love. I think it's a case of how people persist in going into caring professions who are in need of care themselves. He certainly doesn't ever seem to have experienced really effective therapy for his serious childhood trauma. But what are we to do when (as Halloran himself says) the mind itself is a mystery we still don't understand?  Trying to pin it down with machine models and tame it with drugs will not work. How can a sick mind heal itself, without merely spreading more illness? We have to keep searching ... 

Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense

4.0

I came to this book because a podcast I sometimes listen to discussed Naomi Wolf's Jesus experience. I was curious to learn more, and boy, did I -- between this book and a number of other sources. It's a helluva weird story, and I still don't know what to think about that vision of Jesus, nor about the podcasters I used to respect but seemed to have no idea what a Pandora's box they had gotten into.

Naomi Klein does not particularly go into that experience, but she does grapple (from a rationalist point of view) with the current crisis of alternative realities springing up. She's frustrated, angry, and disturbed by the confusion spread at her "double," but is also trying to be both logical and fair,  including her own feelings and personal experience along with research. She makes excellent points about the cruelty and selfishness that underlies much "wellness" culture, and in general helps to pull the curtain aside from a lot of things we don't want to know about. 

It's not easy to read, but there is a gleam of hope at the end when Klein offers an image of caring for a "disabled" planet. I thought of the amazing, unsung caregivers I know and thought, "Yes, we human beings do know how to do that." Even if we often fail at our task.

One thing I would note is that Klein seems reluctant to engage directly with those on the other side of the "mirror", drawing her conclusions from observing them in their online spaces and in brief encounters, but not from extended conversation or relationship. I don't know whether she tried and they refused (as Wolf did). But I find it a weakness that she didn't manage to meet them as humans.

I am still thinking about doubles and mirroring and how we can see through the confusion to the reality that unites us, somewhere behind the shadows. It will be a long journey.

Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

3.5

At first I found the storytelling a bit awkward and didactic, but by the end I was caught up in what became a fantastical fable of self-discovery and moral growth. The nod to George MacDonald was apt, and though the writing style remained clunky, it did have some nice lyrical moments. 

The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.

I got 2/3 of the way through, but then I read the ending on Wikipedia and decided I did not need to bother with the rest. 

I do not get on with time travel novels which are just about watching the past like virtual reality TV and not actually interacting with it. On top of that, the story in the past was dull, and the people in the present day were unpleasant. Absolutely no idea what Dick and Vita ever saw in each other, and I would not want to be married to either of them.

And finally, how dumb do you have to be to take a drug that will cause you to roam all over the place, mind elsewhere, body doing who knows what? It's remarkable it took so many "trips" before a fatal accident occurred. 

(If this is meant to be a cautionary tale about getting caught up in a fictional story and losing touch with the real world, at least reading books does not involve such obvious physical dangers. Geez.)