Gasp!

Book Review: Healing from the Heart by Timothy Dawes

My review of "Healing from the Heart:  A Practical Guide to Creating Excellent Experiences for Patients and Their Families" by Timothy Dawes was published in the Birmingham News. 

This one was a more of a workbook-type of thing for those in the medical profession. 

An excerpt: "Difficult patient relationships can lead to burnout and malpractice lawsuits. "Healing from the Heart: A Practical Guide to Creating Excellent Experiences for Patients and Their Families" by Timothy Dawes instructs nurses and doctors on how to communicate effectively with patients and co-workers."

A shortened version of the review also ran in the  Kalamazoo Gazette.

Book Review: Who Are You and What Do You Want by Mick Ukleja and Robert Lorbe

Time to catch up on book reviews. 

My review of "Who Are You And What Do You Want: A Journey for the the Best of Your Life" by Mick Ukleja and Robert Lorbe ran a while back in the Birmingham News. The review was also picked up by a South Carolina Mountain Region paper. Though it says I'm an AP writer, they got the review through Newhouse. A truncated version of the same review also ran in the Atlanta Journal Constitution last weekend.

An excerpt: "If you know who you are and what you want but are afraid to get it, this book won't be very helpful. But if you'd like to rediscover your true path in life, be sure to sharpen your pencils because there's plenty of work ahead."

Busy During Our Swimming Party?

We spent this weekend dealing with the backyard of our house. Jethro finally got around to uncovering the pool. I don't think I've ever seen liquid so green before. 

I raked leaves, earned myself a blister and saw a black widow spider near our house.

Who knew holiday weekends could be so fun.

Struggling Thoughts

While I'm at it, I might as well continue... There are two reasons why I haven't updated this blog recently.

 

The first is quite obvious. Project 1968 is taking the sum total of my waking hours. It's difficult to live in 2008 and 1968. Because I'm writing in the voices of the characters, I'm also experiencing their thoughts and feelings as if they were my own. It's different than playwriting in that I'm not outside the scene looking in. I'm also not experiencing these characters briefly before becoming a neutral third party. I spend most of my time considering what they are doing during their day while I go through my day.

 

It's distracting and overwhelming. Since this blog requires me to be 100% present, it's the one that falls by the wayside. I ended up taking a blog hiatus back in 2005, when I was at the LBJ library. The weight of the material doesn't leave me much choice. 1968 is a full-scale buffet and not a finger food.

 

The second reason I haven't updated is more abstract. The Project is a different type of blog, one that is dramatic and informative. I've worked hard not to let my opinion overtly make their way into that material. The goal of the project is to present different sides and allow readers to form their own opinions. Now, obviously my thoughts sneak into it. Book discussions are usually the place I let them slip in.

 

Working on this type of blog makes the "usual type" of blogging seem self-indulgent and stupid. That's terrible for me to say, isn't it? I've battled with this line of thinking before. And I suppose when the Project is over, I'll go back to being self-indulgent and stupid. After all, I won't lie. It's fun.

 

For people looking for my regular posts regarding my published book reviews... I've even lacked the motivation to link to them. At some point, I'll list them all so they can go on my permanent record.

I Care, Honest I Do!

Since Joshua has 'fessed up, I will as well.

I do apologize for those who've been checking in on a regular basis. I'm not ignoring you. I have plenty to say about many things, and I even have a few announcements. But the thing is, the project has developed a following. And since I make at least two entries a day - sometimes as many as five a day - that is where my energy is going right now.

This isn't to say that I'm closing up shop here. Not at all. But I've had to scale back a bit here to give the project its due.

So... in the next few hours and days, I've scheduled some posts to pop up while I'm doing other things. Hopefully this will catch us all up, and then I'll resume my regular posting. And I do mean regular.

Thanks for your understanding.