Blogcritics Author: Joanne D. Kiggins

Book Review - An Uncertain Inheritance: Writers on Caring for Family edited by Nell Casey

Joanne D. Kiggins — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:27:29 EST

A book that each and every human being should read, so that they can recognise the reality it speaks about.
As a writer and sole caregiver for my 84-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer’s, An Uncertain Inheritance: Writer’s on Caring for Family, piqued my interest. Writers produced the 19 essays gathered for this book, but more importantly, these essays were written by caregivers and those being cared for themselves with a no-holds-barred...

Book Review: The People's Republic of Desire by Annie Wang

Joanne D. Kiggins — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:05:33 EST

Wang weaves a humorous and often sarcastic trip into Beijing, China.
Those who know little to nothing about Chinese culture will receive an eye-opening experience of how China was and how China is now through Annie Wang’s novel The People’s Republic of Desire.Wang takes readers on a journey with four cosmopolitan women learning to live life in the new China. Niuniu, the book’s narrator, is a...

Book Review: The Writer Behind the Words - Steps to Success in the Writing Life by Dara Girard

Joanne D. Kiggins — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:52:32 EST

Beginning writers could find the encouragement and tips they need to overcome the pitfalls in their own writing career.
There are shelves of good books about how to become a better writer; this book isn’t one of them. Disappointed and discouraged? Good — In that case, The Writer Behind the Words by Dara Girard can be just the book you are looking for.Girard won’t tell you how to write a perfect query letter or denote which editors to query, but she...

Book Review: Becoming - Poems 2002-2005 by Christopher Porpora

Joanne D. Kiggins — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 02:34:10 EST

Porpora may be a younger and newer poet on the scene, but he is one who poetry lovers should give notice.
Becoming: Poems 2002-2005 is the second collection of poetry written by Christopher Porpora. The stylish cover, a black ink drawing sketched by the author, depicts an old-time bathroom scene with a personal touch. Porpora's voice reminds me of past poets who found beauty by using words of simplicity and depth of feeling.From the front cover to...

Book Review: Autumn Shadows in August by Robert W. Norris

Joanne D. Kiggins — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 06:36:09 EST

The love between Thompson and his wife was evident throughout the journey and their sense of self worth intensified as the trip continued.
Robert W. Norris takes readers on an hallucinogenic trip with his novel Autumn Shadows in August. Norris claims his novel is part homage to authors Malcolm Lowry and Hermann Hesse, who he says influenced his writing, and part mid-life crisis/adventure.We meet main character David Thompson and his wife Kaori in an astounding and griping prologue...

Forty Things An Alzheimer's Caregiver Needs To Remember

Joanne D. Kiggins — Mon, 1 Oct 2007 13:13:21 EDT

Caregivers maintain the health, welfare, safety, and dignity of loved ones. Anything beyond that is not your responsibility.
All too often caregivers find themselves in situations where they constantly feel they need to explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. All too often they run into people, including family members, who just don't understand Alzheimer's Disease, and for the most part never will. Sometimes, caregivers have more stress from these type...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Alzheimer's: Tips on Understanding the Disease and its Limitations.

Joanne D. Kiggins — Thu, 8 Feb 2007 02:09:06 EST

“Caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD) at home is a difficult task and can become overwhelming at times. Each day brings new challenges as the caregiver copes with changing levels of ability and new patterns of behavior. Research has shown that caregivers themselves often are at increased risk for depression and illness, especially if they do not receive adequate support from family, friends, and the community.” This statement can be found on the Alzheimer’s Association website.The above paragraph is quoted with hope that family members everywhere, who have a loved one with AD, will take time to understand what is involved in caring for an Alzheimer’s patient.One of the most challenging things caregivers are confronted with is dealing with fluctuating moods and difficult behaviors of the person they are caring for. The simple activities of daily life become burdensome to the person with AD. Dressing, bathing, eating, visiting, walking, and even talking can be tiresome and agitating, and often need to be addressed differently from one day to the next. Mood swings, from happiness to sadness to anger, can result for no apparent reason.A single word, tone of voice, or suggestion can send the person with AD into a mood that results in difficult and aggressive behavior.Anyone who has been a caregiver for a person with AD, and those informed and helpful advisors from the Alzheimer’s Association, will tell you that it is extremely important to keep the person with AD on a regular schedule. It is advised that you plan that schedule to what is comfortable for both the person with AD and the caregiver. Devising that plan is important for getting through each day and it helps both the person with AD and the caregiver cope with difficult behaviors and stressful situations.If you do not help with the care of the person with Alzheimer’s, don’t criticize the plan that works for the patient and the caregiver.Caregivers need help, encouragement, and support to deal with, and make, each day easier to handle the tasks they have taken the responsibility to do. They do not need to hear criticism from a sibling or family member who only “checks in” with the loved one once every four to six weeks. If you think your loved one should be more active, you should take an active part in the care, rather than offer unreasonable suggestions to the person who is responsible and is actively doing what should be done.The last thing caregivers need to hear is a sibling or family member scolding them on Christmas morning, or anytime, because they didn’t return your call promptly enough to suit you; especially after that caregiver has just spent three hours cleaning the elderly parent, the bed sheets and carpet resulting from a problem with incontinence.Others, who do not deal with the everyday needs of the Alzheimer’s patient, can thwart even the best of plans.For those who live a long distance from their loved one who has Alzheimer’s, and for those who have little, or nothing, to do with the care of the person with AD, please take time to learn about the disease, its drawbacks, its inconsistencies, its varied moods, and the effects it has on the person with AD and the caregiver.People with Alzheimer’s are not always aware of their surroundings, even if they are in their own home. Their mood can change drastically from one moment to the next. They may not be capable of controlling their bodily functions. They may not realize the movie on the television is just a movie; those characters may in their mind become “real people” in their living room.The person with Alzheimer’s won’t remember it is your birthday, or how old you are, or for that matter, they may not even realize you are a family member. They may not be capable of keeping up with a conversation and they do forget that they repeated the same thing several times in your half hour visit, or the ten minutes you spend with them on the phone. And when your visit or phone call is over, they may not remember you have visited or called. But, the person with Alzheimer’s might remember one thing from that visit or phone call, and that one thing could result in what will become a difficult behavior or situation that the caregiver will need to respond to.If you are a family member who is unable to help with the care of your loved one due to time constraints, lifestyle, or distance, there are ways in which you can help without being involved in the actual day-to-day care.Listed below are a few tips that could help family members understand the person with Alzheimer’s and could aid the caregiver in his or her job.· Following a regular routine is important in caring for a person with Alzheimer’s. If the routine is altered or interrupted, it can lead to agitation.· When you’ve been informed of the routine, don’t make suggestions to the person with AD that might hinder or alter the routine.Many people with AD become restless, agitated, or irritable in the early evening hours. This is referred to as “sundowning” syndrome. Even when a person with AD is not experiencing agitation from sundowning, getting the person to go to bed and stay there can be a challenge and requires time and patience.It is important that the caregiver develops a routine for everything; that includes a bedtime routine. The bedtime should be consistent every evening.· Be considerate to the person with AD and the caregiver.· If you know the person with AD is a late sleeper, don’t call before the person’s normal waking hours.· If the caregiver has stated the routine bedtime, don’t call during or after that time or suggest to the person with AD that they alter that time. It is not a good idea to suggest a 9:00 p.m. movie on television when you know he or she is routinely in bed before that.When visiting or communicating:· Plan your visits and phone calls during the hours suggested by the caregiver.· Remember that the person with AD cannot always understand or keep up with conversations.· Use simple words and short sentences when speaking.· Never insult or belittle the person with AD because they don’t remember.· Discussing memories can be beneficial, but don’t ask, “do you remember when…?” or say, “I can’t believe you don’t remember…!”· Help the person focus on you and what you are saying. Don’t distract the conversation by turning on the television or radio. Keep the visiting atmosphere quiet and free of distractions.· Always use a gentle and calm tone of voice.· Don’t talk about the person as if he or she weren’t there.· Don’t become angry because the person doesn’t remember something.· If they seem agitated or angry about something, distract them to a different topic of conversation.· Don’t criticize, correct, or argue with what they say or do.The person with AD may not be able to distinguish television performances from reality. Turn off the television if a program contains violence, arguing, or disturbing content that may agitate the person with AD.Avoid crowds, changes in routine, and strange surroundings that may cause confusion or agitation. A person with AD is easily agitated when placed in distracting or agitating surroundings. A room full of activity and noise can result in difficult behavior.The number of visitors at one time should be limited, and those wishing to visit should work with the caregiver to schedule visits during the time of day when the person is at his or her best.The caregiver is the person who handles the duties the needs and moods of the person with AD on a daily basis. It is important for caregivers to ensure that the loved one feels supported, comfortable, is living a full life, and it’s equally important that the caregiver take whatever steps are necessary to preserve their own well-being as well. If you are not able to help with the daily care of the Alzheimer’s patient, the least you can do to help the day run smoothly is follow the caregiver’s guidelines.For more information about Alzheimer’s disease go to the Alzheimer’s Association website.

Joanne Kiggins has published more than 2,500 articles. Her most recent articles were published in ByLine Magazine, Writer's Digest, Absolute Write, Moondance, and The Compulsive Reader. She is currently writing a mystery suspense novel which placed fifth in a recent contest. Her essay, "Perseverance," is published in the Stories of Strength anthology written in the published in the Stories of Strength anthology. Visit her site and her blog.

Book Review: Journey Back by Dan Martin

Joanne D. Kiggins — Mon, 5 Feb 2007 05:18:59 EST

One day it dawned on me that I had to leave and I had to do it quickly because they knew where I was and how to find me. I don’t know how I knew, but it didn’t matter. (1) We first meet paranoid schizophrenic and recovering drug addict Richard Jones after he escapes from an institution for the criminally insane. However, the story begins in the first person point-of-view of Mitch James, Jones’s new identity. The next chapter jumps to a third person narrative by Jones about Jones. Throughout the book James and Jones tell the story in alternating chapters.Confusing? I’m sure.As an attorney and psychotherapist, Dan Martin probably had some wonderful material to make his psychological suspense debut novel Journey Back believable. He simply didn’t use the material in a coherent, consistent, or convincing manner. After a mental breakdown in his freshman year in high school, Jones was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and was believed to be controlling his symptoms with medication throughout high school and college. He decided he would be a writer. "Several professors," Martin notes, "had told Jones that his fiction lacked emotional depth, and that his characters, particularly the women, were flat and one-dimensional." (28)Jones thought his medications might be dulling his creative ability. With that theory in mind, along with the fact that he was jobless and unable to pay for his drugs, Jones decided against refilling his prescription. It didn't take long for the psychosis to set in. This is when he ended up slapped into the asylum after attacking a man with a baseball bat when he finds his equally sex-obsessed and disturbed young girlfriend Anna with the other man.Richard Jones’s paranoia comes across as believable, but a paranoid schizophrenic’s ability to drive from New York to California in less than 48 hours, change his identity, and land a job writing for an alternative weekly newspaper using a fraudulent resume, is not. While fudging through stories in his newly found job, Jones hears of “something big going on” and decides this story could give him an advantage, both with the newspaper and possibly with his own drug use and inner demons. He knew just where to go to get the inside information. Joseph. His seedy, old hippie drug addict friend Joseph was one of only two visitors Jones had in the four months he was in the asylum. "It’s been nearly two years since they’d seen each other when all the trouble with Anna and Frankie happened," he recalls, "so Jones was surprised when Joseph showed up unannounced one Sunday afternoon at Quiet Manor, acting like it was no big deal for his friend to be in a mental institution." Jones knew that Joseph had moved to the Bay area so he calls on him to get the “inside” scoop for the opportunity to write about a secret experiment with a drug called BNG. BNG is said to be beneficial to alcoholics and drug addicts. Its effects allow the users to re-experience traumatic events from their lives and reprocess the memories to help them come to terms with incidents from the past. But the only way he can convince the underground community leader Raoul to let him write the story is to be part of the testing program. Raoul discovered the marijuana-looking plant on one of his trips through Africa and South America in 1997. He named it “Bangor” after his home town. Bangor was the central ingredient in the new wonder drug.Jones suspected that Raoul had given him a small dose of the “green tea” as he skimmed through the loose-leaf binder containing the biographies of the founders, the history of mind-altering substances, and the science behind the Bangor project and the drug, but he wasn’t even aware it had affected him. During his expected using/testing of BNG, Jones said “it seemed to magically transform just about everyone who used it” and “hardened scumbags within two or three weeks become pleasant, cooperative people.” Part of it may have been that I was using the drug myself ... so I may have been a little more inclined than usual to see the positive side of things and of people. But I know for sure that it was more than that. The trips themselves were wild, always different, sometimes a little frightening, but invariably worthwhile in some way. (154)Raoul had been pushing him to get the story finished. Then Jones hits a snag with BNG. The trip from the drug leaves him so spooked he’d stays in his room for three days and nights not able to think, let alone write. When Raoul comes to his room, Jones shows him the progress he’ds made on the story and Raoul suggests he take a break and get “outside” to clear his mind.Had it not been for Jones hearing about the drug bust on his car radio he would have been one of the 40 people arrested in an ongoing police investigation.Maybe it was the author’s objective to have the reader jump into the mind of paranoid schizophrenic Richard Jones, who speaks in the first person POV and then hurdles readers into the mind of his new identity Mitch James who speaks in italicized third person perspective telling Jones’s story. Or was it Richard Jones speaking in the third person about himself and this reader presumed that Mitch James was telling the story?Either way, it didn’t matter at the beginning or end of the book: "And then one day it dawned on me that it was time to go home. I don’t know how I knew, but it didn’t matter."Martin does a fine job portraying Jones as a drug addict and the descriptions of the “trips” while on drugs were believable. This reviewer can see how Journey Back might be “used as a sidebar to articles on the War on Drugs, or the "new wave" of mind-altering substances,” as was stated in a press release. As for it being billed as a psychological suspense novel, Journey Back is a quick read at less than 200 pages. But it didn’t have this reader sitting on the edge of her seat, and the only thing that had my head spinning was the jumping point-of-view.

Book Review: Spiriting Around A Modern Guide to Finding Yourself by Martin "Mark" Tomback

Joanne D. Kiggins — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 18:21:05 EDT

Spriting Around: A Modern Guide to Finding Yourself is not the normal run-of-the-mill book about God and spirituality. Martin Tomback wrote with teens in mind; he hopes to help them understand various aspects of life and teach them to stand by their choices and be responsible for the choices they make.The book is broken down into six chapters of easily understood, well-written steps in how to work toward goals, find what’s right for you and how to follow through to accomplish those goals. Tomback speaks about everything from love to money, marriage to divorce, conflicts and controversies to control and commitment. And he doesn’t stop there. Spirituality and God are included in all aspects of the book, but not in a preachy sense; he speaks more in a universal manner with nurturing tendencies.He uses a no-nonsense, common-sense approach to speak about growing up and finding solutions to problems and explains how to be patient, persistent and stay focused. There’s always a choice of solutions available; each with its own advantages, requirements, and costs. (25)The “Start Here” (Chapter 1) talks about life’s resistance, finding solutions, patience and persistence, staying focused and finding your way with dignity and spiritual support and faith. “The Reason Why” (Chapter 2) explains how to go about deciding what values to live by, finding yourself, understanding your influences, making goals and barriers and believing in yourself.“Money” (Chapter 3) deals with finding jobs, getting established, beginning your own business and making it a success. He doesn’t stop there. There are suggestions about investing, marketing, getting credit, making budgets and filing taxes.“Love” (Chapter 4) talks about everything from puppy love to how to love, and breaks down differences between friends and romance. Discussion and suggestions about marriage, divorce and parenting is also included in this chapter.“Conflicts & Controversies” (Chapter 5) gets to the heart of right and wrong and truth and lies. From living by the rules to approaching a conflict, readers should gain a full understanding of society’s rules, making decisions, standing by what he believes and the spiritual value of each lesson learned. This chapter (the longest in the book) goes into an alphabetical list of such things as abortion to zoning with thought-provoking statements about each.“The Expedition Continues” (Chapter 6) encourages the reader to continue exploring regardless of life’s situation. This paragraph pretty much sums up life and this book for this reader.Changes uncover new answers to the mystery of our experience. They reveal new questions as we look at what’s exposed beyond our understanding. If we see ourselves as microcosms of the process then the universe is a system of maturity where questions are reviewed from evolving stages of growth. So through us the universe looks deeper into itself as human history records it. Through love God finds completeness in this limitlessness. So God grows up forever.(290-291Each chapter ends with a “Spiriting Around Exercise,” or “Think About It” section, which summarizes the thoughts brought out in the chapter.So, Mark Tomback has taken his school of hard knocks and summed them up into an easy-to-read instruction book to help others understand their life’s situations and how to make the best of them despite the difficulties in this modern world.

Book Review: The Butterfly's Dance by Christyna Hunter

Joanne D. Kiggins — Sun, 6 Aug 2006 18:46:49 EDT

Christyna Hunter’s debut novel The Butterfly’s Dance is a refreshing take on shattered dreams and the human response of making the best of one’s life, whatever is thrown at it. Dancing was Kayla Jennings dream from when she was a child, but an accident at age 12 changed everything. She lost the use of her legs. Her dream hadn’t changed, but her life had.As a grown-up, Kayla has great looks, a sense of humor, a best friend who’s like a sister, and a great job as vocational rehabilitation counselor. She has everything; except a man to love. When 18-year-old James, who has MS, comes to her office for help; Kayla is stunned by his caregiver and uncle Jordon.As she began to greet James Michaels, another man walked in and shut the door. As he turned, she took in a quick breath of admiration. Okay lust. She would admit, only to herself, it was lust that caused her breathing to halt and her mouth to water. (8)Past experience reminds her there is little possibility for a meaningful relationship between the abled and the disabled and she pushes herself into the cocoon where she’d kept herself so comfortably sheltered.As she tried to concentrate on the file of the next client, Jordan Michaels kept permeating her thoughts. It made her uncomfortable. Her experiences with men were short, yet painful. But as she listed every reason why she should forget about him, her mind help pulling up Jordan’s face, with his irresistible smile and his vivid blue eyes. (11)Hunter’s character descriptions are short, yet convey a lasting image.Kayla glanced over at her best friend. Ringlets of copper hair bobbed around Maggie’s face as she scrutinized Kayla through thin-rimmed spectacles.(15)Hunter has Kayla experience all the pain, frustration, self-doubt, and humiliation that the disabled confront on a daily basis. That isn’t all. The kindness, determination, understanding, and humor in her characters outweigh their personal boundaries. And Kayla isn’t the only character with shattered dreams wishing for change in life.But as he relaxed, that image of Kayla Jennings entered his mind again. He’d studied her as she and Jim spoke the day before. She sounded as if she knew what she was talking about. She seemed willing to help Jim. And whenever Jordan spoke to her, she became shy. Imagine someone being shy around him? He was just an ordinary guy. An ordinary guy, with a sick nephew, a stack of medical bills, a business to run, and a frustrated libido. Yeah, just your everyday, ordinary guy.(19-20)The Butterfly’s Dance takes you on a relaxing and refreshing ride through the eyes, heart, and soul of a wheelchair-bound young woman into a romance she never thought possible. Together, Kayla and Jordan battle with the insecurities of their pasts to develop a long, lasting, and loving relationship. Hunter’s characters are real and true to heart. Readers will find themselves feeling the pain, experiencing the frustration, and reveling in the spirit of possibilities. There’s even a chance that Hunter’s book may lend a hand in human response and open the eyes of everyone, with or without disabilities. Whether Hunter meant to deliver a lesson in her book or not, there is the straightforward fact that people are whole human beings, regardless of their capabilities: it just takes some longer to realize, and those that never do are those who miss out on the joys life can bring and the wonderful people who can be a part of those joys.