All of us have personal life stories to share, but many of us don't really know how to best preserve those stories for future generations. Living Legacies: How to Write, Illustrate, and Share Your Life Stories, from Duane Elgin and Coleen LeDrew, is filled with practical suggestions on how you can "uncover the seeds of stories in your life, [and] follow a simple process for writing them."

Elgin and LeDrew on focus on what they call the "life story," which is more than photographs or a biography. Life stories delve into feelings about what happened or why it mattered. They incorporate visual images and memorabilia as well as the written word. As well as sharing events with others, "when we record our life stories, we enter a process of self-reflection that often leads to new insights about our lives."

Recording a life story can be very simple, and often only takes only a page or two. Elgin and LeDrew provide step-by-step instructions for deciding what stories to share and how to get to the essence of each one. They also explain how to choose the visual images that best illustrate the story, with lots of examples.

Stories can be simply typed out on plain paper, or they may incorporate fonts and backgrounds that enhance them. The authors explain how to choose what materials and techniques that best communicate what you want and how to best use your personal information and style.

Life stories aren't just for the older generations-one chapter is devoted to helping children tell their special stories.

The authors present their guidelines in a practical, easy-to-understand manner that allows lots of room for individual creativity. They also provide a resource guide with additional tips, organizations, and vendors of speciality materials.

Your life is filled with unique and priceless experiences. Living Legacies provides all the information and tools you need to share those experiences with others.

A book like this, which is superbly written, is long over due to come in our midst. Think about it, for generations of human kind, almost all life experiences are lost forever when we individuals pass on. We've been left with a few diaries, history books, memoirs of famous people and other literary works but none that strikes at the heart of the rich indivdual experiences from us all that can so profoundly enrich the lives of our loved ones and others.The reader of "Living Legacies" has been given an fabulous opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of so many people by producing and sharing his/her own living legacy. This book shows the reader how clearly and simply it can be done. Every single sole owes it to themselves and to their loved ones to read this book and create their own living legacy. Too bad the rating system only goes to "5"; Id rate this one a "10" if I could.

"For it is in giving that we receive," is a phrase from the Prayer of St. Francis. I remember it so well from my childhood and am struck by how true this is in reference to this book. "Living Legacies" is the perfect gift to ourselves and our loved ones because, through Coleen's and Duane's gentle coaching, we open up memories that can bring healing, restoration, enrichment and so much more. Putting this inspiration to paper and sharing it makes both this process and the product a precious gift to the writer/giver and the recipient. I have given this book to more than 50 people since its publication in January of this year. Every single recipient has remarked on the quality of the information and the simple beauty of its message. This is a sure thing if you're looking for a special gift that communicates how much you care!

"In most traditional cultures," Elgin quotes Sheila Kitzinger as saying, "grandmothers are people of immense importance and authority." And she goes on to tell us how, and to tell us why it's worth being that, if you aren't already. I coach men and women in midlife transition, and it gave me many practical tips for passing on to clients. While Elgin had only one participating grandmother, I had two, but they could not have been more different. However, like the "survivors" she describes in her book, who thrived throughout chaos and hardship because they had "one adult they could count on," it is my grandmothers who made me who I am, and to whom I return, in my heart and in my mind, when things get tough, or when I need to know how to do something, or how to be. Elgin states eloquently what my grandmothers meant to me, and what I hope to be for my grandchildren, and what you can be for yours. You'll find her no-holds-barred approach to realitymost helpful, and her down-to-earth practical tips most welcome. She'll clarify a lot of things you're aware of in the back of your mind but may not be able to put your finger on. This book is almost a call to action -- in today's fast-paced and changing society, where family life can seem to a child like a rapid-fire slideshow of new houses, new neighborhoods, new towns, new jobs, a new mom, a new dad, new culture, new religion, new church, new siblings, new step-siblings, what remains the same? Perhaps you, the grandmother--in your heart, in your approach, in your ways, and in your steadfast love. read it. You'll be glad you did. P.S. She's especially good about the parts that are hard for use grandmothers, or me anyway. She calls it "the velvet glove". You'll know just what she means!

For the grandmother who is new to the role or who has been at it for a long time, this book is sure to offer solutions to the "what to do" questions of effective grandmothering. Suggestions for what to do in assembling a family history, a family loan system and a family newsletter are practical and fresh. Also included are ideas for establishing and maintaining supportive, helpful relationships with your adult children and your grandchildren while honoring your own limits of time, energy and financial resources.

Gandmother Principles is the most practical, down-to-earth, well-written book for Grandmothers who wish to be a Reliable Source. It's a recipe for loving-kindness.

Sandy Gordon hlg@pacbell.net

My Mother's Keeper is an excellent autobiography/biography in one of a mother and daughter and their separate and entwined lives. I am a mental health RN and have been studying about schizophrenia. This book has helped me see in places I have never been able to see into before. I now have a broader perspective of schizophrenia and how families must feel also. Ms. Holley's writing is easy to read and follow. So much so, that it is very hard to put the book down. This is definitely a must read for anyone who wants to find out more about schizophrenia.

This was an exceptionally well written memoir, one that must have been very difficult to write. Ms. Elgin moves gracefully along the line between her mother's story and her own, and (it appears) honestly grapples with the ups and downs of both. Thank you.

This book provides an accurate description of the development and chronic course of schizophrenia, one of the most debilitating illnesses of our time. The Holleys' sensitive portrayal of Mrs. Elgin's life touched me deeply. I thank them for giving us and honest depiction of this illness.

This book was a wonderful read. Elgin manages to capture one of the woes of contemporary life, the fact that so many of us simply are not hearing our loved ones, our friends, and our fellow man. We are beginning to shunt away from others and in doing so make our own lives lessen and become miserable.

Enter PEACETALK 101. This book offers guidance in the form of a story, instruction that is entertaining and enthralling. I liked the element of the fantastical that keeps the reader involved and wondering all throughout the story.

A great work of inspirational speculative fiction.

This was a good read, besides conveying a needed message and valuable information for these troubled times.

I have successfully used Peacetalk 101 with over 400 people who have been sent to my domestic violence classes. It is a modern day parable about a man who has alienated himself by engaging in verbal abuse. As a culture we have a tendency to think if we are not aware of something it cannot hurt us or that we are not responsible for what happens because of our ignorance of how things work. It is a simple read yet "deep" in terms of the principles taught.

As the story begins the main character has lost all sense of connection with himself, his partner and his child. It is unsettling that the main character is just an average guy, stressed but coping, attempting to make sense of his life. The story is about his preoccupations and assumptions leading to his alienation. Consequently we know very little about his wife, his child or the family's dog other than from his own ever narrowing point of view. Elgin skillfully helps the reader make sense of how he came to the horrorific conclusion that the solution to his alienation is to kill his wife and his child and then himself. Even the setting of the date seems "logical" in the context provided by Elgin.

As the story progresses he gains linquistic insights as a result of "chance" meetings with a person who looks like a homeless person but is a sage. The tension mounts as the day for the solution draws closer. Each "coincidental" contact with homeless person results in the main character (and the reader) learning another part of Elgin's system of verbal self-defense and his becoming more conscious of the effect his language choices was having on his perception of life. There is an interesting tension as one wonders if he is going to change enough to change his original plan. The ending? I will not give it away.

Summary of the Parable: We literally hurt ourselves and those around us with our verbal abuse. Conscious action creates greater consciousness. We can consciously engage in the skills outlined in Peacetalk 101. Elgin's parable instructs us step by step how to consciously choose and make healthy language choices that connect, inform, heal and uplift while not feeding into destructive verbal abuse cycles. She has skillfully introduced a complete set of verbal self-defense tools in the parable to be consciously used by the reader to create a verbal violence free environment.

Recommendation: It would be useful for the reader to obtain a copy of Elgin's The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense to accompany the reading of Peacetalk 101. It would give the reader a deeper appreciation of what Elgin has accomplished in her parable. Elgin is the only author who has provided linguistic principles to stop verbal abuse.I have used her system since 1986 with people suffering from the effects of verbal abuse. It works.

This is a well-written book which provides deep hope, in a realistic way, for the future of human society. Good insight into the historical development of human culture and the evolution of personal consciousness. Really puts its finger on the main developmental challenge as the personal and cultural transition from adolescence to adulthood. Read this together with another excellent book on the potential of adulthood for the planet: A Conscious Life: Cultivating The Seven Qualities of Authentic Adulthood, by Fran and Louis Cox.

What an aptly named book! In a brief 200 pages, the author delves deeply into key issues facing humanity at an important juncture in human history. The book describes where humankind is along our evolutionary path, the global environmental and social problems confronting us, and the opportunities before us for charting a better future. Be forewarned -- if you read this book, you might just find yourself overwhelmingly compelled to make changes in your life that will ripple out to others. It has the ability to transform the way you view people and the world around you. It is a must read for anyone concerned about where humanity is headed, and wants to roll up their sleeves and make a difference. Enjoy!

Humanity is at an important point in history. Duane Elgin, author of the 1993 classic, VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY, observes in his new book that the human species is in its reckless, rebellious, "teenage years" (p. 1), more concerned with appearance, instant gratification, and "us versus them" thinking and behavior (p. 2), than searching for a deeper meaning and purpose in life (p. 5). Elgin examines several "adversity trends" that could result in an "evolutionary crash:" global warming (pp. 18-23); population growth (pp. 23-26); mass extinction (pp. 26-28); depletion of natural resources (pp. 28-32) and world poverty (pp. 32-37). "Instead of supporting a flourishing and robust biosphere," he writes, "humans are busy cutting down forests, overfishing the oceans, paving over the land, and pouring toxins into the water, soil, and air. The net result is decimation of the community of plant and animal life on the Earth. The health of the planet is in jeopardy as industrial activity is causing the mass extinction of animal and plant species" (pp. 26-27). Twenty-percent of the world's population holds 82.7 percent of the world's total income, Elgin notes, while "grinding poverty and the absence of opportunity are the way of life for the majority of human beings today" (p. 33). According to Elgin, now is the time for "growing up."

To turn an "environmental crash" into a "spectacular bounce," Elgin encourages us to "live lightly in a living universe" (p. 67). "If life is nested within life, then it is only fitting that we treat everything that exists as alive and worthy of respect. Our sense of meaningful connection expands to the entire community of life, including past, present, and future generations. Every action in a living universe is felt to have ethical consequences as it reverberates throughout the ecosystem of the living cosmos. The focus of life shifts from a desire for high-consumption lifestyles (intended to provide both material pleasures and protection from an indifferent universe) toward sustainable and simple ways of living (intended to connect us with a purposeful universe of which we are an integral part)" (pp. 67-68). In contrast to "the dark side" of the American Dream, Elgin advocates a life of voluntary simplicity, in which a rich inner life takes precedence over getting rich. The "hallmark" of voluntary simplicity is that "life is too deep and consumerism is too shallow to provide soulful satisfaction" (p. 73). For Elgin, a promising future is also contingent upon our ability to communicate (p. 95) with "mature and soulful compassion" (p. 113).

This is not a pessimistic book of revelation. Despite its sobering statistics, Elgin's thought-provoking book is filled with promising possibilities for the unknown future of planet Earth. However, given the serious "adversity trends" plaguing our planet, it is challenging for me to share Elgin's optimism, and many of his simple and idealistic solutions are not entirely convincing. Still, Elgin's book is a "Promise" worth keeping, together with Thomas Berry's, THE GREAT WORK (2000). Keep both books close at hand through these troubling times for our planet.

G. Merritt

E. C. Alft writes about Elgin, Illinois with such great clarity and vision that even the most casual reader obtains a salient understanding of the history of this town. While this is a talent, he also writes with such great passion and tenderdess that he makes even the casual reader fall in love with this midwestern river city - and that is an art!

Anyone who ever wanted to "be from a quaint little town" should read this book, because when you are through, you will feel as though you are.

This is a must-read book for all Elginites. City Council should declare Mr. Alft Elgin's "living treasure." Nice pics! Makes you proud be an Elginite.

This book is a "must read" for those interested in the Elgin area or midwest life in general. The author engages the reader in a most interesting walk through the past with important and sometimes humorous views of Elgin. It is obvious that Alft has a great affection for his subject. This was a wonderful book!

The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense was fantastic. Genderspeak is equally valuable. The book contains a useful metaphor between language traffic and automobile traffic. I finally realized the effect my language has on my physical health as well as the health of my relationships with others. This book is worth 10 years of therapy.

'Because people can't immediately see the results of language traffic violations, they don't realize that there's a connection between their language behavior and the negative consequences'for themselves as well as for others'that only appear later."

"Hostile language can kill you as surely as hostile driving can. The most serious risk factor for heart disease is chronic exposure to hostile language interactions. Hostile language hurts and frustrates and confuses people. It makes blood pressures soar and hearts pound and stomachs churn. It causes ulcers and strokes and migraines and depression. It makes people so flustered that they have dangerous accidents, in their homes and workplaces and in their cars. It can drive people to physical violence. All this is well known. The problem is that'unlike what happens when you run head-on into a speeding car in the wrong lane'the damage usually takes place slowly, over time, and the wounds aren't readily visible. It's easy to see that violating the rules on the road is dangerous; it's much harder to see the dangers when the space being shared is linguistic space.'

Suzette Haden Elgin has written a number of sf/f novels illustrating the principles explicated in GENDERSPEAK, but here you can learn them in a matter of a few hours reading. As a professional sf writer as well as an online teacher of writing, I have found her insights to apply not only to daily interactions among people, but to the understanding of anthropology and social speech patterns that every writer must grasp to create dialogue.

GENDERSPEAK and the other Verbal Self-Defense books by Elgin are lucid, clear, easily applied manuals of how to conduct a conversation without turning it into mortal combat for control of the agenda or power over other people's emotions, or conversely how to turn any innocent exchange into mortal combat at the drop of an intonation or idiom.

It isn't just the verbally abused who need to read these books and take her course. This book is most truly vital reading for those who know no other way of dealing with people (intimately in family interactions or in the business world) without putting them down, undermining their self-confidence, or attempting to dominate.

Each of us has a speaking style that is both ideosyncratic and belongs to a short list of stylistic patterns which Elgin identifies. Read this book to learn the pattern you are using, and you will gain command enough to change that pattern and thus your destiny in life.

Read this book to raise your consciousness of how speech patterns mark us as victims or abusers. Non-native speakers of American Standard English need to read this book. It will solve many mysteries for you.

Give this book as a gift to your friends who are not getting the promotions they deserve on the job, or who fight agonizingly with their spouses.

Live Long and Prosper, Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Her is the premise of the book: Alien superior! It was only coincidence that every Alien civilization we encountered was so advanced beyond the civilizations of Earth that we looked like pathetic savages scrabbling in the dirt by comparison. And I know that in time we will begin to come upon worlds whose peoples are far behind or at best equal to ours. It is impossible for Earth to be the most backward inhabited planet in the known universe. However all of us at the top knew what would happen if the apparent skew toward Alien superiority were to become known to the Terran populations. That way lay hysteria and panic, or worse; that way lay the fate of the dinosaurs. The policy of total deception was implemented at the highest levels, with the fullest understanding that anyone showing the smallest sign of potential for betraying the situation would be killed at once; there would be no exceptions, not even in the White House. WHATEVER HAD TO BE DONE TO KEEP THE PEOPLE OF EARTH EROM KNOWING, IT WOULD BE DONE."

This is a worthy sequel to "Native Tongue". It is perhaps a little less innovative than the first volume, but carries on quite convincingly.

I was happy to have stumbled across this book. Inside its bindings lies a thoughtful look at where the evolution of our speciese has come from and where it is going. Spiritualy, physically, and Meta-fully. Worth reading for purly new ideas.

Most of us are easily attracted to the old West of George Armstrong Custer, Zane Gray, and John Wayne.

"Dances with Wolves" caught the public's fancy and gave particular resonance to books like "Black Eagle Speaks" and Dee Brown's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee". These works took thoughtful Americans beyond the sophomoric days of the Saturday afternoom western. However, it has been left to a little known writer, Elgin Groseclose, to lay bare the mind and heart of an American Indian during the period of the Civil War.

In "The Kiowa" Elgin Groseclose describes an Indian raid into Mexico to obtain horses and women. He vividly depicts the lurking savage threatening the sleeping village. The tumult of close combat follows.

Sanjak, the Kiowa chief, acquires a Mexican woman whose silver crucifix fascinates him. His new woman's presence leads him to search for the meaning of the faith most white men hold but few practice. The resulting spiritual confusion slowly overwhelms his life.

Groseclose penetrates the mind and heart of the warrior, who is also husband, father and intelligent human being. No other writer has accomplished this. There is no sentimental portrayal of the persecuted native American.

It is astonishing to notice that John Dunbar in "Dances With Wolves" finds a mythic counterpart in the Kiowa warrior. Sanjak lives among whites as Dunbar lives among Indians. His life is a surreal mirror image of Dunbar's. His tragic ending, like Dunbar's, is an inevitable comment on the white man's myopic ineptness.

This is an absorbing tale. The reader is surprised with an unexpected view of the American past.