In So Many Words

Beyond Hope’s Valley by Tricia Goyer

Trish — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:48:29 +0000

Beyond Hope’s Valley is the third book in the Big Sky series by Tricia Goyer, which tells the story of a young Amish woman, Marianna Sommer.

Read my review and enter to win a copy of this exciting story at 5 Minutes for Books!

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

Trish — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:12 +0000

Meet Amina and George, The Newlyweds. They are not your typical American couple. In fact, they aren’t even both Americans. Having met on the AsianEuro.com matchmaking site and gotten engaged after George traveled to Bangladesh to meet Amina and her family, they are now married and living in George’s home in Rochester, New York….

Read the rest of my review at 5 Minutes for Books.

7 Hours Omnibus

Trish — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:45:38 +0000

7 Hours Omnibus (7 Hours series)
Various
Tyndale House
July 1, 2012

Death comes for everyone. But what if you were given seven more hours? Would you go back and relive a previous time in your life? Or would you live those seven more hours, starting now?

In this collection of seven full-length novellas, seven writers come together to tackle the questions of life, death, and time as we know it. Each author has taken the same concept, featuring a mysterious central character, and spun their own story.

Stories include: Rearview by Mike Dellosso, Escapement by Rene Gutteridge, Teardrop by Travis Thrasher, Recollection by Tom Pawlik, Whole Pieces by Ronie Kendig, All of Our Dreams by James Andrew Wilson, and The Last Night of Alton Webber by Robin Parrish.

7 Stories. 7 Writers. 7 Hours.

With a teaser like that, how could I not want to read this new collection of short stories, especially centered on such an intriguing question as they are?

7 Hours is a fascinating look at the concept of time and what different people would do with a choice to relive a portion of their life. In each story, a dying person is approached by a man calling himself Thomas Constant who claims to be the personification of Time itself, and offered a choice to live for seven more hours or go back to any point in their life to relive seven hours.

Although the premise remains the same from story to story, each writer handles the dilemma and the telling of it in their own way. In the first story, Rearview, we meet a college professor who is driven to desperation by false accusations by a student from a prominent family. Upon meeting Thomas, he makes a decision which has surprising implications for not only him and his family, but also touches other lives in the process. I was so moved by this story that I was actually a bit nervous to keep reading, for fear that the remaining ones wouldn’t be as good.

I’m glad I did keep reading, however, because I truly loved several of the stories in this collection. More than one of the characters make their choice with murder in mind, some are focused on saving the person they love, and others are attempting to stop events in the past that they think should never have happened. While all of them deal with issues of the heart, especially forgiveness and redemption, this last category also brings out the startling possibilities of what could happen when a person thinks they know better than God what should be allowed to happen.

All of Our Dreams had the most difficult storyline to follow, as the description of events kept jumping around to different time frames. It did become gradually easier to understand and made sense in the end, although it was still my least favorite of the seven.

Although the full collection is not coming out until July 1st, the individual stories are available now if you have a favorite writer in the bunch or a particular one intrigues you especially. At the time of this post, the first story, which was my personal favorite, Rearview is available for immediate download for only $1.99.

Visual Techniques for Developing Social Skills by Rebecca Moyes

Trish — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:41 +0000

Visual Techniques for Developing Social Skills: Activities and Lesson Plans for Teaching Children with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome
by Rebecca Moyes, M.Ed.
Future Horizons, 2012

Social skills instruction for K‑8th grade children on the autism spectrum requires an emphasis on visuals, or “show‑teaching” techniques, rather than language‑based instruction. This book fulfills that need, consisting of easy‑to‑use, step‑by‑step lesson plans with a wealth of visual tools and aids for teaching children with high‑functioning autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. These K‑8 lesson plans, featuring explicit IEP goals, can be incorporated into both General Education and Special Education classrooms and offer both individual and small‑group instruction.

The lessons are broken down into three main areas:

Interpersonal Interactions
Appropriate Communication, and
Working Successfully with Others

Each lesson includes a detailed plan with clear directions on how to present the concepts and activities along with a list of what materials are needed. The items are mostly common objects that are used in ways designed to bridge the gap between typical verbal instruction methods and easier-to-process visual and hands-on representations.

Moyes also gives some good guidelines on how to organize the groups, including how to bring in typically developing peers. Two very important points that she highlights in her opening chapter remind us that we must also maintain an awareness of each participant’s own understanding and challenges:

Firstly, she instructs, “In your future interactions with a child on the spectrum, please make sure you consider whether he is exhibiting problematic social behavior because he is incompetent or because he is noncompliant.” Boy, isn’t that what we all want to know! It’s often hard to find the answer to this question, but I will say that having the adults who are working with my son understand this distinction goes a long way towards helping me trust them.

Secondly, she reminds, “We must not forget that children’s social deficits do not occur in isolation of their cognitive and language deficiencies.” This is so true, and a good program will take into account the whole picture of the child’s current abilities and challenges. A leader who can find the balance between motivating and frustrating a child is a person to be treasured!

Visual Techniques for Developing Social Skills offers a clear and concise program that could easily be used by any clinician or educator working with children on the spectrum. I highly recommend it.

Discount Opportunity: If you order Visual Techniques for Developing Social Skills directly from Future Horizons, you can use the code INTERRUPTED to receive 15% off and free shipping in the continental US.

Note: I received a review copy of this book for free, but all opinions are my own. I am an affiliate of Future Horizons and receive a small amount of compensation for any sales made using the promotional code provided. You can use the code INTERRUPTED when ordering books or other materials – or even conference registrations – to receive 15% off plus free shipping in the continental US.

I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag by Jennifer Gilbert

Trish — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:25:01 +0000

Jennifer Gilbert seemed to have it all – an affluent upbringing, a great education followed by post-college travel to Europe, and plans to take the Manhattan business world by storm upon her return. Then suddenly, all of her dreams were interrupted by a vicious attack that left her almost dead from multiple stab wounds all over her body.

This attack, and the years that followed, are the subject of her book, I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag: A Memoir of a Life Through Events–the Ones You Plan and the Ones You Don’t….

Read the rest of my review and enter to win a copy of this amazing memoir at 5 Minutes for Mom.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon by Tricia Goyer

Trish — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:30:11 +0000

With this year marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we are seeing many tributes to that devastating event. Christian author Tricia Goyer pays homage to the Titanic’s memory with her new novel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, combining the historic event with a retelling of the Biblical story of the prodigal son.

Quentin Walpole is the down-and-out son of a wealthy businessman, having left the family to make his own way in the world and failing miserably. Through the kindness of a stranger, he is given a ticket aboard the Titanic and is hoping to find a way to redeem himself in America so that he can approach his father again. Unbeknownst to him, his father and older brother are also on the ship, returning to America after spending some time in England.

Amelia Gladstone is the kind-hearted stranger who helped him gain passage. Although she is traveling across the ocean to meet a suitor with whom she has been corresponding, she finds herself drawn to Quentin. A chance meeting between Amelia and Quentin’s estranged family spurs her towards helping them to reconcile, but also leaves her with even more questions about where her heart is leading her.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon is a wonderful example of inspirational fiction, bringing in as it does the various elements of romantic relationships, historical interest, and a clear picture of the redemption offered by a father who loves his son no matter what he has done. I definitely recommend this enjoyable and encouraging read.

I was provided with a review copy of this book from Barbour Publishing via Litfuse. All comments and opinions are my own.

Prophet by R.J. Larson

Trish — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:00:26 +0000

Imagine you are called by the Infinite Himself to be a prophet, and the only thing you know for sure is that prophets rarely have long lives.

Then imagine you are just a girl, soon to be betrothed to be married, and accepting this gift will mean you must walk away from your intended, your parents, and even your own country, to follow His leading and speak for Him wherever He takes you.

This is the choice facing Ela Roeh of Parne in R.J. Larson’s debut fantasy novel Prophet (Books of the Infinite #1). Read the rest of my review for this 5-Star Read at 5 Minutes for Books.

Executive Functioning and Mental Engagement ~ A Personal Reflection

Trish — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:00:08 +0000

Note: I have posted a few times about some of the things I have been working through since being diagnosed with Asperger’s. I haven’t gotten a lot of response here, but I thought I would try one more time to see if these topics are of any interest to my readership here. I would love to hear from anyone who is interested in hearing more about these sorts of things so I can decide whether to continue posting them here or to reserve them for more private forums. Thank you!

I attend a monthly support group for parents of children with AS/HFA/PDD-NOS, which took place last night. It is a wonderful group with a steady core and a few others who come and go as their schedule allows, and I have learned a lot from them.

Last night, I was sharing about how I personally have lived my life feeling like I was standing by myself in one place and everyone else was standing together in another spot and that, if I could just figure out the right answer to how they think and act, I would fit in with them. I went on to say how I have been learning that “they” don’t actually all think the same way and that there isn’t “one” right answer for everything.

This makes me both sad and glad at the same time: sad because I really wanted there to be one right answer that would make everything better, but glad because maybe now I can stop beating myself up emotionally for not being able to figure out this elusive, mystical “answer.”

Then, this morning, I was catching up on a friend’s blog and found a post that mentioned this tendency (You Down With EFD? (Executive Functioning Disorder)). The post was about executive functioning and actually covered a lot of ground which I plan to spend some more time re-reading and thinking about, but this one little thing really caught my attention on first read (the image is from this document on Executive Functions).

Although I have been starting to understand the way I think and that has helped me, I have never thought about why I would be like that. But this idea that it is a way to avoid mental engagement rings true for me. It IS hard, and tiring, and scary because I don’t have any way to know whether my conclusions are solid unless the other person is willing to give me honest feedback (and then how can I really know if they are even if they say they are??).

Plus, once I start thinking about possibilities, they explode in number so fast that I can’t keep track of them very well, and then it takes me even longer to figure out a response, so then I will pick the easiest or least disruptive response from the ones at hand. It seems like it would make so much more sense to just have that “one right way” to handle every situation!

Since that’s not the way things are in reality, it seems that now I need to reframe this tendency in light of the way I engage with others. If I am not going to beat myself up for not knowing how to respond immediately in every situation, then I also don’t want to respond in a way that isn’t truly engaged just to satisfy the social expectations of the moment.

But it’s also true that I often need more time to process my thoughts about a situation before knowing what I really think or want to do about it. So I need to find ways to give myself the time and space to respond the way I truly think is best, even if it requires me to tell someone I can’t give them an answer right away or that I need more information.

What Happens Next? by Rick Schostek

Trish — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:00:49 +0000

What Happens Next? Raising a Son With Autism by Rick Schostek is part-memoir, part-resource, and part-inspiration. This book is written from the perspective of a dad whose son is now facing adult life with autism.

In it, Rick reflects on his son’s experiences to this point and shares all that the family and the rest of Greg’s support team have done to help him develop along the way, but with a focus toward the questions and decisions that arise for someone with a developmental disability as they approach adulthood. As he candidly puts it:

It’s one thing to conquer potty training, simple math or a social skill. Quite another to set up a support structure for your adult child that must endure after you’re gone.

While his son is at a different point on the spectrum than my son, I found much to relate to in Rick’s story. I love his description of people with autism as “a diverse group with common traits” and can see so many similarities in the challenges and triumphs we have witnessed. I can also attest to having many of the same questions and fears that Rick shares with regard to how my child will function as an adult in our society, especially after I am no longer around.

However, just as my son has surprised me when he learns something I wasn’t sure he would ever get, Greg has taught his parents and the other adults in his life never to underestimate his capacity for change and growth. Despite his limited communication skills, he successfully completed a year-long internship program during his final year of high school, taking on more difficult assignments as the year progressed and showing increasing independence and responsibility.

As the book concludes, Greg is 23 years old and combining part-time work with adult day services, along with some volunteer work at the hospital where he was previously an intern. His parents have obtained legal guardianship for him and have set up a special needs trust so that they can provide some extras for him while maintaining his eligibility for governmental assistance. They are still looking for the best answers for where he will live after they are gone.

Rick spends the last quarter of the book discussed the various issues they had to face as Greg went through the transition process. Although the information can vary from state to state – they live in Ohio – I found his explanations of the different programs, such as SSI and Medicaid waivers, very helpful. He also details the options they have looked into with regard to employment and housing.

I am so thankful for the time and effort Rick has put into documenting his journey and his efforts towards his son’s transition to adulthood. It is so hard for me to imagine that far into the future, especially without allowing fear to creep in. Rick’s goal for parents like me is to “be able to raise their heads and look further down the road. To see a vision of how their child can be included in the community as an adult.”

If you are the parent of a person with autism, of any age, you will appreciate What Happens Next?.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. All comments and opinions are my own.

Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Phil Ryken

Trish — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:00:18 +0000

Here’s a great book review for a Sunday. I hope you will be as intrigued as I was to read this book.

Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Phil Ryken is a fresh look at what is commonly known as “The Love Chapter,” I Corinthians 13. Although the passage is most famous for being read at weddings, it was not written specifically to describe a romantic relationship.

As Ryken breaks it down, the chapter “establishes the necessity of love (vv 1-3), sketches the character of love (vv. 4-7), and celebrates the permanence of love (vv. 8-13) as the greatest of God’s gifts.” And what better way to illustrate love’s characteristics than to look at the way Jesus lived and loved others during His time on earth. To do this, Ryken takes each description of what love is or isn’t from the chapter and exposits on its meaning using examples from Jesus’ life on earth as portrayed in the Gospels.

One of my favorite parts from this book was an exercise in which you read verses 4-8 aloud but replace the word “love” with your own name. Can you do it? Can you say, “(Trish) is kind, (Trish) does not envy, (Trish) never fails.” It’s surprisingly difficult to do!

Then read it again with Jesus’ name in place of the word “love.” Much easier, huh? “Jesus does not seek his own, Jesus is not provoked, Jesus thinks no evil.” Ryken suggests that by examining the way Jesus loved in light of this chapter, we will be more able to understand the love we have been shown and how we can live it out in our own lives towards others.

I appreciated the solid writing and insightful approach to the subject matter. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to love more like Jesus.

I received a complimentary electronic galley of this book from Crossway via NetGalley for review. All comments and opinions are my own.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Trish — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 05:00:48 +0000

Wonder is the story of August Pullman, a 10-year-old boy about to enter fifth grade. This may not seem so remarkable until you find out that he has never been to school before. Auggie, as he is known, was born with a rare genetic syndrome which caused severe facial deformities, among other issues, and which has already required twenty-seven surgeries.

Read the rest of my review at 5 Minutes for Books.

What’s On My Nightstand – April 2012

Trish — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:54:00 +0000

Now that I am settling into my apartment, I finally have a designated spot for my TBR pile – the top shelf of a small bookcase that I put on the other side of the bed from my actual nightstand. Doesn’t it look great?

Of course, I still found plenty of time to read over the last month. I was able to contribute a few reviews to 5 Minutes for Books. Click on the links if you’d like to read my full reviews.

The Replacement Wife by Eileen Goudge
Heart Echoes by Sally John
The Spirit Keeper by Melissa Luznicky Garrett
Wonder by R.J. Palacio

A few other reads were:
The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck – very enjoyable story – blog tour/review here

I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag: A Memoir of a Life Through Events–the Ones You Plan and the Ones You Don’t by Jennifer Gilbert – wonderful book coming out next month; full review coming soon

Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Phil Ryken – compelling look at I Corinthians 13 through the life of Christ – more thoughts to come later, but you can read a review by Elizabeth at 5 Minutes for Books for more about it now if you’re interested.

Prophet (Books of the Infinite) by R. J. Larson – totally enthralling story with amazing characters and settings as well – I am looking forward to writing more about it soon.

Reading right now (on my Kindle via Netgalley):
The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger – I was intrigued by the premise and am liking the book more and more as I get into the story and the characters.

So, what are you reading??

To read more posts or join in yourself, visit What’s On Your Nightstand? at 5 Minutes for Books.

In So Many Words

Beyond Hope’s Valley by Tricia Goyer

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The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

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7 Hours Omnibus

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Visual Techniques for Developing Social Skills by Rebecca Moyes

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I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag by Jennifer Gilbert

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By the Light of the Silvery Moon by Tricia Goyer

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Prophet by R.J. Larson

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Executive Functioning and Mental Engagement ~ A Personal Reflection

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What Happens Next? by Rick Schostek

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Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Phil Ryken

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Wonder by R.J. Palacio

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What’s On My Nightstand – April 2012

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