52 in 52 - A Stolen Life

I am playing catch up on my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge
 
This is book five for the year

My Mom in law belongs to a book club in Hoedspruit and while I was there they had their monthly meeting.  It was so much fun catching up with the ladies of this group I used to belong to 15 years ago.  One of the great things was having access to so many great books.

A Stolen Life
Jaycee Dugard



Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (July 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 145166494X
ISBN-13: 978-1451664942
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces




From the back cover: "In the summer of 1991 I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother who loved me. I was just like you.
Until the day my life was stolen.


For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse.
For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation.


On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I don’t think of myself as a victim. I survived.
A Stolen Life is my story—in my own words, in my own way, exactly as I remember it." - jaycee dugard.

That's just how the book is written.  It has not been written by a ghost writer.  It is frank and honest and at best compelling.  I couldn't put this book down.  I was shocked and surprised at her frank honesty and the excellent quality of her writing considering she was abducted at the age of 11 and had no more formal education.  She must be an incredible young woman to already have written this account.  She shares extracts from her journal written in captivity.  If you are looking for a feel good book then this is NOT the book for you as it is frank and honest about the invasion perpetrated on this young woman for 18 very long years.

Jaycee has started a foundation called the JAYC Foundation. (Just Ask Yourself to Care) Our mission is to be of service to families that have suffered a familial or nonfamilial abduction or other trauma and to spread the word of compassion and awareness through educational programs. We connect families to support and services they need in order to recover from the abduction or other traumatic events, such as returning from military deployment or a major natural disaster.

I rate this book: *****
Sexual content: yes
Linked to: BW24: RIP Ray Bradbury

52 in 52 - Five Chimneys

I am playing catch up on my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge
 
This is book four for the year

Recently while on holiday in South Africa I found this book on the mantle that called out to me to be read.

Five Chimneys

Olga Lengyel

• Format: Paperback
• Number of Pages: 221
• Publishers: Academy Chicago Publishers; 2nd edition (October 1, 1995)
• Publication Date: 1994
• ISBN:  0897333764
• Author Olga Lengyel

This book is an account of one of the woman who survived Auschwitz. It was first published two years after World War II ended so I was a little surprised to see that it is still in print and available for purchase from Fishpond and Amazon.  

This book is written in the first person and is a personal account of the author's experience in Auschwitz.  It was the sort of book that held my attention and let my heart witness the heart ache of Auschwitz.  Olga is a trained surgeon who looses her whole family (parents, two sons and her husband) in World War II. In her homeland she dismisses the stories of war as a figment of someones wild imagination and not true until her and her family are shipped off to Auschwitz.

Her descriptions of the processes and environ are stated as matter of fact and without emotion. As you read you follow Olga's downward emotional spiral due to the depraved circumstances and living under the 'Blond Angel" (Irma Grese), until she is recruited in the prisoner resistance underground movement and handed a motive to fight for survival.  She was assigned the role of information gather to speak for those who would loose their lives to the war.

She fulfills her assignment through writing this memoir of World War II.  I found her descriptions rather heart wrenching especially that to do with pregnancy and birth in camp.

This is an excellent book allowing the reader a 'safe' glimpse into life in Auschwitz.  It is not recommend for immature or young audiences due to it's graphic content.

For a thorough breakdown of the book you can head over to Wikipedia.

After the war Olga migrated to America where she started the Olga founded the Memorial Library and Art Collection of Second World War, chartered by the University of the State of New York.  She died in 2001.

"You have done a real service by letting the ones who are now silent and most forgotten speak." - Albert Einstein  


Rate: *****
This post does not contain affiliate links.
Linked to: BW24: RIP Ray Bradbury 

HSMJ - I'm Back !

In my life this week…

• We arrived home last Friday after a fantastic holiday in South Africa !  I have been thinking about the best way to showcase some of the incredible things we did while we were away. 
• I have been thinking about my weight and health and what I am going to do about it.

In our homeschool this week…

• I have spent this week in planning mode to start back into to school next week.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

• Chariot Press have announced this week that they have all their stock listed on their website.  They are currently running a stock take Sale. There is no extra postage on Sale items.  
• 
  Source: scholastic.com via Jimmie on Pinterest
  Jimmie shared this Cool Country Report: Fill-in Poster. Introduce a different culture and help strengthen your child's writing skills, all at the same time! This is another example of the AMAZING free resources at the Scholastic site. 
• Gosh I missed out on the 10 Days of ... Series hosted over at iHomeschool Network.  I have some catching up to do.  Have you had a look at these posts ?  
• Looking for some interesting Top Ten posts to read over the next 8 weeks then head on over to Many Little Blessings and have a read.  This weeks post was 10 reasons my kids like being homeschooled and next weeks topic is: Top 10 Favourite Read Alouds. For more topics visit iHomeschool Network 10 in 10 and link up at Many Little Blessings.

I am inspired by…

• Our Nature Journals over at Blue Yonder Ranch. I love this post.  I am still aspiring to Nature Journal but looking for a way that will work for our family.  Here is a snippet to whet your appetite "I keep a little notebook so that I can make notes about what we found and where, but we don’t take our journals with us. Someday I’d like for them to take field notes, but at the moment, it works better for us to spend our time outdoors just exploring and then to come home for the journaling.
  The things that we bring home go into a big basket until we have a chance to study them further. We won’t necessarily research everything that comes home with us, but some things will catch our fancy and we’ll want to dig a little deeper..." Pop on over and have a read of Stefani's thoughts on the topic.  Even though this post is two years old it is very relevant and encouraging today.
   

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

• We caught up with family and friends on Sunday for Sir N's seventh birthday.  His big brother Mr T arranged a surprise birthday bash for him.

My favorite thing this week was…

• Realising that we have taken 10 400 photographs on our seven week holiday. 

What’s working/not working for us…

• Being sick with the flu after a lovely holiday and arriving home to some particularly cold raining weather !

Questions/thoughts I have…

• What are your favourite Home School Blog Hops / Memes ?

Things I’m working on…

• Planing the next two weeks of school for Sir N.
• A blog post featuring my Top Ten Homeschool Websites.
• Blog posts showing you a few other things we did in South Africa
• Library visit to collect books
• My very first product review.... coming this monday.

I’m reading…

•  A 5 day blog hop hosted at Sidetracked Sarah. There are 21 bloggers with 105 different blog posts on the subject!   
• Battle of the Home Made Glass Cleaner over at Crunchy Betty.
• She only does him good over at Always Learning which was written in response to A Simple Happy Marriage.  I found these post really challenging as I have been feeling rather self focused and angry.  It has had me re-evaluating some things in my attitude.
• Reboot Your Life and wondering if any of you have heard of this or tried it out ?
• From finding hope to giving hope - White Butterfly Reflection Service 2012 over at Princess Warrior Lessons.
• White Butterfly Project Stories.  I must confess these three short letters have deeply touched me. Just this week I looked at the memory box of my child who was lost to us through early miscarriage. 
• Mom's Tool Belt Free Charts & Printables.

I’m cooking…

•  Nothing too interesting this week.  I think that I will dig out my recipes from Carmel Wilkinson when I attended her Results Weight Loss clinic a year ago. 

I’m grateful for…

•  The Bad News About Home Schooling over at Encouraging Beautiful Motherhood.  Rather thought provoking nail on the head kind of writing.  I needed this.  I have been feeling rather inadequate and wondering if I should be doing this homeschooling thing.  Just the article I needed to read!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

“Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion has no hold on the mind. Therefore do not use compulsion, but let early education be a sort of amusement; you will then be better able to discover the child's natural bent.” ― Plato

Blessings

This post is linking to:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
iHomeschool Network

The Home school Mother’s Journal began as a single post on a Friday morning over at The Homeschool Chick, and turned into a link-up for homeschool mothers across the blog-O-sphere to share a piece of their journey with one another each week.

The link party has moved and is now hosted over at iHomeschool Network and is open from Friday to Monday so join me in The Homeschool  Mothers Journal and lets encourage one another on our homeschool journey.