"Midnight Wilderness: Journeys in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" by Debbie S. Miller

Book Details:

Title: Midnight Wilderness: Journeys in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Author: Debbie S. Miller

Published: 2011- The Mountaineers Books

ISBN: 978-1-59485-633-4

Genre: Memoir/Conservation

Pages: 179

Rating: 2 of 5

Read in: Longer Than I Care To Admit

My Review:
Debbie Miller's Midnight Wilderness slightly deceived me. I picked the book up hoping for adventure and excitement in a lesser-known part of our country and instead found myself pouring through page after page of anti-oil drilling service announcements. Now let me make it known right now that I do not condone or support oil drilling in this natural, wild area, and reading this book made me more well-informed on the issue and against it. However, even the chapters on Miller's exciting hikes throughout the Refuge, she continuously throws punches at oil drilling. I get it. When I'm reading about adventurous hikes in treacherous and wonderful areas, I don't appreciate my attention being pulled away and pushed back into an anti-drilling campaign. It ruined the book for me as a whole. I'm glad the author is passionate about the issue, and it is an issue that should be brought to the public's attention, but don't market the book as being about "journeys in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" when it's clearly written to express the author's views on a current event. I would have thoroughly enjoyed it exponentially more if every other page didn't discuss abandoned oil barrels or drilling settlements. I got the feeling that the author meant to constantly disrupt the majesty her descriptions of the landscape created with the ugly images of development to create the image of the possible future this land faces. Wonderful cause, but I did not enjoy the frequency of the interruptions. I was hoping for more glimpses into this Arctic world. I waited patiently to learn of the native people living in the area and was deeply disappointed when the author made no attempt to divulge their culture or society to the reader. I believe these people are of great importance to the area and would love to have learned more about them. Miller says at the beginning of her work that she wanted to include a chapter about the Inupiat Eskimos, but felt she could not do them justice in just one chapter. How about a teaser, then? Anything about them and their adaptations to the conditions of their homelands would have been fascinating, but sadly they did not get their time in the sun within the pages of this book. The beauty and wonder of Alaska's Arctic that the author seemed to be trying to convey was deeply lost to me.
I felt quite lost through a lot of the book due to the author's usage of terms known to those familiar with the landscape and terrain, but with little to no explanation for a reader who has never experienced a "tussock", "talus", or "moraines". 
I give this book 2 out of 5 stars primarily because it didn't hold my attention and it felt like a chore getting through it. I do, however, see that the book was written to voice a very honorable stand on a controversial issue and would be a treasured read for someone more informed on the subject of oil drilling and conservation in this Arctic territory. Someone without knowledge or experience of the area may well become lost and flounder to the book's conclusion.

"Struck By Living: From Depression to Hope" by Julie K. Hersh

Book Details:

Title: Struck By Living: From Depression to Hope

Author: Julie K. Hersh

Published: 2011 by Greenleaf Book Group Press

ISBN: 978-1-60832-107-0

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 223

Rating: 4 of 5

Read in: 6 days

My Review:
Depression is a formidable enemy. It doesn't show up on an x-ray or a CAT scan. No testing of blood or urine can detect it's presence. That doesn't make it any less traumatizing or deadly, just more difficult to diagnose and treat. It's like a cancer of the soul- aggressive, debilitating, painful. If caught in time, medication, counselling, and support from loved ones can help reduce it back to nothing. Not everyone can get the help they need in time and fall victim to the dark hopelessness. And there's still never a guarantee that you won't relapse even years later. Julie Hersh suffered through this disease, just one of millions around the country. Her story is like so many others in many ways. Her suffering and constant battle to find relief is shared by an increasing number, but her path to and from depression is solely her own. Her memoir of her experiences with depression shows readers who may also be battling the same condition or know someone who is that life doesn't have to end to find a release. She invites the reader into her desperate, pained mind at her worse to prove it's never hopeless, there's always a way out, you just have to find what works for you. She also takes the reader into a psychiatric ward and a treatment center, sanctuaries for the mentally unstable to gain their footing and start the journey to wellness. She gives hope and understanding and shamelessly recounts even her lowest points. The effects on her friends and family, the toll months of little sleep and nourishment took on her body, her attempts to kill herself- she doesn't sugar-coat the illness the offer one of the most honest tellings of depression I have come across.

This memoir features a depression treatment option not commonly discussed- electroconvulsive therapy or ECT. The author discusses her experiences with this controversial therapy and how it may have saved her life. After several suicide attempts, ECT was a last option for her and her family and turned out to be their saving grace. I gave this book four out of five stars and would strongly recommend it to anyone suffering from depression, but especially to anyone close to someone suffering from it. Hersh gives a very accurate account of the mentality and thought processes that go along with the illness and could help others understand when they may have never experienced it themselves.

"Conversations and Cosmopolitans: Awkward Moments, Mixed Drinks, and How a Mother and Son Finally Shared Who They Really Are" by Robert Rave & Jane Rave

Book Details:
Title: Conversations and Cosmopolitans: Awkward Moments, Mixed Drinks, and How a Mother and Son Finally Shared Who They Really Are
Author: Robert Rave & Jane Rave
Published: anticipated November 2011 by St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 978-0-312-55423-1
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 288
Rating: 4 of 5
Read in: 3 days


My Review:
Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful. I recently received an advance copy of this novel and I'm very glad I did. This mother/son team delivers a very accurate look into homosexual culture, as well as its effect on family life. This memoir contains some extremely eccentric New Yorkers that will keep any reader sufficiently entertained. 

The first thing I really enjoyed about the book was the format. The other part of the book's format that I enjoyed was the authors' alternating voices each chapter. First, the reader gets Robert's story, then mom chimes in afterward to give her perspective. This prevents them from competing for the reader's attention and creates a clear-cut separation of thoughts, opinions, and experiences during each situation presented. A 20-something gay New Yorker's perspective is clearly much different from his middle-aged Midwestern mother's. As time goes on however, we see the differences become less and less as  mother and son connect on deeper levels.


An author can paraphrase and summarize communications between the characters, but the Raves took it to a whole new level, including online messaging transcripts, e-mails, and letters written during the pivotal events in their lives. These give a more accurate look at the relationship between mother and son, and show the evolution of their relationship as they both become more comfortable and familiar with Robert's lifestyle, and become more comfortable in their own relationship to each other.


I especially liked chapter sixteen, titled "The Daughter-in-Law You'll Never Have (Also known to my parents as my best friend Melissa). I laughed out loud several times during this chapter! The crazy antics Robert and his best friend get into during a weekend out in New York City were a welcome change from the chapters of sadness and awkwardness from loneliness, rejection, credit card debt, and trying to "make it" in the real world. I also really liked that Melissa brings Robert out of his shell more than any other person we encounter, requiring him to down massive amounts of sugar and Diet Coke to keep up with her voracious energy and enthusiasm. She's confident and suave, where as Robert is unsure and awkward. A perfectly matched duo to run amok in Central Park and Midtown, chasing guys. 


Clearly, I don't have anything negative to say about this book. The characters are strong and continually develop as life throws more their way. It's not only about a son's homosexuality and how the family changes once they find out, but it says a lot about the love and loyalty of a mother to her child. Despite discrimination and negative responses in a small town, Jane stands her ground on several occasions and speaks out to protect and promote her son and his lifestyle- even to close family friends. I give it four out of five stars.