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In Print
Focus
__________________ November 15, 2000
Page 5
An American Story Always On Call
When Illness Turns Families Into Caregivers
m o re
s e lf
aw are, and a
g rea t deal
stronger.
T oday she
is a brilliant
and o u ts p o
ken jo u rn a l
ist, b u t the
path she fo l
lo w e d a n d
what it took
to reach this
point is both
s u rp ris in g
and inspiring.
In her m em
o ir,
“ An
A m e ric a n
S t o r y ”
D ic k e rs o n
unm asks her
DEBRA J.
self, her fam
DICKERSON
ily, and our
society, bear
ing w itness to her com plex, if
B y D ebra J, D ickerson
tum
ultuous, life as an A m eri
P antheon B ooks : 2000
can.
e b ra D ickerson has
W ere it not for her fierce
lived through several
intelligence and innate tough
hardships in her forty-one
ness,
D ickerson m ight not
years - physical abuse, pov
have
m
ade it. She w atched
erty, racism, sexism , rape -
o
th
er
b
lacks around her -
and has em erged from each
traum atic ex p erien ce a bit fam ily, friends, neighbors -
D
The Gospel of
Good Success
A Road Map to
Spiritual, Emotional and
Financial Wholeness
F ireside : 1999
You can be successful in ev
ery aspect o f your existence:
your emotions, career, finances,
relationships, health, parenting
skills, academ ic career, and
more. That is the promise that
God made you. But God is not a
game show host who offers in
stant gratification. Only if you
are willing to make the sacri
fices o f the journey will you en
ter the place where all the pieces
o f your life - your spiritual, fi
nancial, physical, professional,
emotional, and relational pieces
- will be in sync, not as pieces o f
some convoluted puzzle but as
pieces fitting harmoniously to
gether as a whole.
N A T IO N A L
lose the battle w ith drugs,
poverty, racism , and what she
perceived as a lack o f con
viction. As a young girl, she
never dream ed o f the range
o f experiences life had in
store for her. We w itness in
“ An
A m e ric a n
S to ry ”
D ic k e r s o n ’s e x h ila r a tin g
transform ation from diligent
“A ” student, to distinguished
A ir Force Intelligence O f
ficer and K orean linguist, in
tense H arvard Law School
student, and, finally, success
ful journalist.
W hile she suffered from
self-doubt every step o f the
way (her fa th e r’s negativity
h a v in g le f t d e e p s c a r s ) ,
D ic k e rso n w as c o n s ta n tly
striving tow ard success w ith
out being fully aw are o f her
am azing potential or w here it
w ould take her.
O ver the course o f her life,
D ebra D ickerson has re in
vented herself tim e and again,
and is a w om an who tra n
scends stereotypes. She ex
hibits a kind o f quiet heroism ,
and her m em oir will pro
vide a role m odel for
w o m e n - b la c k and
w hite - o f all ages.
B fiB T B E L L E P
T h e G o sp e l o f
GOOD
SUCCESS
/ / limul Mu ft tu
Spiritual.
I.in u liu n u l
■■ A I'JII \|l I'lN <| > I EH,« I l| I I »»
I I I *»
Some people still
think a mouse
always has whiskers.
They need you.
You know computers are a key tool in today’s
world and use them everyday. Many people don’t.
Help the library introduce these people to
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T
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Kirbyjon H. Caldwell
«4 \l -I
health care system, the authors
offer suggestions forbuildingpart-
nerships and fostering improve
ment. Always On Call is an es
sential book for understanding
family creagivingintoday’shealth
care system. Equally important, it
builds a convincing case for
change.
a n il
I inuiu ial II liolriwss
\.|« M I
N ew Y ork : 2000
This powerful book
reveals the hidden
struggles of the more
than 25 million family
caregivers in the United
States. While family
members have always
provided care for one
another,
recent
changes in health care
have placed tremen
dous new responsibili
ties on them - respon
sibilities that, only a de
cade ago, were a rou
tine part of hospital
care. TAuqgs On Call
presents an intimate
look at this new world
of family caregiving.
C om pelling narratives by
caregivers capture the intensity of
the caregiving experience. Chap
ters by expperienced health care
professionals analyze the impact
of caregiving and question the
limitsoffamily responsibility. While
unsparing in their critiques of the
II I
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