Review of "A Physician's Plight" by Dr. Katherine Klein

I just finished "A Physician's Plight" last night, and Dr. Klein's story broke my heart. It follows her story from her youth through final personal triumph with twenty years of heartache in between. This book is well-written and moves at a good clip. It does a good job of sharing just enough that we can actually feel it from the inside. As the title suggests, there is an interesting contrast between Dr. Klein's escalating personal struggles and stories from inside the hospital.

Having lived through my wife's own struggles for custody of her son, I empathized with Dr. Klein's story. It's amazing what family court can sometimes conclude. Reality seems to have very little to do with their decisions in many cases.

This was a brave story. I thank Dr. Klein for sharing it and recommend it to anyone who likes a good, personal memoir.

A Physician's Plight

The record is finished!

I've talked about my friend, Becky on here. Getting to know her again this summer and fall has been an amazing experience. I had no idea how much I missed her all those years until I had her back. I just love her so much. It's just a special bond that goes all the way back to kindergarten in a little town with 47 people. There's no way to describe it. Well, the CD has been much of what we've talked about. After a lifetime of singing, she finally took the plunge into the studio. She's been working on it for months. Well...

Oh my goodness! One of the most incredible moments of my life was at 6:00 am last Thursday morning. That was her worldwide radio debut on KZNN in Rolla, Missouri. She was so excited when they let her know that she drove down to her mom's just to sit in her car and listen. That station is a long way from my house, but I took a shot and drove as far east as I could before six...left about ten minutes early.

Well, about 5:56, the station started fading out of rock to Garth Brooks. It was going back and forth between the two. She was on a country station, so I pulled over when Garth was coming in strong. I was trying to hear the call letters (KZNN). I never heard them.

At 6:00 sharp, I heard my friend's angelic voice, though!! She kicked off the morning show. It was her song "Keep Christ In Christmas" which is very radio friendly. I sat there and cried.

My friend from kindergarten who loves nothing in the world more than singing was being played on my truck radio, and I got to hear it. Just a couple months ago, I talked with her for hours helping her decide whether to continue in the singing contest she was in or spend that money to go record this CD. I convinced her the CD would give her more return. I helped her get the CD submitted...three hours on the phone. My wife and I have been travelling a couple hours every couple weeks just to hang with her and hear her sing...and because she's a blast! We've spent hours and hours talking about and working on this CD. I didn't help with the recording, but I did help her get it from songs to a release. She told my wife the other day that I was getting credits on the sleeve "for pure awesomeness". I don't know if she was joking or not. It's hard to tell sometimes. Thursday morning, I heard her on the radio for the first time. I heard her biggest dream come true. By some magic of the airwaves, I heard it across the state. I Mapquested it once I got to work. I was 114 miles away.

It was great!

Since then, she's been put into the rotations on several stations in the eastern part of Missouri with more coming on all the time. It's been a whirlwind this week. The CD isn't even available (but will be very soon), and she's already on the radio!! Hopefully things will calm down soon so we can hang out. Meanwhile, it's been fun chatting with her at night. It's just amazing. She's amazing. You can hear the full album on Reverbnation if you'd like. The originals are the last two songs on the playlist, but the whole thing is incredible. I'm soooooo proud of her.


Doug

Christmas Lullaby by Becca Lee Roberts

As I reflect on the Hank Williams book I just read, I've been thinking about my own life. The Waylon Jennings song "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" keeps playing in my head. Those of you who've read my books know how close I came to entering music as my profession.

I'm lucky I didn't.

I have a strong premonition that I would've ended up much like Hank. I have many of the same demons. Where we got them, only God knows. I've always felt the same things Hank did, though. I listened to Hank Williams as I fell asleep as a kindergartener. I know what he felt when he wrote those songs. I wouldn't have made it.

I think Uncle Sam saved me from his fate.

Just thoughts running through my head as I reflect on the biography I just read. I'm sure Hank done it that way. I'm also lucky I didn't or I wouldn't have survived my twenties.

Review of "Hank Williams: The Biography" by Colin Escott

As a child, I listened to old 78s of Hank Williams that I carefully pulled out of my dad's old cedar chest. Later, I got my very own 8-track player and fell asleep listening to Hank every night. All I can say after reading this book is,"Wow." I bought it at the Ryman Auditorium during a recent trip to Nashville and started reading it immediately. This is a very thorough look at Hank's short, sad life. Mr. Escott has included direct quotes from many of the people who knew Hank personally or were associated with him and has put together what might be the most comprehensive picture of his life yet.

I was particularly impressed with how well Hank's childhood and early life were covered. I had absolutely no idea prior to this book how far back his problems went. I was constantly doing math in my head as different incidents of Hank's drinking causing problems appeared to find dates that placed him in his mid-teens.

His meteoric rise and abrupt fall are covered quite skillfully. It even includes his earnings each year. A peek into the psychology of who Hank Williams was as a person is granted through quotes from his friends and associates. Learning the sad details of his last few months was horrifying to me, but it's the truth. I appreciate the truth. We also get a summary of the extensive aftermath following Hank's sudden death and the outcome for the people involved including his children.

I can't say I'm happy after finishing this book. I do feel like I know Hank Williams better than I did prior to reading it, though. This is the best Hank Williams biography I've read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in country music.

Hank Williams: The Biography

Review of "America's Unknown Wars" by William S. Shepard

I just finished "America's Unknown Wars" late last night. William Shepard has done a great job in compiling a bit of history that barely anybody talks about in this easy-to-read collection of essays. I've been a history teacher for going on twenty years, and I learned new things in his book. Little discussed history has always interested me the most, so I was eager to dig into this book. It didn't disappoint.

I enjoyed all four of the sections. The Spanish-American War has always been of particular interest to me, and it's covered quite nicely. That's been called a "splendid little war", but it had a tremendous impact on both US and world history. It was nice to see Mr. Shepard discuss it.

This isn't an in depth text book. It's a relatively light read that moves along at a good clip. It's an overview. I'd recommend this book to anybody with an interest in US history.

 

America's Unknown Wars

Beautiful review of "SAT & BAF! Memories of a Tower Rat"

Here is a lovely review of SAT & BAF! Memories of a Tower Rat by Joanne Mazzotta.

Doug Depew stepped off a 747 after it landed in Germany. It was to be the most powerfully memorable annex of his life. Often it is said in written reviews, "This is not the sort of book I usually read." I must say it now. I have not experienced the armed forces. Though I am pleased and proud to be an American and have given due respect to our military men and woman, I would have not read this book if I did not meet Doug Depew on a writer's discussion group. His personality doesn't reveal the jolting experiences he tells of in SAT&BAF. He is likable and has a pleasant friendliness about him.

He takes you with him to Germany and introduces you to his platoon, a family of new "brothers" while your mouth hangs open in shock at some of their shenanigans. Aligning himself with the perimeters of a serious mission, he manages to preserve his passion for fun, sex, relationships with beautiful German girls, booze banquets and insane ideas while off base. SAT&BAF is written in a flowing conversational manner. He exhibits a style of his own while he describes the years he spent in West Germany. He goes on to explain in detail his nightlife in the military and his responsibilities as a soldier commissioned to guard a nuclear storage station in a country where he was a foreigner. The menacing fight to keep himself alive while evolving from boy to man, his cohorts often risk that process with some ideas that could have cost him more than his luck had to give.

His experience during a time in American history few really know of will inform you and make you rethink the cold war. He had only been on earth for 18 years when he became a tower rat and reading Doug Depew's rendition of the trouble he and his beloved friends got into, I wasn't sure which mission was more dangerous, his outings in Germany or his tower responsibilities as a soldier.

Seeing it all from a mother's vantage point, it was hard not to worry about him, and yet harder not to crack up laughing at some of his escapades with the daily threat of death hovering over that tower. When he boarded that 747 for the last time, I exhaled.

Review of: "Rock & Roll Homicide" by RJ McDonnell

Music and detective work. What a great combination! This book combines two of my favorite subjects. RJ McDonnell introduces us to ex-muscician, private detective, Jason Duffy in this wonderfully written mystery. I found the combination of the music industry and detective/police work was a super mix. As one who's dabbled around the edges of the music industry most of my life and been in or around law enforcement even longer, I truly enjoyed this read. Mr. McDonnell does a tremendous job of building and developing his characters. There are a lot of them in this book, and I never had trouble keeping track of them. They were all developed so fully that I got to know them and care. The relationship with his retired policeman father is particularly interesting. This book takes us everywhere from a recording studio to the Russian mafia. There's even some old-world Ireland in it!

The pace is quick. The narrative is done in a lively, friendly voice. Humor is strewn thoughout the entire book. It kept me turning pages late into the night. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys music, investigative novels, or a fun read. I'm looking forward to another installment in the Rock & Roll Mystery series.
Rock & Roll Homicide