Introductions [ Edited ]

[lepking]

I, too, read CAGE OF STARS several months back, but after joining the book club, I realized there were so many things I missed eventhough I did listen to the audio. I thought I could wait for the trade paperback (so glad I learned what that meant), but I could not -- alas, I put down PICTURE PERFECT and I am reading CAGE again from the start. I can't believe how much I just skipped over somehow. I think the only other bookS I ever read twice were JANE EYRE and SECRET LIFE OF BEES. Oh, I listened to BREAKDOWN LANE, as well as read it. lepking

Message Edited by lepking on 04-10-200706:43 PM

[hasenbein]

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JackieM01 wrote:
I'm feeling the same way! I'm a little confused by the new system but it seems that weekends, the time when everyone would have time to post, are really down time. I'd like to invite anyone who KNOWS anyone to come to the group, too, so we can have some action!
Jackie M.

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Hi Jackie,

It's been interesting to note how many people "view" and how few people "post." I do think we're all navagating. I was on the "old" system for two or three years and hadn't figured out all of it!

This past weekend was very busy for worship leader folks. I had Monday off. Since the painters are at my house I couldn't stay there. So I went to Barnes and Noble, read "The Friday Night Knitting Club" and started "The Kommandant's Girl." What a great day!

I loved reading "Cage of Stars" but connected more with the "Breakdown Lane." I could "mine" more out of it. So I hope others will share their "gold" and get us all discussing!

KathyH

KathyH

[kiakar]

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lepking wrote:
I, too, read CAGE OF STARS several months back, but after joining the book club, I realized there were so many things I missed eventhough I did listen to the audio. I thought I could wait for the trade paperback (so glad I learned what that meant), but I could not -- alas, I put down PICTURE PERFECT and I am reading CAGE again from the start. I can't believe how much I just skipped over somehow. I think the only other bookS I ever read twice were JANE EYRE and SECRET LIFE OF BEES. Oh, I listened to BREAKDOWN LANE, as well as read it. lepking

Message Edited by lepking on 04-10-200706:43 PM

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You know Lepking, it is so strange how you can read a book and feel so knowledgeable about that book and then reread it and discover all kinds of things you have overlooked or not really provoked thought enought about them. Thats why on the clubs, when I read a book I usually read the book over and gain so much more about it.

[Wrighty]

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kiakar wrote:

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lepking wrote:
I, too, read CAGE OF STARS several months back, but after joining the book club, I realized there were so many things I missed eventhough I did listen to the audio. I thought I could wait for the trade paperback (so glad I learned what that meant), but I could not -- alas, I put down PICTURE PERFECT and I am reading CAGE again from the start. I can't believe how much I just skipped over somehow. I think the only other bookS I ever read twice were JANE EYRE and SECRET LIFE OF BEES. Oh, I listened to BREAKDOWN LANE, as well as read it. lepking

Message Edited by lepking on 04-10-200706:43 PM

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You know Lepking, it is so strange how you can read a book and feel so knowledgeable about that book and then reread it and discover all kinds of things you have overlooked or not really provoked thought enought about them. Thats why on the clubs, when I read a book I usually read the book over and gain so much more about it.

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I try to reread it or at least skim through it again if it has been a while since I read it. I even have to take notes sometimes for the important details. When I listen to a book on CD I always seem to miss parts. I think you always get more out of a book or movie the second time around. Of course when I join a book discussion I realize just how much I missed no matter how hard I tried to pay attention!

[JackieM01]

I met Sheri when I was in Salt Lake and she was excited about the book, but Deseret Books wouldn't carry it. Now, that I've completed the changes, I hope she will!
Jackie M.

[JackieM01]

I'm sure we do this, Bill. We think of people as "evil" or "good" based on their acts rather than their "characters." It is certainly true, even in a "normal" family, that what people remember is one "out-of-character" act more than a thousand "in character" acts. My children, for example, consider me "a smoker" because they saw me smoke part of a cigarette at a wedding eleven years ago. I refer to it as "when Mom fell of the wagon." It is hard to separate deeds from one's prior "record" or even one's intentions. Similarly, a person who acts heroically in a given situation is even more exalted if that person came from a challenged background. We all recall cases of particularly intelligent or gifted work by criminals who then asserted their basic natures when they were out of the limelight.
Jackie M.

[JackieM01]

I can't blame anyone for finding the subject matter hard to cope with. It's like a sort of horrible fable for parents. I hesitated for years before I wrote it even though I knew that the story I wanted to tell, Ronnie's story, was affirming and hopeful. I knew that the depiction of ordinary faith throughout a family's life was an important topic. But I find the basic premise as horrific as anyone else does, and shied away from it. The aftermath of the murders was, to me, the most painful part of the novel.
Jackie M.

[JackieM01]

I love this book.
It's one of my favorites.
The subject matter haunted me for six years before I allowed myself to write it, as I believed the subject matter was too close to 'The Deep End of the Ocean.' I hope that readers can see past the poignancy and horror of the opening to the underlying themes of the story. All of us have to "come back" from loss as Ronnie does -- but not at so young an age and not from such a shocking loss.
Jackie M.
I'm glad we got another whack at it!

[lepking]

This is obviously my favorite book. It is the one that prompted me to write to an author for the first time in my life. When you tell someone about it, you initially tell them about the beginning and then they wonder why that would be a book you would suggest they read . . . but, then you tell a little about her emotional journey and they are hooked. lepking

[cindersue]

Wow! What an ending! I really enjoyed reading your book Jackie! This was the first book of yours I read ... and I will read another one! I felt like I was right there with Ronnie as she went thru the motions.

I just finished reading "My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult. That was another emotional adventure that I enjoyed also.

[Wrighty]

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cindersue wrote:
Wow! What an ending! I really enjoyed reading your book Jackie! This was the first book of yours I read ... and I will read another one! I felt like I was right there with Ronnie as she went thru the motions.

I just finished reading "My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult. That was another emotional adventure that I enjoyed also.

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Cindersue,
I liked that one also. I have a family member with leukemia so that one really hit home.

[cindersue]

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Wrighty wrote:

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cindersue wrote:
I just finished reading "My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult. That was another emotional adventure that I enjoyed also.

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Cindersue,
I liked that one also. I have a family member with leukemia so that one really hit home.

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My best friend from college has a daughter who had leukemia and ended up having a bone marrow transplant. All the kids on her floor at the hospital died, but Nina made it. She's now a senior in high school and going to college next year. Rita talked about having another child hoping that child would be a match for Nina. She never did. A woman from N.Y. donated her bone marrow and it saved Nina's life. It hit home for me too.

[Wrighty]

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cindersue wrote:

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Wrighty wrote:

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cindersue wrote:
I just finished reading "My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult. That was another emotional adventure that I enjoyed also.

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Cindersue,
I liked that one also. I have a family member with leukemia so that one really hit home.

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My best friend from college has a daughter who had leukemia and ended up having a bone marrow transplant. All the kids on her floor at the hospital died, but Nina made it. She's now a senior in high school and going to college next year. Rita talked about having another child hoping that child would be a match for Nina. She never did. A woman from N.Y. donated her bone marrow and it saved Nina's life. It hit home for me too.

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My family member didn't have a match so she had a transplant using her own stem cells. It's not the best solution but it's better than nothing and with other medications it's forming a type of remission. We have friends who had a very young child that had an acute, aggressive type of leukemia. They did have another child to try for a match but the new baby wasn't. Sadly, thier child who was sick died soon after. It was terrible.

[splash]

Hi, I'm Mary Ann from Massachusetts. I've read two other books by Jacquelyn, The Deep End of the Ocean and Twelve Times Blessed. I enjoy her books because they deal with issues of today. I like the way she weaves the relationships among her characters. I have to admit I got a little frustrated with the mother in Deep End. I have three children and if anything ever happened to any of them I would be devastated but not to the point where I'd let the others suffer for it. I kept wanting to shake her character and tell her to pay attention to the son she still had! There are so many wonderful books to read but when I find an author I enjoy I usually read everything they have to offer unless themes become repetetive. So, another of Jacki's books will soon find their way into my home.

[vivico1]

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JackieM01 wrote:
The sentence for Scott Early seemed very light, including time served. But he had expressed remorse, over and over, in written form and in behavior, and the judge took it into account. I would have a very hard time doing as Ronnie's parents did, also, but I am not they and I wasn't asked to. I wanted to examine HOW it might be.
Jackie M.

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I ran across this thread again, its the one i had more thoughts on wrighty that i said i would wait till we started discussing the end of the book first, and wanted to give a few thoughts about scott's sentancing and sentancing of the mentally ill in general.

I think Scotts sentance was pretty short too, even considering his remorse and how much better he was doing with meds. There is a problem in sentancing the mentally ill, that i just dont see a really good answer for but its there. That is, for example, with Scott, he was doing very well with his meds, if you consider attempted suicide doing well. But anyway, there are certain mental disorders that respond well to meds but making sure the person takes their meds is the bigger problem.

There was a woman here that considered me a very good friend, I am not sure why really lol, I had nothing in common with her but she seemed to show up at my house or call just out of the blue alot for a few years. The thing is, she was bipolar. I know some of you have family or someone you mentioned, who was bipolar and in my post grad psych work, we studied that one quite a bit. As you may know, a lot of bipolars are misdiagnosed because they often stay on one side more than the other, they may be depressed almost exclusively instead of going back and forth between that and feeling manic. Well this woman was a textbook bipolar of extremes. When she was in her manic side, she thought God was talking to her, and i dont mean the way we have been talking here, and her eyes were wild and she just loved everyone and was out and about and running so fast, one time i asked her, have you got a switch on your back that we can turn you down a notch or two? LOL, she wasnt offended, found it humorous. She would run you ragged during her manic episodes then would come the plummit to deep depression. She would close all the drapes and pin them tightly closed in her house, lock the doors,she thought all men were out to rape her, or would list the number of men who had.

The saddest part of this was she had 4 kids ages about 10-16 , two boys, two girls and she would keep them locked up in her house with her. One time her 12 year old girl admitted to trying to commit suicide at school and this woman called me and I had her take the girl to DHS mental health clinic to have her daughter checked out. (I also knew if DHS knew and documented this,they might get involved). After an interview with the girl, they decided it was best for her to keep her for some time and let her go to school there too. She actually wanted to stay too. Poor girl, I think she was worn out from what was going on at home. I tried and tried to get this woman help and here lies the problem with many manic/depressive people.. when they are manic and the world is a lovely place and they are just high, you CAN NOT convince them they need help or medication. They believe they are ok, or if there was something wrong, its over! Then, when you catch them in their depression, you cant get them to get help or medication cause "it wont help" and "I can't do it and dont need it". So its hard to find that in between time you can really talk to them. And keeping them on meds if you get them there is hard, very hard.

Its very hard with a lot of disorders to get people to take their meds. So, the question becomes, when they show signs of violence or actually do murder people, what do you do with them long term? Even Scott's wife, for as much as she loved him, worried about this with him, her safety, their baby's. I think Scott himself did too. I do believe that Scott had incredible remorse for what he did, but what do you do if theres even a chance that he can go off again, lose it for even one minute and kill his family or someone? Do you let him out with outside counseling and meds and HOPE? Do you keep him confined for life? I really don't know but its a very scary thought to know someone like Scott is out there and his safety and everyone else's depends on how well he takes his meds and how well they work all the time. Its almost like i would want to "experiment" with him some before cutting him loose, in the sense of taking him off his meds, for a day, or two and observe what happens to see what might happen if he didnt take his for a day or two, much less at all. If for example you found that he was ok for 2 days without them, no signs of problems, but on the third day, started to show some signs of disconnecting from people or reality, get him back on them and when he is out, make sure he checks in with a probation PSYCHIATRIST 3 times a week for life??? Is that even feasible? Imagine the manpower and cost of that kind of individualised attention in an already overly worked system where someone is slipping through the cracks all the time. I really have no answers but lots of questions. This is something the courts and medical community need to work on together and find something that works better than this system to keep everyone, including the perpetrator safe. I feel for Scott, i really do, but how do you trust him. He tries to commit suicide over all this, how long should he be back in an institution again? In the end of the book, Scott and Kelly had taken good care of their daughter and she was growing up fine, but is that the rule or the exception and is this part of the book real. I really dont know. I am certainly not saying, lock up all mentally ill! But its just frightening when someone can kill little girls and not know what they are doing and trust that that will never happen again on meds. Kelly is one hero in this book to me, that she could stay with him with the amount of love and trust that would take, its incredible. Any thoughts anyone?

[homereader]

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Bill_T wrote:
Here's a thread where we can introduce ourselves. One question: is this the first of Jacquelyn Mitchard's novels for you? Which others have you read?

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Better late than never.
Hi all, my name is Janet. I am in my 50's and live in Central FL.
I just ordered this book last week when I read that the message boards were not very active.........and I am glad that I did.
In the past, I participated in BNU's group discussio of "Breakdown Lane." I really enjoyed the group and the author participation.
More recently, I listened to "Theory of Relativity," on CD while driving long commutes. I enjoyed that "book" even more than "Breakdown Lane." When "Cage of Stars" was first published, I did not pick it up, because it seemed too gruesome to me. I have now read it and have to say it is my favorite book by Jacki, so far.

Janet aka homereader

[lepking]

Janet,
Having read all of J's books, I agree that to date, CAGE . . . is the best. I listen to CD's sometimes, because my mom is blind and I buy them for her. My preference is a book, but sometimes time and responsibilities get in the way of just sitting down. I used to live in Central Fl - St. Cloud. lepking

[homereader]

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lepking wrote:
Janet,
Having read all of J's books, I agree that to date, CAGE . . . is the best. I listen to CD's sometimes, because my mom is blind and I buy them for her. My preference is a book, but sometimes time and responsibilities get in the way of just sitting down. I used to live in Central Fl - St. Cloud. lepking

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Hi Lepking,
I have found your posts very thought-provoking, and maybe even more tragic than the book, since it is your real life. I wish you the best.

I now live in Winter Park. It is a beautiful community. I am amazed that I made an easy adjustment after living in MA all of my life.

My mom is also blind. She has tried books on tape, but doesn't care for them. I prefer reading a book to listening to the narration, but listening to a book while I drive sure beats listening to nonsense radio chatter.

Nice meeting you. See you around the site.

Janet aka homereader

[JackieM01]

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Wrighty wrote:

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cindersue wrote:
Wow! What an ending! I really enjoyed reading your book Jackie! This was the first book of yours I read ... and I will read another one! I felt like I was right there with Ronnie as she went thru the motions.

I just finished reading "My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult. That was another emotional adventure that I enjoyed also.

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Cindersue,
I liked that one also. I have a family member with leukemia so that one really hit home.

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Cindersue,
Thank you so much. Thank you. Jodi is a good friend of mine. I love that book. It's her best.
Jackie M.

[JackieM01]

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lepking wrote:
Janet,
Having read all of J's books, I agree that to date, CAGE . . . is the best. I listen to CD's sometimes, because my mom is blind and I buy them for her. My preference is a book, but sometimes time and responsibilities get in the way of just sitting down. I used to live in Central Fl - St. Cloud. lepking

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Thank you. That's what the critics thought too, that time!
jackie