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Blue Peninsula: Essential Words for a Life of Loss and Change

by McKeithen, Madge | HC | VeryGood
US $6.83
ApproximatelyAU $10.56
Condition:
Very good
May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend ... Read moreabout condition
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Item specifics

Condition
Very good
A book that does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. No obvious damage to the cover, with the dust jacket (if applicable) included for hard covers. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. May be very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover. Very minimal wear and tear. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tab
Seller notes
“May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend ...
Binding
Hardcover
Weight
0 lbs
Product Group
Book
IsTextBook
No
ISBN
9780374115029

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN-10
0374115028
ISBN-13
9780374115029
eBay Product ID (ePID)
48622905

Product Key Features

Book Title
Blue Peninsula : Essential Words for Alife of Loss and Change
Number of Pages
240 Pages
Language
English
Topic
Neurology, Death, Grief, Bereavement, Children with Special Needs, Parenting / Motherhood, Motivational & Inspirational
Publication Year
2006
Genre
Family & Relationships, Self-Help, Medical
Author
Madge Mckeithen
Format
Hardcover

Dimensions

Item Height
0.9 in
Item Weight
11.1 Oz
Item Length
7.5 in
Item Width
5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2005-024281
Dewey Edition
22
Reviews
"A mother with a passion for poetry, Madge McKeithen shows us by example how to find comfort in verse as she lives with the agonizing burden of her son's mysterious illness. In her words and those of others, she reveals a creative way to bear the pain of unresolved loss and grief. Poignantly, she finds strength and resiliency as poetry offers the solace of some truth when the ambiguities of life cannot." -Pauline Boss, author of Ambiguous Loss and Loss, Trauma and Resilience "Madge McKeithen treats poetry as what Kenneth Burke calls 'equipment for living.' Poems become her abiding companions as she lives through and confronts her son's devastating unnamed illness. Blue Peninsula is a deeply moving book that, like good poetry itself, disturbs and consoles." -Edward Hirsch, author of Poet's Choice "'After great pain,' Emily Dickinson wrote, 'a formal feeling comes.' And after the great pain of her son's grievous illness invaded Madge McKeithen's life, the formal grace of poetry came to her-or she to it. In that turning to poetry she has given us an extraordinary document of human solidarity and uncommon courage. We are always glad of a great poet in our midst. But it may be rarer still to find a great reader of it, to see embodied in a life the reason poetry matters at all. In her modest, steadfast encounter with individual poems set against the harrowing downward spiral of her son's life, McKeithen becomes what every writer longs for-the dreamed of 'dear reader' that literature lives for. Out of such pain to have fashioned such a heartening book-a remarkable achievement." -Patricia Hampl, author of I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory "BLUE PENINSULA is a sequence of meditations on poems not by a literary critic but by a mother who is fighting despair over her young son's bewildering and protracted sickness. Madge McKeithen tries on these poems-ranging from John Clare to Diane Ackerman-like garments to fit the changing shape of her sorrows, and she holds onto each one to keep herself from falling into the well of grief. Here-let there be no doubt-- poetry makes something happen." -Billy Collins, "A mother with a passion for poetry, Madge McKeithen shows us by example how to find comfort in verse as she lives with the agonizing burden of her son' s mysterious illness. In her words and those of others, she reveals a creative way to bear the pain of unresolved loss and grief. Poignantly, she finds strength and resiliency as poetry offers the solace of some truth when the ambiguities of life cannot." -- Pauline Boss, author of "Ambiguous Loss "and "Loss, Trauma and Resilience " "Madge McKeithen treats poetry as what Kenneth Burke calls ' equipment for living.' Poems become her abiding companions as she lives through and confronts her son' s devastating unnamed illness. "Blue Peninsula" is a deeply moving book that, like good poetry itself, disturbs and consoles." -- Edward Hirsch, author of "Poet' s Choice " "' After great pain, ' Emily Dickinson wrote, ' a formal feeling comes.' And after the great pain of her son' s grievous illness invaded Madge McKeithen' s life, the formal grace of poetry came to her-- or she to it. In that turning to poetry she has given us an extraordinary document of human solidarity and uncommon courage. We are always glad of a great poet in our midst. But it may be rarer still to find a great reader of it, to see embodied in a life the reason poetry matters at all. In her modest, steadfast encounter with individual poems set against the harrowing downward spiral of her son' s life, McKeithen becomes what every writer longs for-- the dreamed of ' dear reader' that literature lives for. Out of such pain to have fashioned such a hearteningbook-- a remarkable achievement." -- Patricia Hampl, author of "I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory " "BLUE PENINSULA is a sequence of meditations on poems not by a literary critic but by a mother who is fighting despair over her young son' s bewildering and protracted sickness. Madge McKeithen tries on these poems-- ranging from John Clare to Diane Ackerman-- like garments to fit the changing shape of her sorrows, and she holds onto each one to keep herself from falling into the well of grief. Here-- let there be no doubt-- poetry makes something happen." -- Billy Collins, "A mother with a passion for poetry, Madge McKeithen shows us by example how to find comfort in verse as she lives with the agonizing burden of her son's mysterious illness. In her words and those of others, she reveals a creative way to bear the pain of unresolved loss and grief. Poignantly, she finds strength and resiliency as poetry offers the solace of some truth when the ambiguities of life cannot." -Pauline Boss, author ofAmbiguous LossandLoss, Trauma and Resilience "Madge McKeithen treats poetry as what Kenneth Burke calls 'equipment for living.' Poems become her abiding companions as she lives through and confronts her son's devastating unnamed illness.Blue Peninsulais a deeply moving book that, like good poetry itself, disturbs and consoles." -Edward Hirsch, author ofPoet's Choice "'After great pain,' Emily Dickinson wrote, 'a formal feeling comes.' And after the great pain of her son's grievous illness invaded Madge McKeithen's life, the formal grace of poetry came to her-or she to it. In that turning to poetry she has given us an extraordinary document of human solidarity and uncommon courage. We are always glad of a great poet in our midst. But it may be rarer still to find a great reader of it, to see embodied in a life the reason poetry matters at all. In her modest, steadfast encounter with individual poems set against the harrowing downward spiral of her son's life, McKeithen becomes what every writer longs for-the dreamed of 'dear reader' that literature lives for. Out of such pain to have fashioned such a heartening book-a remarkable achievement." -Patricia Hampl, author ofI Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory "BLUE PENINSULA is a sequence of meditations on poems not by a literary critic but by a mother who is fighting despair over her young son's bewildering and protracted sickness. Madge McKeithen tries on these poems-ranging from John Clare to Diane Ackerman-like garments to fit the changing shape of her sorrows, and she holds onto each one to keep herself from falling into the well of grief. Here-let there be no doubt-- poetry makes something happen." -Billy Collins
Dewey Decimal
362.196/80092
Synopsis
"My son's illness is eight years old and has no name. It started when he was fourteen. He is now twenty-two. It is taking away his ability to walk and to reason. It is getting worse, some years more rapidly than others." These words begin the first section ofBlue Peninsula, a narrative of a son's degenerative illness in thirty-three parts focused around poems that have provided companionship and sustenance to the author. When multiple diagnostic avenues delivered no explanation for the worsening disabilities of her older son, Ike, Madge McKeithen "became a poetry addict--collecting, consuming, ripping poems out of magazines, buying slender volumes that would fit in my pocket or pocketbook, stashing them in loose-leaf notebooks, on shelves, stacking them on the floor. In the midst of all this grief, I had fallen in love. With words. Poems, especially. And just in time." McKeithen draws on a wonderfully wide ranging group of of poets and lyricists--including Emily Dickinson, the Rolling Stones, Paul Celan, Bruce Springsteen, Marie Howe, Walt Whitman, and many others--to illuminate, comfort, and help to express her sorrow. Some chapters are reflections on friendships and family relationships in the context of a chronic and worsening illness. Some consider making peace with what life has dealt, and others value intentionally reworking it. Not written to suggest easy solace, this powerful work aims to keep company, as would any individual whose loved one is on a course in which the only way out is through., McKeithen draws on a wonderful range of poets and lyricists including Emily Dickinson, the Rolling Stones, Paul Celan, Bruce Springsteen, Marie Howe, and Walt Whitman to illuminate, comfort, and reflect on friendships and family relationships in the context of a chronic and worsening illness., "My son's illness is eight years old and has no name. It started when he was fourteen. He is now twenty-two. It is taking away his ability to walk and to reason. It is getting worse, some years more rapidly than others." These words begin the first section of "Blue Peninsula," a narrative of a son's degenerative illness in thirty-three parts focused around poems that have provided companionship and sustenance to the author. When multiple diagnostic avenues delivered no explanation for the worsening disabilities of her older son, Ike, Madge McKeithen "became a poetry addict--collecting, consuming, ripping poems out of magazines, buying slender volumes that would fit in my pocket or pocketbook, stashing them in loose-leaf notebooks, on shelves, stacking them on the floor. In the midst of all this grief, I had fallen in love. With words. Poems, especially. And just in time." McKeithen draws on a wonderfully wide ranging group of of poets and lyricists--including Emily Dickinson, the Rolling Stones, Paul Celan, Bruce Springsteen, Marie Howe, Walt Whitman, and many others--to illuminate, comfort, and help to express her sorrow. Some chapters are reflections on friendships and family relationships in the context of a chronic and worsening illness. Some consider making peace with what life has dealt, and others value intentionally reworking it. Not written to suggest easy solace, this powerful work aims to keep company, as would any individual whose loved one is on a course in which the only way out is through.
LC Classification Number
RC394.D35M35 2006

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    WOW!; I cannot believe this 3 Days to Hawaii! ; AAA+++; Excellent Service; Great Pricing; Fast Delivery-Faster Than Expected to Hawaii!; Shipped 05/05, Mon, Received 05/08, Thu to Hawaii using free shipping; USPS Ground Mail, Book in Excellent Condition--Better Than Described ; TLC Packaging; Excellent Seller Communication, Sends updates . Highly Recommended!, Thank you very much!
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    Although this book was not as described, with no picture of it in the listing, the seller communicated well and quickly gave me a full refund while letting me keep it. The minimal packaging left the book a bit vulnerable (typical for ThriftBooks), but it did arrive safely and timely. As usual, it’s hit or miss with this seller, but often times you can get great values, and their customer service is always very good. Many other sellers with millions of transactions don’t even communicate.
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    I've ordered several items from this vendor now and they've always been what they were advertised as. This was no exception. Both discs were in great shape as well as their jewel cases. Delivery is good, packaging is simple but effective for what you're paying and I haven't had any get damaged. Will keep buying from this vendor because of the results so far and good prices, too.